Natural Reason versus Faith

This blog post I'm linking to is very old, but someone I know just mentioned it on Google Plus last week, so I saw it for the first time. On the other hand, it consists of some of Martin Luther's words, and those are older still. But what struck me is how appropriate they are for the times in which we live. I encourage you to go read the whole quote, but for my purposes here, I'll just say that Luther compares those who live by natural reason against those who live by Christian faith in the context of marriage and children. In natural reason, according to Luther, caring for a wife and dealing with a smelly baby who needs his diapers changed is abhorrent and something to be avoided. On the other hand, the Christian sees even the lowest of service as pleasing to God, and so he is glad to do the most menial of tasks for his wife and children.

It really struck me how Luther, writing from nearly 500 years ago, captured the spirit of our age so accurately. I've been seeing people that don't even want to live with another person anymore, because it's too much work and hassle. The other person doesn't do his fair share of the chores, plus you have to deal with his bad habits, and work around his schedule, etc. It's much easier, they say, to just maintain your separate abodes. Get together at one person's place for the evening, have dinner, watch a movie, have sex, and then you both live your own separate lives until you feel like sharing time with that person again. And having sex, of course. The natural man wants all the pleasures life can give him, but not any of the work or unpleasantness.

This so relates to being a stay-at-home mom, too. Modern feminists insist that getting a job outside the home is infinitely preferable to staying home and doing the things Luther talks about: making beds, washing diapers, taking care of the baby when he cries. Of course, you then have to turn around and hire someone to do those things, but somehow that is seen as acceptable. I've never seen anywhere how feminists view those women, the ones who are working but are doing those menial tasks that other women are too good to do. It might be interesting to find that out.

I find it sad that people are willing to forgo the benefits that marriage and children can bring, because there are lots of benefits. In fact, I could even suggest that the good one acquires not only outweighs the bad, but is better than the fleeting pleasures that the perpetually single-by-their-own-choice find, simply because the work required is more difficult. And in loving someone else despite the frailties, weaknesses, and times when the other person simply messes up, we find someone who loves us despite our frailties, weaknesses, and times when we just mess up. There is a true beauty there.

I Don't Get This

I'm not going to post the picture here, but if you don't want to go look, or if for some reason you're here past the lifetime of this picture on etsy, it's a pattern for an applique cross, with a large circle in the middle For. Your. Monogram. That's right, take a cross and slap your initials right in the middle. That INRI stuff, that's so old and busted. The new hotness is to put yourself in the middle of the cross. Honestly, I'm not sure where the creator of this applique was going with this one.

Dear Andrea Mitchell

I've done a lot of thinking about this, and you know what? I don't even know why you would presume that you could speak for me as a suburban mom, or even as a woman. I'm everything that you hate. I'm very white, and I'm not ashamed of the color of my skin. I'm not strictly evangelical, but you wouldn't know the differences in Christian doctrine if someone made a coloring book about it for you. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I've homeschooled my children. I've never had an abortion. I want a return to our Constitution and the founding principles of this country. It doesn't matter if you are who you are, a woman who married a wealthy old man and wouldn't be caught dead living the life of any of the suburban moms that I know, or if you were a dirt poor woman living in a ghetto. YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR ME.

Zzzzzz

It is truly a day of rest at Casa del Evil Genius. We're all quite worn out, and just trying to recover for the start of the work week tomorrow. Being a Christian, I have answers for the questions such as the purpose of life, but sometimes even those answers seem meaningless. It's a strange way to feel. Perhaps only people who suffer from depression can understand the feeling that life itself can feel like a burden.

We Must Obey God Rather Than Men, And We Will

So said the president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, today at a House Committee hearing.
I am glad that my church body was represented this morning, but I am cynically afraid that it will not do much good. We already know that the beliefs and the alliances of the left do not understand, much less align with any religious conviction. Indeed, I firmly believe that most of the members of our government only align their thoughts and beliefs with the acquisition and use of power. Still, those of us who have a conscience, and have Christian faith, must not be ashamed to let those temporarily in power on this earth know where we stand.

Merry What-Mas?

I am aware that secular families put up a Christmas tree at Christmas; many people who are not Christian do indeed celebrate this holiday. However, I found it interesting to see a Buddha ornament among the Christmas ornaments at my local World Market store. Celebrating Christmas as a "generic winter holiday" is one thing. Throwing another religion into a religious holiday is... different. Maybe something like adding Shinto practices on to Rosh Hashanah. But I suppose once people start redefining Christmas, they can just go on redefining it. I'm happy to be celebrating the birth of my Savior at Christmas.

I would have taken a picture, but the picture gallery on my phone is acting strangely.

Wondering Why

Oh dear. I'm frustrated, and sometimes angry, and sometimes even getting scared. The only way I can describe is that it feels like there is some bad mojo somewhere. Of course that's not Christian. But to say one feels under Satan's attack seems over-dramatic. And then I do feel like such a small insect in the vastness that is God's creation.

How Should Christian Entertainment Work?

I saw this at NerdMom's, but my post doesn't really have anything to do with her views, so don't attack the messenger. Do you remember Veggie Tales? Mr. BTEG and I found them enjoyable and we let our girls watch them, although they do have detractors, with perhaps good reason. I don't really want to go into that, but into Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer's big new project, called Jellytelly. I know that there are those who advocate Christians moving more into the areas where they are currently poorly represented, such as politics and the entertainment industry. However, watching Phil Vischer's video about what Jellytelly is, I wondered about a few things.

