Kip' Hop... It don't stop!

London protestors are parasitic scroungers

2012-03-08T16:56:00.001Z

The widespread perception of bankers, is that they are the most hideous leeches - pompous twits who indulge their every fantasy while we plebs suffer it out with our meagre rations. However, following an article The Daily Telegraph, highlighting how the 'poor' in our society really are parasitic scroungers, I've been reminded of a story that was doing the rounds a few years ago...

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay £1.

The sixth would pay £3.

The seventh would pay £7.

The eighth would pay £12.

The ninth would pay £18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay £59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in a pub every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner offered them an enticing deal. "Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by £20. Drinks for the ten now cost just £80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the £20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that £20 divided by six is £3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid £2 instead of £3 (33%savings).

The seventh now paid £5 instead of £7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid £9 instead of £12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid £14 instead of £18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid £49 instead of £59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a pound out of the £20', declared the sixth man.

He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got £10!'

'Yeah, that's right', exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a pound, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get £10 back when I got only two? The rich folk get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and university professors, protestors and CofE clergy is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Lent should be a time for feasting...

2012-03-07T14:32:00.000Z

Is one of the helpful biblical insights in the discussion below.

How "Reformed" is the "Reformed resurgence"?

2012-03-05T10:52:00.000Z

Is one of the questions Carl Trueman was asked in a recent interview. His answer:

That, of course, depends on how one defines ‘Reformed.’ If you understand it in terms of the Reformed confessions and church orders which stem from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, then it is not very Reformed at all. It is largely baptistic and exhibits a separation between theology and church life/organisation which is alien to the confessional traditions of Christianity.

If you understand it as ‘anti-Pelagian’ or committed to four or more of the five points of Calvinism, then it is fairly Reformed; but that is a rather minimalist definition of the term.

Part of the problem is that terms such as `Reformed’ and ‘confessional’ have come to be used by many as having nothing more than doctrinal significance. For me, they also carry with them clear implications for church life and ministry. One cannot separate Reformed theology from Reformed practice, even if there is some legitimate debate about the finer details of the latter.

Simply put: belief in predestination does not make you Reformed in the sense that the word carries in my world. Nevertheless, we should rejoice that good doctrine is being grasped by so many young people. That is a good thing, even if not as perfect as we might hope.

The line that stuck out for me was the view that the "resurgence"

is not very Reformed at all. It is largely baptistic and exhibits a separation between theology and church life/organisation which is alien to the confessional traditions of Christianity

+ the comment that

belief in predestination does not make you Reformed

In simple words there is much much more to being Reformed, than merely plucking one string of the TULIP bow!

The difference between Law and Gospel

2012-03-01T07:34:00.001Z

The difference between the law and the gospel does not at all consist in this: that the one requires perfect doing, the other only sincere doing – but in this: that the one requires doing, the other, not doing but believing for life and salvation. Their terms are different not only in degree, but in their whole nature (Emphasis added).

OUTSTANDING insight by Walter Marshall in The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification

The EU is NOT a free market

2012-03-01T06:11:00.000Z

More insights on the folly that is the EU, by forthright MEP, Daniel Hannan

He makes water blush

2012-02-29T15:42:00.000Z

Preparing a sermon on John 2 for this Sunday and I came across a beautiful line trying to describe what happened, when Jesus turned water into wine:

"the conscious water saw its God and blushed" (Cranshaw as quoted in Hendriksen, John, 118)

Matthew Parris is partly right

2012-02-28T00:00:00.000Z

Having earlier mocked the new atheists for their faux-courage, Matthew Parris in a recent Spectator article, provocatively suggests that it is the atheists, who in fact, are our allies because they take God seriously. This unlike the pretend agnostics who applaud faith whilst being concerned that it merely play the role of purveyor and preserver of culture. I'm not sure I buy Parris' entire argument. For one thing atheists whilst being more open in their opposition to God, have also been known to declare that believers can assent to whatever beliefs they want, just so long as they don't adduce them in public (So Dawkins et al). Second, it's a bit of a misnomer to say that the new atheists are our allies simply because they take God seriously. The Bible gets the issue right when it declares that even demons believe in God and shudder (James 2) and yet, they are headed for the hottest part, of darkest miserable hell. The issue therefore is not simply that of taking God seriously - the issue is one of right/true belief in God which then leads to right/true action towards God. The old Sunday school puts it well - Trust and Obey / for there is no other way / to be happy for eternity / but to trust and obey. I kind of see though, what Matthew Parris is getting at namely, that agnostics (and other cultural pretenders) should stop patronising us Christians.

Infidels lack courage

2012-02-27T08:08:00.000Z

Is David Bentley Hart's perceptive analysis of the current breed of new atheists. He writes:

“...today’s most obstreperous infidels lack the courage, moral intelligence, and thoughtfulness of their forefathers in faithlessness. What I find chiefly offensive about them is not that they are skeptics or atheists; rather, it is that they are not skeptics at all and have purchased their atheism cheaply, with the sort of boorish arrogance that might make a man believe himself a great strategist because his tanks overwhelmed a town of unarmed peasants, or a great lover because he can afford the price of admission to a brothel. So long as one can choose one’s conquests in advance, taking always the paths of least resistance, one can always imagine oneself a Napoleon or a Casanova (and even better: the one without a Waterloo, the other without the clap).”

Read the whole thing here

Friday Fun: The mind of toddler

2012-02-24T09:12:00.000Z

Our little one is not yet a toddler, but I think the Mrs would concur...

The Bible is not enough!

2012-02-23T22:53:00.000Z

Cessationist or not? That is the question I've been considering this evening. As part of my reading, I came across this wonderfully provocative quote:

Without the Holy Spirit we may as well burn our Bibles
John Owen, Puritan Divine, 1616-1683

Pithy, potent and profound - just as you'd would expect from the Prince of the Puritans.

First test of a gentleman

2012-02-22T09:19:00.003Z

This is the first test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible value to him.

William Lyon Phelps

Perfect understanding

2012-02-22T08:23:00.001Z

It's been a difficult few days. A prominent and well loved church member is seriously ill and it's been a struggle knowing how best to comfort and encourage him and his family at this time. What do you say when you see a man who was incredibly active and generally outgoing, lying comatose with all sorts of tubes connected to him? Words fail you and it's folly pretending in such situations that we understand what family and close friends are going through. Thankfully, as a Christians we don’t necessarily have to understand or identify with what each person is going through in order to help or to be consoled.

Why?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15)

Incredible - there is nothing that anyone has gone through, is going through, or will go through, that Jesus cannot relate to, sympathize with or encourage his children in - What a Saviour!

Friday Fun: Can't you do anything right?

2012-02-17T09:33:00.002Z

Giles Fraser skewers Richard Dawkins - yeah!

2012-02-15T13:54:00.000Z

Which of us hasn’t groaned when the Rev Giles Fraser, former canon of St Paul’s, pops up with his Thought for the Day on Radio 4? Dr Fraser is the archetypal 21st-century vicar, as predictably Lefty as he is drearily on-trend. That “former” prefix is because, you’ll recall, he resigned after welcoming the Occupy protesters to his cathedral. And since leaving St Paul’s he has, in a form of caricature made flesh, become a Guardian leader writer. But I take it all back. Giles Fraser, you are now my hero.

