tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91762401535660885682024-02-02T03:59:56.329-07:00kickin' the darkness...<p align="right">...'til it bleeds daylight!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger327125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-11173346090080183042013-02-08T17:07:00.000-07:002013-02-08T17:07:39.847-07:00January Reading LogOkay, here goes...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFMRCnxYHq0tKOj3mQ1oyqwh_BBRI2UkW4OHJYU6gtxOJ_-8krrbQefZq8PoL1OOsZakg-_ppc3asZFoFBj124HudKqv46yJcQvw69CaxBByVc4y2FwDxxcisHSw8Cn5Zz4SVOLljDsE/s1600/Ferguson_grace_repentance__51175.1308682203.1280.1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFMRCnxYHq0tKOj3mQ1oyqwh_BBRI2UkW4OHJYU6gtxOJ_-8krrbQefZq8PoL1OOsZakg-_ppc3asZFoFBj124HudKqv46yJcQvw69CaxBByVc4y2FwDxxcisHSw8Cn5Zz4SVOLljDsE/s200/Ferguson_grace_repentance__51175.1308682203.1280.1280.jpg" width="142" /></a> 1. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Repentance-Redesign-Todays-Issues/dp/1433519836/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360365984&sr=8-1&keywords=the+grace+of+repentance">The Grace of Repentance</a>, by Sinclair Ferguson. 3 stars.<br />
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This short little booklet by Sinclair Ferguson sets for a classic, Reformed understanding of the doctrine of repentance. The book has six chapters, the first three of which deserve 4 stars. The last three I thought were the weakest of the book, and seemed to be essays the author had written elsewhere that were thrown into this work to make it a short book length study.<br />
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I picked this book up in preparation for an upcoming series at New City Church, & there are some good nuggets that will prove helpful.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"Faith is trusting in Christ; repentance is turning from sin. They are two sides of the same coin of belonging to Jesus."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"Evil deeds [& thoughts & words] are the fruit of an evil heart. They are not an aberration from our true self but a revelation of it."</span></blockquote>
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2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Kingdom-Scriptural-Studies-God/dp/0802812805/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360366040&sr=1-1&keywords=gospel+and+the+kingdom">The Gospel & the Kingdom</a>, G.E. Ladd. 4.5 stars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFt4eivMQ9Un3kvipERB03uPoeViQwOLnlh3PmJlY1lSAfoHG6oalrKJjNYUlKWcXWT75QynSsfYW3XCKKxv1So3mLROLdXDQTczHpcz6R3kVbrjhTuPC3h-81jdOTwspQS4E51ZZ6oc/s1600/ladd-gospel-kingdom-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFt4eivMQ9Un3kvipERB03uPoeViQwOLnlh3PmJlY1lSAfoHG6oalrKJjNYUlKWcXWT75QynSsfYW3XCKKxv1So3mLROLdXDQTczHpcz6R3kVbrjhTuPC3h-81jdOTwspQS4E51ZZ6oc/s200/ladd-gospel-kingdom-3.jpg" width="129" /></a>I was first introduced to George Eldon Ladd in seminary with his massive, A Theology of the New Testament." This smaller book dealing with the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ is a good work highlighting the fact that Christ's kingdom is both a present and future reality. I enjoyed the chapter called "The Kingdom is Today" the most. Overall, it is a very important work.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"The kingdom of God belongs to the Age to Come. Yet the Age to Come has overlapped with this Age. We may taste of its powers and thereby be delivered from This Age and no longer live in conformity to it. This new transforming power is the power of The Age to Come; it is indeed the power of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is future, but it is not only future. Like the powers of The Age to Come, the Kingdom of God has invaded this evil Age that men may know something of its blessings even while the evil Age goes on."</span></blockquote>
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3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Giver-Holy-Spirit-Today/dp/0801022665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360366069&sr=1-1&keywords=gift+and+giver">The Gift & Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today</a>, by Craig Keener. 3 stars.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L0u5ky9MWW5uevD_EWZdgR8pkLApgYe1gwbeJt17oisIelbJU-BNCrY0PlUZhKqyZ9yHjdCvcKzyitlA3NIfLBJGwIRJAWtTSpUVh4lef8pqirqo9FxGhvqrdlYo9UFeOPLK-Vi0gzw/s1600/gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L0u5ky9MWW5uevD_EWZdgR8pkLApgYe1gwbeJt17oisIelbJU-BNCrY0PlUZhKqyZ9yHjdCvcKzyitlA3NIfLBJGwIRJAWtTSpUVh4lef8pqirqo9FxGhvqrdlYo9UFeOPLK-Vi0gzw/s200/gift.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
I picked up this intro to charismatic theology by the respected scholar, Craig Keener. It had some great moments, but the consistency seemed to be off. He took on John MacArthur's Charismatic Chaos in a few places accusing him of using the worst examples / excesses of the Charismatic movement to make his case. Despite some of the uneven aspects of the work, it was a good overall primer on charismatic theology. It is an important reference for study in this area.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"It is most fully in worship that our hearts can embrace who God is, adoring him and finding the ways of his heart."</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr0OhFAdXQ8_YpNkkzey_iQPxiqfrXAxpJZw6Erfh_r1yk8bsAy1Z1qfMC_NxaDW6ouX-zCAxUNxNYHgQHs0xq9Xh7RJb89MMjSl2mpDGnWMfWNWO7UkW6fdTqV3QhrciUPmEYcEt_6c/s1600/licensed-to-kill-a-field-manual-for-mortifying-sin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr0OhFAdXQ8_YpNkkzey_iQPxiqfrXAxpJZw6Erfh_r1yk8bsAy1Z1qfMC_NxaDW6ouX-zCAxUNxNYHgQHs0xq9Xh7RJb89MMjSl2mpDGnWMfWNWO7UkW6fdTqV3QhrciUPmEYcEt_6c/s200/licensed-to-kill-a-field-manual-for-mortifying-sin.jpg" width="128" /></a> 4. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Licensed-Kill-Field-Manual-Mortifying/dp/1936760231/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360366138&sr=1-1&keywords=licensed+to+kill%2C+hedges">Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin</a>, by Brian Hedges. 5 stars. <br />
<br />
Brian Hedges has one of the best introductions to the Christian life that I have seen. It is called, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Christ-Formed-You-Gospel-Personal/dp/098243877X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y">Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change</a></i> (5 stars. Get it!). In that book, he has one chapter on the subject of mortification--or putting sin to death in our lives. What was in good, seminal form he unpacks further in <i>Licensed to Kill. </i><br />
<br />
This little book comes with a powerful punch and is very practical. I read through it with some men from New City Church and we all benefitted from it immensely. The plus of Hedges work is that he roots our calling to put sin to death in our lives in the Gospel of grace itself. Therefore, there is no "Let go and let God" theology here. Neither is there a "Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps" mentality. Hedges does an excellent job teaching us how the Cross kills sin, and further what our active responsibility is in this endeavor.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"If we want to kill sin, we must aim at the right target. That target is not merely bad behavior but the sinful desires of the heart that produce the behavior. Mortifying sin will certainly bring about changes in what we say and do, but we need more than external reformation. Many people change their behavior without changing their heart to any significant degree. But Jesus is concerned about the root and motivation of sinful behavior--our drives and desires--not simply the behavior itself."</span></blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-90679913672084869652013-02-07T14:02:00.003-07:002013-02-07T17:02:52.613-07:00This week's sermon intro brought to you courtesy of Time magazineIn the midst of prepping for Sunday's study in the Gospel of Luke, I noticed that once again news agencies are crowning the next political savior. And it gives the perfect illustration for our text this week, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%203.15-22&version=ESV">Luke 3:15-22</a>. <br />
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Of course, for anyone who has followed American politics even casually, this comes as no surprise. It's as silly as it is embarrassing, but it seems something in our nature longs for the perfect political savior. Obama was hailed as the savior long before he was sworn into office. </div>
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Of course, some can sweep this away as mere exaggeration, but more recently, actor <a href="http://global.christianpost.com/news/jamie-foxx-defends-calling-barack-obama-lord-and-savior-86090/">Jamie Fox referred to the President</a> as "our Lord and Savior" leaving little doubt that some people look to mere mortals to fill this role.<br />
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Time Magazine decided to go ahead & name its next Messiah, or at least the Republican's Messiah. </div>
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<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The new issue of TIME, featuring Sen. @<a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio">marcorubio</a>, hits newsstands Friday. See the cover | <a href="http://t.co/EY0N2elc" title="http://twitter.com/TIME/status/299499463448342529/photo/1">twitter.com/TIME/status/29…</a><br />
— TIME.com (@TIME) <a href="https://twitter.com/TIME/status/299499463448342529">February 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
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I've often wondered what politicians think of this attention. No doubt some of them enjoy it. At least they make it easy to suspect it. </div>
