The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan
I wrote this on a pastors forum, and thought it might be of interest to some here as well:
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The teaching authority of elders/pastors is always derivative from their concord with the Word of God. This was true from day one of the church. Before the canon was established, the concern was with the authentic apostolic nature of the message brought by a elder/pastor. Of course in the early days this was established by those who were in direct contact with the apostolic churches - those founded by and established upon the teaching of the apostles. This version of "apostolic succession" we all should heartily agree with. Those churches which are in accord with the teaching of Jesus and his apostles are true churches. Those who deviate widely from this teaching are not. This gave rise to the importance of the bishop in the early church - he would be the one to establish sound doctrine. When there was controversy between bishops - this gave rise to councils which deliberated upon this teachers - with the debate hinging upon the teaching of the Bible. The canonization process was of great import as to determine the apostolic witness - the inspired writings vs. heretical teachings (be they from Marcion, Valentinus, etc). The church "recognized" the canon as what it already was - the inspired Word. The canon did not derive its authority from the church's ruling...
During the reformation(s) of the late medieval and early renaissance periods, the concern was to return to the sources (ad fontes) of Christian faith, namely the witness of the New Testament. Where the church was currently deviant from the teaching of the NT, it should be "reformed" - The clear teaching of the Bible should set the course for the churches as it is the authority upon which the church is established...only upon the foundation of the Scriptures can an elder/pastor "teach with authority." The formal principle of the reformation, that of Sola Scriptura - that each persona can read and interpret Scripture, is what McGrath is calling Protestantism's Dangerous idea. It allows all manner of goofy and sinful teaching to be put forth in "the name of being biblical" which no other authority to adjudicate. But the fracturing of the church by heresy did not come with Protestantism, having a guy with the hat on does not guarantee anything. There have been heretics throughout history both pre and post reformation and the church has always had to clarify biblical orthodoxy. The reformation had to wrestle with the question. "What if the guy in the hat gets it wrong?" - Of course the rest has been history.
I both love and hate some of the realities of Protestantism. There are a bunch of goofy interpretations and spins on the Bible, but yet basing the authority in a sinful man's ruling is no better path. This is why someone's belief "ABOUT" the Bible is of great importance. You cannot even debate in council - or on a forum :) - if someone who does not hold to the authority of the text. At least we can wrestle under the text, if the text has authority. If one does not believe in the authority of the text, one will say "it is all hermeneutics, all interpretation" - that there is no definitive meaning to the text. This is why the issue of biblical authority AND hermenuetical outlook are so important. If someone can make up "trajectories" to speak beyond the Bible, they will eventually err far from course.
Right authority ultimately comes only from GOD, we derive that authority from the book whose author is the same. The early church leader's authority stood only upon the word of Jesus and the apostles - this we have preserved for us and our children in the New Testament. Without this, there would be no rule to test doctrine...Of course Rome disagrees, for they have an oral tradition that lives through the magisterium. They claim that the teaching ministry of the Roman church has never contradicted Scripture...I find this somewhat ridiculous and thus remain a Bible guy.
Reid
YWAM has released a deal about the recent murders of four of their staff by a gunman on their campus in the Denver suburb of Arvada, Colorado. You can read it here.
Police are investigating whether this shooting and the one which took place yesterday in Colorado Springs are related. Sad stuff.
I just finished reading (well, listening to...over 8 hours for the unabridged audio book) Timothy's Ferriss' new best selling book The 4-Hour Workweek - Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich from Crown. The 320 page book is a New York Times, WSJ bestseller with currently 315 five star reviews on Amazon.com...sales rank 95 overall, #1 or #2 in several amazon subcategories as of Dec 8. It has also garnered more endorsements than you can shake a stick at.
I grabbed the book on iTunes out of curiosity when I heard it mentioned on one of the geek podcasts I listen to from time to time. As I am moving to NJ in a few months I figured he would be a good guy to listen to just to see how some people think up in the land of the movers and shakers...or in more Ferrissesque parlance...the lands of lifestyle designers.
Ferriss is a Princeton graduate whose writing is intelligent, crass, witty, conversational, outrageous, irreverent and at times quite genuine. To be honest after reading the book I can tell you that I am quite ambivalent with his ideas - some of them I sensed a deep appreciate for, others made me completely sick, others just were ridiculous, some hilarious (the story of how he won a national kick boxing tournament in China comes to mind - I won't spoil that here). In this review I will cover a few things enjoyed, a few things that annoyed and then leave another substantial issue to another blog post forthcoming here. So, how to work only four hours and do whatever the hell you want - or what I am calling Tim Ferriss' experiments in existential narcissism.
Summary
The book is true to its title and fits very much in several book categories: self-help, entrepreneurship, lifestyle come to mind. Whether or not others will admit it, Ferriss has articulated quite well some of the longings of the younger generation in western culture. This book for some will be a resonating voice for those continuing on the post industrial cultural trajectories of America and Europe. In some ways it just another of the long line of those promising that "You can have it all - really" - this is actually stated on the books companion web site.
