Bowl of Musing

movednz

2005-11-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

my blog has moved to

http://pbenz.wordpress.com

Busy as ever

2005-09-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Thing have been pretty busy round here. University has been occupying most of my time, but the other factor contributing to my time depravity is the fact that my grandparents are staying with us for two weeks. It's my grandfather's 80th birthday on Friday, 25 September, so we're having the whole family from Port Elizabeth and other places over. Tisk!

Anyways,

Impractical Christianity

Awale at 22:30

2005-09-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Managed to get my internet connection working again, sorry for the lack of postings. It has not been the best of week's, but managed to survive.

I have updated to GNOME 2.12, which sports the old Mac file browser mode:

The following are some generally good articles on free will

In the wake of Tony Campolo's messup, the following articles are a bit better regarding Katrina and Evil

The following are some general articles I have found this week that are pretty good

In other news, I have decided to fork GnomeSword. The development process has become too slack for me. But I lack a name for my software. Suggestions are welcome!

worms in my stew

2005-09-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Tony Compolo sinks straight into Open Theism. This has to be the most idiotic and unbiblical response to Hurricane Katrina from a Christian's perspective.

"Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible. Instead, the Hebrew Bible contends that God is mighty. That means that God is a greater force in the universe than all the other forces combined."
...
In scripture we get the picture of a cosmic struggle going on between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. The good news is that, in the end, God will be victorious. That is why we can sing in the Hallelujah Chorus, "the kingdoms of this world [will] become the Kingdom of our Lord."
...
The God revealed in Jesus did not come into the world "to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:17) There can be no arguments over the claim that, for a variety of reasons, our nation deserves punishment. But when the Bible tells us about the grace of God, it is giving us the good news that our loving God does not give us what we truly deserve. Certainly, God would not create suffering for innocent people, who were--for the most part--Katrina’s victims.
..
Personally, I contend that the best thing for us to do in the aftermath of Katrina is to remain silent, and not try to explain this tragedy. Instead of asking "Why?" we should be asking, "What does God want us to do now?" The loving God calls all believers in the face of Katrina’s devastation to seek ways to express love in concrete ways towards those who have lost friends and family members; and to those who have lost homes along with most of their earthly belongings.

In response to this, I quote Isaiah 45:6-7

"'That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.'"

Campolo, how do you get past that?

Google it again

2005-08-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Google for releasing Google Talk. This just shows you that Open Source Software can be a huge success. Especially when they use an open protocol like Jabber. My account is benz.pierre@gmail.com.

BTW, if you need a Google email account (so that you can use Google Talk), give me a shout. I have something like 50 invites left.

Beer and Bagels

2005-08-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Strange Sayings

2005-08-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

The following is taken from The White Horse Inn's basic Theology quiz

God helps those who help themselves

God helps those who help themselves is not a biblical proverb, but a thought from the 1736 edition Ben Franklin’s Poor Richards Almanack, among other places. According to George Barna’s research 80% of Americans polled thought the statement was found in the Bible. Compare with Romans 5:6-8, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (See also Eph 2:1-7, Jer. 17:5)

Though no one is perfect, the Lord looks on the heart to see who really loves him.

While it is true that "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart" (Prov. 21:2), it is also true that no one has kept his heart pure (Prov. 20:9). In fact, according to Jer. 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things...” So thought God does look on the heart, He does not thereby evaluate who qualifies for heaven because if he did, no one would qualify. There is one however who did quailfy, "The LORD saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him" (see Is. 59:15-20). When he saw Christ he said, "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt 3:17). We are not acceptable because God, having looked upon our hearts, knows that we are sincere. Rather, apart from his own work in us he would have only seen us dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1-7). But God on his own initiative made us alive in Christ. Now, regardless of how we are doing in sanctification on a particular day, because we wear Christ's righteousness as a robe, God looks upon us and is "well pleased" with what he sees.

soup for the soul

2005-08-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Theology
N.T Wirght has a brilliant article/sermon on the arts entitled "They Sing a New Song". He has other beauties such as Decoding The Da Vinci Code, The Bible and Christian Imagination, The Christian Challenge in the Postmodern World, God, 9/11, the Tsunami, and the New Problem of Evil.

SharperIron has a very good series entitled Radical Monotheism, which so far has three articles ( 1,2, 3) but it may be updated soon. He also has a link on Rick Warren on Myths of the Modern Mega-Church who argues that there is no reason to break fellowship with a professing believer regardless of what Paul spoke about when it came to church discipline.

