Happy Friday,
Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his being.
Hebrews 1
One of the reasons the Bible thunders against idolatry is because our Father has given us a perfect image of Himself. Jesus is not just a great person, remarkable leader, good teacher, wise mentor, and moral reformer; He is King, Servant, Father, Husband, Judge, Comforter, Shepherd, Lamb, Fortress, Counselor, AND the true icon of God. He is the exact imprint of his being. If you want to know what the Father is like, gaze at the Son.
WEIRDER: Our World is no longer just Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic — it’s now WEIRDER — i.e., it’s the first five, plus Ex-Christian and Romantic. (The last has nothing to do with Hallmark cards or Valentine’s Day. It is referencing the late 18th-century movement that promoted subjectivity and elevated individualism.)
Without Comment: 1) The oldest members of Generation Alpha — those born between 2010 and 2024 — are about to start high school; 2) Nearly 25% of the United Methodist Church’s 30K churches recently disaffiliated over issues of sexuality and authority; 3) Before Prohibition, the average American male consumed three times more alcohol than today; 4) There are more than 80 different types of Oreo Cookies (including Wasabi in Japan); 5) The US set a record for oil and gas production in 2023; 8) Life expectancy in the US climbed slightly in ’23, but remains below 2020; 6) During the original run of Seinfeld, the show’s costumers had a hard time finding clothing for Kramer because his quirky style became so popular the general public bought up all the vintage clothing that made up his look; 7) According to this Palestinian Center for Policy Survey and Research poll, 72% of Palestinians believe the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel was correct; 8) According to YouVersion, those who read the Bible at least four days a week are: 59% less likely to view pornography; 407% more likely to memorize Scripture; 228% more likely to share their faith with others and 231% more likely to disciple others.
IS2M: 1) Those who say they want more Jesus and less Paul often know little about either. The most disruptive passages in the New Testament — e.g., Matthew 13:41f and 25:31-46 and Luke 14:26f — come from Jesus, not Paul; 2) Society needs thoughtful critics, but the internet has given us too many basement-dwelling laptop jockeys who confuse snarky comments with actually doing something. They should all be forced to memorize Teddy Roosevelt’s comments about critics; 3) If you spend more time reading books from living authors than from dead ones, you are doing it wrong; 4)Claudine Gay’s resignation secures her December 5th hearing a place alongside the McCarthy hearings, the Watergate hearings, Oliver North’s Iran Contra testimony, and the Clarence Thomas/ Anita Hill confirmation hearings; 5) C-SPAN provides little must-see TV, but occasionally it does; and 5) Most effortstomake Christianity relevant only make it less relevant.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to twalking — a conjunction of walking and texting that has joined slicing bagels as a leading cause of ER visits — and abrosexual, a new sexual preference term used to describe someone whose sexual identity “fluctuates and changes.” Full honors go to duplicative language, previously spelled: p l a g i a r i s m.
Predictions: January was named after the two-faced Roman god, who was able to look into both the past and the future. Humans lack such skills, but that doesn’t keep us from trying. Most of the ’24 predictions I’ve run across have been very ho-hum. (We are going to have a crazy election cycle? You think? We will hear more about AI and cyber security threats? Where do you get this stuff? The one that got me to sit up is the prediction that Beelzebub has overplayed his hand, and we are headed for a revival. May it be so!
BTW: I was aware that New Atheism had fallen off the front page a while ago, but I didn’t know the full story. This podcast may be too much inside baseball for some, but I found the whole series fascinating.
CS Lewis: Click here to learn more or sign up for the six-week Lewis class I start teaching on January 30th.
Closing Prayer: Dear Lord, help me keep my eyes on you. You are the incarnation of divine love, you are the expression of God’s infinite compassion, you are the visible manifestation of the Father’s holiness. You are beauty, goodness, gentleness, forgiveness, and mercy. In you all can be found. Outside of you, nothing can be found. Why should I look elsewhere or go elsewhere? You have the words of eternal life, you are food and drink, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are the light that shines in the darkness, the lamp on the lampstand, the house on the hilltop. You are the perfect icon of God. In and through you, I can see and find my way to the Heavenly Father. O Holy One, Beautiful One, Glorious One, be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Guide, my Consoler, my Comforter, my Hope, my Joy, and my Peace. To you, I want to give all that I am. Let me be generous, not stingy or hesitant. Let me give you all—all I have, think, do, and feel. It is yours, O Lord. Please accept it and make it fully your own. Amen. (Henri Nouwen, 1932 – 1996)