The books centers around the idea that our society has some pretty goofy rules and ways of doing things and that it is insane to remain in these conventions. Think about it, we work 60-80 hours a week in order to have some money, no time and a pile of misery. Only the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow of retirement keeps many motivated. Ferriss, a Princeton man who was surrounded by those who work this way, found himself miserable and questioning it all. Why do we wait till the end of life in order to try and enjoy life? Why do we toil away in offices when we could live a more mobile lifestyle, get things done with more focus and efficiency and be freed up to enjoy life now? So he set about to do it and this book is his story of how he did and now offers to coach you to do the same. It is an enjoyable read so I will share a few things that brought a smile
Enjoyed
Ferriss is a guy who likes to question things and ask the question why. I like guys like this. Now it can be turned into rebellion against rightful authority (which is wicked) and but to be weary of the status quo is the only path to which results in change. Ferriss seemed tired of certain societal conventions which are neither based in truth or law - they are just the way we do stuff. When you think about it we do often act like the herd animals which Nietzsche accused us of being. One observation Ferriss makes which I felt was right on is that "Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty." Sad but true. There just are not too many risk takers out there. To be quite honest, this discontent for the way things are is found in most church planters I have met. They are a risky bunch who would rather try to start something than to stay stuck in ruts which are based only in cultural custom.
Ferriss also shows an immense amount of wit and creativity in thinking through ways to generate income without a huge amount of time. He offers suggestions for both the entrepreneur and the one who just wants to enable a bit more cash flow while shaping their current job situation. Now one needs some intelligence and talent to do some of the things mentioned (one of the weaknesses of the book is that he acts like all 6 billion people in the world could do what he does), but they are not impossible for some people to try.
His focus on eliminating superfluous work and becoming more focused was excellent. His practical tips on e-mail and overcoming the information overload of our days very helpful. The practical application of the 80/20 rule and the his example of how he fired some of his less profitable, most time consuming rude and annoying customers was quite enjoyable. Anyone who feels under the pile of e-mail, needs help in prioritizing will enjoy the chapter on elimination. It is material that can be found in other places, but Ferriss' application of it to the world of information overload was very helpful. A few helpful quotes:
His application of "elimination" and the 80/20 rule to material possessions and simple living was something I wanted my whole family to read. I am convinced we all have too much stuff in our lives in - I was big time on board with his "getting rid of your stuff" counsel later in the book. I hope to lighten our load when we move in the coming year...for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).
I also enjoyed Ferriss as a writer. Some will see him as a bit cocky and arrogant -- this is perhaps true. Some will take too offense at his choice of language - this would be warranted. Yet the fact is he seemed genuine - genuinely full of it, but somewhat authentic nonetheless. The fact is that - I wanted to hear him. It did not hurt that Ray Porter, the audio book reader, did a fantastic job with Ferriss' prose. He wrote conversationally with passion which I think many people will enjoy.
One other thing which was interesting was one of the later chapters wrestling with finding a meaningful life. I will blog more late about his dealing with ultimate questions and meaning, but he did land that service and learning seem to be central to any meaningful existence. I find many younger people today wrestling with finding meaning. I do not agree with Ferriss' relativism and create meaning however you want philosophy, but I do commend that he is asking the questions.
Finally, I learned much from Ferriss about how some people think today. I found him consistently embracing the contradictions of contemporary thought. I found him to be thoroughly what I am calling "most western" - an existential narcissist. Ferriss states openly that he is living life for excitement and self-fulfillment. His whole life is dedicated to the accrual of experiences which will keep him from self-doubt and boredom. His goals are freedom of time and movement with finances as a means to these ends. Gone are the desires to live a life according to virtue, or according to truth, or in order to find peace. What remains in western culture, among the educated elite - is the end of the post enlightenment narrative. Freedom to do what you want, when you want and how you want. It is the last phase of the autonomy project of western culture. If you get lonely, empty, bored, miserable...don't find a real solution to your problems - just hop a plane to Berlin, or Beunos Aries or Thailand. There you can rent out big tables at clubs and have experiences. All while your Indian assistants and two thirds world outsourcers make money for the new western prince. On to my annoyances.
Annoyed
The first thing I noticed is that Ferriss presents all his counsel as if any person on earth could do it. Those who have been around a bit longer will realize that all of his counsel requires something of people in order to pull off. The advice is for the motivated, smart, winsome person who can actually, to use his words, "bend the world to themselves." I think some people who try his systems are just going to get fired...or pour some money down a hole in creating their muse. I'm not saying his business advice was not good - I may end of trying something myself some day - but it does require a person with some talent.
Second, Ferriss rebellion against the Jones was a bit strange. He acts fed up with the elite of America, slaving away at hedge funds, saving for retirement. The ironic thing is that Ferriss has traded old elitism for a new flavor - he is still running to keep up with the Jones...his path is just more passport stamps, languages and combat sports rather than a house in the Hamptons...the New Rich (NR as he states it) still want to be rich, just in a slightly different way.