So begins a great piece in The Telegraph which focusses on an interview on Radio 4 where Professor Dawkins was skewered, by (of all people) Giles Fraser! A key moment was Fraser's testing of Dawkins' knowledge regarding Darwin's seminal book, On the Origin of Species. The conversation was as follows:

Fraser: Richard, if I said to you what is the full title of The Origin Of Species, I’m sure you could tell me that.

Dawkins: Yes I could.

Fraser: Go on then.

Dawkins: On the Origin of Species…Uh…With, oh, God, On the Origin of Species. There is a sub-title with respect to the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.

OUCH!

Polycarp beats Valentines any day

2012-02-13T21:18:00.000Z

Some time ago in conversation with some schoolchildren, I suggested that Christians in 21^st century Britain (The West?) ought to be reticent in celebrating Valentines. The challenging questions that followed have forced me to carefully assess my views on that issue and here in this short article, I want to articulate something of my justifications why, I would I urge caution on celebrating Valentines.

At the outset I want to say I'm not anti-romance. Rather my concern in raising this issue is with a view to asking Christians to consider carefully what we assimilate from our culture and, to also encourage us to transform our thinking in terms of how we order our holidays and seasons.

As many of you know, Valentines is meant to be a day when those who are courting, those who are betrothed, those who are married, express their affection for one another in visible acts of devotion. In many cases, this translates to the man getting flowers for his beloved as well as the couple enjoying an intimate meal. Now there is nothing wrong with any of these things per se.

However, I wonder if we Christians sometimes simply join in with what the culture commends, without considering how a Christian celebrating such a festival would differ. Now please hear me carefully – I am not saying that celebrating a festival which the surrounding culture celebrates is necessarily wrong. In fact I would argue that many of the festivals and celebrations which our culture celebrates find their proper place and true meaning in a Christian setting. What I am saying though, is that we need to consider everything we do in light of Scripture and ask ourselves how a Christian celebrating Valentines day (or for that matter Mothers day, Christmas, Easter etc) would differ from how the world celebrates. I think this is a basic application of verses such as 2 Corinthians 10:5 where Paul writes that 'we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.' It also follows from passages such as Colossians 1:16-18 where we are told that 'all things were created by Him and for Him... so that in everything he might have the supremacy.'

I wonder if one way to ensure that the days, weeks and months of the year display Christ's supremacy is for us to consider patterning our lives around the much maligned notion of a Church year. No doubt this sounds for some like an archaic and possibly dodgy idea but I want to offer two reasons why I think following the church year can be of immense benefit to us.

First, the Church year follows the story of the main events in Jesus' life: his birth at Christmas, his death on Good Friday, his resurrection on Easter Day, his Ascension forty days later, and his sending of the Spirit at Pentecost. Other lesser known seasons such as Advent and Lent are also linked to the great stories of salvation: Advent is meant to encourage us to consider Christ's final second coming whilst Lent is meant to help us reflect on the great sacrifice that Christ paid on the cross. The benefit of following these seasons as the year unfolds is that they provide Christians/the Church with a very clear framework with which to teach and live the gospel. Thus as we consider the bible readings that are appropriate for the season and as we mediate on how these readings fit into God's big story of salvation we will become more immersed in the gospel and become more the people God calls us to be.

Second, by following a church calendar the wonderful story of salvation will be easily transmitted from one generation to the next. This will therefore help Christian families and the Church to pass on the gospel message from one generation to the next (Psalm 78:4-7). Think for example how over the years children get to learn many of the Christmas traditions (Santa, presents under the Christmas tree, carols, Advent calendar, mince pies) simply by having them repeated them year on year. In a similar way, our knowledge of the life, death resurrection and ascension of Jesus will become ingrained the more we’re immersed in these stories regularly. Furthermore, following a church calendar will also help ministers to go deeper in their preaching, since over time, congregations will begin to see easily, the major connections between individual passages and the wider themes in God’s Big Story. Ministers will therefore not always have to spend inordinate amounts of time on the biblical background but can simply allude to it and thus focus on the passage in hand.

All this to say – instead of organizing the year into the patterns dictated by the world (valentines, mother's day, the summer holidays etc) shouldn't it be better to organize our calendar to reflect Christian priorities? Wouldn’t it be great if our children marked off the different seasons by recalling certain events in the life of Christ and were familiar with the Scriptures that described them? Wouldn’t be wonderful if over time, rather than simply celebrate what the world celebrates (in the way they celebrates it) we Christians celebrated those things that really matter in accord to the Scriptures? One example of this was kindly provided to me by a good friend who, while we were considering a good reason for our families to get together for some food, fun and fellowship, suggested that we meet on or around the 23rd February. Her reason? Well this is the date which historically the Church has remembered a great Christian martyr: Polycarp. What a fabulous idea and for me, remembering this great hero of the faith rather than partaking in soppy sentimentalism, will be the highlight of my February.

Atheists and Apostates for Evensong?

2012-02-07T14:20:00.000Z

Occasionally, the mainstream media will let slip something that reveals the incoherence of attempting to be a thoroughgoing pagan. Not so long ago, The Sydney Morning Herald, published an article which waxed lyrical about attending Evensong (A sung evening service, based on the quaint Prayer Book liturgy). According to the article, "Religions are the repository of our wonderful liturgical music and the majestic language of the King James Bible. The soaring architecture evokes images of both the Medieval roots of our European history and the Victorian English who, whether we like it or not, shaped much of the Australian persona." In other words, the Christian faith is responsible for a lot that is amiable and good and a cursory examination of the (fading?) beauty of Western civilisation confirms this. Such honesty about the glories of Christendom (even from Christians!) is rare and yet, occasionally, the Truth breaks free. It's one of the many challenges that pagans face - attempting to be King in God's world. You can only do it for so long and then you begin look pathetically silly. It's like the child, who tries to slap their father, all the while, sitting on daddy's knee. Such folly is wonderfully illustrated in the conclusion of the Herald article which says: "I propose that we have a society, Atheists and Apostates for Evensong. And I further suggest that we gather and attend sung Evensong in every city that it is sung. None of us should let this atrophy continue." My Oh My - what a schizophrenic world to inhabit...! Rather than continue in such madness, I simply urge any atheists, apostates and agnostics to forget such folly and turn to Daddy saying...

Our Father,

who art in Heaven,

Hallowed by thy name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

But deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

The power and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen

And for those who prefer the sung version...

Another George Herbert classic

2012-02-06T08:08:00.000Z

This was originally a poem but was turned into a hymn by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It could work well for churches preaching through the Gospels especially the 4th as it is laden with Johannine motifs.

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life

1. Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:  
 such a way as gives us breath, 
 such a truth as ends all strife, 
 such a life as killeth death.

2. Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:  
 such a light as shows a feast, 
 such a feast as mends in length, 
 such a strength as makes his guest.

3. Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:  
 such a joy as none can move, 
 such a love as none can part, 
 such a heart as joys in love.

Goodbye Christianity = Hello Barbarism

2012-02-05T15:32:00.000Z

It is in Christianity that our arts have developed; it is in Christianity that the laws of Europe have — until recently — been rooted. It is against a background of Christianity that all our thought has significance. An individual European may not believe that the Christian Faith is true, and yet what he says, and makes, and does, will all spring out of his heritage of Christian culture and depend upon that culture for its meaning. . . . If Christianity goes, the whole of our culture goes.

T.S. Eliot, Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948).

