But for His Grace

The Christendom Review

2011-04-23T18:45:00.000-04:00

The Christendom Review, Volume 3, Issue 1, from the Visual Arts section:

Flannery O'Connor

Blessed John Henry Newman

2010-10-07T18:30:00.000-04:00

“God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught…Therefore I will trust Him, whatever I am…He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me—still, He knows what He is about."

-Blessed John Henry Newman

I'm still alive. I promise!

2010-10-02T23:00:00.001-04:00

I know I basically have not blogged since nearly ten months ago.

That being said, a lot has changed since last January:

In December, I graduated from Bryan (for those who didn't know). Immediately, and I do mean immediately, I moved back home. A couple of days later I drove (over night) to Maribeth's house, and spent Christmas and the end of December with her family.

Shortly after returning home, I started working for the family business. In February I bought a house across the street from my sister and brother-in-law.

I got married in April. Maribeth and I went on the most incredible honeymoon ever- in Italy!

We've had a great summer, albeit insanely hot and humid, and we're really glad for the return of highs in the 80's.

We found out about a month ago that we are going to be parents.

I'm starting my Masters of Arts degree in Religion later this month, or that's the plan.

Did I mention that it's been a busy year?

And it's not over yet...

Lion and Lamb

2010-02-01T06:14:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting... I've been very busy.

I'll be sure to post a big personal update in a few weeks once things have settled a bit.

In the meantime, here's a quotation for your contemplation:

"Jesus is both the Lion and the Lamb. We've concentrated so much on the Lamb that I think the Lamb has eaten up the Lion! We've got to get the Lion back!" - Dr. Peter Kreeft, in the lecture Shocking Beauty.

I think that there is a lot to be said for the Lion half of Jesus. Love is not always nice, or kind even. Passion is not pretty, or even "lovely." It's raw, untameable, and very much alive. It's wild and strong.

-R.T.

The Reformers and 101

2010-01-09T17:30:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention it in my last post, but it was my one-hundredth post. Crazy.

I've heard people say, on occasion, that if Luther and Calvin were alive today, they'd be Catholic.

I've given this a great deal of thought, and I have to agree on the first count: Every change Luther wanted has come about, being sealed and concluded at Vatican II. But Luther never considered himself anything other than Catholic. He never wanted to leave, or felt real spite toward the Catholic Church.

Calvin, on the other hand, was a genuine anti-papist. He was a true Protestant. He was against traditionalism, and in most cases, tradition. He rejected authority, and was very anti-establishment. That's probably why I like him so much.

I was talking to a friend today, M.J.G., and I said "If Luther was alive today, he'd be Catholic. If Calving was, he'd be emergent."

M. responded to me by saying "That's good. If Zwingli was alive today, he'd be burning someone!"

I thought that was pretty great, especially for all my reformation history buffs out there.

It Does Not Matter What You Call Them!

2010-01-05T11:30:00.001-05:00

Many churches refuse to call their pastors what they are: pastors. It has, as the following article proposes, reached silliness.

I came across this yesterday, and thought it was hilarious: http://theresurgence.com/pastor

Oh, and happy birthday to my "lil" brother. He's fifteen today, which means the roads will no longer be safe, as his learner's permit is a real possibility within the month... Run and hide. Run-and-hide.

American Narcissism and the Grail Conspiracy

2010-01-04T23:30:00.001-05:00

A few days ago a friend of mine sent me a text message telling me that I should record a documentary on History International about the Israelite exodus. In the process of setting up the DVR, I came across two other interesting documentaries, each two hours in length. It is important to note that these two documentaries were aired in a certain order, and back to back: The first, if memory serves, was Mysteries of the Freemasons. The second documentary was Holy Grail in America.

Let me preface the following by saying that, of all of the good Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, and other Christians that I know, I am one of very, very few who look upon the Freemasonry without suspicion, much less utter disdain.

I have a rather high view of Masons, and have a great deal of knowledge about their practices and traditions, knowledge that goes against the majority of what one reads in fantastical, anti-Masonic literature, and sees in outlandish Hollywood garbage.

I've defended Freemasonry to several Protestants, and a Catholic or two. My favourite story of me defending Freemasonry took place when a pastor friend of mine condemned them when I brought them up in casual conversation. I then proceeded to show him how if all of the Masons in his congregation were removed, over half of the programs would cease to function, and most of the ministries would sit idle, and nobody would be able to hear him preach: Almost every ministry and program, including the sound team, were run by Masons.

However, this is not a forum on Freemasonry, and I don't want anyone discussing its "right-ness" or "wrong-ness" in the comments. My point in this post lies elsewhere.

The first documentary spent two hours trying to do three things: malign Freemasonry's alleged method for gaining and changing power, tie them to the Knight's Templar, and prove that Freemasonry founded America, or at the very least, that all of the ideals of Freemasonry, handed down from the Templar, were all of the founding ideals of our nation: That America was the brainchild of the Masons.

The second documentary spent its first hour and forty-seven minutes trying to convince the audience that the Knight's Templar came to America before Columbus, and that they could have hidden the Holy Grail in America somewhere. They even propose that Columbus was either a member or very close to members of the Knights of Christ, allegedly an offshoot of the banished Templar, and that his journey to the Americas was actually not in search of the Indies, but was actually in search of the Templar treasure, and the grail.

Then, in the final moments of a four hour conspiratorial epic, they reveal that, perhaps, the "Sacred Cup" is actually "Sacred Geometry" (allegedly, according to them, part of both the Templar and the Freemasonry), or more broadly, "Sacred Knowledge;" and that their overall goal was to create a new Jerusalem, or a new world order. Did I mention that in the first documentary they tried to prove the Freemasonry founded America, sometimes called Novus Ordo Seclorum?

The final theory proposed, which it would appear is actually their synthesis of the data, and is absolutely the final thought the documentaries leave you with, is that America, as a nation, is the fulfilment of the "Sacred Knowledge," the "Holy Grail" of the Templar treasure. Congratulations America, you're the cup of Christ.

They actually propose that the Templar/Masons fulfilled their goal of nearly six hundred years by discovering and then founding their nation, our United States, using some "Sacred Knowledge" from ancient Egypt and Israel, and even God Himself.

I cannot in my brightest moment imagine a more narcissistic conclusion to the grail legend, the Templar:Masonic conspiracy, and the Masonic:American conspiracy.

While I disagree with a lot of the statements they make about the Masons, and question their scholarship across the board, proposing something that makes "The Holy Grail" and "The American Dream" one and the same seems absolutely hysterical.

What struck me even more was that nobody else noticed. I didn't watch this with a group or anything like that, but in my head I went "Did nobody in the production team go 'Hey guys, don't ya think this is kind of, well, weird?' !"

Anyway- just a random rant about the narcissism of our culture. Thought y'all might enjoy it!

In other news, three great things happened to me today: I woke to an e-mail informing me of my acceptance into Reformed Theological Seminary's Master of Arts in Religion program. Then, late this afternoon, I learned of a secret plot by a secret organisation to bring wonderful blessed holy riches and beverages to God's chosen people on the holy hill. My day closed with the discovery that my brand new copy of The Complete Works of Plato shipped today. I'm on top of the world!

Goodnight, and good luck.

-R.T.

Dr. Peter Kreeft on "The Shaking"

2010-01-01T12:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday on my drive down from Illinois to Georgia, I listened to several lectures, including a lecture by Catholic apologist (and former Dutch Calvinist) and Philosophy professor at Boston College, Dr. Peter Kreeft. The lecture was called Beauty, and it was about beauty in art. During the Q&A a Baptist-turned-Catholic asked him something (it was hard to hear). It must have had to do with the beauty of gregorian chant, because the response included the following quotation, which I liked very much:

"By the way, gregorian chant is now immensely popular among non-Catholics. Catholics still don't like it that much. Go figure. The theology of the body is making leaps and bounds among Protestants; almost more than among Catholics. The pro-life movement is making more gains among Protestants than among Catholics. The realisation that contraception is unnatural is making immense gains among Protestants, more so than among Catholics. What's happening? Well, God's shaking us up! Who knows what's going to come out of the shaking!"

Great Quotation

2009-11-29T21:21:00.001-05:00

“The contemporary world needs hope above all; this is true for developing peoples but especially for developed peoples. Increasingly, we realise that we are in the same boat and that we can save ourselves together. With the collapse of so many false certainties, we are becoming especially aware of how we need reliable hope and that this is found only in Christ, who according to the Letter to the Hebrews Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (13:8). The Lord Jesus came in the past, comes in the present, and shall come in the future. He embraces all of time’s dimensions. Because he died and rose, he is the ‘Living’, and whilst he shared our human precariousness, he is always there, offering us God’s stability. He is “flesh” like us, and “rock” like God. Anyone who yearns for freedom, justice, and peace can stand erect and raise his head because in Christ redemption is at hand (cf Lk, 21:28).”

- Pope Benedict XVI, at today's Angelus

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2009/11/hope-and-healing.html

I used to blog.

2009-11-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

I think I may have reached the stage where I have to say "I used to blog." I haven't posted in ages, and the last two posts were very brief.

I've been doing a lot more reading lately than before, that's probably a good thing. It's mostly been blogs and news articles that I've been reading, especially about the ecumenical developments of Catholics and Anglicans, and the new Apostolic Constitution. If you want to read what I've been reading, check out the Google reader feed here.

In other news, since I dropped Biblical Studies major to a minor, and dropped my Greek minor, I am graduating early: In 27 days. On December 18, Lord willing, I'll don that robe and red tassel, I'll walk across that stage, and they'll hand be that piece of paper. Three and an half years of work, culminating in a thirty second walk. Somewhat anti-climactic, but hey- that paper says "YOU'RE FREE" in big, bold letters.

It's kind of weird: I have two oral exams, two presentations, four daily work assignments, two five page papers, a fifteen page paper, and two mini-papers (1-2 pages each). Other than that, I'm done with college.

Wedding planning is going alright. I don't think it's supposed to be that much fun for the guy, but I'm excited. Only 140 days until we get married! Looks like the wedding will be at Westminster, our church here in Dayton.

Tomorrow I am heading to Chatt to pick up my old roommate, Nick, and we're hanging out for Thanksgiving break. I'll be trying to finish almost all of the aforementioned work while I'm home, so that I can just hang out with friends and stuff until School ends. Oh yeah, and pack up my stuff because I'll probably have to move.

Which brings me to my next point: Job. As of right now there aren't any job openings at Bryan, so it looks like I'll probably be moving home to Georgia until the summer (Bryan generally does there job cycling in the summer). Which will make wedding planning very interesting: Neither myself, Maribeth, or any of our family members will live within five hours of where we're having our wedding.

In other news, I just saw Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day. It's the sequel to my favourite movie, Boondock Saints. It was incredible! If you're not familiar with the first movie, it's about two Irish-Catholic Bontonian twins that become vigilantes after being attacked by Russian mobsters. The second movie is even better.

Speaking of Catholics, my good friend Mowery posts daily quotes, and some of them are pretty great. Some of them are lame, because he's Catholic. Check out his blog: You can get there by clicking on his name, either here or in the right hand menu of blogs.

My good friend Kat, who plays soccer at Bryan, partially tore her ACL during the championship game for our conference, against Union. We lost, which added insult to injury. Anyway, be praying for her. She has another season of playing left, but a torn ACL can be a career ending injury for a soccer player.

My good friends, the Cowboys, are having a baby. Well, technically she is, but it's their baby. The baby is due in less than three weeks. I'm betting it'll be born on my birthday (5 December)! And no matter what they say, I'm calling him "lil' Joe," because it's awesome. Anyway, be praying for them, and especially lil' Joe.

Other than that there isn't much going on. But for those interested, my Birthday/Christmas list is on Amazon, as always. Just go here: Amazon Wishlists.

Yeah, I guess I'll be around. I may post over Thanksgiving.

Ciao!

-R.T.

Engagement!

2009-10-15T17:30:00.001-04:00

Maribeth and I have been together ten months; and we've been engaged three days. Yep. I'm engaged...

Life's been crazy. I'm up in Rockford with Maribeth for Fall break.

If you want to hear her story of how I proposed, check out: The Story...

We're already registered at Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target.

We're planning to have a small wedding in April.

I'll update with more news as it becomes available.

Computer Programs

2009-07-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

This post is pointless, almost.

I use a lot of freeware programs to keep my computer running well. This is the great blight of Windows. I ran Linux for awhile, and loved it. But Windows is just more practical for day-to-day use. As for Mac lovers, well, for the price difference, one can afford enough extra ram and hard drive space to run a few background programs to keep viruses and adware off of their Windows machine to make the alleged security of a Mac pointless, and still save money.

So I am creating this post to send to people who ask me for computer help...

Here’s the list and download links:

- Use this for your browser, instead of Internet Explorer (this is safer) Download Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 - FileHippo.com

- This program defragments your computer quicker than Windows Defrafmenter, and can be set to do so on a schedule (weekly is a good frequency): Download Defraggler 1.10.143 - FileHippo.com

- This program cleans all the crap out of your computer, like the recycle bin, cookies, and temporary folders—it’s a lifesaver: Download CCleaner 2.19.901 - FileHippo.com

- This is a great, free, schedulable antivirus program: Download AntiVir Personal 9.0.0.394 - FileHippo.com

- Comodo is a great free firewall, highly recommended: Download Comodo Firewall 3.0.25.378 - FileHippo.com

- This is a great anti-adware program: Download Ad-Aware 2009 8.0.0.0 - FileHippo.com

- And this is a scan-style anti-spyware/adware program: Download Spybot Search & Destroy 1.6.2 - FileHippo.com

These programs are programs that I use all the time… I have Comodo, AdAware, Antivir all running in the background all the time. I have Defraggler set to run daily, and I have Spybot and AntiVir update and run system scans daily. I only use Firefox as my browser, and I have CCleaner set to run when I start my computer. AntiVir shuts my computer down after it’s done doing an antivirus scan every morning around 4AM (the last of the scans that I do), so when I boot up in the morning, CCleaner runs, and everything has been run, checked, defragmented, and cleaned between when I went to bed, and when I start using my computer in the morning.

The Saddest Day of Summer

2009-07-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

I would apologize for not posting in ages, but I think I'm over apologizing for how I conduct my own blog. Besides, I've done that too many times anyway.

So let's see... Since I last posted a lot has happened...

I worked for the first three weeks of June, and also did school since I'm taking three summer tutorials. The fourth week of June I went to Precept Ministries for boot camp staff orientation. I staffed boot camp as a team leader, which lasted from then until July 2. We had that Friday off from work, so that weekend I just chilled and hung out with the guys.

I had four days of work from the 6th through the 9th, when Maribeth (my girlfriend) came in town. The next morning we left for Savannah- My sister got married on the 11th, and then we headed down to Tybee Island with my Mom's extended family, for our yearly beach week.

After that, Maribeth came back up here for another week, to work out paperwork with Bryan since she's not coming back to school this fall. She's going to take a year off, since her family is trying to move down here, and she wants to be able to help with that process. Plus, once they move, she won't have to pay room and board.

She left today. Hence the title of the post.

In the time since my last post, a few other things have happened: I decided not to double major/double minor. Instead, I'm attempting to keep my original major, Christian Ministry, with the youth ministry option, and keep my minor of Christian Leadership, but to drop my Greek minor, and drop my Biblical Studies major to a minor. Which means I have no thesis...

Now I'm a Christian Ministry Major with a double minor is Christian Leadership and Biblical Studies. And I'll graduate in December, a semester early, Lord willing.

So now I've just got a lot of paperwork to go through, some signatures to acquire, some convincing to do... The usual stuff. And several papers to write for my summer tutorials.

Now for a story:
Back in June, Cowboy, Conner, Ryan (a new guy in the maintenance department where I work), and I were assigned to clean hair out of wheels. Someone had the bright idea to put rolling chairs in the new girls' dorm three years ago, but after three years of use, the wheels wouldn't turn. Women are unlike poodles- they shed.

While we were carrying out this tedious assignment, which took us two weeks of work, working four to eight people at a time, Cowboy got a phone call from his wife, who works on campus as well, who had just gotten information on a house that was for sale, a very good deal.

This got me thinking- with the tax refund, and the market where it is, I could afford a house! I'd been house-hunting for Maribeth's family for a couple of months, ever since they decided to move, so I already knew the market, the neighborhoods, and some realtors names... So I'm now house-hunting, for me, and have been for awhile.

I've had a couple that I really liked that went under contract right before I made an offer, and I had one that I really liked, but it didn't have but one bathroom, and all of the appliances needed updating desperately (the bathroom did too...), and the price was too high for that stuff, so I passed on it.

I found another, that I loved, and it had a fabulous view, but when I called my realtor and asked her about it, she told me it was built by Fridell, which basically means it probably isn't fit to live in, even though it's under five years old.

So I'm still looking.

That about covers it... At least for the important stuff. I'll try to blog again in a somewhat timely manner... Which means "When I get good and doggone ready!"

-R.T.

Islamic Scholars: Are they really scholars?

2009-05-13T13:20:00.005-04:00

I don't now whether this reflects on Muslims or Egyptians, but an Egyptian Islamic scholar claims that pigs descended from the Jews that Allah turned into pigs. Which, in his opinion, is why we need to kill all the pigs. How can you kill all the Jews if you don't kill all the pigs?

WHAT?! Allah turned Jews into pigs? Right- that's scholarly.

I'm not one to make fun of people, or their beliefs, but I laughed my way through the article I read on it. I got it from an e-mail sent to me by Palestinian Media Watch, an organization that watches Palestinian and Arab media for anti-Israeli and anti-American propaganda.

The link to the article is here. Currently the link is broken because the page has yet to be created, but it should be up sometime today- it's today's bulletin.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

The following is the transcript from Al-Moheet Arab News Network:
"CAIRO -- Sheikh Ahmed Ali Othman, supervisor of the Da'awa [Islamic Indoctrination] of the Egyptian Waqf [Islamic Holy places], has issued a Religious Ruling (Fatwa) that pigs in our time have their origins in Jews who angered Allah, such that He turned them into monkeys, pigs, and Satan-worshippers, and it is obligatory to kill and slaughter them [the pigs].

Othman based his ruling on the respected Quranic verse, 'Say [to the People of the Book - Jews and Christians], Come and I shall make known to you who receives the worst retribution of all from Allah: those whom Allah has cursed and upon whom He has poured His wrath, whom He has made into monkeys and pigs, and who have served abominations. Their place is worst of all, and their deviation is the greatest of all...' (Quran, sura 5, verse 60)

I just thought that was preposterous, and that you guys might enjoy it.

I promise to start blogging regularly again soon. I've been busy, but it's about to slow down significantly.

-R.T.

Ways to establish legitimacy in the west:

Tell everyone that pigs descended from the Jews

Firefighting and School Work

2009-04-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys!

As many of you know, I got accepted to be a volunteer firefighter in the DFD, our fire department. This week I've been catching up on training I missed over the weekend. I have training every weekend until mid-May.

I've also had a couple of papers due this week, along with other school.

All that to say, I didn't write a post for today, other than this. I won't have one for tomorrow, and I think I'm going to take next week off as well.

So yeah, another week-long hiatus. Yay!

-R.T.

Book Review: Faith, Form, and Time - By Dr. Kurt P. Wise

2009-04-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Dr. Kurt P. Wise is often considered the authority on origins research in Christendom today. His work with Precept Ministries International, namely, the Genesis study co-written by Dr. Wise and Mrs. Kay Arthur, have made him a respected figure in the interpretation of Genesis in conservative Christian circles.