Additionally, the ethical considerations in the book were a bit vacuous. Ferriss did not seem concerned with doing the right thing - it didn't even seem to be his question. It seemed his counsel was "do whatever you can to get what you want...but don't break the law." By this he means the laws of government, not the moral law. If you have to tell some little lies to your boss to create some good rhetoric in order to convince her to give you a remote work agreement...well, just do what you have to do. Interestingly enough he offered two examples of how to research the market for a potential product - one from a guy selling shirts from France and the other a woman doing DVDs on Yoga for rock climbers. One business used some market research practices which were legal, but perhaps a bit dishonest. The other did not use these techniques because they thought it unethical. Ferriss offers both methods as options without much of a blink. At times some of the advice seemed so slick that it felt a bit greasy. Some may also find less than appealing his "outsourcing" of everything from manufacturing, order fulfillment, and personal assistants to people making 4 bucks an hour in the far east.
Though he goes out of his way to tell stories of single mom's and families living the NR lifestyle, it is obvious that he has no kids. Anyone leading a family of more than three would just chuckle at some of his suggestions. So the recommendations for mini retirements and living in multiple locations fit a 29 year old single guy, but would be a hard fit for most of the families I know. Of course Ferriss might just think they were lame and part of the herd. All that to say that his "this is for families with kids too" schtick falls a bit flat.
Finally, the biggest issue I had with the work was Ferriss' worldview which I described briefly above. If you look at how post enlightenment western ideals have shifted, the old goals of pursuing truth, virtue and peace of mind are gone and the new goals of hyper autonomy, excitement as the highest virtue are on full display in Ferriss. There is nothing worse for him than being bored. At the end of the book I felt some honesty when he counseled other potential lifestyle designers of the new rich in how to deal with self-doubt even after you have made it (having income with little work, 3-16 month min retirements anywhere on earth). Yet when faced with ultimate questions - why are we here, what does my life mean, the nature of reality etc. his only advice was to do something to keep your mind off of such things. Do something else to distract yourself - I believe sex and sports were recommended. It seemed that such parables of autonomy will eventually lead to loneliness and a longing for something more. For we have been made by God for community and relationship with our maker. Yet when loneliness and doubt come to Ferriss he is likely to just learn another language and how to fight in another style (he is a avid learning of both foreign languages and fighting techniques). I don't think he would have it any other way. For he seems to be in flight from God and filling his days with pizazz to keep him from facing his creator.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the book and found some useful ideas in its pages for breaking out of the ruts of society to attempt different things. Anyone who desires to live differently will find something to like in the book. Personally, I liked Tim Ferriss - he sounds like a guy I would greatly enjoy. Being an ex college wrestler his expertise in many combat sports was of interest for sure. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I am going to pray for him. Maybe we'll hang out some day when he is lecturing at Princeton - I'll be just a few miles away. He is just 29 years old and has many discoveries before him. Perhaps he will bump into Jesus one day who might just tell him "To find your life, you must lose it."
The subject of the atonement of Christ, what his death accomplished for human beings and the world, has been one of theological debate throughout church history. The word atonement is defined by Wayne Grudem as the work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation.1 Discussions of the atonement explore what it means when we confess, Christ died for us. There have been many theories throughout history and in contemporary discussion. The debate about the atonement within evangelicalism has reemerged in the past few decades as it has become a subject of controversy in both theological and popular circles. In theological circles Joel Green and Mark Baker's Recovering the Scandal of the Cross brought criticism to the view of substitutionary atonement that many consider central to the gospel. Emergent authors such as Steve Chalke and Brian McLaren have openly questioned the same. What follows is a tiny sketch of some of the views of atonement offered over time.
Example Theory
Demonstrates how we too can suffer well and do good in standing against injustice. His meek, submissive and non violent stand against imperial power is to inspire us, as humans like him, to do the same. Typically the divine nature of Jesus is minimized or denied with those who hold this view. The view usually holds that God is not angry against sin and will not mete out justice to the sinner. This is the view of today's universalists-those who believe all are saved. It is sort of a salvation by being alive and having Jesus as your role model. This view has a grain of truth, but for the most part misses the point of the cross of Christ.
Moral Influence Theory
The effect of the atonement is upon human beings and their moral choices, the cross does not do anything before God. This theory was made popular by Peter Abelard a French scholastic theologian who lived from AD 1079-1142. The theory is that we would see that Jesus became one of us and died for us. This act should make our fear of God dissolve. Seeing that Jesus would do this demonstrates to us the love of God so that we might change morally. We need to feel bad about sin and have the moral inspiration to live for and obey God. Jesus' influences us towards making a change, but the atonement doesn't remove God's wrath or pay a penalty. Unfortunately, if taken alone, this view leads to a salvation by morality which again is an adventure in missing the point. Some have wondered what influence it actually had on Abelard...but that is another discussion.
