First off... You may be wondering why this seems to be such a big deal to me.
Actually, it's because Rowling has done just what Youssef has said he wants to do as a writer. Rowling is a christian who wrote a series of books to a secular society. The books were filled with a christian world view that became more and more obvious as the series progressed. She affected our culture towards a mindset that could be more open to accepting God.
Now before any of you freak out about that statement and think I'm being unholy and believe that we should all live in a christian getto and never affect the world around us, I would like to point out that other religions and ideas have been incrementally affecting our culture and most of the time we don't know it! When you next watch a movie or read a book really try to look for those underlying messages that have small references to accepting homosexuality or humanistic ideas. When you realize how much of that is affecting our culture what is wrong with a christian doing the same thing? (And *shock* people even liking the books. Perhaps there is a desire for that world view in our society... maybe people are seeking God in some fashion and don't realize it?)
A really good web site to look at in regards to Harry Potter is http://hogwartsproffesor.com He wrote a book called "Looking for God in Harry Potter" the only christian book that I could find that actually sounded reasonable and well thought out. (The few that I found who were against the books didn't really have any real reason and mostly sounded like every thing they said came from fear and an unreasonable stretching of issues that wheren't really there... in my opinion.)
Someone who commented on that website said the following that I found to be very helpful.
-In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament, look up “witch or witchcraft” and it refers you to “sorcery” which is the Greek word pharmakia, from which we get our English word pharmacy. This word “primarily signified ‘the use of medicine, drugs, spells’; then ‘poisoning’; then ’sorcery.’ In ’sorcery,’ the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc, professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.”
I worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators (publications) and I assure you that the shamanistic power among indigenous peoples is real and Satanic, and is used to control and terrorize. There is a world of difference between such sorcerer/shamans and the mechanical or technological “magic” in Harry Potter. There is no sorcery, occultism nor incantational magic in the Potter books (the first is actually called Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, but American publishers changed it).
Therefore, if we as christians assume the books are evil because there are words such as witch, magic, wand, and so forth aren't we doing a disservise to the truth? The Bible does not condem a person for holding a stick and (pretending as the books are fiction) that they can say a word and their glasses will come zooming to their hand from wherever they lost the glasses in the house. Is "magic" like that a sin? My point was that if you tell people that "Yes any 'magic' is sinful" and they can see that that kind of magic isn't actually wrong couldn't they possibly not understand what the truly evil magic is? When Eve said that they couldn't eat the fruit on the tree and not to touch it either (going a step farther than God told them), but when she did take the fruit "and saw that it was good to eat" perhaps noticing that touching it didn't do anything bad to her she thought eating it would be all right too, but it wasn't. The sin wasn't in holding it or looking at it in this case it was exactly what God had said, "Don't eat it." I'm not saying that you should look into incantational magic and test the waters, but not actually do it. The Bible says that is a sin. It does not say however that pretending that you can fly or turn a mouse into a teacup is a sin. Problems happen when we add to what God says.
Youssef feels called to write books for a secular audiance, and I would love it if he was able to write something that would become as popular as the Harry Potter books. Then be able to share his faith with so many people who would listen to him! That is why this topic is important to me. I'm sure that at some point he will recieve critisizm from christians about what he writes just like Rowling did (and does), but does that mean that he should write books for a christian getto and never attempt to reach out to our society at large and incremetaly bring some minds into an openness to hearing God?
That is why I liked the Harry Potter books. That's why it bother's me when Christians reject them without knowing what the Bible says about incantational magic. Not understanding that what the Bible condems, Harry Potter does not promote.
(To which my origional post could have been title "Let's stop shooting down people on our side" or something to that effect.) :)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Things To Think About When Doing A Job Search
I even took an IQ test. I was two points shy of "Superior" intelligence on this dinky test that had more ads than questions. I laughed when I read "Not a scientific test" at the end.
118 on a scale of 135. Go figure.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
And that's all she wrote... or said, actually
Words that Lily can say...
"Spoon" - always accompanied by the utensil.
"Peas" - this isn't the green stuff. She's saying "Please." Still, I get what she means when she's rubbing her tummy."A'paw!" - Here's how we think this one works. Paw>Puppy>Dog. She's consistent though. And only points at a distance. She freaks out when they get too close.
