The Banner Really Missed It

The Christian Reformed Church’s official publication, the Banner, recently devoted an issue to the problem of global warming. I had several reactions to items in the issue ranging from world view concerns to simple issues of common sense. Here are just a few:

First, amongst all the rhetoric the issue contained one fact upon which all of this seemed to be hinged. The fact was that the “past nine years were among the warmest 25 on record in the contiguous United States.” The author then goes on to state that the record began in 1895. My questions are: Has the method of measuring temperature changed in any way? Has the data source change? Are there more reporting weather stations now than there were in 1895? Is the methodology exactly the same? Has the technology changed in any way (better or worse)? If any of this is true, then what value is their data? Also, what value is knowing that within the last 25 years nine of the warmest years of the last 115 years have occurred? One can hardly project a global trend from this.

The article states that this statistic is “unprecedented in the historical record.” Of course it is. There is almost nothing of a historical record. Remember figures never lie…but liars sure can figure.

Second, much was made over the fact that lots of climatologists think there is a climate crisis. So, because lots of people think that it might be true, then it is true? Wouldn’t a climatologist tend to inflate the importance and crisis of his or her life work? We are all myopic and wish to have people listen to our crazy ideas. We all want to tell others how they should live their lives, and climatologists are no exceptions.

I should note that I absolutely love the insanity of arguing like this. “I did a web search and found lots of people are concerned.” If this kind of drivel substitutes for real meat of argument, then every position on every issue has plenty of backing.

Third, the issue stated that if we don’t accept the climatologist’s dire predictions and drastically alter our lives, we will “undermine the foundation of a sustainable world.” When I read that I had to close the magazine and read the cover again just to make sure it was Christian and Reformed. I can’t imagine any Christian let alone one with a healthy view of God’s sovereignty saying something like that. Of course, I guess that calls into question the author’s world view and his theology. Would God allow us to destroy the world? Hardly.

The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psa 24:1

This is our block...the back side of Main Street (East Side) from South (on the left) to North. We live on the North end in the corner (the reddish darker building in the corner just over the top of the white pickup in the picture). This is in Three Rivers, MI.

I should note that there is a lot of construction going on. The parking lot that I stood in to take the photo is brand new, and it raised the level of the street by about 15 or 20 feet. There is a narrow alley of sorts between the parking lot and the buildings with catwalk like suspended sidewalks. Meyer Ventures bought 13 (I think) buildings and completely renovated them in the last year or two, and we live in one of Meyer's buildings. Also, I should note that my great grandfather, Isaac Null, built most of these buildings over 100 years ago.

This is how the river looked (real foggy) on Saturday morning as I went to work. This is at the intersection of Constantine Street and Mintdale Road near Constantine, MI.

Bad Boys

Yesterday, Jen and I were driving around town in her convertible, and we watched a police officer pull over a white Dodge 4 X 4 in a driveway. We drove by twice. The second time the cop was in his car looking up info on his computer, and we drove about a block to the intersection of Michigan and Wood Street where Pauls Pantry, a run down, little, party store is.

We saw 15 or 20 people fighting at the party store. I don’t mean shouting and poking fun at each other. I mean beating the daylights out of each other in the parking lot. I did a quick U turn and raced back north to the cop who slowly rolled down his window when I pulled up beside him.

“Yeah”

“You know there’s a huge fight going on down there?”

“Where?”

“The party store. There must be at least 15.”

He just took off. The guy in the truck was visibly upset lifting his arms in the air like “what about me?”

As we drove off we heard sirens all over the city, and when we drove by a couple of minutes later there were four police cars there.

Did I feel good about myself? I don’t know. It was kinda fun.

The Smiling "G"

Anyone remember the Smiling G? My mom used to take us kids to the Smiling G (or Goodwill) on occassion), and my wife has adopted the same passion for getting slightly used clothing and things at bargain prices.

Yesterday, I came home and she ran up to me with a huge plastic bag. I didn't realize they made plastic bags that you could take home a pool table in. Anyway, she says, " Look what I got for only $30!" And, she starts taking out clothes...pants, shorts, etc...

I looked at her proudly holding a very unique pair of black and white checkered dress shorts with that goofy smile on her face, and I couldn't help myself. I said, "You know the great thing about shopping at the Goodwill in a small community like Three Rivers?" She squints and the smile begins to fade. "It's only a matter of time before you meet the previous owner."

So... she refused to show me the rest of the contents of the bag. Hmmm.

I should note that my mother once had a dream where she bought used popcorn from the Smiling G. It was the unpopped corn that always sits on the bottom of the bowl.

The photo is out our living room window at night. There is a tree in front that is blooming.

Dave

This is Dave.

We were at the "Tap Room", a neighborhood bar about a block from our apartment, tonight, and while I worked on my computer, Jen talked to Dave. Dave ended up confessing that he believes and God and is terrified by that belief. He also confessed to holding on to the anger from his wife's suicide 20 some odd years ago. It has crushed his life and brought him to a real low point. He openly cried as Jen and he spoke. He is afraid of trusting God and going to heaven because he believes that there is no forgiveness for suicide since the offender can't ask forgiveness. If he goes to heaven, he'll never see his wife again. Wow. That's a real struggle. I believe that my sins are covered by Christ's work not my asking forgiveness.

If Dave ever sees this, I hope he knows that I have a lot of respect for what he's gone through and where he is in life. Dave isn't really any different from the rest of us. He is struggling. I struggle. You struggle. The church is full of Dave's in one form or another. I pray the Lord opens his eyes just as I pray the Lord opens mine.

I found myself thinking about how little difference there is between Dave and I. Wow. I struggle with issues that are just as core and unsettling as Dave does. I feel like crying openly sometimes as I thrash about in this world. I wonder if Dave is an evangelistic opportunity or a vist of an angel unawares...

The Rise of the Romanists

There’s a new trend with young people today. We all need an authority over us in order to feel secure in our place, and we live in a maturing anti-authoritarian age. Parents have allowed children to do whatever the children want. Schools have labeled behavior problems “learning disabilities” and we reward the anti-authoritarian attitudes. The majority of evangelical protestant churches have taken a very anti-authoritarian approach in order to attract attendees. The gospel has been relegated from the central authority of our lives to a nice social and emotional addition to our lives.

I see the children of this era as wanting a solid foundation that is outside of themselves, and they are turning to institutions which are willing to provide it. They end up in prison, the military, the Jehovah Witnesses, and the Roman Catholic Church.

I know several friends who have ventured to the Roman Church as a means of finding definition and authority under which they might flourish. One of them in particular can be found at http://paleocrat.blogspot.com/

I’m not sure if this makes sense? Any comments?

The picture is a photo I took of the Roman Catholic Church in Mendon, MI.

This is Three Rivers Christian Reformed Church from the air. This is the church that God has chosen to bless us with.

