“I don’t think that I’m a good Christian. I know I’m not. But even if I’m a bad one, I am one.” — Vox Day
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Friday, May 16, 2014
Mean Girls and Mean Theology
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Two Men and You
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Islam, Christianity and Secularism
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Hooray for the Hypocrites
Monday, May 12, 2014
Do Christians Hate Jews?
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Feeding the Dogs [Part 2]
“Jesus … withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:21-24)
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Feeding the Dogs [Part 1]
Friday, May 09, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology VIII: Captain Kirk Was Wrong
“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.”— John Milton, Paradise Lost
Thankfully for my fascinated pre-teen self (and most of the audience, I’d suspect), Kirk later explains the significance of the reference to his engineer Scotty (who, despite spectacular feats of speed-engineering, is apparently not a renaissance man).
But whether you choose to attribute the line to Kirk, Khan, Milton or Satan himself, it’s still wrong: Nobody reigns in hell.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Stumbling Blocks and Scandals
Two quotes today.
First, for those who have never heard of him (which is probably most people), Justin Currie is a grumpy, unusually perceptive Scottish writer of pop songs. The first quote is a lyric that has been stuck in my head for a month, largely because of its sadness — and because in it he correctly assumes that we bear responsibility for the impact we have on one another’s lives, something that is increasingly uncommon in our individualistic society.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Conversion vs. Coercion
Sometimes the fact that we take the issue that seriously can come as a bit of a shock.
“I’m a man who takes his faith very seriously; I believe it is the Truth and that God should be at the center of one’s life. I also know a man who is Jewish and believes just the same. He is orthodox, praying at the appointed times every day — regardless of the situation — and abiding by every one of the 613 Judaic laws that pertain to his life. He is a very saintly, gentle man. And he also has expressed that his faith — not mine, needless to say — is the true one. Now, if I found out that he had prayed for my conversion to what he considers a superior faith, should I be offended?
In fact, neither his perspective nor such a desire would bother me a whit. While this may strike a Richard Dawkins type as strange, understand my position vis-à-vis his attitude: I’d expect nothing less.”
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology VII: I Won’t Enjoy Heaven If So-and-So Isn’t There
“Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin — but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” (Exodus 32:31-32)
Monday, May 05, 2014
Milking It
I'm going to stick the "Recycling" label in front of anything I re-post from our first couple of months so that anybody who was around to read them the first time knows to take a pass.
Your Father Who Is In Secret
They don’t require faith
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Finally! An Elected Official We Can Believe In
Saturday, May 03, 2014
What Sort of Heart?
Friday, May 02, 2014
Thursday, May 01, 2014
Chesterton on Freedom
“It is impossible to be an artist and not care for laws and limits. Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame. If you draw a giraffe, you must draw him with a long neck. If, in your bold creative way, you hold yourself free to draw a giraffe with a short neck, you will really find that you are not free to draw a giraffe. The moment you step into the world of facts, you step into a world of limits. You can free things from alien or accidental laws, but not from the laws of their own nature. You may, if you like, free a tiger from his bars; but do not free him from his stripes. Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump: you may be freeing him from being a camel. Do not go about as a demagogue, encouraging triangles to break out of the prison of their three sides. If a triangle breaks out of its three sides, its life comes to a lamentable end. Somebody wrote a work called ‘The Loves of the Triangles’; I never read it, but I am sure that if triangles ever were loved, they were loved for being triangular. This is certainly the case with all artistic creation, which is in some ways the most decisive example of pure will. The artist loves his limitations: they constitute the THING he is doing.”— G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
That’s the funny thing about truth ...
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Freedom: The False and the True
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Universalism = InterpretationFail
Monday, April 28, 2014
Christians and the Media: Field Day
“The truth is that there are some so-called Christians who quite closely mirror the Christian characters we watch on television and film. They’re loud and proud and angry in God. They stare down their “opponents” with judgmental eyes and damning language. They protest funerals and vomit epithets at people they’ve deemed sinners.
And on some level, most of us are guilty of some of this type of behavior. Maybe not to those extremes, but we too judge, condemn and feel “better than,” while refusing to admit our own faults. For the more dogmatic Christians and for us, it doesn’t matter that how we behave, how we treat people, how void we are of love and grace is a direct and vicious contradiction of everything the Bible teaches us of God and His ways.”
Sunday, April 27, 2014
The End of the Family Line
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology VI: Everybody’s Going
“We believe in universal salvation, the idea that there is no such thing as eternal hell or annihilation because God has planned the universe to produce a positive outcome for all people of all times.”
