Integrating a Christian College

Dolphus Weary describes his predicament in mid-1960s Mississippi in I Ain’t Comin’ Back:

I also developed a vague idea that I wanted to so [sic] something similar to John [Perkins] and the others at the ministry.  I didn’t know what, but I wanted to prepare for it as best I could.  To me that meant finishing my education at a Christian college.  There was just one problem — I didn’t know of a single accredited four-year Christian college that would admit a black person.  I knew some Bible institutes that educated blacks.  But I wanted a full college education as well as Bible instruction. (52)

Fortunately, he met the director of admissions of Los Angeles Baptist College in Newhall, now The Master’s College, after chapel at Mississippi junior college (a young John MacArthur was also visiting).  LABC offered Weary and his friend Jimmie Walker basketball scholarships.

When they got there, they realized that they were the first and only full-time black students at LABC.  While they noticed the more open racial climate of California and soon made good friends with many other students, they found that some students purposely ignored them and that others were openly hostile.  Weary recalls the cheers that he heard from some students after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

Weary writes that he and Walker committed to confronting this prejudice without resorting to hatred.  They were eventually able to get more of their friends from Mississippi to come, including Dolphus’ future wife, Rosie.  Weary’s story is a testimony of the power of God to give courage to the downtrodden.

Short Term Missions

Last week, the Desiring God Blog posted on short-term missions throughout the week.  This is the wrap-up with links to their different posts.  The major messages that came through were that those going on short-term missions must have a servant’s attitude, take care that their efforts don’t harm the poor and the local Christian efforts that they mean to help, and realize that those who go on the trip often receive more than those they mean to help.

Two articles from the Chalmers Center at Covenant College were particularly interesting.  They sought to differentiate between relief and development, arguing that when the poor can help themselves we must pursue development.  The second article that I linked to provides this suggestion (the DG Blog quoted a shorter section of this):

Despite these words of caution, STM trips can play a positive role in the lives of all those involved, but a different paradigm is needed. Rather than going as “doers,” some powerful dynamics can be unleashed if STM teams go as “learners” from the poor or as “co-learners” with the poor. Consistent with an asset-based model, going as a learner emphasizes the gifts which poor people have to share with others: the spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social resources that God has already placed in their community. Listening to poor people and asking them to share their insights affirms their dignity and reduces the tendencies towards pride on the part of the outsiders. Furthermore, the poor really do have something to teach us, for they have unique insights on what it means to trust in a sovereign God to “give us this day our daily bread.”

This article also had a good discussion of different cultural views of time:

An important dynamic that affects the interaction of STM teams and low-income communities is that there are often core cultural differences with respect to time. Most Americans are from a monochronic culture which believes that time is a very important resource that should not be wasted. Of course, there is some good in that perspective, and it enables Americans to produce a lot. But many other cultures have a polychronic view that says time is primarily an opportunity to invest in relationships. In such cultures, knowing and serving others is more important than pursuing many new projects or activities. Hence, people from polychronic cultures may not feel unduly impatient or burdened if life unfolds a little bit slower than the people from monochromic cultures would like.

STM teams that fail to understand these dynamics can inadvertently undermine long-term development. For example, when Americans gain a reputation for needing to do things very quickly, it can foster an attitude in poor communities that discourages local people from doing things to improve their own situation. Locals start to say, “We don’t need to do anything. Let’s just wait and some outsiders will show up and do it for us!” Again, if the STM teams would focus less on “doing” and more on “being and learning together,” this problem could be mitigated.

Perkins on the importance of informed solutions

After John Perkins essentially fought the Mississippi court system to a draw twice, dropping his charges against the local authorities when they promised to drop theirs against him, he believed that the most important part of his experience was informing people about the injustices of police misconduct and brutality:

One of the things for Christian observers is that there are times when the biggest need is for information rather than exhortation.  We need to know more about what really goes on before we solidify our theoretical ideas about what a Christian “ought” or “ought not” to do.

Whether we admit it or not, our reading of biblical ethics is colored by our perception of the world around us.  If we think that there are only a few “bad guys” such as burglars or murderers, and that all the given political, legal and economic structures around us are basically okay, then we are bound to read our Bibles in a certain way.  We will assume that it tells us to “lay low,” whether we are a part of the law or only under the law; that the person who speaks out is a rebellious agitator.

But that assumption can be badly shaken up by a good look at what happens to many people who are simply crushed by, rather than helped by, these social structures and institutions that we take for granted.  If sin can exist at every level of government, and in every human institution, then also the call to biblical justice in every corner of society must be sounded by those who claim a God of Justice as their Lord. (Let Justice Roll Down, Ch. 21, pg. 195, 1976 edition)

This is a great reminder that we need to see if justice goes beyond rhetoric and good ideas and is actually carried out.

After John Perkins essentially fought the Mississippi court system to a draw twice, dropping his charges against the local authorities when they promised to drop theirs against him, he believed that the most important part of his experience was informing people about the injustices of police misconduct and brutality:

One of the things for Christian observers is that there are times when the biggest need is for information rather than exhortation.  We need to know more about what really goes on before we solidify our theoretical ideas about what a Christian “ought” or “ought not” to do.

Whether we admit it or not, our reading of biblical ethics is colored by our perception of the world around us.  If we think that there are only a few “bad guys” such as burglars or murderers, and that all the given political, legal and economic structures around us are basically okay, then we are bound to read our Bibles in a certain way.  We will assume that it tells us to “lay low,” whether we are a part of the law or only under the law; that the person who speaks out is a rebellious agitator.

But that assumption can be badly shaken up by a good look at what happens to many people who are simply crushed by, rather than helped by, these social structures and institutions that we take for granted.  If sin can exist at every level of government, and in every human institution, then also the call to biblical justice in every corner of society must be sounded by those who claim a God of Justice as their Lord. (Let Justice Roll Down, Ch. 21, pg. 195, 1976 edition)

This is a great reminder that we need to see if justice goes beyond rhetoric and good ideas and is actually carried out.

When the church looks irrelevant

From John Perkins’ autobiography Let Justice Roll Down:

You see, in all my years growing up in Mississippi, I had never heard the simple truth of the gospel: the fact that Jesus Christ could set me free and love His life in me.  I grew up knowing nothing about Jesus Christ.

In fact, I had always looked at black Christians as sort of inferior people whose religion had made them gullible and submissive.  Religion had made so many of my people humble down to the white-dominated system with all its injustices.  Religion had made them cowards and Uncle Toms.

But I was a Perkins and I wasn’t like that at all.  No way was I like that.  So I did not see the black church as relevant to me and my needs.