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But I'm glad that Senator Marco Rubio clarified the issue. In case there was any doubt, Rubio took to the fastest way to disseminate info: <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio">Twitter</a>.</div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
There is only one savior, and it is not me. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Jesus">#Jesus</a><br />
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/299514215679524864">February 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </center>
Senator Rubio does here what John the Baptizer did in ancient times.<br />
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<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%203.15-22&version=ESV">Luke 3</a> tells us,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"As the people were in expectation [of the coming Messiah], all were questioning in their hearts concering John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, 'I baptize with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sanles I am unworthy to untie.'" </blockquote>
Like Rubio, John pointed people away from himself to the true Savior of the world.<br />
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And when anyone points away from themselves and point to the true King of Kings, #Jesus, there is true hope.<br />
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UPDATE:<br />
<br />
My friend, Sean, alerted me to this song by Derek Webb, "<a href="http://derekwebb.net/song-vault/a-savior-on-capitol-hill/">A Savior on Capital Hill</a>."<br />
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1p00ASxejlE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<br />
I’m so tired of these mortal men<br />
with their hands on their wallets<br />
and their hearts full
of sin<br />
scared of their enemies, scared of their friends<br />
and always running for re-election<br />
so come to DC if it be thy will<br />
because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill<br />
<br />
you can always trust the devil or a politician<br />
to be the devil or a politician<br />
but beyond that friends you’d best beware<br />
‘cause at the Pentagon bar they’re an inseparable pair<br />
and as long as the lobbyists are paying their bills<br />
we’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill<br />
<br />
[Bridge]
all of our problems gonna disappear<br />
when we can whisper right in that President’s ear<br />
he could walk right across the reflection pool<br />
in his combat boots and ten thousand dollar suit<br />
<br />
you can render unto Caesar everything that’s his<br />
you can trust in his power to come to your defense<br />
it’s the way of the world, the way of the gun<br />
it’s the trading of an evil for a lesser one<br />
so don’t hold your breath or your vote until<br />
you think you’ve finally found a savior up on Capitol
Hill</center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-36044744126545769052013-01-31T23:40:00.000-07:002013-02-01T14:04:03.272-07:00So, who’s afraid of death?<br />
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b>Can I ask you a question?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;">If you could know the date of your death, would you want to know?</span></div>
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That’s an interesting question. As I’ve asked people this question over the years, I’ve found the conversations that ensued to be fascinating.<br />
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Some of us find the question itself to be distasteful. We don’t even want to think about it. To know would be depressing, and perhaps if it were to be sooner than later, well, that would put a damper on things. Better to live in the bliss of ignorance.<br />
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Others of us seem to be intrigued by the thought. To know the exact date of one’s death gives a sort of thrill. We feel a bit more alive knowing the expiry date. Better live while we can and suck all the marrow out of life. “<i>Carpe diem!</i>” Right?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">It’s gonna happen. Book it. </span></b><br />
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Whether you find the question distasteful or thrilling, one thing is certain: We all have a date with death. One day, your time on this planet will be up, and you will, as they say, assume room temperature. For most people, the thought is a bit sobering no matter what you believe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmB-g0gMdZE22eb5CJhRJlh2UmFfo2pCp4Q1AaiCSEptIeWT9DNzh0axPILFFyFiMswN15ZD9ZB8w1W1b_LKB9zL8QDWaj5Y1YMKjvaZCQtC1XdPqcL3vdRTk2-d-iTRvjOotq_uqMb4/s1600/woody+allen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmB-g0gMdZE22eb5CJhRJlh2UmFfo2pCp4Q1AaiCSEptIeWT9DNzh0axPILFFyFiMswN15ZD9ZB8w1W1b_LKB9zL8QDWaj5Y1YMKjvaZCQtC1XdPqcL3vdRTk2-d-iTRvjOotq_uqMb4/s200/woody+allen.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woody Allen</td></tr>
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I remember once hearing Woody Allen quip,<span style="color: #e69138;"> “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be around when it happens.” </span>Many of us laugh in agreement nodding our heads. <br />
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The reason I remembered this quote is because I came across <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/opinion/sunday/hypochondria-an-inside-look.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4&smid=tw-share">an interesting article in the NY Times</a> in which Mr. Allen does admit the fact that he is afraid of death.<br />
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In typical Woody Allen style of humour, he tells of the strategy he employs to deal with his <span style="color: #e69138;">“constant terror”</span> in the face of his date with death. And it is as telling as it is both fascinating and sad. <br />
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Mr. Allen describes his fear as an <span style="color: #e69138;">“obsession with personal vulnerability”</span> that expresses itself not so much in terms of being a hypochondriac as in being an alarmist. Why? Because with every pain or new mark on his skin, he is certain that he has come down with some illness or disease that will prove to be the end of him. He asks,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">When I panic over symptoms that require no more than an aspirin or a little calamine lotion, what is it I’m really frightened of? My best guess is dying. I have always had an animal fear of death, a fate I rank second only to having to sit through a rock concert. My wife tries to be consoling about mortality and assures me that death is a natural part of life, and that we all die sooner or later. </span></blockquote>
She's right. But Mr. Allen's not comforted.<br />
<br />
Undeterred, he does try to console himself, and since humour is the best medicine, he concludes his article with the thought, <span style="color: #e69138;">“…whether you’re a hypochondriac or an alarmist, at this point in time, either is probably better than being a Republican.”</span><br />
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In the end, Mr. Allen knows the clock is tickin’. Tick, tick, tickin’ away. <br />
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And then the end will come. Hence, the existential angst.<br />
<br />
As an atheist, Mr. Allen believes that death is the end. And since that isn’t a pleasant thought, he lives in “constant terror.” Who knows but that little pain might be the death toll?<br />
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And watch out for those germs!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijhzxmU36fk-0ohoaYl32jJEcyZDNd8vnSkiSv9h6MpB4OccroLxSx3iOEnKUQD_02YQup1DigHKyAfo1GzRBXl6S7c9E3BM-aNFMciNCNVm18uJOo0JUYE9IXp0i8ojZMWZLZIWy85o/s1600/allen-germs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijhzxmU36fk-0ohoaYl32jJEcyZDNd8vnSkiSv9h6MpB4OccroLxSx3iOEnKUQD_02YQup1DigHKyAfo1GzRBXl6S7c9E3BM-aNFMciNCNVm18uJOo0JUYE9IXp0i8ojZMWZLZIWy85o/s400/allen-germs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">The death of death in the death of Christ</span></b><br />
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At the heart of Christianity is the proclamation that Jesus himself, as he predicted, conquered death by defeating it in his own death and resurrection.<br />
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The original disciples of Jesus who hid in fear for their own lives when their Teacher was crucified were in a matter of days transformed into fearless witnesses claiming to have seen the resurrected Jesus. And they gave their lives to seal their testimony. <br />
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Men who hid in fear of death suddenly were fearless in the face of it. Why? <br />
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Because in rising from the dead, Jesus made the definitive statement that death doesn’t have the last word. As the writer of the book of Hebrews said, through death Jesus can <span style="color: #e69138;">“deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery”</span> (Hebrews 2:14-15).<br />
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Those who once were enslaved in “constant terror” can now be liberated.<br />
