.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldy passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly live in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are hid very own, eager to do what is good.

Titus 2:11-14 ESV

posted by stephen @ 5:32 PM 11 comments

reminiscing

Well it has been only one day since my last post, but hey, life is short, and so are my posts.

It has been one year this March since I started blogging. It has been a nice alternative to myspace. But as I was talking to my friend Nathan about the other day, who needs myspace when you've got smiley faces? ;)

Let me tell you about a pet hamster I once had. He was a good hamster, never bit me or showed any behavior umbecoming of a hamster. I had a little white ball for him and he would just run around my room, as happy as a little hamster can be. He would sit on my shoulder, his talons digging in my skin. "Hey little guy!"
One day, someone who will go unnamed left the cage open. I was crushed. My parents said he was probably blithely running among the cedar chips that is hamster nirvana. I believed them until I found half of his dismembered body one morning in our garage.


Anyway, this past year has been a good one. I am very much looking forward to this year as Kevin and I set off for Brazil.

I will now go dance the bamba and practice espanol, whilst sipping tea and dreaming of tortilla soup.

posted by stephen @ 9:36 AM 5 comments

available at your nearest christian bookstore

I have just started reading a book called The Irresistible Revolution. It was written by Shane Clairborne, a co-founder of an orginization called The Simple Way. I first read about this group in an article in Christianity Today. They are based in Philadelphia, and their main job is just to care for the homeless or whoever happen to pass by. I had heard about this book coming out, and have been eager to read it. I was eager to read especially after reading Under the Overpass, which was written by a Westmont student. I highly reccomend that book. Anyway, I have been reading this book and have been encouraged and also a little miffed.
Shane Clairborne is an extraordinary man who has used his talent and heart for the homeless in amazing ways. He encourages readers to be be more like Jesus, almost literally, in that he was a advocate and protector of the homeless.

Unfortunetly, Mr. Clairborne almost discourages the importance of doctrine and theology among Christians. He says the church has become too bogged down with "dusty old theology books." He puts the main emphasis on the church and how it has lost its meaning and what it was and is supposed to be. He is right about that, but how can you expect a church to stand up to scrutiny if it isn't founded upon good theology? And more importantly, how can we reach the lost if we ourselves are devoted to nothing but shallow ideals?

However, he did have good things to say about things we can do to help the homeless and get out of our comfort zone. When I go to Brazil this summer I hope this will be true for me. I have become so burned out on America, so I think it will be good to get away from friends, school, job, etc. I am praying God will give me some direction and focus while I am down there.

Anyhoo, I would read this book if just to hear about another man's great work in an area that we could all work on.

posted by stephen @ 10:02 PM 4 comments

V dub in da house, ya

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posted by stephen @ 1:31 PM 20 comments

I prefer to celebrate diversity with people like me, thank you.

A few weeks ago a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published cartoons that depicted caricatures of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the religion itself. At first, it was just the local Danish Muslims who responded to the cartoons. But as the cartoons were circulated, more and more followers of Islam reacted to the publications. As the controversy has grown, the result has been widespread violence and rioting in Islamic areas. The cartoons have since come to America and have been published in many college newspapers that have resulted in protests and arguments within certain colleges. A student at Oregon State University wrote a column titled, “The Islamic Double Standard,” which was published in a daily newspaper at OSU. The column charged Muslims with expecting special treatment after the reaction from the Muslims responding to the Danish cartoons. Students countered by holding a vigil on campus to protest the article. They handed out fliers that stated, “While staying loyal to the main values of freedom of expression that founded this country, we also feel the need to reflect on the values of tolerance and acceptance on this campus.” Nada Mohamed, a 20-year-old junior and vice president of OSU’s Muslim Student Association, said this about the publication: “It was amazing to me that they (the campus newspaper) were allowed to publish this kind of stuff.” The cartoons have sparked debate at other colleges around America, including Harvard, and all have had the same reaction by the Muslim students.


A student newspaper at the University of Arizona did not reprint the Danish cartoons, but it did enter the fray by publishing an editorial cartoon of its own. The cartoon shows a scene with Jesus, Buddha and other religious figures along with Mohammad. Jesus is saying to Muhammad, “You really need to learn how to take a joke, Muhammad.” The cartoonist, a staff member at the newspaper, followed its usual editorial cartoon procedure: the cartoonist submitted the idea to her editors, and from there the editors met and discussed possible reverberations of the cartoon. “Our main purpose of this comic was not to offend,” said editor-in-chief Aaron Mackey. “It didn’t link Islam with terrorism. It had a definite point to it.” One columnist who disagreed with the cartoon was Yusra Tekbali. “When a paper encourages offensively depicting a revered religious individual, it reasons for doing so must be questioned; respect and sensitivity should outweigh absolute freedom of speech.” Many other college newspapers around America have published the cartoons or written editorials about them.


The same people who are holding signs that state, “Butcher those who mock Islam,” and, “Slay those who insult Islam” are the same people that are calling for religious tolerance among non-Muslims. The same college students who encourage “diversity” and “acceptance” are the same college students who are outraged and offended when they don’t receive special treatment.

At the National Black Fine Art Show in New York, a painting by Harlem artist “Tafa” depicts an upside down “Christ-like” figure with a face the resembles Osama Bin Laden. No Christians have threatened the artist, or bombed the building where it is displayed, or attacked the city government. This example can be related to the “Piss-Christ” controversy, in which artist Andres Serrano took a picture of a crucifix that was submerged in a jar of the artist’s urine. The piece won the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s “Awards in the Visual Arts” competition, which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Not only did the artist not receive death threats, he won a major award.

Surprisingly, this conflict between two worlds has been made even clearer by way of an editorial cartoon. Despite what many people are saying, this battle is not about the right to free speech or the clash between two people groups. This is about two very different Gods, one real and one fake, and man's narrow interpretation of the truth. Muslims are taught that Jesus was never crucified, and instead that Allah saved him from misery and humiliation on the cross. They refuse to believe that Allah would permit such mockery to occur. John Piper, in his article Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ’s Work, Not Muhammad’s, said this:

For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:25).
The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.

So what does this mean for Christians?

It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to “share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).

What an honor.


-Stephen Meador

posted by stephen @ 9:58 PM 28 comments