Some wonderful poetry

Jul 20, 2009

A recent commentator at Eclectic Christian named “Christian Kane” has some really interesting poetry that he has written on his site.

Here is a taste of what you will read:

Bloody Love.
13 05 2009

My eyes lifted upwards,
no angels, colors, or shooting stars I see,
But a bloody mess nailed to a tree.
Fixed between Heaven and Earth
Love stretches it’s arms wide.
If I take the embrace it will stain my shirt,
But that man’s blood will heal my hurt.

So deep a wound requires remittance
Yet the earth is blissful of its debt
For its worthless appetites does it whet.
Strike the band and sing a chorus,
You who are about to perish.
You failed your calling and your maker,
Now is the time to pay the piper.

Failure never tasted so sour,
Nor did a victory seem so unloved,
As the coming king who is dyed in blood.
The peoples fall beneath Him,
But his pace does not slow.
If you side with Him you will yet live,
Though the rest are sent through a sieve.

I hope you take the opportunity to visit his site, The Eternal Uprising, and sample more of what he has to offer.

1 Comment | christian art, crucifixion | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Ruminations on Sheep

Dec 11, 2008

By Peter Heath

I live in a Middle Eastern (Muslim) country, and currently I have 12 days off work due to National Day and Eid Al Adha celebrations.  We enjoyed the National Day fireworks from the roof of our apartment building (45 minutes of dual-source synchronized fireworks!).  And then we put ear plugs in so we could go to sleep with all the young guys driving/honking//backfiring till 3 AM on our street.  We remind our kids that this qualifies as a cultural experience!

Eid Al Adha is the Muslim festival that comes at the end of the Hajj (required journey to Mecca) and about 6 weeks after the end of Ramadan.  It also commemorates Allah providing a ram so that Abraham didn’t actually have to sacrifice Ishmael.  (That is the Muslim take on it.)  Muslims normally slaughter and eat a sheep as part of the festival.  In years past, apartment staircases here have run red with the blood of slaughtered sheep, but now residents must take their sheep to authorized slaughter-centres that are set up for the occasion.  (Sort of reminds me of polling places appearing and disappearing over elections.)  So, a couple of days ago, i discovered a sheep in the parking lot of my building!  Didn’t take too much imagination to figure out what was going on.  This morning, Mr Sheepy was gone, and it looked like the short-term owner took the legal route on preparing his meal.  Fortunately for Mr. Sheepy, he didn’t have any clue what was waiting for him.  Sort of reminds me of many of my friends.

Like my hockey buddies (yes, ice hockey).  A couple of nights ago, HockeyGuy turned to me on the bench and says “I think Jesus showed us the ultimate example of humanity.”  I pulled out my CS Lewis Handbook and replied that Jesus claimed to be God, so either he was loony or else he was/is God.  Either way, you can’t take the “great man” approach.  HockeyGuy basically said to me “I don’t think the I-am-God stuff matters.  I just like the Great Moral Man stuff.”  Must be that post-modern mindset kicking in, i guess, that someone can pick and choose what they like or dislike about Jesus and totally ignore the rest.  Or is that just human nature?  Isn’t that what the Gnostics did so very long ago?  Anyway HockeyGuy, who *is* a good guy, doesn’t believe he needs a Saviour and misses out on Jesus as the Eternal Sacrifice.  Hmmm, kind of reminds me of all the Muslims i know…

1 Comment | Church History, crucifixion, Gospel, heresy, theology, work of Christ | Permalink
Posted by peterofarabia

Unity in Communion?

May 13, 2008

communionRecently, over at The Internet Monk, Michael Spencer asked a question about how communion relates to unity with Christ. He wrote:

All Christians are united with Christ by the sovereign, gracious work of God himself. All the benefits of salvation come to us because of union with Christ. So how does union with Christ relate to your understanding of the sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper?

Growing up that I had been taught that one of the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants was whether Christ was physically present in the bread and the wine, or whether he was just spiritually present. I also knew that there were a variety of opinions on the topic. As I discovered in reading the comments to Michael Spencer’s post, these opinions were quite varied, and held quite fervently. So fervently in fact that I found two things happening.

  1. People were less than charitable in describing each others positions.
  2. A number of people would not take communion with you unless you shared their opinion.

Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | communion, crucifixion | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Why the change in the crowd? Part 2

Apr 5, 2008

In part 1 of the topic “Why the change in the crowd?” I looked at why the crowd had changed from shouting “Hosanna”, to shouting “Crucify him”.

I concluded that the first crowd was made up of Jesus’ supporters from the North, who were staying outside the city with him, and coming into Jerusalem with him in the morning.

The second crowd was organizes by the chief priests and temple leaders. It was gathered very early in the morning, well before Jesus’ supporters had come into the city.

What struck me about this is that the chief priests, temple leaders, and pharisees represented what society would have considered to be among the most spiritual people in society. Yet these people were the ones that were most threatened by the new wave of the Spirit that had come in the form of Jesus Christ. It is a natural inclination to be suspicious of change, to be resistant to ideas that might threaten your place in society, and to be wary of a new religious movement.

Then I thought of us today in our churches. Are we suspicious, resistant, and wary of new things. Do we like things just the way they are? “If it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it.” Over the last couple of years I have heard a couple of astute church leaders suggest that if the congregation is quite happy with the status quo, then some faith stretching exercises are in order. What happens when a new Pastor comes into our church (I am speaking generically here) and suggests that significant change is neccessary in order for our church to move beyond its plateaued state? Are we part of the crowd that shouts “Hosanna!”, or are we part of the crowd that shouts “Crucify him!”

Making sure that you have the right reaction to change will have a major impact on the future ministry of your church.

Comments Off | crucifixion, easter, palm sunday | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Why the change in the crowd?

Mar 17, 2008

The following is written by Internet Monk First Officer, Michael Bell.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:8-9

22″What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23″Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Matthew 27:22-23

What a difference a week makes! In one week, the people have gone from shouting “Hosanna” to shouting “Crucify him!” Unfortunately, in almost every sermon I have heard on the topic, the pastor gets it wrong. (Not picking on any particular pastor here, I have heard this preached badly six or seven times.) The Pastor assumes that the crowd in Matthew 21 is the same as the crowd in Matthew 27. But this is not the case. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | crucifixion, holy week, hosanna, palm sunday | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

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