Counterpoint

Back on November 18, I attended an event at Knox Presbyterian Church in Stratford that was a seminar and discussion on a book called "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. Harris has become increasingly well known for both this work, and another one called "Letter to a Christian Nation." Despite their titles, Harris is an avowed athiest, and a rather strident one at that. His book is a broadside against religious expression, and he is not particularly kind to religious moderates either. We tend to get lumped together as just as "irrational" as the extremists within our own traditions. I find that Harris has a very narrow view of religious, religious expression, as well ignoring the human capacity for wanting a sense of meaning in life.

I've been wanting to get involved in some of the debates, perhaps presenting a voice of reason from within a religious tradition, and yet I go into the hostile environments of the discussion forums and see what sort of drivel that people of faith are posting in order to try and defend the position of religious expression. I may give it a try, but unfortunately, some of the best arguments that Sam Harris has been able to provide are the very people that ineptly try to defend the faith.

I have been sincerely encouraged from my experience in the Revelation study here at Clarkson, and people's response to it that faith can be a natural, rational human response to life. So wish me luck, I may tread in places that angels fear to tread...

Things that make you go Hymn...

In a little over a week's time, the congregation will be holding a "Jubilee Memorial and Celebration Hymn Sing" --for those of you who don't already know what it's about, it's a chance for people in the congregation to pick their favorite hymn, and dedicate it either in memory or in honour of someone. It's been a really useful exercise, in that not only is it a chance for people to take some ownership in their favorite songs of the faith, but it's also an opportunity for me to learn exactly what those favorites are.

Admittedly, the learning process is always a struggle. As I have learned with this congregation, there is a wide variety of expectations when it comes to music, and keeping everyone satisfied tends to come in ebbs and flows. I had originally thought when I was going through my education for ministry, that this'd be easy, given that I have a fair bit of musical training. I should have known better...

Last Sunday was one such instance, where I had intentionally kept all of the hymns as familiar (at least in my understanding) as possible. I had picked the children's hymn to be "O Master let me walk with thee" --one which was considered to be one of the chestnuts of children's hymns when I was growing up. Yet I could tell from the congregation's response in singing it that whether or not it was well known, this was certainly not one that worked well as a children's hymn... Okay, maybe crash, burn, and exploding fuel tanks would be a far better metaphor... so back to the drawing board. At least the rest of the hymns got a favourable response.

With the hymn sing coming up, I've been examining the issue of church music with a bit more focus. Earlier tonight, I was looking through the 1997 Book of Praise's suggested list of Children's Hymns. If you have a hymn book nearby, it's on page 1056, way at the back. In taking a careful look, only about 1/4 to 1/5th of the hymns in that list are actually ones this congregation would be familiar with. Many of them are much newer hymns and songs that always seem to be a bit of a struggle whenever we try to introduce them. I've had some successes, but not always.

At the Nurture Committee last night, a few people said something that I found rather revealing. In terms of what we consider to be "good" children's hymns, they're usually the ones that we sang when we were children. The challenge being, is that the definition of we changes depending upon the generation. Whenever it comes time for the children's hymn, if anything, I think many in the congregation want to be transported back, to have a reminder of their own childhood, perhaps to grasp onto that treasured innocence of youth. We resonate most strongly with those experiences that are familiar, and certainly singing the old favorites does grant a great deal of comfort.

I look at the pool of children's hymns in the "new" hymnbook which is now coming up on its tenth anniversary of publication. So many of them are great, and have a powerful depth to them that can really communicate the gospel, and yet so many of them remain as unknowns. I am left to wonder how to walk this fine line of balance of renewing our faith, and yet being able to speak words of comfort and hope to all generations. It's not a hopeless cause, to be sure, but it has its challenges. The fact that the people of Clarkson Road have selected more than 38 different hymns for the upcoming hymn sing shows there's a diversity in this congregation that I don't think everyone is aware of.

Anyway, I could probably write a lot more than this, but I know I will be constantly coming back to this issue. I'd appreciate any comments that any of you who are reading this have to offer... just click the "comments" link just under this entry...

Hoaxes and Well Meaning Folks

I received an email from a member of my congregation the other day. It's the type that often circulates around the 'net, leaping from email inbox to email inbox as people forward them along. Here's the body of the text:

Read all of this one, it is interesting!! Read down to the very bottom highlighted in green. You don't want to miss this!! VERY INTERESTING-

1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq.
   
2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!
   
3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.
   
4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq
   
5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!
   
6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq!
   
7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq.
   
8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq.
   
9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel.
   
10. Amos cried out in Iraq!
    
11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.
    
12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq!
    
13. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.
    
14. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.
    
15. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.
    
16. The wise men were from Iraq
    
17. Peter preached in Iraq.
    
18. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, which was a city in Iraq!
    

And you have probably seen this one. Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots. Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it than Iraq.

And also, This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages... The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran (9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!

I BETTER NOT HEAR OF ANYONE BREAKING THIS ONE OR SEE DELETED This is a ribbon for soldiers fighting in Iraq. Pass it on to everyone and pray. Something good will happen to you tonight at 11:11 PM. This is not a joke. Someone will either call you or will talk to you online and say that they love you. Do not break this chain.

I have to admit that I rarely ever pass anything along... this one included. Every once in a while, I decide to check out the story, and see if there's anything to it. I have yet to find a single one of these that is actually grounded in fact.

Something smelled a bit funny about this one, because points 1,3, 15,16,17, and 18 were all a bit suspect, because the geography is a bit off. That, plus the fact that I am doing Reclaiming Revelation, point 18 is waaay off because of the symbolic usage of Babylon... even though Babylon is indeed in modern-day Iraq.

So armed with that information, I decided to check it out. Perhaps cross-referencing the verse in the Koran perhaps, or just a general Google search on the subject. Interestingly enough, I type in the words "Koran" and "Eagle" into Google, and the first page that comes up is this. Sure enough, this is yet another hoax or urban legend circling about our email boxes.

I guess what troubles me is not so much the fact that it is forwarded along by well meaning people, emails like this usually have some sort of blessing/curse attached to them to get people to forward them along... It bothers me that this particular item was likely concocted by someone with a particular political agenda (keeping the troops in Iraq), but who is likely someone actively involved in a church. At least I would make that assumption, given the references to Iraq quoted from the Bible. In other words, someone who is an active, practicing Christian lied when they made this up.

I guess I have to wonder out loud... have we missed the ninth commandment in here someplace?

Sigh. Maybe it's just a cautionary reminder to always take anything that comes to you on email, especially matters of faith, with a truckload of salt.

Home Again

Much too long since my last post... but I've been somewhat busy. For those of you who don't already know, my daughter Megan has been in the hospital for the past five days with cellulitis for the second time in four months. Fortunately, this time around wasn't nearly as bad, as it was on her arm, and it healed well enough that she was discharged.

As I type this, Megan is fast asleep in my Dad's arms, and thankfully we're home. Maybe life can return to normal soon...