Why We Fear ViolenceMarch 19, 2009
The Problem with BoneMan’s Daughters
bonemans-daughters-2I was on the phone with a ranking member of the establishment recently, a gatekeeper for a major retailer in CBA who was giving me his lowdown on BoneMan’s Daughters.
“Deeply moving,” he said. “The best from you in years in my opinion. I couldn’t put it down.”
I chuckled. “You liked it, huh?”
“I did, I really did…” There was a pause. “But it’s definitely not for everyone.”
My smile vanished. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, the intensity. It’s…” He chuckled. “The violence is going to raise some eyebrows. I’m sure I’ll have my share of Naysayers around here.”
“But did you get it?’
“Oh, I got it. Beautiful. It’s a love story, isn’t it? A beautiful love story. But… well, not everyone will see it that way.”
“But you got it, right?” I asked looking for approval. “How could anyone NOT get it?”
“Well, they will. [...]

Original post by Josh Simons

“But don’t you ever like to just shake your ass to something?” Emmaly asks after being subjected to a mini rant about the tyrrany of the Black Eyed Peas releasing another annoying single.
“Yes, but not like that.”
So, what does inspire booty shaking? Recently, Keri Hilson’s “Turnin Me On.” This little bit of sassy, minimalist pop isn’t being played on most pop stations yet, but the R&B and hip-hip stations have caught on. Hilson comes off as a proto-Beyonce, telling the guys in the club exactly how it’s gonna be.
As much guesting that Hilson does on hip-hop songs, you’d think she’d be able to land a bad ass for this single. She does, being artist number 2,749 have a guest spot by Lil Wayne. His short rap is more clever than all of Kanye’s discography combined.
Is it high art? I don’t know, but it’s definitely fun.
Tagged: [...]

Original post by (evil)amy

A Sobering Thought on PornEvery red-blooded Christian male has a battle with lust. He is incessantly bombarded from every side with explicit imagery. But when a man surrenders to the sin, we often hear a phrase like “He has an addiction to pornography.” However, his addiction isn’t to pornography. It’s to “adultery.” That’s what we do every time we look with lust (see Matthew 5:27-28), and the root cause of someone who keeps going back to adultery is “idolatry.” There is a concept of God in his mind that doesn’t produce the fear of the Lord. So, make sure you flee from idolatry, and you will fortify yourself against sexual infidelity. Make the God who revealed Himself in Scripture your “accountability Partner.” Do that, and you won’t have an addiction to adultery.

Original post by Josh Simons

“O you legalists who are looking to yourselves for some arguments with which to prevail with God! O you who look to your sacraments, to your outward forms, to your pious deeds and your almsgivings for something that will move the heart of God–know this, that these things are no lever that can ever move Him to love! Nothing but your sin and misery can ever stir His mercy! And you look to the wrong place when you look to your merits to find a plea why He should show pity upon you!”~ Charles Spurgeon
When I understand, by the grace of God, that nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away my sin- not my prayers, nor my good works, no, not even my repentance and faith- it sends me into worship. I’ve learned God moves in mercy toward us not because of anything we have done, but only [...]

Original post by Josh Simons

An acquaintance and colleague of mine sent out a reflection on the texts for this coming Sunday’s lectionary texts specifically Genesis 17 and Romans 4:13-25. These passages are about Abraham and the promise of God, and faith. My colleague in this e-mail says that given the entire story of Abraham he must disagree with Paul claiming that Paul’s account of Abraham’s faith as hoping against hope and not wavering in faith contradicts the story of Abraham found in Genesis. I assume in interpreting Paul that he knew the Scriptures, and I agree that in this knowing well the Scriptures he also takes what some may be questionable hermeneutical moves. I do not think that Paul is ignoring all the failings of Abraham nor ignoring the way the story seems to indicate he doubted or attempted to make good on God’s promise on his own [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)

Catapult’s latest issue “Self Diagnosis” is out. Check it out. I found the article A Meditation on Two Doctors Appointmentsparticularly moving, and I think expresses a number of things: the importance of the body in Christian spirituality (and that many forms of Christianity fail to teach this.) as well as expressing what might be called a “postmodern” or “emergent” attitude towards faith, science, medicine and Eastern medicine and meditation. Not that I am particularly enamored of either the term “postmodern” or “emergent”, but they are terms used for real phenomena in our current context, and I think this article is a healthy example of both. Well read it for yourself and let me know what you think or leave a comment on the conversation page
Also, I commend the reading of the article Reworking the Recipe also in the current issue of Catapult, explores [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)