And I did not see white Christianity as meaningful either.  To me it was part of that whole system that helped dehumanize and destroy black people; that system which identified me as a nigger.  So how could the white church really be concerned about me?

I had lived in the South.  I had drunk at separate drinking fountains.  I had ridden in the back of buses.  And never in the South had I heard one white Christian speak out against the way whites treated blacks as second-class citizens.

I had never accepted the falsehood that I was a second-class citizen.  Nor had I ever accepted the myth that I was a nigger.  So I did not see the white church as relevant to me and my needs. (Ch. 7, 57-58, 1976 edition)

Perkins eventually found forgiveness for his sin and meaning for his life in Christ, as well as a passion for justice that he found so lacking in his boyhood home.

Paul Tripp: the American dream compromises Christian community

I’m excited that the New Calvinists are challenging the American-evangelical synthesis that blesses the assumptions of American life with religious approval.  At the Desiring God blog, Paul Tripp states it about as strongly and as well as it can be said:

I read a book on stress a few years back, and the author made a side comment that I thought was so insightful. He said that the highest value of materialistic western culture is not possessing. It’s actually acquiring.

If you’re a go-getter you never stop. And so the guy who is lavishly successful doesn’t quit, because there are greater levels of success. “My house could be bigger, I could drive better cars, I could have more power, I could have more money.”…

You can’t fit God’s dream (if I can use that language) for his church inside of the American dream and have it work. It’s a radically different lifestyle. It just won’t squeeze into the available spaces of the time and energy that’s left over.

And I’m as much seduced by that as anybody. We have sold our four-bedroom house because our kids are gone, and we’ve bought a loft in Chinatown, Philadelphia. And we’re amazed at how simple our life has become. We’re grieving over how we let our life get so complicated.

Last year, for example, I put almost $2,500 worth of gas in my car. This year, I’ve put $159 in the first quarter. It’s because we’re walking places, and that slows our life down, and we’re near the people in our church because we’re within walking distance of the church. And we’ve had so many natural encounters with people because of that.

We’re living in a much smaller place. We got rid of most of our stuff. As we went through it, we laughed about how we just collected stuff. All that stuff has to be maintained. It grabs your heart, it grabs your schedule, it grabs your time. It becomes a source of worry and concern and need to pay.

So we’ve just been confronted with how all of those things that aren’t evil in themselves become the complications of life that keep us away from the kind of community that we need in order to hold on to our identity.

Let me be clear about a couple of things.  First, I’m a beneficiary of the American dream and of the incredible opportunity that America offers to so many of its citizens.  I’m not suggesting a political overhaul that would deny that to others, but rather that we as Christians may want to reevaluate how living a fully American life might compromise the higher priority of living a fully Christian life.  Second, as in so many things, I’m much more in the thinking and talking phase of this than in the acting phase, so I don’t want to pretend that I’ve got it figured out.  I did think that this was worth sharing, though.

I think that the New Calvinism seems to share some of the same concerns that the Emerging church movement does.   The best example of this that I know is Mark Driscoll’s ties to the Emerging leaders early in his career, before they parted ways.  Adherents of both seek a more authentic commitment to God and the Christian life than they find in the American evangelical mainstream.  What’s so exciting about the New Calvinism, in my opinion, is that it addresses the concerns of the Emerging movement in a biblically faithful and confident way, in contrast to some in the Emerging movement’s uncomfortableness with traditional doctrines.  As I’ve said before, I’m watching the New Calvinist movement with great excitement.

If you want to see what I’ve written on the New Calvinist movement, check here for of my posts with this tag.

If you want to see my analysis of the Emerging movement from the perspective of challenging the American-evangelical synthesis, you can see it here.

“Coram Deo” Sermon on Psalm 1

6.14.09 Liturgy:

-      Silent heart preparation

-      Opening prayer

-      Worship in song

-      Testimonials, words of exhortation from god’s people

-      Corporate Prayer

-      Teaching: Psalm 1

-      Closing Song

Psalm 1 – “Fruitful Trees vs. Useless Chaff”

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalm 1:2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Psalm 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Psalm 1:6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

This first psalm is intersteingly a “beatitude”, a declaration of blessing. It also sets the framework for the rest of the Psalter. There are two ways to live, two types of people, two destinies. All of it is summed up briefly in this first psalm.

The Person God Blesses (1-3)

-          Separated from the World (1)

-          Saturated with the Word (2)

-          Situated by the Waters (3)

The Person God Judges (4-6)

-          Chaff (4)

-          Collapse (5)

-          Cursed (6)

The Person God Blesses (1-3)

Separated from the World (1)

• Christian life is compared to a walk (Eph 4.1). We are to walk after our Lord. Jesus recruited some of his disciples with the words, “Follow Me”. He also applies this idea of following to all of us:
  • Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
• We are told that there are two paths to follow:
  • Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

A Trip to the Donut Shop Inspires this Post

I just took my kids to the local donut shop. It was their first experience. Next two us was a pair of elderly men who were kind enough to wave at our children and come up to me and express some kind sentiments.

While we were eating our donuts (Apple Fritter, Raised Old Fashioned Chocolate, Chocolate Bar, Chocolate Cake w/ sprinkles, Chocolate Cake w/ Coconut, 3 chocolate milks and a large coffee for me). I couldn’t help but notice that the elders near us were WWII veterans who were expressing some concern for “our president”…not liking that he is schmoozing with foreign leaders and apologizing for America.

To paraphrase them, “We fought their wars, forgave their debt, fed them. Why are we apologizing?”

I realize that we have done much for other countries and am not suggesting that it is a blank check for us to now do whatever we would desire, but hearing such words from two WWII vets did sting a bit. My patriotic spirit rose and I wanted to shout an “amen”. My grandpa also fought in WWII, so you can say that I am bias to these kind men in the donut shop. That they were kind and playful with my kids also didn’t hurt. I wanted to join teh conversation, but I realize that I lacked the “ethos” to speak with authority. As they left I did thank them for their service and wished them well.

I sat there thinking about how Obama had treated England, our greatest ally in WWII and in the current war on terror (or whatever they are calling it now). He gave Gordon Brown a rather normal reception at the White House and bestowed him with the now infamous DVD pack featuring some American classic movies. Me thinks Obama was regifting it, but just a speculation.

Here is an article from the Daily News posted below noting the remarkable hospitality of our president:

London aghast at President Obama over gifts given to Prime Minister Brown

BY David Saltonstall
Daily News Senior Correspondent

Updated Saturday, March 7th 2009, 2:03 AM

Edmonds/APPresident Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown walk from the Oval Office of the White House.

You’d think President Obama had booted the Brits out of America — again!

