Turnabout II

Not long ago, I wrote about a cheap shot that a writer for the Palm Beach Post took regarding hurricane season this year. Well, I found this today.

Someone is saying that God is punishing Floridians for their sins, but it AIN'T the religious conservatives. It's LIBERALS!!!!

Get a grip, and a clue, people. God isn't partisan, and HE'S the one who put Bush in office. AND Clinton, AND Reagan, AND Carter, AND ...

Pseudo-scientific Garbage

You HAVE to read this column by Al Mohler. He's reviewing The God Gene by Dean Hamer. I don't have to tell you that he doesn't really think much of it; what I LOVE about this article is what he writes at the end:

As [Carl] Zimmer notes, "The field of behavioral genetics is littered with failed links between particular genes and personality traits. Those alleged associations at first seemed very strong. But as other researchers tried to replicate them, they faded away into statistical noise. In 1993, for example, a scientist reported a genetic link to male homosexuality in a region of the X chromosome. The report brought a huge media fanfare, but other scientists who tried to replicate the study failed. The scientist's name was Dean Hamer."

That's right. Dean Hamer is most famously [or infamously] known for his claim to have found a genetic explanation for male homosexuality. That study created a firestorm in the press, and though it was never replicated in order to establish scientific credibility, it quickly became standard fare for arguments claiming homosexuality to be absolutely natural, and therefore normal.

As Zimmer laments, "Given the fate of Hamer's so-called gay gene, it is strange to see him so impatient to trumpet the discovery of his God gene." Zimmer then turns the table on Hamer, arguing that The God Gene should have been entitled A Gene That Accounts for Less than One Percent of the Variants Found in Scores on Psychological Questionnaires Designed to Measure a Factor Called Self-Transcendence, Which Can Signify Everything from Belonging to the Green Party to Believing in ESP, According to One Unpublished, Unreplicated Study. In the scientific community, that's undiluted condemnation.

Presidential Prayer, days 9 and 10

Day Nine and Day 10, both at Pawigoview.

Quotables

I found these while surfing around the Internet, and I figured I'd share:

"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."
-Douglas Adams

If you've never read any of Adams' stuff, you need to. The guy is as big an atheist as I've ever read, but his books are genuinely funny and on occasion very thought-provoking. He's good at pointing out inconsistancies in everyone's worldviews -- including his own.

"It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."
-Lewis Carroll

If you REALLY think about this one, he's right. We need to learn from our mistakes, so we can apply that knowledge to today and tomorrow. So in that sense, it really is our memories working in both directions -- backward and forward.

Jenkins/LaHaye II?

From Christian Retailing

Jerry Jenkins said Wednesday that he and "Left Behind" partner Tim LaHaye are "at the paperwork stage" with Viking Press for another book series.
"Dr. LaHaye and I are very excited about this idea," Jenkins told Christian Retailing. "The novels will be set in New Testament times with the ministry of Jesus as the focus and a different disciple as the perspective character in each."

The New York Observer reported last week that the "Left Behind" duo was close to signing a multimillion-dollar contract for a four-book series titled "The Jesus Chronicles."

"The parties have agreed in principle, so we're at the paperwork stage now," Jenkins explained about talks with Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. "The first manuscript will not be due for more than a year, so I believe they're looking at a late '06 release."

Jenkins also is busy with another "Left Behind" project.

"I'm currently writing book one in the 'Left Behind' series, The Rising: Birth of Antichrist. Eventually the original "Left Behind" will become book four," Jenkins added, citing George Lucas' recent "Star Wars" prequels.

The popular end-times drama's last installment, Glorious Appearing, was released in March. At that time, the "Left Behind" series had sold more than 60 million units of the books and related products. The series has brought in estimated revenues of around $1 billion.

Another Christian Political Party

Thanks on this one to Antioch Road, which is a new addition to the blogroll, even though I've been reading it for a little while now with my RSS newsreader.

The Lighthouse Party's mission is simply to be heard.

Our mission is to be heard. Our mission is for everybody to know who we are and what we stand for. Though our belief in Christianity is slowly declining here in America, and in the world, our popularity would not get us elected. Even though we understand this, it does not give us the right to sit back. We need to continue to fight for what is right regardless of its popular standing.

They at least recognize that it's tough for a third party to be elected. And they're brand new - just founded in September this year. IT will be interesting to see how this new party grows and changes, and especially what their platform will shape up into. I'm hoping that they won't simply be another Constitution Pary, but that they will have a platform that all Christians can support.

And I hope that they remember that, as Christians, we have a power greater than politics -- a power that can bring change to the world, one life at a time.

Is Inerrancy Important?

From the 1689 London Baptist Confession:

1._____ The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
( 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29, 31; Ephesians 2:20; Romans 1:19-21; Romans 2:14,15; Psalms 19:1-3; Hebrews 1:1; Proverbs 22:19-21; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:19,20 )

The word infallible means: "Incapable of erring". That is actually MORE than just inerrant. Inerrant says that the Bible doesn't contain errors. I can write a report that is inerrant, as long as I do my research carefully and make sure that someone else proofreads it. Infallible, which shows up in pretty much every major confession in early Protestant history, says that the Bible is not capable of making a mistake. I can't write an infallible paper -- anything I write is capable of being mistaken, whether it actually is or not.