While maintaining a very strong reputation in Christian circles, Dr. Wise’s work has earned him an equally vivid reputation in the scientific community, though probably much less positive given the generally atheistic community of scientists in the field. Doctor Wise and his work was discussed by biologist Richard Dawkins, in his infamous work, The God Delusion.

While many atheists reject the theory of young-earth creationism to which Dr. Wise adheres, and for which he is a primary advocate, they still respect him as a well educated scientist, which a background in paleontology and an M.A. and a Ph.D., both from Harvard. And because of this respect, Dr. Wise is able to dialogue with atheistic biologists about the origin of the universe in a way a less educated or less articulate person would never be able to do.

Therefore, in the scientific community, Dr. Wise is the chief herald of Christianity, a Biblical worldview, the authority of God’s Word, and a regular hermeneutic in interpreting It. Because of this regular hermeneutic, meaning that he takes things literally according to their context and genre, he holds to a very strictly literal interpretation of Genesis, and believes it to be inerrant truth, inspired by God, and the only “eyewitness” account of the creation of the universe.

The following sections are a summary of the book, and what I thought of the book namely, its strengths, and a conclusion.

Summary

The book is divided into five main parts: Part 1: God’s Word on the Matter; Part 2: The Dating Game; Part 3: Creation Week; Part 4: From the Garden to the Grave; and Part 5: from Noah to the New Earth. Each of these parts is divided into individual chapters, and those into subsections, but there is no need to list them all here.

Part 1 deals with God. Wise very openly tells the reader that he believes in God, and he makes no apologies for his Christianity. This book is not written as a biology textbook, but rather as a Christian look at the tough issues of origins that Christians had, in the past, been either too ignorant or too timid to answer. Wise is answering those questions, starting at the beginning: “In the beginning, God created…”

That is the crux of the matter. God did create, and as the only eyewitness to the creation account, what He says in His Word is the supreme authority for all things related to the origin of the universe. If God says it in His Word, and God is perfect and immutable, then so must be what He says truth is. If God says that the world was created in six days, that must be what He meant, and since He is infallible, that must be the truth of the matter.

In Part 1 Dr. Wise also addresses the reasons for Christians to study science; some of the reasons apply only to believers, while others apply to atheists and the like as well. He walks the reader through the logical process of general revelation: If God has revealed Himself in His creation, which He claims to have done in Romans 1, then we should study creation to better understand God. And since creation is revealing God, we should study His word to better understand creation. And when one conflicts, we must assume our flawed mind is misunderstanding something, usually something to do with the physical world.

He also calls us back to the traditional way of interpreting the disciplines: Through theology and philosophy. I’ve often said that Theology is the father, philosophy is the mother, history the elder brother, and linguistics the godfather, and from these come all disciplines. Dr. Wise’s conclusions here are not too far from that saying. He calls Christianity back to a stance of interpreting all things through our theology and philosophy, both of which are crafted from a biblical understanding of reality.

Part 2 deals with the issues of dating. Wise makes the greatest point I’ve ever heard on the biblical understanding of the age of creation in the opening lines of this section: “There is no doubt that God knows exactly how old everything is. There is also no doubt that if He chose to tell us how old things are, He would tell the truth. If such information was revealed in His Word, the nature of God would guarantee the accuracy of the information...” This is the outworking of Dr. Wise’s clear-cut, straightforward, regular hermeneutic at work in his views. It also shows his respect for the immutable, perfect, and divine nature of the God of the Scriptures.

He continues to work the idea that a regular hermeneutic, which is paramount and essential to the understanding of the Scriptures for all Christian doctrine, is incredibly clear in the fact that the age of the earth is something like six-thousand years, rather than the old-age theories ascribed to by most of modern science—secular and Christian alike. Basically, Dr. Wise makes it sound like a good Christian who is consistent in their approach to Scripture cannot believe in old-age creationism or secular origins theories without being inconsistent. At the end of the day, he calls Christians to believe the Bible at all costs, and to assume the science must be off somehow, because the Bible isn’t.

Wise also covers how radiometric dating, sometimes called carbon dating, works, and how atheistic scientists interpret radiometric dates. He explains how, using a Christian worldview, a regular hermeneutic, and considering the biblical account of the flood, one could reinterpret the scientific data in such a way to make the two completely compatible. Though this is possible in theory alone, due to the fact that flood circumstances cannot be replicated today, the theory is quite sound. But given the fact that we’ve recently covered this topic in class, and I’m limited on space, I’ll forgo it, and move on.

In Part 3 Dr. Wise deals with the biblical account of the creation week. He deals with how creation is ordered, the importance of natural laws, and how God has designed creation in such a way that it is evidence of His very nature. Wise goes on to recognize a key tenant of the Christian worldview: God created the earth for man, and man for the earth. As the Westminster Confession of Faith’s Shorter Catechism says in the answer to question 1, “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.” By enjoy it means the traditional meaning, to bring joy to someone. Our purpose is to glorify God and cause Him joy. We do this on earth, and God created the earth as our platform, our stage if you will, upon which to act out our existence to His glory and for His joy. As you can see, the belief that the earth is our stage and we’re to have dominion and rule—to manage and steward—goes against the grain of modern environmentalist thinking. Wise doesn’t dive into that here, but he touched on the tenant that is the cause for the Christian view of the environment.

Wise then covers the nature of genetics, and how things are created after their own kind, and what that means and looks like. I still don’t think I really get it, in the sense that some of the people in our class do, but this book helped to sum up, outline, and explain the relatedness and implications of the nature of DNA, genetics, and how microevolution is involved in this process. I’m still very confused, but I definitely am far more able to see the big picture now than I was before reading Faith, Form, and Time.

He then goes on to talk about Man, and how we are a special creation, the Imago Dei, what that means, and the importance of it. He talks about the cultural mandate, which he calls the dominion mandate—which I believe is a more appropriate term—and how we are to be the little-kings, representing God, and doing His work of filling and forming the creation. This is something I’ve been preaching for a year or so now, so I found his scientific take to be very interesting and helpful. Dr. Wise also shows some differences between us and the rest of creation: we have a culture, a mature language, and are the only beings endowed with souls.

The rest of the book can be summed up by saying that he walks through the scientific and theological implications of the Biblical account of the time between creation and the fall, the fall and the flood, the flood and Abraham, and from there where time will take us—a sort of scientific interpretation of the metanarrative (creation, sin, captivity, redemption), including an eschatology.

I also love that the last chapter includes an invitation to be saved. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Wise and his family, and it is just so true to form. For the brilliance of his mind, and articulateness of his tongue, and the wisdom of his soul, he is incredibly humble and loving—something severely lacked, by theologians and scientists alike.

Strengths

I found this book incredibly helpful, for a plethora of reasons, here are a few:

First, this book used plain language to explain very complex ideas. This is something I could give to a bright high-schooler in the youth group in which I minister and not be worried that it would be over their head. At the same time, I could give it to a doctoral candidate friend of mine and know that he would have plenty to wrestle with and work through, that he would learn much, and not be disappointed.

Second, I found it to be concise—only the important stuff on the topic. He covered it thoroughly, and he covered the tough issues of origin studies, but he wasn’t wordy, and he didn’t write like it was a commentary for the ten percent of theologians atop the totem pole, or that upper echelon of scientists who we lesser humans cannot communicate with.

Third, I felt it was the summing up of everything we study in Biological Origins. This is a resource I can come back to later in life, as a sort of refresher of our course. I feel like this is the “Cliff’s Notes” of our Biological Origins curriculum, and that it is something that I will use for a very long time, as I interact with students and adults who struggle with where, when, and from whom all things came into being. This is my new go-to book for them.

Conclusion

I must say, given the strengths listed above, and the numerous strengths omitted for the sake of time and space, this book is a new favorite in my nonfiction library.

Given the relevance of the issues it addresses, the volatility of the state of Christianity in regards to hermeneutics, and the importance of the issue of origin in our experientially minded culture, this book is something every Christian needs to read. It’s the basic apologetic for the biblical account of creation.

I’ll be asking my parents to read Faith, Form, and Time, and then asking them to make my siblings which they homeschool to read it for science next year. I’ll be recommending it to my pastor back home, and to my old youth pastor.

Any Christian who might ever encounter an educated atheist and need to address the struggles and issues they have with Christianity needs the tools found in this book at their disposal. It’s simply a must for every Christian library.

Thesis Topic: John's Use of the Old Testament in the Gospel According to John

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

That's right! Though it isn't due for over eleven months, I've chosen my thesis topic.

Not only that, I've developed a growing list of source material!

I posted a link to it on the right hand side of my blog, under the "My Pages" heading, but you could just click here: Resources for Thesis.

That list is not complete, as it does not include my personal library, which includes the Keener's Commentaries on John, IVP Bible Dictionary Series, Calvin's Commentaries, the Bible Word Study Dictionary Series, and other such works.

Feel free to post your thoughts on the topic, any suggestions you have, and any other resources you think I should look into.

The Gospel according to Facebook

2009-04-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

My friend Ben S. posted this, it's a really interesting Facebook style depiction of the passion week: http://canter.s437.sureserver.com/fbp/facebookpassion.pdf

Be sure to check that out.

Have a fabulous Easter.

Labels

2009-04-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

Being in youth ministry, I read a lot of books and stuff about youth ministry. One of the guys who is a leading guru in the field is Marko Ostreicher, president of Youth Specialties, who wrote the best book I've ever read on the topic (Youth Ministry 3.0). I read Marko's blog. And the other day he posted this video:

I thought y'all might like it. I thought it was pretty good.

Simply Grey

2009-04-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

First article this week that doesn't have a video (it's okay, there's a video on Friday).

I read this article last week, and I thought I'd share it with you guys. Feel free to offer thoughts.

Incidentally, I believe my church definitely fits in the grey category.

Jonathan Dodson, courtesy of The Resurgence: Two Kinds of Simple Church, Part 1, and Two Kinds of Simple Church, Part 2.

Family: The Domestic Church

2009-04-06T07:00:00.005-04:00

Dr. Myers (Myers Institute, Passing the Baton, International) posted this link on his twitter the other day, and I found article three to be really interesting.

Renewed understanding among the laity of marriage and family. (Scroll down to the third article)

What do you guys think of calling the family, or even just a married couple, "the domestic church"?

Thoughts anyone?

Another friend, Emily H., posted this video on her facebook awhile back.

I thought it was pretty interesting - It reminded me that this is what family, the foundational unity of every society, was conducted for thousands of years. Only in the past century and an half have we deviated from this, and I find that somewhat saddening.

Thoughts on the video are welcome as well, and feel free to watch parts two through six as well. Oh, and I love that part two has the song "Personal Jesus," by Depeche Mode playing in the background (They sang it originally, Johnny Cash covered it, then Maralyn Manson covered it.), it's one of my favourite songs.

And to finish my triad of family related things in this post, I give you The Resurgence's "Great Books: Marriage & Family"

Enjoy!

-R.T.

"Microsoft Sustainability," and "I'm a PC" (Microsoft: Life Without Walls)

2009-04-04T18:00:00.003-04:00

I love Microsoft. And you should too.

My girlfriend is a Mac user, and I'm always trying to explain to her why Macs are inferior, but she is not easily swayed.

She doesn't want to do anything but write papers and browse the internet, so a Mac is fine for her.

For those of us who want to be able to do anything, there is Microsoft.

Southwest Airlines

2009-04-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday! Shabbat Shalom!

As is my Saturday tradition, I'm posting something random and fun.

This week it's a rap, by a flight attendant. Probably the best thing I've ever seen.

Major props to Southwest Airlines... This is legitimate.

Enjoy!

Mother Teresa and Spiritual Life

2009-04-03T07:00:00.003-04:00

Keeping with the theme of last Friday, we're going to consider Catholicism today.

A friend of mine, Mr. Walti, a missionary to Italy, shared this Time article with me: Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith.

What do you guys think about Mother Teresa's faith: Was she really a believer, or does her spiritual dryness and burnt out sentiments evidence a misplaced faith in her own ability to do good and the self-reliance of a pagan?

Song: "What You'll Have to Outrun"

2009-04-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

Last week a very close friend of mine, Cowboy_Christian, posted a song called "What You'll Have to Outrun."

The song came from an idea I had, and gave to him. I'm not a songwriter, but I get one line here and there and let Cowboy make it into a song. This has happened a few times during the last year, and this is one of the better ones.

The inspiration came out of a conversation he and I were having regarding the similarities between God's nature and Biblical manhood, as we read through Stu Weber's Tender Warrior. That same conversation turned into one about how the God of the Bible and the man of God both pursue their bride, and what that looks like.

Of course, given the nature of two cowboys, talking about Jesus and love, a song was a must.

To give you a little more background about us, Cowboy and I work together during the summers, and we go to school together during the year, and my girlfriend works with his wife, so yeah- we see each other a good bit.

I hope you guys enjoy the song! Ciao!

-R.T.

Favourite Quotations

2009-03-30T07:00:00.005-04:00

"The Welsh prey on their knees, and their neighbours.
The Scottish keep the sabbath, and anything else they can get their hands on.
The English are a self-made people, who worship their creator.
The Irish don't know what they believe, but they'll fight you to the death for it!" -Anonymous Englishman

"How fair and lovely is the hope which the Lord gave to the dead when He lay down like them beside them. Rise up and come forth and sing praise to Him who has raised you from destruction." - Syrian Orthodox Liturgy

"But for the grace of God, there go I." -John Bradford

"How shall we ever be able adequately to describe the happiness of that marriage which the Church arranges, the Sacrifice strengthens, upon which the blessing sets a seal, at which angels are present as witnesses, and to which the Father gives His concent?" -Tertullian, from TO HIS WIFE, Book 2, Chapter 9.

"O Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." - St. Augustine, "Confessions" 1.1.1

"There is not a square inch on the whole plain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not proclaim: 'This is Mine!' " -Abraham Kuyper

"The universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God." -The Belgic Confession, Article 2

"In Scripture, people are elected not to feel good but to do good. Salvation is a gift of sheer grace, which God intends to flow through saved persons and out to others." - Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Engaging God's World"

"I had rather see coming toward me a whole regiment with drawn swords, than one lone Calvinist convinced that he is doing the will of God." - Nocholas Wolterstoff, "Justice and Peace"

"My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." - Martin Luther, to Emperor Charles V, at the Diet of Worms in April 1521

"If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of all the undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and familiar are those who have never yet been introduced to Jesus Christ." - Oswald Chambers

"All truth is God’s truth. Whether the truth be force equals mass times acceleration, or the dates of World War I and II, God is Truth." - Arthur Holmes, Professor at Wheaton College

"The most incredible man the world has ever known is Jesus, and the most incredible word the world has ever known is grace." - Dr. Drew Randle, my friend, and professor of Christian Ministry at Bryan College

"A virtuous wife is not a barking chihuahua!" - Dave Ramsey, on women not nagging their husbands.

"We're all just looking for a standard we can rise above." - Matt Williams, regarding legalism within the Body.

"God's being very ninja like!" - Sarah Lane

"Whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to this: Great God, grant that twice two be not four." - Ivan Turgenev, novelist and playwright.

“God doesn't do stuff because it's right. It's right because God does it.” - Sam Spatola

Bible Translations

2009-03-30T07:00:00.004-04:00

Bible Translations, Favourite Quotations, and Layout Update

2009-03-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

Buon Giorno!

Since a little over a year ago, I've had some form of Bible Translations section on my blog. Most recently, they've been at the bottom, with annotations to what type of translation they are, divided by preferred and other.

In order to conserve space, and to be able to publish other links related to Bible Translation, I'm adding a category of posts, "Bible Translation."

I'm also creating a post with these lists of Bible translations, as well as articles related to the topic.This will be available in the Links list on the right, or here: Bible Translations (and Notes).

I'll basically be doing it with my favourite quotations as well: I'll post them in an hour or so, and posting a link in the My Pages section on the right, and deleting them from the main page of my blog. They will also be accessible here: Favourite Quotations.

I hope this minor shift in layout will help readers and others better use the resources available to them online, and better access my notes on various translations, not to mention my rather awesome collection of quotations.

Feel free to comment on those posts, which are going to be posted about an hour after this one, and ask me any questions you would like regarding translations and the quotations.

Also, the links to the pages that are currently in the sidebar menus, as well as the links to those pages in this post, will not actually work until the post goes up in an hour.

-R.T.

Youth Group Blog and Website

2009-03-28T07:00:00.003-04:00

This is what I was up to last week, that kept Wednesday's post so short:

WPC Youth Website

WPC Youth Blog

The blog already existed, but I redid it. The Website was basically like it is now, but I edited a few things.

The guys have been getting a lot of help from me, too, starting their blogs: M.J.G., and M.P.H.

I just thought I'd throw that out there...

Oh, and I updated some things on my blog as well- widened the reading area and changed the heading: R.T.'s Blog (for those of you on xanga or reading on RSS feeds and e-mails). It's enough change that you can almost call it a new look... I like it!

That's not all that kept me busy: two papers, an outline, and a project... It's crazy!

Have a great weekend!

St. Bernard's Abbey, A Benedictine Monastery

2009-03-27T07:00:00.009-04:00

As promised, here's the monastery post, on time.

This is the account of my visit to St. Bernard's Abbey, in Cullman, Alabama.

To give you some background:

St. Bernard's is of the Order of St. Benedict, which means they're Benedictine monks.
An abbey is a monastery ruled by an abbot.
I drove, M.J.G. and M.P.H. rode with me.
Aaron and Garret took Garret's truck, Aaron is actually the only Catholic in our group.

My Journal

Entry 1: Friday, March 20, 2009 - 10:17 PM
We arrived today around 4:30. We took our things to our rooms (properly called cells, which is what the monks here live in) and got oriented, which meant meeting Brother Benedict Dyar, our weekend's event coordinator. After being briefly showed around, we headed to the Abbey Church for the Vespers office and Friday Mass, which began at five.
After Mass and Vespers, we headed to supper. We ate fish, of course, and in silence. At the monastery, they always maintain an attitude of silence, eating supper in silence, and having complete silence from ten at night until after breakfast - except for during Matins and Lauds, the predawn and sunrise prayers (at 6 every morning). (Dinner was really good.)
From there we returned to the Abbey Church. Compline is the final prayer of the day, after which are a couple of hours of free-time before the "grand silence," at ten. During the free-time we had our first conference.
I found this conference extremely enlightening! The monks here ave a very good handle - better than most protestants - on filling and forming, redeeming the world, through work.Not only do they get the theology right: they nail the practicality! They say it should be based on an individual's giftings and calling - something I believe very strongly.
They not only have the proper theology of work, and the biblical practicality of work: They believe prayer to be preeminent to this process. Prayers - both talking and listening is paramount and central to Benedictine work and life. They practice it all - prayer, and work. And without being work-a-holics.
Each monk brings his own skills and giftings to the monastery, and they are incorporated into the life of the body - and into the work.
So far, the only things I've disagreed with are (a) prayer to Mary, which got old, though was far less than I had anticipated; (b) the prayer to St. Benedict and the other saints - but it is the anniversary and celebration of St. Benedict's death - and again, it was less than expected; and (c) the slight escapist nature of monastic life, though from the sound of things, that isn't really the case. Oh, and (d) the celibacy is a bit ridiculous.
I'm tired and it's nearly eleven - but I'll write about Benedictine poverty later.