London newspapers are howling over a string of alleged snubs by Obama to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his visit to Washington last week — including a squabble over presidential gift-giving.

“President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain,” sniffed The Daily Telegraph Friday. “His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling.”

The list of complaints is longer than the Magna Carta: Obama canceled a planned, podium-to-podium news conference with Brown (actually, none was ever scheduled); he recently removed a bust of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office; and he gave gifts to the Brown family that were “about as exciting as a pair of socks,” one Fleet Street wag whined.

That last bit might be true. After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office’s desk), Obama offered up … 25 DVDs of American movie classics.

“Oh, give me strength,” wrote one appalled Daily Telegraph staffer. “We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic.”

Never mind that Brown is blind in one eye and may have a hard time seeing the stars in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” or that American DVDs are usually incompatible with British players.

Equally insulting, decided the Times of London, was Michelle Obama’s “solipsistic” and “inherently dismissive” gifts to the Browns’ two little boys, Fraser and John.

The offending souvenirs? Toy models of Marine One, the President’s helicopter — gifts no doubt plucked from the White House gift shop at the last minute, The Times decided.

Brown’s wife, Sarah, by contrast arrived with dresses for Sasha and Malia from the UK’s trendy Top Shop (with matching necklaces) and a selection of books by British authors.

“A bit of thought had clearly gone into choosing them,” crowed The Daily Mail. “Lovely.”

The Brits have blown up the alleged snubs into new evidence that the “special relationship” between the two nations is no longer quite so special.

The hand-wringing began last month when Obama removed a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with his hero, Abraham Lincoln.

The Times of London immediately traced Obama’s “disdain” for Churchill to Kenya, where Obama’s grandfather was caught up in the Churchill-led suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Rebellion that left thousands of
Kenyans dead.

“It’s not surprising that Mr. Obama didn’t want Churchill looking over his shoulder,” explained one correspondent.

At this point, the two sides seem to be in full repair mode. The White House let it be known that Obama and Brown shared a chummy phone call as the prime minister was headed home.

And Friday, it was revealed that Obama would be granted a private audience with Queen Elizabeth when he is in London next month.

Quipped one reader of The Sun, “I hope Her Majesty likes DVDs.”

dsaltonstall@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/03/06/2009-03-06_london_aghast_at_president_obama_over_gi.html#ixzz0HfjW4nK8&C

I was absolutely embarrassed to be an American when this story broke. Perhaps I was the only one.  Also note that the posted article was before Oabama’s visit with the Queen. Tempers were already high in Britain and all eyes were on what Obama would bring. Well, he didn’t fail to disappoint, bestowing an Ipod. Yes, an Ipod. The Queen already owned an Ipod, perhaps she gave it back to our president, but one would never expect such rudeness from the superiorly cultured Brits. Oh, did I also mention that the DVD gift wasn’t even compatible with Brit DVD players. Perhaps it was intentional on Obama’s part to get him to purchase a DVD player in America that was imported from China.

One other thing, Obama also sent back a previous gift from Britain, a bust of Sir Winston Churchill that previous president Bush placed alongside other busts of great leaders.

Okay, just wanted to honor these two men in the donut shop by posting some similar thoughts I had. I hope for better from our president and wish that he cared as much about pleasing our long-time allies as he did the Arab world. I am not racist and realize why he is taking such great effort to schmooze the Arabs…just disappointed that he didn’t do the same to the Brits…and wonder why?

State vs. family

In a prescient statement, Frederick Engels wrote:

With the transfer of the means of production into common ownership, the single family ceases to be the economic unit of society. Private housekeeping is transformed into a social industry. The care and education of the children becomes a public affair; society looks after all children alike, whether they are legitimate or not. This removes all the anxiety about the “consequences” which today is the most essential social-moral as well as economic-factor that prevents a girl from giving herself completely to the man she loves. Will not that suffice to bring about the gradual growth of unconstrained sexual intercourse and with it a more tolerant public opinion in regard to a maiden’s honor and a woman’s shame? And, finally, have we not seen that in the modern world monogamy and prostitution are indeed contradictions, but inseparable contradictions, poles of the same state of society? Can prostitution disappear without dragging monogamy with it into the abyss?

Rushdoony comments on this and says that “The Marxist wants to “emancipate” woman by making her an industrial worker…The family is to all practical intent abolished whenever the state determines the education, vocation, religion, and the discipline of the child…In all modern societies, the transfer of authority from the family to the state has been accomplished in varying degrees.

Calvinism in China

Andrew Brown, blogging at the Guardian’s website, writes about his conversation with Rev. Dr. May Tan, who seems to be a Chinese Christian from Singapore.  She explained that Reformed Christianity is growing rapidly in China among university students, which contrasts with the growth of Pentecostalism among the poor of Africa and Latin America.

And in China, the place where Calvinism is spreading fastest is the elite universities, fuelled by prodigies of learning and translation.Wang Xiaochao, a philosopher at one of the Beijing universities, has translated the two major works of St Augustine, the Confessions and the City of God, into Chinesedirectly from Latin. Gradually all the major works of the first centuries of the Christian tradition are being translated directly from the original languages into Chinese.

Dr. Tan believes that the future of the Chinese church is in the house churches, which “have youth, future, and money,” and that the majority of university students may become Christian.  Interestingly enough, one of the attractions to Reformed theology was that it dealt with resistance to a hostile government.  She even argues that the Communist China’s assault on Confucian traditions had an unintended consequence:

And, though the communists stigmatised Christianity as a foreign religion, they also and still more thoroughly smashed up the traditional religions of China: “The communist, socialist critique of traditional religion, and of Confucianism has been effective”, she says: “The youngsters think it is very cool to be Christian. Communism has removed all the obstacles for them to come to Christianity.”

Brown seemed to overstate a couple things in his post.  When he says that “Calvinism is shrinking in western Europe and North America,” he doesn’t seem to be taking into account the Reformed revival in the US.  Also, his statement that “Calvinists despise pentecostalists” might be generally true (is “despise” too strong a word?), but it’s not true of this new wave of Calvinists in the US (see here and here for examples).

Overstatements or not, his conversation with Dr. Tan adds another vantage point from which to view the dynamics of global Christianity.

Great Specials over at Ligonier Website!!!

Here are my reccomendations (click on picture for link to product):

                                                                        

Congrats Dr. Ben Fischer

Dr. Ben Fischer was awarded the 2009 Professor of the Year award at Northwest Nazarene University, where he serves on faculty. This was his first year at NNU and it is great to see that he made am immediate impact on the student body. He, his lovely wife Brooke, and daughter Ruth Anne also attend Sovereign Grace Fellowship and he also taught Church History I at The Sovereign Grace Institute. I am also humbled to have breakfast with him regularly and talk about all things ‘ecclesia’. His love for the Church and the people of God are clearly evident once you get to know him a bit.

