Blogging through JE's resolutions

My peruvian amigo, Francisco, is blogging (in excellent English, I might add) through the resolutions of my favorite American philosopher & theologian, Jonathan Edwards.  It would be well worth the time to think through Edwards' resolutions with Francisco...

He's completed the first 10:

• intro
• one
• two 
• three
• four
• five
• six
• seven
• eight
• nine
• ten

Destroying evil without destroying us...

Why did Jesus have to die?  Couldn't God just forgive?

In his excellent book, The Reason for God, Tim Keller argues that forgiveness always means bearing the cost instead of making the wrongdoer do it.   "Forgiveness means absorbing the debt of the sin yourself."  

"It is crucial at this point to remember that the Christian faith has always understood that Jesus is God.  God did not, then, inflict pain on someone else, bur rather on the Cross absorbed the pain, violence, and evil of the world into himself.  Therefore the God of the Bible is not like the primitive deities who demanded our blood for their wrath to be appeased.  Rather, this is a God who becomes human and offers his own lifeblood so that someday he can destroy all evil without destroying us."  

Jesus is both the priest and the offering.   He said, "I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (The Gospel of John, 10:11, 19).

What is "apologetics?" Are you sayin' you're sorry for something?

apologetics |əˌpäləˈjetiks|

Apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith.   "Apologetics" is a term that comes from the Greek work apologia that means simply, 'defense.'  It is not to apologize for what you believe in or to apologize if someone's offended at our proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ, but to make a defense for it.   In Peter's first letter to the churches of Asian Minor, he wrote these words:

"...in your hearts set apart Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense [apologia] to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you...." (1 Peter 3:15)

More specifically, I believe Christian apologetics is a defense of the proclamation that Jesus is Lord--the King of kings and the Lord of lords.   Believers are called to make a defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is in part a proclamation of His lordship.   We are not called to make a defense of personal opinions or personal preferences on religious topics, but rather "to set apart Christ the Lord" and to give an answer for that.   That is, we are devoted to His Lordship.

Christianity at its basic level is just this proclamation.   This confession, says the late missionary to India, Lesslie Newbigin,

“...is distinguished in that it is a commitment to a belief about the meaning of the whole of human experience in its entirety--namely, the belief that this meaning is to be found in the person of Jesus Christ, incarnate, crucified, risen, and destined to reign over all things.”

I "Heart" Atheists

I came across this website, iloveatheists.com, listening to an Unbelievable podast.  The creator of the website found out in debates with atheists that the same arguments kept coming up.  So with a desire to collect answers, he made this website to be his personal answer key.

The website features a "Top 100" list of challenges that are often posed by atheists, with answers given by iloveatheists' creator, Todd Pitner.

Check it out.   And love an atheist.

Wars & rumors of war

Foreign Policy online has an article they published before the new year signaling a number of hotspots around the world that are on the brink of war, or could easily be pushed that way.

Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the valleys of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the streets of Kashmir. But what are the next crises that might erupt in 2011? Here are a few worrisome spots that make our list. 

1. Côte d'Ivoire
2. Colombia
3. Zimbabwe
4. Iraq
5. Venezuela
6. Sudan
7. Mexico
8. Guatemala
9. Haiti
10. Tajikistan
11. Pakistan
12. Somalia
13. Lebanon
14. Nigeria
15. Guinea
16. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Thankful for the relative peace in which we dwell (despite living in a secular state), but also praying that the Prince of peace will come and bring His kingdom and set everything right.

Prayer Bootcamp for Urban Mission

Back in November, my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the "Prayer Bootcamp for Urban Mission" in Vancouver put on by our Grace Church Planting Network. Justine Hwang & Pastor John Smed led the bootcamp. John writes,

"The secret to effective prayer is to connect the gospel to prayer and prayer to mission. This is the essential character of Jesus’ prayer. The upward priority of worship, the kingdom values of preaching grace and doing justice, and the inward practices of forgiveness and spiritual warfare are all contained in the Lord’s Prayer. This workshop is applied prayer. We put Christ’s teaching into immediate action as we pray together for each others’ churches and cities. The outcome of this workshop is ‘prayer trainers’. With prayer resources and instruments in hand, participants put into practice what is learned."

Here is a short video highlighting that project.



Grace prayer from Peter Jordan on Vimeo.
John & Justine are looking to expand this ministry.   We would definitely endorse the bootcamp.

Moses was maybe smarter than you think

It is common to hear that the writer of Genesis--Moses--was a doofus.   With our modern assumptions about how we would have written Genesis (e.g., we would have used the same name for God in Genesis 1 & 2), we look back with a chronological snobbery that insists the ancients were too primitive to have any sense.  [Of course, there are still some who cling to the JEPD theory of the composition of Genesis, but that's another story.]

