Toward a Biblical Understanding of Music, Part 1

In the next several days, I want to go on a journey of the Scripture with you, looking at the major truths that relate to music, and make a plea to you to practice the truths we discover. There are so many different directions we could go in discussing music and worship. It’s a little like trying to communicate the vastness of the solar system from the relatively small space inside a planetarium. Music itself is a vast topic and God’s Word addresses that topic over 800 times in its sixty-six books. So we will begin a journey, painfully aware of our own ignorance and inadequacy yet confident in our Guidebook. I also want to take some time in these sessions to deal with specific questions you have. So, as you read each of these posts and a question comes into your mind, post it and I will do my best to address that issue.

The Da Vinci Code and the Bible

(This paper was originally presented as part of a series on The Da Vinci Code for Red Rocks Baptist Church on April 26, 2006.  It deals with the erroneous claims the book makes about the canon of Scripture.)

SYNOPSIS OF THE DA VINCI CODE
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. Solving the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci…clues visible for all to see…and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.  

Cal Thomas: Christian Columnist

In four short days, I will have the privilege of being reacquainted with nationally-syndicated columnist Cal Thomas.  He is coming to speak at our school's development banquet this weekend.  It's been just over a year since I first interacted with Cal in a SharperIron interview.  Although I prepared for that interview to meet a famous journalist, I came away from the meeting having come to know a dear brother in Christ.  Cal is a dedicated Christian as was evidenced by many of his statements in that SI interview.  One question he was asked was "You've been a columnist for years, talk show host, an author, a Fox News host—do you have dreams and aspirations that are yet unfulfilled and what would that be?"  Cal's reply was precious:

Midterms

A while back, I read a post at Dan Burrell's blog, Whirled Views, about his worry for the Republican Party (GOP) with the upcoming midterm elections.  As a staunch Republican myself, I vehemently disagreed with him.  Upon more reflection, I began to be convinced that he may be right after all.  I didn't and do not agree with Dan's assessment of the GOP; however, I think the public's opinion about the GOP may be eroding, based on recent polls.  In that sense, the GOP is in real trouble.  Perception is as important, or perhaps more important, than reality in politics.

To My Sinning Brother, With Love

This is a letter I wrote almost two years ago to a dear brother in Christ who chose sin over obedient love to the Lord.  The name has been changed to protect his privacy.   Tonight, one of our church members called me up and put me on a speakerphone as he witnessed to a man who claimed once to be born again but now espouses a Gnostic faith. 

Desire

I'm feeling rather blah.  It's a miserably rainy morning in Colorado.  It's 33 degrees with the tremendously bright prospect of getting a whole 6 degrees warmer at the peak of the day.  My daughter's field trip to the zoo is canceled.  This would be a great day to cancel a good many things.

I'm exhausted.  Did I mention it's Monday morning?  There is no doubt that Monday morning is my most difficult day of the week.  I don't want to get out of bed.  I don't want to teach high schoolers.  I don't want to think.  I want to sleep. 

Finally…

With great joy, I observed the return of SharperIron this morning.  I like the new look (thanks, Austin!); and, despite a few bugs, I'm sure SI will be humming again in no time.  It was a HUGE bummer to lose all the forum discussions of the last 6 months.  I wonder how quickly/slowly these conversations will re-emerge? 

Is It Worth It?

From today's Denver Post:

In a March 28 e-mail to friends, Weikel talked about the media, how reporters came on the third anniversary of the war and wanted to know: "Is this effort worth it? Is it worth our soldiers lives?"

Weikel wrote: "No sacrifice is easy and the loss of every soldier is heart wrenching. However, the liberty of 26 million people is worth it. … A large amount of the population is under the age of 18. The guys on patrol can attest to this as they're mobbed daily by the 'munchkin brigades' demanding chocolate and soccer balls. You see these children and can't help but feel that their future is worth it."

Lend Me Your Ears!

In John Bunyan’s classic book The Holy War he introduces us to a town named Mansoul.  Bunyan describes the town as built by a wonderful King named Shaddai who lived in a magnificent castle in the middle of the town.  The town is further described as having five gates: eye-gate, ear-gate, feel-gate, nose-gate and mouth-gate.  These were the only entrances into the town and the gates could only be opened from the inside.  Bunyan is teaching us two valuable lessons: (1) the path to a human soul is only reached through our five senses and (2) those senses are controlled by our will.  Today we’re going to focus in on the ear. The ear is a wonderful creation and as we have seen is carefully designed by God to help us interact with the world around us.  Of course what we allow into our soul through the ear-gate will influence us, both negatively and positively. So, what does the Bible teach us about our ears and the art of listening?

Men Just Can’t Listen Like Women!

Hey, listen up. Here’s some important information. Researchers have discovered that men and women listen differently. Women listen with both sides of their brains, while men listen with just the right sides of their toes.

Well, not exactly. But the results would be the same. Men listen with mostly the left sides of their brains, according to a study by Dr. Joseph T. Lurito of Indiana University School of Medicine.