I’m taking a little after-lunch break and decided to put together tomorrow’s se7en post, but this week in the blogosphere has been rather slow. So instead, I’m sharing a video from Bill Maher. I’m not much of a fan, but I have to admit, he does put things into perspective. After having worked my first retail Christmas season in a few years, I must say, he isn’t too far off the mark. Jesus has taken a back seat to consumerism, at least in Western culture. So watch the video and remember why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not about how much we can get, but instead, how much we’ve been given.
The idea that God, if there is a force of logic and love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw… a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry… unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.
I featured that quote two years ago, but I felt it needed restating. Regardless of your opinions about Bono, as far as I’m concerned, that quote is still one of the best gospel presentations I’ve ever read, and it really puts into perspective what this time of year is all about.
A Generation of Men Raised By Women, from The Art of Manliness website. You know fatherlessness is an issue when even secularists are admitting it. Just sayin’. And to all parents, if you aren’t listening to your kid’s music, don’t complain when you find out they’re listening to music you don’t approve of. I deal with this every day at work. There’s a reason some stuff has a warning label – it isn’t appropriate for a 10-year old! Back to the men – God knew what he was doing in commanding men to lead.
“When churches lose their influence, when the Christian message ceases to arrest the indifferent and the unbelieving, when moral decline is obvious in places which once owned biblical standards – when such symptoms as these are evident, then the first need is not to regroup such professing Christianity as remains. It is rather to ask whether the spiritual decline is not due to a fundamental failure to understand and practise what Christianity really is.” – What Christianity Really Is.
Shaun King with a great post on prayer and why he stopped praying for healing in his body.
Anna and I celebrated the unofficial first anniversary of our first date last night at The Brandy House in Monroe (our actual anniversary is December 15, but Friday was the first night our schedules meshed this week). Anyways, after dinner, we ventured over to their bar for a few after dinner drinks, which brings me to the next installment of What’s On Tap? I began with a single malt scotch, then bourbon and then another single malt to finish.
First up: Dalmore Cigar Malt. This is something I’ve wanted to try ever since I first tried the Dalmore. Like many Scotch Whiskies, it had a robust peaty smell, enough to make Anna rear back. But like the other Dalmore single malts I’ve tried, the taste was almost buttery, with a hint of sweetness, yet still a little bite from the peat. All scotches from The Dalmore are considered Highland malts. Not something I would regularly buy a bottle of this, but it is supposed to pair well with a cigar, and that was something I was missing. So maybe I’ll give it another shot and next time have a cigar with it.
Next up, what I consider to be old faithful. Always in my top three, but likely my favorite bourbon, Woodford Reserve. Considered a Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey, Woodford is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby and their distillery is one of the official stops on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It has very sweet, but strong smell, so strong that as soon as the bartender placed the glass in front of me Anna remarked that she could smell it from a few feet away. However, it’s a very smooth drink, which allows even non-experienced consumers to enjoy the complexity of this whiskey. The tasting notes vary from wood, to vanilla, to floral notes, with a hint of spice.
Last, but certainly not least, I tried the Glenfiddich 12 year old single malt. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for quite awhile now, as the Glenfiddich is considered a heavyweight in the world of Single Malt Scotch. It is considered a Speyside malt, and as such had characteristics of other single malts from that region. It had a slighty sweet, but underwhelming smell, and a very peaty taste, yet much smoother than The Dalmore. Even Anna remarked it wasn’t as offensive to her nose as the other two whiskies, as they can both be somewhat overwhelming to non-whisky drinkers. A very easy-drinking whisky, the Glenfiddich was truly representative of the Gaelic translation for whisk(e)y, “water of life”.
Glossary of Terms:
- Whiskey – a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash (think wort from the first posting of What’s On Tap?). Different grains are used for different varieties, including corn, barley, malted barley, malted rye and wheat. What separates whiskey from other distilled spirits (thereby making it whiskey) are the grains used and the fact that it’s aged in wood barrels. Other spirits may use similar grains or may be aged in wood barrels, but not both.
