Tag Archive for Faith

What do Magic and Christianity Have in Common?

/ April 15, 2013 / 7 comments

There are some Christians and some churches that want nothing to do with magic, we’re talking the David Copperfield, Criss Angel, David Blaine kind not the black magic kind. I am a Christian who performs magic, so I sometimes find myself caught up in this debate.

Newspaper Magic

Bobby Warren performing a Torn and Restored Newspaper effect at Wooster Jam 2013. Photo by Dick Beery / 3 Oaks Enhancements.

I do not have a problem with it, because I am performing entertainment. When we go to the movies, we are actually watching a series of still photographs shown in rapid succession that gives the appearance of movement. It is magic. Any way, …

This past week provided ample opportunity to perform magic. I had four performances over a three-day span with three of them coming on the same day.

The first show was for an event for the Northeast Ohio Division of the Salvation Army, and it was in Ashland on Thursday. The other three performances were Saturday: Two were in conjunction with the Wooster Jam and the final one as a private show.

Needless to say, I was kept busy … very busy.

Each show provided interesting opportunities.

  • The Salvation Army show allowed me the opportunity to weave a Christian message into the effects I was performing.
  • The Wooster Jam performances were done to music, and they allowed me to create a sense of awe and wonder without saying a word.
  • The private show was for a group of girls ages 8–16, and a few adults, so I had to put together a show that would connect for young kids, teenagers and adults.

Each show, also had its challenges, but the goal was always to provide the best show I am capable of performing for each different situation and each different audience. In other words, I had to set aside my interests and focus on the interests of my clients.

When I perform, I do not always perform my favorite effects, and I don’t always perform my most stunning and amazing effects. Why? Because my audiences dictate my shows. If I were to perform my favorite effects, it would be a combination of rope magic and mindreading.

  • In creating the Salvation Army show, the challenge was to find effects that would provide a variety of different things, yet, I could still share a Christian message with it.
  • The Wooster Jam performances required me to put together effects that would be visually stunning and stand on their own. This required me to perform classics of magic, like the Linking Rings, something I have performed, but do not perform regularly.
  • The challenge of the private show was to find effects that little kids and adults would enjoy. I performed everything from a coloring book trick to a mindreading trick at the end.

So, what do magic and Christianity have in common? Well, it is all about serving others.

Leland Pennington, my magic mentor, taught me a long time ago that when performing shows, the goal is not to design a show that will fool other magicians or create a series of effects in which they would approve. No, you perform effects the audience likes. Your shows are about your audiences, not you.

Leland is an amazing magician who has studied so many areas of magic. So much so, that he is perhaps best known for his silk magic and metal bending, perhaps two aspects of magic people would not normally link together.

What Leland and I do might not suit other magicians, but that is OK, because it suits our audiences. (Do I need to mention we both get repeat bookings?)

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, Magic / Tags: , ,

A True Classic from the Halls of Atheism, You Won’t Believe This

/ April 10, 2013 / 17 comments

In a piece on RawStory.com, David Edwards writes this: Professor Peter Higgs said recently that there is no God and so people should stop referring to the theoretical partial that bears his name as the “God particle.”

Theoretical

This is classic. I say print it out and frame it. This is one for the ages.

Let me see if I understand this correctly: A scientist with a theoretical particle named after him claims there is no God, therefore, do not call his theoretical particle, that I assume does not exist, after a God he believes does not exist.

File this under the heading: You can’t make this stuff up.

I might need to break open one of those big city dictionary’s, but am I right in thinking “theoretical” does not mean “actual.” Wait a second, let me check the interwebs.

The truth of the matter, even though I have faith that God exists, and even though I believe there is strong evidence that points to a transcendent Creator, both Prof. Higgs and I are two sides of the same coin: We both accept our views in faith.

Even Richard Dawkins, a staunch atheist who vigorously attacks Christianity and world religions, holds out the remotest possibility, though, admittedly not much, there might be a God.

Look, I am not a scientist, and I don’t play one on television (though I did play Doc Burton in a high school production of “Cheaper by the Dozen”), but there are questions science has yet to answer for me, and most likely others.

How did sexual reproduction start? How in the world did an organism who never engaged in sexual reproduction and had absolutely no history with it realize it could happen?

If the odds were astronomical that nonlife could become life, how is it that it happened repeatedly and how was it that there ended up being a male and a female organism in the same proximity that this type of union could happen?

Then, there is always the fact no one was around to observe how the universe or life began, so that makes us all speculators at best.

Then, there is this: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1, NIV).

