Monthly Archives: June 2008
What Is Crooked
Based on Ecclesiastes 1. To this tune.
Sun, rise
Rise and waneAnd the earth remains
As generations are born and die in vain
Rivers return from where they flowed
The winds blow around, around againIn a weary world of nothing new
And unremembered gain
“What is crooked cannot straightened be”
Is the Cursed refrain
An open letter to girls who wear those honking huge sunglasses that are all the rage nowadays
Dear women,
I’m writing this letter not to make fun of you, but because I’m concerned for you. Please stop wearing those sunglasses. They are so ugly. Every man in your life thinks they look terrible.
I was going to write a long and eloquent spiel, but I decided that it would be showboating. After all, I can simply demonstrate my point with two pictures:
I rest my case.
Your friend,
Dave
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
Let me quote Psalm 29 before I share my thoughts on it. Read it carefully, and let it sink in:
A Psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Today, I stumbled on a blog commenting on the flooding in Lake Delton, Wisconson. I hadn’t heard of it, but apparently there isn’t really a Lake Delton anymore. Due to a recent flash flood, the waters damaged much of the town and ultimately overflowed the dam, escaping from the lake and leaving behind a muddy basin. It’s a tragedy for those who live there, but the blog author painted it as part of the struggle of man vs. nature: “Mother Nature is watching. She knows who is really in control.” I’ve heard it said that “Mother Nature” is merely a flimsy euphemism for “Father God.” It’s ridiculous to talk about the creation as though it were in control rather than its Creator. In Psalm 29, we see who really is in charge. It is not a nebulous “Mother Nature” at work in the lightning, in the thunder, in the breaking of cedars, in the shaking of the wilderness. It is the resounding voice of the Lord. I remember driving through Mississippi the summer after Hurricane Katrina and seeing an entire forest ruined, its greatest trees snapped in half by the force of the storm. (The heat energy produced by a hurricane is about the equivalent of a 10-megaton nuclear warhead exploding every 20 minutes.) The psalmist had witnessed a similar storm shatter the thick cedar forests of Lebanon, and in it he saw the power of the Lord.
I especially love v. 9. “The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” I heard that verse quoted once in a “Sermon Jam” made from a John Piper sermon. The awe and wonder with which Piper quotes it as part of a prayer—it is something I don’t think I can ever forget. There is something incredible about the reading of scripture with passion, when the reader clearly believes that these are the words of the Almighty. Too often we fail to express this as we read scripture.
What I love about this verse, beyond the visceral impact, is that last line: “And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” The temple was the place where man encountered God and experienced His presence. It was the intersection of heaven and earth; in terms of ultimate significance, it was the center of the universe. The true worshipers of God who stood in His temple were stunned by His power, and only one word escaped from their lips: glory!
All that we see around us leads to the inescapable conclusion that there is an unbelievable gravity to God—what the dictionary calls an “alarming importance” or “seriousness.” The Hebrew word for glory referred to something heavy—something weighty or significant. Those standing in the temple could see and hear the power of the storm, and they knew Someone big was behind it all. And the Lord has not changed; His voice retains its power and authority today.
Our God is a colossus.
Dave reviews…Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Round up the Bingo boards and the Depends®! It’s time for one last Indiana Jones movie!
This time, our intrepid (and geriatric) hero takes on Soviets, nukes, aliens, old girlfriends, and loss of tenure. It’s a bit of a change from the archeological exploits of a younger Jones, when he was digging up inaccurately-depicted biblical relics or taking on occultic demon-worshipers. As a result, you may have heard your friends sighing about how “disappointing” this movie was. Don’t believe them; they are wrong. The Indiana Jones formula is intact, even if the villains and set pieces have changed.
Your friends may think this movie isn’t as good as the old trilogy, but they need to go back and watch Temple of Doom. It was good, but not great. Crystal Skull is better than Temple of Doom, if not quite as good as the other two. So it’s a worthy fourth installment to an aged, wrinkly series.
In my (sage) opinion, it’s the…agedness…of the older movies that has uncorked all the criticism. We are blinded by this thing called nostalgia, which is a word that means, “movies you saw as a kid aren’t as good as you think they are.” Take Top Gun, for instance. It’s a good movie. But to hear some of my friends talk, you would think it had descended from heaven—fresh, juicy, and dripping with savory butter. You see, many people from my generation saw it as kids, and kids don’t understand what a good movie is (which is why they get so excited about Kung Fu Panda). Now, the original Indiana Jones trilogy were great movies—even revolutionary. But because this new one doesn’t produce those same feelings of nostalgia, critics rip it to pieces. I’m not really sure what Spielberg and co. could have done to please Indy fans. Frankly, I think they came as close as they’re gonna get.
Now, my movie reviews are very formulaic; they begin with my opinion of the movie, which degenerates into a rant about movies and movie-watchers. Then comes the part where I pick out random things I liked and didn’t like about the movie, which is where we are at right now. I do have one bone to pick with Crystal Skull. 
Since when is an old geezer able to survive a nuclear blast at ground zero by hiding in a fridge? Especially when this conveniently lead-lined fridge is hurled like a tin can across the desert? I, for one, would have been turned to jelly; Harrison Ford emerges unscathed. Sadly, it is a common (and retarded) trend in movies today for the heroes to walk away, whistling cheerfully, after vicious physical punishment which should have left them maimed, crippled, and drooling—if not dead. No one survives a fall from a skyscraper uninjured, period.
I guess that kind of turned into a rant, too.
What did I like? Well, I liked the monkeys. I don’t know why. They just cracked me up for some reason. Also, the ants were pretty cool. And the heroes were fun to cheer for—even Shia LaBeouf. People seem to get annoyed by him, but he doesn’t usually bother me. I wonder why that is.
So the time has come to conclude this review. Here is my rating system:
- I would pay money to see it again ($$$$).
- I would see it again if someone gave me a free ticket ($$$).
- I wouldn’t see it again even if someone gave me a free ticket ($$).
- I wouldn’t see it again even if someone paid me to go ($).
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull scores…
$$$ (three dollars)
Not too shabby!
End of a World
Here’s a song I’ve been working on. It’s based on Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, which details in poetic fashion how your body falls apart and then you die. Quite the pick-me-up. Great for Christian radio.
End of a world
Evil days
Sun, moon, and every star go out
Heavens hid behind the shroud
The skies have worn away
There at the endOf a world
Years of pain
Through windows fading, dimly see
Clouds assemble solemnly
Where youth had spent their rain
There at the endSo the silver cord
Is severed by the hand that weaved it whole
Broken by Him
Who breaks the golden bowl
And shattered lies
The pitcher by the weary well run dry
Vain are the words
The mourners wail and cryEnd of a world
Fleeting breath
And dust returns to earth and grave
Spirit goes to God who gave
All life dispelled in death
There at the end
If you want an idea of the tune, it’s based on the one here, beginning at 0:27.
