Try not to hurt your brain.

Onuncu Boyutu Anlamak -1- Imagining the Tenth Dimension-1 - Click here for another funny movie.

The Gates of Hell

Here is a good little essay by Shane Claiborne. I added the photos.

C.S. Lewis understood hell, not as a place where God locks people out of heaven, but as a dungeon that we lock ourselves into and that we as a Church hold the keys. I think that gives us new insight when we look at the parable of Lazarus or hear the brilliant words with which Jesus reassures Peter: “The gates of Hell will not prevail against you.”

As an adolescent, I understood that to mean that the demons and fiery darts of the devil will not hit us. But lately I’ve done a little more thinking and praying, and I have a bit more insight on the idea of “gates.”

Gates are not offensive weapons. Gates are defensive—walls and fences we build to keep people out. God is not saying the gates of hell will not prevail as they come at us. God is saying that we are in the business of storming the gates of hell, and the gates will not prevail as we crash through them with grace.

People sometimes ask if we are scared of the inner city. I say that I am more scared of the suburbs. Our Jesus warns that we can fear those things which can hurt our bodies or we can fear those things which can destroy our souls, and we should be far more fearful of the latter. Those are the subtle demons of suburbia.
As my mother once told me, “Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others.” I’m scared of apathy and complacency, of detaching myself from the suffering. It’s hard to see until our 20/20 hindsight hits us—but every time we lock someone out, we lock ourselves further in.

Just as we are building walls to keep people out of our comfortable, insulated existence, we are trapping ourselves in a hell of isolation, loneliness and fear. We have “gated communities” where rich folks live. We put up picket fences around our suburban homes. We place barbed wire and razer-wire around our buildings and churches. We put bars on our windows in the ghettos of fear. We build up walls to keep immigrants from entering our country. We guard our borders with those walls—Berlin, Jerusalem, Jericho.
And the more walls and gates and fences we have, the closer we are to hell. We, like the rich man, find ourselves locked into our gated homes and far from the tears of Lazarus outside, far from the tears of God.Let us pray that God would give us the strength to storm the gates of hell, and tear down the walls we have created between those whose suffering would disrupt our comfort. May we become familiar with the suffering of the poor outside our gates, know their names, and taste the salt in their tears… then when “the ones God has rescued,” the Lazaruses of our world—the baby refugees, the mentally-ill wanderers, and the homeless outcasts—are seated next to God, we can say, “We’re with them.” Jesus has given them the keys to enter the Kingdom. Maybe they will give us a little boost over the gate.
And in the New Jerusalem, the great City of God, “on no day will its gates ever be shut.” The gates of the Kingdom will forever be open. (Revelation 21:25)

Important Analysis

If this doesn't scare you....well....what can I say?

Always Talking and Saying Nothing

First published over at Chris Martenson's site.

And in case you think this is something new....click this.

(1)
"At this juncture . . . the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime markets seems likely to be contained,"
Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007in a statement to Congress’ joint economic committee

(2)
"It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve - nor would it be appropriate - to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions.“
Ben Bernanke, October 15th, 2007

(3)
"[The U.S. economy] has a strong labor force, excellent productivity and technology, and a deep and liquid financial market that is in the process of repairing itself.”
Ben Bernanke, January 18, 2008

(4)
“The long-term fundamentals of our economy are strong," but "[w]e believe the economy is going to continue to grow slowly here. This is not an emergency.“
Hank Paulson January 18, 2008

5)
"[The economy] is fundamentally strong, diverse and resilient.“
Hank Paulson, February 14th, 2008

(6)
'The worst is likely to be behind us . . . . ”
Hank Paulson, May 7, 2008

(7)
On Freddie and Fannie: “They will make it through the storm”, "… in no danger of failing.","…adequately capitalized“ (two months later they were nationalized)
Ben Bernanke, July 16th, 2008

(8)
"I think all of our efforts, so far, have produced results. … And I think as those green shoots begin to appear in different markets and as some confidence begins to come back that will begin the positive dynamic that brings our economy back. … I do see green shoots"
Ben Bernanke, March 15, 2009
And:
“What you’re starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy.”
President Obama, April 10, 2009

(9)
"I think the sense of a ball falling off the table -- which is what the economy has felt like since the middle of last fall -- I think we can be reasonably confident that that's going to end within the next few months and you will no longer have that sense of free-fall,"
Lawrence Summers, April 8, 2009

(10)
“We are hopeful that the very sharp decline we saw beginning last fall through early this year will moderate considerably in the near term and we will see positive growth by the end of the year,"
Ben Bernanke, May 5, 2009to the Joint Economic Committee
and
"The recent data ... suggest that the pace of contraction may be slowing, and they include some tentative signs that final demand, especially demand by households, may be stabilizing,“
Ben Bernanke, May 5, 2009to the Joint Economic Committee

Christianity and Art

Picasso said, "Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen." If this is true it is really a slam on the state of modern Christian art and even modern "Christianity" in general.

Here is a quote from Franky Schaeffer and some photographic proof to back up his rant.

Today, Christian endeavor in the arts is typified by the contents of your local Christian bookstore-accessories-paraphenalia shop. For the coffee table we have a set of praying hands made out of some sort of pressed muck. Christian posters are ready to adorn your walls with suitable Christian graffiti to sanctify them and make them a justifiable expense. Perhaps a little plastic cube witha mustard seed entombed within to boost your understanding of faith. And as if this were not enough, a toothbrush with a bible verse stamped on its plastic handle. And a comb with a Christian slogan or two impressed on it. On a flimsy rack are stacked a pile of records. You may choose them at random blindfolded, for most of them will be the same idle rehash of acceptable spiritual slogans, endlessly recycled as pablum for the tone-deaf, television-softened brains of our present day Christians.

From this:

To this: