Perspective

(Partially copy 'n' pasted from my comment on Melinda Carter's blog.)
I was thinking today about the two things we do with the Bible on Sundays, Wednesday nights, and other things like that; we read it for ourselves, and we have it explained to us. I was thinking about that and realizing that a lot of time the explanation of what the Bible says is often valued more than the what the Bible actually says. I have seen it in others and in myself as I reflect on times when I didn't want to read the Bible because it didn't tell me what to do whereas some "Christian Inspiration" book would explain the problem and give me 5 steps to work it out... I have since (mostly) repented of that... :)
It seems that instead of letting the Bible speak for itself, we feel the necessity to explain what it should mean for us here and now. Of course, this is necessary, and I don't want to disparage the great gift of expository preaching, but it must arise out of a culture that is already letting "the Bible be the Bible" (to steal a comment from N.T. Wright). Now, I must to cross back over the bridge I just burned in order to say that there may need to be a lot of explaining in order to educate a culture in how to understand the Bible as the kind of ancient mostly narrative book that it is, but, after that, I say, let the stories of the Bible stir up thougths and emotions that we are not used to. Let the parables make us uncomfortable, not just because we may think we know what they mean and that convicts us, but also because we may not really know what they mean, and that should humble us before the one who does. Let us be offended, and corrected, when Jesus curses a fig tree just to make a point or refers to us Gentiles as animals who get the crumbs from his table. I think there are good theological and practical explanations to these sorts of things, but sometimes we miss the point when someone is trying to make the point for us.
So, all that to say, I don't want to do away with expository preaching, commentaries, Christian books and the like, I and we still benefit from those things tremendously, let's just tip the scales back in the direction of hearing from the stories of the Bible itself, allowing ourselves to get caught up in the Story that God has been writing since Adam and Eve, and is now including us in as key players in one of the last acts. May we be faithful to the Author and true to the story that we have inherited through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

(This last paragraph is heavenly influenced by an article by N.T. Wright entitled, "How can the Bible be Authoritative?")

A Date with a Counselor

I'm feeling a little defensive about the idea that there's something wrong with just knowing about God as opposed to knowing God. I'm learning a lot about Jesus right now as I read through and study the Gospel of Matthew, and I think that a large part of getting to know someone is knowing about their life outside of their direct involvement in mine. Then I have a better idea and context for his involvement in my life. Otherwise I feel like it's just a series of appointments with a professional counselor whom you know nothing about outside of those appointments... Anyway, that's just my soapbox and justification for enjoying studying about Jesus. Sorry.

Thank God for calculus...

Sometimes God moves loudly, as if spinning to another place like ball lightning. God is, oddly, personal; this God knows. Sometimes en route, dazzlingly or dimly, he shows an edge of himself to souls who seek him, and the people who bear those souls, marveling, know it, and see the skies carousing around them, and watch cells stream and multiply in green leaves. He does not give as the world gives; he leads invisibly over many years, or he wallops for thirty seconds at a time.

We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the people, events, and things of the day - to which we as sophisticated children have long since become oblivious. What a hideout: Holiness lies spread and borne over the surface of time and stuff like color.
- Annie Dillard, For the Time Being

I find the story of God to be full of paradox, full of contrast. I draw short of saying contradiction, mostly because of the crossed-finger belief that God is consistent and pure. But, nonetheless, His story - before, now, after - is one with asymptotes, discontinuities. As He disappears into heaven, He comes forth from the dust to catch us by surprise. Whew, what a relief!

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever...

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants."

A nice British chap

Check this guy out. I'll let you know what I think in a little while.

N.T. Wright on Jesus at the InterVarsity Press Conference, January of 1999:
Jesus and the Kingdom (8.5MB MP3)
Jesus and the Cross (8.2MB MP3)
Jesus and God (10.4MB MP3)
Jesus and the World's True Light (9.8MB MP3)

Easter revisited

I moved the following over from my website. I posted it during the week before Easter:

Daily Entries

04.19.06

"It has been said that, in the New Testament, doctrine is grace, and ethics is gratitude; and something is wrong with any form of Christianity in which, experimentally and practically, this saying is not being verified. Those who suppose that the doctrine of God's grace tends to encourage moral laxity ("final salvation is certain anyway, no matter what we do; therefore our conduct doesn't matter") are simply showing that, in the most literal sense, they do not know what they are talking about. For love awakens love in return..."

- J.I. Packer, from Knowing God

04.18.06 Easter Tuesday

The Collect

"Grant, we beseech thee, Amighty God, that we who celebrate with reverence the Paschal feast, may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

For the Epistle

Acts 13:26-41

The Gospel

Luke 24:36-48

04.17.06 Easter Monday

The Collect (from the Book of Common Prayer)

"O God, whose blessed Son did manifest himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread; Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we may behold thee in all thy works; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

For the Epistle

Acts 10:34-43

The Gospel

Luke 24:13-35

04.16.06 Easter Sunday

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

1. Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your voice and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

2. Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise, Alleluia!

3. Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died, our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

5. Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven! Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the Resurrection, thou! Alleluia!

Happy Resurrection Day!

And some tunes:

Song o' the day

Good Friday, 4/14
O Come And Mourn
(lyrics)
(album 3)

Resurrection Sunday 4/16
And Can It Be
(lyrics)
(album 1)
Buy Indelible Grace music!

from the song:

"I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

-the letter of Paul to the Romans

goethe & moses & paul

"The greatest happiness of the thinking man is to have fathomed what can be fathomed, and quietly to reverence what is unfathomable." - Goethe, Sprüche in Prosa (Proverbs in Prose)

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." - Moses

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" - Paul, the Apostle

old guys

Upon inspiration from a dear friend of mine (one of probably two people that read this blog...), I have begun a inquiry into the doctrine of the nature of the inspiration of the Bible. I plan on doing this for the next few months, just enough time to get really confused and give up... :) So, I thought I'd stick some stuff on hear, just in case anyone wants to come with me on this journey (or encourage me or tell me it's hopeless or I'm terribly wrong...the second two of which I will promptly delete from my comments...) Here's some perspectives that I ran across today.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the authors is not necessarily the views of the blogger, just something important to consider and pay attention to, possibly even agree with, maybe.

About the authors of scripture: "[Their sole function was] to present themselves pure to the energy of the Divine Spirit, in order that the Divine plectrum itself, descending from Heaven and using righteous men as an instrument like a harp or lyre, might reveal the knowledge of things Divine." - Justin Martyr, early church apologist

About Clement of Alexandria: "Clement's view of the plenary authority of the Old and New Testaments is unequivocal: he admits the doctrine of verbal inspiration, but finds himself sorely tried by the difficulty of reconciling his reason with his faith, the philosophy of Greece with the teaching of the Law and the Prophets.... he advocates no bald mechanical theory which leaves no room for the exercise of men's faculties, but that the human side of inspiration must be allowed due recognition.... And once more, Clement teaches us that the man who believes the Divine Scriptures with sure judgment receives in the Voice of God, Who bestowed the Scripture, a demonstration which cannot be impugned." - George Duncan Barry in his book The Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scriptures, A Study in the Literature of the First Five Centuries

On the Scriptures: "Every letter, how strange so ever, which stands written in the Oracles of God does its work." - Origen

And finally, a little bit of ol' John Calvin: "For if we consider how slippery is the human mind...how prone to all kinds of error...we can perceive how necessary is such a repository of heavenly doctrine, that it will neither perish by forgetfulness, nor vanish in error, nor be corrupted by the audacity of men."

So, that's what I did today, as well as taking a picture of my surroundings as you can see above. Alright, I'm tapping out. More to come later.

uncle! thoughts on moleskins to start....

Okay, i give in. I'm going to blog now. I don't know if it's cause I feel inspired or just because I just read a friends really cool blog and feel out of the loop, but here goes nothing...really, mostly nothing.
Now I know there are great things to live up to as a blogger in the 21st century. I mean, people have been doing it for what, 5, maybe 10 years now. I've got a lot profundity, randomness, and clever little artsy stuff to put out. I should get busy.
My first bit will be a little plug for moleskin journals. I'm probably late to the game on this one, but it doesn't matter when I show, just how I play when I get there, right? My moleskin is the basic "ruled notebook". It has 192 ruled pages with a pocket in the back for all that stuff that you would put in a journal pocket if you had one, and it is the legendary notebook of Picasso, Hemingway, and some guy named Chatwin. They were originally made by small French bookbinders, whom may have been small in stature (as Meredith would like to believe), but were most likely small in the commercial sense of the word. It's really the journal that I have always wanted. Maybe my life will be better and my thoughts more profound now...yes, as sure as the Nike is fast they will!
I could go on, and I probably should seeing as this could possibly be the first and last entry in my blog. But, I will risk it, close my entry for the day, trusting that tomorrow will bring more fascinating thoughts for me to share with everyone and no one at the same time.
Till then, Au revoir! (that's french for goodbye...) ;)

The Gimp

for anyone who might read this, I just installed a free photo editing and graphic design program called "the gimp". I am experimenting and would love any constructive comments on what comes out of this process. thanks!

here's my first entry. thanks for watching!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog.