Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time For A Theology Binge
Haven't updated in a while since I've been insanely busy and exhausted. Been taking a lot of naps. I wish I was still on spring break. Sigh.
***
I have gotten hooked on a new show and I can't finish it! I started watching In Treatment on HBO's website. It's a really well-written show about a psychotherapist and his weekly visits with four patients, as well as his own sessions with a therapist. But the website only has the first three weeks of the show to view, and I've caught portions of the latest two weeks on television. It's weird, because I know how things begin and how things are ending, but not about the transition between. I guess I'll have to find a way to watch the rest of the season after it's over.
Last Sunday I also caught the first two parts of the HBO mini-series John Adams. It's pretty interesting; I guess I'll have to keep watching. I never realized Adams was such a driving force behind the creation of the Declaration of Independence and getting the help of France in the Revolutionary War. Oh, and if George Washington was anything like David Morse portrays him, then he was way more intense than I'd imagined. Makes me want to shave my head, put on a wig, and go fight some British scum!
***
Last week I headed down to the Vintage21 offices downtown to talk to a few of the pastors about getting more involved. I also emailed them around two pages of theology-related questions. The past year I've started re-examining a lot of assumptions I previously held, some about "small" things and others about "big" things. I've gotten my hands on some recommended books, so it's time for a theology binge!
First up: a short little book by N.T. Wright about eschatology (the study of the end of the world). I've heard good things about Wright and have been meaning to read his work for a while, and so far he hasn't disappointed me. I'm only a few chapters in but he talks about how people have latched on to different interpretations about the Millennium and the return of Christ, the latest of course being the "Left Behind" sensation which swept the nation. I mean, I read a few of the books and they're not bad, but you have to admit some people take it way too literally and act like that's what's definitely going to happen. That's actually a very recently interpretation called dispensationalism that got started around 100-200 years ago. Anyways, it's interesting to look at how the end of the world has been interpreted throughout history and how there's usually a surge in interest in it around the turn of the new millennium (people thought Jesus was coming back in the year 1000, too). More thoughts to come after I finish the book.
***
This is the best PSA ever:
***
Did anyone catch that awesome speech Obama gave on race after the controversial comments made by his pastor? I just caught the highlights on the news. Even Jon Stewart stopped joking around long enough to observe: "And so, at 11:00 am on Tuesday, a prominent politician spoke to Americans about race... as though they were adults."
In case you haven't realized it by now, I'm an Obama fan. Also, though I've been saying it for a while, I am now officially stating now on my blog that I believe this man will be the next President of the United States. I'm calling it. It's gonna happen. You read it here first.
Quote of Da Moment:
“To affirm ‘the authority of scripture’ is precisely not to say, ‘We know what scripture means and don’t need to raise any more questions.’”
--N.T. Wright
***
I have gotten hooked on a new show and I can't finish it! I started watching In Treatment on HBO's website. It's a really well-written show about a psychotherapist and his weekly visits with four patients, as well as his own sessions with a therapist. But the website only has the first three weeks of the show to view, and I've caught portions of the latest two weeks on television. It's weird, because I know how things begin and how things are ending, but not about the transition between. I guess I'll have to find a way to watch the rest of the season after it's over.
Last Sunday I also caught the first two parts of the HBO mini-series John Adams. It's pretty interesting; I guess I'll have to keep watching. I never realized Adams was such a driving force behind the creation of the Declaration of Independence and getting the help of France in the Revolutionary War. Oh, and if George Washington was anything like David Morse portrays him, then he was way more intense than I'd imagined. Makes me want to shave my head, put on a wig, and go fight some British scum!
***
Last week I headed down to the Vintage21 offices downtown to talk to a few of the pastors about getting more involved. I also emailed them around two pages of theology-related questions. The past year I've started re-examining a lot of assumptions I previously held, some about "small" things and others about "big" things. I've gotten my hands on some recommended books, so it's time for a theology binge!
First up: a short little book by N.T. Wright about eschatology (the study of the end of the world). I've heard good things about Wright and have been meaning to read his work for a while, and so far he hasn't disappointed me. I'm only a few chapters in but he talks about how people have latched on to different interpretations about the Millennium and the return of Christ, the latest of course being the "Left Behind" sensation which swept the nation. I mean, I read a few of the books and they're not bad, but you have to admit some people take it way too literally and act like that's what's definitely going to happen. That's actually a very recently interpretation called dispensationalism that got started around 100-200 years ago. Anyways, it's interesting to look at how the end of the world has been interpreted throughout history and how there's usually a surge in interest in it around the turn of the new millennium (people thought Jesus was coming back in the year 1000, too). More thoughts to come after I finish the book.
***
This is the best PSA ever:
***
Did anyone catch that awesome speech Obama gave on race after the controversial comments made by his pastor? I just caught the highlights on the news. Even Jon Stewart stopped joking around long enough to observe: "And so, at 11:00 am on Tuesday, a prominent politician spoke to Americans about race... as though they were adults."
In case you haven't realized it by now, I'm an Obama fan. Also, though I've been saying it for a while, I am now officially stating now on my blog that I believe this man will be the next President of the United States. I'm calling it. It's gonna happen. You read it here first.
Quote of Da Moment:
“To affirm ‘the authority of scripture’ is precisely not to say, ‘We know what scripture means and don’t need to raise any more questions.’”
--N.T. Wright
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 3/19/2008 08:48:00 PM 
