Saturday, December 29, 2012

Is it just me or have the party conventions just become another form of entertainment? I did not watch the Republican convention nor will I watch the Democratic convention. From a discussion with some friends and a couple of blogs I read, I heard that the Republicans had Clint Eastwood speak and the Democrats, it is said, will have Betty White. What? What do they have to do with politics? Why are they considered special speakers at the conventions? All we really know about them is that they are good at acting and pretending to be characters we enjoy watching. That is not who they really are. Tough Dirty Harry and ditzy Rose Nylund are not the ones who spoke at the conventions. Though I like them both as actors, who gives a rip what they have to say about politics! Who cares if they have a great speech and make funny statements about the other party. Leading this country is not a joke! Wouldn't it be much more meaningful and important to have EXPERTS in the fields that are essential to the functioning of this country speak? Economics, foreign policy, the military, etc. Who cares which celebrity supports which party? If we are swayed to vote for one party or the other because of which celebrities supports them, we are truly an ignorant nation.

Unfortunately we are such a consumerist, entertainment culture that we are not able to distinguish between the fictional world these actors create and the real world we live in. We watch the conventions and we want the parties to impress us with a celebrity. We want them to entertain us. Make us laugh. Repeat some line from one of their movies rather than really lay out how they are going to lead this country in the right direction. Many people, when asked who their heroes are, give the name of a celebrity. How in the world can a celebrity be a hero? The characters we know them for are not real! I am afraid we have truly lost our sense of reality. And the people who are leading or want to lead this country are no different. In all honesty, I think they are worse. They do not live in our reality. They live in a world created and protected by their wealth. I really hope this country wakes up and slaps these politicians back into reality.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Moore to the Point – Pat Robertson vs. the Spirit of Adoption

If only Pat Robertson would go away.
Moore to the Point – Pat Robertson vs. the Spirit of Adoption

Incarnational Ministry - White Horse Inn Blog

Friday, August 3, 2012

Following your emotions.

Great little article about following your emotions. HERE

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The "God" Particle. Have we finally found God?

Though I have not heard many atheists touting the discovery of the Higgs Boson as the final nail in the coffin for the theist, I guess there are some out there making such claims. I guess my atheists friends are just a little smarter than most. Why are they calling it the "God" Particle? Has it replaced God? Or something else. Here is a great response by William Lane Craig to just such a question. You can read it HERE. Here is a great video explaining the Higgs Boson. Enjoy.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Life is meaningless? A chasing after the wind.

I woke up this evening with an overwhelming feeling of purposelessness. Not on my part but what it would be like for those who suppress the truth of God. If they took their worldview to its logical conclusion. I wonder sometimes if people have really stopped to think about the meaninglessness of life. What significance does our life really have? In this vast universe, on this minute planet, we exist as a speck, a grouping of atoms, cruelly organized as a consciousness, which has absolutely no effect on anything in the big picture. Oh, we try to give our lives significance. We find something to occupy our efforts. We find a cause we can be apart of. We want to say we saved some lives, helped find a cure, saved a species from extinction, helped stop global warming, helped bring about equality, provided healthcare for everyone, or saved your child from drowning in the bathtub. Or we can spend our lives experiencing as many of the opposite sex as possible, stealing what we want, hurting or killing as many as we can around us. Only to find that once we get the next one, the satisfaction we thought it would give us fades and we need more. But who cares?! What does it matter?! What good did it do to help someone who will inevitably die anyway? What pleasure did it actually bring to get just one more fling, when it only shows that the desire can never be satisfied? A chasing after the ever eluding fix. And ultimately, when this universe finally dies a heat death there will be no one. No one there to even observe the nothingness. And why do we even care to make a difference or be significant. Why do people kill themselves when they feel life is meaningless? Life is just a puff of smoke. We are but a puff of smoke. An accident. A cruel accident. Only to suffer and then extinction. Nothingness. If we are just a random collection of atoms, none of this matters anyway. It is all meaninglessness. A chasing after the wind. Marinade your mind and heart in the meaninglessness of your life. Saturate yourself in the purposelessness of this world. You can try to give yourself purpose but you are only deluding yourself. How can you give yourself purpose? Purpose comes from outside us. To try to give yourself purpose is to knowingly lie to yourself. Like turning from the approaching semi and saying over and over again to yourself “It’s not there. It’s ok. It will go right through me and I will be ok.” If there is no purpose, we can not give ourselves purpose. Life has no meaning or significance for it will all one day cease. Solomon, with all his wealth, tried it all. Everything this world has to offer and found that it was all meaningless. A chasing after the wind. A never ending, unsatisfiable pursuit. But, is it possible, just slightly possible, that the desire you feel, the insatiable longing for something, that has never been found, nor ever will be found in this world, might have an answer that comes from another world? Might you have a longing for purpose and significance because that is what you were crated for? You can not choose your purpose and significance. You must receive it from outside yourself. From the giver of purpose. Is there purpose to life or are we just accidents. If there is no God, there is no purpose accept the lies we tell ourselves. Maybe just maybe, God has an answer. The question is, do we want to listen? Just a thought.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