The following was from the NNU website:

Dr. Benjamin Fischer was voted by Northwest Nazarene University’s student body as the 2009 Professor of the Year. After teaching only one year at NNU, Dr. Fischer has established great relationships with both students and faculty. 

Raised in the hills of east Tennessee Dr. Fischer studied for his undergraduate degree at Emory University and the University of Oxford. He later earned his master’s degree in history and English and a Ph.D. in language and literature from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to coming to NNU, he and his wife were resident directors at Bethel College, Mishawaka, Ind., while he taught at Notre Dame. 

When looking to relocate Dr. Fischer searched for a small Christian liberal arts college in the West where there is a focus on teaching along with attention to discipleship. Dr. Fischer said, “As a Wesleyan institution, NNU comes from a church tradition that has embraced these values from its inception. Perhaps more personally specific, the job description for the particular post in English seemed to be written just for me. The description requested someone who can specialize in Early British Literature, but they were also interested in someone to teach Postcolonial Studies—the two areas that I’ve concentrated on for most of my academic career and I never thought I would get to teach them. When it came down to deciding between various alternatives, my wife and I agreed that God was drawing our attention to NNU. In coming here we sincerely believe we have followed the Lord’s directing.”

“At first blush Ben’s a little shy and bookish—well, he is an English professor—but when he starts to discuss literature and grand ideas, he gets caffeinated,” said Lucas Roebuck assistant professor of journalism. “He is a great addition to our department and to our university. He astounds me with his humility and his remarkable mind. In addition to that he is a great friend, a helpful colleague and a fun guy to talk to. Most of all he is so deeply in love with his family and his Lord that I feel fortunate to share the NNU experience with him,” stated Ralph Speer of the English department.

When asking Dr. Fischer about his experience thus far with NNU students and faculty he replied, “I have been blessed with several classes of strong and engaged students. Compared with students I’ve taught at Notre Dame and Bethel College, my NNU students have shown a remarkable willingness to speak in class and to wrestle with the authors we study. Regarding the faculty, I’ve felt extremely welcomed and have been blessed to find many valuable friends here. The School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS) is an eclectic group and I’ve been amazed how well they work together with mutual love and respect. From my one year of experience here, AHSS seems a model of Christian collegiality and represents a beautiful fusion of the four University outcomes.”

Amber Ford, Student Government Association (SGA) Secretary and a student of Dr. Fischer said, “Dr. Fischer’s enthusiasm for his subject is contagious—he makes you want to learn what he has to share. I truly appreciated his kind heart and passion for his students. It is evident in everything he does.” On behalf of the student body Amber and SGA President Lacey Smith presented Dr. Fischer with an engraved pen and a gift certificate in honor of this recognition.

Northwest Nazarene University, a Christian comprehensive university, offers over 60 areas of study, master’s degree programs in eleven disciplines, accelerated degree programs, concurrent credit for high school students, and a variety of continuing education credits. In addition to its 85-acre campus located in Nampa, Idaho, the University also offers programs online as well as in Boise, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and in cooperation with programs in 10 countries. Founded in 1913, the university now serves over 1,900 undergraduate and graduate students, more than 10,000 continuing education students, and 1,900 high school students through the concurrent credit program.

Photo Caption: SGA Secretary Amber Ford presents Dr. Benjamin Fischer with the Professor of the Year Award.

Christians and the Origins of Life

It seems to have been a quieter time recently in the ongoing discussions, debates, and wars of words about the origins of life.  But recently I’ve been wondering how much Christians with different perspectives are in communication with each other.

I wonder this especially about those who defend a literal, young-earth reading of the Genesis creation story: do they run the risk of believing that they are carrying the “Christian” banner on this issue without realizing that not all Christians are behind them?  Although I lean toward a theistic evolution interpretation, I’m not writing this to criticize other positions.  My concern is more about communication between Christians.  Do we as Christians communicate with and understand each other well on this topic?  If not, wouldn’t that be an important dialogue to have with fellow believers?  What do you think?

It would seem to me that the toughest thing for an evangelical holding to the theistic evolutionist position is the risk of undermining the special status of human beings, one of the critical teachings of the Christian faith.  In fact, modernist former bishop John Shelby Spong (not an evangelical) argues that Darwinism destroys the whole idea of the gospel as redeeming us, because there never was perfection.  Evangelical genetics expert Francis Collins and the Catholic Church both embrace theistic evolution and propose answers to this challenge, but it remains a difficult issue.

The risk for a literal interpretation is ignoring the large amounts of evidence for evolution.  I don’t mean that it’s all conclusively proven beyond any doubt, but it is overwhelmingly affirmed by scientists.  Whether or not people are convinced by that fact, it’s important that to acknowledge that the widespread agreement exists.

The risk for intelligent design advocates, as Francis Collins has pointed out in his book The Language of God, is that it is a God in the gaps theory, which fills God in where we don’t understand things.  The problem with this is that is pushes Him out when we do.

Here’s a sampling of three Christians’ views (and the view of one atheist) from a while back.  Collins (theistic evolution) is an evangelical scientist, Behe (intelligent design) is a Catholic scientist, and Mohler (young-earth creationism) is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Another example of Christian diversity on this topic is the last chapter of C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, where he discusses evolution as a way to discuss the idea of the “new creation” that God makes possible in Christ.  And Francis Collins quotes Lewis’ The Problem of Pain at length on human evolution in Collins’ book that I mentioned above (see pages 208-209).

It looks like a recent issue of Christianity Today has an article by Alister McGrath on the origins of life that I hope to read soon.

Tiller Fallout

Well, a day has passed and Operation Rescue has pulled down their website due to possible ties with the suspected killer in the Tiller case. While the suspect may have been involved in some capacity, Operation Rescue clearly doesn’t support the murdering of abortion doctors.

Anyhow, I see that Eric Holder has requested federal protection for abortion clinics. I wish that the same protection was afforded little babies led to the slaughter.

Pro-Choice=Abortion=baby torture

For those who oppose torture & are pro-choice, I ask you, how can you declare equality & justice for terrorists & lawbreakers (especially repeat offenders), & luxurious amenities in jails (like cable tv, workout gyms, etc) yet you are ok with the slaughter of innocent human babies who have committed no wrong, though you would sentence them to a brutal death by the means of “legal abortion”?    As early as at 10 wks, all the baby’s organs have already formed & they are conscience & aware of their surroundings & although a hot debate among some medical professionals other medical evidence shows that feel the pain of being aborted.   This is what a baby looks like at 10 weeks.  Many pro-abortion sources I’ve read tout that most abortions happen at 10 weeks and under, like this is a great compromise.  Even at a few weeks earlier, 7 weeks shows that the fetus is not just a ‘clump of cells’ as many want to claim to detach themselves from responsibilty in killing a human baby.  The baby is already taking form, having also formed the bodily organs.

