Masks & Madness!

Poem for 9/11 on 9/12

She leaned on her brother's lego towers,
Being at that age when everything becomes
An aid to the miracle of mobility. Hers was
To sow disassembly on the industrious fields
Of a sibling's imagination. Innocently.

Far out in the world, men learn
The miracle of walking planes on leashes,
Testicles burning with artificial fire,
Striding into gangling towers
Innocent as placard-carrying activists.

Far out in another world, Hitler and Mao
Compare notes, ruing the slow evolution
Of human imagination. "I'd have built airports,
Not Auschwitz; sent Israel to Canaan
On Economy," Hitler says, in a rare interview.

Mao nods absentmindedly, he spends his days
Building Boeings from the pages of the red
Book. In New York, men settled for suicide,
Hurtled down burning towers, voices willed
To answering machines that reproduce

Every nuance of terror, and leak the smells
Of burning words, burning goodbyes, burning
Skins, burning everything. The journey
Of a thousand stories ends with one step
Into dust, into ash, into the salt from many eyes,

Civilisation toppling at the sound of God's name.
And as for you who wear masks and madness, and chant
God's name in vain: Pack all the fear you can, into
The aisles of a million jets, and watch them explode
Prematurely with a heroism that is not yours — and never will be.

(Originally appeared in The Vocabula Review )

911 Musing!

Currently I'm preaching through The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. I'm in chapter 9. In this Chapter Paul uses himself as a example for true freedom. According to 9.11 Paul has every right to reap material things from the Corinthian church. After all, they are his work and Paul has sowed spiritual things in them.

Of course, verse 11 falls firmly into the main teaching of 9. Namely, by means of personal example, Paul reinforces the appeal of chap 8, that the stronger believer is to forego his/her rights for the sake of the weaker, even to adopt the stance of the weak if necessary, by drawing attention to his own surrendering of his apostolic rights for the sake of a greater good! In this case, for the sake of the Gospel’s advance!

The major significance is the gospel-first posture of Paul that so ordered and influenced his life - his passion to keep the Gospel free and clear from any hindrances - whatever that might mean for him personally (1 Cor. 2.2). As a result of this gospel-first posture, Paul was more than willing to forego his personal rights, to abandon his apostolic privileges and “become all things to all men” for the sake of the Gospel’s advance.

To put it another way, what is on display in 1 Corinthians 9 is the gospel-driven, sacrificial mindset and lifestyle! This is the lifestyle that was demonstrated by Jesus, modeled by Paul, and whose echo ought to reverberate through the lives of God’s people, wherever they may be found.

enjoy, ron

The Dawkins Delusion

The God Delusion is an anti-theistic book by British ethologist Richard Dawkins, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

In the book, Dawkins contends that belief in a supernatural creator qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence.

Dawkins writes that The God Delusion contains four "consciousness-raising" messages:

1. Atheists can be happy, balanced, moral, and intellectually fulfilled.
2. Natural selection and similar scientific theories are superior to a "God hypothesis" — the illusion of intelligent design - in explaining the living world and the cosmos.
3. Children should not be labeled by their parents' religion. Terms like "Catholic child" or "Muslim child" should make people flinch.
4. Atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind.
   

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good" (Psalm 14.1).

enjoy, ron

Death Poem!

Both my Uncle Dale and my Mother died this summer. It was sad to see them go. My extended family is a mixed bag when it comes to faith and religion. Although their roots are Christian, they deal with death in varied ways. After spending time with many of them before and after the separate funeral services this poem came to my attention. It seems fitting to portray their assorted sensitivities within the confines of this pithy death dialogue.

Whatcham'callit
(a Poem)

She's dead, he said.
So's he, said she.

Kicked the bucket, he said.
Bought the farm, said she.

Under the clover, he said.
Crossed over, said she.

Iced with a heater, he said.
Sleeps with the fishes, said she.

Taken for a little ride, he said.
Gone to the other side, said she.

Flat-lined, he said.
Out of mind, said she.

To a better place, he said.
By heaven's grace, said she.

Under the sod, he said.
To be with God , said she.

To Paradise? he said.
Would be nice, said she.

Could it be? he said.
Could it not? said she.

Enjoy, ron

PS. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15.53b-57)

Steps of deceit!

Artwork by Escher

The piece shows the eye-catching steps of deceit which run every which way and connect in deceptive ways. Like the manner of fallen man, they are illusory steps going nowhere and all over at the same time.

“Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel” (Proverbs 20.17).

The following is a quote dealing with the matter of deceit from Augustine’s exposition on Psalm 50.19:

“Thy mouth hath abounded in malice, and thy tongue hath embraced deceit” (ver. 19). Of the malevolence and deceit, brethren, of certain men he speaketh, who by adulation, though they know what they hear to be evil, yet lest they offend those from whom they hear, not only by not reproving but by holding their peace do consent. Too little is it, that they do not say, Thou hast done evil: but they even say, Thou hast done even well: and they know it to be evil: but their mouth aboundeth in malice, and their tongue embraceth deceit. Deceit is a sort of guile in words, of uttering one thing, thinking another. He saith not, thy tongue hath committed deceit or perpetrated deceit, but is order to point out to thee a kind of pleasure taken in the very evil doing, He hath said, ‘Hath embraced’.” (Schaff, P. [1997]. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Vol. VIII. Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms. [187].)

Bible words for deceit:

From Hebrew root rāmâ, meaning treachery or guile (Ps. 34:13).
It is used of a witness, of balances and of a bow (Ps. 78:57).