But is it important that Scripture contains no error? Yes, because if we find any error in it, how can we be certain that we have caught them all? What I'm trying to say is that if there's one error that we know of, how can we be certain that the things we believe in Scriptures aren't actually errors? If we cannot trust that God has given us a reliable, error-free book, how can we base something as important as our eternal destiny on anything that is in that book?

Some would say experience. We have to experience God, and we can do that through the Bible. How can we know what we are experiencing if we cannot trust the medium we are experiencing it through? Without a Bible that I can trust, how do I even know that Christ really has risen from the dead? I cannot experience that historical event -- unless someone is hiding a time machine that they haven't mentioned before. I can only know about that event through the historical record. If the Bible is not trustworthy, I have no reliable record to turn to.

If I have to trust experience, how do I judge what is a good experience? Experience is subjective, so I can't judge based on what others have experienced. How can I tell what I am encountering, without a reliable guide to show me? How do I discern that it is the Holy Spirit guiding me into knowledge if I have no guidelines to show me what the Holy Spirit's job is?

I know people who sincerely believe that they are being led by God in directions that are contradictory to the Scriptures. Is their religious experience any less valid than mine? Is mine any less valid than theirs, for relying on the Bible rather than on experience? Does it even matter, as long as we each have a meaningful religious experience?

Experiential revelation, that is, revelation based solely on personal experience or encounter, can be very meaningful and life changing. But if it contradicts the Scripture, how do we know what the source of that experience is? God is not the only spiritual being in existence, after all. Satan is a great deceiver, and our perceptions are not always the most reliable ways of gaining information, even about the physical world. Objective rvelation is a must, if we are to seriously contend that Christianity is God's Truth.

If we are to take seriously the Reformation idea of sola Scriptura, we have to believe that the scriptura is without error, and is totally trustworth.

This is the first of (probably) several posts about the idea of inerrancy, infallibility, authority, etc. of Scripture. I'll end up talking about what sola scriptura actually means, vs. what people think it means, theories of inerrancy, and maybe even a little translation theory and the original autographs. yeah, I'm being ambitious. I figure it will make up for the weenie posts I've had here recently.

Presidential Prayer

I've missed a few of these, so here goes:

Day 11, at Spare Change.
Day 12, at Spare Change.
Day 13, at Spare Change.
Day 14, at Sideline Squawkbox.

There are still 17 days that haven't been taken, so PLEASE head over to Spare Change and let Bryan know if you can contribute.

The Hockey Alternative

Since the NHL doesn't look like it will be playing any time soon, I've gone in search of an alternative source for my hockey fix this season.

The WHA showed some promise, but I have no idea when they plan on actually playing a game. The website SAYS this winter, but I won't be holding my breath.

The best alternative -- especially where I am -- is the AHL. Cinci has a team, as does Cleveland. And they've managed to sign some NHL players to contracts.

Or maybe I'll just watch NCAA hockey and pro football this fall. I can get Ohio State hockey tickets at a decent price.

I'm Getting Published!

Hi, Thanea is back! And I received word today that I will officially be a published author! If you can't tell, I am excited.

Last spring, I sent a manuscript for a real-life ghost experience to a publisher who specializes in personal ghost stories. I received an email today with a contract. It may not pay well, but to an author seeing your name in print is a major rush.

Sorry to brag, but I just can't help it. I'll be back soon with my usual nonsense and soap-boxing.

Christian Carnival is in town ...

At Belief Seeking Understanding.

Part one is right here. And Part two is right here.

And my post is ... absent. Sorry. This has been a rough couple of weeks at school, trying to get things done in case I actually find EMPLOYMENT. Which hasn't happened yet.

Bugs me most because I didn't take a class I REALLY wanted to (History of the Reformation) because it met when I figured I'd be working. I should have just taken the class. {sigh}

Next week.

Study of Mark: Mark 6:7-13

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff -- no bread, no bag, no money in their belts -- but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
(Mark 6:7-13 ESV)

Notice that they are supposed to live in the communities that they are trying to reach. 'Don't go from house to house, and make everyone in the town wait on you. Stay with one family, who will have you.' They were also not to take any supplies with them -- they were to trust God to supply all their needs.

I think it's interesting that we know so little about the results of the outreach. We know they cast out demons in Christ's name, and by His authority. They healed people. They preached repentance. They came home. We find out in the next section some of the results of the outreach, but we don't know how many people they attracted.

I think this may be because it wasn't the Gospel they were preaching. They preached repentance, just as John the Baptist did. The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ -- and all that was still three years away. They had no risen Savior to proclaim.

So why did Jesus send them out? To establish the way that missions work was to be done. Faith in God for your financial support. Not taking advantage of the people you are witnessing to (as Paul would point out to the Corinthian church later on). Going out in pairs -- with someone to support you. I'm sure that there were times that the disciples got discouraged -- but they always had someone with them to lift them up in prayer to God. They were faithful to the calling of God. They went out in the authority of Christ. And they did have an impact on people.

I think that this experience helped them later on, when they went out into the world. And I think they noticed a big difference, once they had the full story to tell people.

Presidential Prayer, Day 15

Right here at Spare Change.

Still 11 spots open between now and the election.

Presidential Prayer

Day 17 is here at Spare Change.

Day 16 is here at Time To Believe.

The remaining days calendar is here.

Define "The Same"

John Kerry told the New York Times that he has the same position on gay marriage that President Bush has.

Really.

I'm sure that the gay rights lobby will be VERY interested in this development. Next thing you know, Kerry will be telling us that he voted for the Federal Marriage Ammendment, right before he voted against it.