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Jesus’ resurrection was the firstfruits of the resurrection to come (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2011:21-27&version=ESV">What Jews expected to happen at the end of history</a> (the resurrection of the dead) actually happened in the middle of history in <a href="http://pleaseconvinceme.blogspot.ca/2012/09/the-minimal-facts-of-resurrection-in.html">the resurrection of Jesus</a>. Here is our definitive proof of the death of death.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggj6y7fsMb94HgkzZnhUA3twyhta6GARSau2SFjqlTJHErZJ8yLqu-QoGuQ_4I5uGrLqNm7am-yA9V4-l6COf-N3zB80ZGY6kL8toDsLSLLNkYCpPw_4iwV9J4oMfxGHd4AFWUaOeWDCE/s1600/Victory+fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggj6y7fsMb94HgkzZnhUA3twyhta6GARSau2SFjqlTJHErZJ8yLqu-QoGuQ_4I5uGrLqNm7am-yA9V4-l6COf-N3zB80ZGY6kL8toDsLSLLNkYCpPw_4iwV9J4oMfxGHd4AFWUaOeWDCE/s200/Victory+fingers.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
And now, the follower of Christ can say with the Apostle Paul,<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">“O death, where is your victory?<br />O death, where is your sting?”</span></blockquote>
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And that’s the cash value of the Good News about Jesus. Death, though our enemy, is a defeated enemy. And yes, death still sucks. It is ugly vandalism on the face of God’s canvas of creation.<br />
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But Jesus gets the last word.<br />
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And he makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). One day, when he returns to set the world to right,<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I <span style="font-size: 11px;">l</span>am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:4-5)</span></blockquote>
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Jesus offers you freedom from the fear of death. You don’t have to live in constant terror.<br />
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You can even know the (approximate) date.<br />
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And yes, <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEIQFjAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fen%2Fapp%2Fdeath-clock-when-are-you-going%2Fid359070458%3Fmt%3D8&ei=DmMLUa-qF8WJiwLa34DgCQ&usg=AFQjCNGRxK9WGBz3x-0g2FI4_bQrpSCBxQ">there’s an app for that</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-65053818657497978902013-01-09T10:33:00.001-07:002013-02-01T09:12:48.043-07:00Save the Date: Be Ready Apologetics Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC25mPWO8aO55y90RMLaRnWgIIaxOO6h2FyBnkUYg4qIBBwAgWBAQT-4TmiM_cS_OC9h-7kWxU37oO_njU-YkWan-5epZdqamo4Rn50CjlQcYX8Nz2KFoETsdMmmBnMLoUiwdFdCM_Xio/s1600/734935_10152403106325165_494704116_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC25mPWO8aO55y90RMLaRnWgIIaxOO6h2FyBnkUYg4qIBBwAgWBAQT-4TmiM_cS_OC9h-7kWxU37oO_njU-YkWan-5epZdqamo4Rn50CjlQcYX8Nz2KFoETsdMmmBnMLoUiwdFdCM_Xio/s640/734935_10152403106325165_494704116_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Save the date! March 8-9, 2013<br />
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I'm a part of a local apologetics group here in Calgary called <a href="http://www.faithbeyondbelief.ca/index.html">Faith Beyond Belief</a>. This organization is organizing <a href="http://www.faithbeyondbelief.ca/events/2013_be_ready/overview.html">a conference</a> with some great speakers, including <a href="http://www.faithbeyondbelief.ca/events/2013_be_ready/speakers.html">William Lane Craig, JP Moreland, Sean McDowell, Craig Hazen, & Clay Jones</a>.<br />
<br />
We are very excited at the privilege of having these fine speakers and thinkers address us on issues of defending the Christian faith.<br />
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For more info, check out <a href="http://bereadycalgary.ca/">BeReadyCalgary.ca</a>, and sign up!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-87610589525612377402012-09-21T13:34:00.000-06:002013-02-01T09:33:56.907-07:00On tolerance of just-so stories...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0eHDrQaXLvjVfiwowTDjC7qXiHc-Xtn_IhgNEIfQciMKv6NVY5KahcoMvjhJkonX1kzHNHZf-OLtbRK641XEJ5doefIVkpnO3ImoJQe2XRyFjgqtwqZCNV3W0yZ-YY7MSEdguavwTHY/s1600/RCL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0eHDrQaXLvjVfiwowTDjC7qXiHc-Xtn_IhgNEIfQciMKv6NVY5KahcoMvjhJkonX1kzHNHZf-OLtbRK641XEJ5doefIVkpnO3ImoJQe2XRyFjgqtwqZCNV3W0yZ-YY7MSEdguavwTHY/s320/RCL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lewontin">Richard Lewontin</a>, a leading evolutionary thinker, made an interesting admission as to how the commitment to how he wants to see the world (materialism / naturalism) actually determines his findings as a scientist.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism."</span></blockquote>
And here's the startling admission:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">"It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our own a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, not matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. <b>Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a divine foot in the door.”</b></span></blockquote>
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~ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lewontin">Richard Lewontin </a>in New York Review of Books, January 9, 1997, p. 28.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-26647627688490774802011-12-14T14:26:00.003-07:002013-01-20T20:23:44.536-07:00The grinches are at it again...Over at the<a href="http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/2009/merry-mithras/#more-941"> Beratta Blog</a>, Dr. Glen Peoples, took up the issue several years ago of whether or not Christianity is a copycat religion. In other words, Did Christianity construct a fake myth from pagan religions around it and fool everyone with it? In a post called <a href="http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/2009/merry-mithras/#more-941">"Merry Mithras,"</a> Peoples writes...<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">The grinches are at it again. Every year at Easter and Christmas the tired old wheels start squeaking and some of the detractors of Christianity start wheeling out a few predictable canards, all connected to the idea that Christianity is just a copycat religion and that the accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth that we have in the New Testament were just borrowed from other older religions. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">Generally these attempts are now limited to personal websites and message boards on the internet, as they are so discredited that bringing them up at, say, a conference on New Testament studies, would get one laughed all the way home. But, unhappily resigned to the fact that some people only know what they know about theology or biblical studies because they read it at a website, it’s worth addressing some of these claims. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #e69138;">I’ve already dealt with the claim that the virgin birth was <a href="http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/index.php/the-virgin-birth-of-buddha/" style="background: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">borrowed from Buddhism</a> and the claim that Jesus’ life is just a <a href="http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/index.php/episode-019-osiris-and-jesus/" style="background: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">re-hashed version of the life of Osiris</a>. Another common “copycat” theory that floats around online is the claim that Jesus is a mythical character copied from Mithras.</span></blockquote>
Read <a href="http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/2009/merry-mithras/#more-941">the rest here</a>. <br />
<br />
You may also be interested in these links...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Is Jesus Christ a Mythical Entity Prefigured by Osirus-Horus Mythology? (<a href="http://hcchristian.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/is-jesus-christ-a-mythical-entity-prefigured-by-osiris-horus-mythology-a-response-to-tom-harpur%E2%80%99s-the-pagan-christ-part-one/">Part 1</a> | <a href="http://hcchristian.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/is-jesus-christ-a-mythical-entity-prefigured-by-osiris-horus-mythology-a-response-to-tom-harpur%E2%80%99s-the-pagan-christ-part-2/">Part 2</a> | <a href="http://hcchristian.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/is-jesus-christ-a-mythical-entity-prefigured-by-osirus-horus-mythology-a-response-to-tom-harpurs-the-pagan-christ-part-3-of-3/">Part 3</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/did-christianity-invent-stories-by-borrowing-from-pagan-religions/">Did Christianity Invent Stories by Borrowing from Pagan Religions?</a> (with links to two debates with William Lane Craig on the issue)</li>
<li><a href="http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=4797">Jesus, the Resurrection, & Borrowed Myths</a></li>
<li>Bart Ehrman of Emory University: <span style="color: #e69138;">"I don't think there is any serious historian who doubts the existence of Jesus. There are a lot of people who want to write sensational books and make a lot of money who say Jesus didn't exist, but I don't know any serious scholar who doubts the existence of Jesus.... We have more evidence for Jesus than we have for almost anybody from his time period. I'm not saying this as a believer. I'm not a believer, but as a historian you can't just dismiss it and say 'I don't know.' I mean you have to look at the evidence. There is hard evidence. "</span> Check out this interview...<br />