It is expressed by several Greek words, e.g.:
- planē, ‘error’ (Eph. 4:14);
- dolos, ‘cunning’, ‘treachery’ (Rom. 1:29; Mk. 7:22);
- apatē, ‘beguiling pleasure’ (Mt. 13:22; Heb. 3:13; Col. 2:8).

Bible thoughts and verses on deceit:

Since the devil is the arch-deceiver (Rev. 20:10) his children are described as ‘full of deceit’, e.g. Elymas (Acts 13:10).

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1).

Conversely, in Christ’s mouth there is no deceit: “He (Jesus) committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22) and in the true Israelite Nathanael no guile, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (Jn. 1:47).

“…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” (Eph 4:2).

“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph 4:14).

enjoy, ron

Got Time?

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." (Ecc 3:1)

“When are you going to post another blog entry?” asked my friend the other day. “I’m not sure”, I replied. “After all I’ve been rather busy with work, travel and family issues of late.”

But that got me to thinking. One huge feature of our daily lives is the awareness of time. We feel, think, and act in the time flow. Webster's Dictionary defines time as: “The general concept, relation or fact of continuous or successive existence, capable of division into measurable portions, and comprising the past, present and future.” In any case, time bears powerfully on human emotions. Not only do we often regret the past, we occasionally fear the future and curb the present.

Time is frequently described as the fourth dimension, and is very important to scientific observation because the events that scientists attempt to measure and explain all occur within a time frame. However, we know from Einstein's Theory of Relativity that there is no standard or absolute time frame, because time can be defined only by measurement.

You see, the measurement of time is based on reoccurring natural phenomena. For example, a year is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution around the Sun. A day is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution on its axis. The year and the day are then broken down into more arbitrary units - months, hours, seconds, and so on.

Einstein and others have shown that objects cannot travel faster than the speed of light, which is 186,291 miles per second. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, if an object were to travel at the speed of light its mass would become infinite. Hence, the speed of light then could be a function of time, because time can only be defined by measurement.

God is both faster than light and not in a hurry at the same time. For example, it took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead God’s people out of Egypt. God called Moses to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet God was in no hurry to bring that mission into fulfillment. God took His time to accomplish what He wanted with and in Moses. But what did God want?

Interestingly, Moses wrote, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Ps 90:12). We are often more focused on the time something takes than the wisdom we are gaining as we live each day. When we experience God’s presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives.

Even so, neither time nor wisdom will continue to excite us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Jesus Christ. As this happens, we are no longer focused on the wisdom because it is merely a result of our time with Jesus. In other words, wisdom is not the goal of our time with Jesus, but the by-product. Jesus is the Goal, alone and always!

God's timing in our lives will always remain a mystery. God will take the time he needs to get your ear and to impress on you his direction for your life. But our own understanding of time begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly” (Romans 5: 6).

PS. Scientists now suggest that a particle called a tachyon (from the Greek for "swift") may travel faster than the speed of light and cannot be slowed down. Some scientists believe that if tachyons could be detected and harnessed, they would help one to communicate anywhere in the universe instantaneously. So far the particle has not been found, but the new theoretical physics does account for this possibility.

Is time on your side? “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” Habakkuk 2.3

enjoy, ron

Dungy's Lord!

Getreligion.org’s dpulliam says: How do you tell a story that’s essentially been told over and over again? That is the trouble for reporters who are assigned to write about the release of a book by Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy who is as consistent as anyone when it comes to expressing the important things in his life.

You can’t have an interview or even a conversation with Dungy without recognizing that his personal faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing to him…..

View article...

Enjoy, ron

Perception!

“The lions perishes for lack of prey…”. - Job 4:11

“Perception is reality” is an expression that defines the modern consciousness. In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. The word perception comes from the Latin perception-, percepio, , meaning "receiving, collecting, action of taking possession, apprehension with the mind or senses."

Yet "perception is reality" is usually just a clumsy but short way of saying that people generally do not react to reality, they react to their perception of it. Therefore if you control how they perceive reality, which is easier than controlling reality, you control how they will react.

For example, in the world of advertising it does not matter whether the audience believes the message to be true, only that they perceive it to be true. So those who are selling and those who are buying make a contract with the vapors. Their actions will be the same whether they believe it or only perceive it. Hence, the overt and subliminal message that perception is reality has snaked its way into every corridor of their reasoning.

Now from a Christian point of view, the enemy of our souls is very good at this game. He often manifests as an angel of light causing us to perceive to be true that which is a lie. For example, you may be at an impasse with a someone or something right now and it appears that there is no exit. Or, you may be experiencing an inordinate amount of fear or doubt or condemnation. It’s a lie and when you buy into it, your perception of the matter overrides the reality. Your only basis of truth is God’s Word. And the Devil prowls to and fro seeking to devour via perception (1 Peter 5.8).

Like a lion, the accuser of the brethren, makes for an impressive opponent. Yet behind that front is a weak, toothless feline with a destination that has already been prepared in the great abyss. That’s the reality! Satan knows his destination, but he wants to make a big roar.

The next time some circumstance or person comes into your life that creates fear and trembling, first determine the source. Look past the façade! See the thing in light of God's Word. Perception is not reality and the lion perishes for lack of prey.

enjoy, ron

Dylan Hillbillies!

This is a great combination!



You have the great Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs singing a great Dylan song on the greatest TV show ever. Add to that mix a great dance routine by Granny and Jed and you have a great laugh.

PS. (I don’t watch TV shows but when I was a child “The Beverly Hillbillies” was one of my all time favorites)

PSS. If you want to watch and hear "Mama You Been On My Mind", click here to go directly to a YouTube presentation of Dylan and his band delivering a delicate and lovely version of the song in Iowa in the year 2000.

watch, listen & enjoy, ron

Blog or not to blog?