Valley centerpivot on M-60 on my way from Three Rivers to Battle Creek. I thought it looked pretty cool. These are the machines that MAISCO (where I work) designs, sells builds and maintains.

Downtown Three Rivers, Michigan. We live just to the left of this photo. The sky is, freakishly, the actual sky...weird. I've seen similar photos taken 50 or 60 years ago, and this is my first attempt to replicate that with today's storefronts etc... Visit sometime.

An abandoned church in Parkville, MI. Wasn't sure how this will turn out. Parkville is just North of Three Rivers.

Reasonable Service (or Such a Price)

This Sunday I preached at our church, since our pastor was away. I spoke on Lord’s Day 16 of the Heidelberg Catechism which refers to the passage in the Apostle’s Creed about Christ’s suffering, death, burial and descent into Hell. I read a lot of Calvin on the subject and it changed my view which I had learned from other commentators and preachers.

Calvin basically says that the physical suffering and death of even a God/Man (God of very God, man of very man. Fully God and fully Man) could hardly have paid for the contemptuous nature of our sin. Calvin points out that the wages, which must be satisfied, are the second death or Hell; and Christ surely had to receive in himself the recompense for that sin in his very soul in order to satisfy God’s jealous anger. He goes on to point out just how terrified Christ seems to be in the Garden of Gethsemane. I always tended to downplay the fear in his voice, but Calvin accentuates it. All of this leads to a fuller understanding of: My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?

That was the price He paid. That was the dowry this Bridegroom paid for His bride. As the bride of Christ, how does this awesome and terrible price that was paid for us effect our lives, our decision making, and even the simple and easy to see parts of our life? How does it effect my budget? How does it influence how I spend my time?

He paid for us. I am His child in the palm of His hand and no one (even myself) can remove me from his protection. I don’t have to fret, but what is my reasonable service?

To glorify Him with all I have.

Tim Wagner's Valley at Fawn River Road and Mill Pond Road near White Pigeon, MI.

John Miller Farm on Engle Road between White Pigeon, Constantine and Centreville, Michigan. Somebody is plowing with the John Deere articulating tractor.

Jerry Jones' farm on Sevison Road.

My wife and I were walking over to Piasano's for a little food and beverage the other evening and I snapped a picture of one of the cooler old buildings in town. This home is being used as an insurance company. This home is about 500 ft. from our place.

Redemption Question:

My pastor asked me a question the other day, and we had a lively discussion about it. I would like to hear views and opinions on it. I'll weigh in eventually.

"Are the redemption of souls and the redemption of the world separate or are the synonymous? If they are two different things, how are they related and do they necessarily involve eachother at every turn? Is our life work to strive toward the redemption of souls? The whole world? How do these interact for us?"

Thought you all may want to comment.

Grandpa Joe

I have a lot of respect for my Grandpa. He left to make his own way in life. He fought in World War 2 and was wounded severely in the Pacific. He recovered, married my Grandma, bought a farm and raised a large family. I respect his decisions, his successes, and his determination. This is a picture of him at our Easter family get together today.

This is a picture of my wife (barely visible in the middle under the bridge) a couple of blocks away from our apartment.

Here's a crazy (and not very good poem) that I wrote. I actually dreamed this, and thought of writing a poem about it when I woke up this morning. Enjoy... or at least tolerate! LOL.

Flog

A crazy yell and spill the beer
Through the hedge, o'er the rise
Club held erect without fear
To hole eighteen for the prize
Ball on the ground flat and sheer

Push it to the fair with a plow
Smack and it sails up to a clou’

Race in the night for the find
Look and look; there it is
No, just a nut of some kind
Despair, anger; what ‘bout this?
Drop another no one’ll mind

Whack! Wood on the ball
Hopin’ near to the tee it’ll fall

Once more then it’s close
Put dimpled round on the pole
Three more swings the mos’
Start ‘gain... prize in the next hole
All are runnin’ to see who’ll boas’

Better exercise than taking a jog
A backwards game we call flog

Joe hasn't updated his blog, so I will. This is Jen.

Joe and I recently went on a great week-long trip to DC, MD, and VA. We saw a lot of wonderful things. I think that he may reflect upon something about this trip... I'm sure that this un-authorized post will draw some sort of response.

For those who watch Joe's blog, stay tuned for something... soon!

Signing off for now! Hoping for some sort of respnse!

Jen

PayPal Questions

I have some questions about PayPal that I haven’t found answers to. Maybe someone can help me.

Most of the money converted from real dollars to PayPal funds isn’t withdrawn. When I sell things on eBay, I usually use the PayPal funds to buy other things rather than converting it back into dollars in my bank account. So, how much actual cash does PayPal have to have on hand in order to make the system work?

I’ve seen figures of $12 billion or more in transaction volumes performed on PayPal. But the real question is how much new money is being put into the system versus what is taken out. My sense of dealing with eBay and PayPal is that about 1/3 of what is added in a given year is taken out. This could be way off, but I tend to keep my PayPal money in PayPal for other transactions.

If this is true, then a couple of things:

1. PayPal is able to keep most of the cash converted to PayPal money.

2. What would keep PayPal executives or employees from just creating PayPal money and putting it into their own accounts to purchase whatever they desire?

3. PayPal is creating inflation by printing more money exactly the same way the Federal Reserve does.

4. How is PayPal regulated? Is it a bank? Credit Union?

I’m just wondering about this. Maybe someone can help me with some answers.

“There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.”

In the middle of the 16th century, a Protestant, English roving chaplain named John Bradford had occasion to watch several criminals led to the gallows and executed. As the criminals were led up to the scaffold, Bradford uttered the famously quoted, albeit generically, saying. Bradford’s words are well known, but they are not well understood.

Without the God of the universe acting in particular on my own heart… Without Jehovah God opening my eyes to see the truth and opening my ears to hear and understand… Then I am like the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Who were blind, and although the Lord Jesus stood before them, walked the same dirt path, talked with them, even ate with them and discussed scripture with them, were unable to comprehend Him.

We are blind and stupid. We suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We are all criminals against God. We assert our own right to be like him, judging for ourselves what is right and wrong. We desire to be the determiner of our own destiny. We fight for the right to let our will be done. We are sinners. We deserve the gallows and much worse. There is no righteousness in us. It is filthy rags.

But, Christ opened my eyes, just like He opened the eyes of the disciples on that road. He changed me, revealed himself to me, and I in return could naught but bow my head and humbly submit to the King of Kings.

Without Him changing me in particular, I could never see Him. Once my eyes were opened I could not help but see Him. Without God’s particular grace towards me, I was lost. All that I am is because of His condescension towards me.

So you see… “There but for the grace of God goes Joe Graber.”

On January 31, 1555, John Bradford was burned at the stake as a heretic, in opposing the papacy, by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. It was written that he endured the flame "as a fresh gale of wind in a hot summer's day, confirming by his death the truth of that doctrine he had so diligently and powerfully preached during his life."