Or maybe he's been so concerned about other things that he didn't realize that the President is against same-sex marriage. Though I wonder how he could have missed that.

Church and State Separation

WHERE are the folks from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State? I'm blowin' the whistle on this one:

Meanwhile, Kerry hit the trail in Florida on Sunday, attending a Catholic mass before speaking at Friendship Mission Baptist Church in Miami alongside Rev. Al Sharpton and newly-hired campaign adviser Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Kerry received a standing ovation at the church, where he told parishioners that God was present there. After the church speech, Kerry has some down time before heading to New Mexico, where he will do his final debate preparations before Wednesday's debate.

Maybe someone should call Project Fair Play. I've sent them an email; we'll see what happens.

What IS Sola Scriptura, Anyway??

If there is one thing that I am tired of hearing from people it's this:

Sola Scriptura is inconsistant. You SAY that the Bible is your only authority, but that teaching isn't even in the Bible! You Protestants are idiots/morons/heretics/insult-of-the-day.

Sola Scriptura is the teaching that the Bible is the final authority. It is the only thing that is ultimately authoritative -- that is, it is the final authority in matters of faith and practice. This actually ties into the idea of inspiration and inerrancy. IF we believe that the Bible is inspired (breathed out) by God, then it carries with it the authority of God -- it's teachings are God's teachings, because what it says is what God said. IF that is true, then Scripture is the final authority, just as if God Himself were speaking -- because He is.

Protestants do not deny tradition. Luther and Calvin quoted from Augustine extensively. Calvin quoted from Bernard of Clairveux. Both used patristic texts. The difference is that Luther and Calvin both tested these early fathers against Scripture. If they contradict Scripture, they are wrong. If you want to find out about the early Fathers being wrong, do a study on Peter Abelard. (If anyone knows of an available edition of Sic et Non, let me know. I REALLY want to get one.)

Protestants also do not deny that Scripture must be interpreted correctly. Baptists teach that the believer is responsible for their spiritual health (priesthood of the believer), but we stress (or we SHOULD stress) the need for a correct foundation for interpreting Scripture. That entails study -- including the study of historical theology. We want to know what has been believed before -- but we judge all belief in the light of Scripture.

Church/State Separation Update

Still haven't heard from the folks at Americans United. I DID find out that they have an online form to report violations (like Kerry speaking at a church in Florida, for example).

The form is here. If you look at their web page, you'll notice that they're really only concerned with conservative religious separation -- I have yet to read anything they've said about a Baptist minister being active in politics -- I'm talking about Rev. Jesse Jackson. Nothing about Rev. Al Sharpton, either. Pat Robertson, however, is featured on the main page. (Personally, I think that any minister of the Gospel should consider it a demotion and a failure in his calling to leave the pastorate to run for any political office, but that's just me.)

Maybe if we ALL let them know about the Florida 'violation', they'll be forced to actually do something about it. I still haven't seen anything about it on their site -- and I really don't expect to. They're as inconsistent as any other liberal organization.

Presidential Prayer

Getting caught up again:

Day 18 is at Spare Change.

Day 19 is at Reverend Mike's.

Day 20 is at Spare Change.

Day 21 is at Spare Change, posted by Jared at Exultate Justi (who, incidently, has a great post about The Christian Citizen that echoes some of what I've said here. Go check it out!)

Church/State Separation UPDATE

I have to say, Americans United works fast. I sent the form in this morning, and got a reply at about 10:10. Robert Boston told me that they have received numerous complaints -- I wonder how many conservatives complained, as I did, just to see if they would do anything to their own side.

They have filed a complaint with the IRS, which was delivered this morning. Have to admit it -- I don't like most of what they're against, but at least they are consistant. And I really didn't expect them to do it. They told me that the New York Times would have more information, but I'm having trouble accessing their site from the computer lab here at school. I'll stay on it, and update when I find out something.

{UPDATE} You have to register (but the piewview thing works here), but check out this link.

I especially love the Kerry campaign's statement: "Speaking to a church is well within the limits of the tax code and it is quite different from the way the Bush campaign has aggressively pushed to use churches to distribute their campaign material and treated them as an arm of its re-election effort." Bush doesn't have a Baptist minister working for him -- Kerry does (Rev. Jackson).

A church endorsing a candidate explicitly is a clear violation of the law. It's also an abuse of the pulpit. I have no problem with a preacher admonishing the congregation to vote their conscience, or even to vote for a candidate that holds to a specific position on something like abortion or same-sex marriage. I have a problem when "Vote For {candidate}!" is proclaimed from a pulpit -- and that is exactly what happened in Florida. As far as I know, churches that support Bush haven't done anything this blatent (or this stupid) -- but that may be simply because the attention is focused on them, rather than the liberal churches.

I'm glad to see that Americans United (I've given the link enough -- I don't want them getting TOO much traffic from me!) is consistant in their objective of keeping churches true to the letter (AND the spirit) of campaign law.

{UPDATE AGAIN} I forgot about this. They've done it before, and are doing it again.

The amazing thing is how little press coverage this is getting. The Times is the only paper so far to cover the newest story, though beliefnet has also mentioned it. Very little has been said about the Kerry campaign's targeting of churches -- only Bush's. Of course, Bush has done more, but that shouldn't matter. If it's being done at all, it should be news, no matter who is doing it.

I have a TWIN???