Greeting Friends!

I apologize for my lack of blogging this past couple weeks. I’m working on some other projects at the moment which are very time consuming (funeral, board evaluation projects, research, writing, editing, re-editing, etc.). I hope to have more time beginning this week to dedicate to the blog. We'll see!

enjoy ron

Habakkuk 3.17-19

Grace!

Augustus Montague Toplady

(November 4, 1740 – August 11, 1778)

“Grace ! ’Tis a Charming Sound”

This great hymn is the work of two well-known 18th century English ministers, Philip Doddridge and Augustus Toplady.

Grace! tis a charming sound, harmonious to the ear; Heav’n with the echo shall resound and all the earth shall hear.

’Twas grace that wrote my name in life’s eternal book; ’twas grace that gave me to the Lamb, who all my sorrows took.

Grace taught my wand’ring feet to tread the heav’nly road; and new supplies each hour I meet, while pressing on to God.

Grace taught my soul to pray, and made mine eyes o’er-flow; ’twas grace which kept me to this day, and will not let me go.

O let Thy grace inspire my soul with strength divine; may all my pow’rs to Thee aspire, and all my days be Thine.

Chorus: Saved by grace alone! This is all my plea; Jesus died for all mankind, and Jesus died for me.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

enjoy, ron

The Exorcist!

There's a lot of talk about evil spirits around these days. After all Ephesians 6.10ff does say that the Christian struggle is against the "spiritual forces of wickedness" (darkness, fallen powers, devil's schemes, etc.). What do you think? Can a Christian cast out demons? Have you ever tried?

Remember the ridiculous but very scary movie The Exorcist? It seems that exorcism are best left to the highly gifted or Jesus alone!

Just for fun check out this amusing 30 second re-enacted cartoon version of The Exorcist by bunnies (click here now)!

PS. For a brief guide on how to cast out demons click here.

enjoy, ron

Kiekegaard Quote!

I wonder if a man handing another man an extremely sharp, polished, two-edged instrument would hand it over with the air, gestures, and expression of one delivering a bouquet of flowers? Would not this be madness? What does one do then? Convinced of the excellence of the dangerous instrument, one recommends it unreservedly, to be sure, but in such a way that in a certain sense one warns against it. So it is with Christianity. If what is needed is to be done, we should not hesitate, aware of the highest responsibility, to preach in Christian sermons - yes, precisely in Christian sermons - against Christianity." - Soren Kierkegaard's (Works of Love: Some Christian Reflections in the Form of a Discourse)

I am reminded of Hebrews 4.12 (click here to read it in English Standard Version).

enjoy, ron

Baptizing a drunk!

A certain man is stumbling through the a cowboy town, totally drunk,

when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the horse trough.

He proceeds to walk into the trough and subsequently bumps into the preacher.

The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol,

whereupon he asks the drunk,

"Are you ready to find Jesus?"

The drunk answers, "Yes, I am."

So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water.

He pulls him up and asks the drunk,

"Brother have you found Jesus?"

The drunk replies, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

The preacher shocked at the answer, dunks him into the water again for a little longer.

He again pulls him out of the water and asks again,

"Have you found Jesus my brother?"

The drunk again answers, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

By this time the preacher is at his wits end and dunks the drunk in the water again

but this time holds him down for about 30 seconds and

when he begins kicking his arms and legs he pulls him up.

The preacher again asks the drunk,

"For the love of God have you found Jesus?"

The drunk wipes his eyes and catches his breath and says to the preacher,

"Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

Enjoy, ron

Dylan's 66

Happy birthday to Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman), who turns 66 today! Singer-songwriter Ted Quinn calls Dylan's birthday “a national religious holiday.” Dylan's tune "Like A Rolling Stone" was named the #1 song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in November 2004. Also in tribute, the city of Duluth, Minnesota (Dylan’s birthplace) will inaugurate the 1.8 mile “Bob Dylan Way” today by installing the first street sign with that designation. Of course, Bob Dylan was born along a stretch of Highway 61, in Duluth, Minnesota. Bob Dylan commemorates the highway in the title song of his album Highway 61 Revisited. See YouTube link here or watch Dylan & the Boss revisit 61.

Say What? Although he refused to play at Woodstock, the spirit of Dylan's music was an integral force at the legendary Woodstock show. For example, he is responsible for such songs as "All Along The Watchtower" (made into a hit by Jimi Hendrix who did show up at Woodstock).

Quote: "Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, Bob, why are you resisting me? I said, I'm not resisting you! He said, You gonna follow me? I said, I've never thought about that before! He said, When you're not following me, you're resisting me."

enjoy, ron

Esau Sells Out!

Esau Sells his Birthright to Jacob

by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606 – 1669)

drawing with pen and brush ca. 1648/50 - British Museum, London

Want more: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn biography.

This work is linked to Genesis 25:30

Below is an extract from Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678, public domain). With one exception (Bible), Pilgrim's Progress was considered the most important writing in English, for a century or two.

Note: HOPE: is Hopeful, Christian's companion, CHR: is Christian, the main character of this book, on his way from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City and RON: is me (not found in actual text)!

HOPE: Why art thou so tart, my brother? Esau sold his birthright, and that for a mess of pottage, and that birthright was his greatest jewel; and if he, why might not Little-faith do so too? (Hebrews 12:16)

CHR: Esau did sell his birthright indeed, and so do many besides, and by so doing exclude themselves from the chief blessing, as also that caitiff did; but you must put a difference betwixt Esau and Little-faith, and also betwixt their estates. Esau's birthright was typical, but Little-faith's jewels were not so; Esau's belly was his god, but Little-faith's belly was not so; Esau's want lay in his fleshly appetite, Little-faith's did not so. Besides, Esau could see no further than to the fulfilling of his lusts; "Behold, I am at the point to die, (said he), and what profit shall this birthright do me?" [Genesis 25:32] But Little-faith, though it was his lot to have but a little faith, was by his little faith kept from such extravagances, and made to see and prize his jewels more than to sell them, as Esau did his birthright.