At any rate, in prep for teaching on Genesis 6-9 (the account of Noah), I came across these examples of chiastic structures in the story.   A chiasm is a literary device used in ancient literature which highlights certain truths at the center of the structure.  A typical chiastic structure follows a pattern of ABC CBA.

Check out these chiasms, the first of which highlights how the story of Noah was carefully written to highlight God's covenant 'remembering' of Noah.

The second one is a chiasm within the above chiasm.

Moses a doofus?  Yeah right.

Get your game face on, but don't waste your sports

Game day.   God.  Do they have anything to do with one another?  

I love sports.  I can't imagine the world without sports.  I'm so thankful that God has created us a culture builders, and one of the ways in which we build culture is by sports.   Granted, as with anything in creation, we can twist it for our own selfish ends, worship it giving it too much significance, and we can use it to abuse others.   


But, sports is inherently a good thing because it's part of created life.   From the grace of a "Hail Mary" pass caught in perfect stride, to the complex performance of a high platform diver, to the strength and elegance of a race horse, sports is at once a highlight of humanity's abilities and potentials, and an excuse to give God glory.  Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympic runner immortalized in Chariots of Fire, knew this well when he said, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."


Is it possible to "feel God's pleasure" while enjoying sports?  I believe the answer is not simply "yes," but a resounding "YES!"  

Christianity addresses all areas of life, including our sports lives.   

Below is a list of resources--books, videos, articles--that are helpful in thinking through sports to the glory of God. 


*  Don't Waste Your Sports, by CJ Mahaney (book | website)
*  Game Day for the Glory of God, by Stephen Altrogge (amazon | google | article)
*  The Reason for Sports: A Christian Fanifesto, by Ted Kluck (amazon)

*  A Theology of Sports, by James Spiegel

•  Part One 
•  Part Two 
•  Part Three 
•  Part Four
  

Video:
CJ Mahaney's "Thanking God for Sports"


CJ Mahaney's, "Don't Waste Your Sports"

Don't Waste Your Sports from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Stephen Altrogge: Victory (1:23)


Stephen Altrogge: Defeat (1:43)


Stephen Altrogge: Sidelines (0:50)


Get your game face on, but don't waste your sports.

Is it possible there are no coincidences?

So we had a mid-week family movie night last week, and we decided to watch M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs." It's one of my favorites.  If you haven't seen it, go get it.

Mel Gibson plays a priest (Graham Hess) who has lost his faith after the tragic death of his wife.   But strange things start happening when crops signs show up in the field next to their house.   As it turns out, people start freaking out when it gradually dawns on people all over the world that these signs are markings for an alien invasion.

This is a great scene between Graham and his brother, Merrill (played by Joaquin Phoenix).  In it, Graham explains to his brother that there are two groups of people in this world.... 

"People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear.

Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope.

See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"

What say you:  Is it possible that there are no coincidences?

Wow, need a dose of racism to sober you up?

It's not everyday when you hear such calloused racism, at least not for me.  That's not to suggest that it's not there, and everywhere, but to go on record in a public forum stating your racism, well...

From Collive Community News Service, "Neoconservative thinker David Horowitz was put on the spot by a Muslim student during a speech at the University of California San Diego. His comeback revealed her true goal."



Come, Prince of peace.  

God, Time & Eternity

My friend, Joshua B, posted this quote on his facebook page.   I had to re-quote it here so I wouldn't lose it.  

"Time is the succession of thoughts in the mind of rational, created beings. God, being eternal, does not have a succession of thoughts, but rather His thoughts persist at once in their entirety, or put otherwise, they are immediate. God "interacts" with time insofar as every action of creation (including the succession of men's thoughts) is the result of God's thinking them so. Therefore time is an aspect of the created order and not an aspect of God's essential nature. Therefore time is subject to the will of God, and not God to the nature of time." (HT Aurelius Augustine, Gordon Clark)

 Thanks, Joshua, for posting this.  Beautiful.

Coffee with Dr. Gordon

Yesterday, I had the privilege of having a four-hour conversation with Dr. Bruce Gordon, associate professor of science and mathematics at the The King's College in New York City and co-editor (along with Dr. William Dembski) of the forthcoming collection "The Nature of Nature:  Examing the Role of Naturalism in Science."

Dr. Gordon loves the intersection of philosophy, apologetics, and science, as do I.  Plus he loves mathematics, which I don't, but am thankful that people like him do.   Along with his lovely wife, Mari-Anne, we enjoyed a great conversation over Starbucks coffee covering topics from his work as a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute in Seattle, his current work at Kings College, his work in Intelligent Design plus topics from the age of the universe to the Flood to biological determinism.

By way of introducing him to you, here is an article in the Washington Times by Dr. Gordon critiquing Stephen Hawkin's new book.  The article is entitled, "Hawking Irrational Arguments:  Theoretical Physicist Takes Leave of His Senses."

Check out this video (9:59) below of Dr. Gordon teaching on "The Absurdity of the Multiverse & Materialism."