Friday, April 25, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
How Depraved Can We Be?
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Shrimp Skewers and Fellowship
He knew where they were, of course, but when He called them He wanted them to understand that fellowship was broken. In verse 11 He asks, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” That beautiful fellowship that had been part and parcel of the garden is shattered. Adam and Eve have fashioned loincloths for themselves because they have this sudden realization that they’re naked. It never bothered them before that moment. They literally had nothing to hide from God, and suddenly something has changed. There are things they wish God did not know about them.
Sound a bit familiar?
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Christians and the Law: Repercussions
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
But what were the consequences of the Apostles’ attempts to deal with the controversy?
When the meeting at Jerusalem concluded, Barnabas, Paul and their new companions Judas and Silas promptly carried the apostolic letter to the church at Antioch, where it was received with great rejoicing.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Good Friday, Tax Collectors and Sinners
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology V: Heaven Is Boring
“… if there is a heaven, and right now I am sure hoping there is, I like to think my grandfather is just making the turn at nine. A smile on his face from ear to ear because he can walk carrying his own golf bag. His eyesight that was taken from him in the early 90s is back and he doesn't see the world in shadows anymore. That his hearing, taken from him at about the time as his sight has returned. He can hear the birds singing in the trees and the sound of his persimmon driver compressing a golf ball 300 yards down the middle of the fairway.”
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Eden: The Original Plan
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Millennial Kingdom and the Blame Game
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Dismembering the Church
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Harlequin Romances, Detective Fiction and the Essence of Prophecy
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Scientific Materialism and The Good Wife
Monday, April 14, 2014
Calvinism: Rotten TULIPs
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Garden of Eden: Stardust
I understand, scientifically, that appears to be the case: we are formed from the same sort of heavy materials and elements that form stars. So I think, scientifically, they were on to something.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
Inbox: Practical Sanctification
Or maybe I just wasn't listening as carefully back then.
“Sanctification therefore is not principally an experience: it is God using the truth, or God using His Word — and the Holy Spirit bringing it to us, opening our understanding of it, and then enabling us to apprehend it. We are then to take this truth and apply it to ourselves or to our lives day by day.”
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Christians and the Law: Answering the Challenge
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
A Further Thought about Screaming Kids
Screaming Kids and the Harvest of Righteousness
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Christians and the Law: Controversy
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
“A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus ... by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified ... if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Galatians 2:16,21)
Monday, April 07, 2014
God’s Sovereignty, Man’s Responsibility and the Two Witnesses
“… what they disagree about is how prescriptive His management of the universe has to be in order for that to be true. Does He have to mandate the movement of every molecule that twitches? Or is it possible that God allows human beings some measure of freedom of choice and action? How “tight” does sovereignty have to be in order to remain sovereignty?”
Let’s suppose in analyzing the chapter that its words are intended to be taken at face value; that is to say, that when John writes “if anyone would”, it means “if anyone would” (as opposed to something along the lines of “if the sovereign God compels anyone to”).
If we do that, is it possible to see the sovereignty of God on display at the same time as man’s will?
Sunday, April 06, 2014
Tolerating Evil: Moral Relativism and the Slippery Pole to Hell
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Christians and the Law: Why the Confusion?
“And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”.
Friday, April 04, 2014
Culture, Politics and Christianity
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Relativism: Facts, Foolishness and Faith
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Tolerance and Relativism
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
On Christians and Hypocrisy
When people say it — and they do — they are often thinking of unscrupulous TV evangelist-types whose greed and hypocrisy have been publicly exposed, or perhaps their own bitter personal experience with a person who claimed to be a follower of Christ but acted in a very un-Christlike way.
It is certainly a great shame when people claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus but live lives of self-centredness and prejudice. Often these people make the matter worse by assuming an air of false piety and loudly condemning those who do not match up to their lofty standards of conduct — standards they themselves do not even follow.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Believers That Sin & A God In Whom Is No Darkness At All
Sunday, March 30, 2014
All Things Dull and Ugly: Monty Python and the Millennium
All creatures short and squat
All things rude and nasty
The Lord God made the lot
Each beastly little squid
Who made the spiky urchin?
Who made the sharks? He did”
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology IV: Christians Will Spend Eternity In Heaven
Friday, March 28, 2014
Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and the Infinite-Personal God
“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena … Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”
— Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
To which I say, wait, what?