Entry 1.b: Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 5:17 AM
On Monastic Poverty: Monks here own nothing; nothing in their own name, that is. They aren't impoverished, in the sense of lifestyle - they have nice clothes and eat good foot - but to the government they're homeless, and broke.
They live well, but communally, with most of their resources dedicated to mission and service - and all of their resources dedicated to the work of the Lord.

Entry 2: Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 7:10 AM
A prayer from the Hail Mary sheet in the Choir:

"Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord, Your grace into our hearts, that as we have known the incarnation of Christ, Your Son, by the message of an angel, so by His passion and cross we may be brought to the glory of His resurrection.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."

[A Note: The next two entries, numbers 3 and 4, are both just my notes from their respective conferences, not my thoughts on things. The goal of these is to let you experience things as I did, and the fifth and final entry is my commentary on the entire experience, rather than thoughts on these two. This is just how I decided to do this part.]

Entry 3: Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 8:15 AM
Monastic Liturgy Conference:
"choir" means the place in the church, and means prayer since that's where they pray.
Liturgy is designed to frame your day around prayer.
monastic daily life follows the natural life of the Sunrise and Sunset - the hinge hours of the birth and death of the day.
The Principal Hours of the day:

Sunrise - Lauds, meaning praise.
Sunset - Vespers, meaning evening.
Midday - Sext, meaning sixth (the sixth hour of the Roman day is noon).
Night - Compline, meaning completion.
Pre-dawn - Matins, the vigil, meaning vigilant anticipation of the Lord's coming.

Benedictine monks punctuate their day, using the hours (meaning the aforementioned times of prayer) to center the day around the Lord.
Ora et Labora = Pray and Work. they see them as together, not opposed, but both as all of life.
"Use the tools with which you work as the sacred vessels of the alter." - St. Benedict
Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus = That in all things, God be glorified. (U.I.O.G.D.)
Pax - The peace of a life of Ora et Labora and U.I.O.G.D.
Mass can be held in any of the hours, though the tradition required it to be held in the morning. Here at St. Bernard's they usually have Mass just before Vespers.

Prayer in Catholicism: Brother Monahan once said that Catholics prefer an athletic spirituality! "We pray, not only with our minds, but with our bodies."
"We face each other because we received salvation through a man, we live in community (plus it's practical)."
The orientation to the alter is to refocus and remind. [They occasionally face the alter for a line or two of liturgy, rather than across the choir as usual. The alter is where the sacred elements are kept.]

Singing is more physical and requires more sacrifice; it also shows devotion and belovedness, because singing shows love. i.e. Happy Birthday, National Anthem.
"Qui bene cantat, bi orat." - St. Augustine
"He who sings well, prays double."
To sing well, meaning from the heart, not a matter of expertise.
"Cantare amantis est." - St. Augustine
"To sing is for lovers."

Entry 4: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 1 PM - Brother Jacob O.S.B., who took his final and solemn vows that morning, not two hours before this conference.
Benedictine Rule Conference:

Part One: Prologue; summing up. The rest is a fleshing out of the prologue.

[A Note: The prologue was read. Here it is for you: "

LISTEN carefully, my child, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart (Prov. 4:20). Receive willingly and carry out effectively your loving father's advice, that by the labor of obedience you may return to Him from whom you had departed by the sloth of disobedience.

"To you, therefore, my words are now addressed, whoever you may be, who are renouncing your own will to do battle under the Lord Christ, the true King, and are taking up the strong, bright weapons of obedience.

"And first of all, whatever good work you begin to do, beg of Him with most earnest prayer to perfect it, that He who has now deigned to count us among His children may not at any time be grieved by our evil deeds. For we must always so serve Him with the good things He has given us, that He will never as an angry Father disinherit His children, nor ever as a dread Lord, provoked by our evil actions, deliver us to everlasting punishment as wicked servants who would not follow Him to glory."]

Idea of "rule," comes from the Greek "κυναν" ("kunan") meaning measure or law. Rule was written in the sixth century.

The Rule may be contextualized on small issues, but the essence of the Rule is relationship with God.

Synabite - monks that live together in community.

"Holiness comes from God - God makes us holy. Being a monk doesn't make us any holier, but it gives us an opportunity to become holy." - Brother Jacob [who gave this conference, and took his solemn vows that morning].

In the world, life is about identifying and resolving inner conflict. Monastic life is about balancing that conflict.

The Rule is not like the rule of law; It's not that legalistic. the flexibility allows the Rule to be personalized.

Vatican II called monks to return to the spirit of the Rule of their fathers.

The Rule is a guide.

The Abbot is subject to the Rule, and the Rule admonishes the Abbot.

The Benedictine Rule advocates and propagates a life of interdependence.

Entry 5: Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Summary and Conclusion:
Having had a few days to think about my experience at St. Bernard's, down in Cullman, Alabama, I wanted to write a summary of my experience of Catholic doctrine while I was there [referring to the above notes], and also why I'm not Catholic, even though I enjoyed it.

We ended up leaving the retreat early, because being really tired and uber serious, plus having to be quiet [a lot of the time, but nowhere near all of it], meant we were on the verge of cracking up a good bit of Saturday, plus M.J.G. began to feel rather ill.

I really enjoyed the trip overall, I would recommend it to anyone curious and able, and I'll probably go back.

But as for why I'd never join the monastery, or any other, and why I'd never be Catholic, let's take a look:

Celibacy; I don't see it as a biblical requirement for clergy, and I couldn't do it. Plus, I think Paul's words encouraging celibacy were spoken to a time when that was more effective in ministry, which is no longer the case - indeed, one might argue the opposite is true.
Perpetual virginity of Mary; There's just no biblical support for that, and why should it matter?
Praying to saints. Okay, I know they only ask the saints and Mary to pray for them, but talking to dead people is weird, and to my knowledge, is without biblical support.
Episcopal form of Government. As a Presbyterian, I believe groups of elders or overseers should rule, at every level, rather than one Abbot, one Priest, one Bishop, one Archbishop, and one Pope.
Though this only applies to the monastic life, Withdrawal from Culture and the World. The first year [Novitiate], a monk cannot leave the monastery, their second through fourth years [Juniorate] they can leave for a total of one week per year, and after their solemn vows, four years in, they can only leave for two weeks per year.

So I'm not Catholic, unless they change all that.

Fini.

Mark Driscoll interviews Matt Chandler

2009-03-25T07:00:00.002-04:00

I follow Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill Church, in Seattle) and The Resurgence on Twitter, and Mark and the rest of the staff are always posting links on Twitter for different things. A week ago, Mark posted a link to an interview he did with Matt Chandler, pastor at the Village Church, in Dallas.

These two men are both heroes of mine, and I admire what their doing. They basically the doctrinally sound voice in the emergent movement. They may not be all of it, but they're a big part of it. I'd love to work under either of these guys one day.

Check out the below video, which I stole from The Resurgence page on the interview. Enjoy!

-R.T.

You can watch or listen to the interview in the embedded media player below, or sign up for the podcast to get updates on all of the Resurgence media.

Return from Hiatus: A Personal Update

2009-03-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

I missed you guys. Okay not really- I was in Hawaii!

Anyway- Hawaii was amazing! We were there for seven days, my entire family, my sister's fiancée, and my girlfriend! It was really relaxing, and a ton of fun! If you'd like to see pictures, here is the public photo album.

Be sure to check those out.

After we got back from Hawaii, I spent all day Sunday unpacking, doing laundry, working on Greek for Monday, and catching up with friends.

Monday classes resumed, it was a good day, but busy. That evening I went to the youth group kick-off at my church! It was awesome... I'm really excited. I'm co-leading the youth group with a graduate of Bryan's Christian Ministry program, along with several support staff, and our parental overseer types. It's going to be awesome! I'm sure more posts will be forthcoming regarding the youth group.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's day. In case you didn't get the link when I posted it on Twitter, check out St. Patrick's Confessio. I had some guys over to my house, and we watched one of my favourite movies: Boondock Saints. Then we played some Settlers of Catan, which I love!

Later that night, my mom called, and asked me about the possibility of a summer trip: She wants to go to Italy again, just her and I since I know Italian and know my way around. I think I'm going to have to pass due to some other things coming up this summer.

Wednesday I accidentally overslept my alarm, and due to the six hour jetlag I was still feeling at that point, I missed all of my classes and woke up just before one. I decided, rather than going to lunch, to look at next semester's catalogue and work out my classes for this fall.

I think I've got a decent idea, depending on what all I can get as tutorials this summer. The schedule is now up on my Google Calendar (navigate to Septemer to see my schedule for the fall), as well as on my cell phone, iPod, and Outlook. It won't be finalized until around the end of the month, once I've talked to the registrar, my advisers, and preregister.

It looks like this summer I'll need to stay in Dayton: I need to take about twelve hours in tutorials, which means I'll need to work for Bryan again. I'm waiting to hear back about my job, and once I know for sure, I'll be making the arrangements. I'm really excited though! I'll get to stick around here with the youth group, and take Koine I and II, plus other tutorials.

Thursday I was pretty busy: I had to catch up on everything I missed on Wednesday. I also had to pack...

Friday I went to classes like normal, then left.

This past weekend I went to a monastery with Matt, Myles, Aaron M., and Garrett. It was legit! Friday's post will probably be my thoughts on that experience.

We got back late Saturday night. Sunday was fun: We went to church, then came back and ate, then translated Greek. Then I went to the youth ministry leadership team meeting, and after that to Chattanooga to hang out with some friends.

After we got back I hung out with Maribeth, and then went to bed.

I'll keep you guys in the loop, and be sure to check out Wednesday's post- it'll take a half hour or so, because it's a video- but I promise it is worth every second!

-R.T.

Hiatus and The Prisoner

2009-03-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys!

I've decided to take a hiatus, since I didn't want to write over break. It's only for a week- don't freak out.

This is my last post until the March 23.

I'll be back and in regular form then. I just wanted to make the most of my sabbath- I post a week or more in advance, so I'll be back writing while I'm on hiatus, and haven't been writing this week because I've been on vacation, in Hawaii!

Now for something completely different, to keep you busy: Many of you know that I'm a cult follower of the television show The Prisoner, from 1967. I actually own the entire season, and was more than enthusiastic about AMC's recent announcement that they'll be remaking the classic television show.

I recently forced on of my housemates and my girlfriend to watch the first episode with me. I don't think they appreciate the complexity and beauty of such a masterpiece-Their asininity is distasteful at times.

Anyway, I'm a student member of the Society of Biblical Literature, and in the most recent SBL newsletter I saw an article that more than caught my eye: ‘They’ve Given You a Number and Taken Away Your Name’: Gnostic Themes in The Prisoner, Television’s Ultimate Cult Classic. I thought you all might find it interesting, at least those of you who like the show. And for those who've never heard of it, it's some exposure.

While AMC is remaking it, their hosting all of the original episodes on their website: The Prisoner. That should give you plenty to do while I'm on hiatus.

Enjoy!
-R.T.

Jesus Heals the Man Blind from Birth - John 9:1-34

2009-03-13T07:00:00.012-04:00

Jesus Heals the Man Blind from Birth – John 9:1-34

Context

Immediate Scriptural Context

Here we will examine Jesus’ healing of the man blind from birth, as it is recounted in John’s Gospel, chapter 9. However, as with any of Jesus’ miracles, the first thing we must do is consider the context of the passage. A couple of chapters earlier, namely John 7, we find that it is the end of the festival for which Jesus is in Jerusalem. In the same passage, Jesus offers Himself as the living water: “On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, “From within him will flow rivers of living water.”’” (John 7:37-38, NET)

The next contextual point of interest is found late in the following chapter, continuing the conversation about Jesus’ divinity. In John 8:57-59, Jesus told the Pharisees that He was God—even more blatantly than the previous claim, and more blatantly than most others: “Then the Judeans replied, ‘You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!’ Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area.”

As you can see, this is more than most of the “εγο ειμι” statements that Jesus makes throughout the book of John—whether or not that is the central theme or not—because in this particular “I am” statement, He claims also to be in existence before Abraham’s birth, necessitating that this is a claim to divinity. This claim to divinity is greater even than the messianic expectations of the Jews at that time, expecting Messiah to be mortal.

The reaction of Jesus’ audience, especially the chief priests and Pharisees in 7:44-47, as well as the general public in 8:57—Judeans meaning those from the region of Judah, that which surrounds Jerusalem. This shows that Jesus was rejected, not only by the elite, but also, at least to some extent, by the populous. Keep in mind that this is all before the performance of healing the man blind from birth.

Cultural Context

Within the cultural context, first let us consider what blindness represented. Blindness and death were homologous in this culture at the time of Christ. It is also regarded as a punishment for sin, according to many Old Testament passages, including Genesis 19:11 (Kennard 36).

Blindness from birth was seen to be exceptionally debilitating, and therefore an more extreme case of both punishment for sin and similarity to death. To see a man healed with such an illness was considered an exceptional sign, even in the eastern mindset of second-temple Judaism during the first century. (Keener 776)

Because of this messianic expectation, this miracle demonstrates this period as the time of the Messiah, and consequently displays Jesus as Messiah, since in Isaiah 35:5 the cause for these events is the appearance of God. (Keener 776)

Based on the immediate nature of the passage—Jesus leaving the Temple and passing by, and given the fact that the pool of Siloam is near the Temple, one can safely infer that there is no break in events between chapters eight and nine.

The Talmud tells us that the pool of Siloam was one of the primary sources of water to be used during the proceedings of the Feast of Tabernacles, according to Sukkoth 4.9, (New Bible Dictionary, 1101). This is the feast Jesus and His disciples are attending, according to the early verses of John chapter 7.

Account of the Sign

Why is the man blind?

In John 9:2 Jesus’ disciples want to know who has sinned causing this man to be blind—which, incidentally, further enforces the aforementioned association of blindness with punishment for sin—the man or his parents, which shows the indwelt understanding of generational sin and punishment in second temple Jewish culture. I personally find this section of the account rather odd, as they are still very near the temple, where Jesus just had stones thrown at him by a mob—great or small—and they’re stopping for a morality lesson. I have found this to be quite perplexing.

The disciples, interestingly, jump to the conclusion that sin must have been the cause of this man’s ailment: either that of his parents, or his own sin. As John Calvin points out in his commentary on John:

“When the disciples, following the common opinion, put the question, what kind of sin it was that the God of heaven punished, as soon as this man was born, they do not speak so absurdly as when they ask if he sinned before he was born. And yet this question, absurd as it is, was drawn from a common opinion which at that time prevailed; for it is very evident from other passages of Scripture, that they believed in the transmigration (μετεμψυχωσις)...” (Calvin 365-66).

Jesus’ Answer

Proceeding, though, we see that Jesus does stop to answer their question: “Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him…’ ” (John 9:3, NET) He continues
His answer and returns to the “light of the world” imagery used in previous chapters, another theme John uses throughout his Gospel account.

The Spittle

After Jesus’ answer, He spits on the ground and makes mud. This action probably has some cultural significance related to medicinal uses in superstitious contexts, for example, spitting on people is a sign of wishing good fortune and protection for someone in some traditional Greek groups. Yes, just like in the movie Big Fat Greek Wedding.

After making this mud, Jesus applies it to the man’s eyes—which as modern science would clearly show would bring no healing to anyone’s eyes, partially because it is only dirt and spit, but primarily because blindness from birth is internal, not external, from a medicinal standpoint—and the man still can’t see. Surprise!

The Requirement of Faith

The reason, I believe, for the man’s inability to see after the mud is applied is because that requires no faith. Jesus then sends the man, to do something that would normally have no immediate medicinal benefit, other than maybe hygienic, and because the man obeys in faith, he can then see.

I believe, as Keener proposes (Keener, 781), that the primary significance of the pool points to this fact. The act of faith is necessary in many of Jesus’ miracles, and to walk through the streets, humiliated, blind, with mud on your eyes, just to wash in a glorified goldfish pond takes faith.

The Aftermath of the Sign: The Response of the Crowd

The Neighborly Response

As with many of Jesus’ miracles, the response of the bystanders is awe, disbelief, and speculation. Jesus and His disciples apparently waited for the man to return, because they are still present at the time of his return. Those around him are confused and awestruck. They want answers, (John 9:7-9). Thankfully, our friend the man reborn with sight is more than happy to oblige: “And he replied ‘The man called Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes and told me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” So I went and washed, and was able to see.’” (John 9:11, NET).

Notice the use of the word “man,” in verse 11. To the man who was healed, at this point, Jesus is still a man. As we continue, this view of Jesus will change.

Some of the disbelief and undertones of anger could be an immediate reaction to the fact that a man who had been begging is now whole, and if he has been whole this entire time, he has been begging for alms and receiving them undeservingly. This is pure speculation, but I would be upset if I had been in that situation.

Escalation of Belief and Unbelief

Immediately, in verse 12, the crowds want Jesus: “They said to him [the man who had been blind] ‘Where is that man?’ He replied, ‘I don’t know.’” (John 9:12, NET). So what do the Jews do? They take the man before the Pharisees.

In the following verses, the Pharisees question the man, and he recounts his tale. An interesting bit of dialogue that occurs during this account is that concerning healing on the Sabbath day. The initial reaction that “the man” who did the healing, namely Jesus, could not be from God because He healed on the Sabbath day, soon caused division. This always confused me, until we discussed it in class: During this period of second temple Judaism the Pharisees and other variety of orthodox Jews were unsure exactly what the stipulations of keeping the Sabbath meant (Exodus 20:8-10), and making mud would be something involved in the process of construction, i.e. mortar.

After the discussion had gotten out of hand, they decided to return to the source and ask the man who had been healed what he had to say about Jesus: “ ‘What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?’ ‘He is a prophet,’ the man replied.”

Notice that the man now calls Jesus a prophet—definitely a step above the label “man” he used the last time he told the story, back in verse 11; this significant development is one we should keep in mind as we continue through the passage.

The Testimony of the Man’s Parents

As would seem characteristic of the Pharisees, given the problems caused by Jesus divinity claims in chapters seven and eight, they continued to disbelieve that the man had actually been blind, until, they summoned his parents. After the parents arrive, the Pharisees proceed to interrogate them as well. The parents are not especially merciful, but they do tell the truth: their son had been blind from birth. They are honest, but timid. They refuse to back-up their son’s testimony. However, they do appeal to the Pharisees to consider his testimony concerning how he received sight, because he is a mature adult, (John 9:18-22a).

I find it particularly intriguing that the Jewish leaders had already decided to kick out anyone who professed Jesus to be the Messiah: “For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue,” (John 9:22b).

The Man is Summoned a Second Time

The Pharisees re-summoned the poor fellow, but seeing as how he had never been able to run places for his lack of sight, I have a feeling he did not mind jogging back to the meeting. Although, having been to Jerusalem, I would much rather be standing atop Zion, taking in the Holy City in all her glory—especially having never seen it before! What a place to regain your sight…

After the man arrived, they forced him to swear he was telling the truth, and claimed to know that Jesus had sinned. The man responds with a tone of honesty, of redemption, and of healing: “He replied, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing—that although I was blind, now I can see,’” (John 9:25, NET).