Dr. Bruce Gordon - The Absurdity Of The Multiverse & Materialism 

We've enjoyed having Bruce & Mari-Anne worship with us at New City Church while they have been in town visiting family. I look forward to following his career, plus having him potentially do some teaching for us at NCC on the area of Intelligent Design.

New Focus for the Blog

Over the past few months I have clarified & narrowed what I want the focus of this blog to be. My few faithful readers over the years will have noticed posts ranging from sports to family to politics to theology. These will probably still make appearances from time to time, but the focus of this blog beginning in 2011 will be on the intersection of apologetics, mission, & culture with an aim to providing resources, links, and commentary to my (hopefully) growing spheres of influence. There is a big need in Canada to equip followers of Christ in defending and proclaiming the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

So, stay tuned. I hope it will be helpful.

Okay, this freaks me out...

Is it moving or is it static?

[source]

Going Postal Over Culture?

Mark Driscoll has a good article on Christians and culture called, "Why Christians Go Postal Over Facebook, Jay-Z, Yoga, Avatar, and Culture in General."

He writes...

I’m not advocating either a permissive or a restrictive approach to debatable cultural issues. Rather, I am encouraging Christians to involve themselves in culture not merely for the purpose of entertainment but primarily for the purpose of education. As a missionary, you will need to watch television shows and movies, listen to music, read books, peruse magazines, attend events, join organizations, surf websites, and befriend people that you might not like to better understand people whom Jesus loves.

 He offers a helpful taxonomy for dealing with culture:

·     Receive – There are things in culture that are part of God’s common grace to all people that a Christian can simply receive. This is why, for example, I am typing on a Mac and am going to post this blog on the Internet without searching for an expressly Christian computer or communication format.

·     Reject – There are things in culture that are sinful and not beneficial. One example is pornography, which has no redeeming value and must be rejected by a Christian.

·     Redeem – There are things in culture that are not bad in and of themselves, but can be used in a sinful manner and therefore need to be redeemed by God’s people. An example that has resulted in a great deal of media attention is sexual pleasure. God made our bodies for, among other purposes, sexual pleasure. And, although many have sinned sexually, as Christians we should redeem this great gift and all its joys in the context of marriage.

Check it out here.

Interesting graphic about home schooling in the US

Click graphic to enlarge

[HT: Challies]

The Subversive Manger Scene

Pretty clever commentary on our culture, IMHO.

[HT:  Reclaiming the Mission]

Back in the saddle?

Attention my dear five friends of this blog: 

I have been away for a while, really for a good half a year.   Why?

*  I've stopped blogging in order to focus on launching New City Church.  
*  I've stopped blogging in order to redefine (for myself) why I want to blog. 
*  I've stopped blogging in order to refrain from making snarky comments about US politics (not that there is anything wrong with that--I've just needed to check myself & motives for doing so).

So, what now?  

*  The church is launched and we're having a blast watching God work.   Not that there is not more work for us to do, but I feel like this blog is no longer a distraction.
*  Why do I want to blog?  Mainly just to reference stuff that I may want to remember, to keep up writing, and to share things with you--my faithful five friends (which may be even fewer now that I haven't posted anything in forever.  
*  I really have to refrain from political comments.   I'm neither Democrat or Republican (generally--snarky comment coming--I think the Dems are driving the car off the cliff at 85mph while the Republicans are content to drive it off at 65mph).   I'm generally conservative, but don't think our Republic comes anywhere near what was originally envisioned by the Signers of the US Constitution.   Plus, I'm living in Canada now, and Canadians are pretty snarky about US & Canadian politics.  

So yeah, I'm back in the saddle. 

Sports & Existential Despair

The folks over at the Onion have outdone themselves on this one.   Pretty funny.  And yes, it will show up in an illustration for a sermon or a seminar.  You can count on it.



[HT: Sean McDowell]

On Reading Less

Wise words from John Piper...

I [do not] want to give the impression that I think there is virtue in reading many books. In fact one of my greatest complaints in seminary was that professors trained students in bad habits of superficial reading because they assigned too many books. I agree with Spurgeon: “A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books which he has merely skimmed, lapping at them.” God save us from the allurement of “keeping up with Pastor Jones” by superficial skimming. Forget about “keeping up.” It only feeds pride and breeds spiritual barrenness. Instead devote yourself to boring in and going deep. There is so much soul-refreshing, heart-deepening, mind-enlarging truth to be had from great books!

 I love books, and I read a lot of them.   But I also try to have several that I'm going deep into.  The ones I go deep into are usually the ones I've read quickly through, and desire to master.  For example, I've read and have re-read taking notes along the way Wright's The Mission of God, Piper's When I Don't Desire God, and am currently going deep with William Lane Craig's On Guard as well as re-reading and listening to Piper's The Pleasures of God.

Not all books are created equally.   This is a good reminder from Piper.   

[HT:  Z]