Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Experiencing St. Paul in a New Way

I apologize to my readers -- they do not need to apologize to me -- who do not share my interest or concerns with the state of the Episcopal Church (USA) and its attorneys hired to crush and overwhelm any former members that dare to oppose it in court, out of principles grounded in faith. The latest series on "How Did ECUSA Get its Attorneys?" has taken up much more of my time, and space on this blog, than I ever anticipated when I began it. (This is the way that research works: each little bit of information leads to still more.)

To give those whom I have thus abused a little breather from the heavy atmosphere engulfing these forays into uncharted legal territory (for I assure you, there truly has never been an American religious or charitable institution which has acted in the legal arena the way the Episcopal Church is acting today), I am posting below a change of pace. It is St. Paul -- the one of Jesus' disciples who had the most to say about how a church should operate -- who, after all, presciently warned Christians of the perils that resulted from "going to law" against their brethren in Christ. Therefore, I think St. Paul can provide us with the best antidote to the almost daily contamination from the lawsuits that currently rage around us, and that take up so much of the cyberspace on this particular blog.

The video below presents a graphic reading of the second chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. It does so through sight, animation and sound in a way that I found particularly suited to the resources of this twenty-first century after Paul first delivered the message, in written form, to the Colossians themselves. The message itself is timeless, and in this new media that lets us combine what the eye reads with what the ear hears, we can, I trust, rejoice in experiencing it anew:






Let us bless the Lord, who far from abandoning or withdrawing from us as the world closes in upon us, finds ever new ways to strengthen and preserve us in His faith.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks, I'm grateful Dude (at minute 1:27).

    I really, really, enjoyed this.

    One criticism: "cancelling" is misspelled (2:17).

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  2. UP, you really had to be eagle-eyed to spot the "I'm grateful, Dude" at 1:27, because it is erased so fast.
    Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it -- that's why I put it up. (It's so much better than the truncated Sunday readings we are trusted with in the church.)

    Also, UP, for us antediluvians, according to modern (i.e., online) usage, "canceling" is today an acceptable variant of "cancelling." (I know -- your high school English teacher was just like mine -- she drilled into us that the ending consonant had to be doubled for the participle form. Sic transit gloria orthographiae angliae.)

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  3. that was great...thanks for posting it. this is my first comment on your blog...i read it most of the time and appreciate (and agree with) your thoughts. keep up the good work.
    God bless,
    -Josh

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  4. thanks for posting that...enjoyed watching and listening to the Word.
    this is my first comment...i read your blog all the time, and agree with around 99% of what you post. keep up the good work.
    God bless,
    -Josh

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  5. JoshuaP, thank you for essaying your first comment at this site (I know the technicalities can be a bit daunting, because I do not accept anonymous -- i.e., unsigned -- comments). I have moderated both of them to appear here, because I did not think it was for me to decide whether you wanted to go on record as agreeing with my posts 99% of the time, or all of the time. (Believe me, I am fine with either number.) :>) So you may choose the one you want to keep -- or also choose to leave them both up.

    Once again, I appreciate your following this blog, and I shall always endeavor to meet (or exceed) your expectations.

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  6. Thanks for posting both...although I will go on record as saying that I agree with you 99% of the time. The other 1% is just a number since your blog (although quite good) isn't "The Gospel" per se :)

    Godspeed.

    I used to blog...and trying to remember my password was a hassle...but worth it.

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