THIRD QUARTER, 1998
SECOND QUARTER, 1998
FIRST QUARTER, 1998
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KUDOS
Communiqué is a rush of cool clean air for the thinking believer suffocating in churchianity's easy answers without hard questions.
- J. ConderPENTECOST et al
I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how much I enjoy this series on the church calendar. Growing up Baptist we tend to dismiss a lot of these events as too liturgical.We look at these times and see only the rote legalism of "tradition"--like that's a bad word or something. Communique is a rush of cool clean air for the thinking believer suffocating in churchianity's easy answers without hard questions." j.conder I must admit to the spiritual arrogance that goes along with that in my life also. I've been to Catholic services and was married in a Lutheran service; so, I have seen how that view can come to be. But, what we tend to forget (myself especially) is that these times are the symbol of the spiritual things--not the spiritual things themselves. Just like tithing is a call to heartfelt service not a legalistic, Old Testament-type activity. God is reminding us by these celebrations that we are people of history, that the Old Testament saints were many times precursors to Christ and the new life in Him, and that we should never lose sight of that. Mr. Brake is doing a wonderful job of bringing those things to life in this series and of reminding us from whence we came.
Thanks for the great word,
Bill RobersonLENT
....These religious celebrations are in and of themselves not the 'end all' to recognition of Jesus and realization of our lives/obligations as Christians - which was what I interpreted from ['On Lent,' by barry brake]. To seemingly focus on Lent as being THE Christian representation of fasting INSTEAD of the praying and fasting described in the bible can be misconstrued. Does participation in this Lenten fast fulfill our obligation to fasting and prayer for the year? I believe not. Although there are obviously many Christians that do - the same people who believe that just going to church every Sunday or being part of a particular denomination will get them to heaven. This type of belief is 'religion' based - or a "head" knowledge of God.
Do you recall in Matt 24:21-22 where Jesus states that not everyone who calls out "Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven", that many would say on that day "'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles' ". Then Jesus would tell them plainly "I never KNEW you. Away from me you evildoers." I believe these whom Jesus is referring to are those that had the "head" knowledge, but were absent of any HEART knowledge of who Jesus IS through a personal intimate relationship with him. These "evildoers" referred by Jesus outwardly seemed to be doing God's work (we're talking 'Christians' casting out demons, and prophesying here! - NOT just the recognition of a religious holiday) but inside were empty and void of Jesus.
Outwardly going through the ritual motions 'just aint going to cut it'.
I strongly believe fasting is a required part of the growth and development of this personal relationship with Jesus which allows us to draw closer to Him through denial of the flesh and reliance of the Spirit. If Lent is a means to an end by introduction of the concept of prayer and fasting to a Christian then fine. However, it can not be used as a substitute or 'whitewash' for the biblical requirements and teachings of fasting. (Which by the way as a Catholic, I was never taught and from what I gather nor are most other denominations.)
Am I against corporate Christian holidays, festivals etc.,? Of course not! As long as they're biblically based and do not detract from Jesus, then all right. But even the reference made in the article alluded to Eastre - the (pagan) goddess of the dawn! Like this is something to be revered!?! (If you go further back, the origins of Eastre are from a Babylonian fertility goddess - hence the reference to rabbits and eggs.) This is why I now refer to the holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus as "Resurrection Sunday".
Some would say that getting this caught up is in issues such as these is a waste and shouldn't matter. After all as long as Eastre refers to Jesus's resurrection then it should be OK. But for me knowing the origins of this Eastre holiday and still celebrating as is, is like setting 'a foundation built on sand'. I prefer (as Jesus commands) to set ALL foundations built on the Rock (Psalm 92:15/Matt 7:24) - which is the Word of God (John 1:1,2).
The word states in Hosea 4:6 that "my people perish for lack of knowledge" in the NIV, the same scripture is "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge". I think any Christian would be remiss if they knowingly withheld knowledge which would keep a brother/sister from being destroyed.
So, why then do many Christians want to avoid these politically incorrect issues. The same reason why all the prophets were killed ...
