Jesus Was A Suspected Terrorist

Imagine a Muslim man walking through the streets saying "Allah will rule this nation!" he'd get strange looks and someone would probably call the police thinking he might be a terrorist. After all he's part of a minority religion, a religion that's tolerated as long as it does not affect the wider community. Furthermore we have a society and rule of law that functions perfectly well. In fact we think it's the best system in history.

This is exactly the situation Jesus was in. Part of a tolerated minority religion in a wider society and rule of law which (at the time) was considered as good as it could possibly get. Yet Jesus cries out "the kingdom of God (not Caesar) is at hand change your ways and believe this good news (not the news that the roman empire is as good as it gets)" It's highly inflammatory talk. Especially since there were Jewish revolutionaries (terrorists from the Roman point of view) trying to free the Jewish people from the tyranny of Rome.

I can't help but think that right from the start Jesus would have been a suspected terrorist. Sure he might of been doing some kind things - a facade to win people over. But, he did clash with the mainstream religious leaders - like extremists do. Everyone would have suspected that deep down he must be plotting something violent (Roman soldiers pull out swords to arrest him) because, that is the only way that kingdom of God could over throw Caesar's reign over the people.

Common Prayer (A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals) - Review

Growing up evangelical I never really got the whole reading prayers or having disciplined times for reading thing. As I've grown older and my beliefs have turned from black and white to grey and I've started to want some kind of ritual and structure in my life. After working for the Anglican church I felt like I really got to understand and appreciate why people loved liturgy. I also discovered I wasn't one of those people.

So, in many ways I feel like Common Prayer (A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals) was written with people just like me in mind. It doesn't follow the church calendar but will remind you that Advent, Lent and Pentecost are coming up. There is a different morning prayer and Bible readings for everyday of the year and a bit on the life of a saint. Saints range from St Francis through to Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero and Mother Teresa. There is one midday prayer and 7 evening prayers (one for each day of the week). There are also a bunch of prayers / liturgies for special occasions and the music for 50 classic church songs.

It is truly a great resource and something I now use every day.

If you want to trial it for free visit the website commonprayer.net. I bought the book because I'd rather not turn on a computer three times a day and for a book that's nearly 600 pages it was really cheap.

The Cartoon That Made Me Cry

Drawn by Leunig, this cartoon really struck me. I'm currently a stay at home Dad, mainly due to my wife's ability to earn more money than mean or to earn enough money to keep us living in a house which (like the picture) is full of industry and various refineries (to be fair though we're a long way from the industry). A few days a go we bought our kids a small classical guitar and that afternoon I was making up songs for all of my sons toys and the games they were playing, much to his delight. I could just see him thinking "Gee Dad, you're fantastic", enthralled by a talent that has absolutely no practical economic application. I highly recommend his "When I Talk To God" book of prayer.

Santa's Elves Are Chinese Slaves

It's Christmas and this documentary reminds me of how I get to live such a luxurious life. Watching my wife work so hard (I'm a stay at home dad) and living in one of the lower socio-economic parts of my city it's easy to think that everything I have is purely from my (or my wife's) hard work. The truth is it's not. It's built on the back of slaves. We just can't see them. I'm wondering if, like Moses, it will not be possible to change the system from within. Maybe we to are being called into the wilderness, to disconnect from the luxury of a system built on the back of slavery. Will that be easy? Of course not. We'll be grumbling that it was easier to be a slave in the system than to live in the wilderness. The question of course is where is God calling his people?

9 Reasons I'm Not A Good Evangelical And 9 Reasons I Won't Be A Mainline Liberal Any Time Soon Either

Why I'm Not A Good Evangelical

1. Christian music makes me feel nauseous.

2. I feel like I need to shower after leaving a Christian bookshop.

3. When I hear an atheist debate an evangelical I end up rooting for the atheist.

4. I didn't like "A Purpose Driven Life"

5. I worry about the "values" that could be taught to my kids at their Christian school.

6. When someone says "you know that Hillsong song we've been singing at church every Sunday for last 2 months" have to honestly say "no".

7. Penal substitutionary atonement drives me batty. (Atonement is so much bigger).

8. When I hear an evangelical preacher speak on just one verse from the Bible I quickly open mine to prove that in context the verse is unrelated to what he (OK once or twice it's been a she) is saying.

9. I'm OK with gay.

Why I'm Not A Mainline Liberal

1. Organ music makes me sleepy.

2. I like it when church has people under 55 in it.

3. When I hear an atheist debate an mainline liberal I'm not sure why they are a Christian (apart from growing up that way and now making some sort of living by saying they are one).

5. I think Rick Warren sounds like a great guy, and does some great things. (he gives away 90% of what he earns and works for his church for free. There's a reason he wears daggy Hawaiian shirts and not Armani Suits).

6. Even though they think social justice is more important than evangelicals they still don't give more money or do more than evangelical churches who think it's a minor concern.

7. Giving the bible and Jesus to the evangelicals so they could keep liturgy was not a good idea.

8. I just can't handle watching the newcomers getting completely lost flipping through the book of common prayer.

9. Robes look ridiculous.