The Salty Peanut Gallery

Every New Year’s Eve millions of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. USA.gov has come up with a list of Popular New Year’s Resolutions. Here are some of the things that Americans will resolve to do in 2008:

* Lose Weight
* Pay Off Debt
* Save Money
* Get a Better Job
* Get Fit
* Eat Right
* Get a Better Education
* Drink Less
* Quit Smoking
* Reduce Stress

Unfortunately, this yearly ritual has come to be viewed by some as a bit of a joke mainly because most New Year’s resolutions turn out to be fruitless. Many charge out of the gates spurred by good intentions, but fade down the stretch losing their resolve. As a result some believe that New Year’s resolutions are a waist of time and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Making New Year’s resolutions doesn’t have to be an exercise in futility, however. When you think about it, it’s really a matter of priorities. King Solomon put it this way:

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10).

I have a good friend that sums it up this way: “Love God and eat pizza.” For about four years now I’ve been embroiled in what has been the most difficult crisis of my entire life. Only recently has the crisis sufficiently subsided allowing life to return to some degree of normalcy. The problem for me now is in remembering just what it’s like to live a normal life again. After devoting so much time and effort into managing a crisis, who could have imagined how challenging it would be to resume life after the crisis? That’s where the wisdom of Solomon comes in.

So here’s my New Year’s resolution for 2008: Enjoy the life that God has given me and serve God with all my heart. That’s it. Now I’m not talking about hedonism. But what I am talking about is making the most of every opportunity that God gives me to truly live. Carpe diem, baby! Love God and eat pizza!

After two years of research Notre Dame astrophysicist, Grant Mathews, thinks he has uncovered the most likely identity of the Bethlehem star. For hundreds of years astronomers, theologians and historians have theorized about the star that led Wise Men from the east. Without any real accurate documentation on the exact time of Jesus birth, it is impossible to say with absolute certainty what caused this heavenly occurrence. However, with modern day access to NASA’s databases Mathews has made an attempt that he feels is “as good as you can do for now.”

Mathews has identified a handful of possibilities that include supernovas, novas and planetary alignments. He believes the most likely candidate, though, is a planetary alignment which took place April 17, 6 B.C. in which “the sun, Jupiter, the moon and Saturn aligned in the constellation Aries while Venus and Mars were in neighboring constellations.” He attributes this conclusion not only to the timing of the event, but also the astrological implications which would have signified to the Magi the birth of a powerful leader.

And who am I to argue with an astrophysicist of Mathews’ caliber? But I’m wondering if maybe this isn’t less of an astrological issue and more a theological issue. Follow me on this one. In Matthew 2:1-2 & 9 we read:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” … When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

Notice that they initially saw the star “in the East”, but later on, after leaving Jerusalem, the star “went before them and stood” over where the Christ Child was. Now I ask you, does that sound at all like the characteristics of a natural astrological occurrence to you? Can we really hazard a plausible scientific explanation for this?

Or might there be a more biblical explanation? Are there any other instances in scripture that resemble this phenomenon? How about Exodus 13:21 when the Lord led the children of Israel through the wilderness “by day in a pillar of cloud…and by night in a pillar of fire.” God radiated His Shekinah glory in the form of light that was indescribable. Isn’t it more likely that this was what the Magi saw?

I find it interesting this insatiable need that we have to find scientific explanations for everything in scripture. Is it really that difficult for us to acknowledge God’s inscrutable and incomprehensible nature? Can’t we just admit that there are certain things about who He is and what He does that are far beyond our ability to understand? The Bethlehem star appeared to the Magi for no other reason then this: God spoke it into existence, just like every other star in the heavens. What’s so difficult about that?

James Taylor’s “At Christmas” has become one of my favorite Christmas albums ever, ranking right up there with the Carpenters “Christmas Portrait” as one the greatest holiday recordings of all time. Follow the link to a really cool version of a Christmas classic. Here’s James Taylor singing “Jingle Bells”.