Whilst aimlessly surfing the 'net, I found this attractive, rather well-designed site.

The CSS is better than mine. The graphic is neater than mine. I'm jealous. Maybe typepad is the way to go ....

But I'm the older twin!!!

Head over and check out A View From the Pew. There's some good stuff there, if you're looking for a Catholic perspective -- and a conservative one, at that.

And tell them I said Hi!

Post #297

I'm thinking about posting meaningless stuff until I get to 300, then having a huge celebration where I explain the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything (tm). But then again, we all know that it's 42, so what would the point be?

Anyway, here's a thing I found:

Which OS are You?

I'm really posting this so I don't have to read Melanchthon. Of course, I'll have to read it sometime anyway. Just not right now.

This Week in Church History

October 16, 1701.

A group of Congregationalist ministers, unhappy with the liberalism at Harvard, decided to found their own school. They founded The Collegiate School so that "Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences who through the blessing of God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State."

The first classes were held in the home of the first rector, Abraham Pierson. The students were expected to live religiously, and pray regularly. The main purpose of the student body was to be to know God in Jesus Christ. And even into the 1800s, the school stayed true to that goal.

The school was renamed in 1745, in honor of the donation of $2,800, and was still purposed to propagate the Protestant religion. The school still carries the name of this donor, though it is no longer following this course. The donor was Elihu Yale.

Schools change. The example of this particular school should serve as a warning to the founders of today's Christian institutions of higher learning. Good intentions of founders do not last long -- it is necessary to put in place mechanisms for accountability, to make sure that the school remains faithful to it's call.

This is true of individuals, as well. Without some sort of accountability, we tend to stray away from our calling. It's easy to do. We all need to be careful that we take precautions so that it doesn't happen to us.

Presidential Prayer, Day 23 and 24

Here and here at Ryan's Head.

LOTS of New Links!!!

Yes, I have joined the League of Reformed Bloggers. So that means there are a LOT more blogs that I've got links to, and they're all pretty good. I'll probably cruise through there this afternoon, and let everyone know what I've found, but in the meantime hit some of those sites yourself. I've already found several that I really wish I'd blogrolled earlier -- there's some great stuff out there!

Presidential Prayer, Day 25

It's here at Spare Change.

Cruising the League: #s - D

If you want the newest posts from everyone, click the Blog Aggregator link. Some of these are the newest, and some aren't -- these are the ones that made an impression on me.

• This one from 21st Century Reformation ties in well with what I've been talking about re: sola Scriptura. I especially like the idea that we should think for ourselves. I wish more people thought that way.


• Head over here to read A Physicist's Perspective on 2 Timothy.


• BigRed5 has a perfect example of why I would like to homeschool our daughter. Nothing to do with the "lack of morality" of the teaching of "secular humanism" or whatever other buzzwords you want to use. Public schools, and to an extent most schools in general, teach learning as a means to an end. Learn this you you can pass this test. Learn these facts so you can do this. I want my daughter to learn because learning is fun. My wife and I both love learning new things -- we both watched the unsealing of the crypt oif the di Medici's on TV last night, and learned a few new things about forensics. We want our daughter to enjoy that as much as we do.
• I presuppositional apologetics is your bag (and I know I'm enjoying it far more than I thought I would), head over to The Dawn Treader, paying special attention to this and this.


• Dead Man Blogging talking about presecution.


• Over at Doggie's Breakfast, Stephen has been reading The Lost Message of Jesus by Steve Chalke. Interesting review (multiple posts here).

Reflections on Turning 300

Somewhere back there, while the blogger counter wasn't quite keeping up, I turned the 300 posts mark. I'm not sure what I expected; maybe Blogspot should set up a script that generates fireworks or something when you hit 300. Should you get presents from everyone in your blogroll (haha)? Should there be an IRC party? Do you send cards?

I look back on the things I posted at the beginning -- some of them were quite good, and others were pure drek. I haven't had anything up at the Best of Me Symphony lately, partially because I didn't see anything really noteworthy to submit. But I think I had a different objective back then.

I just wanted a place to spout off. Somewhere to go to rant, when I saw something in life that struck me as stupid/inconsistant/whatever. Sure, I wanted to be read, but that wasn't the idea at first -- that's why I opted for the free blog solution.

Somewhere along the line, something happened. People actually started reading what I was writing. At last glance, there were 20 people subscribed to my feeds through Bloglines (of course, 6 of them are too embarrassed to let anyone know who they are ...). This isn't a high traffic site by any streach of the imagination, but I actually have people reading what I write, and that is scary.

I can't just throw something together -- even though I often do, and it's obvious. I'm feeling the duty to say something worth saying -- and something worth reading. There are a lot of places you could go visit, but you show up here, some of you several times a day. Even when all I've posted is some stupid thing about what OS I am.

Thanks. And I promise to do better work.

I've got a lot of things rolling around in my head (lots of extra room there!) that will show up here in the next few weeks (some this week, depending on my schedule). I'm working on more about Scripture, sola scriptura, inspiration, and all that is associated with it. I've been reading about middle knowledge for my philosophy paper -- fascinating stuff, with some interesting implications -- so that may show up here. I'll probably link to my review of James Whites KJVO book, since it'll be WAY too long to post (5-6 pages). And I'll get my other papers up somewhere for all to read and laugh at.

I guess the next milestone is 500. Maybe by my birthday (January 26), maybe later. But I'll get there.