"A'key" - this is for kitty... or for key. Depends on which one she's holding (or patting.)
"Dah" - this is me, Youssef. Sometimes, "A'Dah."
"Mama" - the classic.
"Au jus" (Pronounced like the french dipping sauce) - She calls everything liquid this, especially nursing.
"cheese" - yup.
"Bubbow" - this is for blowing bubbles. Or, she calls them...
"Pop" - for pop-corn or blowing-bubbles, which we 'pop.'
"Wee" - for slide, like mentioned afore.
"Poo" - for... um, you know.. "pooey."
"Shoe" - for shoes, or sandals.
"Socks" - she loves socks. She strips the baby dolls and leaves the socks on.
"Rock" - this is funny but scary. She says this whenever she's holding a rock, waving it around, and sometimes throwing it. It's plenty fun, until she's got a heavy one... and she does get them."Baa" - this is for baths.
She strokes people's faces to mean "sorry". She also looks penitent, so it's sincere, but it's not something she says.
She also waves "Goodnight" to people, objects, places...
"Owie" - this is for pain. She says it when she's hurt or when she throws her baby dolls on the floor.
"A Par" - for park! She loves parks!
"Show" - this is for movie.
"Mo'vie" - this is also for movie... just a silent "V".
"Boo" - this is for blue! and green, and red, and yellow, and black, and brown...
"Yeah." - this is for yes.... although, sometimes I think she just says it without a whole lot of thought.
"Bo'b" - this is for Bob the Tomato, of Veggietale fame.
"Cuke" - for Larry the Cucumber, ibid.
"A booh" - for Book! She'll still point and want to read one.
"Eye" - for eyeball.
"Eye-bow" - for eyebrow. This, of course, is when she's poking said object.
"Ear" - you know.
"Mouth, teeth, hair" - these are kind of rare or under her breath... she still points and knows where they are, though.
She also chomps her teeth when you ask, "Where are your teeth?"
"A Birr" for bird.
"Up" or "Down" - these are less directional and more commands. "Pick me up" or "Put me down."
"doh" -- for Play-doh!
"Bahhl" - for ball. The L is kind of quiet.
"Baby" - for baby dolls and the new baby.
"Ba'bear" - for teddy bear."Ring" - for ring.
"Stick" - for stick, right before she snaps it in half or throws it into her ever-growing pile of sticks.
"Dip" - for ranch when she sucks it off of carrots, or tomato soup when she dips her sandwich. She really likes Ranch dressing.
"Tawn" - for croutons.
"Ice" - for ice cubes which she stores in her cheeks and walks around.
"Dring" - for Drink, like milk or water. Usually when she wants a drink of what we are having.
"Appo" - for apple.
"s'Parkoe" for Sparkle which means sparkles but mainly fingernail polish that she'll bring to her Mommy and hold up and say "pease" and rub her belly till Lynne' puts it on her.
"fone" for cell phone which she holds up to her ear or shoulder and babbles into it.
"Pitty" for pretty. Whatever is pretty to her at the time... a decoration on someones wall, a picture, a flower.
"Chip" for any kind of chip or cracker.
"Pa'ta" for Pasta, and she loves tomatos and tomato sauce. Last week she "helped" Lynne' make pizza and had a spoon that she used to eat the sauce off the pizza, then she ate some of the cheese off the pizza, and then kept trying to snatch the tomatos off of it while the whole time Lynne' was trying to direct her to other food NOT on the pizza. :)
"Cahr" for car. She saw Lynne' fix a little riding toy that she has with a screwdriver (it had to be cleaned out as sand founds its way into the moving parts) so then she would find the screwdriver and poke it at the underside of the car to "fix" it too.
"Otay" for OK.
"Saht" for salt which she loves to shake on her food (good thing our salt shaker is slow to come out)
"Boom" for broom when she "helps" Lynne' sweep the floor.
"Duck" for real ducks or geese and for rubber duckies.
"Egg" for eggs that she helps Lynne' crack and for plastic eggs.