</li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-89650602906371101112011-06-02T05:18:00.000-06:002011-06-02T05:18:00.628-06:00Ehrman: chasing the ghosts of his evangelical past...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdS9Ifib8GmRouwjCeJ8pxLgdoabszIPo7NupbQqTcv2TmNYtfL8oUFdjujZHP5hsza5bfRiEl4gD1XLd1SSEP6RsYxiZp_Qdc8FzoNwJEaUs3G7aHpMvW1iviCdCewVFz8t5WyIPwdFk/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-01+at+Jun+1+11.30.42+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdS9Ifib8GmRouwjCeJ8pxLgdoabszIPo7NupbQqTcv2TmNYtfL8oUFdjujZHP5hsza5bfRiEl4gD1XLd1SSEP6RsYxiZp_Qdc8FzoNwJEaUs3G7aHpMvW1iviCdCewVFz8t5WyIPwdFk/s400/Screen+shot+2011-06-01+at+Jun+1+11.30.42+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>Michael Kruger of Reformed Theological Seminary has <a href="http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/publications/36-1/book-reviews/forged-writing-in-the-name-of-god-why-the-bibles-authors-are-not-who-we-think-they-are">a good review</a> of Bart Erhman's latest book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forged-Writing-God--Why-Bibles-Authors/dp/0062012614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306948944&sr=8-1"><i>Forged: Writing in the Name of God</i></a>. Kruger concludes, <br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">In the final analysis, <i>Forged</i> is a book with a mix of positives and negatives. Ehrman’s helpful overview of the various kinds of early Christian forgeries and his excellent treatment of early Christian views of pseudepigraphy are bright spots in this volume. However, Ehrman’s level of confidence that the NT definitely contains forgeries is not commensurate with the arguments he puts forth to prove that thesis. In this regard, he regularly goes beyond what the evidence can sustain. For this reason the book, like many of his others, comes across as more autobiographical than academic; more polemical than historical. Ehrman still seems to be chasing the ghosts of his evangelical past. One wonders how many more books he will need to write before they go away. </blockquote>My guess is, as long as he keeps making money from folks who are eager to listen to only one side of the debate. <br />
<br />
Read <a href="http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/publications/36-1/book-reviews/forged-writing-in-the-name-of-god-why-the-bibles-authors-are-not-who-we-think-they-are">the full review here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-27114606888498115762011-06-01T11:15:00.001-06:002011-06-01T11:16:58.343-06:00Medved on homosexuality in the WestMichael Medved has <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-05-23-Sex-survey-revelations-on-gay-identity_n.htm">an illuminating article</a> in a recent USA Today on the issue of homosexuality entitled, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-05-23-Sex-survey-revelations-on-gay-identity_n.htm">"Does it matter if only 1.4% of people are gay?"</a>. He writes, <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">The nation's increasingly visible and influential gay community embraces the notion of sexual orientation as an innate, immutable characteristic, like left-handedness or eye color. But a major federal sex survey suggests a far more fluid, varied life experience for those who acknowledge same-sex attraction.</blockquote>Within the article, he states,<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">While pop-culture frequently cites the figure of one in 10 (based on 60-year-old, widely discredited conclusions from pioneering sex researcher Alfred Kinsey) the new study finds only 1.4% of the population identifying with same-sex orientation. <br />
<div class="inset __NOTFORSYNDICATION"><div class="va"><br />
</div></div><div class="inside-copy">Moreover, even among those who describe themselves as homosexual or bisexual (a grand total of 3.7% of the 18-44 age group), overwhelming majorities (81%) say they've experienced sex with partners of the opposite gender. Among those who call themselves heterosexual, on the other hand, only a tiny minority (6%) ever engaged in physical intimacy of any kind with a member of the same sex These figure indicate that 94% of those living heterosexual lives felt no physical attraction to members of the same sex, but the great bulk of self-identified homosexuals and bisexuals feel enough intimate interest in the opposite gender to engage in erotic contact at some stage in their development.</div></blockquote><div class="inside-copy">Read the article here. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-9317732223341544162011-06-01T11:03:00.001-06:002011-06-01T11:06:09.220-06:00Brooks: It's Not About You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL30CJm675AhpxJ4K4ze04goup1VnYNUUBgwnGBl3vx09mttNFr-GKZzZ9OVVkvJqUiHEv7iEnsX60DVVBwOl9AfRnQwoyr08_3D3Vf55KmlYTd610wrzLnz4l7cBLFNmd2Xk6WzTA6h8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-01+at+Jun+1+11.08.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL30CJm675AhpxJ4K4ze04goup1VnYNUUBgwnGBl3vx09mttNFr-GKZzZ9OVVkvJqUiHEv7iEnsX60DVVBwOl9AfRnQwoyr08_3D3Vf55KmlYTd610wrzLnz4l7cBLFNmd2Xk6WzTA6h8/s200/Screen+shot+2011-06-01+at+Jun+1+11.08.58+AM.png" width="195" /></a></div>David Brooks has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/opinion/31brooks.html?_r=1">an excellent op-ed piece</a> in the NYTimes regarding the narcissistic message that most graduates will hear these days. He says,<br />
<blockquote><span style="color: #e69138;">Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole baby-boomer theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast on C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow </span><i style="color: #e69138;">your</i><span style="color: #e69138;"> passion, chart </span><i style="color: #e69138;">your</i><span style="color: #e69138;"> own course, march to the beat of </span><i style="color: #e69138;">your</i><span style="color: #e69138;"> own drummer, follow </span><i style="color: #e69138;">your</i><span style="color: #e69138;"> dreams and find </span><i style="color: #e69138;">your</i><span style="color: #e69138;">self. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture. </span></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy. </blockquote> And he concludes his piece,<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself. </blockquote>And I say, "Amen."<br />
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But, who has ears to hear among both the graduates and the culture who has discipled them to believe that "the self is the center of life?"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-25114990990205237142011-05-21T08:50:00.004-06:002011-05-21T18:13:42.422-06:00The end is near (again). No, for real this time....UPDATE: THIS JUST IN...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRbqwm3F0K40qxR27lr_6WPtWY3T9RJVV3nWfe3ZXkZFlCQzuPku84mUMaJKi3NfOXOep7-jJE2BXPnxHrAGa3lEtfCdIF9uFyhllZcXlMtJSJKVdHyHN9IfwfskOFPxSN4JLnhDN8p4/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-05-21+at+May+21+5.37.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRbqwm3F0K40qxR27lr_6WPtWY3T9RJVV3nWfe3ZXkZFlCQzuPku84mUMaJKi3NfOXOep7-jJE2BXPnxHrAGa3lEtfCdIF9uFyhllZcXlMtJSJKVdHyHN9IfwfskOFPxSN4JLnhDN8p4/s320/Screen+shot+2011-05-21+at+May+21+5.37.46+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
YAHOO News <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110521/ts_nm/us_apocalypse_prediction">is reporting</a>...<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – With no sign of Judgment Day arriving as he had forecast, the 89-year-old California evangelical broadcaster and former civil engineer behind the pronouncement seemed to have gone silent on Saturday.</blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Family Radio, the Christian stations network headed by Harold Camping which had spread his message of an approaching doomsday, was playing recorded church music, devotionals and life advice unrelated to the apocalypse.<br />
<br />
Camping previously made a failed prediction Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994.</blockquote>----<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwIrSeLbYkrVUpVBDFEx4WOu9iHTjvrJZwIW_PpgmfpLO0ksNYTrvxLmptsHtgopViW15C8I1mLEuh3gVv1bPTxMJMZECcvS-RmQ8m4bK80fW07Zw2F70ipdb6Nb31_88G71l02elX1s/s1600/harold-camping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwIrSeLbYkrVUpVBDFEx4WOu9iHTjvrJZwIW_PpgmfpLO0ksNYTrvxLmptsHtgopViW15C8I1mLEuh3gVv1bPTxMJMZECcvS-RmQ8m4bK80fW07Zw2F70ipdb6Nb31_88G71l02elX1s/s400/harold-camping.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Al Mohler has a good read if you are wondering if the end of the world as we know it will happen today. In <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/05/16/the-end-is-near-the-false-teaching-of-harold-camping/">a post</a> entitled, "The End is Near? The False Teaching of Harold Camping", Mohler writes,<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Harold Camping is now warning the world that the Day of Judgment will begin at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The 89-year-old founder of Family Radio has made such pronouncements before, most recently in 1994. He now says that he simply miscalculated then, but he is absolutely certain that he has the right calculation now. You have been warned.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitpBspFakq-zBmMKXh7tUEiAF2bnSaj1VQgoSOxTjFxSMklX8Q32uARZgAc_tR7_g5jCtuy0AprzZ6f6ihD0HDIocTPAMo_u8kEFjsOygEtW0AiKtV5P7RxK4kuR47o7JY85nIKNrdRw/s1600/harold_camping-2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitpBspFakq-zBmMKXh7tUEiAF2bnSaj1VQgoSOxTjFxSMklX8Q32uARZgAc_tR7_g5jCtuy0AprzZ6f6ihD0HDIocTPAMo_u8kEFjsOygEtW0AiKtV5P7RxK4kuR47o7JY85nIKNrdRw/s200/harold_camping-2011.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Despite the long tradition of people who claimed special secret knowledge about the return of Christ, and despite the fact the <a href="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/05/rapture_may_21_harold_camping.php">Camping has got it wrong before in 1994</a> (yes, this isn't the first time; yet he's been given a pass and scores of people still follow him and give him money--<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/19/news/economy/may-21-end-of-the-world-finances-harold-camping/index.htm">his ministry is worth $72M</a>), Camping remains undaunted.<br />
