At a neighborhood Christmas party, I had a lively and stimulating conversation about some of the technical elements of filmmaking–editing, cinematography, action choreography, and the like. Neither my neighbor nor I work in the field, and we don’t have serious aspirations of movie careers. We just find that our appreciation of the movies we enjoy is enhanced by understanding the processes involved. [Read more…] about Science In Review — Christmas Craft
christmas
Scholar’s Compass: Sir Gawain Seeks Christmas
David Russell Mosley delves into Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a poem that starts at Christmas. Mosley draws on an argument by Tolkien, not coincidentally one of the translators of  Sir Gawain, that fairy tales and mythical figures point beyond themselves to the truth of the Gospel. David will share more about Faerie and the Gospel in future Scholar’s Compass posts.
Reading
Quotations from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in this post. [Read more…] about Scholar’s Compass: Sir Gawain Seeks Christmas
The Day After Christmas
On Sunday, December 29th, Gene Wingert[1] wove The Day After Christmas throughout the morning worship service at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (referred to as EBIC in the PDF). The meditation was so stirring that I asked for a copy to share with you (click here for a PDF). How apt to post on Epiphany, The Day of Three Kings, and in anticipation of sharing gifts in ministry with InterVarsity staff at our triennial staff conference (January 7 – 11, St. Louis).
As a teaser, below is the first part. May you likewise find this meditation a blessing as you re-engage the complexities of campus life, telling everyone what you have seen and heard as God has spoken to you (and the people of God) through His word, and as you treasured these things in your heart, thoughtfully reflecting on their meaning. May we — everywhere we go and in all that we do — give praise and glory to God for all that we have seen and heard. AND may we continue to do such throughout 2014. To God be the glory!
‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even the mouseThe stockings were empty, the Christmas tree bareFor jolly St. Nicolas had already been there.The family was bushed and thoroughly beatCollapsed from exhaustion and too much to eatThe dishes were stacked in a heap in the sinkfor attempting to do them was just too much to thinkRolaids were handy for pains most distressingfrom belly’s stuffed full of roast turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce, pickles, nuts, candy and pie – to mention just a fewThe relief that was marked on two or three facesWas sign that the relatives had returned to their placesAnd as they dozed off one was heard to exclaim“Boy and I glad that’s done for another whole year.â€
That indeed may reflect our feelings on the day after Christmas. As we wrap up the Christmas season there is a certain sense of relief after all of the intensity, the extra work, the many things to do, that seem to come with this time of year.
But there also comes an inevitable let-down and sense of loss, even depression and disillusionment. [Read more…] about The Day After Christmas
Science in Review — December 2013
1,800 miles per second. 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second. 214,200 reindeer. These are the numbers from typical treatments of the science of Christmas. You know the sort of thing — make some assumptions and estimates about the number of (Christian? Western? Christmas-observant?) children in the world, where they live, how much their presents weigh, etc., plug it all into a model, solve for the unknowns, and you’ve got a sort of reductio ad absurdum argument against the existence of Santa Claus. So imagine my surprise when, while going over all this evidence, I had a bit of a conversion experience.
It turns out that I believe in Santa Claus. [Read more…] about Science in Review — December 2013
Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: Angels
This time of year in churches all over, little children dress up in white robes, put on wings and halos, and in general, look cute! Children dressed as angels are a staple of Christmas plays everywhere. Congregations voice their “Ahhhhs†and parents and family members hope that their “angels†behave themselves.
This is as it should be – angels do play a part in the Christmas story. Christmas pageants are stylized portrayals of the story of Jesus’ birth, and children dressed as angels fit right in. But we should, from time to time, stop and consider: what are angels?
Maybe you don’t believe in angels. Some modern scholars claim that the Jews picked up the idea of angels from the Persians. Certainly some modern portraits add to our incredulity. Clarence, the would-be angel in Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, is a very likable character, but not so good for getting at what angels are (and the movie reinforces the notion that angels are just humans who have been promoted, so to speak). We get more of our ideas about angels (and demons) from the not so modern picture in Milton’s writing than from the Bible.
And we are embarrassed by the kitschy angels sold in gift shops. Nothing this silly could possibly exist. [Read more…] about Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: Angels