What are they hiding in their hearts?

The older I get and the older my kids get the more I realize just how unequipped and lacking in my parenting skills I am. Training, discipline, teaching, instructing, the list goes on. Sometimes it seems like there is no progress. Sometimes when we go out shopping we would hear a popular song on the radio and my daughters would start singing along. I would ask "How do you know this song?" Somehow they picked it up here and there on the TV or radio. As I listened to the lyrics to some of the songs I would just cringe. They my middle daughter asked me, "Daddy, what is a hickey?" Wow! Why is my 9 year old asking me about a hickey? And oh how those songs stick in your head. You find yourself singing them constantly in your mind. It is amazing what an great tool music is for putting ideas in your head and making them stick.

Justin Taylor over at Between Two Worlds informed me a while back about Seeds Family Worship. After the "Hickey" question, I decided to check them out and boy am I glad I did. Great music, and great lyrics. All the lyrics are direct quotes from the bible and the kids love them. Honestly I can't get the verses out of my head. I have been waking up singing God's Word! When I am walking around at work I find my self repeating the verses in my head. A couple of times I have woken up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep because I am singing the songs in my head. (If ever there was something worthy of keeping you up at night it is the Word of God. But if I fall asleep at the wheel or can't pay attention at church because I am so tired, it's your fault God. He he.) It is awesome to hear my 4 year old walking around the house singing "Philippians four, six and seven. Philippians four, six and seven. Do not be anxious......A-bout anything.....") It is a wonderful way to put Psalms 119:11 "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you," Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind," and Ephesians 5:26 "That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word" into practice. They are storing up God's Word in their hearts! Much better than "Cal-i-forn-ia girls are unforgettable...." They will be forgotten, God's word will stand forever.

This is one of the best investments I have made. Not just an earthly investment, but an eternal investment in helping my Children know and love their Lord. Check out Seeds Family Worship. Each CD comes with a second one free so that you can share them with your friends. I promise you won't regret it. Please let me know how it goes.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The answer to death.

About a month ago I watch a movie called In Time staring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. I really enjoyed the movie, mostly because of the philosophical question raised about the worth of human life and who or what has the authority to determine that worth. In the movie, death has been done away with through genetic engineering. Every human being stops aging at 25. It is at 25 that their clock starts ticking. They are given one year to live. Time is their currency. If they work they get paid with time. If they buy groceries they pay with time. The rich live forever. Those in the ghetto live from day to day hoping to find some way to get more time. One wonders if engineering out death was actually a beneficial accomplishment.

James Anderson over at Analogical Thoughts has a good article discussing the latest topic in Philosophy Now which deals with death and the idea that halting or reversing death "may well be within the grasp of this generation." The exchanged is between two naturalist philosphers trying to answer the question whether overcoming death is a good or bad thing. Does Christianity have and answer? You can read the article HERE.

PZ Meyers at his best

C.L. Blot over at Choosing Hats has posted a great video of Sye Tenbruggencate trying to have a discussion with PZ Meyers at the Reason Rally. PZ Meyers is a favorite of the internet atheists. Unfortunately, rather than having a discussion, he resorts to name calling and dodges the questions. The more I talk to people the more I realize that people have not thought through why they believe what they do. They have not considered the foundation of their belief system and it is very difficult to get people to think it through; to consider the justification they have for their beliefs. You can watch the fiasco HERE.

Friday, April 13, 2012

David Platt's sermon on missions at T4G.

Said by some to be the best sermon on missions they have ever heard.

