Worldliness

Listening to a great audio book called Worldliness by C.J. Mahaney.  It is one of the audio books that I received from Christian Audio, from their reviewers program.

I just finished Chapter 3, which was about music.  Chapter 2 focused on Television and other media, and it was absolutely convicting.  This chapter on music was equally thought-provoking, but the overall experience of this book is to stir up my thoughts in ways that I don't always want to go.

I will give you a full rundown eventually, but for now, here  is a great review.

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Anthem - Book Review

A couple of weeks ago I finished the King Raven Trilogy and knew I needed some more fiction.  So, I headed to my local public Library and browsed through the books.  I hit the Science Fiction section and picked up The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, then I started scanning through the general fiction section.  My eye caught the name Ayn Rand and I picked the smallest book she had, Anthem.

Ayn Rand has been talked about lately because she writes about what might happen if some of the various political trends that we see at work today were carried into the future.  The scary thing about her works is the amazing similarity between the proposed future and what is actually happening now.

On the back cover of Anthem we read this:

He lived in the dark ages of the future.  In a loveless world he dared to love the woman of his choice.  In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization he had the courage to seek after knowledge.  But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted.  He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: he had stood forth form the mindless human herd.  He was a man alone.

I found Ayn Rand's writing to be really quite engaging.  In fact, I went today and picked up one of her more famous works titled, Atlas Shrugged.  In Anthem, I enjoyed following the hero of the story as he began to discover and find new knowledge, as he groped for the one thing that was missing.  Unfortunately the one thing that Any Rand promotes as the key missing ingredient is the self.

In her own words, in the final chapters of the book, the hero of the story comes to a full realization of the core reality of mankind.  He relates this new understanding, as he has now broken free from the individualess crowd of humanity, in this way:

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and the impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey? 

But I am done with this creed of corruption. 

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. 

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into begging, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. 

This god, this one word: 

"I."

That's it.  That is the crux of the book.  Man is fulfilled when he begins to worship himself.  It was so sad, actually.  I wanted to jump into the story line and tell this character about something bigger, something grander.  I wanted to share the glorious gospel of grace.  Unfortunately it is just a story.  Even more unfortunate is the reality of the crowds of people who have come to the same conclusion. And sadder still is the sinking realization of my own tendency to live out that conclusion.

I know this isn't much of a book review, but I did want to share my thoughts on this book.  This is, after all, a blog called, Harmless Thoughts.

Earth Day 2011

In case you hadn't heard, this year Earth Day falls on Good Friday. This is actually quite fitting.  You see, nearly 2000 years ago, the earth trembled and shook in the presence of the High King of Heaven as He accomplished the greatest work to ever happen on this very earth.

NASA's Image of the Day

It's Friday

Sunday (Holy Week)

This is the day that has become known as Palm Sunday.  We also refer to this as the day of the Triumphal Entry.  Bethany is only a few miles outside of the city and that city becomes the “home base” of Jesus’ final week.

Before Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is near the mount of Olives, he sends two disciples into Jerusalem to get a Donkey.

saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
(Matthew 21:2-3 ESV)

Getting this donkey's colt may seem like an odd event, but the gospel writers realize this was a fulfillment of prophecy and quote Zechariah 9:9 as an explanation.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9 ESV)

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding on this donkey, people were laying down their coats and palm branches.  Mark also tells us this:

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
(Mark 11:9-10 ESV)

Luke adds this:

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
(Luke 19:37-40 ESV)

And John tells us this:

The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
(John 12:17-19 ESV)

Luke also tells us about this event on the way into the city.

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
(Luke 19:41-44 ESV)

click for image source

As most people would do entering a capital city, he visits the main attraction, The Temple.  This temple is a huge construction.  It is the dominant feature in the city of Jerusalem at this time.  It would have been the tallest structure and by far the largest structure. (considering the entire temple complex.)

At some point this interaction takes place.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
(John 12:27-36 ESV)

This interaction helps us to see the disconnect between the real and great and glorious purposes of the Messiah compared to what the people were expecting. Though all of the gospel accounts don’t tell us this, Mark lets us know that Jesus heads back to Bethany that first night.

And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
(Mark 11:11 ESV)

Friday/Saturday

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
(John 12:1 ESV)

Bethany is a little town only about 2 miles from Jerusalem. So, exactly one week before Jesus is to be crucified, He arrives in Bethany.  John makes sure to point to the presence of Lazarus.  This plays a role later.

Also on this day, Mary anoints Jesus.  She anoints him with Pure Nard, an oil extracted from a root.  Judas doesn’t like that she has done this.  He makes a comment about how it could have been sold and how much it was worth.  John tells us this:

“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
(John 12:5-6 ESV)

Jesus, though he would have known Judas' heart, instead only responds to the statement itself.  He then alludes to the upcoming crucifixion.  John relays the story this way:

Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
(John 12:7-8 ESV)

At some point after these events a crowd shows up.  They were wanting to see both Jesus and Lazarus... the famous man who was raised from the dead.  Because of this the Pharisees and the Chief priests start plotting to kill both of these men, the miracle worker and the evidence.