Then the Pharisees ask him to describe what Jesus had done that had given him sight, and his response is insulting, albeit funny, and in good form: “He answered, ‘I told you already and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You people don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?” (John 9:27, NET). The Pharisees take offense, of course, and hurl insults, calling him Jesus disciple—which apparently is an insult—and claiming that they are the disciples of Moses.

In his reply to the insults, he says quite plainly that we know God does not listen to sinners, only to the devout (which apparently means that they have a different definition for sinner than do we). He calls them to reason, asking when a man who was born blind has been given sight.

Notice that Jesus has moved from the status of “a man,” in verse eleven, to “a prophet’ in verse seventeen, to “from God” in verse thirty-three. Unfortunately I will not have time nor space to cover the verses after John 9:34, when the man gets kicked out for his response, but I would like to point out that the man promotes Jesus, yet again, to the status of κυριε (from: κυριος), meaning Lord, down in John 9:38.

God’s plan for this man’s life, Jesus compassion and sign, the man’s faith, and the persecution of the Pharisees lead this man to worship Jesus, the God-Man in John 9:38, finally recognizing His true divinity.

Bible

All Biblical references are from NET, as listed in Works Cited.

All paraphrases are my original work.

Works Cited

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries: The Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke; John 1-11. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 2005.

Holy Bible. New English Translation (NET), First Edition. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 1996.

Kennard, Dr. Douglas W. Messiah Jesus (Christology in His day and ours). New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2008.

Wood, Marshall, et. al. The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, USA, 1996.

Other Resources Used in Research

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing Co., 2005.

The UBS Greek New Testament: Reader's Edition. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesselschaft, 2007.

unChristian

2009-03-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading a book called unChristian, and I could just post my book review, but I'd rather have a discussion with you guys about the ideas dealt with in the book.

The research of the book is by the president of the Barna Group. The findings are that pretty much a third to half of people within the church, ages 18-29, and two thirds or more of people outside of the church in the same age group, find the church to be hypocritical, concerned only with making converts, antihomosexual, sheltered, and judgemental.

This is not what we're supposed to be about. We know that already.

And you can't really refute their research- they're the professionals, some of the best researchers in the country, and their findings were overwhelming and surprising even to them.

My question is this: What do we do now?

I want to hear your ideas on what the church should do to change these misconceptions of hypocracy and legalism.

I'm in Hawaii, so I probably won't be able to respond until next week.

Enjoy!
-R.T.

Urbana 09: Intervarsity's twenty-second student missions conference.

2009-03-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

St. Louis, Missouri
December 27-31, 2009

I attended Urbana 06. And it was awesome!

The conference is held at the Edward Jones Dome, where the Rams play. It's the largest gathering of international Christian students I've ever seen or heard of.

We sang songs in English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, French, and other languages. The book of the day, which is a misnomer because there are two books of the day every day, are amazing- things like Revolution in World Missions, Cross-Cultural Servanthood, The New Friars, and The Power of a City at Prayer.

I highly recommend attending. You will see things from around the world, you will meet people from around the world, and you will get a vision for missions around the world. You will see why America is fading from the forefront of Christianity, as churches are closing here they're being planted around the world, and multiplying like crazy. You will see how missions to the poor is important, but also how neglected Europe has been in our global missions efforts.

Enjoy the video- and prayerfully consider attending!

-R.T.

New Osteen Translation = NOT

2009-03-07T06:00:00.004-05:00

I read a lot of blogs and articles, or at least skim the headlines, via RSS feeds, on Google Reader (R.T.'s Google Reader Page) and recently, on my CT (Christianity Today) feed, I noticed this article: Osteens offer hope for today with new Bible.

GET YOURS TODAY!

Okay- Just kidding.

NOT buying that trash.

Any Bible with "HopePoints" needs to be un-published.

I'm a huge fan of the NLT, or New Living Translation (Second Edition). In fact, I recommend it (see "Preferred Translations" near the bottom (blog only).

I've talked to a friend of mine who gave lectures against the first edition, and now heralds the second as one of, if not the best, dynamic equivalence translation in our language. That friend, yeah he's worked for Wycliff for years, and teaches linguistics and Bible translation, etc.

I thought that was an hilarious article, because I think prosperity/health+wealth gospel preaching is wrong, I think the message is heretical, and I think it's a bunch of TV preacher hogwash.

Osteen's degree is in TV production anyway- he's good at putting on a show, but his message is anthropocentric, and therefore unbiblical.

But I thought y'all might enjoy that... I thought it was hilarious!

I'm on my way to Hawaii! I don't miss you, and I hope I don't hear from you. Ciao!

-R.T.

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

2009-03-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

First, I originally came across this video and then this video from my good friend Laura S., who is using them in her research for her senior thesis. This post is about the content and findings of the latter, which is embedded below.

Second, this post is a two hour commitment: The latter video itself is nearly two hours long, and without watching it, much of this post will probably not make sense. I will not at all be offended if you decide not to watch it for that reason.

Third, to give credit where it is due, the speaker in the below video, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., has authored a book, from which came the crux of the talk he gave at MIT (in the aforementioned video). To go to the website for his research, the book, and more information, check out The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo.

Fourth, I will do my best to keep the rest of this post, meaning my commentary, to a very brief coverage of the thoughts I had, which were far more extensive, even in the areas covered, and covered a far wider range than the issues I'll address. Now for the video:

*Warning: Explicit material (see below)*

Please ignore the brief use of vulgar language, and the instances of nudity (in the Abu Ghraib photos), and the biases against the former President and his administration, and against the war.

Now- His overall thesis that blames a faulty system and situation for the travesties of man is based on one fault in his foundation: Man is basically evil, while he contends that most of us are "good people."

The odd thing is that one of the primary things he found is that when people wear uniforms and masks, when they have "anonymity" (Greek: state of having no name/identity), they are capable of acting much more evil, especially when an authority tells them to. In Christian-ese we call this accountability, and how when it's gone, we (humans in general, not just Christians) can commit the most extreme of sins.

In my mind, that means his research actually makes the case for original sin, as much or more than for situational-causality of sin (meaning the situation causes a neutral or good person to do a bad thing).

I also found it interesting that he claimed that psychology is not excuse-ology, nor does he belittle the role and importance of personal responsibility. And he wilfully offered that psychology has not been dealing with evil like it should, and that he wants to tackle it like theologians and historians have been.

One major fallacy created by his belief in man and hatred of the corrupt system, is that the system and situation are created by men, whom he claims are basically good. As you can tell, this creates a problem, a paradox of sorts, and the reasoning is just too circular to stand on its own. But, if you introduce original sin, fallenness, and the influence of evil spiritual forces at work in the world, far more becomes feasable.

While I disagree with a lot of what he's saying, and many of his "blaming the system," I do think he has struck gold with seeing evil as evil, and trying to find ways to change people, things, and institutions that cause and facilitate evil.

"My work, and especially The Lucifer Effect, is a celebration of the human mind, and its infinite capacity to be selfish or caring, to be heroic or villainous, to be creative or destructive. The human mind can do anything: We can be Mother Theresa, or we can be Saddam Hussein; because anything that any human has done, we have the capability of doing it in that situation, in that setting." From the video, around 1:09:00-1:11:00.

He understands that we're made in the Imago Dei, and doesn't even realize it.

I hope you guys "enjoy" this post, as much as it can be enjoyed. I think it's important that we remember the words of Arthur Holmes: "All truth is God's Truth," even if it's in the form of a liberal and quarky psychologist, who has a heart set against evil in the world.

I am definitely interested in the discussion that will follow this post, but "unfortunately," I'll be in Hawaii this coming week, so I'll see how it goes when I get back.

-R.T.

The Great Illuminator

2009-03-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I posted on prayer, and in one of the comments to my friend This_Is_Important (on my xanga), I mentioned that I may post on the doctrine of illumination soon: For the sake of discussion, but also offering my view and why I hold the view that I do. That's what this post is about!

First: I do not at all discount the role of the Spirit with my view. In fact, I believe that my view emphasizes the role of Scripture and the role of the Spirit, simultaneously.

I tend to think that the Spirit works in our minds, sanctifying our theology that way- rather than rendering truth through the illumination of Scripture. I believe that Scripture also does this: The Spirit teaches, and the Scripture teaches, and if we misinterpret either of them in fallible minds, they can correct us. Either, one corrects the misunderstanding of the other, or they both do do the correcting, or the one misunderstood also corrects the misunderstanding.

But in general, I believe they sanctify our hearts and our minds somewhat independently. I don't believe the Spirit is necessary, especially for a believer, to understand Scripture. I also don't believe Scripture is necessary for one to hear from the Spirit. If the Scripture needs the Spirit to illumine it, then does that mean that the Scriptures are not sufficient to speak for themselves?

The Spirit is the one speaking when we read Scripture, because the Spirit wrote it. Why does it then also need to explain it? I have no doubt that the Spirit corrects my wrong belief, but most people who believe in illumination think of it as God speaking directly through Scripture, even if that message would not be true for another person reading this passage. I do not believe, and cannot accept, that the Spirit told you to do something because of a verse taken out of its context. That is precisely the practice that was used by the south to justify slavery, and goes directly against solid exegetical hermeneutics.

Oh, and how is it that most of the best commentary on the Old Testament is by Jews, if they don't have the Spirit?

When it comes to hermaneutics, either a passage says something, or it doesn't. The Spirit doesn't twist its own words to mean something else. If the Spirit wants to say something, it's more likely that He'll just say it, to your heart, than try to misquote His own words, meaning Scripture, in order speak.

I believe the Spirit teaches us, but I think its more like a teacher in college- Assuming you've already read the textbook He wrote, and lecturing through what you're supposed to do with the knowledge, or offering separate, supplemental knowledge to build on what Scripture says; rather than the teacher in first grade, who just tells you the truth, rather than expecting you to use your brain and work at it in order to find out for yourself.

I believe that this is the original idea of the doctrine of illumination. The modern idea of it is something that I think has been perverted into something that plays three things in our culture:
1. It plays to our microwave society, that wants instant gratification.
2. It's given to laziness: why study hard, or look up Greek/Hebrew words, when the Spirit is just going to reveal divine knowledge to me anyway?,
3. It works toward and within our individualistic western mindset: "This is what the Bible says, to me," is downright heresy, but a common phrase by those who push the doctrine of illumination. Either the Bible says it, or it doesn't. The Spirit may give you special direction, but the Bible says what It says- nothing else.

I don't deny the doctrine of illumination, I deny the doctrine of instant understanding, the doctrine of poor hermeneutic principle, and the doctrine of special revelation of Scripture by the Spirit.

I think that the Spirit has taught us different things, and that's a big way we can learn from each other. God does teach us through the reading of His Word, and through the time spent in meditational prayer with the Spirit. I think God does give us insights to what He is like, both in Scripture and in general revelation, through both of these practices- as well as the other spiritual disciplines.

May the discussion ensue!

-R.T.

Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers - Chap Clark

2009-03-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

This is a book review I wrote recently, of Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers, by Dr. Chap Clark. Yes, it was for a class, but y'all agreed to let me post papers! Oh wait, no you didn't, but many of you did ask for them. And y'all definitely don't have control over what I post. So deal.

Here it is, enjoy!

Book Review: Hurt – Chap Clark

Introduction

Chap Clark’s volume Hurt: inside the world of today’s teenagers is an interesting work, based on research, building on what others had done, that he conducted during a sabbatical. He spent months is preparation and in reflection, and in the actual research process he spent six-plus-months as a substitute teacher in an average all-American school in California, and then wrote Hurt. All of that to say, he did his homework.

Clark does not write for Christians, per se. Although his faith biases do come out in some of the things he presents, and in the motivation behind his work, as well as in the reasoning behind his solutions. While his book is well researched and well written, it is not devoid of its pitfalls, so let’s jump in!

Summary

Part one: the changing adolescent world, Clark deals with just that: the changing adolescent world. Clark claims that the world of today’s adolescent is drastically different from the world of past generations—to this we can all agree: The internet, social networking, higher stress as a culture, and other various factors have changed America, and therefore American adolescents face new and different challenges than those of yesteryear. But Clark claims that more than just the culture has changed. He claims that adolescence has, in itself, changed—on a fundamental level.

As we read in chapter 1, “This book contends that adolescence is a fundamentally different thing than it was even thirty years ago,” (Clark, 25). While his argument, that the rebellious teenagers of the past, like James Dean and the Fonz, were in the minority in their time, may indeed be true, it does not change the fact that this could still simply be a cultural phenomenon, and does not constitute the fundamental change he seems to be pressing. I also doubt severely that his findings really indicate a world that much different from our parents’.

Clark continues through part one talking about what adolescence looks like, trying to define it, and place it in the chronology of one’s life. I personally believe adolescence to be a cultural phenomenon, nearly completely, but I do agree that in today’s world, out of abandonment, young people have had to create their own subculture, attempting to avoid adulthood because their parents have done nothing to prepare them for the adult world and all of its intricate hostilities. But I think that he discounts the role that the expectations of a given family, subculture, or culture can put on a young person.

Personally I was expected to think, act as, and (in many ways, at least) be as responsible as an adult at the green age of thirteen—and this continued to increase. I suppose this is why most of my friends are generally a half-a-dozen years my senior; and I tend to find those my age to be rather immature and childish.

In part two: the landscape of the world beneath, Clark goes on to talk about peer clusters (*yawn*). I thought everyone knew that youth were tribal… Oh well. Anyway- he did have some useful insights. The rest of part two dealt with the other parts of the adolescent underworld: school, sports, family, sex, busyness and stress, ethics and morality, and the party scene.

All of that comes to a head, in my mind, regarding the maturational development of youth: while parents have the most influential role in the life of an adolescent, and significant adult comes in second, the third place influence of peer clusters is going to continue to rise, as our culture has created an environment of abandonment. If parents and significant adults are walking out on people when they hit twelve and can stay home alone, then they will influence each other and leave adult reason and aide out of their decision making and lifestyle development. And each man will do what is right in his own eyes. It will be a scary place the day peers pass their forerunners and take first place in the race of influence. We’re building a haunted house.

In part three: where do we go from here? Clark deals with the issue of the needs of midadolescents (the jargon term or buzzword that means high-schoolers), and how to meet those needs healthily and effectively, without compromising the culture or the needs. It’s a sticky, tricky, messy business.

Appendix A: Youth Ministry in a Changing World was also very helpful. He does a good job of tying the needs of an abandoned generation to how we should minister to youth. Well done.

Strengths

I love that it is well researched, and incredibly well ordered. He does a good job of organizing his thoughts in a way that they flow very naturally and logically. He doesn’t bounce from topic to topic, or throw random things in. It’s just straightforward.

Clark is also a very good writer—it was not a bunch of developmentalist hogwash or jargon, and it wasn’t a bunch of high handed academic talk. He was real, but not asinine or simplistic. He was articulate, clear, and well written. I’m impressed.

He dealt with the issues, thoroughly, and not arrogantly. He knew he wasn’t exhaustive, and he knows he’s basically doing heart surgery with a hatchet, because this is something that hasn’t happened, before and we’re all kind of clueless.

It was strong. While he didn’t pretend to know everything, he was clear that this was true of his research and experiences. It wasn’t that what he said was fact, but it’s hard to refute any of it…

The last strength I want to list is one of my biggest weaknesses for his book as well: It wasn’t written to the church. From the standpoint of redeeming culture, he’s done a great job of writing a good book on helping troubled youth from a Christian worldview, without being preachy or only writing for youth pastors. The other half will be covered below in the weaknesses.

Weaknesses

First and foremost, referring to the above, it was theologically and spiritually weak. There was virtually no biblical foundation for principles, practices, or conclusions. As Will and I said of Fowler: “There wasn’t enough Jesus in this book!”

He also relies very heavily on secular thinking, and doesn’t question it as heavily as I would have liked for him to. Even in a neutral work such as this, I think one could question the convention critically without being preachy.

My other issue is that he seems to push too strongly on the adolescent world of today being drastically, fundamentally, and totally different from the world of previous generations of adolescents. I just kept thinking of King Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes… How’s it go? There’s nothing new under the sun? Yeah- that sounds right. If that’s true, he can’t be totally right.

Implications

If we realize that the primary problem of today’s adolescent world, that would revolutionize youth ministry. Do three things, primarily:

First, it would motivate us to meet that need primarily, as the felt need that needs meeting. If we do this, in an incarnational-ministry sense, and start un-abandoning young people in Jesus’ name, they will come to Him because they will want what we have. So first it helps us reach lost young people.

Second, it helps us better minister to youth, as we know better how they feel, what they go through, and why they do the things they do.

And third, it reveals the problem. The above are primarily treating symptoms. The solution is Jesus, God’s Word, and the work of the Spirit, and while that does happen to youth, it doesn’t fix the abandonment problem. If this information is coupled with a family-based youth ministry model, and we’re teaching parents to un-abandon their children and their youth, we fix the primary problem adolescents have before it exists, or at least at its root. The Gospel is the answer to every problem, somehow. With troubled and abandoned adolescents, the primary way the Gospel solves their problems and meets their needs is by changing the lives of their parents.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a great book! I was very impressed. I’m going to lend this one out to the youth pastor back home, and to my parents as well. I think some of the valuable things in this book could go a long way in changing the face of youth ministry, making it relevant and essential (to steal from Thom Rainer (author of Essential Church)).

The weaknesses are primarily negligible, especially given the overall quality and the weight of the strengths, not to mention the implications for ministry, family, and the church. Yeah, it’s a buyer.

David after the Dentist

2009-02-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you guys have ever seen this video, but it's hilarious. It's of this kid, David, who just went to the dentist... He's all drugged up, and it's just hysterical.

I saw it at a leadership think-tank meeting I was at a few weeks back- I have no idea why, but they played it on one of the many monitors they had.

Enjoy!

-R.T.

Apple: Part II

2009-02-27T15:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.xkcd.com/527/

Enough said.

Oh, and I forgot one quote:

"How shall we ever be able adequately to describe the happiness of that marriage which the Church arranges, the Sacrifice strengthens, upon which the blessing sets a seal, at which angels are present as witnesses, and to which the Father gives His concent?" -Tertullian, from TO HIS WIFE, Book 2, Chapter 9.

Question, and Favorite Quotes

2009-02-27T06:00:00.005-05:00

It's been two full weeks since I rededicated my blog.

I have a question for you: How do you think it's going?

I want to make sure this is actually stuff you all want to read, or enjoy reading. I want to make sure this isn't just me talking and nobody listening.

So far what I've decided to do is to post relevant articles, sermons, discussions, and papers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and posting a fun something-or-other on Saturdays.

Is that a good plan? Is that a plan that is working?

And so you're not left hanging (since this is the extent of my Friday post this week), I'll throw you guys some of my favorite quotes!

I know my blog readers have access to most of them in the footer of the blog, but my xanga users haven't seen them in awhile...

Enjoy!

-R.T.

Favorite Quotes

"But for the grace of God, there go I." -John Bradford

"O Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." - St. Augustine, "Confessions" 1.1.1

"There is not a square inch on the whole plain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not proclaim: 'This is Mine!' " -Abraham Kuyper

"The universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God." -The Belgic Confession, Article 2

"I had rather see coming toward me a whole regiment with drawn swords, than one lone Calvinist convinced that he is doing the will of God." - Nocholas Wolterstoff, "Justice and Peace"

"All truth is God’s truth. Whether the truth be force equals mass times acceleration, or the dates of World War I and II, God is Truth." - Arthur Holmes, Professor at Wheaton College

"A virtuous wife is not a barking chihuahua!" - Dave Ramsey, on women not nagging their husbands.