Ransom Theory
This view has a long history dating back to Origen (AD 185-254) and refined by Gregory of Nyssa in late 4th century AD. This view holds that the universe and human beings are currently under the power and control of Satan due to the sin of our first parents. God's goal then was to righteously win back his people from this bondage. The view notes that Jesus himself taught that he came to offer himself as a "ransom" for many (See Mark 10:45). Naturally, they asked, to whom is this ransom paid? Satan of course. This brought up much discussion and debate as to why God had to "pay off the devil" to win back his people, whether God "tricked" Satan by offering him Jesus only to "take him back" by raising him from death. This theory had many difficulties and has not been in favor for some time, though some see the ransom view in the work of CS Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In this work Aslan has to offer himself to the evil witch to ransom Edmund from bondage to her due to his chosen treason. The Ransom view has a problem. The Scriptures teach that the death of Christ paid a ransom, it does not however say it is paid to Satan. Yet you can still love Narnia-I sure do. Prince Caspian is coming to theaters May 16, 2008. Check out the trailer here.
Satisfaction View
The medieval philosopher and theologian Anselm of Canterbury (AD 1033-1109) put forth this theory in his classic work Cur Deus Homo - Why God Became Man? In this work he explores the incarnation and the reasons God became a human being. He made a break with the Ransom theory in claiming that people belong to God, not Satan. Anselm defined sin in terms of denying God the honor he is due. Jesus became human, to take punishment for sin, to repair the dishonor brought to God by our rebellion. We can be condemned for our sin or God's honor can be satisfied. There is much more to be said of Anselm's view, but it would take us into all matter of discussions of Anselm's view of the necessity of the incarnation...that it had to be GOD to satisfy the problem of sin. One weakness of the view is that it seems a bit tied to the social/legal structures of the day where dishonor towards a feudal lord would demand reparation.2
Penal Substitutionary Atonement
One of my friends articulated the central theme of the atonement, both Old and New Testaments as God's Self-Satisfaction through Self-Substitution. In other words, sin is an offense against God, a violation of his law and a turning aside to worship that which is not God. Our sin deserves his just condemnation but he chose to satisfy his own wrath by a cooperative effort between Father and Son. The Son willfully and joyfully goes to the cross where the wrath of the Father is satisfied. Hence-God's Self-Satisfaction. Secondly, the death that we deserved-the death for sin-was willfully and joyfully accepted by the Son as our substituted. He quite literally, dies for us; for the wages of sin is death. God himself bore the penalty and punishment (hence the word-penal which refers to penalty/punishment) for our sins so that we would receive redemption, the forgiveness for our sins. There is simply no explanation as to the question why. God did not have to do this. Yet in love and mercy for human beings he freely chose this plan. It is a free gift of Grace from God to forgive the guilty by accepting their punishment. God is just and will punish sin, yet he provides a sacrifice for our sins which satisfies the wrath of God (propitiation) and removes our sins (expiation). This is the witness of the Bible. Let me briefly demonstrate this.
Atonement in the Old Testament
The concept of atonement for sin is most on display in the sacrificial system of worship set up by God in the law of Moses. Atonement in the Old Testament is the dealing with of sin by the offering of various sacrifices or payments and is seen in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Payment for sin must be made as part of the covenant God established with Israel. To worship God they did not need to bring sacrifices to pay off God as if he were an angry King Kong. Rather, the sacrificial system was a gift of grace by which worship and relationship were maintained. God was holy and sin was an offense to him-in his love he set up a system of priests and offerings by which they might be forgiven and he would freely forgive. This system of sacrifice was a "type" or foreshadowing of the redemption which would be brought by Jesus the great high priest who would give himself, once for all, as a sacrifice for the sins of God's people. Most of the book of Hebrews treats this very topic. In Leviticus particularly the sacrificial system and atonement is described in detail. On the day of atonement, once a year, two goats would be brought which were without defect. One would be killed for the sins of the people. The other would have the sins of the people conveyed upon it by the hands of the priest. This goat, the "scapegoat" would be sent away from the people, in effect taking away their sins (see Leviticus 16). Additionally, the great prophet Isaiah recounts a savior who would suffer and bear the punishment for our sins (See Isaiah 53). So the idea of penal substitution is not a recent theological construct of western Christianity, it is found in the ancient writings of the Hebrew scriptures.
Atonement in the New Testament
It should not surprise us that all the theories of atonement has some biblical moorings and are indeed a portion of the truth. The Cross of Christ is a multidimensional act which has many effects on behalf of God and people. Substitution is central, yet the other theories also describe a part of what Christ accomplished. 1 Peter 2:23 tells us that Jesus is indeed our example of suffering under injustice. The entire book of 1 John will show us that if we claim to know the crucified one that it ought to affect the way we live. Our lives ought to reflect to love of God expressed in the cross (John 3:16). There has been a ransom paid but it has been paid by Jesus on our behalf to the Father thereby redeeming us from sin, death and hell. Christ did not trick and pay off Satan, but he triumphed over him at the cross (Colossians 2:15). Yet if any of these are presented without the central teaching of Old and New Testament that Christ died for us, we have removed the crux of the Cross of Christ.