A good way to end the day

2012-02-02T19:09:00.000Z

Looking up some of the old liturgies has some wonderful benefits. Today I stumbled upon an Ancient hymn (Te lucis ante terminum) that is apparently sung at the day's end (Compline for the liturgists among you). Among its many brilliances are the way it considers such ordinary things as nightmares as something worthy of our great high King's ear. Tis very much in line with Philippians 4. The other thing of course is in the way in effortlessly models the biblical way to pray (to the Father, through the Son by the Spirit) and then there are the thoughtful grammatical touches like the recurring rhyme which is a great help for those of us with poor memory. All in all a good way to end the day.

Te lucis ante terminum (To thee before the close of day)

To thee before the close of day,

Creator of the world, we pray

That, with thy wonted favour, thou

Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,

From fears and terrors of the night;

Withhold from us our ghostly foe,

That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,

Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,

Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,

Doth live and reign eternally.

Amen.

Scared of flying? Don't watch this

2012-02-01T21:43:00.000Z

Stop faffing and get over it

2012-01-27T13:48:00.000Z

Here is another vivid illustration of a pagan speaking the truth in love

Oh it’s such a drag, what a chore
Oh your wounds are full of salt.
Everything’s a stress and what’s more
Well, it’s all somebody’s fault.

- OK go

Beyond Sola Scriptura and loving poetry

2012-01-24T00:12:00.000Z

In his new book, Remythologizing Theology, Kevin VanHoozer contends that "Biblical reasoners do well to appreciate the subtlety and depth of the divine rhetoric" which I think is him saying, that Christians are not merely supposed to attend to the very words of Scripture but also to manner in which Almighty God presents it. Put differently we are not simply to think about the words that God uses to reveal Himself, but we are also to consider the various forms He deploys to communicate His-story. Speaking theologically for a moment it is not just the words and individual lines that are inerrant but so too are the Genres - the form and the content matter. Given the poetic nature of much Scripture, isn't this a most erudite justification for loving poetry?

Friday Fun: Margaret Thatcher joke

2012-01-20T13:54:00.000Z

I'm hoping to see the new Margaret Thatcher film featuring stellar actress, Meryl Streep soon. Among the things which I hope the film portrays, is the reputed mother-knows-best attitude famed of the Iron Lady. It's neatly summed up in a joke where Thatcher and her cabinet go to dinner at a swish London restaurant. The maitre d' asks Mrs Thatcher what she would like. A steak she says. Thick. Rare. And the vegetables, madame? They'll have whatever I have, says the PM.

A logic FAIL BIG time/Thank you Oak Hill

2012-01-18T17:08:00.000Z

Over at Richard Wiseman's blog, there is an interesting discussion on whether it would be right or not to let women and children go first if you were one of those on the Costa Concordia when it capsized. There have been some abominable answers along the lines of: yes children should go first but not women BECAUSE women and men are equal! Where oh where does one begin? If one says that men and women and equal but doesn't include children, does this therefore constitute an admission that children and adults are not equal? And if yes (which in some respects they are not) does this then not make us aware that the issue of equality requires further clarification i.e. equal how/in what respect? This is one of those many moments, when I'm incredibly thankful to God for the training I received at Theological college. Thank you very much Oak Hill.

How often, Communion?

2012-01-17T15:46:00.000Z

The Lord's Table should be regular, observed whenever God's people assemble together as summoned. We are the family of God, and part of this is demonstrated in the fact that we eat together. As I understand the Scriptures, this means weekly communion. Second, the Lord's Table is a feast, not a fast, and is a time for rejoicing and celebration, not a time for afflicting our souls. It is eucharist, thanksgiving. Third, it should be observed with wine that has alcohol in it and bread that has gluten in it. No Christians should avoid those elements on the authority of their own choices or preferences.

Via a great post on food which can be read in full here

How not to teach God's Sovereignty

2012-01-15T15:29:00.001Z

Via: ASBO Jesus (pastors especially should read the comments section at ASBO Jesus to see how damaging this sort of thing is + to garner the kind of helpful things one could say when chatting to those who are grieving)

Advice on impromptu speaking

2012-01-14T10:29:00.000Z

“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” — Mark Twain

“If you want me to talk for ten minutes, I’ll come next week. If you want me to talk for an hour I’ll come tonight.” — Woodrow Wilson

Harold Macmillan: “What are you doing, prime minister?”

Winston Churchill: “Rehearsing my impromptu witticisms.”

NOT, preach the gospel always, use words if necessary BUT...

2012-01-11T11:30:00.001Z

Preach the gospel always and since it is necessary, use words!

Over time, women are like wine while men are like milk!

2012-01-09T15:13:00.000Z

One of many witty insights you'll hear in the interview below...

Doug Wilson Interviews Mark Driscoll (Part 1) | Men & Masculinity from Canon Wired on Vimeo.

God's law = real freedom

2012-01-07T09:38:00.000Z

“The condition of a fish’s life, its environment, is water; take a fish out of water, and it dies. The condition of a tree’s life, its health and its environment, is the soil; uproot a tree, and you kill it. It is no act of liberation to take a fish out of water, or a tree out of the ground. Similarly, the condition of a man’s life, the ground of man’s moral, spiritual, and physical health, is the law of God. To take men and societies out of the world of God’s law is to sentence them to a decline, fall, and death. Instead of liberation, it is execution. Man’s liberty is under God’s law, and God’s law is the life-giving air of man and society, the basic condition of their existence.”

Rousas Rushdoony, Law and Liberty

If you're single and male, 27 is the limit!

2012-01-06T11:29:00.000Z

In a parley with Mark Driscoll, Doug Wilson advises young men that "if you're single, male and 27, find out her name and ask her."

Ooops! So I blew that one then but, I suppose better late than never

Without Christianity all we'll have is oppressive totalitarianism

2012-01-05T19:42:00.000Z

So thinks the current president of the EU parliament (Mr Jerzy Buzek) who recently highlighted that “the founding fathers of the united Europe were active Christians”. Many of the European elite seem to forget this point, given their increasing hostility to religion (and specifically Christianity). Interestingly it is this same elite who often champion equality and tolerance and yet by their antipathy towards the Christian faith, they show themselves to be an aggressive, and in reality intolerant, minority [who] would like to lock our faith in to the small box of our privacy. As Mr Buzek put it: “History shows that the empty space left by the removed cross has always been conquered by totalitarian ideologies. The disappearance of the cross often resulted not in the release but the enslavement of man.” Or as Jesus puts it: if you abide in my word [...] you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Nothing is more important than...

2011-12-27T20:08:00.000Z

Sunday Worship.

Don’t make rules for your family that contradict the rules Jesus makes for us. Worship is the most important thing we do for our individual families. The best thing you can ever do for your children is to teach them that there is nothing, nothing, more important than worshiping God with His people on Sunday. If they learn this lesson, your family will be mightily blessed — and they will be blessed because they have learned that our individual families are secondary to the Family of God.

