2007-10-25

Towards a Theology of Invective

Michael Bauman has lots of good thoughts. Here's a snippet from his work on a theology of invective:
We Christians rightly recognize Christ as the very embodiment of love. But Christ was no bleeding heart, and He was no invertebrate. The “gentle Jesus meek and mild” never existed. He is a nineteenth and twentieth century fiction. The historical Jesus was another matter altogether. At various times, and when the situation demanded, the real Jesus publicly denounced sinners as snakes, dogs, foxes, hypocrites, fouled tombs and dirty dishes. He actually referred publicly to one of his chief disciples as Satan. So that his hearers would not miss his point, He sometimes referred to the objects of his most intense ridicule both by name and by position, and often face to face....

The objection raised by the invertebrates that Jesus spoke aggressively only to self-righteous Pharisees simply misses the point. Any sinner who rejects repentance, or any sinner who holds repentance at bay because he somehow believes it is not for him, is self-righteous.
See the rest here.

2007-10-23

My New Theme Song

I've had Chris Tomlin working on a theme song for me to use like a busker while I'm out trying to get a job. Tell me what you think:

[To the tune of Indescribable ]

Coming up from the mountains of East Tennessee.
A troublemaker from Holst'n Presbytery
Pro-life fundamentalism, vigor and spite
Rebutting the liberals with all of his might.
He's worth shunning

Thumps his Bible, he's unordainable,
What's with this guy? He puts St. Athanasius to shame!
Calling their Marxism fraud!
Confessional, pharisaical,
Falwell could take a few pointers on how to disclaim,
From this irascible clod!

Ever haughty, he tells his teachers where to go.
Disregarding their syllabus, looking for quotes.
Taking classes from Baptist gives the deans a fright.
So they tell him in meetings: "Chris, that just aint right!
They're the bad ones!"

Thumps his Bible, he's unordainable,
What's with this guy? He puts St. Athanasius to shame!
This seminarian's odd!
Pugnacious and untrainable,
Group therapy might not fix him or make him obey.
He presumes to hear from God....