<br />
But Mohler has <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/05/16/the-end-is-near-the-false-teaching-of-harold-camping/">the right perspective</a>....<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">First, Christ specifically admonished his disciples not to claim such knowledge. In Acts 1:7, Jesus said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” In Matthew 24:36, Christ taught similarly: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">To state the case plainly, these two verses explicitly forbid Christians to claim the knowledge of such dates and times. Jesus clearly taught that the Father has not revealed such dates and timing, but has reserved that knowledge for himself. It is an act of incredible presumptuousness to claim that a human knows such a date, or has determined God’s timing by any means. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Second, the Bible does not contain hidden codes that we are to find and decipher. The Bible has been given to us in order that we might know the truth, and the truth is clearly revealed in its pages. We are not to look for hidden patterns of words, numbers, dates, or anything else. The Bible’s message is plain and requires no mathematical computation for its understanding. The claim that one has found a hidden code or system in the Bible is an insult to the Bible as the Word of God. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Third, Christians are indeed to be looking for Christ to return and seeking to be found faithful when Christ comes. We are not to draw a line in history and set a date, but we are to be about the Father’s business, sharing the Gospel and living faithful Christian lives. We are not to sit on rooftops like the Millerites, waiting for Christ’s return. We are to be busy doing what Christ has commanded us to do. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">In Hebrews 9:28, we are taught that Christ will come a second time “to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” That is the faithful Christian response to the New Testament teachings about Christ’s coming. The church is not to be arrogantly setting dates, but instead to be eagerly waiting for him. Of that we can be truly certain.</blockquote>Read the full article <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/05/16/the-end-is-near-the-false-teaching-of-harold-camping/">here</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ebdFF40e-EmJIUWMuKfzNPGDtFH454z5BfXwkYV8GRU_pWPRtiHzfmv4UkPkeikVvJxkUFVuYzF35AQzs5mHLPV3AEsQX_YOnwF4xNd20fmH4m8C81k111APmXb_IL7Z7trCP6Mgf8/s1600/judgement+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ebdFF40e-EmJIUWMuKfzNPGDtFH454z5BfXwkYV8GRU_pWPRtiHzfmv4UkPkeikVvJxkUFVuYzF35AQzs5mHLPV3AEsQX_YOnwF4xNd20fmH4m8C81k111APmXb_IL7Z7trCP6Mgf8/s200/judgement+van.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>For years, Camping has convinced untold numbers that the visible church is evil, so they should follow him. And with all of this hullabaloo, scores more will be convinced that Christianity has nothing to offer because of con-artists like Camping.<br />
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So after today, can we please make Camping's name synonymous with "heretic"?<br />
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Like at 6:01pm to be precise?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-20065604843335906822011-05-20T05:40:00.002-06:002011-05-20T05:40:00.476-06:00Happy Belated Birthday, Mr. Hubble TelescopeApril 24th was the bday, but I'm thank for this telescope and the beautiful pictures of our universe that it has given to us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglB1qzMZOtgYoLa3r5GS3ReA8rdimbcBQQywAGh6vx-vKHndd8kqjzZ52Gi97xhv1LOjHzMfLB52df554rxtsxesTlK122SRQN9bMXBaJA_pviNjOcnpalaKzT_GVbeAvg_V8eZsIYIZE/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-05-19+at+May+19+12.48.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglB1qzMZOtgYoLa3r5GS3ReA8rdimbcBQQywAGh6vx-vKHndd8kqjzZ52Gi97xhv1LOjHzMfLB52df554rxtsxesTlK122SRQN9bMXBaJA_pviNjOcnpalaKzT_GVbeAvg_V8eZsIYIZE/s400/Screen+shot+2011-05-19+at+May+19+12.48.48+PM.png" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Click here for <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/7624179/Hubble-Space-Telescope-the-first-20-years-in-pictures.html">the first 20 years in pictures</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-57172270587794821762011-05-20T05:23:00.000-06:002013-01-20T20:35:05.082-07:00NT Wright deconstructs Hawkings deconstruction of Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrAbcsEMd5cDspCv1OXgSQADjrJS43_9_LlwPOGRXJER-qjxLOSM73twrzVTFh84Fe9emxzRO3YOV9QKlpTpauQcqEH3b6HCRUUP7LKdfQdw6fWxqmu8GzK1gJoVV7dGQ480U-WGOgkU/s1600/fairytale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrAbcsEMd5cDspCv1OXgSQADjrJS43_9_LlwPOGRXJER-qjxLOSM73twrzVTFh84Fe9emxzRO3YOV9QKlpTpauQcqEH3b6HCRUUP7LKdfQdw6fWxqmu8GzK1gJoVV7dGQ480U-WGOgkU/s200/fairytale.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
In case you missed it earlier in the week, the otherwise brilliant scientist, Stephen Hawking, ventured out of his narrow specialized field of theoretical physics to pontificate on <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/stephen-hawking/8515639/Stephen-Hawking-heaven-is-a-fairy-story-for-people-afraid-of-the-dark.html">why Heaven is a fairytale</a> for scaredy-cats (the topic of "Heaven" being properly the realm of meta-physics). <br />
<br />
Illustrating the old dictum that "the man of science is a poor philosopher," theologian &amp; NT scholar, NT Wright deconstructs Hawking's stinkin' thinkin'.<br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hawking is working with a very low-grade and sub-biblical view of ‘going to heaven.’ Of course, if faced with the fully Christian two-stage view of what happens after death -- first, a time ‘with Christ’ in ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise,’and then, when God renews the whole creation, bodily resurrection -- he would no doubt dismiss that as incredible. But I wonder if he has ever even stopped to look properly, with his high-octane intellect, at the evidence for Jesus and the resurrection? I doubt it -- most people in England haven’t. Until he has, his opinion about all this is worth about the same as mine on nuclear physics, i.e. not much.</span></blockquote>
Read the rest <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/stephen-hawking-what-he-doesnt-understand-about-heaven/2011/05/16/AFrHg64G_blog.html">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-60368315511710918492011-05-19T11:45:00.005-06:002011-05-19T13:40:49.016-06:00The Nature of NatureI'm super grateful for my friend, Catherine, and her Easter gift to me: <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Examining-Role-Naturalism-Science/dp/1935191284/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305826094&sr=8-1">The Nature of Nature: Examining the Role of Naturalism in Science</a>.</i> The book is edited by her son, Bruce Gordon (see <a href="http://kicking-the-darkness.blogspot.com/2011/01/coffee-with-dr-gordon.html">"Coffee with Dr. Bruce Gordon"</a>), and his collegue, William Dembski.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFmwyLWmlTN6PR6k_ufK_7zWWN0CzDoVkNI8h7ZmdroXzpZ4jXtdJ9DBZDvxud5VuqwAhCv2RmtyK5H1H4KoWSCgkuvn-FoWOzDzGTkn1itsnNuXLncR9lyXNZ6BgtMQ3a7mL68NP8pY/s1600/IMG_0865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFmwyLWmlTN6PR6k_ufK_7zWWN0CzDoVkNI8h7ZmdroXzpZ4jXtdJ9DBZDvxud5VuqwAhCv2RmtyK5H1H4KoWSCgkuvn-FoWOzDzGTkn1itsnNuXLncR9lyXNZ6BgtMQ3a7mL68NP8pY/s400/IMG_0865.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The mammoth book (917 pages excluding endnotes) is a collection of essays by both Christian and non-Christian thinkers on the issue of naturalism, the belief that nothing exists outside of physical matter or nature. Some notable non-Christian thinkers include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Shermer">Michael Shermer</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Crick#Creationism">Francis Crick</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_penrose">Roger Penrose</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berlinski">David Berlinski</a> & <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ruse">Michael Ruse</a>. Noteable Christians include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_L._Gordon%5C">Bruce Gordon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dembski">William Dembski</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig">William Lane Craig</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP_Moreland">JP Moreland</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga">Alvin Plantinga</a>, & <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_C._Meyer">Stephen C. Meyer</a>. <br />
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The debate? Bruce Gordon explains in his introductory essay:<br />
<blockquote><span style="color: #e69138;">"A central issue in this interplay between presuppositions and conclusions, one made all the more pressing by recent scientific advances, is whether the universe is self-existent, self-sufficient, and self-organizing, or whether instead it is grounded in a reality that transcends space, time, matter, and energy. More pointedly, does our universe find its ultimate explanatory principle in </span><i style="color: #e69138;">matter</i><span style="color: #e69138;"> or mind?"</span></blockquote>Some of the articles are way out of my league (e.g., articles on Quantum Physics which, just perusing them is enough to make ones head swim--unless of course, you speak that language), but most are right up my ally in terms of my interests in philosophy, cosmology, & ethics.<br />
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What am I looking forward to reading the most?<br />