The substitutionary nature of the atonement is reflected in Mark's gospel (10:33-45; 15:33-34), John's gospel (3:14-18,36; 6:50-58; 11:47-52;), Romans (3:21-26; 4:25;5:1-10; 8:1-3), Galatians (3:10-13) and 1 Peter (2:21-25 and 3:18). For those who want to read a delightful treatment of these passages see Pierced for our Transgressions from Jeffery, Ovey and Sachs.3
The cross of Christ is the center point of our faith, the turning point of history and the place where justice and mercy meet. Indeed, Paul, an early Christian leader and apostle said of the cross that it would be his only boast. I will give him the last words:
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Notes
1. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 568.
2. Millard Erikson, Christian Theology-2nd Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998), 814.
3. See the excellent work Pierced for our Transgressions: Rediscovering the glory of penal substitution by Jeffery, Ovey and Sach (Notingham, England: Intervarsity Press) 67-99. This work just out in the US from Crossway books. If you are building a theological library-buy this book! Another excellent work on the cross is John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1986).
Many of you have asked me about the books in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. As some of you know the first book, The Golden Compass has been made into a full length feature film set to debut nation wide on December 7th. Many Christians have called for boycott's etc. Many people are asking what the stories are about.
I think Al Mohler wrote a decent piece today that avoids boycott reactionism yet is pretty clear about the message and agenda of Pullman and his works. You can read it here. It was good to hear a baptist telling folks NOT to boycott something in culture...even a story which has no hidden agenda...this trilogy is about killing God.
I would encourage Mr. Pullman to write his next fantasy story about Islam...wait, he probably wouldn't do that.
Tim Dees, my good friend and a partner in crime with Jacob's Well recently wrote an interesting commentary on the recent republican debate and the question asked about the candidates beliefs about the Bible. Tim's essay was entitled THERE IS NO 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION and for some reason has yet to make it up to his The FotD web site (Tim, please remedy). In the post he made an interesting statement that I want to unpack a bit further - here it is:
I cannot argue, without religious presuppositions, that every word of the Bible is literally true; I can only argue that no part of it is false, but that would require going through every possible objection and offering rebuttals. In that sense, the question is logical quicksand.
First of all, I would like to say that I agree with Tim's statement, though that may be shocking for some of you to read. Second, I would like to say that such manner of argumentation would be a fiction so the point is somewhat moot. Reid, what do you mean?
Well, if one is forced to argue without religious presuppositions (beliefs) one would be doing an impossible task. Human beings are simply unable to argue from such neutral ground. Now, I do think we can successfully perform thought experiments...such as the following.
I just want to use my reason, along with taking on purely secular presuppositions and then try to prove that no part of the Bible is false...this indeed would be a task of herding cats. You would need to demonstrate that every falsifiable statement in the good book is in fact not falsified when all the facts are known.
Yet, this sort of process is a fiction and assumes way to much. First, it assumes that secular presuppostions give one good reason to trust our reasoning. Second, it assumes secular presuppositions are "religiously neutral" which they are not. Someone who wants to act or play as if there is no God is operating in a profoundly religious world. She has answered some ultimate questions and is now going about her business in light of these answers. These answers are in no way rational inferences, but rather faith commitments about ultimate reality. She is acting on beliefs.
So, if I want to talk about the Bible being the word of God, or being always true and never false, one would not want to place religious presuppositions aside, but rather keep them central. The Bible being always true is connected to what we believe it to be...the Word of God. Yet this is connected to there being a God...and not simply any God, but one who speaks and gives revelation through prophets and apostles - writers inspired to write his words. Now, I am not saying that one should not give arguments to why the Bible gives credence to the claim that it is the Word of God which never falsifies. We should appeal to fulfilled prophecy, we should build inductive cases from archeology (Did you realize we may have just dug up Nehemiah's wall?) and science which reinforce biblical truth claims etc. We can and should provide arguments for the text of Scripture being the Word of God. But these arguments do not stand alone away from Christian presuppositions, they live within them.
So how should we proceed with friends who have questions about the nature of the Bible? I offer the following:
You: Joe, you think there isn't a god, but for a moment let me ask you a question. If there were a God, do you think he would want to communicate with us?
Joe: Sure, why not
You: What ways would you choose to talk to us mortal ants?
Joe: Maybe he would have us google "God" and get some clear answers! Laughing...I suppose he could talk to us
You: Good. What if we misunderstood him?
Joe: He could put it in writing!
You: Good point...even more so, he could become one of us...then we can share that God spoke through apostles and prophets and in these last days he has spoke to us through Jesus - then allow him to consider Jesus and the gospel.
Anyway, I agree with Tim - but I challenge the whole project and think there is another way than appeals to lonely, autonomous, human reason in such discussions. And if you have not done so, you need to subscribe to Tim's Fact of the Day.
