Tag: Jesus Christ

Myersvision: Alexander Scourby

The Portly Politico3 Comments

Growing up, I remember pastors championing the King James Version of the Bible as the only reliable translation.  It is, indeed, exceptional—and, even for a hyperintelligent Übermensch like yours portly, exceptionally difficult to read.  I now primarily use the New King James Version, which retains the KJV’s accuracy, while updating the syntax and language for modern readers.

That said, the NKJV still loses some of the poetry of the KJV.  Christianity is a reading religion, but it’s also a spoken one, and like all poetry, the Bible is meant to be read aloud.  Not many of us do it well.  When it’s done right, however, it pierces our souls.

Audre Myers graciously wrote this beautiful piece about the recorded King James Version, available on YouTube.  Actor Alexander Scourby reads the entire Bible, and from the videos I’ve listened to so far, it’s gorgeous.

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TBT: Chapel Lesson: Listening

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School’s back, and that means Chapel on Thursdays!  Today is one of the first chapels of the school year.  I always enjoy hearing the short little devotionals from our chaplain, and they’re quite beneficial for those students who choose to take them to heart.

There was a small chance that I might be asked to serve as chaplain this year—quite a responsibility!—but the school obtained someone more qualified for the job (in other words, someone with an actual degree in theology and practical experience in ministry).  I imagine I will still be called upon, at times, to provide a short homily or lesson when the new guy is absent.

Regardless, it seemed like an excellent time to look back at this little message I delivered to our students last year.  Listening is hard, and it’s even harder when we’re constantly engulfed in noise.  That makes it particularly hard to listen to God’s Still, Small Voice, much less the much louder voices of people around us.

With that, here is 30 August 2022’s “Chapel Lesson: Listening“:

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TBT^2: Reclaim the Rainbow

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In our age of identity politics, where every individual’s personal peccadilloes are deemed a political statement and therefore there is, ironically, no division between the individual and the state, we are forced to celebrate “pride,” one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Apparently, partaking in casual buggery with one’s demiqueer otherkin is cause for public celebrations and live sex acts performed before children.

That said, all the “Pride Month” foolishness seems more toned down this year.  There’s no doubt it’s still there, sashaying its glittery sinfulness through corporate America, but the rainbow is more muted.  Readers have probably heard how Target shuffled its Pride displays in Southern locations away from the fronts of stores after backlash from kid’s clothing with wiener-tucking abilities.  Anecdotally, while strolling through PetSmart, I saw one tiny display of “Pride” dog toys in the far back portion of the store.  Modern dog owners are already kind of weirdos (gulp!) who seem like they’d be into any alternative lifestyle, so even here in the South, it seems like PetSmart could get away with more flamboyant displays.  Instead, they’re sticking to what they do best—selling overpriced pet supplies.

The backlash seems to be from the increasingly overt efforts to force “Pride” onto children.  When it was just adults being forced to watch two men make out on television, or vague proclamations that “love is love,” we might wince, but it was hard to get over the (disingenuous and flawed) argument that “it’s just consenting adults; we’re just raising awareness.”

Now that there’s the clear grooming of children going on—an active effort to indoctrinate and seduce children into highly inappropriate and unnatural sexual relationships with adults—people are finally waking up.  The quest for homosexual “rights” was nothing but a Trojan condom horse to prey upon the vulnerable and the innocent.

Thirty years ago, it was, “we just want to come out of the shadows.”

Twenty years ago, it was, “we just want to get married, too.”

Ten years ago, it was, “we want to become another gender.”

Now it’s “we want to force your child to become a gender, then we want to have sex with it.”

Sin surely sends us down a slippery slope.

With that, here is “TBT: Reclaim the Rainbow“:

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The Importance of Science Fiction

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Science fiction is amazing.  When it comes to fiction, it is probably my favorite genre, second to (but rivaling) only the ghost story.  Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction, which—as the name suggests—speculates about future events.

But the best science fiction doesn’t just look into the future—it tells us about ourselves, past, present, and future.  That so much of the great science fiction of the twentieth century has come true, to one extent or another, is indicative of the power of the genre to diagnose social developments, if not to predict them precisely.

The latest uproar over artificial intelligence—and the apparent willingness, blind or intentional, to develop it beyond all sensible precautions—is a prime example of the failure to take the warnings of science fiction seriously.

Science fiction is not Scripture—far from it!—but we ignore its warnings at our peril.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Baccalaureate Service 2023

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

The following is the written version of the speech/sermon I’ll be giving at my school’s baccalaureate service tomorrow, Sunday, 20 May 2023.  It pulls from the Scripture readings that students will make prior to my little sermonette, which are Proverbs 3:1-6, James 1:2-5, Psalm 20:1-5, Jeremiah 29:11, and Psalm 113.  I also include Matthew 11:28-30 and Psalm 20:6 (and probably allude to several other verses that I do not reference directly).