<ul><li> "The Rise of Naturalism & Its Problematice Role in Science and Culture" (Bruce Gordon)</li>
<li>"Sauce for the Goose: Intelligent Design, Scientific Methodology, and the Demarcation Problem" (Stephen Meyer)</li>
<li>"Evolution versus Naturalism" (Alvin Plantinga)</li>
<li>"Must Naturalists Be Realists?" (Michael Williams)</li>
<li>"On the Origins of Life" (David Berlinski)</li>
<li>"DNA: The Signature in the Cell" (Stephen Meyer)</li>
<li>"Life's Conservation Law: Why Darwinian Evolution Cannot Create Biological Info" (William Dembski & Robert Marks)</li>
<li>"The Limits of Non-Intelligent Explanations in Molecular Biology" (Michael Behe)</li>
<li>"The Chain of Accidents and the Rule of Law: The Role of Contingency and Necessity in Evolution" (Michael Shermer)</li>
<li>"Naturalism and the Origin of the Universe" (William Lane Craig)</li>
<li>"Habitable Zones and Fine-Tuning" (Guillermo Gonzalez) </li>
<li>"On the Origins of the Mind" (David Berlinski)</li>
<li>"Evolution and Ethics" (Michael Ruse)</li>
<li>"Naturalism, Science, and Religion" (Michael Tooley)</li>
</ul>As you might guess, this will keep me busy for a long while. Now, if I only had a reading group to discuss these articles....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-61199750676598572432011-05-19T11:11:00.001-06:002011-05-19T11:16:06.785-06:00Do you like mysteries?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXdUDBaEZZXPSCwqEcitN-sHZ_7gNpi3nl1zperb4aIAAS8YRws_DeD_izV0ICuEOg5IjTluucDhmI0s0w829ElDOTxPu57TT3JmhubuYnwoV6XBe1LYTpdDQcDSTuhw7zEbf-Ss1PhE/s1600/mystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXdUDBaEZZXPSCwqEcitN-sHZ_7gNpi3nl1zperb4aIAAS8YRws_DeD_izV0ICuEOg5IjTluucDhmI0s0w829ElDOTxPu57TT3JmhubuYnwoV6XBe1LYTpdDQcDSTuhw7zEbf-Ss1PhE/s200/mystery.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>Dr. Holly Ordway has <a href="http://www.hieropraxis.com/2011/05/literary-apologetics-reading-list-mystery-novels/">a nice, succinct post</a> on mystery novels and the Christian worldview. <br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Mystery novels, taken as a whole, reflect at a deep level the truth of the Christian worldview. And yes, I mean mystery novels in general, not “mystery novels by Christian writers.” </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">Here’s why. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">In any normal mystery novel (notice that I am omitting weird literary or experimental ones; those are the exceptions that prove the rule), certain ingredients are essential: </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">1. A crime.<br />
2. An investigation of the crime.<br />
3. A resolution of the crime. </blockquote><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">All three conditions point ineluctably toward a moral universe, one in which right and wrong, good and evil, have objective meaning. Let’s consider each point.</blockquote> Read more <a href="http://www.hieropraxis.com/2011/05/literary-apologetics-reading-list-mystery-novels/">here</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-70591456285543700292011-03-30T15:55:00.002-06:002011-03-30T15:56:46.884-06:00The Great Debate: Is there evidence for God?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ecpHBecno_mSsFOR5eD2ZMq_blMzxFIQsI0DsgZEozwyeKmDjdMc3fG5AOlyjrtdR0YNJ0Y87IRBXehG8F0y2SgGcRnxV7tJqInDFQtye2P9zku4cAst-Q0m3N42WPnxCy067tb6b-s/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+3.57.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ecpHBecno_mSsFOR5eD2ZMq_blMzxFIQsI0DsgZEozwyeKmDjdMc3fG5AOlyjrtdR0YNJ0Y87IRBXehG8F0y2SgGcRnxV7tJqInDFQtye2P9zku4cAst-Q0m3N42WPnxCy067tb6b-s/s320/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+3.57.22+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Well, we of course believe there is overwhelming evidence for it. But tonight there will be a debate between two well matched opponents: Dr. William Craig (pro) & Dr. Lawrence Krauss (against). You can get the a preview of the debate <a href="http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/preview-of-the-william-lane-craig-vs-lawrence-krauss-debate/">here at Wintery Knight</a>, and you can <a href="http://thegreatdebatencsu.com/">watch the debate online</a>, 7pm EST.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5mB-f0EFOh2yHKolDOYvuGygbCBWxfNfO4RcyOK_qk0jJAH_Iq1r7ZPaX9IEuTy1JVk3x8QEly2oPJUm5L9i2cpT2cTr8rtzyUv-aW1BoNR_8wFOzluLsqxV-nXyMBYAE2kpMfGqXzg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+3.51.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5mB-f0EFOh2yHKolDOYvuGygbCBWxfNfO4RcyOK_qk0jJAH_Iq1r7ZPaX9IEuTy1JVk3x8QEly2oPJUm5L9i2cpT2cTr8rtzyUv-aW1BoNR_8wFOzluLsqxV-nXyMBYAE2kpMfGqXzg/s400/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+3.51.57+PM.png" width="350" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-88644283675315284642011-03-30T12:33:00.001-06:002011-03-30T12:36:00.889-06:00Last day for free audio download<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOmhJ1USuBL29zhH66YTfcS0Bl_MK379L4P3pwG-2V9SxYmNpoak3MlFFTqKVyJ4kuorkXJUDaX2z9n3z2kLSTnI3Obzy9GU1btTE8dturktkheY7nyB0jIlN7Cjn6k3mL894EAtPIyY/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+12.34.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOmhJ1USuBL29zhH66YTfcS0Bl_MK379L4P3pwG-2V9SxYmNpoak3MlFFTqKVyJ4kuorkXJUDaX2z9n3z2kLSTnI3Obzy9GU1btTE8dturktkheY7nyB0jIlN7Cjn6k3mL894EAtPIyY/s320/Screen+shot+2011-03-30+at+Mar+30+12.34.46+PM.png" width="269" /></a></div>Have you downloaded RC Sproul's "The Holiness of God" from <a href="http://christianaudio.com/">christianaudio.com</a> yet? Today's the last day to do so. I encourage you do get <a href="http://christianaudio.com/free/">this free download</a>. Sproul's classic work is one of the top 5 most influential books in my life. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-52361960271941579412011-03-29T14:27:00.001-06:002011-05-19T11:56:52.214-06:00Science & Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-SmsIj1bHHfpw7J8dXxMDYYHNzSyBrNGhxn2QsnmtuEgMu_6VDXKeHkHbq-gXE9D-eGSn_lhJQbc0_b9ssxqMfAneFLx7dDx8DcYHMybEKLlxxTikySYN6aVVf0IPURa09MxrNqPDP8/s1600/200px-Alister_McGrath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-SmsIj1bHHfpw7J8dXxMDYYHNzSyBrNGhxn2QsnmtuEgMu_6VDXKeHkHbq-gXE9D-eGSn_lhJQbc0_b9ssxqMfAneFLx7dDx8DcYHMybEKLlxxTikySYN6aVVf0IPURa09MxrNqPDP8/s200/200px-Alister_McGrath.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><blockquote style="color: #e69138;">"Once upone a time, back in the second half of the nineteenth century, it was certainly possible to believe that science and religion were permanently at war...This is now seen as a hopelessly outmoded historical stereotype that scholarship has totally discredited."</blockquote><br />
~ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alister_McGrath">Alister McGrath</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dawkins-Delusion-Atheist-Fundamentalism-Veritas/dp/0830837213/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301430390&sr=8-1"><i>The Dawkins Delusion: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine</i></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-4698878773486454442011-02-03T22:31:00.001-07:002013-02-01T09:50:08.842-07:00Ideas have consequences....<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Does one's worldview matter?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq6VPtFENg-Twl9bodub05aJFKPQlMwXyku8_DySTaroFI9qE1dMpJ_uLdjhtnlM4pGpqEoLNIbSPCrn7xLZyQA0ipxL2dMyA-Eficc7SExWnnWCBntPBQfV0_jVFtsq2zd5WP7ELr4U/s1600/owh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq6VPtFENg-Twl9bodub05aJFKPQlMwXyku8_DySTaroFI9qE1dMpJ_uLdjhtnlM4pGpqEoLNIbSPCrn7xLZyQA0ipxL2dMyA-Eficc7SExWnnWCBntPBQfV0_jVFtsq2zd5WP7ELr4U/s200/owh.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">"I see no reason for attributing to man a significance </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">different in kind from that which belongs </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">to a baboon or a grain of sand?"</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #e69138;">~ US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes</span></span></div>
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I wonder if those who hold to such a worldview finding it shocking when someone goes on a shooting spree?<br />
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"How," one wonders given Holmes' view of human life, "could such an incident be no more significant than exterminating ants?"<br />
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[qtd. in Time Magazine: <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890625-1,00.html">“The Nation: A Clearer Voice?”</a> (Sept 21, 1953)]</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-44325273118216115232011-02-03T22:16:00.002-07:002011-02-04T09:18:29.760-07:00Rome burns football idolatryYou've probably seen the commercials of the guys who have "never missed a super bowl." If not, check it out here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJakj-DXQxs">Bob</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6OPmrpqZVo">Tom</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZawqhVFrJxU">Larry</a>, & <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjjT8CDcorg">Don</a>. Sports commentator Jim Rome surprisingly takes them to the shed in his typical cut-to-the-chase style. Check it out:<br />
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<object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3GETQWXXaK8&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3GETQWXXaK8&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br />
