The Cussing Pastor!

New York Times

Who Would Jesus Smack Down?
By MOLLY WORTHEN

Published: January 6, 2009

The Seattle minister Mark Driscoll is out to transform American evangelicalism with his macho conception of Christ and neo-Calvinist belief in the total depravity of man.

enjoy the read,
ron

Tony Dungy Retirement Speech (HD)

Check out this GetReligion resource.

Well done good and faithful coach!

Enjoy, ron

Football at its best...

Click on the following title: Rick Reilly: Gainesville State high school football gets the best gift of all, hope - ESPN The Magazine

enjoy!

Technorati Tags: football,faith

Evangelist!

Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, Woe is me, for I am undone! At the sight of which Evangelist caught him by the right hand, saying, “All manner of sin and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men.” (Matt. 12.31) “Be not faithless, but believing.” (John 20.27) Then did Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at first, before Evangelist. Then Evangelist proceeded, saying, Give more earnest heed to the things that I shall tell thee of. I will now show thee who it was that deluded thee, and who it was also to whom he sent thee. The man that met thee is one Worldly Wiseman, and rightly is he so called; partly because he savoreth only the doctrine of this world (1 John 4.5), (therefore he always goes to the town of Morality to church;) and partly because he loveth that doctrine best, for it saveth him best from the cross (Gal. 6.12): and because he is of this carnal temper, therefore he seeketh to pervert my ways, though right. Now there are three things in this man’s counsel that thou must utterly abhor.

1. His turning thee out of the way.
2. His laboring to render the cross odious to thee.
3. And his setting thy feet in that way that leadeth unto the administration of death.

"The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

Rejoice, ron

Technorati Tags: The Pilgrim's Progress,Bunyan,Christian,Wordly Wiseman,Evangelist

Christmas songs!

Click on the little blue arrows that appear when you scroll over the song titles, and you are given the option to play, get a web link, or download.  So just click on the option you want.  Listen and...

enjoy,

ron

Christian Reindeer?

A red light for the Red-nosed Reindeer was the latest target of the war on Christmas, Raleigh's WRAL-TV reports from Wilmington, N.C.:

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" caused a stir at a New Hanover County school.  A parent complained about the song's religious reference and got it pulled from her child's kindergarten Christmas show at Murrayville Elementary School.

The song was pulled "because it had the word Christmas in it," said Rick Holliday, assistant school superintendent.

A Jewish mother, who didn't want her name published, objected to what she called "religious overtones" in the song. So the principal agreed to pull it from the program.

After other parents complained, "school board members, administrators and attorneys listened closely to the song's lyrics and decided the song was secular."  Ironically, most folks believe Christmas to be a secular holiday without consulting a lawyer.

Interested? Read article here.

Merry Christmas (Matthew 1.18)!

 

Technorati Tags: Christmas,Reindeer,religion,culture

Profession & Vocation!

What does a person do if they have no profession? Or, more candidly, what does it mean to be human when someone has no profession?

While studying theology and Christian ministry at Princeton Seminary it dawned on me that I had to make a living. Yet it irritated me to think that preaching the gospel could be considered a profession. I thought that preaching was a calling not a profession. I had consciously chosen to pursue Christ not a career. To put it in Pauline terms, I died to the idea of career and even profession. Admittedly, my knowledge of worldly success was inconsequential and making a living took second fiddle to a deep desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3.10). Trusting that God would supply all my need in Christ Jesus was merely a characteristic of my conversion to the gospel.

I believed then, as I do now, that I am called in the Word of God to glorify and enjoy God. That’s my purpose and my vocation. Within the scope of my calling to be fully dependent on Jesus Christ, any work, including that of any profession, can be seen as working out that calling (vocation) with fear and trembling. In other words, no profession, discipline or employment, as such, defines me. What I do is important only in light of who I am. But who I am is my calling or vocation.

Enjoy, ron

Technorati Tags: profession,vocation,calling,work,Gospel

Os Guinness

Os Guinness Part 1 from CPX on Vimeo.

Os Guinness loves the truth!  A prolific author and an ardent social critic, he is in demand around the world as a speaker on issues of faith, society, and public policy. Guinness provides us with prudent and tenacious arguments against moral and cultural relativism. His latest book is titled The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends On It. (see below)

The Truth will set you free (John 8.32),

ron

Sympathy for the Devil! (The King singing)

Note: Roll mouse over Scripture reference (pop-up)!

Greetings (1 Peter 5.8),

Zechariah 3.2

Matthew 4.10

Matthew 12.26

Luke 10.18

Acts 26.18

Romans 16.20

2 Corinthians 11.14

Revelation 12.9

Revelation 20.2-10

In Christ (Matthew 25.41)!

Kant Song

THE TRANSCENDENTAL DEDUCTION
of the Pure Concepts of Understanding

by Immanuel Kant

Translation by Roderick T. Long

Music and vocals by Paul L. Fine

© 1984, 1999 Paul L. Fine and Roderick T. Long

Click below link and enjoy,
ron

Life: A Human Right!

What is the greatest human rights question of our time?

Simple?

Should it be permissible to kill human beings because of their location, dependency, stage of development, or burdensomeness to others?

Christian, your answer please!

Christians today are hedging and trimming and tying themselves into intellectual and moral knots in order to hide their embarrassment about being out of step with the so called progressive spirit of the time (culture of death).

In order to oppose political candidates (including a presidential candidate) who explicitly and adamantly support an unlimited legal license to kill the unborn you will need to distinguish yourself from the surrounding pagan society

How embarrassing!

Be of good cheer, Ron
(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

The discipline of difficulty!

