Losing the War

The Podcast war, that is. I listen when I am driving alone, to school or on errands. Here it is mid-November and I am only up to mid-April on the ones I listen to regularly and falling further behind every week. I listen to:

• DTS Chapel
• 121 Community Church
• Fermi Project
  
• Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll
• A New Beginning with Greg Laurie
• Truth for Life with Alistair Begg

I listen to the DTS chapel services I miss because I am only on campus two days a week and chapel is four times a week. This goes to the top of my list, so I am never really behind on these. You can watch these as well. It is worth watching or listening to some good sermons. I listen to the 121 sermons I am not at church for and that does not happen more than a few times a year so I am up to speed there. The Fermi Project podcast is not as regular so it is easy to stay on top, they have some interesting stuff about what is going on as far as new ideas within the church.

The problem is the other three I have been listening to. There are lots of sermons on Podcast, I have been listening to these three guys for a while. My problem is that they are more prolific in putting these out than I am diligent in listening to them. I do not know how long these gentlemen will continue to Podcast but I need to do something, here's what I have thought about:

• Spend more time alone in the car
• Spend more time stuck in traffic

Neither of these are appealing to me. I like my wife too much to spend more time alone, and I do not like being stuck in traffic, even with my wife.

• Plan a long road trip vacation and listen as a couple
  

That actually has potential. We both like all of the speakers

• Run more errands
• Go to school full time
  
• Listen for several months after I die

The first two leave me cold, I like the balance in my life. The last one leaves me really cold, but it wouldn't be my decision as to availability in any event.

• Cut back on who I subscribe to listen to
  
• Wipe a bunch of back sermons off the iPod

Neither of those is even the least bit funny.

I guess I will struggle along until I can get on the road more.

I Learned a Lot This Week

My wife has a friend visiting from out of town, who is in with her almost 16 year old daughter. I have learned a lot this week. I learned that the Jonas Brothers were some DVD that was coming out at Target this past Tuesday. After learning this, I saw the "Brothers" were doing a cover of a Beatles tune, Hello Goodbye, on the Target commercial. (The thought of asking if she knew that was a Beatles song, or if she even knew who the Beatles were crossed my mind and was quickly squelched. A negative answer would have been too depressing). I would have probably seen the commercial without the previous factoid, but it would not have the same impact if I was not under the gentle instruction (and slightly high pitched squealing. It hurt my ears, good thing the dogs were outside) of one excited teenager.

I also learned something else. I didn't care. How about that? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against these guys. In fact, I know almost nothing about them. They are just not on my radar screen, sorry.

But it did get me to thinking that there is a whole plethora of information out there that I know nothing of and probably care an equal amount about. It is amazing how much we can know about our little circle of life, and how little about so many other circles. I seem to know especially little about those circles being drawn by the generations following me up through the journey of life.

Not knowing all is not bad, it is just survival. You cannot know everything in a burgeoning Information Age. Ironic, isn't it? The more that is available to be known, the more readily accessible it is, the smaller percentage of the sum totality of knowledge we actually hold. With that smaller percentage of total knowledge there seems to be a greater responsibility to focus on your worldview (Christian in the case of mine) and see what information is at there that is in alignment with it and more importantly, cuts against it. Not necessarily to change it, but to defend it intelligently. Not to know what is important to those who follow after us is to run the ever increasing risk of becoming marginalized in the world. You cannot defend a position if you do not know what you are defending it against. And I mean defense (an apologia (απολογία) in the Greek) in the context of giving a reasoned explanation for your position, not just an argument.

While I might need to be very selective as to the circles I plug myself into, I do need to be more aware of what is out there, how it impacts my world and others around me. No conservative Christian bubble for me, however, I do not think I will be travelling in the Jonas Brothers circle any time soon. I am just too square for that circle. But I may go to iTunes and download some Beatles music for my iPod.

Is Jesus Different?

Is the Jesus of the Bible different from the Jesus of the PC?

What I am really trying to get at is do we perceive things differently depending on the medium we choose to view things through. Let me explain a bit. I chose Jesus because he is the most constant, unchangeable person in my life. He, as deity, was, is and will always be. We learn in Matthew 24:35 that His words will never pass away.

But do we perceive Him differently depending on where it is we look at Him? When I read my NET Bible, I am sitting there looking at a book, the most traditional form of information in my life. But I wonder, do I read words differently on my PC then I do in a book? The reason I ask is that when I do a paper for seminary, I have to print it out and read it on paper before I turn it in. I always find something; a word that passes word check but is used me in the wrong context; some grammar issue, some incomplete or incoherent thought that really looked good on the computer screen. Boy, what was I thinking? (Or what was I looking at?)

Is that just me, is it my generation, or is that people in general? I don't know the answer to that one; I can only speak for myself.

Right now at my disposal I have several print versions of the Bible available to me, select bible books on my iPod, and even more bible versions available over the internet on sites like BibleGateway.com.

I think the nuances I pick up on, the perceptions and those beautiful nuggets I occasionally mine out on my own (very occasionally, like total solar eclipse occasionally) are going to be different depending how I am reading about Jesus. He is the great constant in my life. What is different is how I approach Him as my Savior and the Lord of my life. I think the media I use to read the Bible makes a difference. If it does with Jesus, I cannot imagine how big the impact on how I view everything else is. I do not know if this is good or bad; but it is something to keep in mind.

In my case, the Jesus of the Bible (defined as a traditional hard bound copy) is different from the Jesus of the PC. I can study a multi-faceted deity in a multi-faceted way. Upon reflection, I think that is a good thing.