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology III: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Dear Preacher: On Calvinism and Pride
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology II: Saint Peter and the Pearly Gates
In a previous post I spent a few hundred keystrokes on the things of heaven, trying to point out how very ill-equipped the best of us is to fully comprehend them, even with the aid of the imagery of scripture, since “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
But our inability to fully apprehend everything about heavenly things is not a license to manufacture any old view of heaven wholesale. The only reliable source of knowledge about things outside current human experience is the word of God itself.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Passing Thoughts on Fred Phelps
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Debunking Heavenly Mythology I: Angels are Dead People
Saturday, March 22, 2014
The Things That Are Prepared
Friday, March 21, 2014
On Reorganizing our Concept of Love
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Baal Worship, Howard Cosell and Little Details
“To the earth Baal rained, to the field rained ’Aliy. Sweet to the earth was Baal’s rain; to the field the rain of ’Aliy.”
“In a dream of Beneficent El Benign, a vision of the Creator of Creatures, the skies rained oil, the wadis flowed honey. So I knew that Mighty Baal lives; the Prince, Lord of Earth, exists.”
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 6]
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Heretics and Coffee
Monday, March 17, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 5]
Sunday, March 16, 2014
In Need of Analysis: The “Four Hour” Rule
“John Wesley said that he had a very poor opinion of Christians who did not spend at least 4 hours every day in prayer.”
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Does Christianity Discriminate Against Women? [Part 3]
Friday, March 14, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 4]
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Does Christianity Discriminate Against Women? [Part 2]
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 3]
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Worldviews: Question 3 — Life
Monday, March 10, 2014
Worldviews: Question 2 — Endings
Sunday, March 09, 2014
Worldviews: Question 1 — Origins
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Worldviews: An Introduction
Friday, March 07, 2014
Does Christianity Discriminate Against Women? [Part 1]
Thursday, March 06, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 2]
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
The Purpose of the Sacrifices [Part 1]
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
Grief is Not a Sin
Monday, March 03, 2014
Inbox: The Authority of the Servant
“… that I am your servant.” Would another reason for such a request be that the authority of both the servant and his message must be recognized by those to whom he is sent, or what he says will be discounted and he will be perceived as just mouthing off; his message not taken seriously and God’s purpose in sending him frustrated? Paul used a good amount of ink convincing the Corinthians that he had credentials that were no less than those of the twelve [apostles], and was similarly concerned that Timothy’s youth not result in him being despised. Receiving the messenger as having full authority is necessary to receiving the message he delivers.Absolutely. Well said.
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Fifth Business
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
The Woman in the Pink Coat
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Inbox: The Purpose of the Gospels
Just wanted to pass along a thought on the genealogy of Matthew 1. It’s obviously divided into three sections. A while back, I was impressed by the fact that the main divisions are related to the three main turning points in the kingship of Israel: (a) the first section ends with “David the king” – the first genuine king of Israel (since Saul was from Benjamin and was the “teach Israel a lesson” king); (b) the second section ends with the exile to Babylon – the end of the kingship; and (c) the third section ends with “Jesus who is called Messiah” – the ultimate king of Israel. All of this fits nicely with the fact that Matthew is presenting Christ as the king.
Bible Study 10 — Context [Part 4]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Without Counsel Plans Fail
Monday, February 24, 2014
10 down, 603 to go ...
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Inbox: Demon Possession and the Church Age
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Boy in Black Leather
Those of you who are a few years younger than I am, and most, if not all, of the men, can probably relate to that one. I don’t mean that you necessarily know the song, but you’ve almost certainly had the experience.“I was crazy for JackieI was almost ready to saywhen a boy in black leathercame and took Jackie away”— The Waterboys
I had it as a teenager, and oddly enough the girl’s name actually was Jackie, though I can’t remember if the boy who took her away wore black leather or not. Those were the punk rock years, so it’s not improbable.
And, if I am completely truthful, there was more than one “Jackie” over the years, and more than one “boy in black leather”.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Who’s Afraid of Science?
“Science (from Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge”) is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.”
Boiled down to its essence, it is a propaganda hammer used to bludgeon the most malleable minds into what are — today, at least — the most politically acceptable shapes.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Will There Really Be A Millennial Temple? [Part 2]
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Bible Study 09 — Context [Part 3]
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
An Apple for Mr Dalrymple
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Will There Really Be A Millennial Temple? [Part 1]
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Romantic Love is NOT an Inalienable Right
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
In Need of Analysis: Why Christian Music Needs a Dose of Worldliness
The most recent version of this post is available here.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Bible Study 08 — Context [Part 2]
The most recent version of this post is available here.