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High. . . there shall no evil befall thee” - no plague can come nigh the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, there certainly will be troubles to meet, but Jesus says do not be surprised when they come. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world, there is nothing for you to fear.” Men who before they were saved would scorn to talk about troubles, often become ‘fushionless’ after being born again because they have a wrong idea of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength. Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy? He cannot, unless you will accept the strain. Immediately you face the strain, you will get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the step, and God will give you to eat of the tree of life and you will get nourishment. If you spend yourself out physically, you become exhausted; but spend yourself spiritually, and you get more strength. God never gives strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the minute. The temptation is to face difficulties from a commonsense standpoint. The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year (August 2). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

rejoice!

If we can't face it,God can't fix it!

God can fix it but we won't face it!

Father Barron on Bob Dylan

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3.8, ESV)

BTW: How does it feel?

rejoice, ron

God's Will!

“The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparently free choices are God’s fore-ordained decrees. Mysterious? Logically contradictory and absurd? Yes, but a glorious truth to a saint.” - Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (June 7). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

You are God’s will!

enjoy, ron

Louis Armstrong - Danny Kaye

rejoice, ron

Cave Dwelling!

Click here to listen to a short mp3 recording (under 14 min) by philosopher Simon Blackburn on Plato's Cave. What is the nature of reality? Is the world as it appears, or is there something timeless behind the world of appearances?

In the above mp3 recording, the philosopher Simon Blackburn discusses one of the most famous images in Philosophy: Plato's cave.

Unfortunately, both philosophers (Plato & Blackburn) "suppress the truth in unrighteousness ... they became futile in they speculations..." (Romans 1.18ff).

"What really happened was God’s free positing of this world-reality. The unique thing about the “generation” of the heaven and of the earth is that it cannot be comprehended with the aid of natural analogies, but it can be described only by the word 'creation'”. - Karl Barth

"All created reality is inherently revelational of the nature and will of God." - Cornelius Van Til

enjoy, ron

TreeChair!

In the picture below a man is standing by what looks like a chair-tree. Now, you know nothing else about the tree other than what you can infer from a visual inspection.

Multiple Choice:

1. The tree probably obtained this shape through chance.
2. The tree probably obtained this shape through mechanical necessity.
3. The tree probably obtained this shape through a combination of chance and mechanical necessity.
4. The tree probably obtained this shape as the result of the purposeful efforts of an intelligent agent.
5. Other.

Select your answer and give supporting reasons.

PS. Kudos to Uncommon Descent blog for this one!

PSS. Romans 1.20ff

Enjoy, ron

Flying Man!

I own a lithograph of Mihail Chemiakin’s “The fall of Icarus” (the largest lithograph he has ever produced). Icarus, son of Daedalus, attempted to escape Crete by flight, but fell to his death. I'd wager that long before Daedalus fashioned a pair of wax wings for himself and his son, we've been trying to find some means to fly, with more than a few casualties along the way.

Well, several weeks ago (May 14), a Swiss man named Yves Rossy (a.k.a., "Fusion Man") made headlines when he strapped on an 8-foot jet-powered wing and leaped from an airplane, soaring over the Alps. Rossy spent years developing his device, and successfully flew the first jet-powered wing in November 2006. There's been a smattering of R&D on jet packs to propel human beings dating as far back as World War II; Rossy's invention is the first to combine a jet pack with actual wings (See more videos at his website).

Now, when I was a small child, I would have this recurring dream about flying. Inevitably I would be falling or jumping from some great height. At first a tinge of fear would come over me. But almost immediately I would begin to fly. Gliding effortlessly. Moving from side to side and up and down with the greatest of ease. It was pure ecstasy, interrupted only by awakening from my slumber.

enjoy, ron

Philanthropy & Humiliation!

Luke 16.19-31 & 1 John 4.16b-21

It is a frightful thing to say, but … there is indeed a love which is mere philanthropy, a sympathetic and benevolent concern and assistance which we can exercise with zeal and devotion without taking even a single step away from the safe stronghold of being without our fellow-man, but in a deeper withdrawal into our shell. There is a form of love - mere charity (the mere crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table)* - in which we do not love at all; in which we do not see or have in mind the other man to whom it is directed; in which we do not and will not notice his weal or woe; in which we merely imagine him as the object of the love which we have to exercise, and in this way master and use him. Our only desire is to practise and unfold our own love, to demonstrate it to him and to others and to God and above all to ourselves, to find ourselves self-expression in this sublime form.

There is thus a form of love in which, however sacrificially it is practised, the other is not seized by a human hand but by a cold instrument, or even by a paw with sheathed talons, and therefore genuinely isolated and frozen and estranged and oppressed and humiliated, so that he feels that he is trampled under the feet of the one who is supposed to love him, and cannot react with gratitude. The great tragedy is that it is perhaps in the sphere of the neighbourly love established and shaped by Christianity, in Christian families and houses and societies and institutions, that we seem to have more frequent and shattering examples of this than in that of the worldly love, courtesy, affability and fellowship which are so much more shallow and discriminating, and therefore so much the less exacting. - Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics, Volume IV : The doctrine of reconciliation, Part 2. (p. 440). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

Doing all things in love begins with the realization that we owe everything to Jesus Christ, His Person & Work (the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us). God demonstrates God’s love in that Christ died for us; out of God’s great love God made us alive in Christ; and in that love we live, by it we conquer, and from it nothing shall separate us. “The love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 15.14). Indeed, our love merely reflects the love God first “poured into our hearts”. This love is directed toward Christ and toward others, whom we love for Christ’s sake!

Enjoy, ron

PS. I included the Luke 16 quote (parenthetical*) in Barth’s comments above