I should note that William Bradford, who came to the New World aboard the Mayflower and was governor of that settlement for 30 years, was likely a relative of John Bradford.

Update: Upstairs Music

Ok! Ok! I couldn’t take it any more.

At 10:30 PM, I was trying to go to bed, but the beat of the music just went on and on. Finally, I got up, put on my jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. I put on my shoes and grabbed my stainless steel, 40 caliber, Taurus Millennium. I strode quickly and confidently outside. I almost couldn’t hear the music at first, but then when I got up the stairs and stood in front of the door. The beat was coming right through the door, and I hammered my fist against the door, the gun in my other.

The music instantly ceased. I waited impatiently. Finally, the door opened, and the little man stood before me. “Yes?”

“I’m from down stairs, and…well…we’re going to bed now.”

“Oh, we’ll turn it down.”

From behind him I hear, “Is it too loud?”

“We’ve been listening to it since 5 O’clock.”

“Ok”

“Thanks.”

Then, I went down and went to bed

-----------

I was thinking that I should apologize to them later… What do you think?

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Just a special little "thank you" to the homosexuals living in the apartment above us for playing their music really loud at certain times. Lord knows what sounds we'd hear if they didn't play the music. Ewww!

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
(2Co 13:5-8)

It is much easier, and much more appealing to our humanity to portray the appearance of something rather than create the true. For instance it is much easier to portray substance, either in business or personally than it is to create real substance. It is often much easier to give the appearance of knowledge or skills than it is to actually develop such skill or acquire such knowledge.

We went to a minor league sports game the other day, and the arena was posh with expertly designed decorations, exciting displays of fireworks and flame as well as all sorts of themed accoutrements. Before the game began, the setting was truly awe inspiring and gave a sense of magnificence. Unfortunately, the teams took the field, and we all quickly discovered that the home team was amateurish. They were severely beaten, pounded, rather rubble-ized. It was embarrassing. The truth took about 30 seconds to be discovered on the playing field.

We all attempt to generate appearances on a personal basis. We all, either consciously or sub-consciously, want others to think about us in a certain way. What way is it that you try to fool people about yourself? Most of us want others to believe that we are of the highest moral integrity. We want others to think that we are productive and generous. We want people to admire our wealth generation abilities, or perhaps our self control. There are a myriad of ways that we try to keep up appearances, as the British comedy television show lampoons so well.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we should pray to God that we would do no evil, not in order to keep up appearances but to be honest and live truthfully.

What is it that most children who are raised in the church and then leave say? They tired of the appearances, the hypocrites, the deception. We put on masks and become actors, but we don’t understand that everyone sees through it. It takes about 30 seconds of reality before everyone knows exactly who you are.

Roy Williams, the world’s leading advertising guru, says that my generation that the next want one thing…reality. We are disgusted with the hype, the flash, the perfect appearances. Give us reality. Maybe the church should listen. Glitz is out. Real is in.

Capitalism of the Socialists

I recently had the honor (hmph!) of covertly observing two men, one young and one old, conversing in a coffee shop.

The young man had a Verizon cell phone which he used several times during the hour or so I watched them. He had a brand new, top of the line HP laptop computer decorated with pretty stickers from coffee shops he frequents. He was wearing a suit coat and a dress shirt with terribly worn blue jeans. Birkenstocks adorned his mostly hidden feet. He had gelled his hair and took great pains to look a certain way with his necklace and $200 backpack computer case. The young man, a boy really, was reading Erich Fromm’s The Same Society published by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. He probably bought it from Barnes and Nobles. He was smoking Camels and drank tea made by the Lipton Company.

The older man, who left first, was using a sleek new Dell computer and wore a posh wind breaker. He wore a newer ball cap with some kind of symbol on it.

The young man noticed that the man had a socialist newspaper sitting next to him, and struck up a conversation. It turned out that they were both hard-core socialists who detested the modern capitalist state and all it represents. They opposed the war in Iraq and discussed what demonstrations they had been to. They discussed various socialist writers and lamented the demise of the socialist party in America.

Finally, the man said goodbye, packed his things, put on his Kenneth Cole sunglasses and made his way out of the coffee shop to his awaiting Subaru B9 Tribeca.

UPDATE!

We went to a professional sporting event last night, and, as truth is stranger than fiction, we ran into the older man from the coffee shop. This professed socialist critic of all that is capitalistic was scalping tickets in front of the stadium. He actually asked me to buy and then asked if I had tickets to sell. What a country! (Could I make this up?)

A Confederacy of Dunces

I recently finished reading John Kennedy Toole’s masterpiece, A Confederacy of Dunces. The comedy of the book is rivaled only by that in Catch 22, another all-time great novel.

I find myself identifying with the writer as he observes the asinine logic and twisted fates of those around him. Every character, Ignatius, Myrna Minkoff, Irene Reilly, the woman named Santa and the accidental police hero.

On a serious note, Ignatius does represent our personal duality of abhorrence and fascination with evil and moral turpitude. He loudly decries nudity, debauchery in every form, but he also partakes heavily in all of these. He is also propelled forward in life by an intense hatred towards Myrna Minkoff; yet he is oddly seeking her satisfaction. He detests the demon which he must feed.

The marriage of the Levy’s has degenerated to a battle of personal pleasures. Mrs. Levy adores bludgeoning her husband’s ego at every opportunity, and Mr. Levy retaliates by scorning and deserting her at every possibility. As usual the kids are caught in the middle as the parents battle for their affections.

The rollicking fun by which this story is unrolled is gut wrenching. Tears of laughter make the book difficult to read at times. Reading of the lumbering Ignatius in his half hotdog vender/ half pirate outfit pushing a paradise vending cart down the street , and the reaction of society women horrified at the sign “12 inches of paradise” taped to the front is just too much. Officer Mancuso’s daily disguises as he attempts to root out evil on the streets of New Orleans and his eventual relegation to a public restroom for weeks in search of a criminal is just tearful hilarity.

Ignatius’ filing system which he institutes at Levy pants is truly revolutionary. He was a man before his time!

Read the book. I guarantee you’ll love it.

I should note that the book was published 12 years after John Kennedy Toole’s death. Toole was depressed with his lack of literary success, and the book probably contains some of that depressed view of life, and he committed suicide at age 32. His mother pressed the book on Walker Percy for years, and he ended up championing its publication in 1980. Such a sad story.

Good People

The truth is that good people are hard to find. The further truth is that good people are impossible to find.

And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? None is good except One, God.
(Luk 18:19)

Let me give you my list of proofs for the week:

1. I have used a printing company called 48 Hour Print (www.48hourprint.com) to print numerous, to numerous to list, publications. They used to do a pretty good job; however the last job (and the second from the last) was screwed up. I ordered the print job on March 1st because I needed it on the 8th for a show.