"h'Uney" for honey which she very much likes though doesn't get as much as she'd wish.
I think she might say something to the effect of "chocolate" but if so it is covered up by her profuse manifestations of please. Two handed rubbing and saying "peas" over and over.
"Spase" for splash that she loves to demonstrate in the tub, in a puddle, or in her pool.
"Hi" though not often.
Lily says so much more but we aren't quite as sure of their meaning yet. We have heard her put words together all on her own though, like "down pease" for instance.
And she says a whole slew of other stuff if you ask her questions, sit silent, and wait. She'll get loud and make all kinds of crazy noise when you ask her about her day, how things are going, and so on. Sometimes we catch her whispering or muttering under her breath.
Who knows what'll come up next.
"Spoon" - always accompanied by the utensil.
"Peas" - this isn't the green stuff. She's saying "Please." Still, I get what she means when she's rubbing her tummy."A'paw!" - Here's how we think this one works. Paw>Puppy>Dog. She's consistent though. And only points at a distance. She freaks out when they get too close.
"A'key" - this is for kitty... or for key. Depends on which one she's holding (or patting.)
"Dah" - this is me, Youssef. Sometimes, "A'Dah."
"Mama" - the classic.
"Au jus" (Pronounced like the french dipping sauce) - She calls everything liquid this, especially nursing.
"cheese" - yup.
"Bubbow" - this is for blowing bubbles. Or, she calls them...
"Pop" - for pop-corn or blowing-bubbles, which we 'pop.'
"Wee" - for slide, like mentioned afore.
"Poo" - for... um, you know.. "pooey."
"Shoe" - for shoes, or sandals.
"Socks" - she loves socks. She strips the baby dolls and leaves the socks on.
"Rock" - this is funny but scary. She says this whenever she's holding a rock, waving it around, and sometimes throwing it. It's plenty fun, until she's got a heavy one... and she does get them."Baa" - this is for baths.
She strokes people's faces to mean "sorry". She also looks penitent, so it's sincere, but it's not something she says.
She also waves "Goodnight" to people, objects, places...
"Owie" - this is for pain. She says it when she's hurt or when she throws her baby dolls on the floor.
"A Par" - for park! She loves parks!
"Show" - this is for movie.
"Mo'vie" - this is also for movie... just a silent "V".
"Boo" - this is for blue! and green, and red, and yellow, and black, and brown...
"Yeah." - this is for yes.... although, sometimes I think she just says it without a whole lot of thought.
"Bo'b" - this is for Bob the Tomato, of Veggietale fame.
"Cuke" - for Larry the Cucumber, ibid.
"A booh" - for Book! She'll still point and want to read one.
"Eye" - for eyeball.
"Eye-bow" - for eyebrow. This, of course, is when she's poking said object.
"Ear" - you know.
"Mouth, teeth, hair" - these are kind of rare or under her breath... she still points and knows where they are, though.
She also chomps her teeth when you ask, "Where are your teeth?"
"A Birr" for bird.
"Up" or "Down" - these are less directional and more commands. "Pick me up" or "Put me down."
"doh" -- for Play-doh!
"Bahhl" - for ball. The L is kind of quiet.
"Baby" - for baby dolls and the new baby.
"Ba'bear" - for teddy bear."Ring" - for ring.
"Stick" - for stick, right before she snaps it in half or throws it into her ever-growing pile of sticks.
"Dip" - for ranch when she sucks it off of carrots, or tomato soup when she dips her sandwich. She really likes Ranch dressing.
"Tawn" - for croutons.
"Ice" - for ice cubes which she stores in her cheeks and walks around.
"Dring" - for Drink, like milk or water. Usually when she wants a drink of what we are having.
"Appo" - for apple.
"s'Parkoe" for Sparkle which means sparkles but mainly fingernail polish that she'll bring to her Mommy and hold up and say "pease" and rub her belly till Lynne' puts it on her.
"fone" for cell phone which she holds up to her ear or shoulder and babbles into it.
"Pitty" for pretty. Whatever is pretty to her at the time... a decoration on someones wall, a picture, a flower.
"Chip" for any kind of chip or cracker.