Did you catch it? (subliminal message) If someone hadn’t pointed it out I’d have missed it completely. (totally bogus) It’s a cross. (it’s bologna) That’s right. And I should know. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia Cavaliers (go Hoos!) and Mr. Dial-A-Quote himself, Larry J. Sabato, (full of mud) director of the UVA Center for Politics. (big head) The Wall Street Journal calls Sabito “the most-quoted college professor in the land”. (get a life) And if Larry says that without question Huckabees add has a subliminal cross, (talking head) well you can pretty well bank on it. (ya, right) Larry was seen on FOXNews, Fox & Friends this morning explaining that the ad was specifically designed to appeal to the Christian base which makes up a substantial percentage of Republican voters in Iowa. (slam dunk) Me, I still say it’s just a bookshelf. But what do I know?

More Christmas cheer to help you get into the holiday spirit. Who wouldn’t love “Carol of the Bells” on electric guitars. Here’s the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

In a twenty minute speech held last Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library before a crowd of 300 supporters and religious leaders, Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, tried to assure evangelical Christians and other religious voters that his Mormon values matched theirs. The speech drew obvious comparisons to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 address before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association concerning his Roman Catholic faith. With Romney slipping in Iowa to former Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, it had become imperative that he do something to shift attention back toward his candidacy.

I have to admit that there are a couple of things about that speech that I found encouraging. Romney said:

“I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from the God who gave us liberty. Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage.”

“In recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning,” he said. “They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America — the religion of secularism. They are wrong.”

“I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest,” he said. “A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.”

I couldn’t agree more. A true understanding and respect for the First Amendment; public acknowledgement of the Divine Author of liberty; strong opposition toward the secularization of public discourse; these are the kinds of remarks that any conservative Christian would want to hear from a presidential candidate.

On the other hand this speech really does nothing to allay the concerns of the many evangelicals who are struggling with the idea of voting for a Mormon presidential candidate. In fact in many ways I think it serves to illustrate the obvious disconnect that exists today between politicians and conservative Christians.

Romney stated, “There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.” He also added, “My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history.”

Later on he said, “No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths… We do not insist on a single strain of religion—rather, we welcome our nation’s symphony of faith.”

Here’s the problem as I see it. First of all, Mormons may use similar terminology, but their beliefs about Christ are nothing at all like those of evangelicals. Our understanding of the nature of God and Christ isn’t even remotely similar. Consequently Mormonism is a false gospel that does not lead to eternal life, but rather leads to death. The Apostle Paul warned believers to reject “a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you” - Galatians 1:8-9.

Additionally, while Romney’s devotion to religious tolerance is certainly commendable, on a practical level it’s not very realistic. Isaiah 45:5-6 says:

I am the LORD, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;

There is only one God who hears our prayers. It may be politically expedient to welcome “the prayers of the people of all faiths,” but the fact remains that there is no power in prayers offered to a god who doesn’t exist.

Be that as it may, there are a number of evangelical leaders today that don’t see this as a problem. Some say Romney’s religious affiliation “shouldn’t be a deal breaker” for people of faith, arguing that “we’re not electing a Sunday school teacher, we’re electing a president.” Maybe they’re right. And frankly I do believe Romney when he says, “I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion.” But there are still a couple of concerns that we as evangelicals must be willing to face in order to support Mr. Romney for president.

Number one, would we have this same religious tolerance for a conservative presidential candidate if he were say a Muslim, or a Buddhist or a Hindu? Can evangelicals in good conscience vote for someone who worships a different god then we do?

Secondly, by supporting a devout Mormon candidate, will evangelicals in effect be legitimizing Mormonism? Put another way, how might a Mormon president affect the worldwide missionary cause of Mormonism even from a purely symbolic standpoint?

I’m not saying evangelicals shouldn’t vote for Romney. All I’m saying is that we as Christians need to be willing to ask ourselves some very tough questions before making the decision to support his presidential candidacy.

Here’s one of my all time favorite artists performing his unique rendition of a Christmas classic as only James Taylor can.

This comes from Christian Web Trends Blog. Thanks for the heads up from our good friend Paul.

Some churches try so hard to attract visitors to their Christmas Eve services that entertaining guests becomes more important than the Christmas message. Here are…

12. This year’s Christmas Eve service is being held in rented facilities thanks to the pyrotechnics display in last year’s Christmas eve service.