Presidential Prayer

Day 26 is here at Spare Change.

Day 27 is here at Better Living.

Study of Mark -- Mark 6:14-29

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." 15 But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." 23 And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." 24 And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

I tend to think that it was because they didn't want to face the implications of who Jesus was claiming to be. Jesus claimed the authority to forgive sins. Nobody but God can forgive sins -- Jesus didn't argue with that assertion. That's one of the clear passages where Jesus claims to be God.

So people would rather believe that Jesus was John reincarnated (even though they had been seen together, in public, by a rather large crowd, in Mark 1), than entertain the notion that He might really be God.

People do this all the time today. They go in search of the historic Jesus, and find out that he looks a lot like they do -- their own personal Jesus, to quote a line from an old song. This image of Jesus as a nice guy, someone who taught some great stuff, someone who forgave people when they messed up -- this Jesus is the kind of guy we want to hang out with.

They ignore the Jesus who commanded the woman to "Go, and sin no more." We forget that He told her she was wrong, and not to do it anymore. We forget about Jesus condemning the moneychangers (some believe that He did it twice), clearing them out of the temple. That wasn't too forgiving.

We forget that Jesus knows out hearts, and He knows who is looking for forgiveness. He knows if we want a way out, or if we're happy in our sins. And he reminds us that we are to go, and sin no more.

People don't like that Jesus very much. It doesn't fit in with their lifestyle choice. It doesn't let them do the things that they want to do -- things that their flesh enjoys. They don't see that it also gives them the opportunity to live life the way that humans were meant to live life -- in a manner that is pleasing to God. Because without Christ covering our sin, we can't make God happy.

NOT a Fun Time

This has been a miserable week. That's why the posting schedule has been nonexistant, and I apologize. Especially after I said I was going to do better.

Started off great -- I got an A+ on my Philosophy midterm, that I really wasn't expecting. Another A on the weekly quiz, and I was ready for an awesome week at seminary.

That lasted exactly five hours. My wife called to let me know that someone had managed to get her check card number, and had bought a TON of shoes and other goodies online. We had nothing in the checking account -- and my rent for commuter housing was due, AND tuition was getting ready to come out of the account.

I keep looking at the A+ on my test, trying to recapture the feeling of pure exhileration and joy that I felt when I first go it. Then I think of someone ordering $400 worth of shoes from one online store (specializing in cheap shoes, BTW), and I see nothing but red.

It's been hard keeping focus, but with God's help I've managed. Hopefully, I'll manage to keep it up, since this semester is about to get into the really fun time -- two papers and three finals in the next month and a half. OOOOOOO BOY!!!

This Week in Church History

October 22, 1884.

Jesus came back on this date in 1884. Did you miss it? Yeah, so did everyone else.

Baptist minister William Miller, ignoring Christ's statement in Matthew that na man knows the day or the hour except God Himself, decided to predict Christ's return. He looked through history, took the traditional 'day=year' interpretation of Daniel 8 to heart, and decided that October 22, 1884 was The Day(tm).

He got together about 100,000 of his closest followers, and they sat on hillsides all over the world to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

When it became obvious to everyone that Jesus wasn't coming back that day, one of the leaders got up and made this statement: "I never did fix upon the precise time myself, and I always told my brethren they would get into trouble if they did; but they would not listen to me, but followed other leaders...I believe the most important thing after all is, to be ready..." Of course, he was one of them sitting on the hill waiting, so you have to wonder about his sincerity at that point.

It is dangerous to start setting dates. I can remember the sensation caused by the book 88 reasons Why the Lord Will Come Back in 1988. I'd LOVE to have been able to interview the author in 1989 or 1990 and ask him what happened. I think you can still find this book in used bookstores, though if I'd written the thing I'd be travelling the country buying up all the copies I could find, and burning them.

Date setting is fun, and popular. Nothing draws a crowd better than "Come to the revival meeting tonight, and I'll tell you when Jesus is coming back!"

Unless the answer is "Pretty Soon!", don't believe it. Christians are commanded to be busy until He comes back -- so that when He gets here, He finds we've been doing what we're supposed to. THAT is the lesson we can learn from the Millerites.

Presidential Prayer Catch-Up

Day 28 is here at News from the Great Beyond.

Day 29 is at Spare Change.
Day 30 is at Right as Usual.
Day 31 is at Better Living.

There are still some open slots, so email Bryan and let him know which day you want to take. The list telling you what days are still available is right here.

Superblessed's Christian Blog Awards

I have to admit, I didn't know about these until I read about them over at Bene Diction. There's a great list of blogs here -- and only a couple that I read all the time. Check out the list, and maybe you'll find some new reading material.

Just don't stop reading the OLD reading material, OK?

Faith in Public

Jared over at Exultate Justi has an outstanding piece on this topic. There's more at National Review Online. I've said my piece on it a time or two.

I do not see how faith and action can ever be separated, if you are following your faith in a consistant manner. Faith requires you to believe a certain way about things, and those beliefs require you to act in certain ways. This is hard for people without faith to understand. They cannot see what it is about faith that makes it so vital to people who have it. Part of the problem is us.

People of faith often are not living consistently. We say that we believe one thing, but in other areas of our lives, we act a different way. God is supposed to be a vital part of our lives, but we act as if He's jsut an old relative that we go to visit on Sundays. We nod at the message, we sing the songs, and nothing that happens within the walls of the church has any impact at all on our lives. We'd be better off staying home and sleeping in. The Barna group has a survey dealing with this issue. I was going to address it here, but after looking at it, I think it needs its own post. I may save that one until next week, while I'm writing papers.

