Category: Faith

Christmas Thoughts: God’s Redemptive Actions Through Women of the Old Testament

The fact that five women are included in the genealogy of Jesus should catch our attention!

kevingdrendel7 Comments

Depositphotos_31678283_L

We might be tempted to gloss over the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1[A]. We may feel obligated to acknowledge it during Christmastime because it’s part of the story of the birth of Jesus. The genealogy, though, doesn’t hold our attention like the plight of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in a manger.

The overarching significance of the genealogy is stated in the text. The lineage of Jesus can be traced back fourteen generations to the Babylonian exile, fourteen more generations back to King David and fourteen additional generations back to Abraham, the father of faith. This is no insignificant thing, but it may not capture our attention as, perhaps, it should.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham to bless all the nations of the earth through his seed. The prophets foretold more specifically that the promise was to be fulfilled through the line of David.

Forty two generations passed from the original promise to Jesus. Twenty eight generations passed from the line of David. Fourteen generations passed from the Babylonian exile to Jesus, and the Babylonian exile is approximately the time period of those prophecies.

That genealogy, further, represents the history of God’s interaction with man. Most of the Old Testament fits between the beginning and the end of that genealogy! Continue reading “Christmas Thoughts: God’s Redemptive Actions Through Women of the Old Testament” →

More of a Believer than You Think?

The atheist who truly understands The Lord of the Rings is more of a believer than he thinks.

kevingdrendelLeave a comment
facebook_1480787401880
Photo by Chris Fraley

Tonight I read I WAS AN ATHEIST UNTIL I READ “THE LORD OF THE RINGS” by Fredric Heidemann published at the Word on Fire blog (December 16, 2016). The catalyst for his journey from atheism to theism was the Lord of the Rings books by JRR Tolkien, one of my lifelong favorite literary works. I read them as a very young teenager, and they captivated my imagination much like they did Heidemann.

He captures the essence of the Lord of the Rings this way:

The fantasy world of Middle-Earth oozes life and profundity. The cultures of the various peoples are organic, rooted in tradition while maintaining a fresh, living energy. Mountains and forests have personalities, and the relationship between people and earth is marked by stewardship and intimacy. Creation knowing creation. Tolkien describes these things with beautiful prose that reads like its half poetry and half medieval history. Everything seems “deep” in The Lord of the Rings. The combination of character archetypes and assertive “lifeness” in the novel touches on an element of fundamental humanity. Every Lord of the Rings fan knows exactly what I’m talking about.

In some ways, the struggle might be philosophically cast as meaning against meaninglessness, purpose and love against reductionism and the insatiable, burning destructive force of evil. But I digress.

Heidemann echoes the autobiographical work of C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, in the way he perceived Tolkien’s great adventure. Lewis found a reality in the great works of fiction that resonated with his own experiences of “joy” found in quiet, solitary walks and other transcendent moments that he chased much of his young adult life for the “life” he found in them.

Continue reading “More of a Believer than You Think?” →

Christmas thoughts: Humble Beginnings, Worldwide Ends

kevingdrendel3 Comments
canstockphoto7454869
(c) Can Stock Photo / Anke

Christmastime is a time to consider the birth of Christ. It’s “the reason for the season”, as the saying goes. Even with the busyness, commercialism and looming red eclipse of Santa, we usually pause to connect the dots to the birth of Jesus.

Whether you wish people a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, Christmas involves some acknowledgment of the birth of a man who was called Jesus who lived and died in the 1st Century in the region we identify as Palestine and Israel today. Here, in the confluence of Roman, Greek, Jewish and pagan influences, an obscure carpenter who lived maybe 33 years began a movement in human history that has spanned the globe and stood the test of time.

That movement has become the largest religion in the world today found on every continent and in every corner of the world. It is largely responsible for all the fundamental values of Western Civilization, though many people in “the west” have lost of sight of its influence. As appreciation seems to be waning for those foundations in the west, its influence is spreading in the east and global south.

It flourishes in the cold, communist climate of China and in the hotly hostile religious climate of Iran. It has made its way into the far reaches of the earth, down remote jungle streams and over barren desert sands to touch all people groups of the earth.

The circumstances of the birth of this influential, but humble, man are shrouded in mystery and quiet awe. Though many doubt the claims attached to him, no one can doubt his time enduring and global influence. His birth is the pivotal moment in human history and the pivotal point of God’s plan for his creation if we believe what has been told.

Continue reading “Christmas thoughts: Humble Beginnings, Worldwide Ends” →