So I pose this question, why is it so inhumane to torture a criminal/terrorists and the like, but totally within alledged bounds of ‘rights’ when cutting up a baby in the safety of it’s habitat, namely the womb of the woman?  How cruel & unusual is the punishment upon the unborn baby that it should be subject to being chopped up then suctioned out, then thrown in the trash like left over roadkill.  This is just sick & twisted.

I was questioned in one of my other older posts about the correctness of my using a picture of an aborted baby when it actually wasn’t an aborted baby but a stillborn.  The man also then admitted that though that particular picture wasn’t of an  aborted baby of that size, actual abortions of babies that size ARE being aborted.  There are plenty of other photos or even videos on the net to prove such.  Although, you don’t need the actual aborted picture to tell you so.  You just look up abortions & when they occur & look up fetal development & what they look like BEFORE they are aborted.  Then imagine what they look like after they get aborted using the procedures available today.   This act is just sick, twisted & sadistic.  Simply Horrific.

“peace if possible, truth at all costs.” -MartinLuther

The Church is the Temple

James Jordan expounds on the Church:

I think a watershed in our  understanding of the Epistles is what kind of context we put them into. To  be crass about it (I intend no insult; I just want to get on with it): Either

1. The apostolic church started from scratch after the OT order  was cancelled, as a bunch of believers (new converts with no background)  sitting around in various houses and gradually coming up with new orders  that had no continuity with the OT orders; or,

2. The apostolic church was made up 99% of converted Jews and  God-fearers who were fully at home in the OT order and simply transformed  it, who used various homes as temples, who used temple worship in these homes on those occasions, and who very rapidly set up separate houses of worship when they could.

In my circles, this comes down to whether the Church “grew out of” the synagogue or the Temple.

For my money, it’s obviously the latter. The NT does not say that  the Church is the new synagogue, but the new Temple. Her worship consists  of living sacrifices and sacrifices of praise. All of the language about the Church is taken from the OT Tabernacle/Temple order. (The synagogue was never anything but a partial extension of the Temple anyway.) Unlike the synagogue, the church has two major temple elements: song with musical instruments and the breaking of bread as a covenant-renewal. ( Gasp!

Breaking bread at places other then the Jerusalem Temple! Hey, Josiah put people to death for that! So did Paul. But this only shows that these churches were TEMPLES!! If they’d just been synagogues there’d have been no scandal.)

The word kohen in the OT simply means “palace servant,” and is used occasionally of secular servants of David’s palace, but 99% of the time of the servants of the Temple (= Palace in Hebrew). Everything in the NT epistles sets a context in which there would be such special servants in the new Christian Temple. And that’s what we find.

When Paul and Peter tell these Christian Jews that they are a Temple of God offering sacrifices, he does not need to spell out to them that their meals should be supervised and initiated by Temple servants (Christian kohanim), nor that such must be men.

More, for a very long time protestants (at least) have ignored the “apocalyptic” context of the NT revelation. (I reject “apocalyptic” since the symbolism of such literature is actually “liturgical” and entirely comes from the Temple and sacrifices.) If this context were better known, however, we would know that all Jews knew that the Temple was an image of heaven, that the shoeless wing-dressed priests were angels, that the objects in the Temple stood in the place of worshippers, and that the entire liturgy took place “in the heavenlies.” Now in Rev. 2-3, the pastors of the churches are called angels. This is not some Brand New Idea, but is completely in continuity with the Temple/priestly tradition. Unlike, however, the Old order, where only such angelic priests might enter the Temple heavens and the rest of the believers were located there only symbolically in the various items of furniture, now in the fullness of time the symbolic furniture is gone and believers are able to enter the Temple heavens along with their “angelic” palace-servant special-priests.

Rev. 2-3 are not letters to churches. They are letters to the priest-pastor-angels of the churches. Jesus threatens THEM. If you want to understand this, read Numbers 18. The people will be punished for their sins, yes, but the Levites will be punished if they fail to warn them.

I submit that if the NT epistles are read in their actual Biblical and historical context, then it will be very clear that Apostolic worship looked a whole more like liturgical and even Eastern orthodox (sans icons) worship, and not in the least like Puritan, Anabaptist, or Brethren worship.

And bringing all this back to Wright, while I don’t know what on earth Wright would say to this, the fact is that he is part of a movement to recover the so-called apocalyptic and Jewish context of the NT writings. The more this context is recovered, the more it will be clear that this “Church came from the synagogue” stuff is nonsense, that this “believers sitting around in homes” stuff is nonsense, and that the epistles mean something very concrete and liturgical when they refer to the Church as temple, worship as sacrifice, leaders as men (women could be everything else in the OT, so saying men-only MEANS “priest”), etc.

Or do we continue the sad rationalism of the last few centuries, and see “temple” and “sacrifice” as mere theological ideas, and not whole-life liturgical matters? There’s about 90% of the trouble, you see. All of these “Levitical” matters are taken as nothing but snapshots of Jesus’ coming work. They are that, but they are also ritual processes that take place in time, means of worship. This is why the Church continues to “move” in a “sacrificial” manner. In Leviticus 1-3, the worshipper Ascends (ch. 1), with Tribute (ch. 2), and then sits down for Communion (ch. 3). This is what the Church also does: Enters, has Offertory, and then Communion. This is not some speculation on my part. It is what the epistles mean when they refer to offering ourselves as living sacrifices. This and nothing else is what the first hearers of these epistles would have understood.

But this is set aside. What WE hear is that these Levitical rituals were just ideas, just pictures of Jesus. And now our worship consists of sitting around and thinking and talking about it. That is NOT what the 1st century hearers and readers of the epistles would have taken from them. I promise you. Believe me. (Trust me!) They would have heard something quite different.

And this is why the Church, as soon as she was able, built Temples for worship, and instituted what to many of us is quite ritualized and liturgical forms of worship. This was no “fall.” It was simply the Church filling out in practice what the epistles teach.

This is NOT to say that anyone TODAY “has it right” or that the Reformers “had it right.” But it is to say that the epistles need to be read in context.

I’ll give one more example. When Jesus broke bread and said “Do this for My memorial,” the apostles knew exactly what that meant. It was the new form of Leviticus 2, something they were very familiar with since it happened every morning and every evening. But how many people today think of that? Precious few. Why? Because they do not put themselves into the shoes of being Jews of the 1st century listening to what Jesus said. They hear this completely out of historical context.

