In Honor of St. Patrick's Day...
I've always hated St. Patrick's Day.
I know, as a redhead, that's blasphemous of me! Here's a brief explanation as to why that is the case...
But that's a big part of the reason why.
Being a redhead, people just naturally assume that I'm Irish. I'm not. Not at all. So, whenever this time of year would roll around in the past, I had to endure the constant "Kiss Me! I'm Irish!" jokes, Leprechaun nonsense (boxes of Lucky Charms cereal comes to mind), and yes, even the backlash from the non-Irish who just couldn't understand why I had absolutely no desire to attend the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, or (when I got older) get so drunk that I forgot I even had redhead to begin with.
Thankfully, those days of persistent St. Patty's Day peer pressure are over, but I still have to deal with co-workers (and sometimes strangers!) every now and then who for some strange reason feel compelled to comment on my "obvious" Irish heritage.
The best part is still when I get to tell them that I'm not Irish at all. You'd think I just kicked their dog in front of them or something. Somehow me responding with, "Thanks, but I'm not Irish. I'm just a redheaded, left-handed freak of nature!" never goes over too well.
How silly is that? Why is that? Why is it that other people are so fascinated by another person's heritage? Why would a complete stranger get so upset when I reveal the "shocking news" that I'm not Irish? When did "Being Irish" become a badge of honor?
Anyway, these were the questions I was plagued with each and every year for a good part of my young life. Nowadays, it's not nearly as bad, but I can't help but to recall those memories each year at this time.
As funny as all of that is, I would like to share something even funnier. I love The Lutheran Satire YouTube Channel because it's taught me so much in such a short period of time.
Using humor and making fun of things as a means of "teaching" definitely works for me. Check them out if this is your first time hearing about them, especially if you're interested in learning about the Lutheran confession of "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3).
Ok, so as you know, today is St. Patrick's Day. Contrary to what most people think, there's so much more to the story of St. Patrick than the color Green, Four Leaf Clovers/Shamrocks, Leprechauns, Parades and Pots 'O Gold. I highly recommend reading this historical narrative for the truth about St. Patrick's life and legacy and why we Christians should take notice.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I would like to share a few videos. Have you met Donall and Conall the Irish Twins? Allow me to introduce you to this pleasant pair...
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did when I first saw them.
In a Lutheran layman's terms, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your ancestry and family's cultural and national heritage, as long as you don't let that part of your identity supplant your identity as a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:11; Galatians 6:15).
NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and point us back to) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Finally, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that category since I was a Lutheran-In-Name-Only at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a "Book of Concord" containing our Confessions even existed. In addition, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by common Evangelical concerns/criticisms that perhaps wouldn't be too big a deal for us Lutherans. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because we now have this disclaimer and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Finally, please know that any time we engage in interpreting a specific portion of Scripture exegetically, it will always follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible unless otherwise noted. Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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I know, as a redhead, that's blasphemous of me! Here's a brief explanation as to why that is the case...
Can't sleep. Only 3 more days until strangers try luring me with a handful of Lucky Charms only to kidnap and interrogate me. Why?
— LutheranLayman (@LutheranLayman) March 15, 2014
To ask where my pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow, of course! As a redhead, I hate St. Patty's Day. #NoIAmNotALeprechaun
— LutheranLayman (@LutheranLayman) March 15, 2014
But that's a big part of the reason why.
Being a redhead, people just naturally assume that I'm Irish. I'm not. Not at all. So, whenever this time of year would roll around in the past, I had to endure the constant "Kiss Me! I'm Irish!" jokes, Leprechaun nonsense (boxes of Lucky Charms cereal comes to mind), and yes, even the backlash from the non-Irish who just couldn't understand why I had absolutely no desire to attend the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, or (when I got older) get so drunk that I forgot I even had redhead to begin with.
Thankfully, those days of persistent St. Patty's Day peer pressure are over, but I still have to deal with co-workers (and sometimes strangers!) every now and then who for some strange reason feel compelled to comment on my "obvious" Irish heritage.
The best part is still when I get to tell them that I'm not Irish at all. You'd think I just kicked their dog in front of them or something. Somehow me responding with, "Thanks, but I'm not Irish. I'm just a redheaded, left-handed freak of nature!" never goes over too well.
How silly is that? Why is that? Why is it that other people are so fascinated by another person's heritage? Why would a complete stranger get so upset when I reveal the "shocking news" that I'm not Irish? When did "Being Irish" become a badge of honor?
Anyway, these were the questions I was plagued with each and every year for a good part of my young life. Nowadays, it's not nearly as bad, but I can't help but to recall those memories each year at this time.
As funny as all of that is, I would like to share something even funnier. I love The Lutheran Satire YouTube Channel because it's taught me so much in such a short period of time.
Using humor and making fun of things as a means of "teaching" definitely works for me. Check them out if this is your first time hearing about them, especially if you're interested in learning about the Lutheran confession of "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3).
Ok, so as you know, today is St. Patrick's Day. Contrary to what most people think, there's so much more to the story of St. Patrick than the color Green, Four Leaf Clovers/Shamrocks, Leprechauns, Parades and Pots 'O Gold. I highly recommend reading this historical narrative for the truth about St. Patrick's life and legacy and why we Christians should take notice.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I would like to share a few videos. Have you met Donall and Conall the Irish Twins? Allow me to introduce you to this pleasant pair...
St. Patrick's Bad Analogies
The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy.
St. Patrick's Bad Closed Captioning
What happens when YouTube tries to close caption a video filled with bad Irish accents and Trinitarian jargon?
Donall And Conall Meet The Mormon Missionaries
Our fifth century Irish peasant friends are slightly skeptical about Mormonism's claim to be the one true church.
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did when I first saw them.
In a Lutheran layman's terms, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your ancestry and family's cultural and national heritage, as long as you don't let that part of your identity supplant your identity as a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:11; Galatians 6:15).
NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and point us back to) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Finally, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that category since I was a Lutheran-In-Name-Only at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a "Book of Concord" containing our Confessions even existed. In addition, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by common Evangelical concerns/criticisms that perhaps wouldn't be too big a deal for us Lutherans. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because we now have this disclaimer and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Finally, please know that any time we engage in interpreting a specific portion of Scripture exegetically, it will always follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible unless otherwise noted. Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Thank you for visiting A Lutheran Layman! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question since we do not exercise censorship. We've seen a similar policy with other blogs and it's worth repeating: Please act as if you're a guest in my home, and we'll get along just fine. I think anyone would agree that the kind of back-and-forth that is characteristic of blogs/chat forums and social media is becoming tiresome for all of us. Still, we should confess, edify, and love (and contend and defend when needed). Bottom line? Search the Scriptures! Apply Acts 17:11 to anything and everything you find here and, if you do happen to disagree with something you find here (which is certainly ok), or think I'm "irresponsible" and "wrong" for writing it, then please refute my position by supporting yours with Scripture and/or the Confessions. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, especially for those who identify themselves as "Christians" here, right? Besides, Proverbs 27:17 tells us "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." If you have an opinion that's great, I welcome it, but try to support it using God's Word. I mean, if the goal here is to help us all arrive at the truth of God's Word (myself included), then it should be easy to follow through on this one simple request (I'm talking to all you "Anonymous" visitors out there). Grace and peace to you and yours!