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For the record, I need to hear Rome's rebuke as much as these guys do. As one who has allowed his weekend to be ruined by what a bunch of 20 year olds do on the grid iron, I need to be reminded of what is truly important as well. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-52128391858782923662011-02-02T11:28:00.002-07:002011-02-02T15:07:57.278-07:00How prone is the heart to call this into question...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPqwHI6AHvISLPqp48rHFzq0I-refGi7PxbuhkTb1_pSUih5McWEm5KbucdMYrXEUT5Ukh0Cby015ZataPlCE2wR5UqzC1Yc8Shlu5pFvKSh0-w-LGkQvRVHtOxh338sB4mj8LQNC2Ew/s1600/EdwardsJonathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPqwHI6AHvISLPqp48rHFzq0I-refGi7PxbuhkTb1_pSUih5McWEm5KbucdMYrXEUT5Ukh0Cby015ZataPlCE2wR5UqzC1Yc8Shlu5pFvKSh0-w-LGkQvRVHtOxh338sB4mj8LQNC2Ew/s1600/EdwardsJonathan.jpg" /></a></div>Memorable words from Jedi-master, Jonathan Edwards, <br />
<blockquote style="color: #e69138;">“There is no one thing whatsoever more plain and manifest, and more demonstrable, than the being of God. It is manifest in ourselves, in our bodies and souls, and in everything about us wherever we turn our eye, whether to heaven, or to earth, the air, or the seas. And yet how prone is the heart of man to call this into question! So inclined is the heart of man to blindness and delusion, that it is prone to even atheism itself.”</blockquote>From <a href="http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/blindness.htm"><i>Man's Natural Blindness in Religion</i></a><br />
Qtd in James Spiegel's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Atheist-Immorality-Leads-Unbelief/dp/0802476112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270066888&sr=8-1"><i>The Making of an Atheist</i></a>, p. 9<i> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-80834525872608456552011-02-02T11:00:00.001-07:002011-02-02T11:00:44.782-07:00Amazon makes me smile!Just arrived...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRhtKssF_YW3_2Uaw3fRr4QKCg80ajqSjg4zjfpDDTTmrE7D8JCXYkULJCDg1ytkzUxj91sbOqtGg4zqoOykXql86-as7i8HXnN_-9L2M6uZx0hFdAKjbO0l7xO38BUbEUKdenHLepeU/s1600/amazon-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRhtKssF_YW3_2Uaw3fRr4QKCg80ajqSjg4zjfpDDTTmrE7D8JCXYkULJCDg1ytkzUxj91sbOqtGg4zqoOykXql86-as7i8HXnN_-9L2M6uZx0hFdAKjbO0l7xO38BUbEUKdenHLepeU/s320/amazon-box.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
What was in it? <br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Atheist-Immorality-Leads-Unbelief/dp/B0042P5IEC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296669505&sr=1-1">The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-Genesis-One-Cosmology/dp/0830837043/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296669460&sr=1-1">The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology & the Origins Debate</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Washed-Waiting-Reflections-Faithfulness-Homosexuality/dp/0310330033/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296669387&sr=1-1">Washed & Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness & Homosexuality</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Leonardo-Secular-Assault-Meaning/dp/1433669277/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296669203&sr=8-1">Is God Just a Human Invention? And 17 Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Leonardo-Secular-Assault-Meaning/dp/1433669277/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296669203&sr=8-1">Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning</a></li>
</ul>Amazon makes me smile!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-82773985732100898342011-02-01T11:03:00.000-07:002011-02-01T11:03:25.474-07:00Free Audio: Adopted for Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZux40rsGYOUEjJqJVWCaH7n_E6LKZrdbOJv5MZEeiXRm1uGciba9XIkMLTzJJ31mXRqhH4Rf3bSDbVcDdkLpX9ErD3mx_ABoXJ8IjisbM3y06_KomSF_UyVNK89iDVIpRmO1HqgV6DBc/s1600/9781596448513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZux40rsGYOUEjJqJVWCaH7n_E6LKZrdbOJv5MZEeiXRm1uGciba9XIkMLTzJJ31mXRqhH4Rf3bSDbVcDdkLpX9ErD3mx_ABoXJ8IjisbM3y06_KomSF_UyVNK89iDVIpRmO1HqgV6DBc/s320/9781596448513.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><a href="http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore">Christian Audio</a> is offering Russell Moore's <a href="http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore"><i>Adopted for Life</i> </a>for free during the month of February. Be sure to download it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-75238213359389453792011-02-01T10:49:00.001-07:002011-02-03T12:19:14.969-07:00Reading Log for January 2011Below is a record of what I read in the month of January 2011. And to understand the ratings, here is my standard.<br />
<br />
5 stars -- I loved it; highly recommended<br />
4 stars -- A great read; recommended; will most likely read it again<br />
3 stars -- Average read; most likely will not read it again<br />
2 stars -- Didn't care much for it<br />
1 star -- Painful, waste of paper<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexC4qHumIkD6Gv4obOqYrZewO5B9pAWB4Fn_exuyTlREikfEzBH_bKdbQjsF9wFtmKxLg97PWcY2-QwzXvxDYj9CDX7PWwy5-Z_W8f_DFeZpO6I4Xjhs2osYYFWeDZMD5Gw70C19Fbws/s1600/Hearing-Jesus-Speak-into-Your-Sorrow-1414325487-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexC4qHumIkD6Gv4obOqYrZewO5B9pAWB4Fn_exuyTlREikfEzBH_bKdbQjsF9wFtmKxLg97PWcY2-QwzXvxDYj9CDX7PWwy5-Z_W8f_DFeZpO6I4Xjhs2osYYFWeDZMD5Gw70C19Fbws/s200/Hearing-Jesus-Speak-into-Your-Sorrow-1414325487-L.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>1. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hearing-Jesus-Speak-into-Sorrow/dp/1414325487/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296579316&sr=8-1">Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow</a>, by Nancy Guthrie. This is an excellent book by a mother who lost several children. She doesn't sugar coat the pain of living in a broken world, and she certainly doesn't spout platitudes. Here you will find a sure guide for journeying through pain and loss, and still seeking God in the process. While I have a few quibbles with how she worded a few things, I have a much more than a little admiration for the ways in which she worded so much of what she says. <span style="color: #e69138;">4.5 stars</span> <br />
<br />
2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Leader-Ken-Blanchard/dp/0849996597/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296579678&sr=1-1">Servant Leader</a>, by Ken Blanchard. A good little book with some practical advice about leadership characterized by servanthood. He strained some of the biblical texts, I thought, to support what he wanted to say, but he had some good things to say. <span style="color: #e69138;">3 stars</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxS4xj-Gimzc5qjp-XQzCzHReDqVi66nn8e6vDOKQtcetofE3HXkY5wQZVu5h8_p0UA1Mtd5a0NiT7kaPMZOde5nBIOWXcXndk8-Mn4HUdIQNoDSnQvOMim0LTwD2fiQFMW89-JVfiTc/s1600/com-cover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxS4xj-Gimzc5qjp-XQzCzHReDqVi66nn8e6vDOKQtcetofE3HXkY5wQZVu5h8_p0UA1Mtd5a0NiT7kaPMZOde5nBIOWXcXndk8-Mn4HUdIQNoDSnQvOMim0LTwD2fiQFMW89-JVfiTc/s200/com-cover1.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Children-Men-P-D-James/dp/0307275434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296579836&sr=1-1">Children of Men</a>, by PD James. I went into this book wanting to be intrigued by the story. The first chapter is excellent as James sets up a world in which humanity has lost the ability to have children. Fascinating premise. But after chapter 1 it went downhill. My wife has a hundred page rule on a book--if the author doesn't do it for her by then, she puts it down. I have a 50 page rule. I gave James about 85 pages and then started skimming desperately looking for the story to pick up. Note to James: I don't care about what a man's earlobes look like, nor the kind of eyelashes he has, nor about his lips, his chin, his eyebrows, etc. Get on with the STORY. I'll probably give James another shot with a different book down the road, if only to make my wife happy. Sum: 1 chapter = brilliant. Next 10 chapters = painful. Remember, I wanted to like this book. <span style="color: #e69138;">1 star</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yhfXFrDCfhK0wEQbb4oEgiEIkuhczKs5YinH9WOWgJSPvLm3nrC_g-WboMzzszFJApjy4ol0vFmY8YFgVjXsjWd3_8BufPlkd_Mo9_JXUTirpIgZ0cq5ficuKjmnVvY7Ek4nc-7AgPM/s1600/5dys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yhfXFrDCfhK0wEQbb4oEgiEIkuhczKs5YinH9WOWgJSPvLm3nrC_g-WboMzzszFJApjy4ol0vFmY8YFgVjXsjWd3_8BufPlkd_Mo9_JXUTirpIgZ0cq5ficuKjmnVvY7Ek4nc-7AgPM/s200/5dys.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>4. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Lencioni/dp/0787960756/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296580226&sr=1-1">The Five Dysfuntions of a Team</a>, Patrick Lencioni. I started this in December & finished it on the first day or two of the year. A good little book about leadership that is told via the form of a narrative followed by a section explaining the principles. Much more entertaining than James! And the narrative wasn't that great. He talks about the absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, & inattention to results. Good stuff that I'll using in team building. <span style="color: #e69138;">3 stars</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZ2uwtpk1-ZaamoGnd-IR1k85eRRWNSOxhYzE3KxQaWLGuVahFV_BITqh_HepZAWmF1HxVljXg4YGhJlQ-CwGNsk9BH6VaFF49Y_rfXMaw0qvGC0uOYnCsIFUcdKAy-sYgln_eWz__SM/s1600/whomadegod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZ2uwtpk1-ZaamoGnd-IR1k85eRRWNSOxhYzE3KxQaWLGuVahFV_BITqh_HepZAWmF1HxVljXg4YGhJlQ-CwGNsk9BH6VaFF49Y_rfXMaw0qvGC0uOYnCsIFUcdKAy-sYgln_eWz__SM/s200/whomadegod.