It would not have occurred to anyone in the 1st century that Jesus said, “Do this in memory of Me,” to remind yourselves about Me. Not after 1500 years of bread broken as memorial, as something done to call upon God, to remind God, and to ask Him to come to us! “Do this in memory of Me” is utter nonsense. “In death there is no remembrance of Thee” says the psalmist? No way. “In death there is no performance of Memorial to Thee” is what he said. Memorializing is by RITUAL LITURGICAL ACTION. Don’t believe me? Look up the relevant Greek and Hebrew words. “Cornelius, your  prayers

have come up before God as a Memorial.”

We need to stop reading the epistles as if they dropped out of  heaven onto a blank-slate, and read them in the whole-life liturgical context into which they were written. They look rather different when we do so.

Free Music!!!

I found a cool site today: www.noisetrade.com

They essentially offer “fair trade” music in exchange for a donation that you seem worthy or for telling 5 friends. I just downloaded an album that would have otherwise cost me $15 for telling 5 friends. Anyhow, go check it out!!!

Joel 2:18-27 Rick Hogaboam Sermon “Jealous God = Glad People”

Here is a pdf file: Joel 2.18t27 jealous god equals glad people

Text pasted below.

Joel 2:18-27 “Jealous God = Glad People”

Joel 2:18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.
Joel 2:19 The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
Joel 2:20 “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.
Joel 2:21 “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!
Joel 2:22 Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
Joel 2:23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
Joel 2:24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
Joel 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
Joel 2:26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Joel 2:27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Joel 2:18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

-          “Then”: response to the people’s lament and repentance

-          “…the Lord became jealous for his land”: Our God is a jealous God, works zealously to uphold His name. I want to spend more time on this one verse because it is the foundation and cause for all else that proceeds in the following verses, and also the foundational truth for all that God does in all of history.

• God acts to uphold His name, His fame, His glory:
  • just a couple passages besides even the ten commandments where God declares that He is a jealous God:

Obama, Sotomayor, & the liberal double standard

The unfortunate double standard used by democrats is shameful.  They will constantly use this against the conservatives.  I will admit there are probably some in the conservative group who are prejudice but doesn’t mean ALL are.  That is just a lie they want you to believe.

Now that the republicans face a nomination, in which they may largely disagree on, they are in no win situations.  If they speak out against her, of course they will unfortunately be branded racist or prejudice in some form or fashion.  If they let this fight go, they will in some ways be compromising their core values and consciences.  I say let the fight be fair & balance.  Let the process go on & Sotomayor be scrutinized & grilled like Pres. Bush’s nominees were.  Why should she be spared the ridiculous “test” that the others have endured?  I don’t think she’s necessarily racist by her controversial comment about a latina making better judgements than a white man but it definitely represents some already preconceived dispositions she has on her leanings & how she will judge.  Judges are supposed to be objective & nonpartisan.  Is this the “bridging the divide” Obama was touting?

Countdown to Pentecost Sunday: Pentecostals, Greatest Global Movement?

Time magazine had recently cited the “New Calvinism” as one of the most important ideas in the world. While I am excited about such as a Calvinist myself, I was somewhat surprised by the omission of Pentecostalism.

Jenkins calls Pentecostalism,“the most successful social movement of the past century” (Jenkins 2002:8). Jenkins, P. (2002) The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford:Oxford University Press.

That is high praise. Not the most successful religious movement, or Christian movement, but the most successful social movement. I would recommend Harvey Cox’s (professor of Divinity at Harvard) book, “Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st Century”. He is pretty objective in his documentation and commentary of the Pentecostal movement.

Anyhow, on my list of ideas shaping the global scene, I would add “Pentecostalism” to the “New Calvinism”, much to the shagrin of most Calvinists and Pentecostals. However I, along with a growing consticuency, find myself planted with feet in both camps and predict that the Evangelical Church, not too far from now, will be filled with either Reformed Christians (confessional and neo-Calvinist TULIP types) or Pentecostal/Charismatics (or perhaps a hybrid of both). Recent polls that I have looked at suggest that the two growing sects within Christendom fall into these two groups, whereas all others are declining or holding par.

Countdown to Pentecost Sunday:”Teaching a Calvinist to Dance” by James K.A. Smith

Professor at Calvin College, James K.A. Smith, offers some thoughts on how Reformed theology and Pentecostal practice complement each other. BTW, the picture on the left is that of a dancing Abraham Kuyper (Dutch Calvinistic Giant). Link at Christianity Today here.

You will find this less academic, more biographical, and perhaps a bit challenging devotionally. Also, here is a link to the author’s blog, commenting on the article. BTW, I refer to myself as a “Pentecostal” like Smith, not in the narrow Assembly of God statement concerning necessity of tongues as “initial physical evidence”, but rather as one who adheres to a distinct empowering work of the Spirit that is complimentary to the soteric (saving) work of the Spirit (not ordinarily subsequent nor solely evidenced by speaking in tongues). Enjoy the article below:

“It can be a little intimidating in a Reformed context to admit that one is Pentecostal. It’s a bit like being at the ballet and letting it slip that you’re partial to and country music. Both claims tend to clear a room. And yet I happily define myself as a Reformed charismatic, a Pentecostal Calvinist.

It’s been said that testimony is the poetry of Pentecostal experience, so permit me to begin with a personal poem to provide some background. I wasn’t raised in the church; rather, I was quite “miraculously saved” the day after my 18th birthday through my girlfriend (now wife!), who was doing a little missionary dating.

I received my earliest formation among the Plymouth Brethren, in a sector that defined itself as anti-Pentecostal and took a certain pride in knowing that the “miraculous” gifts had ceased to function with the death of the last apostle. Through a path that is convoluted and riddled with hurts, our spiritual pilgrimage eventually took us across the threshold of a Pentecostal church where we were welcomed, embraced, and transformed.

Countdown to Pentecost Sunday Readings: Robert Menzies, “Luke’s Understanding of Baptism in the Holy Spirit”

As we march towards Pentecost Sunday on May 31, 2009, I will offer some daily resources that will be academic, pastoral, and devotional in nature. This work here is academic in nature, but will be very helpful for all Evangelicals to better understand Reformed and Pentecostal approaches to the Holy Spirit, as well as to better understand Luke and Paul’s distinct, yet complimentary theologies of the Holy Spirit. I generally agree with Dr. Menzies assessment below. One thing of particular interest is the quotation from Zwingli, who notes two distinct Spirit baptisms.