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, News / Tags: , , ,

Should There Be One More Stop on the Romans Road to Salvation?

/ April 7, 2013 / No comments

The Romans Road to Salvation is a series of verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans that points a person toward a saving relationship with God.

Depending upon whom you are reading, there might be four or five stops along this road. Generally, this is how the Romans Road to Salvation proceeds:

The Romans Road to Salvation

There is a good overview of the Romans Road on About.com in the Christianity section. You can read the full post here, but here is a brief description:

  1. Everyone needs salvation because we have all sinned. Romans 3:23 states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (all Scripture from the New International Version).
  2. The price (or consequence) of sin is death. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  3. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He paid the price for our death. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
  4. We receive salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
  5. Salvation through Jesus Christ brings us into a relationship of peace with God. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 8:1,”Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:38–39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, {39} neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Is that the end of the Romans Road?

I would maintain there needs to be an additional stop on this path: Baptism.

This is what Paul writes in Romans 6:3–4, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? {4} We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

This passage suggests to me those who have been baptized (immersed) were connected with the death of Christ (v. 3). Why were we baptized? So we may have new life (v. 4).

Today, Joe Rubino, our community outreach minister at Parkview Christian Church in Wooster, Ohio, said baptism is important, which is why it is part of the Great Commission and is included in every conversion account in the book of Acts.

We’ll discuss baptism further, but ponder Romans 6:3–4 and consider how it fits in with salvation. What do you think?

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith / Tags: ,

Are You Headed in the Right Direction

/ April 6, 2013 / 10 comments

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Proverbs 14:12, NIV

image

 

I love the Tom Cochrane song, “Life is a Highway.” It is a fun, upbeat tune. I admit, I am one who does not get caught up in lyrics, unless it is a Christian song. So, don’t ask me what the song by Cochrane really means, but I will tell you want it means to me:

Life is an open book, and we can take ours wherever we want to.

We have the opportunity to strive for greatness or wallow in complacency. We can choose to do good or no good at all. It is up to us.

As for where we find direction, there is no lack of influences: Parents, preachers, friends, teachers, book, movies and bands. All of these can be positive influences, but not necessarily. People, even those with the best intentions, can fail and fall.

As it says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Not everything is as it seems. We need to be careful and cautious.

For me, I have strayed off the straight and narrow, but a good guide for me has been God’s Word, the Bible. It helps me to stay on track. It has a lot of wonderful advice in it, and it leads us to heaven.

We’ll explore more tomorrow, but for now, enjoy Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” on Spotify:

Or, on YouTube

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, General Info / Tags: , , ,

Free Gift for Everyone If You Accept It

/ March 30, 2013 / No comments
Guest Post By Wendi Warren

When I wrote my fairy tale, Princess Grace: A Tale of Faith, Hope & Love, I did so because I wanted to write an allegorical tale of God’s love for us—for me.

Princess Grace

I wanted to show His love for us, even when we make choices that aren’t good for us. I wanted to show that He is coming to get us some day and take us back with us to His kingdom—heaven.

When I finished my story initially in 2007/2008, I shared it with a woman that I had come to respect. I didn’t know (and still don’t know) where she stands in her relationship with God. The feedback she gave me was that my story would have been better if I gave power to the princess to save herself and not have to rely on her father or brother to save her. Perhaps that is why I kept it on the shelf for so long.

The message of needing someone to save us, is not a popular one—especially in the United States. We are an independent lot. We believe we are more than capable of accomplishing anything if we just put our mind to it. Honestly, I feel this way a lot.

But when it comes to the salvation of my soul, there is nothing I can do to save myself. I must fully rely on and trust the message of the Bible.

Jesus Christ, the only son of God, came to earth as fully God and fully human to rescue me from the penalty of death, which is caused by my own willful disobedience to God’s law (i.e. sin). It is only through his death, burial and resurrection that I have hope of ever being rescued. I can’t earn it. I can’t buy it. I can’t do anything to get it, except receive it as it is, a free gift from God.

So because of the free gift that God gave me, that we celebrate on Easter, this coming Sunday, I want to give my fairy tale away as a free gift. It doesn’t have the power to save you, but maybe God will use it lead you to want to know about His free gift of grace.

Editor’s Note: Wendi’s book will be offered free through Amazon’s Kindle store on Saturday and Sunday. The Amazon link to Wendi’s book is on a special page about “Princess Grace,” you can click here. In addition to the Amazon link, the page contains other blog posts about the book and a podcast of an interview with Wendi about her book.