"Pa'ta" for Pasta, and she loves tomatos and tomato sauce. Last week she "helped" Lynne' make pizza and had a spoon that she used to eat the sauce off the pizza, then she ate some of the cheese off the pizza, and then kept trying to snatch the tomatos off of it while the whole time Lynne' was trying to direct her to other food NOT on the pizza. :)
"Cahr" for car. She saw Lynne' fix a little riding toy that she has with a screwdriver (it had to be cleaned out as sand founds its way into the moving parts) so then she would find the screwdriver and poke it at the underside of the car to "fix" it too.
"Otay" for OK.
"Saht" for salt which she loves to shake on her food (good thing our salt shaker is slow to come out)
"Boom" for broom when she "helps" Lynne' sweep the floor.
"Duck" for real ducks or geese and for rubber duckies.
"Egg" for eggs that she helps Lynne' crack and for plastic eggs.
"h'Uney" for honey which she very much likes though doesn't get as much as she'd wish.
I think she might say something to the effect of "chocolate" but if so it is covered up by her profuse manifestations of please. Two handed rubbing and saying "peas" over and over.
"Spase" for splash that she loves to demonstrate in the tub, in a puddle, or in her pool.
"Hi" though not often.
Lily says so much more but we aren't quite as sure of their meaning yet. We have heard her put words together all on her own though, like "down pease" for instance.
And she says a whole slew of other stuff if you ask her questions, sit silent, and wait. She'll get loud and make all kinds of crazy noise when you ask her about her day, how things are going, and so on. Sometimes we catch her whispering or muttering under her breath.
Who knows what'll come up next.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
For those Christians who don't like Harry Potter
(And for those people who do, and haven't read the 7th book, there will be spoilers in this post)
I just finished reading the last Harry Potter and as I observed the overtly christian themes and even a quote from the Bible ("Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also") especially the virtually allegorical christian themes in the last book I became quite sad to think of all the Christians who have shunned the books as evil and thereby directing children who liked the books towards the wiccin religion (which is nothing like Harry Potter... I have a friend who was a wiccin before become a christian and she loves the books and says they are nothing at all like what she experienced.)
In every book Harry has been the hero that was selfless, and loved his friends and family and was so loyal to them that the evil people in the books could not overcome him. He was brave and always thought of others before himself. Risked his life at the end of every book. Showed mercy to his enemies... even saving them from certain death.
The seventh book has proven what those of us who are Christians (and love the books) have suspected, Harry gave his life... he died for others, to save them from being killed and hurt by the evil person (Valdemort) in the book. He didn't stay dead however. Rowling actually explains why he doesn't stay dead because of all the magical rules she created, but the reason he was able to save them and protect them was because he gave himself up willingly... and his love and self sacrifice protected them. A magic that Valdemort (the evil character) did not understand and underestimated. I'm reminded of the magic that the white witch did not know about in the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" that was spoken "before timed dawned".
Why are Christians afraid to accept that Harry Potter IS a christian book? In fact the sacrifice that Harry went through was much more dramatic and powerful that Aslin's. So many children who probably aren't in christian homes have followed and read the Potter books and have wanted to be like Harry, and too many Christians have shunned these wonderful books! Pushing those open minds away from the religion that Harry demonstrated in the books! The main argument that I've heard is that children are using magic in the books unlike C.S. Lewis books or Tolkien, but why is that bad? Why would it be wrong for children to realize that they too can be over comers of evil and fight for the good and true and be like Harry loving other so deeply that they too would be willing to die for them.
Are we as Christians so narrow minded that we can't see past the wands and spell casting (not at all what wiccin's are about) and can't see the meaning in the books from the very beginning of giving your own life for the life of another...
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13
If you have previously shunned the Harry Potter books, because of what other uninformed Christians have said simply complaining about the magic in the books, I would ask that at least you would consider reading them for yourself. What a wonderful opportunity of ministry Christians could have if we accepted these books as they were meant to be without simply judging the cover, and could encourage those open minds to follow Harry's example...
....to love without restraint, to continue the journey set before them, to love their enemies, to stand for the truth, and be willing to die for their friends.