The worship ministry here at Fellowship Nashville and several artists from the church have put together a Christmas Album entitled Ring the Bells - A Christmas Offering. The unique thing about the album is that ALL proceeds are going directly to our church's mission partnerships in Africa. You can see a video about the project here (wmv format).
The CD features the following tracks:
| track | name (click to preview) | artist |
| 1. | Ring The Bells | Ronnie Freeman & Cindy Morgan |
| 2. | Angels, from the Realms of Glory | Three Strand |
| 3. | Angels' Lullaby | Christy Nockels |
| 4. | O Come All Ye Faithful | Jason Ingram |
| 5. | Little Drummer Boy with Savior Glorious | Laura Licata, Cheri Keaggy, Denise Jones & Christy Nockels |
| 6. | Gladdest Noel | Evelyn Brush |
| 7. | What Wondrous Love Is This with What Child Is This? | Heidi French |
| 8. | Some Children See Him | Amy Stroup |
| 9. | Glorious Impossible | Carl Cartee |
| 10. | One Small Child | Tofer Brown |
| 11. | O Come, O Come, Emmanuel | Erin O’Donnell featuring Ronnie Freeman |
| 12. | Emmanuel | Geoff Moor |
The CDs make great Christmas gifts and are just $15.00. They can be purchased directly here. Do some good along with your gift giving this year.
BusinessWeek has a couple of interesting articles on renewable energy sources. The first is about China's investment in wind and other technologies which are growing at a massive rate. The second is about processes to create biodiesel from certain types of algae...the title is pretty pithy as well - Here comes pond scum power.
In the same vein I saw a new wind turbine design that looks pretty interesting if it actually works. It is called the Maglev wind turbine - see graphic below and click here for a description of a company who is actually working on this.
There will be a day where we will not be a world dependent on petroleum resources for energy. Some people will also get rich in the process of developing and deploying new technologies...economic opportunity and environmentally friendly sources of energy sound like a good marriage to me.
As one who is moving to NJ next year, this one sounds cool, but perhaps a bit far fetched.
This coming January I will have the wonderful privilege of studying with a very unique scholar with a unique name. January 14-18 I will be in Louisville, KY to take a class simply entitled "Origins" taught by Dr. Kurt Wise. This is a class I have looked forward to for several reasons. '
First, I did my undergraduate studies in Applied Science and Physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I became a follower of Jesus during my sophomore year at UNC in the middle of my studies in the hard sciences. The questions surrounding the Scriptures view of history, science and the nature of the cosmos became important for me at this juncture as well as my interests in Christian Apologetics. During my studies at UNC I immersed myself in some young earth creationist literature for a brief season but over time evolved to more of an old earth, recent Adam creationist yet firmly maintaining that the first 11 chapters of Genesis were a trusted, though not comprehensive, view of human creation, sin and early migrations. I would say I have stayed somewhat abreast on the discussions between theistic evolutionists, progressive creationists, intelligent design theorists and literary framework views. The interesting thing about my upcoming class is that Dr. Wise is in fact a young earth creationist...and one of considerable intellectual talent.
Dr. Wise did his undergraduate studies in geology at the University of Chicago, a masters in geology at Harvard along with a Ph.D. in Invertebrate Paleontology, also at Harvard University. His doctoral work was actually supervised by the late Stephen J. Gould, quite the proponent of various evolutionary explanations of life. Wise has even drawn the attention and disdain of the high priest of the new atheism Richard Dawkins who said the following of Dr. Wise:
Wise stands out among young earth creationists not only for his impeccable education, but because he displays a modicum of scientific honesty and integrity.
And then of course the following:
Kurt Wise doesn’t need the challenge; he volunteers that [that he is a six day, young earth creationist who believes the Bible), even if all the evidence in the universe flatly contradicted Scripture, and even if he had reached the point of admitting this to himself, he would still take his stand on Scripture and deny the evidence. This leaves me, as a scientist, speechless. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have a mind capable of such doublethink. It reminds me of Winston Smith in struggling to believe that two plus two equals five if Big Brother said so. But that was fiction and, anyway, Winston was tortured into submission. Kurt Wise—and presumably others like him who are less candid—has suffered no such physical coercion. But, as I hinted at the end of my previous column, I do wonder whether childhood indoctrination could wreak a sufficiently powerful brainwashing effect to account for this bizarre phenomenon.
So I have the upcoming privilege of spending 8 hours a day for five days with this highly credentialed scientist and young earth creationist. My biggest question is whether Dr. Wise will consider me Mr. Foolish if I do not accept the 6 day creationist conclusion...and will I care. I look forward to the reading and discussion ahead and will enjoy engaging all of these issues in the coming weeks as I do the reading...and he did just assign some reading. He did go to Harvard after all.