-E. Morales
[Mr. Brake responds:
I agree wholeheartedly that our feasts and celebrations are not the end but the means, to point us to God's reality; and I'd certainly never advocate a mere outward observation of Christian holidays as being desirable. The idea that church attendance or affiliation will 'get' a person to heaven isn't what I call head knowledge at all: it is plainly mistaken. God demands our heads and hearts, and everything else, and it is with that in mind that I conceived the article in the first place. I regret any lack of clarity in communicating that.
As for Easter and Eastre, I merely included that etymology for the same reason I included the extended one of Lent: to show us that our words are coming from an ancient desire to express the sanctity of times and seasons. Our past, both Christian and pagan, is present in our language--our various ancestors worshipped (mistakenly) the sun, the moon, Tyr, Wodan, Thor, Freia, and Saturn. But the attempt to weed these from our language is like shattering the Venus de Milo: a valid Christian desire, misapplied.
With that in mind, it's puzzling that anyone would refuse the name 'Easter' because of its pagan origin, but still use the word 'Sunday.' ]
KUDOS
I just heard about your online journal and thought I would give it a look-see. Awesome job! There is definitely a need for work such as this and I am very pleased to see that need being filled by Communique.
Another journal I enjoy reading is "Regeneration" (can also be found online at www.regenerator.com), but I like the way you guys have a more creative and for lack of a better word, artsy, way of presenting the information. Many are searching for a way to make their faith culturally relevant as well as developing the long-neglected creative aspect of ourselves in light of the fact that God has created us to be thus. Your journal does an excellent job in putting these together. Thank you very much!
-Jayme Reaves
I was delighted to discover the Communique' site, and spent about 45 minutes on it this afternoon. (Slow day at work!) [You] are doing some great work there; I think this is a fantastic medium for people who are interested in the interplay of the various meaningful things in life with the one Meaningful thing. It's wonderful to see others wrestling thoughtfully with these issues...I applaud the work you're doing, and hope to hear more from you as time permits.
-Sean McMains
I'm a good friend of [Communique freelance writer Robert] Leahey and he led me to your first edition. I have to say I'm impressed. I was particularily pleased to see that this email would be going to Mr. Lawrence as I really enjoyed his piece. I agreed with all that was said, experienced no new thoughts, and yet was moved in a new way. Like reading John 3:16 for the millionth time and being innundated with, "Ah ha!". Many an friendly email-box will receive a link to your article.
...I enjoyed Robert's essay. It's ironic, in the past few days I've suddenly discovered essays written by two friends of mine ... when for the past few months I've been toying of stealing time from my schedule to write a few of my own. I wish I had something to submit to you for a feature edition.
One request: post email addresses! This message began as a request for Jeff Lawrence's email address. I suppose some may not want their address posted, but it would seem abnormal for a Web publication.
Another possible request: I don't know if this would risk cheapening the quality production, but allowing reader's to post comments that others could read appended to the end of an article / photo display / etc.
I'm also impressed with the quality of the art work throughout. Top notch presentation, and yet not weighed down by too many images. Very nice balance. The whole site is great. To the point and stylish. More non-publication sites could take some tips from you guys.
-Chris Morris
UNDER THE DENTIST'S DRILL...
I have just browsed through Communique for the first time, and I like it quite a bit! Robert Leahey's musings were quite interesting, and it seems to me that they may arise to some degree out of a frustration with what he sees as uninformed people asking him the wrong questions about what he does for a living, which is understandable.
I think there are problems, though, with his analogy between musicians and dentists. Concertgoers are not a "captive audience" in the same way a dental patient is; leaving a performance is a real option and does not endanger one's health in the same way as leaving a dentist's office in the middle of a root canal. Also, music does include verbal expression, which is much more suitable for sharing the Gospel than a dentist's drill, and this detail was glossed over by Mr. Leahey.
I probably agree with his general ideas about music, but I found this analogy problematic, along with the statement about the "subjugation of art." Every artist has a worldview of some sort that necessarily comes through in his art, 'subjugating' it; therefore, I find it impossible for any artist not to produce what Mr. Leahey would call "propaganda".
Perhaps I don't fully grasp what he was saying.
Sorry to ramble; I really do have a life. I just think this topic is interesting and I would certainly be interested in any feedback.
Thanks!
Melanie Seibert