Good evening families, faculty, staff, and graduates of the Class of 2023. You have worked hard to be sitting here today, and in six days you will get to sit again for another ceremony, during which your mother will probably cry and you will hear a dozen or so senior videos with the Trace Adkin’s song “You’re Gonna Miss This” (and probably Bill Joel’s “Vienna”).

But to get where you are today took a great deal of effort and struggle. Sometimes it was your parents doing the struggling, or your teachers, but ultimately, you had to get the work done. Your reward for your efforts is to build upon the foundation you have laid, and while I encourage you all to get some much-deserved rest, your work is only beginning.

While you have learned a plethora of facts, and learned how to perform elaborate titrations in Chemistry, and learned how to dissect a work of literature or a piece of poetry, you have also learned how to live. In learning all of these other skills and facts and figures, you have, in the process, learned what matters in life. And here is the big hint: it isn’t how to perform elaborate titrations in a chemistry lab.

Our purpose in this life is to praise and glorify God in all of our endeavors. Psalm 113 is a model for us: “From the rising of the sun to its going down; The Lord’s name is to be praised.”

“From the rising of the sun to its going down.” That’s a lot! Not exactly an easy task, is it? We are to praise and glorify God in all of our endeavors? Well, yes. Fortunately, we have God to Help us.

To read the rest of this post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.

You Can’t Cuck the Tuck IV: They Cucked the Tuck!

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It’s been nearly three years since I last wrote an installment of You Can’t Cuck the Tuck, but not because I grew disinterested in Tucker Carlson’s insightful commentary.  Quite the opposite:  his powerful, succinct analysis of our current ills has only deepened my respect for him and his worldview even more.  That he delivers his critiques with mirth, laughter, and good humor only strengthens them.

Sadly, Fox News—an organization that hasn’t done anything particularly interesting since Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld—has embraced cuckery and kicked The Tuck to the curb.  The last vestige of FNC as a truly conservative option in the space of mainstream cable news is now gone.

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TBT: Go to Church

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Easter has come and gone, so ’tis the season the stop attending church until Christmas.  At least, that’s the attitude of some folks.  Here at TPP, we endorse frequent church attendance.

Last year I lamented the way our attitude about church attendance demonstrates our skewed priorities.  We’ll bend over backwards (for some people, perhaps literally) to appease our increasingly unreasonable bosses, but come Sunday morning, we’ll lounge about in bed rather than fellowship with other Christians.

To be clear, I don’t think church attendance is a necessary precursor to salvation.  At the same time, a Christian should want to spend that time learning about God’s Word and worshipping Him with other believers.

I certainly don’t feel like it every Sunday.  Because of my extremely busy work schedule, I sometimes catch myself begrudging the long drive to church on Sunday mornings, and the way that it cuts into the day.  But I almost always am glad I went.

Funny how even the tiniest sacrifices and the slightest hardships, once endured, help us improve.  Attending church once a week is not a major imposition.  Now churches just need to make sure they’re teaching the Truth, not watered-down inspirational speeches that I could find on a mommy blog.

With that, here is 13 April 2022’s “Go to Church“:

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Myersivsion: From Years Gone By

The Portly Politico5 Comments

What is the connection between Bigfoot and the Shroud of Turin?  Not much, except both involve investigating the mysteries of the science and faith, the two intertwining to reveal a larger picture.

At least, that is my takeaway from this excellent piece from Audre Myers.  In an attempt to salvage my blog’s reputation, Audre earlier this week demurred from submitting any more Bigfoot-related content, but the siren song of the hairy lug is too hard to resist.

As always, Audre approaches the subject with tenderness, curiosity, and analytical thinking.  She also notes that belief in Bigfoot is largely optional and up to you to decide, but belief in Jesus Christ is paramount.  If we can believe in the former, we must believe in the latter.

With that, here is Audre with “From Years Gone By”:

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Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Easter III

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Easter is here!  He is Risen!

I’m fortunate to teach at a school that recognizes Good Friday as a day worth honoring, so my Spring Break always coincides with it (actually, we start on Maundy Thursday, which is pretty nice).  I’ve long advocated for a long break at Easter, a la the two-week Christmas Break.  Many countries (especially in Latin America) take two fulls weeks for Easter, paying proper respect to Holy Week.

Wherever you are today, and whatever you are doing, take a moment to thank God for Giving us His Son, Jesus Christ—and know that Jesus Lives!

Happy Easter!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Open Mic Adventures XXV: “Venite, exultemus Domino”

The Portly Politico36 Comments

A quick blurb before today’s post:  I’ve released my second book, Arizonan Sojourn, South Carolinian Dreams: And Other Adventures.  It’s a collection of travel essays I’ve accumulated over the last four years, and it’s available now on Amazon.

Here’s where you can pick it up:

Pick up a copy today!  Even sharing the above links is a huge help.

Thank you for your support!

—TPP

***

Yours portly is going High Protestant this week.  Readers can thank Audre Myers for that one—she sent me the manuscript for her church’s new chant, “Venite, exultemus Domino,” at some point in the last few weeks, and I’ve been playing around with it on the piano.

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