Saturday, December 19, 2009

Not So Funny Humor

I don't watch Saturday Night Live. Frankly, I'm almost always in bed already. Recently I saw a piece on YouTube that showed the guest of the night singing a Christmas Carol with cast members dressed up like Muppet Characters.

If you weren't really listening you would have thought it was a pretty funny piece. The guest sang some words and then various characters sang with funny sounding gibberish.

The song that was sung was "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Interesting that the Muppet's sang every time there was any reference to Christ, the newborn King, or God being reconciled with man. In other words, they took a common and theologically profound Christmas Carol and made it into something that had lost all meaning.

It was a sad and disrespectful thing to do.

Bah and humbug and Shame on Saturday Night Live.
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BOOK REVIEW: Counterfeit Gods

One of the books I read recently is the latest release from Tim Keller, a Pastor in New York. Keller's other books, THE REASON FOR GOD and THE PRODIGAL GOD were both excellent, thought-provoking and enlightening books. COUNTERFEIT GODS is all of those things and also very convicting.

Keller makes the point that our greatest passion in life is our God. It can be
  • our family
  • the success of our church or ministry
  • financial security
  • self-righteousness
  • influence
  • peace
  • enjoyment

The point is that anything that becomes our passion that is not a relationship with the Lord of Creation is an idol.

By this definition (which I believe is certainly correct) we all are guilty. I can see in my own life I sometimes most passionately want to be a good Pastor, a faithful teacher, a good dad. Those things are not bad unless they become the thing that drives my life. Then those good things become my idol.

I commend the book highly.

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