When I hadn’t received them on March 6th, I called and talked to a man who apologized. He said that he didn’t know why the job wasn’t printed yet because it was all ready. I should note that the place is called 48 Hour Print because they guarantee a 48 hour turn time. He promised me that they’d print the job that day and send it next day air on the 7th. I’d get it on the 8th. When I asked for his name so that I could talk to him in the future, he said that I could talk to any

So, it wasn’t here on the 8th. I called and talked to Laura at 48 Hour Print who told me the job hadn’t been printed (again…no reason), and that she had no evidence that I had even talked to someone on March 6th. She told me that the earliest I could get the printing was on March 13, after the show was over.

I’d be more than happy to post a response from 48 Hour Print; however, an apology is unacceptable. The job needed to be done, and the lies ensured that I didn’t make alternative plans. I guess at this point, everyone should know that this company lies to you, makes promises they don’t intend to keep, and dealing with them can seriously sabotage your business.

2. The following is a news article regarding a Christian Counseling center that our church has been distantly associated with.

March 7, 2006 - 6:25PM KALAMAZOO (NEWS 3) – New allegations are being levied against a Kalamazoo marriage counselor.

Steven Roskamp had his state license suspended in January after admitting having sexual contact with a patient during therapy sessions. Now, a second complaint has been filed against Roskamp, who worked at Desert Streams Christian Counseling. The new complaint, obtained by News 3 through a Freedom of Information request, outlines alleged relationships Roskamp had with two married women. Relationships that the state says amount to "negligence" and "incompetence."

Roskamp worked at Desert Streams for 14 years. He was fired last year after what the clinic's president calls "serious ethical and moral violations." In a statement, Doctor David Wagner says, "That one of our employees chose to disregard and violate all that Desert Streams stands for, grieves us deeply." Desert Streams notified the state and, in January, authorities suspended Roskamp's license.

The complaint says that between 2002 and 2004, Roskamp had sexual contact with a client. That they would "lie on top of each other" and that he would touch her, saying that he did so to "bring the strength of God as a male to female." A state investigator says the woman alleges that Roskamp also touched her more intimately.

Count two, filed recently, involves a second woman. The complaint says the client had a dual relationship with Roskamp - social and professional. The client admitted developing intimate feelings for the counselor and that Roskamp did not refer the client to another therapist. Sessions continued in which the therapist asked the alleged victim questions about her sex life and he suggested ways she could make herself more inviting.

Roskamp's license has been suspended temporarily. A state panel still must decide whether to revoke his license permanently.


A strong grasp of the total depravity of man is essential to understanding life. Without the work of the Holy Spirit in suppressing our sinfulness, we can do nothing but sin.
Thank God for His provision, and Christ’s righteousness.

1984

In The Napoleon of Notting Hill, GK Chesterton writes about a futuristic king who as a joke turns each suburb of London into its own country. The new countries adopt formalities, royalty and quickly come to arms with each other. Adam Wayne, the provost of Notting Hill is most dedicated to the new ways that the king has established, and he beats all the other suburbs as they battle to put a road through the small, poor suburb.

The end result is a severe patriotism, and a real improvement in the way of life for the citizens.

At the end of the book Wayne learns for the first time that the king had established the countries as a joke, but that Wayne had pursued the end result whole heartedly. Chesterton seems to wonder if God hasn’t created the world as some kind of joke that we take just way to seriously.

This book was written in 1904 and referred to a world 80 years later, or 1984. Later Chesterton gave a struggling young writer named Eric Blair an opportunity to publish his first essay in GK’s Weekly. Blair wrote under he pen name George Orwell, and later wrote a futuristic book entitled 1984.

Cartoons

Which is the greater: the man who ignores the child taunting him, or the man who becomes enraged over the taunting?

Which is the greater god: the god whose followers carve him out of wood, paint him, prop him up and then bow to him or the god who is self existent?

Which is the greater god: the god who must be defended at all cost or the god who needs no defense?


The recent publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in blasphemous situations and ways has created a simple yet effective test to observe the strength of the god being worshipped. There are throngs of Islamic people protesting and enraged in their zeal to defend the Prophet. When even just the dignity or the civility of the Prophet is questioned or impugned, the followers find it necessary to take up arms and lay down lives in defense of the beloved Mohammad.

My God is greater, much greater, than I, and He is much more capable of defending himself than I could ever hope to realize, and therefore, He is not in need of my defense. I may grieve or be annoyed with blasphemies such as “The Last Temptation of Christ” or other equally disgusting rot coming from the entertainment community, but I don’t have to take up arms. God will jealously protect His name, and doesn’t rely on my feebleness to protect it.

I am reminded of the Huns’ sacking of Rome nearly 1500 years ago. As Attila entered the city the heathens made haste to their temples to protect their gods, and were rightly ridiculed by the Christians. Why? Because…

ANY GOD IN NEED OF MY PROTECTION IS UNWORTHY OF MY DEVOTION!

I took a puff on my cigar and blew it up into the cool air of the library. I glanced out the window at the snowy, crowded street in front and turned intently to my long time friend. "Jerome, we've been friends for a long time."

"That's why I came to you Fin. I just don't know what else to do. I'm kinda at my whit's end. If one or even two of these had hit, but all this at once...I really need some help."

I watched him, and we sat in silence for a decade it seemed. "Jerry, that's what friends are for, to help each other out, you know." Another long pregnant pause filled the air.

"See here Jerry, what I really could use to get back on my feet is a car. I need transport in order to attend to a job.” He nervously darted his eyes around the room, and his fingers played concerto’s on the handles of the stiff wooden chair. “So what is old chum?”

I drew heavy on the cigar, and let the smoke gently escape my mouth as I stared at him. “Fin, I’d love to help you out. I have an extra car, actually two extras, but I can’t let you have either of them…”

“Oh, of course not, Jerry! I’d just borrow one for a week…maybe two.”

“Emm… As I was saying… The Fiat is not available since it technically doesn’t belong to me.”

“Doesn’t belong to you?! Jerry, I was with you when you bought it.” Fin’s face glowed red as he choked out the words.

“Fin, I promised the car to the salvage yard down the street when I’m done with it. I’m helping out that worthy institution by allowing them to have it when I am done and no longer have any use for the car.”

Finnigan just stared at me, but I had to attend to the ash. Finally, he quietly, and with great enunciation, said, “Do you feel some special satisfaction at giving them what is useless to you? That is quite a sacrifice.”

My head was down, and I was trying to relight the cigar when he spoke. I glared at him from over my glasses. “No. My real satisfaction is that I willed the other one, the Rolls, to them upon my death.”

“Doesn’t your son want it?”

“Of course, but I’m giving it to the business there at the end of the block. They’ve been good to me.”

“No your not, Jerry.”

“Not what?”

“Jerry, you’re not giving the car away. You’re stealing your son’s inheritance and giving that away.”

I ushered Fin out, and as I watched him walk away down the street I thought that some people can really be self centered.