Read the rest at Family Time

Christmas video: Beatbox Nativity

2011-12-24T10:47:00.000Z

There's only One Saviour

2011-12-23T18:00:00.000Z

Lots of good pithy statements by Warfield about the One and Only Saviour, Jesus Christ and His wonderful salvation, including a comment I've heard before that "the gospel is not good advice but good news." As you rejoice in our Immanuel this Advent, read this and consider again how immense is our salvation

“Jesus did all that is included in the great word ‘save.’ He did not come to induce us to save ourselves, or to help us save ourselves, or to enable us to save ourselves. He came to save us. And it is, therefore, that His name was called Jesus—because He should save His people from their sins. The glory of our Lord, surpassing all His other glories toward us, is just that He is our actual and complete Savior; our Savior to the uttermost. Our knowledge, even though it be His gift to us as our Prophet, is not our Savior, be it as wide and deep and as high as it is possible to conceive. The Church, though it be His gift to us as our King, is not our Savior, be it as holy and true as it becomes the Church, the bride of the Lamb, to be. The reorganized society in which He has placed us, though it be the product of His holy rule over the redeemed earth, is not our Savior, be it the new Jerusalem itself, clothed in its beauty and descended from heaven. Nay, let us cut more deeply still. Our faith itself, though it be the bond of our union with Christ through which we receive all His blessings, is not our Savior. We have but one Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing that we are and nothing that we can do enters in the slightest measure into the ground of our acceptance of God. Jesus did it all. And by doing it all He has become in the fullest and widest and deepest sense the word can bear—our Savior. For this end did He come into the world—to save sinners; and nothing short of the actual and complete saving of sinners will satisfy the account of His work given by His own lips and repeated from them by all His apostles. It is in this great fact, indeed, that there lies the whole essence of the gospel. For let us never forget that the gospel is not good advice but good news. It does not come to us to make known to us what we must do to earn salvation for ourselves, but proclaiming to us what Jesus has done to save us. It is salvation, a complete salvation, that it announces to us; and the burden of its message is just the words of the text—that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” ― B.B. Warfield, The Power of God Unto Salvation

Baptists' distorted view of Scripture

2011-12-19T07:34:00.000Z

Thanks to this chart showing the differences between the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of Faith, I'm beginning to understand where Baptists (in their current mutation) come from. One of the key differences, relates to the alternative views of Scripture (specifically sufficiency) in the 2 confessions. The pertinent section is presented below with the WCF on the left and the Baptist Confession on the right. The significant bits are highlighted in blue, showing that while Baptists (wrongly) want everything laid out in black and white, the Reformed are (rightly) happy to join the dots.

The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

6. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

Becoming flesh in 3D

2011-12-15T16:59:00.000Z

Below is a stunning video of a baby's development from conception to birth by internationally renowned artist Alexander Tsiaras. His explanation of the incredible complexity of how life begins, is worth sharing as we contemplate during this season of Advent, the astounding fact that our risen and reigning Lord Jesus has been there and done it!

Marriage beats romance any day

2011-12-12T16:22:00.000Z

Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but rather the creation of time and will, any marriage happy or unhappy is infinitely more interesting than any romance however passionate.

W H Auden

Nein are worthy, therefore move on up

2011-12-09T09:54:00.001Z

“Do not forget this. At first it is natural for a baby to take its mother's milk without knowing its mother. It is equally natural for us to see the man who helps us without seeing Christ behind him. But we must not remain babies. We must go on to recognize the real Giver. It is madness not to. Because, if we do not, we shall be relying on human beings. And that is going to let us down. The best of them will make mistakes: all of them will die. We must be thankful to all the people who have helped us, we must honour them and love them. But never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 158

In other words, none of thine heroes are worthy, therefore look him up (Acts 2:32-33)

Periodic table of the Bible

2011-12-02T11:07:00.000Z

This is neat, especially if you're a Chemistry geek or like pictorial summaries.

What would St Paul say to smoking?

2011-11-30T21:46:00.000Z

He would say lawful . . . but certainly not expedient. And when the kid has been “brought under the power” of it, then it is no longer lawful. It was lawful to jump off the cliff, but it was unlawful to hit bottom. People who give their bodies extra dependencies to fight off are saying, in effect, that the normal course of Christian sanctification is way too easy for them. They want to undertake their earthly pilgrimage with one hand tied behind their back. They are so strong.

Via: Unlawful to hit rock bottom

John Stott (RIP) had 3 problems areas

2011-11-28T22:00:00.000Z

Proving faithful to his name, Carl Trueman provides an insightful commentary on some of John Stott's failings + observing how evangelicals have largely exalted the man whilst mostly ignoring/downplaying his serious errors. In this, Trueman models for us, how to live out Scripture's injunction to speak the truth in love as we seek to grow into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. It's a great piece and the whole thing is worth a read. Here is Trueman's conclusion is:

That Stott was important and influential is beyond dispute; but we should not sentimentalise him because of that or ignore his faults or, worst of all, so praise him that those very faults might ultimately be baptized as virtues and continue to do damage long after his departure to glory. Our brains must be kept switched on; we must give credit where credit is due; but we must also remember that sometimes we learn most from great men when we look at the great mistakes they made.

To find out more and especially what Stott's 3 problem areas were, read the whole thing here

Cameron: Dawkins is a fool and Christian education rocks

2011-11-28T17:17:00.001Z

With somewhat unusual candour, David Cameron (UK Prime Minister) challenges Dawkins' intelligence and surprisingly exalts Christian education...

Way to go Mr Prime Minister - more answers like this and we might stop praying Psalm 109:8

What is faith?

2011-11-26T09:14:00.000Z

Hudson Taylor (missionary to China in the 19th Century) replies:

Is it not simply the recognition of the reliability or the trustworthiness of those with whom we have to do? Why do we accept with confidence a Government bond? Because we believe in the reliability of the Government. Men do not hesitate to put faith in the Government securities, because they believe in the Government that guarantees them. Why do we, without hesitation, put coins into circulation instead of as in China, getting a lump of silver weighed and its purity investigated, before we can negotiate any money transaction with it? Because the Government issues the coin we use, and we use it with confidence and without difficulty. Why do we take a railway guide and arrange for a particular journey? . . . Well, one has confidence in the reliability of these official publications. As a rule we are not put to shame!

Now, just as we use a railway guide we must use our Bible. We must depend on God’s word just as we depend on man’s word, only remembering that though man may not be able to carry out his promise, God will always fulfil what He has said... (From Hudson Taylor, A Series of Mediations)

In other words faith is not so much a faculty or some kind of sixth sense but rather a disposition of dependence towards someone or something. The application? Babies even the tiniest of infants can have faith.

Work, love, dance as if...

2011-11-24T18:31:00.002Z

Work as if you didn’t need the money, love as if you’ve never been hurt, and dance as if no one’s watching.

Author unknown

If only they could see Ephesians 5

2011-11-24T10:00:00.000Z

Ephesians 5 addresses the man in a married couple thus: Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her.