- Whisky – what the Scots call whiskey
- Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Scotch Whisky produced from only water and malted barley at a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
- Highland & Speyside Malts – two of the Single Malt distilling regions. Highland Malts are produced in the Highland region of Scotland (let the Highlander jokes begin). Speyside Malts are distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey. Typically, the region in which a whisky is distilled does have some effect on it’s smell and taste, as the differing climates affect the whiskies differently.
- Peat – an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter (i.e. grass, dirt and plants in turf form) which is used instead of wood as the fuel source for the fires which heat the malt (barley, yeast and water – i.e. young whisky). Much like the wood used in a barbecue imparts flavors to the meats, peat imparts flavor to the whisky.
- Bourbon Whiskey – an American whiskey, made primarily from corn and named for Bourbon County, Kentucky (although it can be made anywhere in the United States). To be called bourbon, a whiskey must meet a strict list of requirements mandated by the United States Congress on May 4, 1964. Bourbon Whiskey has been named both “America’s Native Spirit” and the official drink of the United States by the United States government.
- Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey – bourbons that are positioned for the upper-premium market, and have been growing in popularity recently as a reply from bourbon producers to the enormous success of single malt scotch whiskies. Small-batch bourbons are typically aged from six to nine years but more limited series are also available (aged up to 23 years). Some of these whiskies are made by larger distilleries in order to capitalize on the premium market (for example, Jim Beam produces Basil Hayden’s, Knob Creek, Baker’s and Booker’s), but many are small batch simply due to limited production, whether it be self-imposed or not. Examples of those distilleries would include Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark and Four Roses.
Apparently, LeBron James’ Rise commercial (aka, What should I do?) didn’t sit well with Michael Jordan. Here’s his response. In other words, LeBron got served.
Always willing to try something new, North Point Community Church opened their services last Sunday with a Christmas medley…… on borrowed iPads and iPhones! Check it out here.
Original artwork for every book of the Old Testament. Very cool.
For the pastors out there, The Resurgence presents a very convincing (and Biblical) argument for why you should raise up preachers in your church.
Monday before last, Mark Driscoll posted the following on his Facebook: “It’s a Jay-Z soundtrack kind of day. Watched his NY show this weekend – I know he says bowling words but man the guy is a genius.” And with that, the flame wars began. You had people condemning Mark, people defending Mark, even people who were probably too confused to know what was going on (click here to see the full stream of comments). Last week, Mark decided to address the situation, along with some other things that came up because of it. Whether you like him or not, he is correct when he writes, “People say things digitally they would never say in a face-to-face conversation.”
Shaun King shares his gut reaction after hearing the story of Dr. William Petit on Oprah. It’s posts like that which remind me I’m not the only one who chooses to continue serving God, despite not having all the answers.
Christmas is only two weeks away, so this week I’ve featured a couple posts hoping to clear up what is myth and what is reality when it comes to Christmas traditions. You can read the other two posts by clicking here (part 1) and here (part 2). So, last, but not least, two final questions. The first: Did Santa Claus really exist?
Well…… it depends on your idea of Santa. If we’re talking about the jolly, fat man in a bright, red suit who lives at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus, flying reindeer and a bunch of elves who spend all year making toys…… that’s a relatively modern, American creation. But the inspiration at the center of those myths actually did live. Saint Nicholas of Myra lived in the fourth century A.D. and was the Bishop of Myra. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving and thus became the model for Santa Claus. The name “Santa Claus” comes from the Dutch “Sinterklaas”, which is a truncation of “Sint Nicolaas” (Saint Nicholas). The Dutch were also the first to give him a flowing, white beard. “Sinterklaas” serves as the name of both the figure and the holiday named after him. Traditionally, Sinterklaas (the holiday) is celebrated on Saint Nicholas’ Eve (December 5). The Dutch brought Sinterklaas to America, and in 1809, Washington Irving Americanized “Sinterklaas” into “Santa Claus”. In 1821, the book A New-Year’s Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve was published and featured Old Santeclaus, an anonymous poem describing an old man on a reindeer sleigh, bringing presents to children. Two years later, in 1823, A Visit from Saint Nicholas was published. We know it better as The Night Before Christmas. Many of Santa Claus’ more familiar attributes, such as riding in a sleigh that lands on the roof, entering through the chimney, and having a bag full of toys, were established in this poem. Additionally, the reindeer were also named in The Night Before Christmas.
