Crazy Theological Thoughts

I was recently told Jesus did not descend into Hell, because Hell is complete separation from God and eternal death. The terms Sheol and Hades may be synonymous in scripture, but do not mean Hell. When Jesus returns he will throw Hades, death, and the devil into Hell. So this should be good news, your brother didn't go to Hell when he died, he is only in Hades waiting to go to Hell. The creed says Jesus went into Hell. Amazingly, in the Greek Apostles creed it says,  κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα (descended into the lower place). The Latin says,  descendit ad ínfernos, (descended into Inferno). In the vulgate, ínfernos is used in place of both Sheol and Hades. Therefore, Jesus descended into Hades/Sheol/Hell! But there is a Heaven and Hell now, Hell is Hades the place of the dead and Heaven is the place of the living. When Jesus returns, there is the resurrection of the dead and the living dwell on the new earth or new creation and the unbelievers end up in Ete...

"Certain persons are malicious solely through a necessity for talking. Their conversation, the chat of the drawing room, gossip of the anteroom, is like those chimneys which consume wood rapidly; they need a great amount of combustibles; and their combustibles are furnished by their neighbors. "So Fantine was watched. "In addition, many a one was jealous of her golden had and of her white teeth. "It was remarked that in the workroom she often turned aside, in the midst of the rest, to wipe away a tear. These were the moments when she was thinking of her child; perhaps, ale, of the man whom she had loved." ... "all this took time. Fantine had been at the factory for more than a year, when, one morning, the superintendent of the workroom handed her fifty francs from the mayor, told her that she was no longer employed in the shop, and requested her, in the mayor's name, to leave the neighborhood." It does not take long for the words of our nei...

I wonder how many Christians are in that classroom? I wonder how many Christians have written that down on a piece of paper. The first thing I thought of when I saw the previews to this movie was that I would write: God has died. Maybe the teacher would not accept this. But Christ has died for the forgiveness of my sins. He was dead and is now risen to new life. I missed this part of death and resurrection. The teacher lists several people who claimed God to be Dead. But some of those people do not believe God is Dead, but God never existed. They do not believe in any such thing as god. (I even find the idea of a lower case "g" indicating false gods, which would make it easy to confess they are dead, for St Paul says idols are nothing and never existed.) The movie makes some overly obvious connections. Those who are unequally yoked in the movie, place themselves in situations they should never be in. My favorite parts of the movie are when the Mother confronts her son, ...

There are many people have posted many things about this movie. Some of these things I have found interesting and not really disagreed with. Some people say watch the movie so that you will know how to respond. Other people say avoid the movie because the more money it makes the worse it will say about Christianity. The state of Christianity will not be determined by whether or not Noah is a hit. Noah presents an interesting look at very questionable characters. Many people do not know what the Nephilim are. These are called in the movie Watchers, based on the Book of Jubilees the Watchers were angelic figures that dwelt with men at the time of Noah. The book of Jubilees will give you many insights into the movie. There are also the characters of the Oldest Man, Methuselah. The bible does record that he died at the time of the Flood. It also indicates that he would be a great link between Noah and Adam. Methuselah was also the Son of Enoch who did not die, but was taken into heav...

It amazes me, when I hear a story about a Pastor struggling to come up with material for their sermon on sunday. (assumptions) Some Pastors struggle with picking the write Text. Other Pastors struggle with narrowing down all the teaching moments in a text. Yet, other Pastors do just seem completely lost. The Lectionary provides pastors with Text that are connected. The Lectionary should help provide Pastors with a single lesson for them to focus on that reflects the time of year and the whole of Scripture. Many of these texts do have many teaching moments. When you read the multiple texts for the day, you can notice a theme or main teaching point for a specific sunday. This may not be the point you want to teach on, but it does give you a quick start. But the most important task a Pastor has in Sermon preparation is his daily devotions. I strongly believe that the more you read scripture the easier it is to preach scripture. I also feel the more you preach or hear preaching the b...

The first Hunger Games movie had a simple message of sacrifice. It did a good job of illustrating a sister sacrificing for sister by volunteering. It had the sacrifice of a man in love. Even a little girl willing to sacrifice herself for one who had helped her and shown her love. It even had two people willing to die together to save each other.  This new movie does not have the sacrifice theme as obvious. Because it is hidden beside tones of rebellion. People willing to follow someone's symbol of Hope, even if it means there own death. People willing to show public disrespect to their government. A black man being publicly executed. A white young man being flogged for trying to help others. Tributes requesting people to see them as a symbol of Hope for something better. Catching fire still gives us sacrifice, as tributes are willing to save their chosen one. But ultimately the light of Heaven shines down on one individuals sacrifice to reveal the truth of these games. She brings t...

Many people talk about the importance of extracurricular activities. People especially talk about the life lessons of sports. I believe we teach a lot to our children as they grow up playing sports. We teach them team work. We teach them how to prepare and practice for the many obstacles we may face in our life. We also teach them how to properly bully someone. Sports media and athletes often tell us that you need to man up. You need to keep your mouth shut. You need shake it off. There is even the classic leave it all on the court. It would be great if we did not teach trash talk, excessive celebration, and foul language. Children, athletes, and people need to learn that trash talk is bullying. They also need to learn that cursing at someone is offensive, and improper for any work place (whether on the court, pitch, or field). These lessons will translate in the office, floor, and workplace. Do you want trash talk in the work place? Do you want competition? They seem to be taught hand...