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(Written for the September 2011 Synchroblog. Lists of other synchroblog links added to the bottom of the post; be sure to check them out.)
Christianity Today recently published an article comparing 9/11 to the Christian Easter story. That in itself was enough to perturb me. As a Christian I am not insulted by Christians (or anyone) finding what meaning they can, even in horrific events like that terrorist attack. And to be fair, Mr. Moore was really talking about the controversy on whether news outlets should show footage of the burning towers - whether it was best to confront or hide from those reminders of violence. He actually made some good points regarding grim fairy tales and how children needed an outlet for what they intuitively knew was a scary world. Still, comparing a single act of martyrdom done by a God-man to the mass-murder of janitors, secretaries, kids at daycare, businessmen going about their work and all the rest? I won't pretend I wasn't taken aback.
So when I read a line near the end and was completely floored by it, at first I thought it might be carry-over from my general frustration with the article. I've read it three times over two days now and even ran just the quote (without the larger context) by a friend just to make sure I wasn't overreacting or misreading. Because it's pretty tough to swallow. Here's the passage:
( Read more... )
Here are the other Synchroblog posts:
Christianity Today recently published an article comparing 9/11 to the Christian Easter story. That in itself was enough to perturb me. As a Christian I am not insulted by Christians (or anyone) finding what meaning they can, even in horrific events like that terrorist attack. And to be fair, Mr. Moore was really talking about the controversy on whether news outlets should show footage of the burning towers - whether it was best to confront or hide from those reminders of violence. He actually made some good points regarding grim fairy tales and how children needed an outlet for what they intuitively knew was a scary world. Still, comparing a single act of martyrdom done by a God-man to the mass-murder of janitors, secretaries, kids at daycare, businessmen going about their work and all the rest? I won't pretend I wasn't taken aback.
So when I read a line near the end and was completely floored by it, at first I thought it might be carry-over from my general frustration with the article. I've read it three times over two days now and even ran just the quote (without the larger context) by a friend just to make sure I wasn't overreacting or misreading. Because it's pretty tough to swallow. Here's the passage:
As Christians, we feel a certain squeamishness with our gospel. The Scriptures present a picture of the universe as a war zone, with the present age a satanic empire being invaded by the rival kingdom of Jesus. Talk of such demonic realities rises and falls through the history of the church, oscillating between preoccupation and embarrassment.
( Read more... )
Here are the other Synchroblog posts:
- Jeremy Myers at Till He Comes – The Devil Made Me Go To Church
- K.W. Leslie at More Christ – Devilish Misinformation
- Marta Layton at Fidesquarens – The Christian Jihad
- Sonnie Swenston-Forbes at A Piece Of My Mind – The Devil Made Me Do It
- Bill Sahlman at Creative Reflections – The [one who will go unnamed] Made Me Do It
- Kathy Escobar at kathy escobar – the stranger (who’s a little too familiar) & the shepherd
- Liz Dyer at Grace Rules – Have You Inhaled Demon Spirits?
- Leah Chang at desert spirit’s fire – devils, demons, et al