Over the following years, the image of Santa began to evolve into that of a large, heavyset man who lives at the North Pole. Thomas Nast is attributed with much of that evolution, as an illustration of his that appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1863 was the first to put all the attributes together in one picture. Nast was also the first artist to depict Santa wearing red and white (up to that time Santa wore a variety of colors). But the Santa Claus we’ve come to know and love was cemented by Haddon Sundblom’s depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company’s Christmas advertising in the 1930′s. His image (at least in the West) has remained the same ever since. So, was Santa Claus real? You could definitely argue he was based upon a real, historical figure. But aside from the gift-giving, most of the legend is just that – legend.
Now onto the final question: what’s the big deal about “Xmas”?
The answer I’ve heard all my life is, “Because it leaves ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas’.” But is it really true? By saying “Xmas”, are we really leaving Christ out of Christmas? For years I assumed so. I mean, surely that many people wouldn’t be fooled into believing something false? That’s what I thought until last week, when Tammy, over at In Progress, blogged about this very topic and basically lifted the veil from my eyes. Of course, I did a little fact checking, just to make sure she was right, but everything turned out in her favor. So here it is: The “-mas” part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for “mass”, while the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as “Christ”.
In other words, “X” is a Greek abbreviation for the word “Christ”.
The Oxford English Dictionary has cited usages of “X-” for “Christ-” as early as 1485, and the usage of “Xtianity” for “Christianity” from 1634. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, most of the evidence for these words comes from “educated Englishmen who knew their Greek”.
There you have it. “Xmas” is not “x-ing Christ out of Christmas”, as many have argued. It actually keeps Christ in Christmas.
Tuesday, I began a series of posts looking at the origins of some of our favorite Christmas traditions. Today, I’m going to cover a rather controversial one, and that is the date of Christmas itself – why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25?
I’ve actually met many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, who really believe we celebrate Christmas on December 25 because that’s when Jesus was born, yet there is no proof to support that belief. The first recorded celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25 was in Rome, in the year 354, according to Chronography 354. However, beginning in the eighteenth century, many scholars began to argue against that date, largely due to Luke’s account (Luke 2:8) stating that shepherds were in the field tending their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth, that he was born either in the spring, summer or autumn. That logic would make sense in a western climate; but Jesus was born in Bethlehem – the Middle East, which has been known to have a mild climate even in December. So, while it is possible Jesus was born on December 25, we don’t know for certain, and the Bible doesn’t give us a date. But that still leaves us with the question of, why December 25? While there is a bit of uncertainty surrounding the answer, the answer itself is certain: that’s the date the Church chose. Some, such as Isaac Newton, argue that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice, which the Romans called Bruma and celebrated on December 25. Others have argued that December 25 was selected to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Still, others argue for the belief that creation began on the date of the spring equinox (March 25) and that Jesus had to have been born nine months (December 25) after this celebratory date. And others propose that it was selected to correspond with the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
However, to be blunt – the date of Jesus’ birth is of little importance. What is important is that Jesus was born. And while we should celebrate him daily, it is a good thing to choose one day for all Christians around the world to lay aside their differences and distractions, and celebrate that God came down to Earth in human form to reveal himself to us and ultimately, to redeem us.
Personally, I believe that as Pagans converted to Christianity, they brought along some of their former practices, which did not conflict with the Bible. It could even be an example of the early Christians living out the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 and “becoming all things to all people, that by all means they might save some.” I could definitely see Paul telling a former Pagan, “I heard you used to throw some big parties for Saturn around this time of year. Who said you have to give up the party? It’s not the celebration that is wrong, it’s the what that you’re celebrating that is wrong. Why not celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25?” And there you have an example of redeeming a tradition. Our practice of exchanging gifts actually supports this, as it aligns more with the Saturnalian practice of gift giving than anything else. Now I know many people will argue that we exchange gifts because the wise men in Matthew chapter 2 presented gifts to Jesus. But from a historical perspective, it was actually very common for royalty and the wealthy to present newborn royalty with gifts, as a way of showing respect. And Matthew 2:2 states the wise men believe Jesus to be King of the Jews. Additionally, the practice of Christmas gift giving was actually banned by the Catholic Church during the middle ages, as it was believed to have Pagan origins. They later lifted the ban because of it’s association with Saint Nicholas (i.e. Santa Claus, whom I’ll get to in a bit), as well as Matthew chapter 2 and the wise men. So while you could stretch Matthew chapter 2 to cover the exchanging of gifts, it’s more likely that it’s a Christian inclusion of a harmless Pagan tradition.
