… The usual plaudits were exchanged in the Facebook echo chamber, but I felt queazy. My friend is a follower of Jesus. I know him well, and I know he loves God. But this?
Read moreI'm Not Sorry || Raymond Tallis Edition
Out of the mouths of babes, or, as it were, an atheist. Author and medical doctor Raymond Tallis proudly declares that he is an atheist and evolutionist. But he goes on to admit that something is missing from evolutionary theory.
Read moreSunday Brunch #3
Welcome to the monthly Sunday Brunch! Sit back, relax, and tuck into that eggs benedict while you enjoy a few links to interesting and/or entertaining posts from around the web.
Don't Get Pithy With Me: Free or Rebellious?
"The free person in Christ and the rebellious will always look the same to those who labor under religious obligation, because both ignore the conventions that govern men and women. But there is a major difference between the two. The rebel does it to serve himself and his passions, always harming others in the process and leaving a wake of anarchy behind him. The free person in Christ, however, does so because they no longer have a need to serve themselves. Having embraced God’s love at a far deeper level than any method of behavioral conformity will touch, they will guard that freedom even if it means others will misunderstand their pursuits. They reject the conventions of control not to please themselves, but Father Himself."
Wayne Jacobsen
Image Credit: Eliza || Creative Commons
Sunday Brunch #2
Welcome to the monthly Sunday Brunch! Sit back, relax, and tuck into that french toast while you enjoy a few links to interesting and/or entertaining posts from around the web.
1. Interesting but brief blog about mystery by Roger Olson
2. Trump is a rump, but apparently has a point!
3. Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me.
4. Watch James Veitch toy with spammers!
Image Credit: DonkeyHotey || Creative Commons
Don't Get Pithy With Me: Mystery or Contradiction (The Trinity)
"The doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery but not a contradiction. It is not that God is one person and three persons; that would be a contradiction. Nor is it that God is one God and three Gods; that would be a contradiction. It is that in God three distinct (not separate) persons share one nature, substance or essence. That is a mystery because in our world we find no exact parallel to that and we cannot create it or fully comprehend how it can be. But there is no logical contradiction involved in affirming it."
Roger Olson
Photo Credit: Tim Green || Creative Commons
"The False Summit of 30" or "Do Your Ears Hang Low…"
Well, another year has passed and you edge closer to the false summit known as 30. But you aren't 30 yet, so you still don't know it's a false summit. I've been thinking about the notion time seems to force upon us—that there is a peak, an age where you've reached the pinnacle; and on the other side is a slow downward trudge into old age, where everything begins to break down. It's all a lie. Jesus showed us as much. For the goal is to know the Father, to live in Him and He in us. As we walk He is busy at work, carving us into His image, giving us greater freedom from our brokenness, freedom to walk deeper into His will, His heart, and His Spirit. So, how could age, which brings experience and more maturity in Him, suddenly turn and descend? Instead it is the steady march, the marathon we run, holding to His purpose, only to find that the physical decay that comes with age was an illusion; for at the resurrection of the dead we will have new bodies—perfected bodies. That is what we march toward, that is the summit.
Image Credit: Vinoth Chandar || Creative Commons
"The Eggnog Brouhaha" or "Mascots, Caricatures, & The Indwelling Life of Christ"
… I was thinking of how the word Christian was initially used as an insult, and how we resurrect that insult when we become mascots and caricatures; when we become a culture of blue fur, horns, and large snouts, because that is the uniform you must wear to debate religion on Facebook. The problem however is that mascots don’t know the team’s playbook, nor are they in the real game—they don’t have the skills.
Read moreSunday Brunch
Welcome to Sunday Brunch! Sit back, relax, and tuck into that french toast while you enjoy a few links to interesting and/or entertaining posts from the past week around the web.
I'm Not Sorry! || G.K. Chesterton Edition
A little slice of apologetics today from The Gospel Coalition. They have a synopsis of how G.K. Chesterton turned several atheistic arguments inside out, at the ripe age of 29. Chesterton is a favourite of mine, so I thought I'd share.
Photo Credit: Peter F. || Creative Commons
Don't Get Pithy With Me: Modern Thought
“It's one thing to translate the gospel into modern idiom; it's something else to transform it using modern thought as the criterion of belief.”
Roger Olson
Image Credit: Johan Hansson || Creative Commons
"Can Science Disprove God's Existence" or "Lies, Damn Lies, and Scientists"
Can the physical sciences disprove God's existence? The answer is quite simple, though many scientists seem confused by the question. Well let's clear it up: No, it can't. The physical sciences can no more prove or disprove God's existence than a thermometer can count the stars in the sky. Why? Because just as the thermometer is designed to take temperature not count the stars, science is the study of the natural universe, while God is supernatural by definition. How we interpret the natural world can certainly inform our faith (or lack thereof), but it is simply incapable of disproving God. If you're tired of athiestic scientists using lies, damn lies, and mostly statistics to try and argue against having faith, I recommend watching the following video.
"Old Earth vs. Young Earth" or "Microsoft and Apple One Flesh—Ewww."
I know it sounds crazy. The thought of OEC’s and YEC’s in bed together makes my skin crawl as if Apple and Microsoft had a baby. It just isn’t natural.
Read moreLiving Loved
"Living loved" is a phrase Wayne Jacobsen uses frequently, and it's powerful when you get it. Watch the following videos about Wayne's journey and you'll understand why.
Check out more on Wayne at: www.lifestream.org
The Father's Chest
I sat in the sterile hospital room behind the threadbare curtain that partitioned off my wife’s bed, my new daughter sleeping on my chest, and listened.
Read moreDon't Get Pithy With Me: Truth & Logic
"You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it."
G.K. Chesterton
Loss of Transcendency: Why a Gospel of Empowerment Can Never Be Enough
The problem with a gospel of empowerment is that it can never be larger than we are. It lacks transcendency. We need a gospel that is bigger, that goes beyond our abilities, because we are simply helpless to conquer sin and death. No matter how powerful we are, no matter how much we hone our thoughts and gifts and skills, we can never defeat our biggest enemies, or fulfill our deepest needs.
Read moreSexuality & Intimacy
A decent summary of our culture's problem with sex and intimacy:
An Improvement on The Avengers! Ha!
Don't Get Pithy With Me: Clear Scripture
"What's vital in Scripture is clear, and what isn't clear isn't vital."
John Beaumont
Image Credit: Scripture by Christopher Jones || Creative Commons