You read not anywhere that Esau had faith, no, not so much as a little; therefore, no marvel if, where the flesh only bears sway, (as it will in that man where no faith is to resist), if he sells his birthright, and his soul and all, and that to the devil of hell; for it is with such, as it is with the ass, who in her occasions cannot be turned away. [Jer. 2:24] When their minds are set upon their lusts, they will have them whatever they cost. But Little-faith was of another temper, his mind was on things divine; his livelihood was upon things that were spiritual, and from above; therefore, to what end should he that is of such a temper sell his jewels (had there been any that would have bought them) to fill his mind with empty things? Will a man give a penny to fill his belly with hay; or can you persuade the turtle-dove to live upon carrion like the crow? Though faithless ones can, for carnal lusts, pawn, or mortgage, or sell what they have, and themselves outright to boot; yet they that have faith, saving faith, though but a little of it, cannot do so. Here, therefore, my brother, is thy mistake.

RON: Little faith is enough if it is in Christ Jesus alone!

enjoy, ron

David w/ Goliath Head!

Caravaggio 1573 – 1610 - oil on panel (91 × 116 cm) — 1606/07

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Caravaggio mostly painted on canvas, but this work was made on a panel. For more on Caravaggio see Caravaggio biography.

This work is linked to 1 Samuel 17:54

David has just killed the giant Goliath and takes the head with him in order to show it to his people.

Niccolò Machiavelli, in The Prince, states that we should learn this lesson from David and fight with our own weapons, using our own strengths, and not try to borrow or hire those of others.

What are some of the Goliaths we face in life?

Goliath represents the many insufferable obstacles and pitfalls we encounter in life, whether they be spiritual or physical. Goliaths will try to win over us, but, like David, we have the grace of God on our side, and God empowers us to confront and conquer those enormous giants. Like David, we fight with our God given weaponry to defeat them. We do not need to borrow or hire the weapons of others; all we need is the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ to defeat whatever Goliath we encounter. So pray, study the Word of God, and witness to God’s grace in the face of today's Goliaths.

Heads will roll!

enjoy, ron

Karl Barth Quotes

 

Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is himself the way. - Karl Barth

Source: Karl Barth Quotes

Light!

Someone once said, "There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 4:1-6).

lighten up, ron

Murdered Bible Printers!

Killing Christians in the name of religion doesn't raise an eyebrow to Muslim murder in the name of civility! Click on the below link and ask yourself what's wrong with this picture?

Link to GetReligion » Print » Lackluster coverage of murdered Bible printers

See also this FOXNews link & Christianity Today Link.

ex parte? ron

Theodicy!

A gunman walks into various dorms and classrooms at Virginia Tech and opens fire on students and professors. Students jump out of four story classroom windows to get away from the carnage. Then, the gunman, a fellow student named Cho Seung-hui, turns the gun on himself. In the worst school shooting in U.S. history, 33 students (including Cho) and professors are dead.

Immense tragedies such as this raise a host of questions. Where is God in all this? How could he allow this to happen? What kind of anguish would cause someone to randomly shoot people, and then commit suicide? What can we do as a society to prevent such tragedies in the future?

We are again facing the age old question of evil in a world both created and controlled by a good God (known, in theological circles, as theodicy). In case you are unfamiliar with either the term or its definition, here is one way the problem is presented:

God cannot be both all good and all powerful because:

1. if he is good then he would do all he could to stop evil; evil exists, therefore God did not stop it and is not all powerful.
2. if he is all powerful and evil exists then evil is his doing; therefore he is not good.

N.T. Wright makes the following point in his brilliant book Evil and the Justice of God:

If you offer an analysis of evil which leaves us saying, “Well, that’s all right then; we now see how it happens and what to do about it,” you have belittled the problem…. for the Christian, the problem is how to understand and celebrate the goodness and God-giveness of creation and, at the same time, understand and face up to the reality and seriousness of evil.

Evil cannot be explained. It can be viewed from different perspectives, but we, as finite creatures, do not fully know why evil is in the world and what God’s purpose for it is. What we do know, as Christians, is that we believe in an all powerful, all holy, all loving, all knowing, just God who has acted faithfully in the past and in whom we can be confident will act in the future.

At the end of the day there are no worldviews or religions that give a satisfying reason for evil in the world. What Christianity does have to offer above all other worldviews is the confident hope that God will restore the world. On that day, and not a day sooner, will we then understand the ‘why’ of the problem of evil.

“I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, of the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; and it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify what has happened.” Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

For further reading:

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright

Unspeakable by Os Guinness

How Long O Lord? by D.A. Carson

Why Does It Have To Hurt? The Meaning of Christian Suffering by Dan McCartney

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper

Peace, ron

The Real Easter!

Easter greeting illustrated by Michael Walker.

enjoy, ron

Receive Jesus!

The life & death of Jesus Christ!



Jesus took your punishment upon Himself -"For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3.16-17). Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus, and God will grant you everlasting life. Jesus is alive! Follow Him today!

The Three Marys at the Tomb!

Hubert van Eyck ? – 1426

Jesus has risen!

Van Eyck’s painting shows three women positioned at the empty grave of Jesus. An angel is telling them what happened while the guards slumber in a deep sleep. The women bring bottles with ointment and spices to anoint the corpse.

None of the gospels describes the scene exactly as Van Eyck does on this panel. The painting is closest to Matthew's description, the only gospel that mentions an angel sitting on the door to the empty grave, and that also mentions the sleeping guards.

Mark talks of "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome" and a young man sitting next to the grave.

Luke says the women were "Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James". He also claims that "two men stood by them in shining garments".

John only mentions Mary Magdalene visiting the grave.

This work is linked to Luke 24:1.

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Happy Resurrection Sunday, ron

The Entombment!

By Caravaggio 1573 – 1610

Monumental work by Caravaggio on the Entombment.

Nicodemus and the apostle John have wrapped Jesus in cloths. The women look on and throw up their arms and wail as Jesus is laid down.

The painting first served as an altarpiece for Roman church,

but is now part of the papal collection.

This work is linked to Mark 15:46

enjoy Easter, ron

Rise Up!

"Tsisa Dulehisanv" is Cherokee for “Jesus / when he arose”.

He is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Happy Easter!

Red Alert!

Prophet Dylan!

Pope Benedict XVI ( alias, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) is known to have a strong dislike of popular music. As a matter of fact, he tried to stop Bob Dylan playing for the late John Paul II. It seems that Benedict feared Dylan was a "prophet" whose beliefs were at odds with the Roman Catholic Church.

In a recent book of memoirs about his predecessor, Pope Benedict recalls the events of the World Eucharist Congress at Bologna in 1997. It was a gathering of 300,000 young Catholic pilgrims who were to be exposed to Bob Dylan's radical songs with their "completely different" message.

Benedict wrote: "The Pope appeared tired, exhausted. At that very moment the stars arrived, Bob Dylan and others whose names I do not remember.

''They had a completely different message from the one which the Pope had.

"There was reason to be sceptical - I was, and in some ways I still am - over whether it was really right to allow this type of 'prophet' to appear."

At the time he gritted his teeth and sat it out. But now Pope Benedict XVI has admitted that he thought his predecessor's encounter with the singer Bob Dylan was a awful scheme.

In 1997, John Paul II sat on a stage along with 50 cardinals in a vast fairground outside Bologna while slightly below and in front of him, Bob Dylan, wearing a cowboy hat and rhinestone-spangled zoot suit, crunched his way through "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", "It's a Hard Rain" and "Forever Young".

After his performance Dylan went to greet John Paul on the podium to robust roars from the young and enthusiastic crowd.

Dylan became a born-again Christian sometime in the late 1970’s and released several albums relating to personal salvation. Notable among his Christian releases is Slow Train Coming.

enjoy, ron

Sinnerman!

Check out this YouTube of David Eugene Edwards (Woven Hand), the long-time front man for those remarkable gothabilly rockers 16 Horsepower singing Sinnerman.

16 Horsepower is not your ordinary Christian country-music band. There’s little hillbilly or cowboy about them. Rather, their subject matter turns on man's sins and breakdown, societies lack of faith, wallowing in a world of superficial possessions... all swallowed up in traumatic soundscapes of `ghostly banjos and a rather pulsation low-end. This music and lyric is not for the faint of heart!

Sinnerman lyrics

o sinnerman where will you run to
sinnerman where will you run to
sinnerman where will you run to
all on that day

run to the mountain
the mountain wont hide you
run to the sea
the sea will not have you
and run to your grave
your grave will not hold you
all on that day

see sinnerman
mountains are falling
sinnerman
the sea it rages
sinnerman
the grave will not hold you
all on that day
run to the lord
lord please hide me
run to the lord

sinnerman
sinnerman
sinnerman

where you gonna run to
all on that day
run to the mountain
the mountain wont hide you
and run to the sea
the sea will not hold you
and run to your grave
the grave will not hide you
all on that day

sinnerman
the mountain is falling
and sinnerman
the sea it rages
and sinnerman
sinnerman
sinnerman
where will you run to
all on that day

the mountain wont hide you
the sea won’t have you
and the grave will not hold you
all on that day

enjoy, ron

Poet Longfellow!

Speaking of poetry and Longfellow, as a kid, I was once considered a poet by an admirer. Here's a rough paraphrase of their comment: “Ron, you’re a poet but don’t know it. But your feet sure do show it. They’re Longfellows!”

On a more serious note, one of my sons, Geoffrey, attended a medium sized Christian prep school called Minnehaha Academy. As you may surmise, it’s located near Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis Minnesota. The falls is in Minnehaha Park, a large city park on the shores of the Mississippi River. The park includes picnic areas, trails, sculpture and the 53 foot falls, just off of Hiawatha Ave (Route 55). Although Longfellow never visited the spot, Minnehaha Falls is the waterfall of his Song of Hiawatha.

By the way, when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow turned 70 on February 27, 1877, the USA celebrated the day, hosting parades across the land in his honor and sending "salutations and friendly greetings from far and near." Had he the constitution of Methuselah, this year he would have celebrated his 200th birthday with the writing of another amazing poem.

In his day, Longfellow was a star. More than 50,000 bought The Song of Hiawatha. His friend Nathaniel Hawthorne said, "No other poet has anything like your vogue." People from all walks of life would knock on the door of his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to ask for autographs.

"A Psalm of Life" is one of Longfellow’s best-known works. It captures the kind of poetic spirit that will continually make him one of America's favorite poets

A Psalm of Life

What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

enjoy, ron

1 Corinthians 3.18-23

The following is an introduction to this week’s Sunday sermon. Specifically, I’ll be expositing verses 1 Corinthains 3.21-23.