Saturday, I’ll wrap up this series of posts by covering two Christmas topics: is Santa Claus real, and what’s the big deal with “Xmas”?
First off, I have to admit that I totally stole the title and idea for this post from Tammy over at inProgress. She wrote a post called Seasonal Clarity, which I really enjoyed. What I’m attempting to do is dig a little into the origins of several western Christmas traditions, as well as dispel a few myths, all while hopefully keeping the sarcasm pendulum closer to the funny and further from the biting. Also, I want to stress that I am not anti-Christmas. I love celebrating Christmas, I love watching the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story, I love the other movies that only seem to be playing during the Christmas season (Home Alone, The Muppets Christmas Carol, etc.), and I love that we’re playing Elf nonstop at work. Seriously. It’s one of the few movies we’ve played that doesn’t get old. Oh, and, the gifts are definitely a plus as well.
But…… there are a few things that, even from an early age had me asking questions.
Let’s begin with the obvious: where do Christmas trees, tinsel and lights come from? And no, Home Depot is NOT the correct answer. But seriously, those things are nowhere to be found in the Bible, yet you’ll find them in nearly every church this time of year, as well as many Christians’ homes. The Christmas tree is probably the most Christian of Christmas decorations (aside from a nativity scene), and while it’s early roots are somewhat muddled due to discrepancies in oral histories, the tradition of it being at the center of the decorative elements during Christmas date back to Martin Luther, when he chose it as a Protestant counterpart to the Catholic nativity scene, while the tradition of decorating a tree can be traced to sixteenth century Livonia. Of course, these days you’ll see Catholics with Christmas trees and Protestants with nativity scenes. Tinsel was added sometime in the seventeenth century, to reflect off the candles that hung from Christmas trees (still kind of wondering how there were no mass Christmas fires), and to act as a starry night sky in nativity scenes. As for the lights, this was a practice borrowed from Pagan celebrations, most notably the celebration of the winter solstice. Now, before anyone gets angry and decides to post a comment or rip all their lights down, keep in mind it isn’t the first thing we borrowed from Pagans, but I’ll get to that in my next post. Back to the actual lights – the first known Christian usage of them was not in what would eventually become the annual celebration of Christ’s birth, but instead to signify to other Christians where their next corporate worship gathering would take place. While the first Christians experienced some persecution, it wasn’t until Nero was emperor that Christians under Roman rule faced widespread persecution. Beginning in the year 64 and continuing until the year 313, when Constantine issued the Edict of Toleration, if you were caught practicing the Christian faith, or even caught with Christian relics and symbols, you were arrested and possibly tortured or killed. So in those days, the safest method of advertising the next meeting spot was placing a candle in the window of the home where Christians would meet a few days prior to the gathering. As more Pagans converted to Christianity, candles, which at that time were often used in Pagan celebrations, had become commonplace in Christian worship gatherings. By the seventeenth century, German Christians were using small candles to illuminate Christmas trees, and by the nineteenth century, the tradition had spread to the majority of the western world.
If you’re still reading, either you really enjoy my writing style, or I haven’t made you angry yet. Either way, thank you for sticking it out. But I have to warn you, things are going to get hairy with the next question.
Why December 25?
I’ll cover that, and more, on Thursday!
“Who Needs Marriage?” is the headline of last week’s issue of Time. According to 39% of American adults surveyed by the Pew Forum, marriage is becoming obsolete. USA Today provides an analysis, as does Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
A very interesting infographic on what your web design says about you.