For those interested here are the books on the list for my class in Origins:
For the original wide screen version - see here Classic line - "Wow, Purple Haze"
I am by no means what someone might call a prolific blogger. I have a day job, a wife and three kids, am in Seminary, working on planting a church...and I enjoy writing when time affords. Yet I just noticed something fun on my Movable Type Control Panel today...[for those who want to know - POCBlog is powered by Sixapart's Movable Type Software - Word Pressers I know you guys are cool]
I don't share too much the metrics of this site (for instance, how many page views a month we see) but I thought this was a bit different. After being at this for a bit, the POCBlog is at 995 entries and 957 comments which means two fun milestones are just ahead. First, the 1000 entry mark and second, the point at which comments eclipse the number of posts. It has been fun to see a community form here with common interests and friends old and new. I even love all those Mac people who always comment when I praise or mock the Apple cult.
Anyway, what began as a way to put my thoughts down has turned into something I really enjoy. I like thinking with you, hearing from you and keeping in touch with friends all over the world. Thanks for walking these paths over the past few years and we look forward to the continued exchange of thoughts, laughs and Zune information in the days ahead.
Yesterday we sang a song in church that provoked quite a bit of wrestling in me. I don't remember the exact song - but it had a line that went something like this:
All this world offers I give up to follow you...
I wrestled with this question all afternoon and it is still on my mind a bit. What does it mean for us to "give up all the world offers" yet have everything the world offers. I look at my life and those around me and there is nothing that the "the world" craves that we do not have. Well, that is probably an overstatement in that I don't have a jet plane or a Larry Ellison yacht...nor do I want one. But the parking lot of our church is full of luxury cars and luxury SUVs. The neighborhoods of our area are as nice as you can ask for. The average income in this county, and likely in our church, is close to 100K a year.
What does it mean for us as American people to reject the world for Jesus when we have the world? I have wrestled with a few options - all of these I am asking of myself:
This is a real question for me in America - some are surrounded by wealth and the "good life" - others are feverishly chasing it. All this shook me pretty hard yesterday as we listened to the book of Philippians. A letter written from a guy in jail, to a church giving to others out of its own poverty (not giving out of its abundance). We even paused to reflect on a man named Epaphroditus who nearly died (and this means dead, death, temporal life lost) for the sake of the gospel. We followed this with a ballet dance to the song "Take my life, all of me" - I loved the beauty of the art portrayed and the offering of our talents to God...but it seemed to be a disconnect for me as we were just talking about a guy giving up his life in the mission of the gospel. I think it somehow this call upon us is more than a dance in church.
Are we too comfortable? Am I being a jerk? I know a lot of this is just my own issue and wondering how my family should live in the midst of this world as we follow Jesus.
I see no mandated command to poverty in Scripture. I also abominate the health/wealth prosperity doctrine. I see great warnings about loving the world, loving money, and the deceitfulness of riches. Yet I see the virtues of gospel living and industry as being helpful in the gaining of wealth. Historically, the frugality and industry of Protestantism has brought a high amount of prosperity to cultures. I personally know some very gracious, generous and wealthy people whom I consider dear friends. So some are going to get paid, yet, how do you keep it from getting you?
I know the word prophet may bug a few of you, but I do think some men just see things clearly before their time. I find such a person in the writings of AW Tozer. I read this quote from him this morning and found it very revealing:
Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again.
A.W. Tozer, Of God and Men
And now we have e-mail, IM, blogs (smile), RSS feeds and smart-phones which watch them all 24/7. It is no wonder we are so thirsty in the parched contemporary desserts of western culture. Reminded again of the importance of solitude, reflection (thinking deeply), reading and prayer.
(HT - Sandy Young)
It is a bit difficult to keep up with the POCBlog these days. I would mention how many days I have had off in the last 2 months but then the Sabbatarians would tell me what a sinner I am. Believe me, I am very aware already. Life has moved along at quite a clip with being a husband and father, speaking, leading inversion, raising funds for Jacob's Well, travel to NJ, seminary...and blogging. Well, at least once in a while I find a moment to write.
I just returned from a week in New Jersey which ended with a delightful day long delay in Newark airport and a midnight arrival on Sunday evening. From there I had to get up and read about 100 pages and then report to my church history class for a quiz and the 411 about our upcoming final exam. Jersey was good. I spoke twice at Rutgers, went to the RU/Pitt football game and met with some pastors and campus ministry leaders in the area. I feel like I am learning more and more about the community God has called us to...it really going to be a walk in the park - an easy cushy church job. Just kidding...there have been a couple of days when I have asked Jesus if he still liked me after calling us to Jersey.
To be honest, where we live today is just a great place. Lots of families, lots of friendly people (a few shallow church folk as well), lots of housing, low taxes and cost of living, some good churches, good schools etc. Let's just say that Jersey is about as different from Nashville as Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks. A few thoughts on Jersey culture are here. One of my prayers is to actually become a Jersey guy - I guess about 10 years from now I will feel abrasive to southern folk...wait, I already feel abrasive to some southern folk. Perhaps I have a little Jersey in me already. We'll see.