The woman is addressed thus: Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

In our day, these are some of the most un-PC words and yet when they are put into practice, one of the most beautiful things arises: homes where there is mutual respect and sacrificial love and where children get to see how man and wife are to relate tenderly to one another. Now compare that with the 8 characteristics below, listed in a certain now defunct pagan publication:

“Certain rules to discover married couples in large societies or in public,” from The Meteor; or, General Censor, 1814:

If you see a gentleman and lady disagree upon trifling occasions, or correcting each other in company, you may be assured they have tied the matrimonial noose.
If you see a silent pair in a hackney or any other coach, lolling carelessly one at each window, without seeming to know they have a companion, the sign is infallible.
If you see a lady drop her glove, and a gentleman by the side of her kindly telling her to pick it up, you need not hesitate in forming your opinion; or,
If you see a lady presenting a gentleman with anything carelessly, her head inclined another way, and speaking to him with indifference; or,
If you meet a couple in the fields, the gentleman twenty yards in advance of the lady, who perhaps is getting over a stile in difficulty, or picking her way through a muddy path; or,
If you see a lady whose beauty and accomplishments attract the attention of every gentleman in the room but one, you can have no difficulty in determining their relationship to each other–the one is her husband.
If you see a gentleman particularly courteous, obliging, and good-natured, relaxing into smiles, saying smart things, and toying with every pretty woman in the room excepting one, to whom he appears particularly reserved, cold, and formal, and is unreasonably cross–who that one is nobody can be at a loss to discover; or,
If you see a young or an old couple jarring, checking, and thwarting each other, differing in opinion before the opinion is expressed; eternally anticipating and breaking the thread of each other’s discourse, yet using kind words, like honey-bubbles floating on vinegar, which soon are overwhelmed by the preponderance of the fluid; they are, to all intents, man and wife! it is impossible to be mistaken.

“The rules above quoted are laid down as infallible in just interpretation; they may be resorted to with confidence; they are upon unerring principles, and reduced from every day’s experience.”

Is it any wonder that many in our society consider marriage to be such a bind? If only the could see Ephesians 5...

Anti-recycling

2011-11-23T17:31:00.000Z

Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not re-heat his sins for breakfast.

Marlene Dietrich

Govt = the worst copycat

2011-11-21T23:17:00.001Z

Governments did not invent pay-as-you-go social security. They copied it from the oldest social institution in the world — the family.

And having done that, they're now hell-bent on destroying the very institution where they 'acquired' most of their innovative ideas. Reminds of this cartoon:

EU says water isn't hydrated

2011-11-21T09:15:00.000Z

EU bans claim that water can prevent hydration

Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.

EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

Next, tell be telling us that water isn't wet!

Temper tantrum ≠ "Come let us reason together"

2011-11-20T16:39:00.000Z

When you see an out-of-control child pitching a fit in some public place, and his parents standing by helplessly with a beleagured look on their faces, the most obvious issue is lack of courage on the part of the parents...

The reason he does this is because he has always returned from previous trips to that worthy emporium with some new item in his hot little fist. He does it because it works, and it works because his parents are cowards...

Temper tantrums are always aimed at the gut. They are not an invitation to "come, let us reason together." Tantrums are moves of naked coercion, and the aimed-for response is one of naked capitulation. That is the game, and all the arguments to the contrary are simply self-serving rationalizations, an exercise which cowards have practiced often, and are which they are really good at.

Via: Occupy Brawl Street and something to be remembered, next time the wee nipper loses it whilst out shopping

Friday Fun: How to make a baby stop crying

2011-11-18T08:57:00.002Z

I'm waiting for the BIG "but"

2011-11-17T17:20:00.000Z

I'm currently reading, Jim Jordan's Creation in Six Days. Chapter 2 is a consideration of the Framework Interpretation (much loved by Evangelicals) and begins thus:

"To begin with, let me write some words in praise of Bruce Waltke."

All I'm waiting for now is the "but..."

He'd win hide & seek every time

2011-11-17T16:04:00.000Z

How can we discover whether there is a God at all? I have something rather simple to say about that question at the very start. It is something that seems to me to be rather obvious, and yet it is something that is quite generally ignored. It is simply this—that if we are really to know anything about God it will probably be because God has chosen to tell it to us. Many persons seem to go on a very different assumption. They seem to think that if they are to know anything about God they must discover God for themselves. That assumption seems to me to be extremely unlikely. Just supposing for the sake of argument that there is a being of such a kind as that He may with any propriety be called “God,” it does seem antecedently very improbable that weak and limited creatures of a day, such as we are, should discover Him by our own efforts without any will on His part to make Himself known to us. At least, I think we can say that a god who could be discovered in that way would hardly be worth discovering. A mere passive subject of human investigation is certainly not a living God who can satisfy the longing of our souls... A divine being that could be discovered by my efforts, apart from His gracious will to reveal Himself to me and to others, would be either a mere name for a certain aspect of man’s own nature, a God that we could find within us, or else at best a mere passive thing that would be subject to investigation like the substances that are analyzed in a laboratory. I think we ought to stick to that principle rather firmly. I think we ought to be rather sure that we cannot know God unless God has been pleased to reveal Himself to us.”

J. Gresham Machen, The Christian Faith in the Modern World

How not to write the Family Christmas newsletter

2011-11-16T07:37:00.000Z

Careful when you criticise...

2011-11-14T19:01:00.000Z

...because...

The line between good and evil runs through every human heart.

Aleksander I. Solzhenitsyn (The Gulag Archipelago)

Remembrance day talk outline

2011-11-12T14:25:00.000Z

With thanks to Marc Lloyd for the twist at the end...

Remembrance 2011

November is a month of remembering

5^th – Remember, Remember

11^th – Remembrance

Here in the parish, 13^th and 26^th – King James Bible events re 400 years

Ø November has lots of remembering

BUT it’s not just November is it? We humans love remembering:

Birthdays

Anniversaries

Big events like today – Remembrance Sunday

One that we often forget is, the most important – God - we humans are good at forgetting our Creator HENCE the Christian Scriptures has a lot about remembering...

The actual word ‘remember’ comes up 166 times

Other forms of remember come up 75 times

Ø The Bible recognises that we’re very forgetful so it urges us, calls us to remember... to remember the important things in life and in our Scripture reading today we have one of the more famous things we are to remember – Ecclesiastes 12:1...

§ God wants us to start remembering early as later in life it’s harder – “troubles come”

· Illustration: think of some of the young folk who went to war. What sorts of horrors did they experience/witness? How easy then to seek God? As you grow older, it gets harder to remember

Ø Therefore remember God/seek Him today

Surprisingly however although the Bible keeps telling us to remember, in it we discover that God forgets. Scriptures repeatedly tells us to ‘remember remember’ BUT, God in fact forgets – Here is what God forgets...

“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)

For those who are in Jesus Christ, God our Creator says I will forgive and forget your sinfulness – He will stop remembering them completely which is not to say that God is absent minded, as we so are. Rather, God promises that He will not to call to mind the sins of those who believe in Jesus. Yes, he knows all about them, but he doesn’t relate to us on the basis of them. God forgives and “forgets”. He doesn’t hold our sins against us if we cast ourselves on his mercy.

That surely is worth remembering.

An Irish prayer for one's enemies

2011-11-09T07:34:00.000Z

May those that love us love us, and those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He does not turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles, so we’ll know them by their limping.

No excuse regardless

2011-11-08T19:03:00.000Z

Even in situations where external pressures (such as sickness, bereavement, abuse, abandonment etc.) come to bear on us, God holds us responsible for how our heart responds during the experience (e.g. anger towards God, harbouring fear etc.) and for how our heart responds after the experience (e.g. withdrawal, resentment, self-pity, greed etc.).

This battle for the heart is very practical. It means that we are not excused responsibility when something bad happens to us, but are held responsible for how we respond.

For example, a person may act angry or grumpy in response to lack of sleep. Even if the lack of sleep was external (e.g. side effect of a medication, a crying baby, inconsiderate neighbours etc.) God still holds us accountable for our heart response and any sin that occurs through that anger or grumpiness.

