So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:
the two pillars;
the two bowl shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network
the ten stands with their ten basins;
the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
Solomon looked at the fine work and said, “Huram, God has blessed you! Surely you could add another pillar in the northeast corner by next Wednesday.”
And Huram replied, “No, my lord the king. Even if God Himself were to command it, I could not do such a thing.”
Solomon's face was downcast, and he spoke to Huram: “But your hands were strengthened to build the two–and so quickly!”
“Yes, O king. The late arrival of my lord's specifications did cause me to humble myself before God and cry out for His mercy and power to fulfill your requests.”
“The Most High God could do so again!”
“But give ear to me, O king. My lord the king has graciously provided his servant with enough bronze to cast two pillars, and my hours of toil have already greatly exceeded the allotted time.”
“I have one more small request to make of you,” Solomon said. “Do not refuse me.”
Huram's face darkened. “Far be it from me that I should provide beyond our established covenant without a new covenant of silver and/or costly stones.”
“Huram, Huram. Though my heart is full, my hands are empty, for the project is vast and the silver is required elsewhere. Behold! I, Solomon, have nothing to give.”
“Make your request, my king.”
“Now that my own eyes have seen the pomegranates in their assigned place atop the pillars, a question burns within me…With what ease could your skill accomplish the changing of their multitude into palm trees and little camels?”
And Huram tore his robes and wept.
(HT: The Ghost of Clients Past)
Posted in Amy's Posts, Main Page, Miscellaneous 
2 Comments »
I’ve been discovering the depths of my own weakness and absolute dependence on God in my struggle to faithfully love and serve Him in the face of spiritual opposition, human opposition, and even the opposition of my own stubbornness, laziness, fear, and sin…I am so weak and small compared to the overwhelming evil and pain in the world–so unable to do anything to stop
it.
I know the warning in 2 Timothy 3:12-14:
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of….
But continuing is sometimes a discouraging prospect.
Thank God for His mercy in answering prayers for encouragement! I came across the poem “Who Am I?” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and was moved to tears. It’s strange how a confession of weakness from a man known for his strength can actually make me feel more hopeful. But I identify with his words in my own small way (my situation is only the tiniest fraction of his), and reading them brings me into communion with all the weak, dependent, barely-hanging-on lovers of God throughout time–weak men and women who were nevertheless used by God.
Who Am I?
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Who am I?
They often tell me
I would step from my cell’s confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a country squire from his
country house.
Who am I?
They often tell me
I would talk to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I?
They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I know of myself,
restless and longing and sick,
like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though
hands were compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers,
for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness,
for neighborliness,
trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I?
This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.
All glory to you, God, for whatever you accomplish through us and in spite of us! We are completely yours to use however you will.
Posted in Amy's Posts, Apologetics, Main Page, Poetry/Scripture/Liturgy/Etc. 2 Comments »
I noticed an interesting cultural indicator when I compared domestic and foreign box office totals last week, and I see today that it's still holding true.
I think people will have different reactions to the results for these two movies, but nobody can deny that they do say a few things:
X-Men 3 Box Office Totals (as of June 2)
Domestic – $151,731,000
Foreign – $84,673,662
The DaVinci Code Box Office Totals (as of June 2)
Domestic – $158,471,000
Foreign – $317,479,155
Believe it or not, I think the two are related.
Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, The Da Vinci Code 6 Comments »
June 3, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton
closeAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
|
One of the central messages of our culture is to “follow
your heart.” From our youth we are taught to do what feels right, to seek the
fulfillment of our desires almost regardless of how it may impact other people,
and more importantly, whether the choices we make are right or wrong. In Ethix,
Sean McDowell makes the case that there is a right way to live in a world such
as ours, and the decisions we make should be guided by the general principles
provided by the Bible.
|
Written primarily to a youth audience, Ethix
addresses many of the ethical and lifestyle decisions that teenagers face
today. McDowell begins with why it’s important to make right choices and how
they can be made. Building on this foundation, McDowell explores the issues of
truth, relativism, sex, drugs, abortion, homosexuality, marriage, war, and
decision-making in light of God’s will. Each chapter begins with a purpose
statement for the chapter and a brief outline of its contents. At the end of
each chapter are questions for review and small group discussion.