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Who-Made-Searching-Theory-Everything/dp/0852347073/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296580522&sr=1-2">Who Made God: Searching for a Theory of Everything</a>, by Edgar Andrews. Let me just start by saying <span style="color: #e69138;">10 stars</span> (okay, I know I'm using a 5 star rating standard, but I really enjoyed this book). Edgar is a brilliant man (with the credentials to back it up) who takes the whole issue of metaphysics, physics and biology and makes it accessible to the non-philosopher & non-scientist. And that's no easy task, but Edgar does it with wit & humor. His chapter introductions are worth the price of the book. While showing that the New Atheists are offering nothing new but repackaged silliness, he takes on the fairytale of Darwinian evolution and has some critical comments for the Intelligent Design camp as well. Check out <a href="http://whomadegod.org/">Edgar's website</a> as well as <a href="http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/who-made-god">Challies' review</a>. I will read this one again, and soon. <span style="color: #e69138;">5 stars</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C-Du_qPtoS0941-BIotZLc-IjH3kDB9RoPgjC_V6ZkBXHGQ9rx-OKiWNxJ1StWHSvtlhnfSGb8a1NcGbP5nAxlLS8vygk5YBlLa6KbMOGr8l0DaHwBvGiZyKpRLM4St6MbZu2eEuHlk/s1600/best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C-Du_qPtoS0941-BIotZLc-IjH3kDB9RoPgjC_V6ZkBXHGQ9rx-OKiWNxJ1StWHSvtlhnfSGb8a1NcGbP5nAxlLS8vygk5YBlLa6KbMOGr8l0DaHwBvGiZyKpRLM4St6MbZu2eEuHlk/s200/best.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>6. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.amazon.com/Best-Kept-Secret-Christian-Mission/dp/0310328632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296581148&sr=1-1">The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission</a>, by John Dickson. This is an excellent book--one I wished I had written because he says everything I would have wanted to say about the issue of 'promoting the Gospel with more than our lips' (the subtitle of the book). Dickson contends that it is every Christian's duty to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but not all do it in the same way. Here are some of the many ways he suggests: promoting the Gospel with our prayers, our money, through the works of the church, through Christian behavior (being beautiful, he says, and he means by that something like 'living a beautiful and attractive life), through our public praise, through our daily conversation. Endorsed by all the right people (NT Wright, Christopher Wright, Alister Begg, Ravi Zacharias, Richard Bauckman, Jim Belcher, Tremper Longman, Timothy George--and now yours truly), this book is a must-read for believers (I know, the phrased is over used, but I plan to implement this book in my own ministry and leadership training). <span style="color: #e69138;">5 stars</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPchgs34sRYDXctPQSm76Br4qps2HxNvPlUCaHr8zAr_d6jreerlHxxRvMH8tXGatguZtjieCi8XXZhvzq_2SdqQp4Ge6W4Zi4HSWrHTWvu9miqBm-5Xa4Lhv4USuFyu6DPsIt9OH-OsY/s1600/220px-OfMiceAndMenPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPchgs34sRYDXctPQSm76Br4qps2HxNvPlUCaHr8zAr_d6jreerlHxxRvMH8tXGatguZtjieCi8XXZhvzq_2SdqQp4Ge6W4Zi4HSWrHTWvu9miqBm-5Xa4Lhv4USuFyu6DPsIt9OH-OsY/s200/220px-OfMiceAndMenPoster.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>7. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mice-Men-John-Malkovich/dp/B00007KQA4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1296581413&sr=1-1">Of Mice & Men</a>, by John Steinbeck. I haven't read this classic story since high school. I enjoyed it this time around, even though I knew the ending that came all too quickly. Who cannot love Lennie and his dream of feeding rabbits with his buddy George. Tragic story, but good story telling nevertheless. <span style="color: #e69138;">4.5 stars</span><br />
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My wife brought home the library (she's a great wife) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mice-Men-John-Malkovich/dp/B00007KQA4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1296581413&sr=1-1">the DVD</a> with Gary Sinese (George) & John Malkovich (Lennie). I somehow didn't get the memo that it was released in 1992. While some of the transitions were a bit wooden & I wished some of the scenes were a bit more fleshed out, this was a good film. Sinese is one of my favorite actors (since I first saw him on the silver screen in Forrest Gump), and Malkovich played Lennie to perfection. <span style="color: #e69138;"> 4 stars </span><br />
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Scripture completed: Genesis, DanielUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-66351855139494568962011-02-01T05:48:00.000-07:002011-02-01T05:48:00.699-07:00Piper: If they say, “Are you a Calvinist?” say, “You decide. Here is what I believe . . .”John Piper gives <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/saying-what-you-believe-is-clearer-than-saying-calvinist">some good advice</a> on answering the question, "Are you a Calvinist?" <br />
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He says, "If they say, 'Are you a Calvinist?' say, 'You decide. Here is what I believe . . ."<br />
<ul><li>I believe I am so spiritually corrupt and prideful and rebellious that I would never have come to faith in Jesus without God’s merciful, sovereign victory over the last vestiges of my rebellion. (<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Corinthians%202.14" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 2:14</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%203.1%E2%80%934" target="_blank">Ephesians 3:1–4</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%208.7" target="_blank">Romans 8:7</a>).</li>
</ul><ul><li>I believe that God chose me to be his child before the foundation of the world, on the basis of nothing in me, foreknown or otherwise. (<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%201.4%E2%80%936" target="_blank">Ephesians 1:4–6</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%2013.48" target="_blank">Acts 13:48</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%208.29%E2%80%9330" target="_blank">Romans 8:29–30</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%2011.5%E2%80%937" target="_blank">11:5–7</a>)</li>
</ul><ul><li>I believe Christ died as a substitute for sinners to provide a <i>bona fide</i> offer of salvation to all people, and that he had an invincible design in his death to obtain his chosen bride, namely, the assembly of all believers, whose names were eternally written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%203.16" target="_blank">John 3:16</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%2010.15" target="_blank">John 10:15</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%205.25" target="_blank">Ephesians 5:25</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Revelation%2013.8" target="_blank">Revelation 13:8</a>)</li>
</ul><ul><li>When I was dead in my trespasses, and blind to the beauty of Christ, God made me alive, opened the eyes of my heart, granted me to believe, and united me to Jesus, with all the benefits of forgiveness and justification and eternal life. (<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%202.4%E2%80%935" target="_blank">Ephesians 2:4–5</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Corinthians%204.6" target="_blank">2 Corinthians 4:6</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Philippians%202.29" target="_blank">Philippians 2:29</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%202.8%E2%80%939" target="_blank">Ephesians 2:8–9</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%2016.14" target="_blank">Acts 16:14</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ephesians%201.7" target="_blank">Ephesians 1:7</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Philippians%203.9" target="_blank">Philippians 3:9</a>)</li>
</ul><ul><li>I am eternally secure not mainly because of anything I did in the past, but decisively because God is faithful to complete the work he began—to sustain my faith, and to keep me from apostasy, and to hold me back from sin that leads to death. (<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Corinthians%201.8%E2%80%939" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 1:8–9</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Thessalonians%205.23%E2%80%9324" target="_blank">1 Thessalonians 5:23–24</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Philippians%201.6" target="_blank">Philippians 1:6</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Peter%201.5" target="_blank">1 Peter 1:5</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Jude%201.25" target="_blank">Jude 1:25</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/John%2010.28%E2%80%9329" target="_blank">John 10:28–29</a>; <a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%205.16" target="_blank">1 John 5:16</a>)</li>
</ul>This is good advice, and it's a line of thought that I've used for years. People like to use labels, and often people mean different things with labels. I once encountered a university student who was enraged when she learned that I was a Calvinist b/c that meant--in he mind--that I endorsed burning heretics. That was rare, but in my experience in talking to people about these issues over the last 20 years, most people mean 'hyper-Calvinism' when they use the terms 'Calvinism.' Very few people accurately defined Calvinism. <br />
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To read Piper's entire post, <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/saying-what-you-believe-is-clearer-than-saying-calvinist">click here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176240153566088568.post-48979253474943154322011-02-01T05:03:00.000-07:002011-02-01T05:03:00.234-07:00Sometimes, you should just call it quits....<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dV8ozxliySQ?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dV8ozxliySQ?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0