Anyway, I am back home and enjoying the final days of a church history class, meeting with some friends about partnering with Jacob's Well and deeply thirsty to have some down time for Scripture and reflection. Our schedule is intentionally going to slow down here in the coming months to focus on relocating and the church plant...but more importantly for time to drink deeply with the Lord in preparation for our coming labors in the northeast.
I have greatly enjoyed the slow reading of Alistair McGrath's new book Christianity's Dangerous Idea - The Protestant Revolution from the 16th Century to the 21st. I am going through it as a pure pleasure read - which for me means no highlighter and no sticky flags...though I did dog ear a few pages on the plane Sunday :) Look for a review here some time before the Rapture (if you believe in such things).
Finally, I ran across a few interesting articles today. First, Bishop Desmond Tutu echoes the current zeitgeist about homosexual practice over on the BBC. It is quite clear that the demonization of anyone who holds traditional morality is a present reality. The malaise of the Anglican communion is indicative of a greater disjunction of many churches from their scriptural moorings. Second, Dan Kimball, a prominent voice in the emerging/emergent conversation writes some excellent thoughts regarding the balance between Kingdom living now and gospel proclamation associated with the after life. A find balance that we have been preaching from day one at Inversion. I don't jibe with everything Kimball, but this is a timely and good word. If you are not familiar with Kimball - you need to at least check out his stray cats like 1980s rock-a-billy hair. Nice.
Finally, I had a great reunion with my beloved family this week after being out of town for a good 8 days. It was great to be home to contemplate the future together. Kasey and I are wrestling with schooling decisions - mainly between public (great missional opportunities to meet people...no extra money) and Christian (laying a cooperative gospel foundation in the early years) schools. Please pray for us on that and your opinions are welcomed.
My most recent talk in our Gospel of Mark series is up online...I have so enjoyed studying this gospel and communicating its words to my friends. The gospel is the story we live in and I am humbled by God's grace to me - in all my pride and sin - extended my way on the cross of Christ.
May you all have a great Thanksgiving - a meaningful day for those who have someone to thank.
Ran across this quote today in a church history class I am taking...this was written just before the reformation.
“If Christianity had remained what its Founder made it, things would have gone differently, and mankind would have been far happier, but there is no plainer proof that this religion is falling to pieces than the fact that the people who live nearest to Rome are the least pious of any.”
—Niccolò Machiavelli
RE:Greek - check it out.
OK, one last tech post for this Saturday while I sit in the Detroit airport...Google announced last week and Open Handset operating system which is being called Android. Not sure if I like the name but it is an interesting development.
Here is a listing of some recent media coverage of the announcement.
The Palm Centro is the new entry level smart phone currently available exclusively from Sprint. It is available for 99 bucks with a new two year contract and is available in onyx and recently released ruby. The phone runs the most recent version of the Palm phone and PIM applications and fits nicely in both hand and pocket. I'll give a quick run down of the things I like and don't like about this little device.
Hardware
The hardware of the Centro is sturdy but does have the feel of a lower end device. It is solid but does not feel unbreakable. It has a plastic case which one expects for this price range. The screen is small but very vivid at 320x320 resolution. The device's dimensions are 4.22" (L) x 2.11" (W) x 0.73" (D); 4.2 oz = small. There is a tiny QWERTY keyboard at the bottom of the device, a directional pad and four application buttons on the front assigned to phone, home, calendar and e-mail applications. The buttons are fully user assignable so customize how you like. The left side has volume buttons and a custom application button you can assign to any thing. I believe a voice recorder is the default. I set mine to launch the camera. The right side has the microSD slot where you can put up to an additional 4GB of storage. Mine has a 2GB card. To place the memory cards you do have to remove the back cover which conceals the user replaceable battery which is rated at 3.5 hours talk time, up to 300 hours standby time. The back has a speaker and the 1.3 megapixel digicam and camcorder - it records stills as well as video. The bottom of the device has the syncing port, small headphone jack (does not accept standard audio headphones but will with adapter) and charging jack. A few quick hardware impressions:
Software
The biggest complaint these days against Palm is the aging Palm OS. The OS has not had a major revision in years and is feeling dated against the modern handset systems such as Windows Mobile 6, Symbian and OSX/iPhone. Yet to be honest, I love the Palm OS even though I know its technical and architectural limitations. It is fast, simple and all the software I had bought in the past for Palm pretty much runs on my Centro. I agree with the critics that Palm needs a new OS (and there Linux deal is much delayed as of this writing) but I don't find the Palm system to be a drawback to Centro.
Service
Overall, I am quite pleased for the functionality I have in the Centro for only 99 dollars. Sure its touchscreen does not flick and fly like the fancy iPhone but I also paid a whole lot less...and I feel good about saying no to Steve Jobs and yes to Palm. Plus, if Palm blows away in the next two years my investment was small and I can be in the market for another reasonably priced device in 2009 - maybe iPhone 3.0...and hopefully not on AT&T.
For a very in-depth look, see the excellent review over at Engadget.
