Chick Flicks: Porn for Women?

Interesting read, and I agree: http://www.xxxchurch.com/women/chick-flicks-porn-for-women-who-may-not-watch-porn.html

Thoughts on Webber's Idea that Worship Does God's Story

Thoughts on Webber’s Idea that Worship Does God’s Story

            I am currently reading Ancient-Future Worship by Dr. Robert E Webber who has passed away but whose legacy still lives on. This book, part of the Ancient-Future series of books he has written, has been life-changing for many people, particularly worship leaders in our modern culture who struggle with presenting biblical worship to their congregations but also desire to see a fresh movement of God in that worship. In the first chapter, Webber introduces the idea of God’s story. He says that “worship does God’s story,” meaning that worship should present a narrative of God’s biblical story with man, a story of the fall of man, the redeeming grace of God, and the reconciliation of God’s people to himself. This story must be present in each event of corporate worship.

            I struggle, as a musician, with how to incorporate this narrative through the music in the church. The fact is that much of our modern church music neglects to present the story in its fullness. Often, however, an over-emphasis is given to one part of the story, whether it is God’s grace, the fall of man, or even reconciliation. All three must be present in order to present the full story of God and his work among his people. We must remember all three aspects of God’s story to present this narrative accurately in worship. Without remember our fall, we cannot fully be thankful for his grace; without remember his grace, the fall makes our very existence seem hopeless; and without reconciliation, things are indeed hopeless.

            The full story of God must be present in worship. We must not neglect to remember where we have come from in worship but also see where we are going. When we keep this in mind, freshness is always the result; worship will not lose its fresh perspective; and God will be honored.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY BORROWING IN THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES

Cross-disciplinary borrowing occurred in music theory during the 17^th and 18^th centuries but particularly in the 17^th century. This is not surprising considering the emphasis on trends in the arts discussed by many not only theorists of the time but also prominent scholars in other disciplines. One such group that discussed trends in the arts on a regular basis was the Florentine Camerata. During the 17^th century, “the arts had difficulty in not aspiring to the condition of music.”[1] In many people’s opinions, “Neo-classical art theory, the last flowering of Renaissance humanism, was bound to be destroyed. It could only flourish when reason was admitted as the final source and test of human works.”[2] The groundwork of Neo-classical art was an assumed identity of truth and beauty, all verifiable by the instruments of reason: “articulate language and mathematics.”[3] Cross-disciplinary borrowing during this period repaired many issues in the arts.

One example of this is found in the doctrine of the affections. This theory of musical aesthetics was widely accepted by late Baroque theorists and composers that embraced the proposition that music is capable of arousing a variety of specific emotions within the listener. At the center of the doctrine was the belief that, by making use of the proper standard musical procedure or device, the composer could create a piece of music capable of producing a particular involuntary emotional response in his audience. According to one version of the theory there are three pairs of opposing emotions that make six affects: love/hate, joy/sorrow, wonder/desire. Other authorities also mention sadness, anger, and jealousy. The belief in the doctrine of the affections permeated music theory during the 17^th century, which reveals theorists going beyond the discipline of music and literally aiming toward a particular affect.

Even theorists such as Joachim Burmeister reveal cross-disciplinary borrowing in their writings. Burmeister focuses heavily on poetics and text, again moving beyond the sole discipline of music to another area such as poetry. In his writing, Musical Poetics, he focuses specifically on “the alignment of the text”[4] among other elements.

These cross-disciplinary borrowings indeed present new ways of looking at and thinking about music. Changes in how one considers music was a reflection of changes in the arts in general. Groups such as the Florentine Camerata aided in bringing about this change. The shift from mode to keys became very apparent as well as a subtle focus on monody. Theorist, Joel Lester, speaks much of the shift between modes and keys, particularly related to German theory in the 17^th – 18^th centuries. “Johann Lippius, in several works published at the end of the first decade of the 17^th century, for the first time presented a unified harmonic conception of music, in which the triad was the basis of counterpoint as well as of the modes.”[5] This shift from modes to keys was one of many, which represented a change in thinking brought about by borrowing among disciplines.

These cross-disciplinary borrowings indeed stem from the desire of music theorists to give music a firm conceptual basis. Music theory became an area of study in its own right rather than simply a subcategory of mathematics. Although this shift began prior to the 17^th century, it was during this time that this shift was codified. With the collation of this shift, cross-disciplinary borrowing became not only possibly but also more apparent and available.

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[1] Dean T. Mace, “Marin Mersenne on Language and Music,” Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 14, No. 1: 2.

[2] Ibid., 3-4.

[3] Ibid., 4.

[4] Joachim Burmeister, trans. Benito V. Rivera, Musical Poetics (New Haven and London: Yale University Press), 153.

[5] Joel Lester, Between Modes and Keys: German Theory 1592-1802 (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press), 21.