The Man Who Was Thursday

I just finished reading G.K. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday", and as usual Chesterton is maddeningly funny in the story.

A young man, a recently recruited police detective, named Syme infiltrates the anarchist underground in Europe. There were seven members of the central committee led by an intimidating figure who went by the codename "Sunday." Each of the other members, invariably, used the names of the days of the week as undercover aliases. Syme took the position of Thursday.

In the end, it is eventually discovered that each and every member of the central committee is in fact a police detective bent of infiltrating the organization. The notion of an anarchist organization is actually antithetical and rather humorous in and of itself, but the process of getting to the point is hilarious. In the end it is found that Sunday himself is the police recruiter who sent them in pursuit of himself.

The story takes a wild turn as Sunday ends up being a metaphor for God and we are those who he recruits to pursue himself. Each man pursued Sunday alone; however, they were all pursuing him together.

Syme explains why each man must struggle, working out his own salvation:

So that each man fighting for order may be as brave and good a man as the dynamiter (referring to a nonexistent suicide bomber). So that the real lie of Satan may be flung back in the face of this blasphemer, so that by tears and torture we may earn the right to say to this man, “You lie!” No agonies can be too great to buy the right to say to this accuser, “We also have suffered.”

Dinner

We arrived for dinner at Shnauzers Bar and Grille in Schoolcraft at about 8:00 pm and consequently had to wait for a table. The only others waiting were a young family…obviously a mom, dad and two young boys, one in school and one not yet. We talked for a little while. Mom had just taken a really hard test for nursing school and they were going out to celebrate. They were all excited, and mom was glad to get her nose out of a book for the first time in a quite a while.

They were seated just shortly before us, and we we watched them celebrate. Dad was just a normal looking balding guy, prematurely, who just seemed sincere and responsible. He was just nice enough to not be weird. Mom was in her twenties or early thirties and was quite attractive even though it was obvious that she was a mother. The kids were fairly well behaved, but they were still boys.

While we watched, Jen, my wife, blurts out that we could pay for their meal. I don't reply, but I just mulled it over for a while as I watch them. Jen and I just split a small order of nachos, and while Jen had a large Blue Moon white wheat beer, I had a small Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat.

Our waiter, a young and slightly immature kid named Jamie who picked on the waitress Jamie constantly, came and asked us if we needed anything else. I asked him to do something for me on the sly, and pointed out the table real undercover like. I told him to bring me their bill and tell them nothing.

He brought it back, but said their waitress wants to know what and when to tell them. I reply that they should wait until the family is finished and then just tell them that it's all taken care of. I paid the bill and we left.

We returned the next day, and waitress who waited on the family the night before waited on us. She said they were astonished and didn't know what to think. They really couldn't believe it. I'll admit that I did feel some little bit of self satisfaction.

I thought later that this would be a great evangelism tool, but we prefer other less productive and cheaper evangelism systems.

Success

I've heard from business people, and I've seen proof in many areas, including sports, business, pastoring, and politics, that it isn't talent that brings success. It isn't know how, abilities, or even common sense. There are two ingredients: discipline and drive.

By discipline I mean the ability to force yourself to do what needs to be done rather than what you'd like to do. By drive I mean a never ending stamina and determination to just keep pounding away at what you want. This combination necessitates a certain humility.

I am taken to the story of the Akron Zips' head coach, J.D. Brookhart. I watched Akron play Memphis in the Motor City Bowl, and the announcers told the story. He was a successful software salesman making a very comfortable living, but he felt that he wanted to coach football. Finally, he quit and became an unpaid intern for Mike Shanahan simply to learn the game. He washed cars, ran errands, and did functions that a high school kid might do. But, soon he had an assistant's job. Brookhart became an assistant coach at Pitt for seven years. Now, he's the second year head coach of Akron, and he's turned the program around...making a name for himself.

My question is: "How badly do I want to write?" Am I spending my spare time watching TV or just chillin' out when I should be relentless in my disciplined writing? I should be writing more every day.

It's easy to be an arrogant, prideful nothing. We can easily see how poorly others succeed, but what do we do?

There are many times more mutual funds than there are stocks. There are many more analysts than mutual funds. There are more critics than movie producers. There are more sports writers and commentators than football players.

The point is that it's far easier to live comfortably without real discipline and criticize those who are humbling themselves to discipline themselves and plod endlessly toward their goal.
To whom much is given much is required

The Godfather

I was watching the Godfather the other day, and I was struck by something Marlon Brando, as Don Corelleoni, said. "Men cannot live carelessly. Women and children can live carelessly, but men cannot live carelessly" (paraphrased).

We men should live careful lives of circumspection and planning. We should take the cares of the women and the children and deal with them. We should be providing carefree and tranquil environments for our loved ones. Our spouses and children shouldn't have to worry about food, clothing, housing, violence, or unattainable expectations.

Another aspect of this careful living is our attention to what our spouses and children are taught. It is the father's and husband's responsibility to oversee the catechising of the children and the wife. If he, through poor choices or through laziness, allows for a poorly educated and poorly groomed family it is a shame to him.

His example in godliness in personal matters, faithfulness in financial and contractual matters, and honesty in matters of integrity are the building blocks of the future.

The Urban Redneck Christian


Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing. I am taken back to Al Wolever's comment that perhaps the weakest of Christians are the ones chosen as clergy. Perhaps if they were not clergy they would not be living Christ like. When I was pastoring, I was astonished more than once at the piety and devotion of laymen. It is humbling to supposedly lead others who are more devout that yourself. It is even more humbling to be called on the carpet by laymen for legitimate mistakes or poor judgements that result from a lack of piety.

Here's my bottom line though. My Christianity isn't a neat, well dressed, pants pressed, hair nicely groomed, soft spoken and tender touching Christianity. My Christianity has always been big boned and mis-shapen. It has wrinkled clothing, flaws and poor workmanship. My Christianity has always been hard,messy and even a bit neanderthal. I practice a knuckle dragging Christianity. My Christianity is one of sin and forgiveness. It is one of mistakes andrepentence, and it is based solely on mercy. I hate the sin in my life, but I still sin. I especially hate the fact that sometimes I love the sin that I'm supposed to hate...I feel trapped. I can only plead as Paul for Christ to deliver me from this body of death.

I despise the cookie cutter, pressed pants, limp wristed, soft spokenChristianity. When I meet one of these androgenous Christian men, I leavefeeling like I picked up a leaky syrup bottle and I've got the soft, gooey half dry syrup all over my hands. The sappy, soft, sweet Christianity is vile and destestable to me. I may dry heave.

My questions are thus: Is it wrong for me to feel this way about an emasculated Christianity? Why do I feel like taking the average, modern, let's just sithere and love the whole friggin' world, and giving them the finger while I tell them to take a long walk off a short pier.