I just finished reading the last Harry Potter and as I observed the overtly christian themes and even a quote from the Bible ("Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also") especially the virtually allegorical christian themes in the last book I became quite sad to think of all the Christians who have shunned the books as evil and thereby directing children who liked the books towards the wiccin religion (which is nothing like Harry Potter... I have a friend who was a wiccin before become a christian and she loves the books and says they are nothing at all like what she experienced.)
In every book Harry has been the hero that was selfless, and loved his friends and family and was so loyal to them that the evil people in the books could not overcome him. He was brave and always thought of others before himself. Risked his life at the end of every book. Showed mercy to his enemies... even saving them from certain death.
The seventh book has proven what those of us who are Christians (and love the books) have suspected, Harry gave his life... he died for others, to save them from being killed and hurt by the evil person (Valdemort) in the book. He didn't stay dead however. Rowling actually explains why he doesn't stay dead because of all the magical rules she created, but the reason he was able to save them and protect them was because he gave himself up willingly... and his love and self sacrifice protected them. A magic that Valdemort (the evil character) did not understand and underestimated. I'm reminded of the magic that the white witch did not know about in the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" that was spoken "before timed dawned".
Why are Christians afraid to accept that Harry Potter IS a christian book? In fact the sacrifice that Harry went through was much more dramatic and powerful that Aslin's. So many children who probably aren't in christian homes have followed and read the Potter books and have wanted to be like Harry, and too many Christians have shunned these wonderful books! Pushing those open minds away from the religion that Harry demonstrated in the books! The main argument that I've heard is that children are using magic in the books unlike C.S. Lewis books or Tolkien, but why is that bad? Why would it be wrong for children to realize that they too can be over comers of evil and fight for the good and true and be like Harry loving other so deeply that they too would be willing to die for them.
Are we as Christians so narrow minded that we can't see past the wands and spell casting (not at all what wiccin's are about) and can't see the meaning in the books from the very beginning of giving your own life for the life of another...
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13
If you have previously shunned the Harry Potter books, because of what other uninformed Christians have said simply complaining about the magic in the books, I would ask that at least you would consider reading them for yourself. What a wonderful opportunity of ministry Christians could have if we accepted these books as they were meant to be without simply judging the cover, and could encourage those open minds to follow Harry's example...
....to love without restraint, to continue the journey set before them, to love their enemies, to stand for the truth, and be willing to die for their friends.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
It's about birth and death, in that order
http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-Paperfolding-framed-unique-artwork-BIRTH-DEATH_W0QQitemZ220128599422QQihZ012QQcategoryZ20158QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemDEATH_W0QQitemZ220128599422QQihZ012QQcategoryZ20158QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Some of you've wanted to hear what happened to Lynné's picture! Here's the first one's listing on eBay. You can find it really easily by typing in "Birth & Death" or "Birth + Death." It's got an enlarged photo if you roll your mouse over the link... not bad.Impressions of this artwork...
This one was Lynné's least favorite. The black cover was once blue, which really taints the color of the piece (and the depth). When she revised it, she increased the role of the black material, creating intricate detail to the swirls. Also, the subject matter is a little dark for what Lynné likes (not that she can't do dark or dislikes it -- but you know what I mean.) Notice how there is a single eye, and it is smaller and less vibrant or active than in her other pieces. There are no large pools of color in this piece, and both of the figures in it are secondary to the motion, as if they're carried away in the direction of the swirls--mere players on a stage, pawns on a board. The cycle of eye-sight, where your eyes "want" to look, is driven into almost a single direction. Death feels like a one-way direction here; there is no rebirth.
When I look at this picture, I think of a miscarriage, or something like a premature death.
Birth and Death.
I like Rick Capezza's initial impression, that of a madonna (lower case).
The madonna image adds something to the picture. Her baby's fate is dictated by more influences than her own, and given a destiny beyond her comprehension--and maybe even her acceptance--which is the inference from the picture. Maybe. Maybe nothing serves this picture better than some silence where you can view it.
So, wants to comment? Or even start an initial bid? Looks like five people are tracking it.
- Further, I'm none too sure of eBay's ability to sell art. There are galleries that we'll do better putting these up in. However, we're already obligated to sell this one on eBay.
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