Pastoral dynamite! Read the whole thing at What you think matters

Only in America: John 3:16 Discount

2011-11-01T07:16:00.000Z

Would you recite a Bible verse for a discount at a car garage? If yes, then Charlie Whittington, an American and owner of a car garage in Texas, has a deal for you. He's offering less than half price ($19.95 instead of $46) to customers who bring a coupon and recite John 3:16 (see the video clip below). So what do you think - is this discriminatory or could it be even worse - trying to profit from religion?

Va-va-voom optimism

2011-10-31T10:58:00.000Z

Danica Mae Camacho, symbolic 7th billion baby is cuddled by her mother

Welcome Danica Mae... According to the UN your arrival in the world, marks the point when our population reaches the 7 billion mark! For every Christian, this has surely got to be a hurrah moment - such a phenomenal increase wonderfully shows that God's plan to fully populate the world is slowly(!) being accomplished. Now before you smirk at my turbo-charged, full-injection, va va voom optimism, consider how the current head of the UN's Population Fund responded when harangued as to why the UN wasn't that concerned with the prodigious population increase given the limited space/resources that increased numbers will bring. Dr Osotimehin's response:

If the 7 billion people in our world stood for a group photograph, we would only fill the size of Los Angeles.

Did you get that?

If every living soul were to assemble in one place then we would comfortably fit into one State in the US. It's actually more shocking than that. If all world's people gathered together we'd fit into one city in one state - admittedly the second largest city in the US but one city nonetheless!

So what's all the fuss about the world not being enough? What's all the panic that there are insufficient resources to sustain us? It seems to me that we've got plenty of land/resources to go round (and some) and that the MSM's hype about over-population is a lie, a damn lie and nothing but a lie. Personally, I think I'll stick with promoting the biblical vision of encouraging the earth to be filled knowledge of the Lord as the waters covers the seas or as Shakespeare so eloquently put it "The world must be peopled".

Twain insults the Trinity

2011-10-29T14:21:00.000+01:00

Once, when describing a certain grumpy old geezer, Mark Twain wrote:

He was a solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity.

What an insult of the Godhead?

Less is more

2011-10-28T18:43:00.000+01:00

It takes more time and more care to say more while saying less. Have you ever been in a conversation with some one who is just a never-ending Gatling gun of words? This person will wear you out. They have so much to say that, ironically, in the end you can’t remember any words except, “How might I escape?”

Via: The Rabbit Room

Joke of the week: Psalm 23 - a dog's perspective

2011-10-25T08:49:00.000+01:00

Via: The Sacred Sandwich

Avoid learning the hard way

2011-10-23T19:12:00.000+01:00

Old men and women have once been young. Young Men and women have never been old. Stop and ask an older person about their life―where they’ve been―you’ll be surprised. Your assumptions about them are probably wrong. There’s a wisdom that only comes from living long enough; some of it―much of it―comes from learning things the hard way. You can avoid some of these hard lessons if you will learn to learn vicariously. The Ancient of Days has something to teach us all.

Via: The Ancient of Days

Allah DISASTER

2011-10-21T15:53:00.000+01:00

Two items on Gadaffi's death. First one serious, the second humorous (though I don't endorse everything it says)

First the serious: over at Cranmer's blog, there is a sober warning to all Muslims that unless the repent, they like Gaddafi will one day discover that

Allah isn't quite what he believed him to be, and that divine justice is inescapable... There will be no lakes of wine; no endless stream of virgins; no pat on the back from the prophet; no utterance from Allah of ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (in Arabic, of course). No, the wages of sin is death. And because Gaddafi has committed one or two sins of some considerable magnitude, was quite unrepentant, and did not accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour, His Grace suspects that things might be a little warm for Muammar today. His lake of wine will be a lake of fire: his tongue will burn and his thirst will never be quenched. The only virgins he’ll meet will be the worm variety, for the pit of Hell is a place of decomposition and destruction; of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Muammar Gaddafi has gone to the place prepared for the devil and his angels, where the beast and the false prophet will be, to be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Unless ye repent, be afraid, be very afraid.

Luke 12:4-5

And now the humorous... Below, is a clip of a show that was shown on US TV back in 1987 which rather strikingly predicted Gaddafi's death almost precisely. They're out by a couple of months but still, somewhat spooky that they got the right year and even imply that he dies in battle. Enjoy but be warned - lots of false theology about...

Evangelism on steroids via the American Holocaust

2011-10-11T22:44:00.000+01:00

Euro-Debt crisis: This is how it ends

2011-10-09T21:32:00.000+01:00

Even Napoleon acknowledged Christ

2011-10-07T12:21:00.000+01:00

Jesus Christ's influence is incalculable and it is always enjoyable discovering how far and wide his winsomeness extends. Today I came across a great comment from one of the principal cohorts of the ~~enlightenment~~ endarkenment:

Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself have founded great empires, but on what did those creations rest? Upon force. But Jesus founded his on love. Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence draws the heart of men towards him [with the effect] that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him not counting their lives dear to themselves... I know men, and Jesus Christ was more than a man.

So it's not just from the lips of babes and sucklings that He ordains praise, but also from the mouths of bandits and posers - doesn't our God have a great sense of humour?

Praise Tyndale not the King James

2011-10-06T15:48:00.001+01:00

While many have been celebrating the 400th year of the publication of King James Bible, there has been very little, trumpeting the remarkable talent of the linguist whose work provided the bedrock for the AV's beautiful language. Over at The King's English, Glen Scrivener remedies that, by highlighting just how foundational Tyndale's work was in bringing about the KJB's inspiring text. Here is a taster:

This year I have marvelled at the beauty of so many ‘King James phrases’. Yet on closer examination the great majority turn out to be Tyndale phrases. Only around 20 of the 365 phrases I have been considering this year are original to the King James Bible. And Tyndale has provided the bulk of the rest.

Computer analysis has revealed that more than three quarters of the King James Version can be traced directly to Tyndale (83% of the NT and 76% of the OT). Many times we can wish he was followed even more closely. Consider Tyndale’s matchless translation of Genesis 3:4. The serpent tempts Eve saying, “Tush, ye shall not die”!

Read the rest here

Here's hoping the Palestinians fail

2011-09-23T09:23:00.000+01:00

Later today Mahmoud Abbas will launch his bid at the UN, seeking formal recognition of Palestine. I seriously hopes he fails. Why? Watch the video below to find out...

Play your destiny!

2011-09-22T16:24:00.000+01:00

"Every one will someday be an immortal horror or an everlasting splendour. This does not mean we are to be perpetually solemn, we must play. But our merriment must be the kind which is between people who have from the outset taken each other seriously. The weight of your neighbours glory is a burden you should put on your back every day and only humility will carry it."

C.S.Lewis, The Weight of Glory

What's your vanity?

2011-09-19T11:23:00.000+01:00

Samuel Johnson in an insightful comment on the human condition notes that “Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess.” Isn't that so true? Which one is it for you?

Quote of the week: A New Adam, A New Eve

2011-09-13T08:29:00.000+01:00

Adam sinned through a corruption of his leadership role, and Eve sinned in a corruption of her helping role. Through the gospel, God has sent us another Adam, the Lord Jesus, and God has also established a new Eve, the Christian Church. Just as Eve was taken from the side of Adam, so also the Church was born of water and blood, straight from the side of the Lord Jesus (John 19:34). In this new context, individual Christian husbands and wives are instructed to rebuild the ruins of their respective roles.