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, Free, Kindle Books, Writing / Tags: , , ,

It’s Friday, But Sunday’s Coming

/ March 29, 2013 / One comment

May you all have a blessed Resurrection Sunday. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith / Tags: , , ,

How Does a Blogger Discover One’s Voice?

/ March 27, 2013 / 10 comments

When I knew I wanted to be a writer back in the ’80s, I read a Writer’s Digest article that offered a simple path: Get an apartment in New York City, place a typewriter on your kitchen table, sit down and start writing. When you get up in 10 years, you will be a writer.

Microphone.jpg

Well, I did not get an apartment in New York and opted for a dedicated word processor (I believe it was an Amstrad sold by Sears) in 1986 and a few years later an IBM-clone. Wouldn’t you know, in about 10 years I finally got the sense that maybe I could write.

Another way of looking at this is that it took 10 years for me to find my voice in writing.

Since December 2012, I have been blogging regularly, and it is mildly discouraging that I have found neither a voice for my blogging nor my blog.

The Z Section is supposed to be about anything. I fought the urge to “specialize” and focus on a niche to give me the freedom to write about whatever caught my attention. What I have discovered is anything can be anything and sometimes anything can be too daunting so anything becomes nothing.

Will I specialize? Will I focus on a niche? Truthfully, I am not sure.

But, here is what I know:

  • I have varied interests.
  • These interests include my Christian faith,
  • Reading the Bible,
  • Family,
  • Technology,
  • Smartphones,
  • Tablets,
  • Computers,
  • Social media,
  • Leadership principles,
  • Journalism,
  • Blogging,
  • Writing,
  • Pets, and
  • so much more.

The thing is, down the road I want to write books, and I want them to focus on potential material for Sunday school classes. However, as I look over this blog, admittedly about anything, I find very little that point toward that direction.

So, you can expect more regarding faith and how it intersects with all of those things above. Perhaps there I will find my voice.

I hope it doesn’t take 10 years.

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, Leadership, Writing / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Z Section’s First Milestone: 100th Blog Post

/ March 24, 2013 / 20 comments

This blog began in Dec. 19, 2012, and today, it is celebrating the century mark: This is The Z Section’s 100th blog post.

Bostonbridge.jpg

I would have hit the mark a few days sooner, but a recent trip to Boston for a health journalism conference slowed me down a little bit. (The Association of Health Care Journalists conference was a great opportunity.)

To mark the milestone, I thought of where in the Bible could I find the number 100? Well, the Book of Psalms contains 150 psalms, so I figured I would go to Psalm 100. Come to find out, it is a psalm “for giving grateful praise.” Here it is (from the New International Version):

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2  Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I am indeed grateful for the opportunity to have this blog and share my thoughts with people like you. Thank you for joining me here each week. I truly appreciate it. Let’s take a walk down memory lane together …

Here are the top posts:

1. The First Amendment, Right On

2. Learning Some Lessons About Persistence From Josh Krajcik

3. A Tribute to the King of Pop, Rock and Agility

4. This Discover Card Commercial Is Funny, But Is it Effective?

5. Memories of Madison, A Loving Dog and Companion

6. Once Upon a Time: The Story Behind the Story

7. Spend a Day in These Kids’ Shoes, If You Can

8. ‘Bungee’ Jumping to 3.0 Soon

9. #002 Interview With Wendi Warren on her New Book [Podcast]

10. Five Things Madison Taught Me, I Thought You Should Know

 

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, General Info, News / Tags: , , ,

The Interconnectedness of All Things, Including This

/ March 22, 2013 / No comments

I have an ability to see connections, even when others do not. I tend to apply meaning to these connections.

Interconnectedness.jpg

I find it fascinating how seemingly disparate elements can find commonality. Take for example, my recent trip to the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Boston.

Even though I am a journalist who talks to people, and many strangers, every day, perform magic in front of audiences, play bass guitar in the band at church and preached for nearly nine years, at heart, I am an introvert. I found myself at a reception during the conference, and after making some small talk with a small group, I walked away, not quite sure where to go or what to do.

It had been a long day, and I was starving. I found some cheeseburger sliders (I didn’t ask if they were made with Certified Angus Beef ground beef) and just stood there looking at the packed room wondering where to go.

I spotted an open seat. At the table were all African-American women, and here I was a white man. So, I walked up, asked if anyone was sitting there and whether they minded if I joined them. I was informed no one was sitting there, and they welcomed me into their company.

Come to find out, one of the ladies was from Little Rock, Ark., and knew the area where I lived. Another one was a graduate of the Ohio State University, so we had a connection to the Buckeye State (this blog originates from Northeast Ohio). I believe another was from Georgia, and my father’s family hails from that state.