Nearly 2000 years ago the church of Jesus Christ in Corinth was wrestling with problems similar to our own. Gluttony, hero worship, jealousy & dissension were prominent expressions of church life then as now. Their principal struggle, as is ours, turned on the question of what to do with worldly wisdom. They had the mind of Christ! Yet, spiritual ignorance & human arrogance was vitally eroding their essential understanding of His Person & Work.

Succumbing to creature influence, they were substituting worldly wisdom for God's wisdom. Value swapping! Exchanging eternal value for temporal values! In other words, by placing inordinate worth on material things, their understanding of Spiritual things became confused & amorphous. As a consequence, Paul could not speak to them as to spiritual ones.

Keep in mind the Corinthian church was secure in Christ, confirmed to the end! It was a dynamic, spiritual community, not lacking in any gift (1 Cor. 1.1-9). But their fitness in impacting the Corinthian culture & in ministering to one another was being undermined by jealousy, factions, intellectual egotism, & selfish ambition.

Paul has already contrasted God's wisdom with human wisdom several times in the first three chapters 1 Corinthians. Now here in 3:18-23 he continues to challenge his Corinthian brothers & sisters concerning their attraction to human wisdom. Paul carefully contrasts the wisdom of this world in vv 18-20 with the wisdom of God in vv 21-23.

Here’s the point: What these Corinthian Christians have done in pretending to be wise by the standards of the world is to show themselves foolish in the eyes of God. So Paul is saying, "You must stop exalting individuals, put an end to divisions, deny any wisdom that you think you have, & instead embrace God's wisdom & the tremendous riches & blessings & resources & growth & health that God gives."

Enjoy, ron

Praise Children!

Psalm 127 says that children are a gift of the Lord. I have seven children and three grandchildren and every single one are worthy of praise. After all they’re exceptionally bright! Or are they? For that matter, do I even need to praise them for being so smart or talented or athletic or just generally so much better than the rest of the hoi polloi (rabble). Well guess what…

...a growing body of research - and a new study from the trenches of the New York public-school system - strongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of “smart” does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.

Well it turns out that praise is fine. Praise your children often and with sincerity. However, remember to praise them for their effort, not their intelligence. If you praise kids for their intelligence, they tend to avoid tasks they fear they will fail at. And get this recent insight from an article in New York magazine:

Scholars from Reed College and Stanford reviewed over 150 praise studies. Their meta-analysis determined that praised students become risk-averse and lack perceived autonomy. The scholars found consistent correlations between a liberal use of praise and students’ “shorter task persistence, more eye-checking with the teacher, and inflected speech such that answers have the intonation of questions.” ...image maintenance becomes their primary concern - they are more competitive and more interested in tearing others down. A raft of very alarming studies illustrate this.

What does the eternal wisdom of the Scriptures tell us about child-rearing? It uses vivid images. Psalm 127 goes on to portray children as arrows in the hand of a warrior. Ancient warriors made their own arrows. It took lots of time and attention to detail to shape the arrowhead so the shaft would fly true and straight. We are preparing our children to be "shot" into the next generation, and there aren't any shortcuts; it takes time.

That really means that each child must be treated as a unique individual who requires shaping and molding and attention and investment. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to child-rearing. And it takes a lot of time to pay attention to your kids.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

enjoy, ron

Ash Wednesday!

Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.

Remember, man, that you are dust And unto dust you shall return. Genesis 3.19

You may see a few Christians with real dirt on their foreheads today. Fat Tuesday was their "last hurrah" before Lent began now, Ash Wednesday. Yet regardless your own level of participation in such carnality, is it not far time you repent as well?

What is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is the day Lent begins in the Catholic faith leading up to Good Friday and ultimately Easter, Resurrection Sunday. It is forty days of penance commencing with the reception of the biblical symbol of mourning and penance, ashes. The words from the book of Genesis (3:19) help us to think of the shortness of life, of our last end, and of that moment when each shall come before God to be judged. "Remember," wrote Saint Teresa of Avila, "that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; that there is only one glory, which is eternal."

Of course Ash Wednesday is celebrated by more than Catholics. Interestingly even Catholic churches have changed the recitation while marking foreheads from the Genesis verse: “For dust you are and to dust you will return” to “Turn away from sin and believe the Gospel” or some variant thereof. After all as per the Bible, a mark on a person’s forehead indicates his/her ownership. So the mark of cross on the forehead is a symbol of the person’s belonging to Jesus Christ, who died on a cross.

As for me? I don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday formally.. I seem always to ere on the side of essential truth over ritual truth. I’m reading through St. Augustine Confession (a book all should read). He offers some words to Jesus that I feel best depicts my own Ash Wednesday observance:

Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new. Too late have I loved you! You were within me but I was outside myself, and there I sought you! In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things you have made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The things you have made kept me from you - the things which would have no being unless they existed in you! You have called, you have cried, and you have pierced my deafness. You have radiated forth, you have shined out brightly, and you have dispelled my blindness. You have sent forth your fragrance, and I have breathed it in, and I long for you. I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst for you. You have touched me, and now I burn for your peace. – Augustine Of Hippo (Aurelius August) (354–430), North African philosopher, theologian. Confessions, bk. 10, ch. 27.

repent & enjoy, ron

For Life!

The following news item touched me this morning (click here). As an advocate for life I was pleased to hear the good report on Amilia Tayor who after four months in a neonatal intensive care unit was going home.

Her claim to fame? She is the world's most premature living baby, born at 21 weeks and six days. No baby born at less than 23 weeks was previously known to have survived.

When she was born, Amillia weighed 280g and measured 24cm, slightly longer than a ballpoint pen. Now 17 weeks old, Amillia drank from a bottle for the first time this week.

