Sermons http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php en-US http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 “Of Mages, Sages, Astrologers and Alchemists” http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php/2008/11/10/of-mages-sages-astrologers-and-alchemist Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:33:57 +0000 admin Announcements 26@http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/ <p>&#8220;Of Mages, Sages, Astrologers and Alchemists&#8221;<br /> John 1:1-18<br /> Desert Palm United Church of Christ<br /> January 2, 2005 &#8211; The Ninth Day of Christmas<br /> &#8220;The stars in the sky looked down where he lay.&#8221; We sang those words together eight evenings ago. That traditional Christmas carol grants a kind of personality to the stars- the heavenly host- almost as if they were living beings. Living stars is a metaphor for us, but, quite unintentionally, the composer of &#8220;Away in a Manger&#8221; revealed the beliefs of the ancient world about stars. Stars really were living agents of God- the &#8220;heavenly host.&#8221; Their movement in the skies was measured by every ancient society, and people tried to find parallels between their actions and events happening down here on earth, believing even in the possibility that the stars could help us to predict important events ahead of time. Such people were called &#8220;astrologers&#8221;, and those who devoted themselves to this primitive science were considered wise. Today such practitioners would be considered cranks and charlatans, kooks and manipulators of the gullible. </p> <div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php/2008/11/10/of-mages-sages-astrologers-and-alchemist">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div> “Of Mages, Sages, Astrologers and Alchemists”
John 1:1-18
Desert Palm United Church of Christ
January 2, 2005 – The Ninth Day of Christmas
“The stars in the sky looked down where he lay.” We sang those words together eight evenings ago. That traditional Christmas carol grants a kind of personality to the stars- the heavenly host- almost as if they were living beings. Living stars is a metaphor for us, but, quite unintentionally, the composer of “Away in a Manger” revealed the beliefs of the ancient world about stars. Stars really were living agents of God- the “heavenly host.” Their movement in the skies was measured by every ancient society, and people tried to find parallels between their actions and events happening down here on earth, believing even in the possibility that the stars could help us to predict important events ahead of time. Such people were called “astrologers”, and those who devoted themselves to this primitive science were considered wise. Today such practitioners would be considered cranks and charlatans, kooks and manipulators of the gullible.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

]]> http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php/2008/11/10/of-mages-sages-astrologers-and-alchemist#comments “Tribes and Heroes, Nations and Messiahs” http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php/2008/11/10/tribes-and-heroes-nations-and-messiahs Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:27:24 +0000 admin Announcements 25@http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/ <p>&#8220;Tribes and Heroes, Nations and Messiahs&#8221;<br /> Exodus 16: 13b-30; Philippians 2: 1-13<br /> Desert Palm United Church of Christ<br /> September 28, 2008 &#8211; &#8220;First Nations&#8221; Sunday</p> <p>During election years I try to get my news from the best sources available- the BBC, the Daily Show, and the Colbert Report. The best of all possible worlds happened a week or two ago when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was a guest on the Daily Show. He made an interesting statement. He said that no two democracies had ever gone to war against each other. Think about that. Can you think of a single war. Then it hit me- he was wrong. Many of the original nations here in North America were democracies- even before our Declaration of Independence. And our democracy certainly conducted ongoing wars of conquest with the various Native American peoples of this continent. Maybe it was the fact that we called them tribes instead of &#8220;nations&#8221;; maybe using the word tribe contributed our sense of technological superiority over them. For 500 years these First Nations were in jeopardy. </p> <div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://desertpalmucc.org/b2evolution/blog2.php/2008/11/10/tribes-and-heroes-nations-and-messiahs">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div> “Tribes and Heroes, Nations and Messiahs”
Exodus 16: 13b-30; Philippians 2: 1-13
Desert Palm United Church of Christ
September 28, 2008 – “First Nations” Sunday

During election years I try to get my news from the best sources available- the BBC, the Daily Show, and the Colbert Report. The best of all possible worlds happened a week or two ago when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was a guest on the Daily Show. He made an interesting statement. He said that no two democracies had ever gone to war against each other. Think about that. Can you think of a single war. Then it hit me- he was wrong. Many of the original nations here in North America were democracies- even before our Declaration of Independence. And our democracy certainly conducted ongoing wars of conquest with the various Native American peoples of this continent. Maybe it was the fact that we called them tribes instead of “nations”; maybe using the word tribe contributed our sense of technological superiority over them. For 500 years these First Nations were in jeopardy.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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