Via: A wedding exhortation

Other biggies that also occurred on September 11th

2011-09-11T13:54:00.000+01:00

1297

William Wallace defeats forces of the English crown in the Battle of Stirling Bridge. As anyone who’s seen Braveheart knows, the party doesn’t last long for Wallace, but the Scots do regain their independence in 1328.

1609

English explorer Henry Hudson sails up a river on the coast of northeastern America aboard the Dutch vesselHalve Maen (Half Moon). In the process he discovers the island of Manhattan. He successfully navigates the river which now bears his name all the way to present-day Albany.

1814

In the War of 1812, the Battle of Plattsburgh ends in a decisive American victory. This marks the end of a British invasion into the northern states of the U.S. The redcoats retreat into Canada. The two sides sign a peace treaty in Ghent several months later.

1962

The Beatles record the third and final version of what will be their first single, “Love Me Do,” at EMI Studios on Abbey Road. The first two recordings are deemed unsatisfactory due to Ringo Starr’s drumming. His replacements on the other recordings are Pete Best and Andy White. On the third and final cut, Ringo is relegated to playing tambourine.

and one from the annals of the Church...

Patiens of Lyons, bishop, (whose feast day is 11th September and who tradition claims died today in c.480). Patiens was bishop of Lyons from around AD450. Invasions of the Goths were a constant difficulty, but Patients proved to be a strong man of the kind most needed. He combined great love of the poor with enterprise shown in the building and repair of churches and is said to have fed thousands during the famines of 472 and 475. Apart from his sympathies for Arian heretics, Patiens seems like a generally good chap who despite his foibles would still outdo (me thinks) most of our current herd of Bishops.

HT: Mentalfloss and Fellowship of St James Calender

Predestination fires Missionary

2011-09-10T23:10:00.001+01:00

"At the beginning of my missionary career I said that if predestination were true I could not be a missionary. Now after 20 years of struggling with the hardness of the human heart, I say I could never be a missionary unless I believed in the doctrine of predestination."

John Alexander, a former president of Inter-Varsity

Driscoll and 'heavy D' talk grace

2011-09-07T22:24:00.000+01:00

Click here to find out which 'heavy D' Mark Driscoll is chatting to.

"Marijuana-haze hymnody"

2011-09-02T12:58:00.000+01:00

Can you guess which hymn is being described below?

This syrupy piece of marijuana-haze hymnody is found in the hymnals of churches that have substituted sentiment for orthodoxy and worship.

The song would be much improved if the spacy refrain were omitted. I don’t know if Horatio Spafford actually wrote this refrain in his original poem or if it were added by Philip Bliss in his gooey music, but I do know that if I smoked marijuana I’d love it. It drifts along in a haze that is so far unlike anything God enjoys, as seen in the book of psalms, that is might as well be Hindu.

Find out in this stimulating and provocative post

Friday Fun: Unusual church signs

2011-09-02T00:08:00.000+01:00

I submit that only in America, would you get these somewhat clever, a bit funny and mostly outrageous signs. Now why is that?

Stop moaning: your life ain't that bad

2011-08-31T11:43:00.000+01:00

"If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.” — Socrates

Joke of the week: you're the mad one

2011-08-25T14:32:00.000+01:00

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Britons suffers from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they are okay, then it’s you.

Adapted from Rita Mae Brown

Handling Scripture Wright

2011-08-24T14:40:00.001+01:00

There has been much said about NT Wright some good some bad. The video below encapsulates a lot of what is brilliant about the man - a mighty BIG love for the word - enjoy...

God loves differently

2011-08-20T10:53:00.000+01:00

That’s the thing about human giving: We give cautiously to the well-deserving. But God is very different. He gives profligately to the utterly unworthy. He gives His very best to the very worst. That’s what Jesus tells Nicodemus in John chapter 3:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

HT: Kings English

Masters of optical illusion/Evolution where at thou?

2011-08-19T07:46:00.000+01:00

Cephalopods: "This is the only animal group we know of, that has fine control of it's skin"

Click below to see illustrations of this including, the impressive octopus manoeuvre known as the "moving rock" trick and as you watch all this, ask yourself, how ever would an evolutionist explain this cogently and persuasively OR as Shakespeare might have put it O Darwin, Darwin! wherefore art thou is thy Evolution?

Living off borrowed capital

2011-08-18T12:07:00.000+01:00

The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight and as might naturally have been expected, the moral system itself began to whither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment.

William Wilberforce

Only in Africa!

2011-08-17T23:00:00.000+01:00

Where is health and safety when you need em?

What Bachmann should have said

2011-08-17T16:48:00.000+01:00

Last week, a US senator campaigning for the presidency, was asked if she was still endorsed the traditional view of women submitting to their husbands. Her answer, was akin to pointing upwards and saying "Wow! Don't the stars look beautiful tonight !" In other words she ducked the issue. So what should see have said? Perhaps something along the lines of:

Well, of course I want to be a submissive wife -- that's what the Bible teaches. But there are many misunderstandings about what that entails, so let my campaign get a book list to you.

Via this great post, exploring how a submissive wife could still be President

Is it coz I is white?

2011-08-15T13:43:00.000+01:00

David Starkey has generated a bit of heat with his comments on Newsnight that among other things "the whites have become black". Many have described him as a racist and some have even suggested that Starkey suffer some sort of punishment for saying that white chavs have emulated the violent and materialistic culture of the black underclass. Now here is the thing - are the current OTT responses to Starkey, due to his being white? Would a black person saying the same things have faced this sort of ire? In short, should Starkey update the Ali G catchphrase to "Is it coz I is white?"

Last thing a mouse sees before...

2011-08-13T08:11:00.000+01:00

A great vid below of an eagle owl, a few secs before contact!

Retirement is for wimps

2011-08-12T22:03:00.000+01:00

It would be odd to hear a Christian say that his duty to obey the commandments against idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, murder, and coveting expired when he turned 65. Yet some believers seem to announce just that regarding the Fourth Commandment, which prescribes, in part, “Six days you shall labor.” Of course, aging means task adjustments, but to think of stopping cold is impious. Honorable and fruitful second careers beckon as “retirees” continue to follow the Lord’s precepts. Their labor and fruitfulness are real, as is their need for a weekly day of rest.

Read the whole thing at Thou Shalt Not Slack

Joke of the week: Old bachelors

2011-08-12T10:38:00.000+01:00

Why are old bachelors bad grammarians?
Because when asked to conjugate, they invariably decline.

From: Entertaining Anecdotes From Every Available Source, 1879

Jesus according to...

2011-08-08T12:08:00.000+01:00

No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes ... [who] lack the authentic vitality of Jesus

Can you guess which agnostic scientist said this?

Like Lady Gaga in conservative clothing

2011-08-07T00:18:00.000+01:00

Asking career politicians not to spend other people’s money is like asking Lady Gaga to sing from the Great American Songbook, dressed in conservative clothing. For her, that would be an unnatural act.

HT Tea party terrorists

Image of God sermon outline

2011-08-04T08:44:00.000+01:00

Image of God sermon outline

Bible texts: Genesis 1 and 1 John 4:7-21

What is man? What makes him special?