So the good doctors now surmise that she is thriving and well enough to be cared for by her parents at home. "Even though she's only four pounds now, she's plump to me," the baby's mother, Sonja Taylor said.

Enjoy, ron

Late breaking news: Now I read that Amillia may not go home today (click here). Regardless, I'm happy she's alive and I'm praying for her! Go girl!

Know Thyself!

I believe it was Socrates who once exclaimed: “An unexamined life isn’t worth living!” Perhaps you can understand the philosophy behind this guy’s approach to life. If the above media doesn’t work for you, click here (self smart). Now sit back and revel in the sophisticated way in which this life expert intertwines advanced brain theory, drug abuse, weight lose, marriage & family and book learning to come up with his philosophy for living.

enjoy, ron

Love and/or Charity?

The observance of Valentine’s Day Wednesday moved me to pay a little closer attention to this concept of love, specifically, giving love. Since Valentine’s Day is a day of loving and giving, what do the two have to do with one another? This problem was wrestled with back in the 4th century by St. Jerome.

The story goes that Pope Damasus commissioned ascetic scholar St. Jerome to prepare a Latin translation of the Bible now known as the Vulgate. You see, the translation was into the common people's "vulgar" Latin. Jerome's sources were mainly in Greek, and in trying to get from Greek to Latin, one of the first problems he faced was what to do with agape.

Agape is a Greek word meaning "love." But it's love of a special species. The ancient Greeks had a number of words for love, each with different implications. For example, a celebration of Valentine’s Day is sopping with the Greek love word eros, and you don’t need a cupid’s bow to bull’s-eye what kind of (erotic) inferences it carried.

Agape, on the other hand, implied a holy or pure love, as in "Love (agape) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love (agape) your neighbor as yourself." Jerome's problem was that he lacked a good Latin equivalent for agape. Latin's primary love word was amor, but its meaning was very broad. The love of a parent, brother, friend, lover - all sorts of love were amor in Latin. So Jerome turned to caritas instead.

Caritas is a Latin word that used to mean "dearness" or "high price." By extension, it sometimes meant "esteem," "affection," or - in an indisputably chaste sense - "love."

By choosing it as his Latin agape, Jerome lent great importance to caritas - and to words, like "charity," that ultimately rose from it. He also inadvertently set up a schism in English Bibles. Some versions, like the King James Bible, talk of charity ("And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity"). Others go right from agape to love ("And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love").

However you translate it, agape is one of the three primary Christian virtues, along with faith and hope. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13.2).

Give me a little love here, ron

Bruce Metzger

The Bible says give tribute to whom tribute is due. So I hereby give tribute to Bruce Manning Metzger who died on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at the age of 93. He was the George L. Collord Professor Emeritus of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. I had the huge privilege of studying with this preeminent American New Testament critic and biblical translator while working on my MDiv at Princeton.

Being a born-from-above Christian at Princeton who still believed that the Bible was the Word of God, I often felt like the proverbial fish out of water. Several times Dr. Metzger calmed my biblical nerves and excited my academic instincts while explaining his view of biblical inspiration (yet, I didn’t agree). On one occasion while perambulating about campus, I happened to find myself alongside him. We were enjoying light conversation when the Holy Spirit moved upon me and I experienced Christ’s presence leading this truly devout man. The Spirit bore witness and I was invited to decrease.

Indeed, Bruce Metzger was a spiritual man who cared passionately about the Bible in ways I knew not of. In fact, he was one of the world leaders in textual study of the New Testament, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. Dr. Metzger served as Chair of the Committee of Translators for the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible 1977–90 and the story goes that he saw it through the press almost single-handedly. This was important to him because, as he saw it, with the NRSV Bible in the hands of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant Christians they all would have recourse to a common biblical text as an instrument of unity.

BTW: A Bible autographed by Bruce Metzger is sealed in the time capsule embedded in the corner of Princeton Seminary’s Scheide Hall.

Glory, ron

The Parliament of Fowls!

The following is a brief tribute to Geoffrey Chaucer's ode to love: Parliament of Fowls

The Parliament of Fowls is perhaps the first St. Valentine's Day poem ever written. It has been suggested that it was begun in May of 1382 and finished for Valentine's day in 1383. In this famous poem, Chaucer sets forth his love-vision. What follows is a very brief summation of the story of this delightful occasion poem. Alceste says of Chaucer, that he wrote "many an ympne for [Love's] holydayes."

In the opening verses the poet declares himself to be without direct experience of the ways of the God of Love. "I knowe nat Love in dede." But, as he goes on to explain, he has learned of the subject from books.. Actually he goes to books for all kinds of knowledge. Of late he has been reading a very helpful book, the Somnium Scipionis, and he relates at some length how the elder Africanus appeared to Scipio the younger in a dream, and took him up into the heavens, where he showed him the mysteries of the future life.

The poet goes on to say that night comes and he puts his book to rest. After falling to asleep, he dreamed that this same Africanus came to him too and stood at his bedside. To reward him for the study of his "olde book totorn," the Roman took him to a beautiful park, where he saw the temple of Venus, and then to a hillside, where all the birds were assembled before the goddess of Nature on Saint Valentine's Day.

The birds had come, following Nature's order, to choose their mates, and then to fly away. The first choice belonged to the royal tercel eagle, who claimed the lovely formel eagle on the goddess's hand. At once and with little delay a second and a third tercel, both of lower rank, disputed the first one's claim, and the three noble suitors pleaded their causes before Nature. Then the issue was debated by the general parliament of the birds. Finally Nature ruled that the choice should rest with the formel eagle herself, and she asked for a year's delay before making her decision.

