http://swingthesickle.com/forum/ http://www.eblah.com en http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1203551539/ http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1203551539/#num1 This video is hilarious.  I can't believe this.]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:52:19 Joab http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1201744140/ http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1201744140/#num1
At first I thought I was offended because this man made a judgement call about us based solely on our appearances...besides the fact that I wear a ring with an ichthus (Christian fish) on it. Then I realized it was something else.

I was offended by two different things. First, the group he was with left a huge mess in the cafe; and second, he showed no personal interest in me before placing that track on the counter. All it seemed he wanted was to increase is "souls saved" number. I think this is why so many non-Christians hate Christians. Most Christians will not take the time to invest in people and find out about them personally before presuming to witness to them.

Think about it. If someone who knows nothing about you and has shown no real interest in you tries to convince you to believe in a strange idea...would you even listen to them. If you're really honest with yourself, I bet you said, "no."

Christians need to learn that we must care firstly for people. If we do not genuinely care for people, then what good is the message we tell them? People must always have their physical, mental, and personal needs met long before they will ever believe in the God we say we serve.]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:49:00 dempsey http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1197281137/ http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1197281137/#num1 repetative. It's the same thing over and over: illustrations of the empty cross, or a text-dominated piece backed by literal interpretation of the passage. The worst is bumper sticker theology.

The thing I want to see in visual art is visual. I don't want to look at a piece and spend five minutes reading text.  I want to look at a piece and see a passage visually come to life.

I've been searching for artwork that meets this criteria. Some of my favorites are...

Job and His Friends by Ilya Repin. 1869.
Job is my (middle) namesake, hence the interest in this painting. But I like the tension that Repin creates by the distance between Job and his friends, wife, and even the dog. Job's a broken man, but some how he's holding on to his faith in God.

Fight Between Jacob and the Angel by Eugene Delacroix. 1850-61.
I like this mural, because it shows lots of motion in the struggle between Jacob and the Angel. I like this story, because Jacob wrestled the Angel and demanded a blessing. He didn't ask politely. It was an all night wrestling match.]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:05:37 Daniel http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1194406846/ http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1194406846/#num1 Russell Crowe has announced he's getting baptized in a Byzantine chapel. He doesn't mention what denomination exactly, but the blogger I linked to postulates Orthodox from the use of the word "Byzantine."]]> Tue, 6 Nov 2007 19:40:46 Matthew http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1193726368/ http://swingthesickle.com/forum/m-1193726368/#num1
Case in point--Westlake Fellowship Methodist Church:

]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:39:28 Rachel