Blogito ergo sum.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  …In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.  ..That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were bor, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Once again Christmas casts its wonderful spell over the world.  No other holiday – Christian or otherwise - uplifts people of all faiths and races and nations and stations in life the way Christmas does.

Sure, a lot of what people do at this time of year is contrived, commercial, corrupt, corny, and cliche, but if we think for a moment past the Who-pudding and the Roast-beast, isn’t it amazing that even people who won’t admit that Jesus is Lord find themselves nevertheless drawn to His holiday?  The infamous atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hair was spotted coming out of a church one December.  When asked about it, she said flatly, “I like the music.”  Even on the face of it, that’s pretty remarkable.  I suspect it was more than she was willing to say, something deep in her soul that came alive when she came near Him, something miraculous.

“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left floot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

“And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”  (Revelation 10:1-5)

Had John been allowed to write, I expect we would have had another entire section of the book of Revelation on a par with the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials.

But he wasn’t, and we don’t.

This should give great pause to those preachers and writers who think they can predict our future history by interpreting this ancient, mystical, apocalyptic writing – which is a rather complicated, tiresome enterprise in the first place, and which has repeatedly embarrassed the church in the past when such connections, applications, and predictions have proved false.

There will come a day when the mystery of God will be finished (specifically, when the seventh angel sounds – Revelation 10:7).  Meanwhile, I for one am glad that the Lord has reserved certain knowledge for Himself.  “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”  (Deuteronomy 29:29) 

Thank God for the seven thunders.

The 2008 general election in American politics has been going on for nearly a year, and we’re still nearly a year away from it.

I love America, and the democratic process, and the instant and continuous communication available to us through cable news, talk radio, and the internet.

But I’m currently experiencing information overload, and I have decided to take a hiatus (of indeterminate length) from viewing, hearing, and reading all things political.

Is that bad?