"We're all just looking for a standard we can rise above." - Matt Williams, regarding legalism within the Body.

"God's being very ninja like!" - Sarah Lane

"Whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to this: Great God, grant that twice two be not four." - Ivan Turgenev, novelist and playwright.

“God doesn't do stuff because it's right. It's right because God does it.” - Sam Spatola

Apple: Personification of the Fall of Man, in a Company

2009-02-25T06:00:00.006-05:00

First- As you can see by the "My Pages" section (Blog: on the right, Xanga: on top), I'm now on Twitter! Check out my Twitter Profile, and you Twitter users, be sure to follow me! My status is imported to my google talk and AIM statuses, and I also have my current Twitter status on my facebook (status), my blog (right) and my xanga (top). I don't do things half way- I can update it and see my twitter-feed on my phone thanks to jtwitter!

Okay, so in the last several months, nearly a year, I've been drifting away from my Apple-loving roots. The more I think about it, the more I hate a closed-loop operating system, the lack of compatibility, the sheer nonexistence of anything user-controlled/customizable, and the overall dishonesty of Apple as a company.

I've always heard people joke around about how Apple has the symbol of the Fall as their logo, which is true: The apple with a bight missing is the symbol for the fall, regardless of what the fruit was actually like. I'm starting to see that maybe it's true.

They lie in their adverts, constantly. They make claims about Windows (negative) and about themselves (positive), that just simply are not true.

Apple computers, ipods, iphones, and the like are great for people that a: only want to be able to do three or four things, b: want to have the image of artistic ability (although there is absolutely no advantage of Mac/Apple over Windows in this area... NONE!), c: never want to learn to use a computer, or d: don't know how to use a real operating system, like Windows or Ubuntu.

Actually- the iphone is never a good deal. There are so many phones with superior ability, better service (at&t sucks...), customizability, and, oh yeah- you don't have to use a certain provider to use said phones!

Anyway, I was perusing some blogs recently, and I came across this from Donald Miller: How Apple Plays Upon Our Insecurities: Why Apple-Users Might be Fat Losers on the Inside.

I found it rather intriguing, and thought some of you dedicated (or monetarily poor) Windows users might find it encouraging. And maybe some of you agents of Satan, spreading chaos, disorder, sin, and Apple-ness around, might find it enlightening.

There's something unethical about selling substandard hardware set-ups for hundreds of dollars more than the competition, which is meeting the standards; and with telling someone they have more abilities, when in reality they have far less.

Just remember Apple-Users: If Steve Jobs says you don't need it, then you must not need it- because as we all know, Steve Jobs is the only person in the world who knows anything. If there's a business need you have, and Apple can't meet it (like tablet, media center, portability (the real kind)), then it's not a real need.

Sheesh.

Apple-Users make me angry, and there aren't even any around!

I'm gonna go eat some peaches, look out the windows of our cafeteria, and at my Windows 7 beta. Ciao!

Contemplating a Theology of Prayer

2009-02-23T06:00:00.008-05:00

We think of prayer as "us asking God for stuff," and usually that means actual stuff, or favours, and in the most holy of cases, for sanctification, wisdom, guidance, or the salvation of others.

We often define "prayer" as a conversation between us and God - though usually we talk, and rarely listen to what God has to say.

Usually we view intercessory prayer as us praying for favours, often in the form of healing or liberation, for other people.

I've been thinking about a theology of prayer; or a theological view on prayer; or my personal theological view on prayer; And I have a few propositions that may work somewhat contrary to these paradigms. Seeing as how this is my blog, I suppose that this is the fitting place to write about them.

Prayer should involve some asking, mostly for grace, but it should be mostly praising and thanking- at least for the part when we talk- and it is the best place to express anger, frustration, distrust, and depression, at, to, in, and because of God. Read the Psalms! God appreciates honesty.

Prayer is a conversation, but not like we usually do it. How does a child talk to a father, or a wife to her husband? It involves a lot of listening - eagerly, patiently. The God who spoke the universe into existence, and ex nihilo on top of that, also said "You, Christian, you are mine, and you are righteous." That same God has something to say to you. So listen!

If Jesus is our great high priest and mediator, who has the ear of the Most High God, and intercedes on our behalf; and if we are His Body, in Christ, seated with him in heavenly places, at God's right hand, woudl is not also serve to reason that since God sees Christ when He looks upon us, He might also hear the voice of Christ when He hears our prayers? Maybe when a man with a holy and godly heart prays earnestly to God, he hears taht prayer as from His Son, and Himself.

Maybe this is what the Word means when it says that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much; God's Spirit, in God's People, bought and sanctified by God's blood: reflecting God's nature back to God.

Bushisms

2009-02-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

No matter how awful CNN is, and no matter how politically motivated this video is, I love it.

I don't love it because it makes fun of Bush, I love it because it reminds me why I'm going to miss him, or at least part of why.

Enjoy a little tribute to our clumsy-tongued friend, W.

A Triune God - The Doctrine of the Trinity: A Biblical Case

2009-02-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

Wow, this is my third post this week!

This is the first paper that I'm posting. It's long, ten pages or more, printed in MLA format. So it's lengthy here too. It was my term paper for Christian Theology I, last semester.

Enjoy!

-R.T.

Preface

I didn't cover this well in my paper, so I wanted to fill you guys in. During the inter-testamental period, rabbinic teachings and the shift of second temple Judaism produced a belief, always held by a minority, but held by some until the second century AD, called the two-powers belief, or, as it was later called, the two-powers heresy. This was the view that God was two powers, a greater and a lesser, based on Genesis 18, the use of the plural "Elohim," and other Old Testament evidences of what we call Triune theology.

The eventual label of heresy was given to this view because it was too close to Christianity, so Judaism rejected it completely a century or two after Christ because it allowed for a smoother transition from Jew to Christian, and it made the two seem too similar, which the Jews disliked, quite intensely. Most Christians have never heard of this view, but it's definitely and interesting tidbit one comes across studying Christology, Triune theology, and Second-Temple Judaism.

Introduction

The following is made up of two parts: My argument for the correct view of the Trinity of God as outlined, described, and supported in Scripture, and the Scriptural support for that case. First, I will state the case for the doctrine of the Trinity as I believe it to be true, then deal with several passages I believe to support that view.

For the benefit of the reader, I will be using the terms “Triune theology,” and “the doctrine of the Trinity,” along with any similar terms to mean the belief itself. Many writers on this topic refer to “the Trinity” meaning the belief, but this would be akin to calling theism “God” and calling God “theism.” You do not call the belief and the being by the same name; therefore I will say “the Trinity” only when referring to God, not when referring to the belief that God is triune. However, when I write that an author or passage “articulates the Trinity” I mean to say that they are stating truths about God’s nature being triune.

A Statement of the Doctrine of the Trinity

I believe triune theology to mean the belief that the Godhead is a united being, comprised of three interdependent persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. They are co-equal, co-eternal, one and yet three. Each is God, but each one is neither of the others. They never contradict, work against, or conflict. They are three persons, equal, and of one nature.

This has been the view held by the Church since, at the very latest, the first council of Nicaea in AD 325, and I believe, based on the Scripture that supports it, since the time of Christ. There have been various heresies surrounding the nature of God as triune, particularly in regards to the nature of Christ. They have been addressed by various councils and synods for thousands of years, and have always been held by smaller fringe groups within the Church. The view I adhere to, and claim that Scripture supports, is what I believe to be the mainstream Christian view of God as triune held by the Church for nearly all of its history (Bercot, 651-656).

The two best historical articulations of triune theology are, in my opinion, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed.

The Nicene Creed is shorter, simpler, and contains only the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made…he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified…” (The Trinity Hymnal, 849-850)

The Athanasian creed came about much later, roughly the ninth century. The authorship is contested, and many deny the creed as worth anything since its author is unknown and it was originally written in Latin (Catholic Online). I find that reason to throw out something true and good to be insufficient. All truth is God’s truth, and if we do not know who wrote it but it is true, then it is still true. Here is a long excerpt from the Athanasian Creed:

“…We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father Uncreate, the Son Uncreate, and the Holy Ghost Uncreate. The Father Incomprehensible, the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible. The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Eternal and yet they are not Three Eternals but One Eternal. As also there are not Three Uncreated, nor Three Incomprehensibles, but One Uncreated, and One Uncomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty.

“So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords but One Lord. For, like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be Three Gods or Three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

“So there is One Father, not Three Fathers; one Son, not Three Sons; One Holy Ghost, not Three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore or after Other, None is greater or less than Another, but the whole Three Persons are Co-eternal together, and Co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity is Trinity, and the Trinity is Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.” (Catholic Online)

As you can see, these contain a good articulate definition of what we believe the Godhead, or Trinity, to be. It is, therefore, an accurate articulation of our beliefs.

Now that I have stated what I believe to be true, and given some of my historical reasons for believing as I do, let us dive into the Scripture behind triune theology.

The Old Testament and Jewish beliefs about God

As Christians it is important for us to remember that we are grafted into the Jewish faith (Romans 11). As such, what the Judaism taught in the first century is something we should spend a lot of our time studying. We should also spend a great deal of time studying God in the Old Testament, since that is how we know the context into which our Beloved Savior came, and what His world was like while a man on earth.

As for how Judaism sees the position Christians hold of Triune theology, they reject it entirely. They find it a direct contradiction to the oneness of God. If He is three, how can He be one? In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, known to Judaists as the Shemah, is the most important part of Jewish liturgy. It is a prayer given by Moses, and states in its opening line “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” The following lines tell Israel to bind this to their right hands, their foreheads and their doorposts. This is why Jewish homes and businesses often have a box on the right door post as you enter, known as a mezuzah—it usually contains the prayer in Hebrew. Jesus even cites this Himself as the most important commandment in Mark 12:29.

Being such an instrumental part of Jewish culture and thinking, the oneness of God is paramount. Therefore any dogma that started in the remotest way to take away the oneness of God was rejected by mainstream Judaism, and by the end of the first century the wall against that belief was fully constructed. It was considered a Christian belief, not a Jewish one. For a Jew belief that God is triune is as heretical sounding as if a Christian were to claim Jesus wasn’t a real man, and none of the Bible ever happened. We would find it absurd, and claim that the person adhering to such a belief is not a true believer in the doctrines of the Christian faith.

The Jewish rejection of triune theology is part of why they reject Christ, and it is to their extreme detriment. Just because they interpreted the Old Testament to contradict the doctrine of the Trinity does not mean they are correct. They also have strong evidence for triune theology in the Old Testament.

For instance, remember Genesis 1:1—when it says “In the beginning God created…” This is a riddle in Hebrew: God is plural, but the action of creating is singular, which would be considered improper grammar, for the point of emphasis. It is a plural noun with a singular verb, an example in English would be “We am.”

Consider also Genesis 15: God makes a covenant with Abraham. At that meeting a slain animal, split in two, is passed between by a blazing firepot and a flaming torch. Normally only the partakers of the covenant pass through the pieces of the slain animal, yet Abraham does not—only the beings represented by fire and fire. It could be interpreted, and is by many Christians, to be the Trinity: Slain Son, Father and Spirit passing through in a covenant of blood—all Three being One. Or consider Genesis 18:

Abraham sees three men and runs to meet them. He refers to them as “my lord” (note the singular). Then the storyteller, Moses, calls the one of them that is speaking to Abraham “LORD.” Meaning that these three, referred to as singular and acting as one, are in some way Yahweh the God of Abraham. Near the end of the chapter Abraham continues talking with the LORD and the men continue to Sodom and Gamorrah. At the beginning of Genesis 19 “the two angels arrived.” Then later on in the same chapter the LORD calls down fire from the LORD in heaven—a sort of “little Yahweh” talking to “big Yahweh” in heaven.

Overall, however, the oneness of God emphasized in the Old Testament gives us great insight in how unified they are, or how much they are one. This means that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all one. “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” While the Old Testament itself does not contradict the view of triune theology, and one could argue that in some cases supports it, the overall emphasis is on the unchanging, immutable, oneness, and unity of God.

Jesus’ view of God and the Spirit in the Gospels

The most obvious appearance of the Trinity in the Gospels, and possibly the most powerful in all of Scripture, is at the baptism of our Lord in Matthew 3, particularly just after He was baptized. In the final verses of the account God’s Word says “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ ” Here we have very clearly three divine beings: A Son, a Spirit, and a Voice.

Jesus Himself recognizes the Trinity and articulates it in the final words of Matthew's Gospel, known as the great commission, possibly the most world-changing words ever spoken: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Notice that “name” in this passage is singular. The commission is not to baptize in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in their name—singular.

Another Gospel passage that deals extensively with the nature of the Trinity is John 1. John is offering a solution to the riddle of Genesis 1 by saying “In the beginning…” and then explaining that the plurality was because the Word, which became flesh and dwelt among us that we may have life, was God and was with God. And it was the Light (John 1:1-14). This passage very clearly outlines that the Father and the Son are coeternal, coequal, and one in substance and nature. John even goes so far as to claim that the Son was involved in the creation to the point of being its origin—that nothing exists that doesn’t come through and from Him. That is very strong language to parallel the Son to the Father and make them equal and the same.

John deals more with this concept directly, including the Holy Spirit, in John 14:15-20:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you… Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

As you can clearly see, Jesus is saying that He and the Father are one, and the Spirit is going to be with us and in us. Spirit will come to us, and Jesus will come to us—which implies that Jesus is one with the Spirit.

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus continually makes the statement that he is. “I am…” He is making Himself equal with the Father, He is referencing Exodus 3:14, when God tells Moses that He is: “I am that I am,” or “I am who I am,” and to tell Israel “that I AM has sent you.” Jesus then tells His followers that He is: “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6). Consider John 13:19-20: “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” (Emphasis added) Note that Jesus refers to the one He will send, meaning the Spirit, and to the one who sent Him, meaning the Father. If you receive the Spirit you receive the Son, and whoever receives the Son receives the Father. This is a clear articulation of the tri-unity of the Godhead.

In Acts 2:32-33 we see this promise come to fruition: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” It seems clear that the Gospel writers were hearing Christ articulate the nature of the Trinity and promises surrounding it, and then saw it come to fruition at Pentecost.

The Epistles

Peter recognizes the Trinity as being one in the opening lines of his first letter, 1Peter 1:1-2: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

There are dozens of references in the New Testament that could be given for Paul’s belief in triune theology, but these two should suffice. First, in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, when speaking on the gifts of the Spirit, Paul has this to say: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” Paul is saying that any gift we have comes from the Godhead, any service we do is to the Godhead, and any action we are capable of taking is only by the empowerment of the Godhead.

Second, Paul recognizes the Trinity in his final blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Paul is blessing them in the name of the Godhead.

This is very clearly developed throughout the rest of the God’s Word, but as it is neither possible nor necessary to exhaust every Scriptural articulation of the doctrine of the Trinity in this paper, for the sake of space and time, those should suffice. Below you will find first my bibliography, followed by a chart of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity in the early church, and descriptions of each belief and heresy.

Bible

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotes are from:

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). Wheaton, IL: Good News Publishers: Crossway Bibles, 2001.

All paraphrases are original.

Works Directly Cited

Bercot, David W. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. Seventh Printing. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1998.

The Trinity Hymnal. Revised Edition, Twelfth Printing. Suwanee: Great Commission Publications, Inc., 1990.

Catholic Online. The Catholic Encyclopedia. 2008. 15 November 2008 .

Other References, Used Generally in Research

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Leicester / Grand Rappids: Inter-Varsity Press / Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.

Luthers Small Catechism with Explanation. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

New Dictionary of Theology. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988.

Packer, J.I. Concise Theology. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Ridolfi, Brian. "What does The Bible say about..." The Ultimate Bible Answer Book. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2005.

The Heidelberg Catechism with Scripture Texts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1973.

Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.

What's Next?

2009-02-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Y2k was nearly a decade ago. It's been 22 years since 1987, and 21 since 1988.

It's 2009.

So what's next?

Two millennia have passed since Christ was incarnated as a man on earth. When is He coming back?

I heard all of the scary sermons with the Y2k theory- all of 1999 pastors preached, every Sunday, about how "this could be the last year." And I was not yet potty trained in 87/88, but I've heard the stories.

Many of you know I'm reformed, and those that didn't just found out. My theological bent is no secret, just read the quotes section at the bottom of the page!

But most of us don't know what we believe about the end times, or last things- known to theologians as eschatology. Most people who grow up in church just adopt the views of their denomination or their family.

Those that take the time to study for themselves usually end up believing that there is no way to know, or at least that's the case with the people I know who have studied it for themselves, and essentially I end up there to some degree.

Professional theologians, the Ph.D. kind, usually end up with something other than dispensationalism. I'm on my way there, though still less than half way, and therefore ascribe primarily to partial-preterism. Most preterits are partial.

Anyway- I came across this fabulous article in some of my feeds: Eschatology 101: Repent! The End is (possibly) Near(er)!, and thought you guys might find it interesting!

It's a very concise and rather short overview of the primary eschatological views. It covers the broad spectrum in a very brief yet clear way. I highly recommend that all of you interested in eschatological studies read it.

While some of the views may seem absurd to you, due to your theological tradition, remember that they all have substantial biblical evidence, philosophi-logical stupport, and are held by large groups of Christians and various scholars today, and in centuries past.

Just because 80% of American "Christians" read and agree with Lahaye and Jenkin's rather poorly written series and find it intriguing enough, and better literature than most of the junk Christians write these days, doesn't make it true.

Sorry about the bash against Christian literature... But majority view has never meant right view. Israel at the edge of the Promised Land, Jesus and the Pharisees, the Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation.

Majorities in Christendom are often wrong, so seriously consider the possibility that your church, you, and your parents, could have believed wrongly about the prophecies of the Bible and God's plan for the future.

This discussion should be fun... Enjoy!

-R.T.

Resisting Idols like Jesus

2009-02-16T06:00:00.004-05:00

I promised some of the readers that I would post my favorite sermon ever sometime soon, and even though the votes were unanimously "yea," I've decided to post this before I start posting papers.

This sermon is called Resisting Idols like Jesus, it's by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington (not to be confused with Mars Hill Bible Church, Detroit, Michigan, Rob Bell's church).

It's about an hour long, and was delivered a few father's days ago.

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day (sort of)!

2009-02-14T10:33:00.008-05:00

I was on facebook awhile ago, and a friend of mine, Will, had posted a link to his blog. Will's a pretty cool cat, he's a Christian Thought major here at my school, which means we share a lot of professors, and he's a fellow Presbyterian.

I went to his blog, being the blogger that I am, and read the two most recent posts.

One of them included a video, of Mark Driscoll on CNN. Since he's the man, and I loved the video, here ya go!

(Warning: It's about valentine's day... and it's about sex.)

Also, be sure to check out Mark's blog post today: Spiritual Disciplines: Lovemaking.

That Settles It

2009-02-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Seriously: it's settled.

Judging by the feedback I got, particularly on my xanga, and as I talked with friends over IM and in person, I've decided to try to blog more, even if a lot of it ends up being sharing articles (papers) I've written, and sermons and articles I come across, and presenting you guys with random questions I hear around school- regardless of the topic.

That being said, I've already written and pre-published posts for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this coming week, including tags and links, on both my blog and my xanga. They'll show up at 06:00 on the appropriate day. I hope you guys enjoy!

-R.T.

Great Sermon, and New Ideas!

2009-02-12T10:12:00.006-05:00

First, my cousin, J.T., also known as EveryKneeandTongue, sent me a link to a conference he went to at South Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS). At said link, I discovered the video of Mark Driscoll's sermon, which, incidentally, was phenomenal. So I thought I'd share it with you guys! Enjoy!

Nine Distinctions Between the Gospel and Religion (It's also available for download, which I recommend).

Now, for the new ideas...

I've been thinking about posting papers that I write. Most of them are book reviews, and ministry related or exegetical papers.

What do you guys think? Let me know.

If the feedback is positive, I'll start posting that stuff regularly, probably early next week.

Also, on my xanga and my blog, I've added my amazon wishlists on the right hand side. And on the blog I've added my list of preferred Bible translations, and a list of others for your use!

Ciao!

The Occasional Post

2009-02-05T16:17:00.001-05:00

Looks like I've reached the horrible place, that cursed realm of the occasional blogger.

It's been ages, and I've been busy.

Greek is going well- Optative and Superlative, and Middle voice... tough stuff. But I still love it.

Things are going quite well with Maribeth and I! We're both pretty busy, but we're doing well.

Oh, I'm running Windows 7 (the future Windows Operating System, like Vista vs. XP).
I love it! By far the best operating system Windows has ever created, and ten times better than Mac OS X (which, if you don't like for your computer to be able to do anything, isn't half bad). Anyway- It's already more stable, better, faster, and requires less resources, and it's only in beta testing... Check it out: http://www.Windows7.com/

I got asked to be part of a think-tank here at Bryan. It's on leadership development... I'll be meeting with some RA's, SGA members, Ministry Council people, Administrators, Athletes from each team, and other non-position campus leaders (like myself). We'll be getting together to talk about ways to make Bryan a place that equips people for leadership, that way our wonderful little Christian worldviewing business people, communicators, musicians and the like can actually have an affect; as opposed to being really really moral nice people! The world has moral people, they need leaders- Christian leaders.

I am also in talks with a professor of mine, Dr. Randle, and a friend of mine, T.L. Gentry, about starting a think-tank regarding youth ministry models. We're considering doing an evauative/innovative project together, where we develop a biblical and sensible youth ministry model, implement it in a test church for a few months, revise and edit, and re-test it. Eventually we hope to come to author a model for effective youth ministry in the millenial world, and possibly publish it.

Yeah- Never been asked to be in a think-tank before. Got asked to be part of two, today.

I miss you guys, but Maribeth and Nicole are here to translate Greek, so we better get on it! Ciao!

-R.T.

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-22T10:49:00.001-04:00

Test Form

2008-08-08T08:08:00.001-04:00

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEFyUUVhcnBiaEY2SUlzaFdQQlVNemc6MQ

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Dancing!

2008-07-22T13:16:00.001-04:00

This post is dedicated to my good friend Amanda, and all those who love to dance and love to travel.

Where the Heck is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

"A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!" - V from V for Vendetta

The Fallen, and Perversion- Part 2: The Masculine and the Feminine.

2008-07-18T11:11:00.003-04:00

First, let me recommend to anyone and everyone that you head on over to Cowboy_Christian's most recent post "Arrogant Men!," when you finish reading this one; that way you'll at least read something decent before the day is out.

If you haven't figured it out already, this is a follow-up post to "The Fallen, and How We Pervert Things," and falls in the same vein as "Ministry: A Heart of Service."

As mentioned, perversion is the essence of fallenness. When one thing takes on the role of another, when things are set out of balance and alignment, when things are not doing what they are designed to do- perversion. We all have our roles, and we should stick to them. Not only are we best suited for them, but God blesses that obedience.

As my friend Cowboy_Christian told me: "A man was in a church once, and he was convinced he was supposed to be an eye, but God and his pastor told him he was a foot. After arguing with them for many long tiresome months, God finally told the man he could be an eye, but all he would see was the end of a sock, because he was still a foot."

We won't be content, we won't be in God's will, until we are in our divinely arranged roles.

If you notice, one of my primary examples in the previous post, and the primary example used in the ensuing discussion, and I'd be willing to wager, the primary instance of perversion almost every one who read it thought of, was the perversion of masculine and feminine roles. There are many reasons why this is the foremost example we see and think of when this sort of perversion of the intended order is proposed.

One reason is because, for those of us blessed enough to come from families where this is lived out, or at least have the Biblical knowledge of how it should be lived out, we see the beauty and wholeness of God's plan for men and women. And we also see how sad and how broken lives are without that order. We are just as saddened by the state of our culture as we are enheartened by the potential beauty available to us through God's grace and plan.

A second reason is because it is the subject of many coffee-shop conversations, many newspaper articles, and more Barnes & Nobel door stops than I care to count. Without God's Word for a blue-print, our culture has gotten confused. No one knows where to turn for guidance, what to use as a model, or what works. And because our roles as men and women have such an impact on our lives, our families, and our cultures, we can't help but ask, search, and attempt anything in the vain hope of success.

As a quick side-note: I believe that because of this confusion, and because of the search that flows from it, one of the most valuable and effective evangelism tools in our culture are our marriages, our families, and the way we interact with those around us. If we rightly display God's design for men and women, and things go as they usually do when you follow the blueprints, people can't help but notice- and when their children aren't obeying or their wives aren't letting them in anymore, they'll ask those who are being blessed for their obedience.

Back to why we all default to Masculine/Feminine when it comes to the nature of how fallenness = perversion: I believe the real reason for this is not because we see the benefit of God's design, or because we need to guidance of God's design- I believe that we all default to this because it is the most original of sins.

The first sin committed by mankind was failing to fulfill his masculine role in marriage. Adam ceased to husband Eve, letting her be decieved by a serpent and lead to the spiritual slaughter. Immediately following, the woman bagan to lead by manipulating man to eat of the fruit. The first sin committed by man was pasivity, and the first sin committed by woman was leading.

Last Fall I was sitting in Mrs. Cowboy's office, heartbroken because of how a female friend had manipulated me, and I started talking this sort of concept over with her- and I've since become rather fond of a saying we came up with that day: "The primary way in which men sin against women is by being passive. The primary way in which women sin against men is by manipulating."

Not only is it the first way we sinned against eachother, it is the primary way we continue to sin against each other every day.

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-18T11:11:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday Rachel! It's my sister's birthday today. She's 18... He has finally passed from girlhood to adultery!

Kinda makes me feel old.

Other than that this post is kind of random...

My big brother is coming in town! Shawn and I have been thick as thieves, closer than brothers for over six years now. I haven't hung out with him in a year and a half, and he's never been down here to Bryan! I'm stoked... He'll get here either tonight or tomorrow, depending on flights (he's a pilot, so he's jumpseating).

I encourage you guys, as you read my posts, to pay attention to the songs that I'm listening to when I post them- either the titles or the lyrics usually have something to do with what I'm posting about (today being an exception). I don't chose them haphazardly. And pretty much without exception I'm actually listening to that, and I own it. I have over 12,600 songs on my computer, and I'm missing about 5,000-6,000 that won't fit. I have a lot of music. That's only the stuff that is in English. I have a few thousand songs from other countries, like Italy and Brasil, that I'm not counting in that over 18,000 songs. It's always growing- bought three records yesterday.

Keep an eye open tomorrow, my post is going to be a fun one, and Cowboy_Christian's will be as well... I think everyone will enjoy them.

I'm probably going to be off tomorrow, so have a great weekend!

-Til

Ministry: A Heart of Service

2008-07-14T14:19:00.001-04:00

The week before last, I posted about perversion and role-reversal, and how they are part of fallenness in my post The Fallen, and How We Pervert Things. I had a discussion with Cowboy_Christian this past week on how that happens with ministry. I don't mean what we do as ministry, but on our understanding of it.

The problem with the word "minister" is that we have allowed a connotation to separate itself from the denotation. The denotation is the dictionary definition, the connotation is what we think of in relationship to a word. We think ministers are people we work under, we think ministry is working with a church. We think ministering is the act of helping with something.

Why is it that we get so confused by the phrase "minister to God," rather than "minister before God"? Why does ministering to God seem backwards to us?

Definition time:

Minister
min·is·ter [min-uh-ster]

1.	a person appointed by or under the authority of a sovereign or head of a government to some high office of state, esp. to that of head of an administrative department: the minister of finance.

2.	a diplomatic representative accredited by one government to another and ranking next below an ambassador.

3.	a person acting as the agent or instrument of another.

4.	to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities.: to minister to the needs of the hungry.

[Origin: 1250–1300; (n.) ME ministre, minister (< OF ministre) < L minister servant, equiv. to minis- (var. of minus a lesser amount; akin to minor) + -ter n. suffix; r. ME menistre < OF < L, as above; (v.) ME ministren < OF ministrer < L ministrāre to act as a servant, attend, deriv. of minister]

—Synonyms. answer, tend, oblige.

According to this definition, and according to the origins of the word "minister," a minister is someone underneath, a servant. To minister, in turn, would mean to serve, work under, work for, and do the bidding of the master. In our case, the Master is God. We are His servants, doing His bidding, serving Him. To minister to God is to serve Him. To minister before God is to serve Him in His presence.

If you reevaluate your connotations for the word "minister" and see it as to serve, or servant, it changes the way you see your pastor, your own role in the Body, and the nature of service. I challenge you to replace the verb "minister" with the verb "serve" in your mental vocabulary, and the noun "minister" with "servant." It changes the way you refer to your pastor. It's a lot harder to get high-and-mighty about your ministry.

With that in mind, I leave you with this:
And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then
they also will answer, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not
minister to you?" Then he will answer them, saying, "Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." -Matthew 25:40-45 (ESV)

Are all elections "riggable"?

2008-07-11T17:14:00.001-04:00

**Disclaimer: Bryan people, this is from Contemporary Mathematics, so you don't need to bother...

Last night I was doing some homework for my math class, which I've
openly despised on this blog since the beginning- not because of the
content, or the teacher (who happens to be a favorite of mine), but
because of the fact that I'm awful at it and have a tendency to
procrastinate and put off the work until Thursday night, when it's due
Friday!

Anyway, this week we studied vote analysis. After
reading the following section, I have come to the conclusion that, if
the rules of calculation are up for revision after ballots are cast, or
if there is a concretely predictable outcome before the rules are
decided upon, the person making the rules can easily manipulate the
outcome by choosing which method is used. Keep in mind that this is all
from my math class, it isn't much fun for reading, and I'm not saying
that we use these methods in American elections, but it's interesting
if you like these sorts of things, or are easily fascinated, like I am:

We begin by exhibiting a voting table that displays five candidates:
Brown, Black, White, Gray, and Green. The table is divided into five
columns that represent five blocks of voters who all ranked the five
candidates exactly the same way. It is a coincidence that the number of
blocks in this case matches the number of candidates. There were 108
voters in all. Each voter ranked the five candidates first through
fifth.

TABLE 1 Distribution of Votes

Number of Votes	34	28	24	16	6
First	Brown	Black	White	Gray	Green
Second	Gray	Green	Black	White	Black
Third	Green	Gray	Green	Green	Gray
Fourth	White	White	Gray	Black	White
Fifth	Black	Brown	Brown	Brown	Brown

The Plurality Method

The
most obvious way to pick a winning candidate is to take the one with
the most first-place votes. If we were to do this for the situation in
Table 1, Brown is the winner.

There are some problems
with this obvious, simple method, however. In our example Brown wins
with only 34 out of 108 votes, or about 31% of the total. More people
voted for the other candidates put together than for Brown.
Furthermore, those who did not vote for Brown all ranked him last among
the field of candidates.

Another problem that may occur
with this method is that more than one person may have the largest
number of votes. Then a clear winner is not decided. To avoid this
problem, we use the next method.

The Runoff Method

In
this refinement of the plurality method, we hold a runoff among those
candidates whose first-place votes total at least half of all votes
cast. In the situation of Table 1 there are 108 votes altogether. Brown
has 34, and Black has 28. Together, they account for 62 votes, which is
more than 54 or half of 108. Thus the runoff will be between Brown and
Black.

We make the assumption that, with the other three
candidates eliminated, the voters will not change their relative
preferences between Brown and Black. Accordingly, we alter Table 1 by
eliminating the other three candidates and moving Brown and Black to
the first two rows.

TABLE 2

Number of Votes	34	28	24	16	6
First	Brown	Black	Black	Black	Black
Second	Black	Brown	Brown	Brown	Brown

Now the clear winner is Black with 74 votes to Brown’s 34.

The Elimination Method

This
method works somewhat in the opposite way of the previous two methods.
Instead of selecting those with the most votes first, we eliminate, one
at a time, the obvious losers. That is, at each step, we remove the
candidate with the fewest first place votes. We again make the
assumption that, with a candidate or candidates omitted, voters will
not change their relative preferences among the remaining contenders.
So we move everyone up to fill in any gaps left by the removal of
candidates.

Going back to the situation of Table 1, the
person with the fewest first-place votes is Green. After we eliminate
Green from the field, the table looks like this:

TABLE 3

Number of Votes	34	28	24	16	6
First	Brown	Black	White	Gray	Black
Second	Gray	Gray	Black	White	Gray
Third	White	White	Gray	Black	White
Fourth	Black	Brown	Brown	Brown	Brown

In the new table Gray has the least number of first-place votes (16); so he will be eliminated at the next step.

TABLE 4

Number of Votes	34	28	24	16	6
First	Brown	Black	White	White	Black
Second	White	White	Black	Black	White
Third	Black	Brown	Brown	Brown	Brown

At
this point Brown and Black both have 34 first-place votes, and White
has 40. We eliminate Brown and Black, leaving White as the winner.

Borda Count

Another
approach we might wish to take is to weight the values of the votes
based on their position. There are many ways that we can set up the
weighting. The simplest would be to let first-place votes count as 5;
second-place, as 4; third-place, 3; fourth-place 2; and fifth-place, 1.
We then calculate a total score for each candidate by multiplying their
number of votes in each place times the weight for that place and then
adding all together. If we let β represent the Borda count for each
candidate, the calculations lead to the following display:

β(Brown) = 34(5) + 28(1) + 24(1) + 16(1) + 6(1) = 244

β(Black) = 34(1) + 28(5) + 24(4) + 16(2) + 6(4) = 326

β(White) = 34(2) + 28(2) + 24(5) + 16(4) + 6(2) = 320

β(Gray) = 34(4) + 28(3) + 24(2) + 16(5) + 6(3) = 366

β(Green) = 34(3) + 28(4) + 24(3) + 16(3) + 6(5) = 364

Using this method, Gray comes out the winner with the highest Borda count.

Condorcet Competition

A
final method of selecting a winner, proposed by the Marquis de
Condorcet, is that of pairing every candidate with every other
candidate and choosing the one (if such exists) that comes out ahead on
every pairing. That is, the winner would be the one whom the voters
always prefer when paired head-to-head with all other candidates.

In
order to see how the Condorcet competition method works, we need to
construct a different type of table from the ones we have been looking
at. We place the names of all candidates across the top and down the
left side. In each row we place the number of voters preferring the
candidate labeling that row above the other candidates in their
respective columns. We put asterisks in the columns corresponding to
the same candidate. (A candidate cannot be preferred above himself!)
The new table looks like this:

TABLE 5

	Brown	Black	White	Gray	Green
Brown over	****	34	34	34	34
Black over	74	****	34	58	52
White over	74	74	****	24	40
Gray over	74	50	84	****	50
Green over	74	56	64	58	****

For
example, White is preferred over Black by 74 voters because White
occurs above Black in Table 1 in columns 3-6. White is preferred over
Gray by the voters in column 4, that is by 24 voters. White is
preferred over Green by 50 voters, those in columns 4 and 5.

How
do we pick a winner from this table? If there is a row whose entries
are all above half the votes (54), then that candidate is the winner.
In our example, Green meets this criterion and is declared the winner
using this method. If there is a Condorcet winner, there can be only
one.

There are situations where we wish to do more than simply pick a
winner from a field of candidates. There are times when we would
actually like to rank all the choices as first, second, third, and so
forth. We discuss here three methods for doing so.

Majority Rule

The
simplest way to prioritize a list of choices is to rank them according
to majority preference. That is, we would rank candidate A over candidate B if most people prefer A to B.
This is straightforward, but it has a drawback. It can lead to the
voter’s paradox, as we just saw. Are there other methods that avoid
this problem?

The Plurality Method

A
modification of the majority rule method would be to look only at
first-place votes and rank candidates according to the number of voters
who place the respective candidates first. Taking another look at Table
1, it is easy to see that the plurality method gives the ranking

TABLE 7

First	Brown (34)
Second	Black (28)
Third	White (24)
Fourth	Gray (16)
Fifth	Green (6)

(Numbers in parentheses are numbers of first-place votes for each candidate.)

We observe that the plurality method always avoids
the voter’s paradox. This is because, while there can be a circularity
of total preferences, there can never be a circularity in numbers of
first-place votes. This follows because of the transitive property of inequality: If x > y and y > z, then x > z.

There
are, however, some problems with the plurality method. One minor
problem would be that of ties: Candidates could receive equal numbers
of first-place votes. This is not a big issue if we are willing to live
with more than one candidate in any given position. A more serious
problem is that of inequity in certain situations. Consider this
situation:

TABLE 8

Votes	50	49
First	A	B
Second	B	C
Third	D	E
Fourth	F	D
Fifth	C	F
Sixth	E	A

Using
the plurality method, A is the winner with 50 first-place votes. Notice
that B came in a close second, with 49 first-place votes. B also is
ranked consistently high, having 50 second-place votes; whereas A, in
contrast, is ranked last by 49 voters. It seems that B has been treated
unfairly by the plurality method.

The Borda Count

Just
as we used the Borda count method to pick a winner, we can go further
and use it to rank the candidates. Using the Borda counts for the
candidates from Table 1, we get the following ranking:

TABLE 9

First	Gray (366)
Second	Green (364)
Third	Black (326)
Fourth	White (320)
Fifth	Brown (244)

This
method can lead to tied rankings, but it cannot be subject to the
voter’s paradox. This is because the Borda counts themselves cannot be
circular by virtue of the transitive property of inequality. At times,
however, the Borda method can also be unfair. Suppose there are seven
choices to be ranked by six judges. Judges 1-5 select F as their first choice and S as their second; Judge 6 selects S as first and F as seventh. The Borda counts for F and S are then

β(F) = 5(7) + 1(1) = 36

β(S) = 5(6) + 1(7) = 37

The Borda count awards first place to S, even though five out of six judges selected F as first.

We have looked at three methods for choosing a group ranking. Each
of them has its attractive features, but each of them has a flaw. Is
there a method of choosing a group ranking that has only attractive
features and avoids all flaws? If there were, it would be best to use
it at all times to avoid the problems with the other methods. Kenneth
Arrow, an economist, took a mathematical look at this problem during
the 1950’s. He began by establishing four reasonable axioms that any
good selection method should obey. Axioms
are statements that are taken as true without proof. All deductive
reasoning must start with such statements; otherwise, there would be an
infinite regression of statements, as Aristotle observed. Here are
Arrow’s four axioms:

Axiom 1: Whenever all voters
rank candidate A first and candidate B last, then a fair method should
give a group ranking that also ranks candidate A first and candidate B
last.