New Gospel Center Children's Curriculum.

Over at Kingdom People Trevin as posted some information on a new children's curriculum called The Gospel Project. It is definitely worth a look. Most of the Children's curriculum out there exposes the children to the law and tells them to obey without giving them the Gospel. The curriculum helps children discover several truths:

Truth #1 - The Bible tells one big story.
Truth #2 - The Bible is about God.
Truth #3 - The Bible points us to Jesus.
Truth #4 - The Bible calls for obedience that is grounded in the gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit

You can read more about it HERE

A Savior For Adele.

Great post over at Parchment and Pen. We all long for the perfect relationship and to be loved perfectly. Though the love we receive from our spouses, children and friends is wonderful, it is never perfect. They will always let us down. There is only one who can love us perfectly, the one who created us. Read the post HERE

Who are you to judge?

Good article by Brett Kunkle. You can read it HERE

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Theology Matters: Understanding Covenantal Apologetics

There is an important discussion going on now around the blogosphere concerning apologetic method. Some think method is irrelevant but actually it is very important. James White makes a great point in his video. Here is a loose quote,

One should not start with an apologetic methodology and then create a theology that matches it. Rather, one should have a full born biblical theology and then create an apologetic methodology that accurately communicates that theological truth without compromise.

Here are some links to that discussion.

The discussion starts HERE

Responses to Copan and correction and clarification concerning Covenantal (Presup) Apologetics:

Joshua Whipps response HERE
Dr. James Anderson's response HERE
Choosing Hats response HERE
Steve Hays' responses 1, 2 and 3

James whites video response

Friday, February 17, 2012

Alfred Russel Wallace, Darwin's Heretic

Very interesting documentary on the life and science of one of Darwin's colleagues. Much of the time Intelligent Design is rejected off hand and said to not be science. Alfred Russel Wallace was no religious man. He rather took the evidence wherever it led.

He are some resources to better familiarize yourself with Intelligent Design science.
http://www.intelligentdesign.org/
http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/

Thursday, January 19, 2012

First Official Post

The more I read and talk to people, the more I see how much misinformation is out there about the Bible and Christianity. When it comes to the Bible, I have noticed so many are still basing their information off of fictional works such as The Da Vinci Code.

I remember passing out literature in New York at a Mormon Temple opening. One woman stopped to talk, but when she saw that the literature was Christian she dismissed us by saying "Go read The Da Vinci Code!" as if this fictional book was the final say on the Bible. Or books such as Holy Blood, Holy Grail that put forth a hypothesis about Jesus and his life that, though interesting, is completely inaccurate.

As for Christianity, I find that people are mistaken about its teachings. Many people I have talked to were once involved in some way with the church. But when they describe to me what they were taught, it does not reflect accurately Christian beliefs. Others have had only peripheral exposure to Christianity and are mistaken about its teachings. I hope through these post I can correct some of this misunderstanding and give people an accurate picture of what Christians believe.

I also hope to help Christians as well. We are called to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3) If we are inaccurate about the teachings of the Bible we may find ourselves contending for error. We want to be accurate about what the Bible teaches, history and also accurate in our portrayal of the beliefs of others. The bottom line is we want to tell the truth or we may end up looking like this.

Sometimes this may mean admitting the mistakes of the church in the past. One things we do not want to do is try to cover them up.

I also hope to encourage Christians in their faith. We have a faith that is not mystical or mythic but is grounded in history. We can be certain that what we have in the Bible is accurate, both to the events it describes and to the original manuscripts penned by the authors.

Before I became a Christian (You can read my story here) I thought Christianity was for fools. Then I met someone who was both intelligent and a Christian. Someone who was willing to answer my questions. Someone who was willing to be honest. I found that I was mistaken about Christianity and the Bible. What I had been rejecting was not Christianity at all but a false understanding of it. I am very thankful for this friend and I hope I can too be a friend like this to others.

Over the next few months I will be mainly posting on the topics of the Bible, mainly the New Testament, and medieval church history

Things such as the original Greek text, the transmission of the Bible, it's accuracy, which books should be included and who made that decision, etc.

I will also be discussing the topic of Medieval Church history. One only need watch a few movies about his period of history to see the negative view most have of the activities of the Church during this time. But are these portrayals accurate? Can we know for sure? I believe we can. So stay tuned for some interesting discussions.