The White Horse Inn has a good basic doctrine quiz

GnomeSword
Ergh, have I neglected this. The todo list is just getting bigger and better. Firstly, I have to move the documentation system to use gnome-doc-utils. Then I have to take a look at printing support under the Mozilla rendering (as it's broken) and rework the build system. Have been doing valgrind test on Gnomesword. There are lots memory leaks. Surprised it's still running.

Pool of Siloam found

2005-08-13T02:15:00.000-07:00

linkApparently, the Gospel of John was merely theological, not historical. What do they have to say now?

and now for something completely different

2005-08-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Stupid sheep in need of a Shepard

2005-08-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Uncut Stones has a nice article entitled Altars 101.
Canons of Dordt
Myth of Common Grace by Vincent Cheung
Peddling the Word of God for Profit by Steve Camp
Thoughts on worship by Ligon Duncan
Justification by faith by John Calvin’s Institutes.
The Forgotten Trinity by James White
A Body of Divinity by Thomas Watson
Effeminate Gospel, Effeminate Christians: From Authority to Influence by Aaron D. Wolf
Five things youth ministers need to hear by Michael Spencer (brilliant!)

Christianity for the Common Man

2005-07-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

This, I'm being told, is how you reach the man on the street. Images courtesy of PyroManic

Authentic Worship

2005-07-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

This IS the CD of the Year!

The Prayer of a Minor Prophet

2005-07-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou has called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou has stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.
My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou has said, "I knew thee - I ordained thee - I sanctified thee," and Thou hast also said, "Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done.

Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.
It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should be come a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet - not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.
And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.
Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.
Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen.

by AW Tozer (1950)

blogspot

2005-07-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Some Articles from Bob DeWaay's Critical Issues Commentary

Christianity Today is doing a series on Christian Discipline, with Mark Dever's contributions. Michael Spencer ( aka iMonk ) has these words to say about Christian Discipline. Tim Challies has posted an article all about Rick Warren and his influence on suppressing a book that tells the success story of the "Purpose Driven Life"

Sovereignty of God

2005-07-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Genesis 20:6: Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
Exodus 34:24: I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 2:30: But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.Joshua 11:20: For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Ezra 11:1, 7:27: In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing...Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem...

Job 14:5: Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

Psalm 65:4: Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!

Psalm 115:3: Our God is in heaven, he does whatever pleases him.

Psalm 135:6: The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

Psalm 139:15-16: "When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Proverbs 16:33: The lot is cast in the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Proverbs 19:21: Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 20:24: A man's steps are directed by the LORD, how then can anyone understand his own way?

Proverbs 21:1: The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Isaiah 10:5-7: Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me...but this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.

Isaiah 43:12-13: You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, that I am God. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?

Isaiah 45:7: I form light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster (lit: evil); I, the LORD, do all these things.

Isaiah 46:9-10: Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, and what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Lamentations 3:37-38: Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

Daniel 11:36: The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of-things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.

Matthew 11:27: All things have been committed to my by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and one one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Acts 4:27-28: Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Acts 13:48: When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

Source: James White's An Exegetical Refutation of Art Sippo, Catholic Apologist, on the Subject of the Divine Freedom of God in Salvation as Found in Romans 9

..On clean towels..

2005-07-23T03:35:00.000-07:00

I survived the first week, of the second semester, of university. From the look at things, it's going to be quite a long and hard second semester. Personally, I dropping physics will be the best decision I've made for my academic career yet. Although linguistics requires more reading from a textbook context, it allows me an awesome more open-ended break from my oh-so-scientific subjects.

Tim Challies of Challies.com fame posted a humorous list of books that won't be published.

Systematic Theology by Benny Hinn
Slain in the Spirit by John MacArthur
Living on a Budget by Joel Osteen
Becoming The Woman of His Dreams by Joyce Meyers
Humor for the Pulpit by John Piper
An Objective Look at Amillennialism by Tim LaHaye
Why Catholicism must Change or Die by Pope Benedict XVI
The Bible-Driven Church by Rick Warren
My Hero-James Arminius by B.B. Warfield
Hymns Unplugged by Darlene Zschech
I Am Only A Man by Kenneth Copeland
SALVATION! The Best Choice I Ever Made General Editor: Wayne Grudem (With contributions from John Piper, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler, and James White. Introduction by Phil Johnson)

Anyways, here are some articles of the week that I thought were quite interesting.