First of all, Vischer asserts that since kids are watching so much television, they should be watching better things than Hannah Montana. I say, first of all, why not encourage kids to watch less television? Second of all, shows like Hannah Montana are not *necessarily* bad. Watching Disney channel shows like these with my daughter, I am realizing that a) I preferred watching preschool shows like Blue's Clues and b) these shows are the food equivalent of a root beer float, sweet and fluffy but without much redeeming nutritional value. However, *if* you watch television with your children, parents can discuss issues with their children like dating, lying, respect to parents, friendship and more. It's not exactly worth watching the shows just to provide the opportunities for discussion, but kids like sweets, and they can be fine in moderation. Now, watching these shows, I can see why parents stick kids in their own rooms with their own televisions. :) However, I really don't believe that's healthy for kids, in more ways than one. I like being aware of what my daughters are watching and listening to, even if they're not my favorite things.

So, if Christians are involved in entertainment, what should it look like? Kids' television entertainment with religious storylines have been around since at least Davey and Goliath. Should shows have an explicit religious story and moral? These may have a place, but even there parents should be careful. Programs like Veggie Tales, that can have Evangelical messages confessional Lutherans may not agree with, may still have to be viewed with parental input. Can Christians also make shows about normal people who happen to be Christians, say, who go to church and pray before meals? Can it be done without the schmaltz of a 7th Heaven? :) Well, I don't know that my gifts run to these areas, so I'll just see what faithful Christians can come up with.

Thoughts on a Church Sign

Today I saw a church sign that read "Wanting Nothing But Christ and Him Glorified in 2009". But that's not how the Bible verse reads, is it, kids? It's "Christ and Him crucified". A little theology of glory instead of theology of the cross? Let us not forget that we cannot have Easter without Good Friday, cannot have the crown of gold without the crown of thorns. Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word.

Chaste Thoughts

Since I've blogged here before about Dawn Eden and her book, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On, I'm going to pass on to you this article that looks at women from both sides of the chastity spectrum, from a virgin who is saving herself for marriage, to a woman who claims to have had sex with around 180 men! A lot of the points Dawn makes in her book are brought up here, such as how women generally have a hard time detaching sex from emotion, how parental dysfunction can lead to promiscuity by their children, how having sex outside of marriage can actually derail a relationship. I also wonder if the abortion, which one of the women profiled had, was a further factor in her increased promiscuity, where she was shocked to realize that she had been with 90 different men. I find it interesting that the woman who is saving herself for marriage is quick to stress that she is not doing so for religious reasons, and the woman who has been with only two men and was brought up in a Christian household is emphatic that her parents were not strict. The stereotype still persists that people of religious faith, and specifically Christians, practicing chastity, are strict, no-fun types. Dawn sees herself, as a single woman living the chaste life, as someone who is developing her gifts, taking joy in everything life has to offer, and being a rebel against the current culture. She tries to define her life by what she has, instead of what she does not have. A good way to look at things, wherever you are in life.

Schreiblesefibel

The next time your kids complain about learning reading, or phonics, or handwriting, show them these pictures. They are from a book I happened to find on ebay. It doesn't appear to have a publishing date, but it obviously dates to way, way back, and belonged to someone who lived in Detroit, Michigan. It's called a Schreiblesefibel, which roughly translates to Reading and Writing Booklet.

It was published by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri.

First, the child learned simple phonics and handwriting, like l for Lampe and r for Rad. In German script.

The child also learned the sounds of letter combinations.

There were reading passages, like this doctrinal gem: Jesus, the Good Shepherd. A shepherd watches over the sheep. Jesus is my good shepherd. He leads me to pastures. I am Jesus' little sheep. Jesus gave His life for His sheep. He also died for me. Jesus redeemed me from my sins. He is my Redeemer. In baptism, I became Jesus' little sheep. Jesus loves the children.

There are other sections of reading and writing exercises.

Here are two pages that show the alphabet in upper and lower case. Looks fun, doesn't it?

Lastly, a page of prayers, and a page of I'm-not-sure-what. Some of the squares almost look like quilt blocks, don't they? Is this prayer familiar to anyone? Komm, Herr Jesu, Sei unser Gast, und segne, was du uns bescheret hast.

I Guess I'm Not a Christian

At least from the point of view of some as expressed by this blogger, who explains in greater detail James Dobson's statement that Fred Thompson is not a Christian, in that Thompson is not an evangelical Christian. Reading this blogger's explanations on how baptism can rate below asking Jesus into your heart, making a decision, etc., makes me sick to my stomach. It takes me back to one of the worst times in my life, when a teacher at my Lutheran high school was pulling the same song and dance, that being a Christian or not depended on what I did, not what God did for me. I was miserable, upset, confused almost to the point of insanity, wondering if I was pleasing God, if I meant my prayers, if I was really a Christian when I couldn't point to an experience in my life when I was "saved." I knew deep down I didn't need one experience to point back to in order to "prove" my Christianity, but I still felt like I must not measure up in God's eyes. Well, if my Christianity, my standing with God, my eternal future, depend on what I do; then I'm eternally doomed, because I can't do anything on my own. All my righteousness, all my "sinner's prayers," all my "decisions" are as filthy rags before the one true and righteous Judge. Instead, I am clothed with Christ through baptism, united with him in His death and His resurrection, and I daily put off the old man and put on the new. Simul iustus et peccator.

We Could Only Wish...

and pray.



Props to Scott Ott (via Dawn Patrol.)