PentecoStudies, vol. 6, no. 1, 2007, p. 108–126
Robert P. Menzies, Luke’s Understanding of Baptism in the Holy Spirit
ISSN 1871-777691
Luke’s Understanding of Baptism in the Holy Spirit
A Pentecostal Perspective
Robert P. Menzies
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
The article endeavours to offer a fresh Pentecostal perspective at Luke’s two-volume work,
specifically with regard to Luke’s understanding of Spirit baptism and its significance for
Pentecostal theology. By looking at the how the Reformed tradition has understood the New
Testament metaphor of baptism in the Spirit, and tracing the manner in which Luke uses this
term, it is argued, that there is a distinct Lukan perspective on spirit baptism, which must be
placed alongside the soteriological dimension so prominent in the writings of Paul. In
consequence, both dimensions of spirit baptism must be upheld by Pentecostal theology, the
reception of the life-giving and indwelling Spirit by every Christian and the baptism in the
Spirit as distinct from conversion, which serves as an anointing for service and mission.
Not long ago a Chinese house church leader commented, “When Chinese believers read
the book of Acts, we see in it our own experience; when foreign Christians read the book of
Acts, they see in it inspiring stories.” My Chinese friend’s point was clear: their experience of
opposition and persecution impacts how they read Luke’s narrative. Chinese believers tend to
read Luke-Acts with a sense of urgency and desperation, a sense of hunger generated by their
need. So, they easily identify with the struggles of Peter and John, of Stephen and Paul. And
so also they readily accept the promise of the Spirit’s enabling to persevere and bear bold
witness to Jesus in the face of opposition. Implicit in my friend’s comment was also the belief
that Christians in a stable and affluent West, living in contexts where the Christian church has
a long and storied history, may have a difficult time reading the book of Acts in this way. He
was suggesting that we in the West may find it hard to identify with the struggles and needs of
the early disciples, and thus we do not read with the same sense of solidarity or with the same
sense of urgency.

Tedashii “Identity Crisis” Album Review

Tedashii’s Album “Identity Crisis” Review

Track 2, I Work

-          Good song about the life of a Christian in general and as a rapper in particular. “I sweat, I work, I grind” is the chorus…its all about laboring in vocation for God’s glory. Tedashii encourages the believer to press in against the world and Satan, and all voices that would distract us from our high calling in Christ.

Track 3, 26’s feat Lecrae

-          This songs disses all those who make their 26 inch chrome rims their life. Part of the chorus, “26 inches is a pretty low throne”, is confronting how vain it is to pursue material goods for joy. This idolatry is predominant among younger folks who make their cars their god. What are you going to do if your car is jacked? Find your joy elsewhere.

Track 5, Hollywood ft Rozie Turner

-          Tedashii reminisces about his youth filled with: house parties, DJ Quick, Ice Cube, Ghetto Boyz, and Hollywood movies. Boyz in the Da Hood, Poetic Justice, etc. Anyhow, Tedashii talks about how dangerous it was to fill his mind and heart with these “Hollywood” things and warns fellow believers to be careful with what they fill their minds with.

Down syndrome & challenges of finding love

I just read a disgusting story of an adoptive mom who is desperately seeking sexual experiences for her down syndrome son. Read story here.  I find this notion so utterly offensive.  I’m a mom of a down syndrome teenager and for that mom to insist that for her son to be and feel normal is for him to experience sex “like any other 21 yr old”, even if it means resorting to prostitution.  Yeah, prostitution!  How any mom can be ok with prostitution for her son, I can’t fathom.  This story just infuriates me.

What do you think?

Remembering Ralph Winter

Ralph Winter passed away to be with the Lord He so diligently and zealously served…the Lord for which He sought to increase the purchase of His ransom in the call to mobilize missionaries, etc. His edited book, “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”, was one of the most influential books I have ever read. John Piper shared his thoughts about Winter as follows:

John Piper’s Personal Tribute to the Late Ralph Winter

May 21, 2009  |  By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

At 9:05 PM, May 20, 2009 Ralph Winter, the founder of the U. S. Center for World Missions died.

Nobody in the area of missions had a greater impact on me. Others had a greater impact on me in the area of missions, like Jonathan Edwards, but no one actually in missions affected me more than Ralph Winter.

First, he was a professor of mine at Fuller Seminary and introduced me to the stunning works of God in missions in the last two hundred years. His vision of the advance of the gospel was breathtaking.

He wore a bow tie in those days, iconoclast that he was, and was fined by the seminary for not returning our papers on time. None of us begrudged him his scattered approach to life. It was thrilling in those days.

Second, in 1974 at the Lausanne Missions Congress Winter reached up and pulled the unseen rope called “unreached peoples” that rang a bell that reverberates to this day.

This concept, and the subsequent emphasis on unreached peoples (as opposed to unreached “fields”) has been globally seismic in the transformation of missions. It gripped me and shaped all we have done in missions at Bethlehem ever since the mid 1980s.

Third, in the 1980s he bought a 15 million dollar college campus with virtually nothing in his hand to start the U. S. Center for World Missions; and he paid for it by persuading enough of us (thousands) to give “the last thousand.” Brilliant! I think I sent $2,000. Couldn’t resist the vision.

The point of the U. S. Center was to trumpet the vision that there are unreached peoples in the world, and then equip the church to reach them.

Fourth, Ralph Winter was probably the most creative thinker I have ever known. I mean, on any topic that you brought up, he would come at it in a way you have never dreamed of. He saw all things in relationship to other things that you would never think of relating them to.

This meant that stalemates often became fresh starting points. If you were struggling with a tension in your church, he might say: “Well, think about the Navy.” Or if you were having a marriage problem, he might say, “Did you notice how that bridge was built?”

Fifth, Ralph Winter befriended me. He encouraged me. In my most restless early days, he would tell me to stay at Bethlehem because I could do more by sending than by going.

Finally, he did not waste his life, not even the last hours of it. He was busy dictating into the last days. He taught me long ago that the concept of “retirement” was not in the Bible.

What a gift he was to the church. To the world. Thank you, Father, for the legacy of this visionary, risk-taking, creative, encouraging lover of unreached peoples who lived unstoppably for the glory of God.

Quotable by John Gill on Prayer…Is he speaking of tongues???

You will find the quotes below….notice the part in bold text, which sound surprisingly similar to the “prayer language” glossolalia that some Pentecostal/Charismatic folks advocate.

1. Take notice of the various sorts of prayer, which will lead on to that; for there is a praying with all prayer, which denotes many sorts and kinds of prayer.

