The Kingdom Come

Since it seems there is a buzz in some circles about Frank Viola's book, Pagan Christianity I thought it fitting to dig up the review I did in November 2007. At the time, I was still part of the hyperpreteristⁱ movement so I have stripped the review of all hyperpreterist content. I hope the reader finds this review more comprehensive than some of the latest offerings.

First, let me say a thank you to Kurt F. for sending me the book and for graciously desiring my thoughts on it. I appreciate it and am honored that he has sought my input.

I immediately had difficulties with the book because in the Introduction of the book, Viola presented a hypothetical family who he was clearly trying to depict as being stunted in Christian growth & merely going through the motions of “church” – and implying the fault for this lay at the feet of the “institutional church” & all of its trappings.

So with the Lost series all wrapped up, we viewers of the non-predictable have moved over to a new TV series called The Event on NBC. I really do think that is why some of us are drawn to weird shows like this; so many shows are predictable. We want to be entertained and carried along by the story, not figure it out within the first 5 minutes.

The Event is clearly made in the same style as Lost; it even has the mysterious "Others" but in this case the "Others" are a group of aliens that crash landed on Earth in 1944. The U.S. government had been covering up the find, even to the various presidents that have come and gone, but now the current president (no, not Obama)Elias Martinez played by Blair Underwood has full knowledge of The Event that happened in 1944.

The TV series, LOST aired its final episode in May 2010, ending the six year run. The ending revealed a sort of pantheistic (god is everything) sense, especially during the closing scenes where the cast is depicted gathered in a "church" wherein we see icons and other elements from a hodge-podge of religions. The "church" clearly wasn't a Christian church. But perhaps the most pointed image showing the ecumenical or pantheistic intent was a stained glass window with the symbols of six different religions. People have been searching this site to see if the issue of the LOST window is addressed, so here I'd like to address it.

Among the many topics the Reformer, Martin Luther addressed was the topic of marriage. Luther, as you know came out of a culture where Papalism said that priests should remain celibate. Eventually, Luther himself did get married. I want to take some time to review a treatise by Luther titled, The Estate of Marriage.

Luther discusses who should marry and whom to marry, per the Bible and further Luther discusses whom should be celibate and why. I will review his three-part treatment in even smaller segments. Please refer to this link to see Luther's actual treatise as translated into English by Walther I. Brandt.

It is not secret to readers of TKC that I'm a sci-fi buff and have done reviews of movies and other TV series, but Caprica is perhaps the most controversial TV series I watch...as a Christian.

Caprica is a pre-sequel to the original series Battlestar Galactica which first aired in 1978 then a remake series was released in 2003 and ran until 2009. Caprica takes place 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica. But what non-sci-fi fans may find interesting is that so far into the series, Caprica could be a drama based on modern day events and characters. There isn't that "space-show" feel. There is indeed an element of advanced technology but not much more than our own. For example, one main character is Daniel Graystone which obviously is a depiction of Microsoft Tycoon Bill Gates. Otherwise the dress of most of the people reminds you of the 1940s on Earth.

It is interesting that every new generation of evangelical elites, whether it be conservative Calvinists or liberal Postmodernists seem to always go through a time of rediscovery. Christianity is supposed to be an historical religion, with continuity of foundation and purpose but so much time is expended simply rehashing the same issues that had been argued and settled often centuries before. I know some people enjoy this "journey" but to me it seems a waste of time to always be resetting to zero. Why can't we, especially as Christians simply stand firm in the foundations of our Faith? Why do people think it necessary to go through years and years of doubt, as if that is some great achievement? It is like the once obese person celebrating after achieving some milestone weight reduction while it would be better that we celebrate the person who always maintained their diet and never became obese. But such is our culture, always celebrating the overcomers of failure instead of the faithful maintainers of success.

Okay, okay. Yes, I am a LOST fan. Lost is a television series on ABC. The series started in September 2004 but I didn't become interested in it until 2009. In 2009, I spent a few months watching the previous five seasons in order. The synopsis of the series is that a plane traveling from Sydney Australia to Los Angeles crashes on a tropical island. The scenes immediately after the crash are extremely dramatic. Amazingly, many of the passengers survive. The rest of the series are about the struggles of the survivors.

Before I watched the movie, The Book of Eli (official website), I read a few one-sentence reviews/comments about it but didn't read any full reviews or synopsis.  I wanted to be as unbiased as possible.  However, the previews do make it look like a remake of Mad Max.

I'll try to review without revealing too much to spoil it.

The late 2009 big buzz in movies is a scifi action film called AVATAR.  The plot is the classic big guy against the little guy, underdog theme.  It is reminiscent of how Native Americans are portrayed as being victims of European expansionism.  An "avatar" is a character controlled by another person, much like any video game you might play -- the character you control is an avatar.  It follows your commands, but when you stop telling it what to do, it does nothing.  In the movie, scientists are controlling hybrid human-alien avatars in an attempt to gain the trust of the indigenous population of a planet called Pandora (alluding to Greek mythology of Pandora, the first woman, and the tale of a box that once opened let's out events that cannot be contained).  But there is also a military and corporate element that is attempting to mine resources from the planet, ironically from the main home site of the indigenous population.

Once you get past the not so nuanced play against the capitalistic mindset, the movie is really a remarkable feat.

Every once in a while I am asked to review an article, a book, or a CD.  I was honored to receive a request to review a yet to be released Christian music CD.  It is called "Playing in the Water" and features the gentleman who perhaps is better known as the vocalist and musician for the Internet-famous song, "Reformation Polka" -- Jeremy Fowler-Lindemulder aka "Fugli" (see interview).  I have a copy of the master, so my critiques may become moot once final production is met.  I will list the name of the song and my review of it in a few short sentences.