Being essentially a guide book for Christian living, Ethix
is solid foundation for both youth and adults who struggle with making good
choices in our mixed up world. Sean McDowell analyzes the issues with clarity
and charity when appropriate, fairly handling positions he disagrees with.
Instead of isolating people from difficult subjects, McDowell successfully
inoculates his readers against the ideas of our world that stand contrary to
Scripture.
Posted in Book Reviews, Ethics, Main Page, Roger's Posts No Comments »
May 25, 2006 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
I read and reviewed 13 of the books responding to The Da
Vinci Code in an effort to weed out the good from the poor. I acknowledge
that I missed a few, but I’m out of time and motivation  I graded each book
according to 5 categories, as explained below:
Readability- There are some technical textual, historical,
and historical discussions revolving around the claims of the novel. How well
are these adapted so that the reader can grasp them yet learn something? Is the
author’s writing style clear and engaging?
Arguments- Does the author provide sound evidence to back up
his or her claims? How well are the arguments put together? Are they
persuasive?
Diversity- Does the author sufficiently cover all of the
significant issues brought up by the novel?
Resourceability- Is the book easily used as an informative
resource? This would include indexes, references to websites and other books,
study guides, glossaries, etc.
Gnosticism/Sacred Feminine- Though The Da Vinci
Code makes a number of serious claims, most serious is its promotion of the
Gnostic worldview. How well does the author explain and critique Gnosticism and
“the sacred feminine”?
|
| Book |
Review |
Readability |
Arguments |
Diversity |
Resourceability |
Gnosticism |
Total % |
| Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell Bock |
Review |
8 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
77 |
| The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code by Richard Abanes |
Review |
9 |
9 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
68 |
| The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Ficiton? by Hank Hanegraaff and Paul Maier |
Review |
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
6 |
88 |
| Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James Garlow & Peter Jones |
Review |
10 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
10 |
96 |
| Reinventing Jesus by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, & Daniel Wallace |
Review |
10 |
10 |
8 |
10 |
6 |
88 |
| Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel & Garry Poole |
Review |
10 |
8 |
7 |
10 |
6 |
82 |
| De-Coding Da Vinci by Amy Welborn |
Review |
10 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
82 |
| Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by Bart Ehrman |
Review |
9 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
64 |
| The Gospel According to the Da Vinci Code by Kenneth Boa & John Alan Turner |
Review |
9 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
58 |
| The Gospel Code by Ben Witherington III |
Review |
10 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
90 |
| The Da Vinci Deception by Erwin Lutzer |
Review |
10 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
70 |
| The Da Vinci CodeBreaker by James Garlow |
Review |
10 |
8 |
10 |
8 |
9 |
90 |
| The Da Vinci Myth versus the Gospel Truth by D. James Kennedy & Jerry Newcombe |
Review |
9 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
58 |
| Discussing the Da Vinci Cdoe DVD Kit |
Review |
10 |
9 |
7 |
10 |
6 |
84 |
| The Da Vinci Deception Experience DVD Kit |
Review |
10 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
5 |
74 |
Recommendations:
|
Of the books I reviewed, Cracking Da Vinci’s
Code was by far the best. The authors understood the importance of dealing
with the Gnostic worldview as well as the other issues. It provides a
compelling defense of Christianity without going over peoples’ heads. |
For those who are looking for a brief analysis
of the novel, The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? is a short but quality
critique and defense of Christianity. Being only $5.99, it works for the
financially challenged as well. |
|
|
Reinventing Jesus is perhaps the most academic response I reviewed,
covering many technical details of textual criticism, history and theology.
However, it’s also very accessible and is a good introduction to those areas
for those who might be looking to dig deeper. |
There are primarily two DVD curriculum’s
available. One by Erwin Lutzer and one by Lee Strobel. While Lutzer’s has an
excellent leader’s guide, Strobel’s Discussing the Da Vinci Code is far
better in terms of content. Students will find it engaging and insightful as
they learn from real scholars who skillfully defend the Christian faith. |
|
Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts, The Da Vinci Code 1 Comment »
May 23, 2006 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
|
The Da Vinci Code is “a broadside attack on the basic foundations of the Christian religion and Western civilation…” (10) So say D. James Kenney and Jerry Newcombe. In their book, The Da Vinci Myth versus the Gospel Truth, they seek to expose the problems with the novel and provide a positive case for Christianity.
|
The book consists of six chapters. The authors being with an explanation of the novel and an analysis of the claims it makes. In the chapter three, they seek to explain why The Da Vinci Code has been so popular. Next they offer arguments for why people should accept the Bible as God’s inspired word and historical evidences for the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. They close with an explanation of the Gospel message.
What’s unique about this book are the last three chapters. Though the arguments can be found in many apologetics books, the arguments are nevertheless quality reasons for believing in the divine inspiration of the Bible and the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. The rest of the book is not as noteworthy. Several points of sarcasm detract from the book’s quality, such as in discussing the votes at the Council of Nicea being 316 to 2,” Two! Now that is really a very close vote: only two voted against the Nicene Council. Gee! We may have to have a revote on that.” (22) There were also a few editorial errors.
With several great responses to The Da Vinci Code already available, The Da Vinci Myth versus the Gospel Truth is a book to pass by. It lacks a thorough critique of the pagan worldview issues involved with the novel and even its good points can be found in better apologetics resources.
Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts, The Da Vinci Code 7 Comments »
May 21, 2006 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
|
The Da Vinci Code Breaker is the first reference
style response to The Da Vinci Code. Formatted much like a miniature
encyclopedia, it claims to provide information on over five hundred facts and
terms.
|
Entries in this book range from one sentence to several
paragraphs. They cover historical persons, church councils, and even
contemporary writers and their critics. It also covers early church, Gnostic,
and other apocryphal writings and concepts. Charts are provided periodically
for help in breaking down complex topics, such as the content of the Nag
Hammadi Library. For a few select individuals, timelines are constructed
highlighting important points in their lives. At the back of the book are a few
maps and advertisements for additional resources.
Not only is The Da Vinci Code Breaker unique in
its format, it’s also unique in quality. It covers every issue, item, and
person relevant to the subject in an accessible and informative manner. It
helps delineate the facts from the fiction in an easy-to-use format, as it
claims. Whether it’s used on its own or in conjunction with other responses to
Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code Breaker is a necessary resource for
those who seek to be informed about the truth.
Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts, The Da Vinci Code 4 Comments »
May 19, 2006 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
|
“We are facing a serious revolution regarding some of the
long-held truths about Jesus, early Christianity and the Bible.” (11) This
understatement sets the framework for Ben Witherington III’s book, The
Gospel Code. Thus, the book is divided into three parts focusing on Jesus
in Part One, Mary and Gnosticism in Part Two, and the canon of scripture in
Part Three.
|
Dr. Witherington recognizes that cultural context in which
these ideas are being challenged, and reflects on them in light of it: “What
counts in a postmodern culture is the power of rhetoric, not the accuracy of
reporting or analysis.” (21) In each of the areas he covers, Dr. Witherington
explains the current debates and interacts with the work of well-known
proponents of opposing views; such as Elaine Pagels and Marcus Borg. At the end
of the book is a glossary and subject and Scripture indexes.
I was pleasantly surprised with how good this book
was. While there were a couple of points I disagreed with, for the most part
Dr. Witherington takes sophisticated scholarly debates, makes them accessible
to a lay audience, and convincingly defends the historic Christian position. He
provides a quality analysis of Gnosticism and “the sacred feminine.” Overall, The
Gospel Code is one of the better books that offer a serious response to The
Da Vinci Code and recent critical scholarship.
Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts, The Da Vinci Code No Comments »
Since large portions of the Da Vinci Code novel consist of one character sitting the others down for extensive lectures on the “facts” of history, I wondered how well the story would translate to the big screen. Apparently, not well.
Just look at these quotes from the article “'Da Vinci Code' misses the mark for Cannes critics” about the recent screening in France:
“The Da Vinci Code” drew lukewarm praise, shrugs of indifference, some jeering laughter and a few derisive jabs Tuesday from arguably the world's toughest movie crowd: critics at the Cannes Film Festival….
The Cannes audience clearly grew restless as the movie dragged on to two and a half hours and spun a long sequence of anticlimactic revelations.