Axiom 2: A fair method should not allow a dictator in that one person’s preferences should not be made the preferences of the entire group of voters.

Axiom 3:
If a fair method leads to a group ranking that prefers candidate A over
candidate B, then it will still do so if each individual decides either
not to change his ranking or to move candidate A higher up in his
ranking without changing the relative ranking of any other candidates.

Axiom 4:
If a fair method leads to a group ranking that prefers candidate A over
candidate B, then it will still do so if some of the individuals decide
to change their rankings without changing their preferences between A
and B.

While these four axioms might seem reasonable and
desirable, Arrow’s study resulted in the following remarkable and
startling theorem:

Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem: If we consider only individual rankings that have at least three candidates and at least two voters, then no method of assigning group rankings to sets of individual rankings satisfies all four of the above axioms.

We will not give a proof of the theorem here. The link http://ideas.repec.org/p/cwl/cwldpp/1123r3.html leads to three brief proofs by John Geanakoplos of the Cowles Foundation, Yale University.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, discuss, etc. But since many
of you are following the 2008 elections and whatnot, I thought you all
might find that interesting!

Shoes.

2008-07-11T17:13:00.001-04:00

I love shoes. I own too many. And I'm buying more.

How do you guys feel about shoes? Like 'em, love 'em, or hate 'em? What about boots or sandles?

Check out this awesome blog: Shoe Blog.

I really want this pair:

What's on your mind?

2008-07-10T23:08:00.003-04:00

What's on your mind? I always talk about what I'm thinking about, so y'all can think about it and tell me what you think about it. But rather than that- pick a topic, rant, rave, scream, hear my thoughts, ask a random question, or whatever. Have fun!

Long weekend, eh?

2008-07-10T23:08:00.001-04:00

I was really busy over the weekend, and yesterday. My mom and sister came up to visit, and I had plenty to do besides. Yesterday I was riding solo since Cowboy was off. Now I'm working four tens with him all week, so I can have next Friday off. That means this week will be forty eight hours... I'll be tired come Saturday, but that won't stop the plans!

(Jen just got back from Canada on Wednesday, and the title is a tribute, and yes I do say "eh" like a Kanook... Buncha hoosers!)

Anyhow, all of you left wonderful posts of depth and amazingness, which I've spent a good chunk of my day reading and commenting on. Just so y'all know, I hate playing catchup.

Rather than write some great blog post, I'm going to do the considerate thing and not get even. Instead, I'm going to leave you with some of my favorite quotes. Enjoy!

"How fair and lovely is the hope which the Lord gave to the dead when He lay down like them beside them. Rise up and come forth and sing praise to Him who has raised you from destruction." - Syrian Orthodox Liturgy

"In Scripture, people are elected not to feel good but to do good. Salvation is a gift of sheer grace, which God intends to flow through saved persons and out to others." - Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Engaging God's World"

“God doesn't do stuff because it's right. It's right because God does it.” - Sam Spatola (director of Saints Equipped to Evangelize, one of the most sold out missionaries to Italy of our time, and personal friend)

"I had rather see coming toward me a whole regiment with drawn swords, than one lone Calvinist convinced that he is doing the will of God." - Nocholas Wolterstoff, "Justice and Peace"

"My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." - Martin Luther, to Emperor Charles V, at the Diet of Worms in April 1521

"If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of all the undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and familiar are those who have never yet been introduced to Jesus Christ." - Oswald Chambers

"All truth is God’s truth. Whether the truth be force equals mass times acceleration, or the dates of World War I and II, God is Truth." - Arthur Holmes, Professor at Wheaton College

"God's being very ninja like!" - Sarah L. (friend from highschool)

"We're all just looking for a standard we can rise above." - Matt W. (Resident Director and friend), regarding legalism within the Body.

"The most incredible man the world has ever known is Jesus, and the most incredible word world has ever known is grace." - Dr. Drew Randle (personal friend, mentor, and professor)

"When I get done, we'll take up an offering!" - CowboyChristian, regarding his reply to a Catholic about the fullness of God's revelation.

The Fallen, and How We Pervert Things

2008-07-04T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking a bit the past couple of days about the nature of fallenness, and what we do that shows our fallenness in more cultural-wide ways. One of the primary ways I think we demonstrate our fallenness is through role-reversal, which what the word perversion means. We switch things, we make left right and right left. We make bad good, and good bad. We make a means into an end, and end into part of the means.

I dealt with this a little as I wrote the post Missions to the Indigent. In the case of missions, the fallen nature of man if left unchecked leads us to reverse the roles of means and ends. The means, which in the most obvious and already discussed case is aiding the poor and sick, becomes the end; and the end, sharing the Gospel, becomes part of the means. We tell the church that we're going to help so-and-so with their poverty, and use sharing the Gospel as part of our sales pitch to raise the money. And we may indeed share the Gospel, and people may come to know Christ- but the means and ends have been reversed.

I was talking with a friend of mine, one of the guys who lives in the house I live in and works for the school, and just this afternoon we were talking about sex and love in popular culture, and about a paper he wrote for Mr. Palmer (a Bryan College favorite prof) when he was a student about how sex and love in our culture today. He was saying that for the most part, sex has replaced love, and love has replaced sex. Here is what I mean: Sex should be the outflowing of the committment to love (I believe love is a committment). The committment to love someone, forever, no matter what, leads to a relationship with that person which includes sex, but the sex is the result, not the cause. In our culture, sex has been turned into the reason for love, rather than the result of love. This is why you hear things like "I'll love you if_____." Fill in the blank. We have made the result of love the cause for it- and it doesn't have to be sex, it can be any of the results of love.

Perversion has been doing this for a long time- Hezekiah had to destroy the bronze serpant, which Moses had made at God's command, because the people of God had reversed the roles and made it an idol (2 Kings 18:1-7). They had started worshipping the snake, rather than the God who saved them. The snake never saved them, their faith in God did- and looking upon the snake was the action that demonstrated that faith that saved them in the wilderness. Worshipping it later was idolatry and God's man had to destroy the idol, even if that idol was part of worshipping God in previous generations (which brings up a rather interesting role-reversal case regarding church worship and worship in church and the music and liturgy and stuff I'm going to refuse to get involved in today... maybe some other time).

I would like to hear your thoughts on my conclusion that role-reversal and perversion, being the same thing, are a large part of the fallenness we experience. And the possibility that it may be the summation of fallenness- that all fallenness is somehow linked to perversion and role-reversal.

I think we do this, either by replacing the commitment with the result (for instance baptism replacing salvation, or sex replacing love), or by replacing the end with the means (aiding the poor replacing sharing the Gospel, or building a new sanctuary, replacing reaching the community). I think one of the hardest things for Christians to do is keep things in perspective.

I think this is true of non-believers as well, but I know that most of my audience are professing Christians, or at the very least cultural Christians, so I wanted to target my audience a little more than the world. What can I say? I like to step on toes.

I hope you guys have some good thoughts and we can have a good discussion on this... God bless! Have a great Independance Day, a happy and safe weekend, and a blessed Lord's Day!

-Tiller

ScribeFire!

2008-07-03T09:31:00.001-04:00

Today I saw where a friend of mine, Made2sing4Jesus, was using Live Writer on xanga. Well I'd never heard of this, so I went to the comments to see how it worked, found the link to the xanga page on it, installed it, and tried it out. I'm now writing to you from it to explain the recent rush of posts on the old, retired, blogspot.

Well here's the deal: I'm using ScribeFire, rather than anything designed by Windows, because I hate Windows (and I miss Ubuntu...).

I discovered that it's really easy to load a post into the editor, change which blog you're at, and hit publish. This way I don't have to copy, paste, go to another website, log in to another account, etc. This only requires about four mouse-clicks and I've posted the same thing to my xanga, my blogspot, and my facebook (because I have my blogspot set up to import to facebook as a note).

So there is a decent chance that, to some degree at least, I will keep the promise I made, which I broke, to post carbon copies on xanga, blogger, and facebook.

The Bucket List

2008-07-03T09:18:00.001-04:00

My good friend Cowboy_Christian did this awhile back, and then so did Sissy (Seeking_Wildflower). I meant to do it then, but forgot to. But today my friend gokellyjo reminded me by posting her Summer Bucket List! Thanks gokellyjo! I'm going to limit it to twenty things- I think these are pretty much it... They are in no certain order, whatsoever. I either am planning to do or am in the process of doing many if not most of these, am in preparation for doing many of them, and have every intention of doing the rest.

Here is my bucket list:
1. Go back to Italy. Make it to Cinque Terra, and eat fresh pesto while I'm there.
2. Go to Ireland, and have a Guinness.
3. Ride the London Eye, see Big Ben.
4. Go to Slovenia, visit relatives, and see my great-grandfathers home town.
5. Go to Madagascar.
6. Go to the WorldCup, probably 2010.
7. See the Aurora Borealis in person.
8. Be able to speak or read and write fluently in Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
9. Be able to bench 250 lbs. and run an 8 minute mile.
10. Graduate from my undergrad and from a masters program.
11. Get married (while this may seem odd, I'd better write it down- as crazy as my life is, if I don't make it a bucket list entry it may not happen!).
12. Be a mentor to a younger brother.
13. Be a shoulder to cry on to my friends, family, and those I minister to.
14. Write a book. Get published.
15. Own a house, land, and a horse or twenty.
16. Go to Montana, Idaho, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Hawaii- so that I will have been to all fifty states.
17. Visit my grandparents' graves. (My dad's parents. The others are alive.)
18. Finish learning to play the harmonica. Learn to play the saxophone.
19. Make an artistic movie, maybe for a film festival.
20. Ride a bull or a bronc.

A Sad Day in Christendom

2008-07-03T09:17:00.007-04:00

Ladies and gentleman, it grieves me deeply to bring this news to you today. It would seem as though the breakdown of traditional, biblical families has reached even further into our churches.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) decided during the recent 218th General Assembly to rework the Book of Order, which acts as their constitution, so that it would allow for the ordination of homosexuals as ministers in PCUSA churches. The Episcopal churches got a lot disowned by the Anglican church, their parent global church, when they decided to allow it a couple of years ago, and now the PCUSA has done the same.

They are the first of the more conservative denominations to allow ordination of homosexuals. Nobody was surprised by the UMC (United Methodist Church) or the Episcopal Church made their decisions, but this marks something far more severe because of how much more conservative the PCUSA is compared to the aforementioned churches.

Keep in mind that most conservative Presbyterians left the PCUSA for the Presbyterian Church of America, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Associate Reformed Presbyterians, or the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

I would like to ask you all to do everything you can within your own denominations, regardless of their assorted theologies and disagreements, to preserve the biblical family, especially for the clergy. This is the breakdown of our society infiltrating the church in a way that is detrimental to our effectiveness. Those of us within the church must work our hardest to preserve the adherence to Scripture regarding the family- Marriage is the earthly picture of our relationship with Christ, and it is the foundation of society. I urge you to talk to your pastor, elders, deacons, bishops, and whatever other clergymen you can get in contact with- tell them that biblical marriage is paramount, that it matters to you, and ask them to help preserve it.

If you would like to read more, the above links can take you to the churches and their stances aren't too hard to find- and my original source was Christianity Today's article on the decision: PCUSA Opens Door to Gay Ordination

Astronomy

2008-07-03T09:17:00.005-04:00

Back in May I took a class called Earth Science. The first third of this class dealt exclusively with astronomy, which is by far AWESOMER than all other sciences (followed by Meteorology)!

Our professor, Dr. Barnett, gave us several really cool websites to use as resources and to have just for fun. I've become rather fond of a couple of these, and thought you might find them interesting as well.

Enjoy!

APOD (Astronomy Photo Of the Day) - This is the source for my computer's wallpaper on any given day... It's a place to get a glimpse at the awesomeness of God's creation, creativity, and love for beauty.

SpaceWeather - This is the best place I've found to get info on what's happening "up there." It has maps and data for tracking sunspots and aurora borealis (northern lights). It's more focused on giving us the information necessary to examine creation for ourselves.

*As a disclaimer, both of these websites are operated by scientists who believe that the universe is old- they use phrases like "billions of years." I'm not claiming to agree with them, or that you should, just don't hang me for posting links to them.

Missions to the Indigent: Why the romance?

2008-07-03T09:17:00.003-04:00

Sunday I went to lunch with Amanda at Peking House. As is often the case when you have a long period of time to talk with me, the conversation eventually turned to my intense longing to do missions in Italy again, and the plans being made to that end.

While we were talking she asked why I wanted to preach the Gospel in Italy, or why I thought Italy was the best place for me to be a missionary. My answer, which I've given rather often, is not at all simple. But it deals with a bigger issue I've talked about even longer. I decided it was high time I post about it!

American evangelicalism is a funny animal. We talk about the global need for the Gospel a great deal, yet do very little about it. What we do is spend our money on our buildings, our programs, and our trips. Not that any of those things are bad, just that they're not best. A few churches in this community, however, have started dedicating x% of their budgets to missions. This commitment ranges from 35-50% in the cases I've heard about. In some cases their approach is so serious that they cut programs, then salaries, then bills before they start cutting that 50% they've dedicated to missions. Of course, God provides. American churches alone, if they gave 50% of their budgets to foreign missions would pay for all foreign missions and allow it to expand to the rest of the unreached people groups and better reach the ones we're already working in.

Aside from the lack of money being given to foreign missions, another problem exists that more directly affects missions to Italy- this is where my heart is.

What is missions? Well, if you ask a well-off American Christian, it probably involves feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and assisting the downtrodden of the world in the name of Jesus, while presenting them with the Gospel. That's not too bad of a definition, but it assumes something very dangerous: It assumes that all of the world's lost and dying are from poor, two-thirds world countries with poor medical care and oppressive governments. While that is true that those people need the Gospel, it is not true that they are the only ones who need the Gospel.

Most of Europe is vastly unreached, yet because of the fact that American Christians see them as part of church history, and more importantly because of the fact that they live well, like we do, and wear nice clothes, nicer than ours, and drive nice cars, nicer than ours, they aren't in desperate need of the Gospel. That is completely untrue. They do live well, and have good food and medical care, but they are lost, and very few are doing anything about it.

When I was a senior in High School I went to the youth ministry conclave in Chattanooga- Darren Whitehead spoke, and one of the numbers he gave claimed that there are 2,000 new house churches started every month in India, and that those people were part of the 45,000 converts a year in India alone- and that doesn't even come close to China. Ladies and gentleman, there aren't 2,000 evangelical churches in all of Italy. There may not be 200. Italy has some sixty million citizens, that's 60,000,000 people. And 31,000 of her cities and towns have no evangelical presence, meaning no known believers. We're not talking churches, we're talking believers.

The rest of Europe is right there with Italy- Poland has 200 evangelical churches in the entire country.

Why is it that we cannot seem to evangelize Europe? Oh, that's right- they wear lacoste, prada, gucci, and loui vatton. They drive audi, vw, bmw, porche, and ferari. They have great pasta for lunch every day, and expensive wine with dinner every night. They have fresh pastries and espresso for breakfast and live in romantic cities.

But they are just as lost as the heathen tribal witchdoctor in Africa, the slave trader in India, and the guerrilla commander in South America.

Why is it so romantic to evangelize the indigent, yet we forsake the heathen privileged?

The Least Likely Dream in the History of Sleep

2008-07-03T09:17:00.001-04:00

This is the funny post. It may not be funny to some of you, because you don't all know me. I mean, you all know me on xanga, but you don't all spend time with me in person. We don't have tea together, or coffee.

Yesterday while Amanda was at my house hanging out, she told me she had had a dream. I don't know much about the dream, and she didn't seem to remember much about it so it's probably unimportant.

I wish I knew the other characters, especially if they were part of the people I've been getting to know this Summer.

But what was interesting is that in this dream, I was gay. Amanda had a dream that I was gay.

The chances are better that a giant monster eat New York, a donkey wins the derby, crude drop to ten cents a barrel, and Islam disband. I'm about as straight as a guy can be.

I thought those of you that know me or know Amanda might find that humorous.

We sure did.

Friends, Frisbee, Forty-Two, and Contra Dancing!

2008-07-03T09:16:00.003-04:00

Oh, and the forecast!

This past weekend was intense!

I only slept about an hour Thursday night, and Friday we pressure washed, as I mentioned the other day. That was all fine and good. After work I went and did laundry and cleaned my truck out and up for a few hours, which is a great thing to do while doing laundry and listening to music really loud.

I went to bed shortly thereafter, probably around ten.

Fourteen hours later I woke up to the smell of pancakes in the kitchen! After a couple of stacks I took a shower and got ready. Amanda came by and we went to Cowboy's. Cowboy, Mrs. Cowboy, and myself taught Amanda how to play forty-two on Thursday night when we had taco soup, so we played for a bit before we left to pick up the guys.

We picked Evan up at his house, then we picked up Dan at his apartment. We had to drop by a couple of places in Hixson, then to downtown Chatt! Contra dancing was an absolute blast! If you ever get the chance, go! I'll be back, probably regularly... It was quite a work out too- I don't think I've ever been so exhausted from having fun indoors. As Cowboy puts it, "Contra is the love child of line dancing and square dancing." Try it! It's awesome.

Anyway, after that we all went back to Cowboy's for ice cream, and I guess we dispersed around 1:30.

Yesterday was church, which was really good. After the service I went to the new Nehimiah study that started yesterday- I think it will be really good. But about twenty minutes into the Sunday School hour I got a text message: "get back to the house asap," from the guy I rent from. Well he runs sound at my church, and he's who invited be there initially, so I texted him and told him I was in SS and asked what was up. He said one of our housemates had driven his car over the embankment on the edge of our yard, where they all park (I park in a different part of the property), so I rushed home. He and I used both of our trucks and manage to get the little Honda back on gravel and where it belonged. Then I made it back to church for the last twenty minutes of class! (Oh, by the way, my church has their only service at 9:30, and Sunday School at 11:00)

After Sunday School, and the subsequent jawing, Amanda and I went to peking house, which was really good (love that lunch special!). We went back to my house for a few minutes, and hung out with Seth and David. Then David and Amanda went and picked up Emily and went to church to help get ready for the VBS finale. I went to Evan's to watch the game. Evan, Andrew, Jared, Dan, and I watched Spain beat Germany. I'm still bitter. Let's not talk about it.

Then I went and picked Emily and Amanda up, we went to Cowboy's for more forty-two! Around seven we took Emily back and came back up to the school to play some ultimate frisbee! Yeehaw! It was a lot more fun than I remembered. I used to hate ultimate, but I think that's because I got sick of it back in my scouting days.

After that me and the guys all went back to the house, showered, and went to Bimbo's (diner, named for a public official here in town who happens to own it) to play some rook and get supper. After that I came home and sat on the porch for a bit. Chatted with passers by, and Mom on the phone for a bit.

Crashed around one. Woke up and five thirty and decided it was a waste to lie there wishing I was asleep. I got up and checked my e-mail, updated my to-do list, and started five xanga posts. That's right- five. I've never worked this far ahead on xanga or blogger. Kind of weird. Today there should be one or two more posts, one is funny, the other is discussion/rant. There should be a short one tomorrow, and the fifth will probably never be published for the sheer sake of it's personal nature- not to me, but to who it's about.

Anyway, I'm working four tens this week, or that's the plan. Have a great week guys! And happy Monday!
-Til

Marshall McLean!