The Christian Bill of Rights

2005-07-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

A great one from Steve Camp, The Christian Bill of Rights

We have the right to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Mt. 16:24-26).

We have the right to esteem others more highly than ourselves; and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:39;Phil. 2:1-5).

We have the right to fulfill the law of Christ in bearing one another's burdens of sin (Gal. 6:1-3).

We have the right to be wronged and to maintain a faithful testimony (1 Cor. 6:1-8).

We have the right to live in unreciprocated self-sacrificial love (Eph. 5:1-2).

We have the right to forgive others the smaller debt, as God in Christ has forgiven us the larger debt (Eph. 4:31-32; Matthew 18:12-35).

We have the right to suffer for the gospel and to take the blows for the One who took the blows for us (1 Peter 2:21-24)

We have the right to be "subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men" (Titus 3:1-2).
We have the right to not be political agitators trading the truth of His Word to play politics with men's souls; thinking that true spiritual change occurs through legislation rather than the transforming power of the gospel of grace. (1 Peter 4:10-16).

We have the right to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39).

We have the right to be stripped of all earthly things (Matthew 5:40-42).

We have the right to not repay evil for evil and to be at peace with all men as much as it depends on you (Romans 12:17-18).

We have the right to love our enemies, do good to them that hate us, bless those who curse us and pray for those that despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44-45).

We have the right to pursue holiness-not personal happiness (1 Peter 1:13-16).

We have the right not to be ashamed of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:6-18).

We have the right not to harbor revenge, anger, bitterness, clamoring, wrath, malice and slander (Ephesians 4:31).

We have the right not to quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).

We have the right to repent of and not cherish our sins (Psalm 66:18).

We have the right to guard the trust; and to contend for the once for all delivered to the saints faith (1 Timothy 6:20; Jude 1:3).

We have the right to train our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-3).

We have the right to reflect God's covenantal relationship with us by honoring our vows in the covenant of marriage with our spouse Mt. 19:6).

We have the right to worship Christ Jesus as God of very God; Creator; Redeemer; Sovereign Lord and Ruler of all (Col. 1:15-19; Hebrews 1:8; Phil. 2:5-11).

We have the right to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable pleasing unto God (Roms. 12:1-2).

We have the right to live in the expectancy and hope of the Lord's return by which we purify ourselves (Roms. 12:1-2).

We have the right to march daily on our knees in prayer; praying for our leaders in government; our church leaders; our fellow believers; our families; and the lost (1 Timothy 2:1-3; Ephesians 6:18-21).

We have the right to praise and glorify God according to how He has revealed Himself through the pages of His Word (Col. 3:16-17).

We have the right to the accountability of the local church; to obey our leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over our souls, as those who will give an account (Hebrews 13:17).

We have the right to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20).

We have the right to have no rights apart from Christ Himself; "for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25: John 15:5).

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have only one right: and that is to give up all rights to ourselves (2 Cor. 5:14-16; Romans 14:7-9).

Christian Progress

2005-07-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

"One of the last lessons we effectually learn, is that true godliness is a constant conflict in a believer's heart--between sin and holiness. Some sincere believers mistake a clearer view, and deeper sense of their depravity, for an actual increase of sin. The Christian seems sometimes to himself, to be growing worse, when actually it is only that he sees more clearly what in fact he really is! In the early stages of our Christian life, we have usually but a slender acquaintance with the evil of our sinfulness, and the depravity of our heart. The mind is so much taken up with pardon and eternal life, that it is but imperfectly acquainted with those depths of deceit and wickedness, which lie hidden in itself. At first we seem to feel as if the serpent were killed. But we soon find that he was only asleep--for by the warmth of some fiery temptation, he is revived and hisses at us again! Nothing astonishes an inexperienced believer more than the discoveries he is continually making of the evils of his heart. Corruptions which he never dreamt to be in him, are brought out by some new circumstances. It is like turning up the soil, which brings out worms and insects, which did not appear upon the surface. Or to vary the illustration, his increasing knowledge of God's holy nature, of the perfect law, and the example of Christ--is like opening the shutters, and letting light into a dark room, the filth of which, the inhabitant did not see until the sunbeams disclosed it to him"

John Angell James, "Christian Progress"

A squirrel in the Mud

2005-07-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Michael Marlowe of bible-researcher.com fame has written a good summary of arminianism.He's also got a page on the word logos in the prologue of John's Gospel. Finally, give R.C Sproul's The Pelagian Captivity of the Church a read to see the similarities arminianism and pelagianism has.