If faith matters (and I say this to people of all faiths, not just Christianity), then it always matters. It matters when you go to school. It matters when you get to the office. It matters when you decide what you are going to read, or what you will watch. And it matters when you are elected to public office.

Unless you are John Kerry. Then, faith is a personal thing, not a public thing. It has no impact on anything he does outside of church. In many ways, he would fit in quite well with the average American evangelical.

And that's a shame.

Presidentail Prayer

Day 32 is up at Spare Change.

I'll have more up here tomorrow -- I'm trying to get my theology paper done (the second paper -- got a 95 on the first one).

Christian Carnival Reminder

This coming Wednesday, October 27th, is the next Christian Carnival, which will be hosted at From the Anchor Hold. If you have a blog, this will be a great way to get read, and possibly pick up readers in the process or highlight your favorite post from the past week.

To enter is simple. First, you post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature from a Christian point of view. Secondly please send only one post dated since the last Christian Carnival deadline, which was 10/19.

Then, do the following:

email Karen Marie at

kmknapp AT execpc.com

and please put "Christian Carnival Submission" in the subject line, so it doesn't get dumped with the spam!

Provide the following:

Title of your Blog
URL of your Blog
Title of your post
URL linking to that post
Description of the post

Cut off date is Tuesday October 26th at 10 pm Central time ---- that's Wednesday 0300 UTC/GMT, for those of you in far places.

Don't forget about this one -- I'm sending my submission in now!

Best of Me Symphony

It's up at Behind the Times -- and I got second place!!! Woooo Hooo ME!!

I wouldn't be happy about coming in first loser if there weren't a bunch of great posts in this week's symphony.

Next week's effort is going to be at Yuma Tech Consortium, so go through those archives and find something 60 days old or older that you REALLY like, and send it in!

You worked hard on those posts -- they deserve to live again.

Kristof At it Again

I've engaged in my fair share of Nicholas Kristof bashing in the past, and when I took a look at this piece in the New York Times, I figured I'd get to do it again.

Then I wandered over to blogs4God, and saw that Gary Petersen had done a much better job at it than I would have. So just go there and read what he has to say, and know that all I can add is a good hearty "AMEN".

Today in Church History

October 27, 1978.

An event that would forever shape the course of evangelical dialog in America. AN event that would give rise to a new teaching, a new distinction between believers. A watershed day, one whose importance still, I would hazard, has not fully been understood or appreciated.

On this date in 1978, the New International Version of the Bible was published.

I have to admit that I was, at the beginning of the movement, a KJVOnly. I enjoyed running around pointing at people reading this new version, and informing them that they were reading the Not Inspired Version. I had great fun with that for a long time.

Then my Dad bought an NIV study Bible, to use in preparing Sunday School lessons at church.

I couldn't make fun of my Dad, and he said that it was easier to understand and read, so I decided to read it. I found out that much of what I'd been told was wrong, and I started trying to learn all I could about the translation of the Bible, and the history of the English translations of the Bible. The more I learned, the more I knew I couldn't be KJVOnly anymore.

The NIV still isn't my favorite translation. I've even been known to pull out the Not Inspired Version line from time to time, in jest. I use the ESV and the NKJV in my personal studies, and the NASB at school. I still like the King James -- it's got an elegance that is hard to equal -- the ESV comes VERY close, and that's why I like that one.

The arrival of the NIV opened the floodgates for a plethora of modern translations, especially versions utilizing the dynamic equivalence translation method. The Bible aisles in Christian bookstores look like rows of alphabet soup cans -- NKJV, ESV, NASB, NAB, HCSB, RSV, NRSV, NLT, yadda yadda yadda. Some of the translations are quite good -- others are not. Rather than complain, we should be thrilled that there are people who are reading the Bible in their own language -- whatever form of English that might be -- for the first time. And lives are being changed.

Presidential Prayer

Day 33 is at Spare Change.
Day 34 is up also.

{EDIT!~!!!!!!}Day 34 was WRONGLY credited to Spare Change folks. It's actually at Shades of Grey. The link above has been fixed, but I wanted everyone to know. Thanks to Songstress7's post at News from the Great Beyond for showing me the error of my ways!}

Superblessed Awards!

It probably wasn't clear from the post, but I posted the link to the nominees before (yeah, I know -- I'm a little distracted right now! Give me a break!)

The winners are up.

Congrats to all the winners, but a special shout out too the ones I actually link to:

Most Educational: He Lives

Most Useful Christian Resource: Blogs4God
Best Blog with Online Discussion: Spare Change
And the Favorite Christian Blog of 2004: Bene Diction Blogs On

Comment Policy

Everyone seems to have one of these, so I figured it was about time I jumped on the bandwagon. Here is my official View from the Pew Comment Policy.

1. Comment frequently. I hate seening "Comments - 0" after posting something that I thought would inspire controversy and comment.
2. I reserve the right to tell you that you are an idiot if you disagree with me.
3. I reserve the right to ban you if you call me an idiot. I probably won't do that, though -- if I stopped talking to everyone who thought I was an idiot, I'd end up talking to myself all the time. Wait a minute -- scratch that.
4. I reserve the right to not comment back -- though most of the time, I'll comment back, just to say "W0W!!! THNKS 4 TEH COMMNET !!!1111!!!"
5. If you spam me, I reserve the right to hunt you down, throw eggs at your house, tease your dog/cat/hedgehog/insert-type-of-pet-here. I'll also report you to your ISP, and make sure that you never are allowed on the Internet ever again -- I know Al Gore, and he'll do it. He invented it, after all.