ENERGY DRINK DEBATE

ENERGY DRINK DEBATE

            Which energy drink is the best? Are any of them good for you at all? Most energy drinks promise alertness, increased stamina, and better performance. There are basically two debates going on simultaneously, and most people fall into one of two camps. There is first the camp that believes that all energy drinks are bad for you, and then there is the camp that believes they are not but that certain ones are better for you. I fall into the second camp. I do not at all believe that energy drinks are bad for you. Of course, as I say that, I also admit that too much of a good thing can be bad so we must limit anything we take into our bodies. In my personal experience, Red Bull is the best. I say that this is from personal experience because it is the only energy drink that actually works for me. It indeed gives me increased stamina and better focus unlike some of the other energy drinks. I have even tried energy shots, and they do not seem to work. Red Bull is low in calories compared to other drinks; it tastes better in my opinion; and like I said, it works. Again this is my opinion, but having said that, the debate is closed. Red Bull is the best.

ISAIAH 26:4: TRUST

ISAIAH 26:4: TRUST

            What does the word, trust, mean to you? To me, it is an unwavering belief and reliance on someone or something. We are told many places in scripture to trust the Lord. The fact is that he is the only one worthy of our trust. For us to trust anyone else more is idolatry. Isaiah 26:4 is one such place that gives us the command to trust God, but even more than that, we are also given a reason for this command. There are two things we must observe from this scripture.

Isaiah 26:4

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Trust in the Lord Lasts Forever

            Trust in the Lord does not waver; nor does it end. The command here is to trust him forever.

We Trust Forever Because He Is Everlasting

            The reason we are to trust the Lord forever is because he is everlasting. The God of the universe, author of our salvation, our help at all times, and the rock we can rely on is everlasting. He will never end. For that reason, we are to trust him.

LAMENTATIONS 1: THE GRIEF OF A LOST PEOPLE

LAMENTATIONS 1: THE GRIEF OF A LOST PEOPLE

            A lost person is a sad thing to behold, and indeed a lost people is even sadder to behold. How does an entire group of people get to the point where they are lost though? Perhaps the process is the saddest of all. The book of Lamentations is a cry out to God from a people in distress because of their sin. The very first chapter, in fact, speaks to this matter, and in the grief of a lost people, we can certainly realize the necessary grief in our own sin and fallen nature.

Lamentations 1

English Standard Version (ESV)

How Lonely Sits the City

1 How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
    has become a slave.

² She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
    she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
    they have become her enemies.

³ Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
    and hard servitude;
she dwells now among the nations,
    but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.^[a]

⁴ The roads to Zion mourn,
    for none come to the festival;
all her gates are desolate;
    her priests groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,^[b]
    and she herself suffers bitterly.

⁵ Her foes have become the head;
    her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has afflicted her
    for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.

⁶ From the daughter of Zion
    all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
    that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.

⁷ Jerusalem remembers
    in the days of her affliction and wandering
all the precious things
    that were hers from days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
    they mocked at her downfall.

⁸ Jerusalem sinned grievously;
    therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
    for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans
    and turns her face away.

⁹ Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
    she took no thought of her future;^[c]
therefore her fall is terrible;
    she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has triumphed!”

¹⁰ The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
    to enter your congregation.

¹¹ All her people groan
    as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.”

¹² “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
    Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted
    on the day of his fierce anger.

¹³ “From on high he sent fire;
    into my bones^[d] he made it descend;
he spread a net for my feet;
    he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
    faint all the day long.

¹⁴ “My transgressions were bound^[e] into a yoke;
    by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
    he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
    of those whom I cannot withstand.

¹⁵ “The Lord rejected
    all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
    to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a winepress
    the virgin daughter of Judah.

¹⁶ “For these things I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
    one to revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.”

¹⁷ Zion stretches out her hands,
    but there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.

¹⁸ “The Lord is in the right,
    for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
    and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
    have gone into captivity.

¹⁹ “I called to my lovers,
    but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
    perished in the city,
while they sought food
    to revive their strength.

²⁰ “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
    because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
    in the house it is like death.

²¹ “They heard^[f] my groaning,
    yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
    they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought^[g] the day you announced;
    now let them be as I am.

²² “Let all their evildoing come before you,
    and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
    because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many,
    and my heart is faint.”

Sin Results in a Lost People

            What causes an entire people or nation to be lost? The answer is simply sin. I fear that this has happened in the USA. Our sin as a nation has resulted in a lost people. We must cry out to God and repent.

A Lost People Seems Hopeless

            Once a people is lost, hopelessness is the result. Looking in, all seems hopeless and pointless. We must remember, however, that although it seems this way, it may not be so.

Reality Is that It Is Not Hopeless Because the Lord Cares

            As hopeless as it may seem when a people is lost, it is not hopeless because the Lord cares. His ultimate goal is to redeem people. That is his business. We must take this to heart and be a part of that redemptive purpose.

KEEP THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN

Well, our government has shut down, and we are still living, still functioning. Go figure. It is amazing that government has gotten so large that people actually believe we will all fall apart without it. The fact is, however, that we could all use less government in our lives. Government is a source of destruction, not a source of help. It should not be a source of help either except in matters of protection. Biblically and constitutionally, government is meant to protect its people, nothing else. Why do we believe then that government is responsible for people’s well-being, education, feeding the poor, etc. It’s not! Nowhere in the Constitution or the Bible do we see an example of that, and honestly, the larger government gets, the more corrupt it becomes. Let us fight for less government and more rights of people.