Radu No.2 (the Moldovan)

I met the second Radu of my life today. I had a professor in college named Radu Teodoresku from Romainia. He claimed to speak 12 languages, but I gathered that he spoke none of them very well.

Radu, today's Radu, came up to me at a restaurant and asked me to make a donation for "international learning programs" or some such thing. He would give me a fancy homemade card or picture in return for said donation. He spoke with a thick Eastern European accent (Moldovan), and he wore a stocking cap. Radu was most gracious and even when turned down time and time agian he wished each person a great holiday season.

After he left, I wished I had bought a card.

The Good Earth

Pearl S. Buck was well rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize for her masterful prose in The Good Earth. I have just finished reading the book, but I'm sure that I'll be continuing to discover the impact of the book on my life for years to come.

I was particularly struck by Buck's themes which set a series of dicotomies.

The vitrue of productivity and of saving versus the evil of waste and consumption is a prominent theme. And, Wang Lung, the protagonist of the story, is set in his thrift and work ethic against the laziness and constant spending of others such as his uncle and the Lords of the House of Hwang. Wang Lung ends up climbing from abject poverty to a position of riches and prominence largely because of his values...this is not discounting providence.

The cathartic and healing virtue of the land is set against the corrupt and vile nature of the towns and cities. Wang Lung returns time and again to the Land in order to clear his mind and heal all that ailed him. The land possesses a mystical quality. Even in the very end, Wang returns to the land in order to die in peace; however, the tragic truth of the future overshadows the goodness of the Land. The land possesses true value and is the true measure of wealth for Wang Lung.

The difficulties and trials that women go through in this life as a result of poor decisions and a lack of self control on the part of men is made clear. Olan, Wang Lung's wife, is, while not a supermodel of beauty, a vitruous and dependable wife. After bearing Wang Lung children, significantly contributing to the wealth of the household, and enabling the family to survive the drought, Olan is forced aside by a dainty beauty who stirred passion within Wang Lung. I'm not sure if the lessen here is for men or women. I think that while men should obviously treat there wife with dignity and truly love her, wives must recognize the ongoing importance of her desirability. The dicotomy between the physically desirable and the self sacrifice of love is a hard thing. Throughout the book, the physically desirable wins horribly again and again, and Buck states again and again that men are not unique.

I would heartily recommend this book set in pre-revolutionary China for it's insights on life and it's superb readability. I look forward to seeing how the book impacts my life.

Heidelberg One:

I just finished reading Richard Mouw’s book Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport. Mouw is concerned with the stark nature of Calvinism, and the lack of personal, experiential engagement with society. Not that Calvinism is sterile or that it lacks experience, but Calvinists tend to be more concerned with an academic style correctness over personal relationship. I found the book interesting, challenging, and largely instructive for me.

Mouw presses us to do what a Welsh preacher advised a couple of hundred years ago:

He urged his fellow Calvinist preachers to try to be a little more “careless” in interpreting the Bible. Not that he was recommending “the carelessness of levity,” he quickly explained, “but rather the carelessness of faith.” Many a Calvinist colleague, he observed, “will spend an hour’s exegesis on the word ‘world’; it will almost take his breath away to utter ‘all’; he will circumnavigate land and sea to avoid meeting ‘everyone’.” But the fact is, he went on, the Bible uses the words “all” and “world” in a fairly straightforward manner. “Trust more in the Bible, I implore you,” he concluded.

Mouw points out that eventually, as we read the Bible and ponder God’s ways, we will get to the point Paul did. We will break forth in song as he did in Romans 11. Eventually we have nothing to do or say but break forth with the greatness of the Lord.

Mouw closes the book with the remarkable statement from the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, often referred to as Heidelberg One.

My only comfort in life and death is that I am not my own.

I am a little uncomfortable with what Mouw calls his eclecticism, but what I might call a universalism tendency. I find him humble though, and he really brings out the humility of Calvinist theology. I believe that God brought me to Calvinism because it humbles the Christian. Lord knows I need humility. How much more humble can one get than “I am not my own!”

Good Books

I like to give an update on what I've been reading occassionally. Hopefully I can help others who like to read good books. I am very discriminating when it comes to my reading time. I recently finished a book of short stories by J.D. Salinger called Nine Stories. I would hardily recommend it as a great read. I won't go into it here because I want to write a bit about the book I'm currently reading.

Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin won the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction in 1928. The story is about a Southern black girl named Mary and her journy spiralling downward morally, socially, and economically. The "scarlet" reference is to Nathaniel Hawthorn's The Scarlet Letter.

Mary's story is a classic. She is raised in the church and was taught right and wrong, but she lacked a father figure in her life. Consequently, there was no strong and loving father to keep her from being deceived by lazy, irresponible, sweet talking boys, and unfortunately, Mary chooses to wed an irresponsible, womanizing letch instead of the strong, caring, and reliable man.

I'm not all the way through the book, but I'm at a point where Mary is just beginning to really pay the price for her poor choices. July, her husband, just left her for the evening to openly cavort with another woman who he had been with many times. The woman openly flaunts her affair with July in Mary's face, and Mary stays at home with the baby Unex waiting for July's return so he can bully her. July beats her up, and fraternizes with Cinder, the other woman.

Eventually (I'm not there yet.) July leaves her, and Mary ends up having a dozen children out of wedlock with no man to care for her. Her sins are scarlet red. The story is reminiscient of Moll Flanders and her progressive descent into sin.

I guess I'll just leave this all by stating the obvious...Fathers are vitally important to the future of our civilization. Absent fathers are a curse upon their daughters, and uninvolved fathers aren't much better.

When Our Heros Die (i.e., prove to be human)

Yesterday, I learned some things about someone who I hold very dear. I look up to this person, and I hope to one day achieve a fraction of the personal success and maturity that I've witnessed and sensed. This is truly one of my heros.

I learned that my hero wasn't as perfect a human being as I'd always imagined. My hero wasn't the greatest, the best, the fastest, or the smartest. My hero isn't the most loving, the most devoted, the most virtuous, or the most honest. My hero may not even be above average, but my hero is mine.

I wonder what it would be like if at age 10 or 11 I realized that my father was lying to me…or I realized he was a criminal…or I realized that he was immoral. I can’t imagine how that would crush a boy. But I kinda felt this way with the death of my hero.

When our heroes die, we are reminded of our own humanity…our own mortality. We are reminded that we are sinful, creatures who are dependant upon a loving God and not upon our own ability.

Me Blogging!

Council of Orange

Augustine of Hippo (aka Saint Augustine) stood nose to nose with the blasphemer Palagius during one of the greatest controversies in church history. Unfortunately, the truth of Augustine has been virtually completely lost on the modern church.

The Council of Orange dealt with the Semi-Pelagian heresy by issuing the Canons of Orange. Semi-Pelagian heresy… catch this…is a doctrine that the human race, though fallen and possessed of a sinful nature, is still "good" enough to able to lay hold of the grace of God through an act of unredeemed human will.

Understand that the Semi-Pelagian said that yes we all fell with Adam and that we are sinful, but it is an act of our own will, unredeemed though it may be, that effectuates salvation. We pray or accept the Lord by making our own choice by our own will.

Augustine, and the entire church, said that God regenerates those whom He wills, and the regenerate then calls out to God. Regeneration takes place first, and the sinful, unregenerate man is incapable of calling upon the Lord.

My only question is that this whole controversy was settled in 529…why is there such ignorance and rejection of the truth by the modern evangelical church? span>

The Canons Of The Council Of Orange

Canon 1.
If anyone denies that it is the whole man, that is, both body and soul, that was "changed for the worse" through the offense of Adam's sin, but believes that the freedom of the soul remains unimpaired and that only the body is subject to corruption, he is deceived by the error of Pelagius and contradicts the scripture which says, "The soul that sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:20); and, "Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey?" (Rom. 6:126); and, "For whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved" (2 Pet. 2:19).

Canon 2.
If anyone asserts that Adam's sin affected him alone and not his descendants also, or at least if he declares that it is only the death of the body which is the punishment for sin, and not also that sin, which is the death of the soul, passed through one man to the whole human race, he does injustice to God and contradicts the Apostle, who says, "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned" (Rom. 5:12).

Canon 3.

If anyone says that the grace of God can be conferred as a result of human prayer, but that it is not grace itself which makes us pray to God, he contradicts the prophet Isaiah, or the Apostle who says the same thing, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me" (Rom 10:20, quoting Isa. 65:1).

Canon 4.
If anyone maintains that God awaits our will to be cleansed from sin, but does not confess that even our will to be cleansed comes to us through the infusion and working of the Holy Spirit, he resists the Holy Spirit himself who says through Solomon, "The will is prepared by the Lord" (Prov. 8:35, LXX), and the salutary word of the Apostle, "For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

Canon 5.

If anyone says that not only the increase of faith but also its beginning and the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly and comes to the regeneration of holy baptism — if anyone says that this belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness, it is proof that he is opposed to the teaching of the Apostles, for blessed Paul says, "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). And again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). For those who state that the faith by which we believe in God is natural make all who are separated from the Church of Christ by definition in some measure believers.

Canon 6.
If anyone says that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his grace, we believe, will, desire, strive, labor, pray, watch, study, seek, ask, or knock, but does not confess that it is by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we have the faith, the will, or the strength to do all these things as we ought; or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10).

Canon 7.
If anyone affirms that we can form any right opinion or make any right choice which relates to the salvation of eternal life, as is expedient for us, or that we can be saved, that is, assent to the preaching of the gospel through our natural powers without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who makes all men gladly assent to and believe in the truth, he is led astray by a heretical spirit, and does not understand the voice of God who says in the Gospel, "For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), and the word of the Apostle, "Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).

Canon 8.
If anyone maintains that some are able to come to the grace of baptism by mercy but others through free will, which has manifestly been corrupted in all those who have been born after the transgression of the first man, it is proof that he has no place in the true faith. For he denies that the free will of all men has been weakened through the sin of the first man, or at least holds that it has been affected in such a way that they have still the ability to seek the mystery of eternal salvation by themselves without the revelation of God. The Lord himself shows how contradictory this is by declaring that no one is able to come to him "unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), as he also says to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:17), and as the Apostle says, "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).

Canon 9.
Concerning the succor of God. It is a mark of divine favor when we are of a right purpose and keep our feet from hypocrisy and unrighteousness; for as often as we do good, God is at work in us and with us, in order that we may do so.

Canon 10.
Concerning the succor of God. The succor of God is to be ever sought by the regenerate and converted also, so that they may be able to come to a successful end or persevere in good works.

Canon 11.
Concerning the duty to pray. None would make any true prayer to the Lord had he not received from him the object of his prayer, as it is written, "Of thy own have we given thee" (1 Chron. 29:14).

Canon 12.
Of what sort we are whom God loves. God loves us for what we shall be by his gift, and not by our own deserving.

Canon 13.
Concerning the restoration of free will. The freedom of will that was destroyed in the first man can be restored only by the grace of baptism, for what is lost can be returned only by the one who was able to give it. Hence the Truth itself declares: "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).

Canon 14.
No mean wretch is freed from his sorrowful state, however great it may be, save the one who is anticipated by the mercy of God, as the Psalmist says, "Let thy compassion come speedily to meet us" (Ps. 79:8), and again, "My God in his steadfast love will meet me" (Ps. 59:10).

Canon 15.
Adam was changed, but for the worse, through his own iniquity from what God made him. Through the grace of God the believer is changed, but for the better, from what his iniquity has done for him. The one, therefore, was the change brought about by the first sinner; the other, according to the Psalmist, is the change of the right hand of the Most High (Ps. 77:10).

Canon 16.
No man shall be honored by his seeming attainment, as though it were not a gift, or suppose that he has received it because a missive from without stated it in writing or in speech. For the Apostle speaks thus, "For if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose" (Gal. 2:21); and "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men" (Eph. 4:8, quoting Ps. 68:18). It is from this source that any man has what he does; but whoever denies that he has it from this source either does not truly have it, or else "even what he has will be taken away" (Matt. 25:29).

Canon 17.
Concerning Christian courage. The courage of the Gentiles is produced by simple greed, but the courage of Christians by the love of God which "has been poured into our hearts" not by freedom of will from our own side but "through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5).

Canon 18.
That grace is not preceded by merit. Recompense is due to good works if they are performed; but grace, to which we have no claim, precedes them, to enable them to be done.

Canon 19.
That a man can be saved only when God shows mercy. Human nature, even though it remained in that sound state in which it was created, could be no means save itself, without the assistance of the Creator; hence since man cannot safe- guard his salvation without the grace of God, which is a gift, how will he be able to restore what he has lost without the grace of God?

Canon 20.
That a man can do no good without God. God does much that is good in a man that the man does not do; but a man does nothing good for which God is not responsible, so as to let him do it.

Canon 21.
Concerning nature and grace. As the Apostle most truly says to those who would be justified by the law and have fallen from grace, "If justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose" (Gal. 2:21), so it is most truly declared to those who imagine that grace, which faith in Christ advocates and lays hold of, is nature: "If justification were through nature, then Christ died to no purpose." Now there was indeed the law, but it did not justify, and there was indeed nature, but it did not justify. Not in vain did Christ therefore die, so that the law might be fulfilled by him who said, "I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them" (Matt. 5:17), and that the nature which had been destroyed by Adam might be restored by him who said that he had come "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

Canon 22.
Concerning those things that belong to man. No man has anything of his own but untruth and sin. But if a man has any truth or righteousness, it is from that fountain for which we must thirst in this desert, so that we may be refreshed from it as by drops of water and not faint on the way.