We had a great time, and we laughed. We came from different parts of the country, grew up at different times, lived through different experiences, but for a short time on one night, we came together and bonded as a single group.

Was there any meaning to our meeting? The Bible talks about how all of us are created in God’s image, and how God put eternity in our hearts. Perhaps if we can get beyond our external differences, then we can connect on a deeper level.

What do you think? You are, after all, reading this, and it cannot be a coincidence.

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, General Info / Tags: , , ,

Memories of Madison, A Loving Dog and Companion

/ March 6, 2013 / One comment

On Tuesday, Wendi and I said goodbye to our beloved Madison, a chow, shepherd, husky mix that came to us as a stray in Hillsboro, Ohio, around 15 years ago.

SAM_0069

Madison was the sweetest dog, unless she was around other dogs, then, no, I wouldn’t say she was sweet at all. The only dogs she could be around without getting into bouts of barking and biting were Riley, Parker and Corky, all owned by other members of our family.

She was so gentle around babies and infants, softly kissing them and rubbing her them with her nose.

She was a great dog for us because she kind of just liked to keep to herself. She was content whether laying down on the futon, walking around outside on her lead or chilling out, literally, on the ice and snow for hours. She loved the cold weather, along with the ice and snow. She would stay outdoors in the winter for hours, not wanting to come in.

100_4534

Madison was a fighter and a survivor, but in the end, she could not fight off what her own body was doing to her. Over the past week or so, she had not been herself. She was vomiting every day and having diarrhea.

We took her to the vet, and she was treated for stomach problems, perhaps something in her digestive tract. But, over the weekend, she became lethargic. She didn’t want to move. She was having trouble standing to that point that she would fall and go into a seizure.

So, it was back to the vet on Monday. Wendi and I agonized, cried and prayed as we wondered how we were going to handle this visit to the vet. To look at Madison from the neck up, she was very alert and active. But, from the neck down, she had very little function. We did not think she would come home with us.

To say Monday was a tearful day for Wendi and I would be an understatement. Perhaps, in some small way, we got a glimpse of what Abraham was going through with his son, Isaac. When Madison showed signs of improvement on Monday, we were hopeful. When she went home with us from the vet visit, it was as if we got her back from the dead.

But, Tuesday would be the fateful day for her. I took her out at lunchtime to go outside, and brought her back in. It would be the last time I saw her alive.

Earlier on Tuesday, when Wendi left for work, she kissed Madison and told her it was OK if she wanted to go be with God. We would understand. She did.

100_4727

We had so many wonderful memories of Madison and with Madison. There was the time we were going to a baptism on a farm. The young boy wanted to be baptized in a creek on the farm. When we arrived, Madison saw a rabbit and jumped out of the window of our van. Needless to say, we never rode with the windows down all the way with Madison.

She loved Amish country. We would often take her on our trips through the Amish heartland.

Madison was primarily on a bones and raw food died. She loved Certified Angus Beef and Gerber’s chicken.

I mentioned earlier she was a fighter and survivor, and she was. Before she ever showed up on our door, she had been hit by a car, which damaged her pelvis, and she had been shot with buck shot. These were bits of history we found out in recent years when we had a scare with Madison. A vet did some X-rays and talked to my wife about what was discovered.

Because of the pelvis problem (she came to us pregnant), she could not deliver her puppies, and they did not survive.

Then, there was time her tongue got caught in a shredder, and about half of it had to be removed. If she would not eat or drink, then she would not have survived. Madison learned to drink again. We tried getting her water with a rubber nipple used for calves; it did not work. We tried syringes and plastic bottles. She eventually figured out how to get the water in.

Copy of Photo_033109_001

It is going to be tough not having her around. Madison really loved Wendi. Whenever she would see Wendi, Madison would get all excited, pinning her ears back and shaking her body. When the two of them went for walks, I swear Madison would prance. She loved her Mommy.

She also loved our cats. She never would hurt them. When Buddy was young, he would play with Madison. After we got Mr. Thomas, he always had to greet Madison at the back door when we brought her in. He would then run alongside her.

The 14 years we had with her were a blessing. There were probably three or four times when she was not expected to survive, but she always pulled through. There would be no pulling through this time, but it was a blessing that God took her, she didn’t suffer and we didn’t have to make the decision.

We will miss her everyday, but we will be grateful God gave us so many wonderful years. She was a joy.

100_3433

You Might Like These Posts, Too

Category: Faith, General Info / Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries