The Nightmare Before Christmas

Imagine waking up in a world where your spouse, your best friend, the most important things in your life that transcend physical property, had never existed. But it goes beyond that. There is also a profound feeling of emptiness, isolation, and hopelessness. The sense of protection is gone, leaving you exposed to all the terrible enemies who would not have dared cross the one you have lost, but are now free to hound and haunt you openly and mercilessly. There is no Christmas.

We Are Not Amused

“A great variety of spirits come to us on the wings of music,

Into the deepest recesses of the soul.

They come to places where the light of reason has never shone.

They come gliding past the gatekeeper, Reason,

The censor and judge which patrols the soul’s borders.”

-Peter Kreeft

      Have you ever asked someone or been asked, “What are you listening to?” Has it ever been phrased, “What is that noise?” To one person, the best description for another person’s music may very well sometimes be ‘noise’. The phrase “to each his own” is usually used to calm such qualms, as such disagreements are often a simple difference of opinion (subjectivity); but what if there was also an objective side to this? Could it be that there is a concrete (though perhaps not always clear) distinction between that which is truly music, and that which is simply noise packaged as music?

WWJV? (For Whom Would Jesus Vote?)

What if Jesus had came back in the recent past? Let’s say He did, but much like before: not in glory, but simply as a child who would grow up indistinguishable from anyone else on the street. Fast forward a year from now, and early November is less than a month away. For whom would Jesus vote? Would He vote?

Be Straight With Me

Take a quick moment and forget how you may or may not have been raised, how you may or may not believe, how you may or may not feel. Now in this imaginary environment, let’s say you feel a call to and from something greater than and beyond yourself. Let’s say you just know in your heart there has to be a God who has something for you and that you just have to find a place to learn about Him and His plan. Let’s say you're looking for a church. Let’s say you’re a homosexual.

Nunsense!

This month’s article deals with a subject that’s been on my mind and been bugging me for quite some time. I hear many in Protestant circles speak very ill of the Roman Catholic Church, and have even heard some speak of them in such a hostile and slanderous manner that one would think they were talking of Satanists or terrorists! What is worse is that the vast majority of claims made against Catholicism are not even true! Therefore, this month I’m addressing a number of misconceptions and flat-out lies people believe about Catholicism. I myself am not at all Catholic, and I do disagree with much of their theology and doctrine as at the least extra-biblical. Nevertheless, this does not justify such hostility.

Chaos and Creation In The Back Yard

Science and religion, we are told, should not and/or can not mix. We are told that science is based on hard facts and evidence which can be seen and observed, and that religion deals with the mythical, the improvable, and personal conviction. However, Christianity shows how without one, the other simply cannot exist!

One of the difficulties the Church has had with science through much of its existence is how to advance science while advancing its worship of God at the same time. How do we tell if a scientific pursuit is self-serving or glorifying? If it is a Pandora’s Box or an expression of worship? How far is too far? Is there even a “too far” in the first place?

Love & Ingsoc

Imagine a world where your every move is monitored, your every action is scrutinised and analysed, your every thought is a potential crime, and your every friend, co-worker, or man on the street is a potential spy with no greater desire than to reveal who and what you really are. This is the world in which Winston Smith lives…and, perhaps, the one in which you live.

Saints Alive!

 

     Christians often realise that through the justification of their faith, they themselves are, as Christians, saints, but without fully understanding, they take it to the extreme and attack the veneration of canonical saints. They claim that venerating saints downplays or denies the sainthood of all believers, and promotes venerated saints to a sort of ‘super-Christian’ status unachievable by most. This is, however, not the case. I view men like St. Augustine not as a downplaying of my own faith, but a success story of how my faith can build me! St. Polycarp does not make me feel inferior, or that I will never achieve a faith to match his own, but rather encourages me that I can have faith like that!

Human Mystery Novel

"Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing.

There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground is the heart of men."

                                 

                                             -Fyodor Dostoyevsky

     Hello, everyone! It's been some time since you've heard from me; you must forgive me as I'm in Afghanistan and it is sometimes difficult to find the time to just sit and write. Nevertheless, I have finally found the time (and hot chocolate) necessary to do another article!

Two-thousand Year Generation Gap? - Dumbed Down Religion

(This is an article focussing on a subject from my last article, 'Two-Thousand Year Generation Gap?'.  To read the full, original article, click here)


It is popular in many circles to preach and teach against religion itself.  "I don't have religion; I have a relationship," is the common phrase now.  Jesus just wants you to love Him and be in a "relationship" with Him, not observe a stuffy old religion about Him.  But does it occur to anyone that perhaps religion is one of the very ways we express our love for Him?  If you want to talk about dull, try being in a "relationship" with someone who talks of a love for you, but has no way of expressing that love!  One of the reasons why this way of thinking is so prevalent for many is because unfortunately some in the Church have tried to make religion stiff and impersonal; religion, as an expression of love, is meant to be deeply personal, but that does not mean it is up to you and you alone to decide what religion is.  Remember it is an expression of love which means it is meant to be two ways; Jesus has some say too! Remember also that the reason why religious activities and traditions were begun in the first place is because Jesus Himself prescribed them for us.

Two-thousand Year Generation Gap? - Music

(This is an article focussing on a subject from my last article, 'Two-Thousand Year Generation Gap?'.  To read the full, original article, click here)


Music is a big issue for everyone, whether they love or hate tradition.  I have been to churches where they outright will not allow anything more than fifteen years old to be played.  A lot of churches do not consider hymns to be appealing to a certain demographic, and therefore dismiss them completely.  Worship services must have new and loud music, especially for youth groups, and if the older folks want to have some of the songs they grew up with, they can go to their own separate service. The younger generation doesn't "feel God's presence" if there is no dancing or jumping and such; if they cannot dance to it, they cannot worship to it.  But if you were to take a random, non-Christian person off the street and present them with both a worship service at any typical youth convention and then a secular concert, could they honestly tell the difference?  Remember that God tells us to "shout/dance/jump around and feel that I am God"...no, He says "be still and know that I am God."

Two-Thousand Year Generation Gap? - The Danger of Forgetting History

(This is an article focussing on a subject from my last article, 'Two-Thousand Year Generation Gap?'.  To read the full, original article, click here)


It is the time-tested traditions, hymns, etc. that have defined the Church and nurtured its people since its humble yet powerful beginnings two-thousand years ago.  I find comfort in knowing that when I sing this hymn or that hymn, I am singing the same truths and words that shaped the thought and lives of men like St. Polycarp and Martin Luther.  These hymns link us to the strength of faith that has stood the test of time, and in fact link us to the time of Christ Himself!  In fact, Jesus Himself, when He worshipped in a religious service, did so in a liturgical manner!  And it isn't just the ancient heroes of the faith to whom we lose our connection; what about the elders in our own churches today?  How can we learn from their wealth of wisdom and experience if we want to create this gap between generations?  Is it not a bit arrogant to think thatwe're the ones who finally got it right and to call the faith of centuries of saints, martyrs, and history-makers "boring"?  I would go so far as to say that it goes beyond arrogant and deeply into the realm of dangerous. 

Two-thousand Year Generation Gap?

What comes to mind when you hear words such as 'tradition' or 'tradtional'?  Especially in terms of culture and religion.  An optional style of worship or living?  A necessary and fundamental element of the duties of our lives and worship?  A ball-and-chain that has blinded and held us back for centuries, and that must finally be thrown off?