Canon 23.
Concerning the will of God and of man. Men do their own will and not the will of God when they do what displeases him; but when they follow their own will and comply with the will of God, however willingly they do so, yet it is his will by which what they will is both prepared and instructed.

Canon 24.
Concerning the branches of the vine. The branches on the vine do not give life to the vine, but receive life from it; thus the vine is related to its branches in such a way that it supplies them with what they need to live, and does not take this from them. Thus it is to the advantage of the disciples, not Christ, both to have Christ abiding in them and to abide in Christ. For if the vine is cut down another can shoot up from the live root; but one who is cut off from the vine cannot live without the root (John 15:5ff).

Canon 25.
Concerning the love with which we love God. It is wholly a gift of God to love God. He who loves, even though he is not loved, allowed himself to be loved. We are loved, even when we displease him, so that we might have means to please him. For the Spirit, whom we love with the Father and the Son, has poured into our hearts the love of the Father and the Son (Rom. 5:5).

Conclusion.

And thus according to the passages of holy scripture quoted above or the interpretations of the ancient Fathers we must, under the blessing of God, preach and believe as follows. The sin of the first man has so impaired and weakened free will that no one thereafter can either love God as he ought or believe in God or do good for God's sake, unless the grace of divine mercy has preceded him. We therefore believe that the glorious faith which was given to Abel the righteous, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and to all the saints of old, and which the Apostle Paul commends in extolling them (Heb. 11), was not given through natural goodness as it was before to Adam, but was bestowed by the grace of God. And we know and also believe that even after the coming of our Lord this grace is not to be found in the free will of all who desire to be baptized, but is bestowed by the kindness of Christ, as has already been frequently stated and as the Apostle Paul declares, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29). And again, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). And again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and it is not your own doing, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). And as the Apostle says of himself, "I have obtained mercy to be faithful" (1 Cor. 7:25, cf. 1 Tim. 1:13). He did not say, "because I was faithful," but "to be faithful." And again, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7). And again, "Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (Jas. 1:17). And again, "No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven" (John 3:27). There are innumerable passages of holy scripture which can be quoted to prove the case for grace, but they have been omitted for the sake of brevity, because further examples will not really be of use where few are deemed sufficient.

According to the catholic faith we also believe that after grace has been received through baptism, all baptized persons have the ability and responsibility, if they desire to labor faithfully, to perform with the aid and cooperation of Christ what is of essential importance in regard to the salvation of their soul. We not only do not believe that any are foreordained to evil by the power of God, but even state with utter abhorrence that if there are those who want to believe so evil a thing, they are anathema. We also believe and confess to our benefit that in every good work it is not we who take the initiative and are then assisted through the mercy of God, but God himself first inspires in us both faith in him and love for him without any previous good works of our own that deserve reward, so that we may both faithfully seek the sacrament of baptism, and after baptism be able by his help to do what is pleasing to him. We must therefore most evidently believe that the praiseworthy faith of the thief whom the Lord called to his home in paradise, and of Cornelius the centurion, to whom the angel of the Lord was sent, and of Zacchaeus, who was worthy to receive the Lord himself, was not a natural endowment but a gift of God's kindness.

Sentimental Mentallity

“You love God, don’t you?” Nicholson asked…

“Yes, sure I love Him. But I don’t love Him sentimentally. He never said anybody had to love Him sentimentally,” Teddy said. “If I were God, I certainly wouldn’t want people to love me sentimentally. It’s too unreliable.”

Teddy, by J.D. Salinger

Several entries back, I wrote that I didn’t love God; however, I never really felt comfortable writing that because it didn’t really put a finger on the complete truth. I couldn’t put words to how I felt until now. Salinger masterfully nails the point in his short story Teddy.

We can look to Christ to see the results of sentiment. One day, the people hail him as the Messiah, and a few short days later they demand his crucifixion. “Sentiment” is derived from Latin, and it means thoughts resulting from feelings or emotion.

Sentimentality has become a code word for an emotionally soft, fluffy structure. It’s come to mean our feelings and whims of the moment.

Everyone is sentimental in it’s original meaning, and every decision is sentimental. Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads, the premier advertising consultant in the world, points to brain anatomy. The area of the brain within which decisions are made is closest to the area of the brain responsible for feelings and emotions. It is further from the logic areas of the brain.

We’re all sentimental but we just value different feelings. I don’t value a fluffy, gushy feeling toward God. Rather, I value a respectful, humble, submissive feeling toward him. It’s different, but it the same in that it is still a feeling.

Well, there I am…just a big softy.

But For The Grace Of God

I’ve written before, I’m sure, of the little old church lady who gossiped to me once that so and so used to be a Christian but now he drinks. Well, I’m writing this entry sitting here with an ice cold Blue Moon, a Belgian White Wheat beer…and my favorite. And, I guess I’m going to Hell…at least according the self-righteous hypocrites among us.

I guess my definition of a hypocrite is one who judges others according to a law or according to requirements that they themselves are unwilling to abide by. I don’t see the hypocrisy in proclaiming Christ, claiming the redemption He bought for me, and sharing it with others all while I still sin on a regular basis. We don’t sin because we’re hypocrites. We sin because we fail. We fail because we are weak and frail humans whose flesh is inclined to sin.

Hypocrisy and failure are two very different things. Hypocrisy is when I refuse to acknowledge my sinfulness, I present myself as self-righteous, and I judge others with the same law that I do not keep. When we gossip about the failings of others our stench is a thousand times greater in the nostrils of the Lord than the poor soul who failed. We stand and point fingers accusing others of sin when we ourselves have a beam in our own eye.

Lest we think too highly of ourselves remember that gluttony, idolatry, stealing tithe, and self-centeredness (or pride) are all sin. Are we willing to judge ourselves as we judge the actions of others? There is a tension of judging ourselves and others in love. We must be humble but not passive.

So here is the question… Can a Christian be an adulterer? I guess I would ask how many of us are adulterous toward the Lord on a regular basis. We regularly place idols above him, and pursue them relentlessly. Is this better or worse than adultery in our marriage?

I’m not making excuse or room for sin here. What I’m pointing out rather is that we are all damnable and ought to burn in hell for the transgressions we commit every single day. It is only in Jesus Christ that we live and move and have our being. It is only with Jesus Christ that everything is possible. We love the pride endearing and ego boosting sermons telling us how good and righteous we are.

Truth is I have nothing…I am nothing…aside from Jesus Christ and His Grace towards me. I am undone before Him. I weep with gratitude at his love for me. And, yes, I shamefully and wickedly sin against Him. My sin drives me to my knees in humility. It drives me back to the cross and it shows me just how helpless I am.

Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Thank God Almighty…it is Jesus Christ the righteous. When I look at others who are committing sins which I am not…instead of pointing my finger and taunting them…I must say “there…but for the grace of God…go I.”

Ride on victoriously in your majesty for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand teach you awe-inspiring things.
(Psa 45:4)