Wednesday, August 23

"I'm a real boy!"

The other day, the speaker on Pilgrim radio mentioned that Jack Handey was a real person. Here I was, going all this time thinking that he wasn't real, but no, in fact he exists.

In honor of finding out that Jack Handey isn't just a conglomeration of 7 SNL writers, today I'll post one of his Deep Thoughts, By Jack Handey

If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.

(ok, and this one too)

A good way to threaten somebody is to light a stick of dynamite. Then you call the guy and hold the burning fuse up to the phone. "Hear that?" you say. "That's dynamite, baby."

Thursday, August 17

Why is it that it is busy everywhere?

I thought I ought to post to my blog. I am busy with the mudane things of life. There isn't really a lot to tell except that I spend amazing amounts of time on the phone, helping people register for the National Conference. Then I go to My Other Job and we're finishing up our biggest annual sale.

I'll leave you with a quote from "War of Words," which I am studying.

"We do not respond to the facts of life, we respond based on our interpretation of those facts. "

Tuesday, August 8

Summertime and Grandpa

When I was a 3 or 4, my grandpa sat me down at their little kitchen table (very 70s/80s decor). He cut a fresh, garden-grown tomato in quarters and sprinkled a little salt on it.

"Try it."

I didn't want to at first. I don't know why I thought (at that young age) that it wouldn't taste good. He must have chuckled when I first tried it, and then gobbled the rest of it down. If I remember correctly, I think I even asked for more.

Well, this year, Grandpa has a bumper crop of 'em, and Mom has some really sweet tasting tomatoes from her garden, too.

And I've been eating them fresh, straight from the garden. I think it will always remind me of my Grandpa, and I know I'll always plant tomatoes, so I can have them fresh with just a little salt on 'em.

Thursday, August 3

And then you wonder, "Why have a blog?"

Well, I wrote my response to the article on Greg Boyd. It's a fine response. I don't think I would change much about it. Not a terribly amazing response, by any stretch of the imagination.

But Greg Gilbert has been guest blogging for Justin Taylor. I'm familiar with Taylor and his blog, and frankly, Greg does a much better, quick and concise overview as to why Boyd is wrong. Much better than mine. So, go over there and read it. it will take you 3.5 seconds.

Wednesday, August 2

Quote - What do I love?

I was once talking with a lady that who had been married for many years. She was married to a person who, very honestly I would have to say was a bad man. He regularly said and did hurtful things. She meanwhile had dreamed of the ultimate husband and had gotten so embittered by the blessing of other women in her church that she said she could no longer go to worship. She felt as if God had forsaken her, so much that she couldn't read her Bible or pray.

I wanted her to understand her identity in Christ and the love of the Lord. I wanted her to understand that God is a refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble, so I quoted a few passages to her that spoke of God's amazing love, when, in the middle of a verse, she said, "Stop!" I looked up at her angry face. She said, "Don't tell me any more that God loves me. I want a husband who loves me!” And she pounded her fist on the chair as she spoke.

I learned something that day. To the degree that you have based your life on something other than the Lord, to that degree God’s love and the hope of the gospel will not comfort you.

Paul Tripp - War of Words, pg 98

Tuesday, August 1

Greg Boyd, Conservatives and the NYT

MOB sent me and iTones a New York Times article on Greg Boyd and a new 'controversy' that Boyd is presently engaged in.

Here is my response (please let me know if the link doesn't work to the NYT. I'll post the entire article if that is the case).

______

Dear C and T,

Dr. Boyd is right in many areas,


"When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross"
"Greg is an anomaly in the megachurch ....His biggest fear is that people will think that all church is is a weekend carnival, with people liking the worship, the music, his speaking, and that’s it."
"He said there were Christians on both the left and the right who had turned politics and patriotism into “idolatry.”

I think those are good points. It's very important not to confuse being conservative politically with being a Christian.

However, he seems to want to go one step further and divide Christian living from speaking out and acting on current issues. Dr. Boyd almost comes off as a pacifist or as one that thinks all ways to live are equal. Being disappointed that Christians have responded badly in areas of politics is legitimate. Swinging the pendulum to the area of "Separate beliefs from application to life/culture/politics" is not.

And this comment is completely without biblical support: "I don’t think there’s a particular angle we have on society that others lack."

Wrong, Dr. Boyd. We have the one truth. Saying that others have a relevant truth that is as legit as God's truth does not agree with the Bible - at all. It's certainly striving to "be nice", but there's not one place in the Bible that says, "yeah, other beliefs/opinions have a good way, too. You might try them out." Scripture's unrelenting stance on its being the only way is what makes the Bible offensive to secular Americans, generally.

That said, Grace and charitable judgments toward others are supremely important virtues in this debate and weren't mentioned - not even once. But, of course, Grace is always missing from the New York Times. I'd expect nothing less.

I think that the ultimate message of "Keep the Gospel the Central, the Most Important Thing in All of Life and Application" was lost as well. I'm going to guess that he meant to say that, but the article comes off as saying "Conservatives, keep you head down and don't piss off anyone that might lean toward blue collar liberalism, because what do you know anyway?"

A book that is far better on our Christian life and Christ is a book by CJ Mahaney - "The Cross Centered Life." Its about 100 pages long. A good read.

I will try to listen to Boyd's sermons to see if his message was a little more nuanced than the NY Times has reflected.

lv, Ains


**Edited to take out "Conservativism/Conservatism" (or whatever that word is) from the title. Frankly, if you can't spell it, Ains, don't use it. :D

With octaves of a mystic depth and height