Aint it the troot?

For Your Best Laugh Now, check out NEW-AGER HITS HEAD, LOSES CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS, at The Sacred Sandwich. Sommmmmebody call Dr. Phil!

Hands up, or hands down? Yes!

Go to THO for a humorous but thought provoking look at the problems associated with (obstructive!), hand-raising, in the music/singing portion of corporate worship. Am I 'against' it? Naw, but I don't think it's indiscriminately obligatory, nor is it particularly indicative of the true posture of the heart. Maybe so, maybe not! Sometimes so, sometimes no!

Do the scriptures fail to recognize the 'technological dilemma(s)'? Do we fail to see, or address, deficiencies that are intrinsic to some popular technologies? Is it at all possible, or likely, that some of the most popularly perceived worship enhancements are, in reality, impediments to undistracted, God-focused, worship? PowerPoint, and cacophonous instrumental accompaniment comes to mind. Even more egregious is the use of pre-recorded (canned) accompaniment. But I digress!

Anyway, clicking on the link to The Holy Observer will result in this message: Account for domain The Holy Observer.com has been suspended. I enjoyed the satire. Much of it was quite appropriate to real, and imagined, issues and situations that are worthy of intelligent parody.

Latin, anyone?

Milena Minkova et Terentius Tunberg loquuntur

De tribus porcellis -- De 3 porcellis

Not because I have any knowledge or expertise, but, because I appreciate the concept that a large percentage of english language words are derived from latin. It's fun to see, or hear, the words, and recognize the corresponding word(s) in our language. It's evidence for the evolution of language. If anyone detects inappropriate language in De tribus porcellis video, please let me know; I'll delete the video from this blog.

Thanks to the HEIDELBLOG, which I highly recommend, for my first awareness of the latin videos. Spend some helpful time there.

Great God, I Own Thy Sentence Just

Great God, I Own Thy Sentence Just,
And nature must decay;
I yield my body to the dust,
To dwell with fellow clay.
Yet faith may triumph o'er the grave,
And trample on the tombs;
My Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;
My God, my Savior, comes.
The mighty Conqueror shall appear
High on a royal seat,
And death, the last of all His foes,
Lie vanquished at His feet.
Though greedy worms devour my skin,
And gnaw my wasting flesh,
When God shall build my bones again,
He clothes them all afresh.
Then shall I see Thy lovely face
With strong immortal eyes;
And feast upon Thy unknown grace
With pleasure and surprise.
-Isaac Watts

I want to see this printed on the inside cover of my funeral 'flyer'! Weell, you know what I mean! I hope someone will do me the small favor of swapping "your" for "thy". I leave it intact here, for the sake of 'authorial honor'.

Rankin 'right up there'

Gary E. 'put me onto' The Rankin Family. They have some good sounds; I'm not at all tuned into some of the theological implications of the lyrics in, for example, the song Rise Again. It promotes an unmistakable reincarnational theme. I suppose it makes no difference in 'instrumental only', or when the songs are sung in Gaelic!
The Rankin Sisters (Cookie, Heather and Raylene) perform Taladh Chriosda

Scottish Gaelic

Thanks to friend Gary E., who assures that the music in the last previous post is gaelic, and that Julie is a Scot, as is confirmed by Julie Fowlis' website. This is a short blurb from her homepage:

...she is somewhat of an enigma as she sings in a language only understood by around 60,000 people - which accounts for only approximately 1% of the population of Scotland. She sings in Scottish Gaelic and spends her time touring around the world bringing ancient songs form the Hebridean Islands to new audiences. She is an accomplished musician as well - playing Highland bagpipes, smallpipes, whistles, oboe & cor anglais and three waltzes on the one row melodeon.

Classy folk

I really like these sounds. The second video reminds me of Celtic Woman, but Welch, I think. Sure and I don't understand a word of it, but the sound's marvelous.
Julie Fowlis with Donal Lunny and Bruce Molsky

Julie Fowlis - Hùg Air A' Bhonaid Mhòir

A Coupla Faves

And can it be


El McMeen Be Thou My Vision and Amazing Grace


Love Divine All Loves Excelling

Can creativity be shy on "Gray matter"?

The Grays hold-forth in south Kansas City.

Regardless the humor, creativity, and subjective appropriateness of The Steve and Kathy Show, It is plainly evident, resulting from some further research, that the Grays continue in the mode of their nearly fifteen years old charismatic/charismaniacal extravagances.

I supply a pertinent example of their ongoing complicity with the charismatic fringe lunatic types (read: Word of Faith, name it – claim it):

This, from a 04/24/02 ‘release’:

Kenneth Copeland, speaking to an overflow crowd, dedicated the House of Hope and Healing at World Revival Church Friday, April 19th. "Momentous...faith building...historic..." were the words audibly spoken in the crowd as so many gathered to hear who most consider "an Apostle of faith." (bold type & color text mine)

In his introduction, Pastor Steve Gray voiced the sentiments of many when he said, "Kenneth Copeland, through the work of the Holy Spirit, has upped the ante in Christianity so that all of us get to live better....all of us get to live in the blessings of Abraham. He has turned the course of the river over the years so that it blesses all of us and has affected churches all over the world to understand the attitude that God has towards His children." (again, bold type & color text mine)

And this:

These three myths may be destroying your life!
1) More money will ruin you.
2) More power will ruin you.
3) You're okay right where you're at.
Sound familiar? "The success went to his head"…. "He was a great guy until he got rich"… "He should have just stayed where he was at!" These sneaky little myths are exactly what may be limiting the effectiveness of your life.
Here's the real truth of the matter: God is a God of INCREASE – not a God of the status quo. He is not holding you back from success because "it will ruin you." HE WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED AND INCREASE IN LIFE! What did God do at the very beginning of the world? He increased! He wasn’t happy with the status quo and so He created something. Light BE! Fish and animals BE! And He made man in His creative, increasing image. What was God's first command to Adam? INCREASE! MULTIPLY! Fill the earth! And that's what He's still saying to His people. God wants you to prosper, He wants you to flourish in your jobs, your relationships, even in your physical strength and vigor.
Still don't believe it? Still happy with the same old paycheck every week? The same family gatherings that leave you empty and regretting? The same old routine in church…where nothing ever changes and NOTHING ever happens? (bold, color text - mine)

God “increased”? So, now He’s bigger? What is the nature of the “increase” that God most desires in those who are His? Surely not $$$, surely not in life-style and material wealth. I’m thoroughly convinced that, at best, this kind of drivel is bound to produce nothing more than “short term gain – long term loss”. Maybe he should re-address the issue of the type of increase that God is most ‘complicit’ in. ”NOTHING ever happens” – in the God exalting, God glorifying ‘means of grace’ that God commands, that is, the regular gathering of His people, for prayer, praise, public reading of the scriptures, and for the preaching of His Word? Read again: Short term gain – long term loss.

Last, but by no means least, this, from a post on Steve Gray’s blog:

…..“Maybe you didn't know that even God doesn't always get his way. It wasn't his will for sin to enter the world, but sin entered anyway through mankind's actions. Let's keep that in mind as our God is trying to do great things in the world to show himself strong and mighty to the nations.” (bold, italics, color text – all mine)

HUH!!? What a ‘TRY & FAIL’ god WE serve!!? I'm glad those words aren’t mine. You find the links if you want to pursue the Gray matter.

The Steve and Kathy Show!

It was 1980, I think. Marilyn and I attended a catered dinner at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn, in Kansas City North. The featured ‘entertainment’ for the evening was a singing group from Sedalia, Steve Gray and Jubilation.
Local radio stations had been playing the title cut from their 1979 record album, Promises – good sound, conservative contemporary. I bought, and still have, the ‘vinyl’. We enjoyed the evening, though it ended rather strangely: similar to an altar-call; anyone who was interested in remaining for further instruction in an enhancement to their holy spirit ‘relationship’ was invited to do so. I don’t know whether anyone did.
Fast forward to late ‘90s, my first re-introduction to the ministry of Steve and Kathy Gray was by way of news that a spiritual renewal was occurring in Smithton, Missouri, a few miles east of Sedalia. It was an on-going copy-cat event (the Smithton Revival) that purported to emulate, if not rival, the well known Brownsville Revival – aka the Pensacola Outpouring. I know nothing of what happened there (Smithton), but it wasn’t long until the principals, impetus, and emphases of this spiritual awakening migrated to the Kansas City area – the Grandview area, I believe. I also don’t know what became of the then current emphases on physical manifestations of the presence and work of the holy spirit, but I have a notion that some of the programs and video productions that are coming from their current ministry are much more helpful than those previous efforts. I can vouch for none of the underlying intentions, but I share some of the more obvious implied, or evident, evaluations of contemporary evangelicalism. Enjoy!
Real Preachers of Genius: Seeker-Sensitive Mega Church Guy

Sooo Dead, or picking up pocket change?

"In the movie The Princess Bride, Miracle Max pronounces the hero Westley to be “mostly dead,” and then continues to explain the difference between “mostly dead” and “all dead”:

Miracle Max: "See, there’s a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead. Now, mostly dead: he’s slightly alive. All dead, well, with all dead, there’s usually only one thing that you can do."

Inigo: "What’s that?"

Miracle Max: "Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

Note that the initial humor of Miracle Max’s declaration that Westley is only “mostly dead” is effective due to the fact that the viewer knows it to be ludicrous. “Mostly dead” is only funny because we know death to be a total state. Note also that for the narrative of The Princess Bride to continue with Westley as the hero, Max must assert that, “he’s slightly alive.” When we use the word “dead” in normal conversation (and when the Bible uses this word) we do not mean “slightly alive.” We may speak of someone having been beaten until they were “half dead,” but when we use this term, we only mean to indicate that the person was in serious danger of death. If we speak of a person being beaten to death, no-one hearing our words would expect the victim to recover. Once a person is pronounced dead by the doctor, it would be ridiculous to ask, “Well, Doc, how dead is he?”"

The preceding is part of a post at: Strange Baptist Fire