The Oscars, Luther, and Satan

So Lisa and I sat down to watch the Oscars. As a huge Jon Stewart fan I was extatic when they asked him back. Unfortunately, it seems like they didn't really let him say everything he wanted to say (or maybe the writers were still on strike) because he just wasn't as funny as he was the first time. Secondly, I guess the Academy was trying to make a statement to American filmmakers..."try harder." I think every country in the world got an Oscar last night...I was half expecting a Bangledeshi director to come receive one. By the end of the night I think 3 or 4 American's finally snuck off with an award. BTW I am now absolutely in love with "Falling Slowly" by The Frames.

So I'm reading about Luther for my Intro to Christian History course. I've always had respect for the man, but I'm starting to think it's only for the hype he gets as the first Protestant. I mean, the guy seems almost as paranoid as Bill O'Reily...if you didn't agree 100% with what he said then you were considered an enemy of his. Plus, other than 2 or 3 main ideas that I agree with, I've got to say I think he was flat out wrong on so many levels. He still maintained the eucharist was Christ's flesh and blood, his idea of justification is really only rooted in his personal extreme guilt about his sins, and he took out whatever texts he deemed as non-essential in the Bible. He was highly critical of James (one of my more liked letters) and argued how much it should be involved in teaching. This really creates a huge slippery slope about what texts are valid and not. I recognize that I have my own personal cannon of texts that I prefer...but if someone else has a cannon which speaks to them, who am I to discredit it.

The last thing that got me thinking was Luther's struggle Re: the creation and predestination of evil...particularly satan. He didn't understand how God could create satan (who has no free will) and predestined him to become evil. So I battled with it for a little bit and came up with this heresy. We like to think of Satan as a being...and whether we mean to or not we give him a lot of human characteristics. We can definitively say that Satan is not human...but how much of a non-human is he? Was Satan really a fallen angel...what if Satan is just figurative...an omnicious presence which exists in our subconsious and not in reality. It is the concept or the idea of choosing things that deviate us from God's will. (To really understand this you have to understand my stance on sin as the personal desires we chose in an attempt to be our own god, rather than the Americanized idea of "morality" that it has been made out to be.) Then satan is possibly just the creation...not of a predestined failed being...but rather of an ability...our ability, to think and reason in a negative way. To reason for our own personal ambitions and desires at the expense of other people, our planet, or even God Himself?

So here it is...

My rantings Blog...I guess I have finally jumped on the latest trendy technological bandwagon (and not a moment too soon since this too will fade into the meaningless abyss of Xanga, facebook, MySpace, etc.) I'm not quite sure what I want from this other than a place to journal openly about my thoughts and beliefs. Those incessant nagging ideas which undoubtedly will get me kicked out of seminary, or at least a church someday soon (if you don't get that yet, don't worry, you will soon.)

So...you want to know about me...or at least what I think. I mean why else would you be here? This is after all a movie about my life is it not? (A little Donald Miller humor for you Blue Like Jazz fans out there.) Well, I am a seminary student at George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, TX. I just started in January after getting married last November (still praying God manifest himself as divine birth control to save off kids for a year or two.) I like it...I'm in the process of deconstructing everything I have ever believed in an attempt to build it all back up again.

So far this is what I've figured out. I am contemporarily liturgical, fundamentally liberal, and postmodernly modern...if your mind is spinning just think about what is happening to mine. All I can seem to use to combine all of my feelings now is the title of this blog, which I took from a David Crowder song. Since I jacked the title I might as well share the rest of the song...youtube the video, it's worth watching.

At the start, He was there
In the end, He’ll be there
After all, our hands have wrought, He forgives

Oh the glory of it all, is He came here
For the rescue of us all, that we may live
For the glory of it all, for the glory of it all

All is lost, find Him there
After night, dawn is there
After all, falls apart, He repairs

Oh the glory of it all, is he came here
For the rescue of us all, that we may live
For the glory of it all, oh He is here
Redemption for us all, that we may live
For the glory it all, oh the glory of it all

After night, comes a light, dawn is here
It’s a new day, it’s a new day

Everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same...

Things will never be the same
We will never be the same...