Thursday, April 22, 2010

Signs of the Apocalypse: Slap Chop Rap

Hey, it's not every day that you get to reference the culinary genius that is the Slap Chop while you're talking about the book of Revelation. Good times, good times.

Here's the video:



And here's me:

http://www.theliftcommunity.com/4-22-10.mp3

Correction: I said that the idea of the Rapture started in the late 1800s, but as soon as I got off the stage, Jim Zartman pointed out that it was actually 1806. Way off.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Poly Ticks

So our Hot Topics (Topix?) series continues apace. Last week (4-15) we talked about politics, it being tax day and all. I figured my message would frustrate some people, but I didn't get many nasty letters. Either the people able to be frustrated have already bailed on me or it went better than I thought. Judge for yourself.

http://www.theliftcommunity.com/4-15-10.mp3

Then, in a curious twist of fate, right before I posted this I saw one of the guys I highly respect wrote something similar in his blog. I know great minds think alike, but I'm not sure what that has to do with Joe and I.

http://rebelpilgrim.blogspot.com/2010/04/lets-talk-politics.html

My main point was that getting too interested in politics is tricky because politics is ultimately an expression of power, and it's impossible to chase after power while also chasing after a servant's heart.

I really wanted to make this joke during my talk, but I figured only one person in the room (Doug) would get it, so I left it alone. I need more hardcore nerds at the Lift.



EDIT: My clever introduction got cut off by the recording equipment. Just pretend that I said something witty.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Go Team Vegas!

A great video to go with a great song.

Actually, it's kind of a weird song. The primary line ("You give and take away") is taken from the book of Job, which is always an awkward place to pull theology from (since God disagrees with most of the statements in the book). I don't believe that every apparently bad thing in life is God "taking away" or that every apparently good thing is his "gift."

That's beside the point, though. The core issue expressed in the song is one I can get behind: loving my God no matter what my circumstances. For better or worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, my love is not based on my situation.



EDIT: And once again, Blogger cuts off half of the video. If I posted on here more frequently I'd probably have already moved to Wordpress or something. Click through to see the whole thing or to see an absolutely great video channel.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Literally Ironic

So I get home from the Lift, where I taught on the Bible (what it's for, why it's important, what the main story is, etc). I also talked quite a bit about why I don't like the word "literally" especially as it relates to the Bible: the word's so misused and misunderstood that it doesn't help us be clear in what we're saying. I don't believe that Jesus was a literal person, I think he was a historical person... he actually existed in history, not just literature. Nobody says that Abe Lincoln was "literally" President.

AAAANYWAY. I got home and checked my Reader, and what do I see? Perfect synchronicity!

NOTE: This doesn't display well in blogger. Click the picture to see the whole thing. Or subscribe in Google Reader or something.



http://xkcd.com/725/

If you've not browsed the entire archives of the brilliant webcomic XKCD, you should go do that right now. Or maybe just watch this a few times and hum it for the next four days. Whatever. I'm not here to judge.

Incidentally, if you want to hear the rest of my crusade against the word "literal" you're welcome to give it a listen:

www.theliftcommunity.com/4-8-10.mp3

Now if I could just convince a few people that rain on your wedding day isn't actually an example of irony, I could consider it an evening well-spent.