A little bit of seasonal clarity. I’m actually considering writing a similar post that takes a look at where many of our Christmas traditions actually originated, but I have to be careful, because when it comes to Christmas and the way many Christians celebrate it, I can get a little too sarcastic. Sarcastic to the point of offending people.
Once again, Carlos asks a great question. This has to be my favorite post of last week.
Living “above reproach” in a world full of Jay-Z’s and rated R movies.
Can we answer extremism the way Christ did, by dying for the ones who know not what they do?
We are who God says we are, and that isn’t Osteenism. We are redeemed sinners, but in Christ, we are redeemed sinners.
I don’t always agree with Brian McLaren, but in my opinion, he hit a home run on this post: American ‘Exceptionalism’ Can Degenerate Into Superiority.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been tossing ideas for future posts around and one idea kept coming back. I already review books from time to time on this site, why not post reviews of something else I love – drinks?
Just so everyone knows, I strongly support moderation when enjoying adult beverages (i.e. drinking for taste and enjoyment, not drunkenness). Also, you won’t be seeing posts on crap beers (i.e. the mass produced domestic beers), nor will you be seeing posts often, as I live in an area of the U.S. where very few craft breweries and distilleries distribute. But what I do get to try, I’ll share here.
To kick things off, I’ll be reviewing Shiner Smokehaus. Brewed by the fine folks at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, Smokehaus is labeled as the “Perfect Sommer Beer”. So yeah, I’m a few months late. I’m actually surprised my local store still had a few six-packs. When poured, the beer itself looks rather similar to any one of the major domestic lagers (i.e. Budweiser or MGD). It has a dark golden hue and a light head which dissipates within 30 seconds. But looks can be very deceiving. Upon first taste, Smokehaus is very smooth, yet flavorful. My first impression is this is a craft beer the average person could enjoy. I say that because, if you take someone who drinks nothing but cheap, mass produced light beer and hand them a Sam Adams Boston Lager or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, they might not know how to handle it as the flavors are much more intense and you can actually taste each individual ingredient. Smokehaus has a very smooth taste that is not overpowered by hops. Moving on, the label on the bottle states that this is a “Mesquite Smoked Beer”, which had me scratching my head. Do they add liquid smoke? Do they throw wood into the wort? I headed over to the Shiner website, but seeing as how Smokehaus is out of season, they didn’t have any information. So I went to Wikipedia and according to them, “Spoetzel’s smoked ‘sommer’ beer is brewed with pale malt that’s been smoked with native mesquite.” In other words, instead of roasting the barley, they smoke it to impart mesquite flavor, much like smoked meats in a barbecue pit. And that mesquite flavor is definitely present in the finish. It’s a little odd at first, but it isn’t a bad taste and kind of makes me want some barbecue now. I could definitely see Smokehaus being a great pairing with some brisket or smoked pork.
Overall, Smokehaus is another great offering from the folks at Shiner. While it wouldn’t find a permanent home in my fridge, if I hosted a barbecue this is a beer I could definitely see myself serving, as it seems like it would pair well with smoked food and would also serve as a good introduction to craft beers for the uninitiated. I give it a B.
Glossary of Terms
- malt – a starch that has been soaked in water; almost always a grain and usually barley.
- hops – the main flavor ingredient in beer, hops contribute bitterness, as well as floral, citrus and herbal aromas and flavors to the beer. Hops also act as a preservative.
- yeast – the microorganism responsible for fermentation in beer. The yeast eat the sugars found in the starch and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.
- wort – young beer. Beer before yeast has been added.
- craft beer – beer produced by a microbrewery.
- microbrewery – a brewery that produces craft beers. Okay, seriously, a small, typically domestic (although, the terms craft beer and microbrewery are also used in Canada and New Zealand) brewery which brews beer aimed more at distinction and flavor, rather than mass production. Many microbreweries began as home brews (e.g. Jim Koch & Sam Adams and Sam Calagione & Dogfish Head). Currently, microbreweries account for around 5% of American beer consumption. As Jim Koch said in the documentary Beer Wars, “Anheuser-Busch spills more beer on their packing lines than we produce in a year.”
