Renew

"The great intellectual tradition that comes down to us from the past was never interrupted or lost through such trifles as the sack of Rome, the triumph of Attila, or all the barbarian invasions of the Dark Ages. It was lost after the introduction of printing, the discovery of America, the founding of the Royal Society, and all the enlightenment of the Renaissance and the modern world. It was there, if anywhere, that there was lost or impatiently snapped the long thin delicate thread that had descended from distant antiquity; the thread of that unusual human hobby: the habit of thinking."  G. K. Chesterton

There are many fans of Les Misérables in the world. I am one of them. My wife and I have seen the 1980 musical, the 1998 dramatic film, and now the musical that is currently playing in theaters. We've been moved to tears each time we've seen it. Reactions to the film have been fascinating to hear and read. Most people are buzzing about the music, the live recordings of the vocals that were used and have become a rarity in films. Most were stirred, even stunned, by the performances, though many panned Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Javert. There have been a good number shocked by the crass vulgarity in the film (Rated PG-13). Bob Bixby, on his blog Pens é es , had this reaction: I was bemused by the many Christian lovely ladies in the blogosphere who were scandalized by the Lovely Ladies song (and Master of the House ). Haven’t they ever listened to the actual words of that song? The lyrics are famous. The movie did not falsely advertise its elf. It was a screenplay of t...

Over the Christmas holidays, my parents came down for a visit. We had a wonderful time celebrating Christ's birth. For me the highlights were having my mom and dad in our Christmas services. During one small group class we went through Ephesians 4:4, 5--"There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call--one Lord, one faith, one baptism." I knew our discussion would be interesting. You see, I'm a Presbyterian pastor. My mom and dad are Baptists. Christians have disagreed about the proper mode and subjects of baptism since the early days of the church. We all agreed, however, that "one baptism" here refers to the baptism of all believers into one body, which is the result of the Holy Spirit bringing us alive in Christ. Baptism is an outward sign of the inward reality of the believer being in Christ as the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. All genuine believers who are "in Christ" a...