Couldn't Help Noticing

Non-Denominational?

Baseball is said to be America’s game. So, like America, it has followed the way of religious pluralism. It was just yesterday that the Washington National’s team chaplain would be denied access to the clubhouse for comments he made to a player during a chapel service.

The chaplain was asked by a player if Jews were “doomed” if they do not believe in Jesus Christ. The chaplain nodded in the affirmative (read the full story).

The story shouldn't surprise most people, although it is alarming to think of what will not be tolerated in private discourse with respect to religious differences. What caught my eye were two details of the story. First, the actual name of the player who asked the question of the chaplain was Ryan Church. Coincidence?

Second, and more seriously, is how the Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Greater Washington responded. The JCC Executive Director reportedly said that it would be better if non-denominational prayers would be offered so that players from all backgrounds would be able to participate in the chapel services. Now, this was not quoted so it could be a naïve reporter’s misinterpretation of what the Director said.

In either case, the point is obvious. Christianity and Judaism (as well as other religions) are understood just to be different denominations of the same greater church, according to this reporter, or worse, the JCC. This chaplain was designated to serve the team by the Christian Ministry Baseball Chapel Association. So, it should have been no surprise to the players in attendance of the truths claims made by an overtly Christian chaplain. Yet, protests are made because Christianity and Judaism are considered religious brothers with insignificant differences.

This is just more evidence that the label “Christianity” has been further distanced from the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To a pluralist society, all religions are synonymous. So, in the same way, I supposed it wouldn’t matter if we called Ryan Church by the name of Ryan Temple or Ryan Mosque?

The word to light

Congratulations to the winners of the Ignite Film Festival which was held on Saturday at the Sydney Town Hall. If you want to see what went down, you can order the DVD or tune in to Channel 7 on Boxing Day. Organise to watch it with your friends or family and maybe you'll get some good discussions happening!

(Ed: And for budding filmmakers who want to get on board for next year, the theme is "fire".)

Pastor best Passed Over?

The best way to deal with the crisis of gay Anglican bishops is to tell them about the Passover. Isn't it?

Well, that's how Paul deals with a similar problem of sexual immorality—the bizarre case of a man who has his father's wife—in 1 Corinthians 5. He goes straight back to the Exodus 12 story and explains how, through the sacrifice of a lamb and commemorated by the eating of unleavened bread, the whole people of Israel were rescued from Egyptian slavery.

Does this seem an odd reason for avoiding semi-incestuous fornication? Not to Paul. The Passover was a sign that the holy God had claimed for himself a holy people, a hard won process involving death and sacrifice. In the New Testament, the nature of that Passover sacrifice is revealed as none other than Jesus Christ himself—the true Passover lamb (Luke 22:14-23), identified by John as a lamb who “takes away the sin of the world” by dying on a cross (John 1:29).

Belonging to God means having been set free, by means of a terrible and wonderful sacrifice, from captivity—whether to Egypt, in the case of Old Testament Israel at Passover time; or more profoundly, to sin and rebellion against God. Anyone who truly understands the Passover sacrifice can't continue to tolerate sin.

You belong in the zoo

This would be funny if they weren't so serious about it:

Visitors to the London Zoo a couple of weeks ago saw what you might call an unusual exhibit. The eight new inhabitants of the zoo lived and ate and played in a cage in front of visitors, just like all the other species. Except that these new creatures were humans.

The “Human Zoo,” as the exhibit was titled, was just what it sounds like: a cage of humans in their ‘natural habitat’. For a few days, the residents of the cage had their own space next to the zoo’s primate area, where they played board games, listened to cricket on the radio, and waved to visitors. For the duration of that weekend, “Homo Sapiens” was just one more primate species on display.

Read the rest of the article.

Grace or Karma?

Here's a fascinating quote from a celebrity interview:

At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that. ... Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

The interviewer asks, Like what? “That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.”

Many U2 fans will be delighted to read this clear expression of a solid understanding of the Gospel from Bono. Plus there's more good stuff if you read the whole story.