There you have it in a nutshell! Now if you want to listen to the poem in podcast, read the poem in old English and /or generally know more about the subject of St. Valentine’s Day click on the appropriate links at this address (click here).

The Parliament of Fowls (PDF)

Perhaps you want to read a more up-to-date translation of Chaucer's famous love poem (click here).

Happy Valentine’s Day, ron

Valentine's Day @ WC?

Did you know that there's a White Castle (WC) kitty-corner to the Bus/Train Station down town Indianapolis. I discovered this truth while attending the AFC championship playoff last month.

The story in brief goes like this: Several of the football crazed men from our Wednesday night Bible Study made the pilgrimage to Indy. It was late when Brother Joe B. called me. His train had just arrived in Indy. Since I took the Big Bird, I was in early (the rest drove) and got situated in a cozy motel room north of the city. Having earlier rented a car at the airport, it would be about 20 minutes before I could pick Joe up. Adroitly (head on a swivel as usual) Joe spotted the WC and said take your time.

White Castle? How long had it been for me? Perhaps over 40 years now! All I can remember about WC was hitting it on a few very early mornings. Usually this occurred several hours after a football game and some party hopping. Sometime after midnight, a couple of other players and I would end up at the only eatery open. As I recall, each of us would order not one or two but a dozen burgers for starters. They came on little buns with chopped up onions on top a small piece of animal protein. The only thing left for us before bed was to determine who among us could eat the absolute most burgers!

So when I saw that White Castle was having a special Valentine's Day at many of their locations (including Minneapolis), I felt obligated to share the news with you. Especially you who are at wits end on where to take their sweetheart for valentine eats. After doing a little research I discovered that those who dined at the WC last year were treated like royalty.

Check it out, there were tablecloths, candles, romantic music and a host. As a bonus, I heard, that a few diners in one big town WC were greeted by a French speaking manager. Also, there was even a crystal-like swan with some "after-dinner" heart candy. All that on top of some tasty and cheap burgers. I’m tempted to break my 40 year WC abstinence policy tomorrow. What do you think?

Just hit this White Castle link and call the Minneapolis number for reservations. Come on, enjoy a memorable Valentine’s Day dinner with someone you love.

BTW: If you want to see some folks enjoying last year's meal click here: (Flickr).

Enjoy, ron

Sparrow Falls!

Lyrics:

Holy king cause my skin to crawl
Away from every evil thing
In a cotton mouth in a cotton mouth
Quick across the water bring

Your hand speak of a broken door handle
Of thoughts and deeds a little bird sings
A little bird sings
Star rise on the face of the water
Quiet comes on the wing of a lark
Call out in an old time holler
Call out if you're afraid of your dark

I will you no grief no to see you fall
Once had a mind to I'm done with that
I mean you no harm at all

What stands between us
Runs right through my head
It's water still under the bridge
We come together in a horsehead union
Hang my tobacco hands from a beam
Silver handled and chest of drawers
Out of the longhouse I took what's yours
I took what's yours

I will you no grief no to see you fall
Once had a mind to I'm done with that
I mean you no harm at all

I will you no grief no to see you fall
Once had a mind to I'm done with that
I'm done with that
I mean you no harm at all

“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (ESV, Luke 12.7)

Thinking of sparrows? (click here)

Listen, read. reflect & enjoy, ron

Faith, Race & Coach!

Let’s hear it for Tony Dungy! He knows the true relationship between faith and race. In rather timely fashion, it seems Tony has an implicit word or two to say with reference to African American History Month. As you can read below, Dungy challenges the idea that his race matters more than his faith. As quoted in the NYT:

“I tell you what, I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American coach to win this,” Dungy said. “It means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything, I said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches showing you can win doing it the Lord’s way. We’re more proud of that.”

Note #1:“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (ESV, Matthew 6.33)

Note #2: Of course Tony is not the first or only Christian coach to have won the Super Bowl.

Note #3: At the rate things are going, it won’t be long before our great Nation will be celebrating a Christian American History Month.

Enjoy, ron

One Foundation!

Preaching through 1 Corinthians is pure joy. I’m in chapter 3 and Paul is driving home the point that Jesus Christ is the only foundation that the church can situate on (v. 11). The preaching that Paul began with in Corinth was indeed foundational. He refers to it back in 2:1-2 as his decision “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

The foundation of the church is not New Testament ethics or the moral teachings of Jesus. And as important as love & good works are, neither of those is the foundation that the church is built on. It's not built on the decision-making or teachings of leaders throughout the two thousand plus years of church history. It's built on Jesus Christ & him alone.

Jesus once told the Jewish religious leaders, "You search the Scriptures... & it is these that bear witness of Me...." (Jn 5:39). Paul says in Eph 2:20 that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles & the prophets, & Jesus is the cornerstone. So here in ! Corinthians he says again, "Don't try to lay another foundation."

During an especially heated period of theological controversy in England in 1866 when liberalism threatened to destroy the great cardinal doctrines of the Anglican church, a hymn was written by Pastor Samuel Stone (1839–1900). He was known as a people’s pastor who refused to compromise on doctrinal orthodoxy.

It was Stone’s desire to write a hymn that would reaffirm the Lordship of Christ as the foundation of the church. So he wrote twelve hymn texts based on the Apostles’ Creed. The musical text (click here) below refers to the ninth article: “The Holy Catholic (Universal) Church, the communion of saints: He is the Head of this body.”

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation by water and the Word: from heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.

Elect from ev’ry nation, yet one o’er all the earth, her charter of salvation One Lord, one faith, one birth; one holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with ev’ry grace endued.

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee.

enjoy, ron