“I kept thinking of the Energizer Bunny, because it kept going and going and going, and not in a good way,” said James Rocchi, a film critic for CBS 5 television in San Francisco and the online outlet Cinematical….
One especially melodramatic line uttered by Hanks drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls, and the audience continued to titter for much of the film's remainder.
A friend of mine has been predicting the movie's a stinker based on its ubiquitous advertising campaign. If there's one thing the filmmakers don't need to spend money on, it's publicity…unless, of course, they know something we don't.
Now granted, the reaction of Cannes critics may be far from that of the person on the street, but maybe not. We've been fighting it with truth, but it could very well be that this movie has enough weapons of cheese to bring itself down. Which leaves us with this disturbing question…have we Christians now ensured that everyone will see this movie regardless of how bad it is?
Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, The Da Vinci Code 10 Comments »
In his article “We Hobbits are a Merry Folk: An Incautious and Heretical Reappraisal of J.R.R. Tolkien,” David Brin discusses the age-old clash between Romantic and Enlightenment thought. Star Wars vs. Star Trek. A world with ancient wisdom and lords vs. a wisdom-creating democratic society.
Brin asks the question, would we be better off with the romantic view of submission to the wisdom of the ancients (“truth” from a time when a few men controlled the definition of truth and goodness), or does our progress lie with the humanist, optimistic view of the masses' ability to bring about truth and freedom on their own? He comes down strongly on the side of the masses.
Brin describes how our stories tend to promote one view or the other, and Lord of the Rings is a perfect example of romantic propaganda against the masses. He light-heartedly suggests that the real truth about Middle Earth lies with a humanist reinterpretation:
My point? Well, LOTR is obviously an account written after the Ring War ended, long ago. Right? An account created by the [elite, royal] victors [as opposed to the democratic masses].
Now ponder something that comes through even the party-line demonization of a crushed enemy. This clearcut and undeniable fact. Sauron's army was the one that included every species and race on Middle Earth, including all the despised colors of humanity, and all the lower classes.
Hm. Did they all leave their homes and march to war thinking “Oh, goody, let's go serve an evil dark lord”?
Or might they instead have thought they were the 'good guys', with a justifiable grievance worth fighting for, rebelling against an ancient, rigid, pyramid-shaped, feudal hierarchy topped by invader-alien elves and their Numenorean colonialist human lackeys?
Picture, for a moment, Sauron the Eternal Rebel, relentlessly maligned by the victors of the Ring War — the royalists who control the bards and scribes (and movie-makers). Sauron, champion of the common Middle-Earther! [See his full reinterpretation here.]
Christians need not fall on either side of the debate as Brin defines it in his question, “So which is the Golden Age? Our past or our future?” Christianity promotes neither a romantic view of a past ruled by a few humans nor an unrealistically optimistic view of a future ruled by many humans, but instead, it recognizes our continuing place as sinful humans (whether few or many) who ought to be in good and rightful submission to the Creator who enlightens us with the truth about objective good and evil.
The idea of submitting to a god this way is repugnant to people like Brin who advocate suspicion of all authority. Did God really define right and wrong for us? Wouldn't we be better off if we became our own gods and defined good and evil for ourselves? (Sound familiar?)
Would we? Brin, in criticizing those in popular culture who do not present a positive view of the humanistic future, asserts, “One result [of pessimistic stories] has been a lessened sense of confidence [in the future], a sadly stylish fatalism in an era of unprecedented goodness and competence.” Breaking free from ancient wisdom has led to “unprecedented goodness”? The Enlightenment right of societies to define truth and evil for themselves, far from advancing the cause of goodness, produced the bloodiest, most cruel century in human history. But I will give Brin this: advanced collective human thought did lead to a greater competence in carrying out atrocities.
Come on folks, a little empathy [for the followers of Sauron]. Instead of railing against 'evil,' try to understand it. That's always been the best way to defeat it.
Just remember, in a world where we create right and wrong through the many voices of democracy–where there is no ultimate standard reflected in ancient wisdom, the word evil is always in quotes. And ironically for Brin, the mass of victors–no matter how truly evil–have a right to define themselves as good…and we can see from his own illustration how truth-giving that turns out to be.
(HT: Laurie Hall)
Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, Philosophy No Comments »
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