Items 1-4 are obviously pretty tongue in cheek. Item 5 isn't.

Except for the Al Gore part.

But I have met Mr. T.

I pity the fool who spams my comments.

Missing in Action

Some of you may have noticed that the nice graphics that used to be at the very top of the page (sometimes, for some browsers, cut off by the blogger pane). Others may have noted that the link to the Library is gone.

Both have the same cause. wkelly.org is no more.

I have better things to do with the money (that I really don't have ight now) than pay to keep up a web site that I don't even update anymore. Maybe later, when I have money again, I'll get something set up that I can integrate with the blog, and open up View from the Pew version 2.0 with loud fanfare, carny acts, and baloons for the kids. But for now, the blog is the thing.

Of course, now I need a place to host my graphics. Anyone have any suggestions?

Presidential Prayer

Day 35 is up right here.

Today in Church History

October 28, 312.

This whole week is huge for the Church. Luther's 95 Theses on the 31st, the publishing of the NIV yesterday -- both served as signs of change for the church.

Today's sign is bigger then either of these.

Hoc signo victor eris. By this sign, you will conquer. Those words, and a cross in the sky, changed history in an incredible way. At Milvan Bridge, Constantine became the first Roman Emperor to march into battle under the sign of the Cross of Christ.

Many people are skeptical of Constantine's true conversion. His forced baptism of entire armies makes Christians today cringe. His interference in church matters at the Council of Nicea cannot even be imagined in this day of religious liberty and separation of church and state -- imagine President Bush calling the nation's evangelical leaders together to settle the debate about Open Theism once and for all!

Whatever the cause, whether genuine or not, Constantine's conversion marked the beginning of a new era for Christianity. No longer worried about being killed for their faith, the church could settle down and resonlve some differences, make sure everyone knew what was really orthodox belief. Christian thinkers could be more open in their belief, and could turn toward persuading others to become Christians.

Then came the problem -- Christianity as the official religion. But that's for another post.

That was QUICK!!

I had to kill a post I was in the middle of just now.

Christianity Today had a great piece on the latest outrage from the ECUSA on Tuesday. I didn't see it until this morning, and started to write it up, and let loose with a whole lot of righteous indignation. I clicked on the link to the "Women's Eucharist" liturgy .... and got a 404 page instead.

They took it down. They didn't just eliminate the links to that page from the ECUSA page -- they took the liturgy offline.

CT has a story today about it, and has a few quotes from the liturgies that they left up. There is also a disclaimer now that says that the liturgies are not official liturgies of the Episcopal Church.

This resource section is intended to provide a space for women to share their voices with one another. It is a work-in-progress and its shape will continue to emerge as we move forward. These are not official liturgies of the Episcopal Church—rather, they are a gathering of voices. Our hope with this section is to simply begin a conversation around women and our liturgical tradition as it is now. Please use them for study, dialogue, questions, ponderings, and gathering communities of worship.

Especially interesting is that the recotr who wrote the missing liturgy is involved in neo-paganism. I won't qcunt and paaste everything from the CT article -- go over there and check it out, and prepare to be REALLY upset.

Unless you happen to LIKE a heavy dose of paganism attached to your celebration of Communion. In that case, I'm sure someone at the ECUSA still has a copy of the liturgy for your edification.

And it FINALLY happens ...

Curse it Goodbye, said ESPN.com.

Congrats to the BoSox. It's about time.

Of course, I'm in the middle of writing two papers, so how much did I see? None at all. History was being made, and I was reading Melanchthon. But I'm not bitter. No, not at all.

{edit}
Originally, I had a link to the front page of espn.com. Of course, the BoSox winning isn't always going to be the lead story, so I figured I'd take it down. If I find the thing archived somewhere, I'll post that link.

Just Ramblin'

Taking a small break from writing my papers to see what's going on in the blogosphere, and figured I'd ramble a bit about a few things.

• If you have never participated in the Best of Me Symphony, you need to do it. I've gotten a big boost in readership from it -- and I didn't have to come up with anything new!
• People read this blog from all over the place -- including some places that worry me. The Department of Justice has hit my blog in the past few days -- I don't want to know why.
• A lot of Canadians read my blog, a couple of whom I know (as much as you can know someone by talking to them on the computer...)
• LOTS of college hits this time.
• Make sure you pay a visit to Bobby Griffith's Blog. He's purty smart, and stuff like that. lol I've "talked" to Bobby quite a bit at the PCCBoard forums. He's a member of the League of Reformed Bloggers, too -- even if he wasn't, he'd be on my blogroll, now that he has a blog.
• Likewise, check out The Gleeful Extremist. While we're on different pages theologically, he's got s funny take on a lot of things. That, and he was the one who beat me out for top spot in the Best of Me Symphony this week (so you KNOW he's good!).
• I'm REALLY wanting to do another Bible study at church -- one that takes several sessions, but that lets you really get into the Word. Timewise, I'm not sure it'll work just yet, but I'm hopefull. In the meantime, if you're in or around the Greenup/Ashland, Kentucky area on the 14th of November, stop by First Baptist. I'm preaching either in the morning service or the evening -- I'm not quite sure which I'm going to get yet. When I find out, I'll let everyone know.
• If you HAVE a chance to lead an extended Bible study, check out Discovering the Biblical Jesus by Dr. Danny Aiken. Outstanding study -- everyone learned a lot, especially me!