1a. There is mental prayer, or prayer in the heart; and, indeed, here prayer should first begin; so David found in his heart to pray ( 2 Sam. 7:27 ), and it is “the effectual fervent,” or ενεργουμενη , “the inwrought prayer of the righteous man that availeth much;” which is wrought and formed in the heart by the Spirit of God ( James 5:16 ). Such sort of prayer was that of Moses, at the Red Sea, when the Lord said to him, “Wherefore criest thou unto me?” and yet we read not of a word that was spoken by him; and of this kind was the prayer of Hannah; “She spake in her heart,” ( 1 Sam. 1:13 ) and this may be performed even without the motion of the lips, and is what we call an ejaculatory prayer, from the suddenness and swiftness of its being put up to God, like a dart shot from a bow; and which may be done in the midst of business the most public, and in the midst of, public company, and not discerned; as was the prayer of Nehemiah in the presence of the king ( Neh. 2:4, 5 ), and such prayer God takes notice of, and hears; and, as an ancient writer observes, “Though we whisper, not opening our lips, but pray in silence, cry inwardly, God incessantly hears that inward discourse,” or prayer to him, conceived in the mind.

1b. There is prayer which is audible and vocal. Some prayer is audible, yet not articulate and intelligible, or it is expressed by inarticulate sounds; as, “with groanings which cannot be uttered;” but God knows and understands perfectly the language of a groan, and hears and answers. ^[1]

 

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^{[1]John Gill: A Body of PRACTICAL Divinity. Joseph Kreifels, S. 347}

Quotable from Charles Hodge on Prayer

Hodge also preached on prayer as a means of communion with God. Prayer in his view can be solemn and formal “in the use of articulate words and on set occasions in the closet, family or sanctuary” or it can be ejaculatory “and thus constant as the bubbling of a spring of living water” or it can be on the highest level “the unuttered aspirations and longings of the soul after God, like the constant ascent of the flame towards heaven.” As this last phrase intimates Hodge’s injunctions occasionally reveal mystical language.^[1]

 

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^[1] Westminster Theological Journal. electronic edition. Philadelphia : Westminster Theological Seminary, 1998

Happy Ascension Day!!!

Ascension Day often gets overlooked, but it is a most glorious truth that we celebrate today…the risen, exalted Christ, reigning from on high, expanding His kingdom and subdoing His enemies.

John Polkinghorne on “The Nature of Science”

That’s the title of the second chapter of his book One World: The Interaction of Science and Theology (2007, originally 1986).  He argues that the triumphal view that science comprehends the universe with complete objectivity is false, just as the postmodern critiques of science as a purely social phenomenon that depends only on the judgment of the scientific community (in other words, charging they make decisions without any reference to evidence) is false as well.  He argues instead that factual information interacts with scientific judgment to try to get closer and closer to describing the universe as it actually exists.  I found his principles of science to be well-explained, based on the idea of critical realism, which balances the confidence that there is a reality to know with the caution that there is a human element in the process of knowing.

First, it has to recognize that at any particular moment verisimilitude [or the probability of being true] is all that can be claimed as science’s achievement  — an adequate account of a circumscribed physical regime, a map good enough for some, but not for all, purposes….

Second, our everyday notions of objectivity may prove insufficient as we move into regimes ever more remote from familiar experience.  [Here he gives the example of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in quantum theory, which states that we can't know both the location and the momentum of an electron.  Electrons are still real, though.]…

Third, a critical realism is not blind to the role of judgment in the pursuit of science….

We are to take what science tells us with great seriousness, but we are not to assign it an absolute superiority over other forms of knowledge so that they are neglected, relegated to the status of mere opinion.  Our discussion has taken science off the pedestal of rational invulnerability and placed it in the arena of human discourse. (quotes taken from pages 28-31)

Polkinghorne is an Anglican priest (I don’t know which theological tradition of Anglicanism he belongs to) and had been a mathematical physics professor.  I appreciate his approach because it takes science and reason seriously without indulging in the overconfidence or arrogance that has sometimes characterized scientists or defenders of scientific theories.  At the same time, it avoids the postmodernist critique that we can ultimately know nothing.

Rising numbers of ProLifers

Newest gallup poll in May 2009 shows an increase of pro-lifers in America @ 51% of Americans calling themselves “pro-life” on the issue of abortion and 42% “pro-choice. I just wonder if these same people who consider themselves pro-life also deem it so important that they vote accordingly?  Or is it one of those, “well, “I” personally believe it’s wrong but who am I to say it’s wrong for someone else” type thing, which I think is utterly cowardly.  In this case of life, it’s either wrong or it isn’t.  Which is it?  Why can this be wrong for one and not another?

It’s such a sad day when a people or country will say that it is more important to save a species of plants (trees, flowers, etc), animals, insects even, but not a human life.  It was troubling humorous when I was searching about some insect I sometimes found crawling in our bathroom when we lived in upstate NY.  I searched the internet to find out what it was & if it was harmful in anyway.  There were people who were pleading for others not to kill the million-legged creepy crawler!  I mean, c’mon!  I smashed that thing everytime I found one & the thing’s legs would still wiggle for a while after being chopped & smashed.  I bet some, if not all those people were also pro-choice.

I also find it ironic that many who are involved in helping the poor of third world countries value those struggling lives of the people over there, including children & babies, when those are the very babies that democratic leaders & those of the left mindset find abortion worthy or necessary to curb this dilemma.  While I don’t condone the sexual ignorance, irresponsible  practices of those who abuse sexual pleasures that in turn can create hardships for themselves & others, life is life once conceived, & therefore inherently valuable.  right?

ShamWow towels (& weird infomercial guy) disappoints

Some of you may know that the guy that does the commercial for those infamous orange towels that claim to pick up an ocean of liquid w/o any effort, y’know the one with the spikey hair, hyper, yeah, him.  So, I found out he was arrested and charged with battery a few months back.  Apparently, he & a prostitute got into a brawl…well, whatever.  You can look it up online & read the details.  Pathetic story.  Disappointing too.  We thought that guy was funny.  He’s not so funny anymore.

Anyway, the towels, which is the real reason I write tonight, is that it DOES NOT do all that it claims!  I’m glad I encountered such a great deal & having only paid less than $5 for the 8 pk. that I had comtemplated buying for a long time that originally sells for, at best, $20 at walmart.   I would of returned the whole package, used and all, if I had paid full price for those towels that don’t do even a “good” job at sucking up liquids.  I’m glad I didn’t do any trials on my carpet.  I would of had to throw down or something!  I’ll stick to my dependable, handy, conveniently-sized microfiber towels, thank you.  I love my microfiber towels and would HIGHLY recommend them to all!  The ones I’ve enjoyed I just got from the Dollartree store.  I bought some at Ross that, as pretty as they are, don’t work as well.