Two common answers:

We are a bunch of chemicals that have evolved to produce human life

Illustrations of this:

Ø BBC’s The Human Body which highlighted the various elements found in the body

Ø Richard Dawkins’ writings

Ø Bloodhound Gang’s controversial Bad Touch

§ Consequences: programmes like Terry Pratchett’s Choosing to Die which commended Euthanasia for if we are mere mammals then there’s no inconsistency in treating us as you would a pet – putting us down at the end of our days

v All told a horrible answer which basically says we’re not special at all

2) We’re special because of the mind: “I think therefore I am”

Illustration of this:

a. Our labelling as Homo Sapiens in school lessons, TV programmes, museum exhibitions

Ø Consequences: the prioritisation of education, education, education + the West’s hopes that information/training will solve our problems

v This answer is obviously an improvement on the first BUT it is still unsatisfactory. What about those who can’t use their minds properly e.g. those in a coma or the unborn or even little babies? Are they less human because they can’t affirm the “I think therefore I am” mantra?

What does the Bible/Our Creator say? What according to God makes us special?

From Genesis 1:26-31 three things to highlight:

1. Made on the last day of Creation. In other words, very much like we sometimes do with a good meal, God leaves the best til last. Note in this regard, that the description “very good” is only uttered, after the creation of mankind – we are the “special ones” contra the BBC, Richard Dawkins etc

2. The amount of space given to the creation of humans, in comparison to the rest of the created order. Note for example how the creation of the stars is mentioned in only 5 words: he made the stars also (verse 16) whilst the creation of humanity takes up 4 whole verses!

3. The repeated mention that we are made in the image of God which is simply saying that as human beings, we reflect and display something of God.

Illustration of this

Think about the times when you’re introduced to someone who knows your parents very well but who has never met you. As soon as they work out whose child you are, they say something like: “ah yes, I can see the similarity – you look like them”. So too with us something similar is going on. As we get to know the one true God of Scripture so too, we should say as we look at each other “ah yes, I can see the similarity”

This raises a question – what exactly does the image of God relate to? ANSWER: I think it relates to The Trinity given the plurals in verse 26: “let us”, “our image”, “our likeness” rather than God saying “let me”, “my image”, “my likeness”. In simple words our God (unlike all the other gods) is a God who has always been in relationship – the fellowship of the three.

Therefore if our God has always been in relationship, it’s no surprise that we too are designed/cannot escape relationship

v Notice how being in relationship, is a much more satisfying answer than saying it is our abilities or mind which makes us special. Both those qualities demonstrate something of our uniqueness but because they don’t include everyone (e.g. they the very young, unborn, those who are mentally ill, in a coma etc) it alerts us to the fact that the image of God is not properly seen in the mind but in our relationships

Ø The image of God is therefore reflected in our relationships with others...

And interestingly, this is what verse 27 suggests – that the image is not limited to a single individual/particular sex but is to be observed in the context of male and female relating to one another: So God created man in His own image [...] male and female He created them. (verse 27)

Put differently, the God of the Bible would not be properly imaged at Wembley – with a group of blokes running around OR at a crocheting class with a group of girlies learning how to knit

Notice therefore that by creating us like this – male and female – we mirror God by being equal and different... SO, just as we have 3 persons in the Trinity who are equal in status yet different from each other, so too in humanity we have 2 sexes which are equal (in status) but different in role/how we relate with each other

Ø Biblically, this last point is significant e.g. in the context of marriage where the Bible gives different expectations/commands for the husband/wife.

§ Consider for example Ephesians 5 which everyone knows, commands wives to submit! What usually gets overlooked however in the submission brouhaha is that Paul commands husbands to love their wives three times (Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33) and this in the space of 12 verses. The point is this: men need to be exhorted to love their wives while women need to be exhorted to submit/respect/honour their husbands.

Illustration:

Wedding joke

David and Sue Fletcher...

IN SUM: The commands to the male/female are different: men to love their wives and wives to respect/submit to their husbands – such differences between the sexes together display the image of God in humanity...

Application

There is no god like our God – He has always been in relationship and He is the source/origin of all relationship and thus when Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God and neighbour, he is not asking us to do something alien to him – he knows what it is to love – he’s been at it in all eternity

SO...

Ø For the Christian – delight in our God and cherish/work on your relationship according to the particular role God has given you e.g. husbands love, wives submit – in doing this we testify to the Gospel

Ø For the non-Christian – what is your basis for relationship? Why are relationships important? The world has no answers to these questions – come to Christ who loves before we love him

Luther shocker on how to treat adultery

2011-08-02T14:05:00.001+01:00

Following some tricky pastoral situations in the parish, I've been reading up on the issue of divorce. Today I came across this comment by Luther on what kind of treatment adulterers deserve:

The temporal sword and government should therefore still put adulterers to death, for whoever commits adultery has in fact himself already departed and is considered as one dead. Therefore the other ('the innocent party') may remarry just as though his spouse had died (Martin Luther, The Estate of Marriage in Works 45.32)

Whoooa!

Monday fun: "aerobic workout"

2011-08-01T08:31:00.001+01:00

Arminian slog, Calvinist sleep

2011-07-26T22:33:00.000+01:00

Don’t be leaning on a shovel and praying for a ditch; work like an Arminian, sleep like a Calvinist.

HT: Canon Wired

Fantastic funeral entry

2011-07-25T17:14:00.001+01:00

Otto von Habsburg, the last heir to the once great Austrio-Hungarian empire died last month. He was by most accounts a great man and the extraordinary pomp and ceremony that accompanied his funeral illustrated something of his prominence. But guess how the clergy responded, when his body was brought to the door of the Imperial crypt, before being laid in its 'final' resting place. Here is what happened (accompanying video below)

FIRST KNOCK

Capuchin Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader of funeral party: “Otto of Austria, former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukowina; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Osweicim and Zator, of Teschen, Friaul, Dubrovnik and Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trento and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria: Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenburg; Lord of Trieste, Kotor and Windic March; Grand Voivod of the Voivodship of Serbia”

Friar : “We do not know him!”

SECOND KNOCK

Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader : “Dr Otto von Habsburg; President and Honorary President of the Pan-European Union; Member and Father of the House of the European Parliament; Holder of honorary doctorates from countless universities and freeman of many communities in Central Europe; Member of numerous noble academies and institutes; Bearer of high and highest awards, decorations and honours of church and state made to him in recognition of his decade-long struggle for the freedom of peoples, for right and justice.”

Friar: “We do not know him!”

THIRD KNOCK

Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader : “Otto — a mortal, sinful man!”

Friar: “Let him be admitted."

Ain't that fantastic? Of course it would need a little tweaking if the "mortal sinful man" was a professing Christian but I still think, it is a great entry in reminding us of the truths of Psalm 49

God loves cliffhangers

2011-07-23T21:02:00.000+01:00

God loves cliffhangers. He stops Abraham when the knife is raised above Isaac. He delivers Israel when the Red Sea water is lapping at their toes, and the armies of Pharaoh are closing in at their backs. He saves Hezekiah when Jerusalem was entirely surrounded. And what does this mean? It means that many have collapsed and given way to temptation when deliverance was right around the corner.

HT: Saul's slide begins

No. 1 killer in black community (US)

2011-07-22T14:45:00.000+01:00

I wonder, if it's a similar pattern in the UK AND, how this must grieve our LORD?

"Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed;

for in the image of God

has God made man"

saith the LORD

Image of the week: Barry Potter

2011-07-22T09:17:00.000+01:00