2008-07-03T09:16:00.001-04:00

This is a post for Marshall. This man has been an amazing blessing to my life. One of those ways is through his music. His most recent album, A Road to Antioch, is based on the Sermon on the Mount, except for the last song, which is for his son.

Marshall is the real thing- I lived with the McLeans in Italy for a semester. They are real. What you see is what you get- his music is the baring of his soul. He loves his Savior with everything that he is, he leads his wife in a way that they both glorify God in every possible way, and they love their son, Charlie, in a way that inspires hope for the future.

Marshall has taught me so much through our long talks down at the Stella Marina, through coffee down at the bar, through watching him adore his wife, love his son, and worship his Savior.

I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes, go to his website, listen to his music and read his lyrics. Even if you don't stylistically like his music, meditate on the truth of the lyrics. And at the very least listen to "Hurry Up Child," the last song on the new record.

Here's a picture of him and Charlie (who happens to be the cutest baby ever!):

This song is one of my favorites of his, it's on the beatitudes; although they are all great.

blessed///click here for lyrics

(Marshall McLean)

2007

MP3 play whole song, hi-fi (broadband)

there is a kingdom coming, with few that can feel it, the ones who've laid it down the poor in spirit.

and there is a comfort reserved, its taking its form. Its welling up like water, for those who mourn.

and there is an army around us, that surrounds as we speak to inherit the earth without force, the humble and meek.

they say "My hands are empty oh but they're filled, and I'm so poor but
richer yet still, and everyone's heaven is becoming my hell, and my cup
is empty but I drink it so well, and I've only heard and believed what
they said, but I've heard a new word its...Blessed."

and here on the ground for awhile, where justice avoids me, the way that I show mercy, I'll find mercy.

and there is a truth that I know, that tares me apart, that I'll only see God for real, if I'm pure in heart.

and there are some words that I said, and at times I refuted, but I'll be what I say, when I'm persecuted.

and there's a kingdom coming, but it hurts to touch, so nobody here
wants it that much, and there's things they never told you but you
needed the worst, there is fullness in hunger there's blessing in
curse, now there's noise in my silence, there's war in my peace,
there's things that I'm holding that I got to release to say...

...repeat chorus...

Yep, I'm in the newspaper!

2008-01-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

So today my mom showed me this hysterical video on YouTube, it's a spoof of Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel." As someone who really can't stand Carrie Underwood, or that song, I thought this was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen: "Cletus Take the Reel" Tim Hawkins in a Christian, and more of his comedy can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/timhawkinscomedy

In other news, I'm in the newspaper. And in my cowboy hat, no less. Today I was sitting here watching Tim Hawkins (about five minutes ago) when Mom got a phone call from a local friend who said we were on the cover of the business section, in the article about the local DQ (Dairy Queen, for those of you not from the south). The article has nothing to do with us, but the picture for the article is of Mom and I having a burger last week at the DQ in town! Here's the article, with the picture: "Boro DQ is all in the family" and here's just the picture: Tiller and Mom

Enjoy!

-Tiller
PS: I don't dual post... I post almost exclusively on Xanga now... so yeah, feel free to jump over there, but I won't be importing my Xanga to facebook: http://www.xanga.com/firenbabedwire

I'm finally breaking...

2007-12-12T02:22:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, after almost exactly four years of being loyal to Blogger, I'm finally breaking and getting a Xanga. I'm keeping the Blogger for now, and posting all the same stuff on both. I'll start posting soon, I promise.

The Calvinism Series

2007-12-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gents, because of the responses generated by my post on Calvinism and Missions back in August, I've decided to post a series on Calvinism.

The first post will be The Overview and History of Calvinism, the five posts following it will be each of the five points of Calvinism and the Scriptural basis for each, the seventh post will address arguments against Calvinism, and the eighth post will be a revised edition of the Calvinism and Missions post that started this whole thing, and the final post will be a directory of all of the previous posts, so that you can navigate to each article quickly. I reserve the right to add articles to this list, such as the practical applications and implications of Calvinism that are not related to missions.

I've begun working on the first one already, I plan to start posting them in early January, and they should all be done and posted by January 30th.

Guy Fawkes Night

2007-11-05T00:48:00.000-05:00

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Environmentalists, Environmentalism, and the Environment

2007-10-16T15:19:00.000-04:00

For the record, I'm a libertarian. And I am about to shock all of my Republican friends: Environmentalists are not evil. They are not even terrorists. I'm not saying that some terrorists are not also environmentalists, but the two are not synonymous.

I am a Christian environmentalist. I do not believe that humans are causing climate change, but I also do not believe that it matters whether we are or not. The point I'm making is that we are called by God to be stewards of this earth. In being good stewards we should care for and tend this earth. Part of that means making clean and efficient energy a reality.

That being said, would one leftist environmentalist please tell me on decent idea they are willing to offer? All I hear from the Democrats is that the Republicans aren't doing enough for the environment, they aren't doing what they should be doing, and they aren't doing what the Democrats would do. But it seems nobody actually knows what that is. I've yet to hear one reporter do an exhaustive story on the Democratic solution to environmental problems. All they do is piss and moan about how bad of a job the republicans are doing, how nuclear energy is horrible, how we shouldn't be using fossil fuels, and how they would do a better job. Would one brilliant leftist please rise and enlighten us as to how they plan to accomplish these lofty goals? Apparently they know something nobody else does, and they don't want to tell us.

Indeed, if the environment was truly your concern, you'd be shouting your solutions, not your insults.

And may the discussion ensue.

I'm in Greece!

2007-09-30T14:45:00.000-04:00

Hey people!
Just letting you guys know, we're here and we're safe. We got to Greece on Saturday morning, which was actually Friday night to you guys. We'll be here for most of the time we're here, and we'll leave from Turkey. I'll be updating the blog as internet allows. No real problems coming over- a few delays but none that cost us anything more than "I'm bored in the Airport" time.
Oh, and I won't be making it to the beach for Fall Break. Not sure what I'm doing, but it will involve a couple of days at home.

Shout Outs:
Will: Loving Greek soccer!
Shawn: Loving the absence. BSY etc.
Codi and Greg: Don't do anything stupid without me!
Everyone else: Miss ya! See you soon.

Catch you later!
-Til

i am a college student.

2007-09-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

i have arrived. i just gave my roommate enough money to buy me a large pizza for supper, using nothing but pocket change. quarters. dimes. nickels. it's a beautiful thing.

and all the little indians came a tumbling down...

2007-09-25T14:02:00.000-04:00

Wow. It has been nearly six weeks since I last posted. I've been really busy with homework, class, and, of course, friends.

I'm really tired today. I've got a lot of work to do between now and Thursday. I'm skipping the homecoming banquet to go to the volleyball game against Covenant, then I'll be driving or riding to Atlanta after the game so I can fly out the next morning.

In case you didn't know, and I've managed to keep in under-wraps for the most part, I'm going to Greece and Turkey with my parents and sister. It's a study tour of Paul's epistles. I don't have access to our itinerary at the moment, but I may post it later.

Hopefully I'll be able to get online enough to post some updates while we're there.

This has been an odd week. I've been really tired. This semester my new motto is "Tiller: The Anti-Drama." But this week I've been talking to one friend who's dealing with some depression, and another who's going through a really nasty break up. Of course, this could never happen during a week which I didn't have my own set of challenges. Good times.

I'm slightly stressed about an exam I took this morning. I was hardly prepared for it, and I can't really tell how well I did- which is usually a bad sign.

Hopefully I'll have time Thursday after the game (assuming I ride to Atlanta), or Friday/Saturday as I travel, to actually type out a formal post and say something worthwhile. In the meantime, check this video out: YouTube - Paul Washer Feel free to comment here about what you think.

Also, my friend Shawn is going to start commenting about sermons he listens to online some on his blog, Think Fast, Fly Faster, so do check in there from time to time.

I'm also working on getting Linux running on my computer, so I can use Vista and Linux separately and at random. And maybe one of these days I'll get my Q tethered to my laptop so I'll have mobile internet through my data connection.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Sarah!

-Til

It's days like today, when the soul is so spent and the life so empty,
The heart is so dry, and the mind so drained,
That steeples are toppled, and statues crumble.
It's days like these when reality sets in, sleeplessness takes hold,
And all the little Indians come a tumbling down.

Calvinism and Missions

2007-08-16T14:35:00.000-04:00

Many of you, if not all of you, know that I am a Calvinist. Most of you are not. That's OK, you're allowed to be wrong. But seriously, one of the things that makes the Body so great is that we all follow Christ, and we disagree and love each other despite our disagreement. Contrast the Church to our monotheistic counterparts, the Muslims, who slaughter members of other factions within their own faith. I believe our differences, or more aptly, our cooperation and fellowship in spite of our differences, is one of the greatest glories we as the Church experience.

But most people who find out I'm a Calvinist, within the first two or three minutes of conversation regarding our various soteriologies (soteriology=doctrine of salvation) usually ask something like "If God chooses us, why do we evangelize?" or "To a Calvinist, what's the point of missions?" And the question is valid. There are groups of Calvinists, typically those known as Hyper-Calvinists, those who believe in "Double Predestination" or are called Hard-Determinists (sometimes called Determinists) that do not believe there is any purpose in evangelizing the world. Not all of the people within groups known to be Hyper-Calvinists or Determinists believe this, mind you, but it is often a widely accepted belief within these groups. One denomination that comes to mind as being Hyper-Calvinistic and one that doesn't believe in evangelism is Primitive Baptist. I know a Southern Baptist that grew up in a Primitive Baptist family, and they don't believe in evangelism of any kind. On a side note, a deacon in my church recently told me that a Primitive Baptist told him not to pray for rain, that God would send it when He got good and ready, and no sooner, so there was no purpose in praying for it. So their Hyper-Calvinism has led them to believe that prayer and evangelism are irrelevant. I, here and now, disassociate myself from these groups.

But the question still stands: If God chooses, why evangelize? I believe that we should evangelize because of several reasons. Firstly, because God, in His infallible Word, commands us to evangelize! Matthew 28:19-20 are very clear about making disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you..." To me, the scriptural mandate is enough of a reason for us to evangelize, but it is not the only reason.

The second reason we evangelize is the same as the primary reason we worship. We evangelize (and worship) as a response to God's grace, mercy, and love toward us. When a beggar is brought to the table of a feast, his two natural responses are to pour out worship and thanksgiving to the benevolent soul that has bestowed this honor and gift upon him, and to tell everyone he meets of this wonderful person and his love and charity. It is the same with Believers. Our natural responses to grace are a life of worship and an attitude of evangelism. Even so, this is not the end of why I believe we should evangelize.

The third reason we evangelize is because God calls us to be used of Him. If God wanted to choose us, bring us unto Himself, and then not use us for the rest of our lives, He might as well call us home at the moment of conversion. Instead, He chooses to use the Body of Christ, the elect, to evangelize the world. It is both His purpose for His Church, and a way of blessing us. He uses us, and in so doing He blesses us. But not only does He use evangelism to use us, and to bless us, He uses evangelism to sanctify us. I believe that more sanctification takes place in the life of a believer when that believer is serving others in a Christ-like way for the purpose of evangelism.

So you see, the reasons a Calvinist has for evangelizing the world are as plentiful and powerful as that of any sect of the Church. As for a philosophy of missions, I don't know that Calvinists have a set approach, but I will say that the attitude toward discipleship within the Reformed camp is much more prevalent than in most Christian denominations. Reformed churches and Calvinists tend to focus more on discipleship and education than do most Christian organizations and churches. And because of that our philosophy of missions usually includes church-planting and discipleship programs after conversions.

My personal philosophy of missions is very clearly a native one. I believe that native missionaries are far more effective at reaching their own people than white westerners are. We should not try to westernize and colonize the cultures that need Christ, we should take Christ to them, and assist local native believers, allowing them to reach their own people. The days of colonial missions has ended, and it is time for the West to help the Rest.

I also believe that Biblical missions is a balance of preaching the gospel to non-believers, meeting the felt needs of non-believers, and discipling and assisting believers. We should always remember that meeting felt needs is a way of showing Christ to non-believers. While the Church is great at humanitarian aid, it is the end, only the means! As soon as that changes and the work becomes the purpose then the mission fails to be an instrument of the Gospel. It may remain to be the center of humanitarian aid and help to millions, such as the Red Cross, but it will cease to be a Christ centered tool of evangelism.

In the same way, when the Gospel is preached to the hungry, but no food is given, the Gospel falls on deaf ears. Christ met the felt needs of people, while sharing the Good News. His Message was always clear, and It was always the purpose. But He always met the needs of those with whom the Message of the Gospel was shared. I believe that a good approach to ministry has a balance of these two elements.

"Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." -St. Francis of Assisi

It also has to have a good follow-up discipleship program. Most of the Two-Thirds world is occupied by cultures hostile toward Christianity. If you do not disciple believers and offer them good Christian fellowship, they will fall away under the pressure of persecution from their families, friends, employers, and governments. And without discipleship they will not be able to share their faith and impact their culture.

All these combined lead my philosophy of missions to be simple: Equip native missionaries to share the Gospel, meet the needs of those in their culture, plant churches, and disciple believers. And do all that within your own culture as well.

I leave you with the following quote from the PCA's missions website:
"...we believe that God's grace, demonstrated to us in the radical love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, has the power to transform our world. Our mission is to build church-planting movements, whose energy continues to grow far into the future, long after we may be gone. Vibrant, nationally-led churches around the world will grow and multiply, transforming the culture around them."

Shalom,
-Tiller

Grace and Penitence

2007-08-13T00:22:00.001-04:00

Our God gives grace to the humble. My pastor cross-referenced this passage in his sermon today, and these verses had a profound impact on my attitude toward God and the way in which I approach Him. I think I have found a new favorite passage.

Joel 2:12-13 (ESV)
"Yet even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments."
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.

Who said God wasn't gracious in the Old Testament? And who said He only cared about rituals?

Alaska Pictures on Facebook and New YouTube Channel

2007-08-10T00:49:00.001-04:00

For all of you who refused to look at the pictures from our Alaska trip until I put them on facebook, they are all posted. They are also all captioned, but the captions are more in depth and witty on Ringo, so I still recommend it. Either way- you should all be satisfied now.

Also, I've started my own youtube channel, which will now be linked to the My Pages section on the right, or right here: http://www.youtube.com/butforhisgrace

Missions?

2007-08-08T21:46:00.000-04:00

I'm reading a book right now, called Revolution in World Missions-so far I like it. It's by K.P. Yohannan, a native missionary to India. I just finished chapter four, and I thought I would share an excerpt with you:

A friend in Dallas recently pointed out a new church building that cost $74 million. While this thought was still exploding in my mind, he pointed out another $7 million church building going up less than a minute away.

These extravagant buildings are insanity from a Two-Thirds World perspective. The $74 million spend on one new building in the United States could build more than 7,000 average sized churches in India. The same $74 million would be enough to guarantee the evangelization of a while state-or even some of the smaller countries of Asia.

...It amazed me, though, that these buildings had been constructed to worship Jesus, who said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head, (Matthew 8:20).

In Asia today Christ is still wandering homeless. He is looking for a place to lay His head, but in temples "not made with human hands."

Promises, Promises

2007-08-07T20:14:00.000-04:00

Wow. All I can say is that they said it all. This article from Christianity Today, by Charles Colson and Anne Morse pretty much covers it. I agree. Check it out: Promises, Promises.

Schedule

2007-07-30T09:51:00.000-04:00

I promise- I will actually write a blog post soon. But the time has come when people begin asking what classes I'm taking this fall, and so I don't have to tell you all eight hundred times, they're on facebook, and the schedule is posted below.
Catch you on the flip side!
-Til

New Webpage!

2007-07-17T00:41:00.001-04:00

That's right folks, I've finally "finished" the much anticipated webpage. You can access it by clicking this link or by clicking the "My Webpage" link in the link section of the sidebar.

It's still very much under construction, but it is ready enough. Enjoy!

New Label, and Contemplations of Grace

2007-07-15T14:31:00.000-04:00

I do realize that the title of this post is rather awkward, but it is fitting. I've been using the label feature for blogger for the past several months, and I've grown to appreciate it. But I keep adding new labels, because I am always publishing different types of posts. It is in that tradition that I am creating the label for this post- Contemplations. It is for all of the various profundities that I read or write and wish to share with you. So here it goes!

I was listening to Kevin Max on the flight to Seattle last week, which is rather ordinary for me, as Kevin Max is my favorite artist, or among them. In his song "The Impostor," from the album by that name, is a line that struck me: I never knew what love was about / Until you showered me with your grace / Yeah you put me in your place. This line got me thinking. So I wrote this in my moleskine notebook:

God sent Christ to take our place of judgment by dying on the cross. But not only did Christ humble Himself to our level, through His sacrifice of grace He has elevated us to His place: The right hand of the Father in heaven.

Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV)

" But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. "

Not only did Christ put Himself in our place, He put us in His.

Shalom,

-Til

North to Alaska (Part 3)

2007-07-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Okay! We all made it home okay, late last night. Mom is planning on posting the rest of the story on her blog within the next few days, so keep checking her blog.

I just finished uploading the last of the photos, so here are the links:

Alaska, Part 1: Washington State ------------- Slideshow
Alaska, Part 2: Juneau ------------------------- Slideshow
Alaska, Part 3: Skagway and Ketchikan ----- Slideshow
Alaska, Part 4: Victoria, B.C. ------------------ Slideshow
Alaska, Part 5: The M.S. Amsterdam -------- Slideshow

Please note that with many of these albums you have to proceed to the second or third page to see all of the photos.

You can also access these by following the link to my pictures in the link section on the right.

North to Alaska (Part 2)

2007-07-06T02:22:00.000-04:00

Hey guys!

I finally got Mom to start blogging, so she and I are teaming up to blog through this trip. She's already posted the entry for the first couple of days. I will hopefully be able to add some pictures to it within the next few days, and we'll be continuing with more posts as we progress. If we're unable to spend much time on the internet while we're on the cruise, we'll post them after we return.

Here's the link to Mom's blog: A Day in the Life of the Tomazins. It's also been added to the link section on the right.

Catch you on the flip side!

-Til

North to Alaska (Part 1)

2007-07-04T13:47:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, my family and I left yesterday for Alaska. We are spending a couple of days in Seattle before we leave, so I'll have internet access for the first couple of days, then I'll be on the cruise ship so I won't.

Here's the layout of our trip:
Tuesday - Friday ... Travel to and time in Seattle
Friday - Friday ... Cruise to Alaska and British Columbia
Friday ... Travel home.

I'll be getting home late the night of the 13th (that's right people, we have a Friday the 13th this month!), or early the morning of the 14th. In the meantime I'll try to post pictures and updates, but no promises. The couple of days when we're at sea I'll try to work on the film paper, you know, the one that's 2 months late? And I should be able to post it when I get home!

Everyone have a happy Fourth of July!

-Til

Engaging God's World

2007-06-17T22:53:00.000-04:00

Salutations.

I don't usually post recommendations on my blog. I really don't want to sound like an infomercial. But I'm reading this book for a class I'm in, and I love it.
It's called Engaging God's World, by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

It's the most amazing book I've read in a very long time. You absolutely must pick up a copy. It's short: for a leisure reader, maybe two days.

Also, check out my facebook quotes section- it's been completely remade.

Hopefully I'll be able to get that film paper ready and begin posting it in segments by the end of this week.

-Til