I think that's all the rambling I'm going to do for now. I'm hoping to have the Mark study up on Saturday, and I'm pre-writing a few things for next week (it worked pretty well for this week).

More on NeoPaganism and the ECUSA

This is my last on this topic, since I really haven't got a "dog in the fight". I don't want to sound like I'm bashing anyone -- I know several Anglicans, and have had nothing but good, helpful conversations with them -- I've even learned a few things. And you know, they were the ones who translated the KJB, so they can't be all bad ....

What I want to do here is to give everyone access to more information on this, so that they can find out the full story if they're interested.

The original liturgy can be found here. The Midwest Conservative Journal can be found here -- they have some good commentary and resources on the issue. One of the posters on PCCBoard is Anglican (he's the one I got all this info from, and is my source for all things Anglican!), and he posted an email on the subject in this thread.

My prayer is that this will show the Anglican church, and conservative Anglicans here in the US, that the ECUSA is not just wayward, but that it is apostate. My prayer is also that God will be glorified through this, and that people who may not have been aware of the state of things before will now see that they need to get themselves to one of the conservative Anglican churches that are cropping up throughout the US.

I also pray that God will keep those of us in other denominations in a proper spirit throughout this situation. The last thing we need is for a bunch of conservative Baptists or Presbyterians or just general evangelicals to pop up and start yelling "SEE!! THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD BE IN OUR CHURCH!! WE'RE BETTER THAN THAT!!!". I know a lot of people who are grieved by this situation, and I am sure that God is not pleased at what is happening.

{edit}

Titusonenine has also got an extended discussion of this issue. Boy, there are more Anglican blogs than I thought there were!!

Presidential Prayer

The continuity is a bit messed up right now. I THINK that Songstress7 has it right at News from the Great Beyond, so go over there and get the straight scoop. OR you can go to Spare Change and see the official list. I'll post the next one, when I figure out what it is supposed to be.

That's what happend when you try to write a 15 page paper on middle knowledge and a 15 page paper on Philip Melanchthon at the same time.

And I know of one class I am DEFINATELY taking in the spring. Dr. Nettles and Dr. Haykin are teaching a class on the life and theology of Andrew Fuller. Thursday nights starting at 7:40 pm, at a Southern Baptist Seminary near ... well, you if you're in Louisville, KY.

Cruising the Blogroll

I feel like running through the 'roll this evening. So here we go!!

• Get Religion has a good summary of the whole ECUSA/neopaganism thing, including a few new developments. Fascinating stuff here.
• Matt Hall has a review of the documentary Super Size Me. I'm afraid to watch the thing, even though I don't eat much McDonalds food anymore. I AM worried, though, because my daughter loves their chicken nuggets.
• An oldie but a goodie -- Ian's Messy Desk brings us the King James Version Baseball Classic.
• Wink and Jeremy are debating the election at Parableman. Things are getting good.
• Spare Change links to an annoyingly addictive game. Gee, thanks!
• Eric Cartman sings Come Sail Away, and the Crusty Curmudgeon has it in all it's Real Audio glory.

More later. Hoping I'll get the Mark study for today done pretty soon.

Left-Wing Tolerance

Next time you hear about how tolerant the Left is, read this article.

And note -- this wasn't done by National Review, or The American Spectator. It was done by Slate -- not exactly a paragon of conservative reporting. This guy probably went out thinking he'd get a neat story about how conservatives mistreated him when he wore the Kerry/Edwards stuff.

I just appreciate the fact that he wrote the story anyway, since he essentially indicted his readership.

95 Theses

Everyone knows what today is -- Reformation Day. The day good little Christians go door to door, nailing tracts to the front of their neighbor's houses.

Ok, not really -- and I've just about run that joke to death this year -- but today is one of those pivotal moments in history. The Reformation has made an impact on every aspect of society -- not just religion.

I really don't have much new to add to the discussion. So I'm going to check out the old blogroll, and show you all the Ref. Day posts that everyone else has made today. You can find the theses at Phil Johnson's place.

• Matt Hall points out that Luther probably wasn't looking for a direct conflict with Rome -- he most likely wanted some dialog on the subject of the theses. He also recommends a couple of books on the Reformation for further reading.
• Tim at Challies Dot Com talks about the lack of awareness among many evangelical churches that today is Reformation Day -- or at least the lack of commemoration. I know that it wasn't mentioned at our church this morning, and there are probably a lot of non-Lutheran churches that pass by the day altogether. I agree with Tim -- this needs to change. We don't have to agree with all of Luther's theology to be thankful that he had the courage to stick with his convictions.
• Sundays at Rebecca Writes are neat anyway -- there's always a sermon and a hymn, but this week is special.
• Semicolon has A Mighty Fortress posted as well, and makes a great point about politics and Christians.

And y'know -- those are the only posts I found on it today -- even on the League of Reformed Bloggers list. Maybe Tim's right. If I missed yours, let me know, and I'll make up for it by giving you a post all to yourself.

Presidential Prayer

Day 37 is up at Avoiding Evil.
Day 38 is at Spare Change.