In other news, I have finally kicked physics from my academic curriculum and am now taking linguistics. I am a very happy camper:)

Killing More Trees

2005-07-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've been blogging. In truth, I have been quite busy with all sorts of stuff.
First off, my books from Monergismbooks.com arrived on Monday. They are

in other news, I have just finished Knowing God by J.I Packer which was thoroughly brilliant and does rightly deserve to be called a "classic". The way he addressed the theological aspects of adoption really impacted the way I think of worship, prayer and daily Christian life.

Also, in the act of keeping myself physically fit, I have taken up Kenjutsu, which is "Samurai Sword Fighting". It can be compared to Kendo, but one must stress that Kendo is more of a sport than proper sword fighting . In Kenjutsu there are no restrictions in where a cut is made, but in Kendo cuts are limited to the torso and the head. Also, Kenjutsu hurts much more than Kendo. I have scars to prove it

a broken tile

2005-07-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought the Purpose Driven Life was nearing it's end-of-life date, you hear they're planning a PDL movie.

I think J.I. Packer said it best, "The outside observer sees us as staggering from gimmick to gimmick and stunt to stunt like so many drunks in a fog, not knowing at all where we are or which way we should be going. Preaching is hazy; heads are muddled; hearts fret; doubts drain strength; uncertainty paralyses action…. Unlike the first Christians who in three centuries won the Roman world, and those later Christians who pioneered the Reformation, and the Puritan awakening and the Evangelical revival, and the great missionary movement of the last century, we lack certainty."

I've been reading a couple of Steve Camps articles, which are always worth reading.

In more general news, this week has not been the best. To start off, I had my hair cut, but I don't think the person responsible for this cut understood english. Simple directions like "please just give the back a trim" and "easy on the fringe" seemed to have baffled her. Alas, I had such nice long hair. Even buying a pair of sneakers wasn't enough, as eagerly unwrapping the shoes from it's box revealed to my dismay two left-footed shoes. Oh, the disappointment! And it's only Wednesday!

Luther's Rose

2005-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I'm daily embracing Reformed Christianity, I thought I might share an image I find very encouraging and beautiful. It's a symbol which represented to Martin Luther a great burden, passion and conviction during the Reformation

The black cross represents the utter sinfulness of man and the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us on the cross for our iniquities.
The red heart represents the great love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ poured out for us for our salvation. That we are saved is all of grace, all of Christ, not of our works.
The five pedaled white rose represents the purity of our new life in Him, the sinlessness of Christ Himself, and the five great truths of our redemption: by faith alone, through grace alone, because of Christ alone, on the Word alone, to the glory of God alone.
The deep royal blue background represents the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords-that He is the one true Sovereign of all.
The gold ring around the emblem represents the eternal life that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. The crown of life, the crown of righteousness, the crown of exaltation, the crown of glory, and the crown which is imperishable.

Luthersrose definition taken from Steve Camp's Audience One

Strange

2005-07-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

I found this quite humorous Just last night my friends and I had a big discussion on the use of symbols and practices. Basically the discussion was about signs/symbols/idols ( eg. like the pentagram or the statue of a false god) and it's hold/influence over a person's life even if the person isn't worshipping or viewing that symbol in it's context. We didn't really come to a conclusion on the matter, as it has to many "what if's". I would like to present the discusison and my views on this subject in the future.

anyways, what I found interesting was that on my daily visit to Vincent Cheung's blog ( I try to look at it daily) I find this.

also have a look at his other article named "occult items in the home"

NT Wright

2005-07-03T04:17:00.000-07:00

In posting my previous article on NT Wright, please note that I do not advocate all of his writings. This is partly due to the fact that I haven't read most of his works, and also due to his seemingly controversial view on Justification (notoriously known as the New Perspective of Paul). Monergism.com has a couple of nice articles on NT Wright's position, but also go to "the NT Wright Page" for some of his own writings. However, his articles on the Kingdom of God and his work against the "Jesus Seminar" have been excellent.

I also give links to his "Future of the People of God" talks he did. Note, these are large mp3 files (around 8-9 MB each)

Gotta get that tan

2005-07-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

found here
I really found this comic funny. I have a strange sense of humour. More of the "white ninja" comics can be found at http://www.whiteninjacomics.com

Anglican address by NT Wright

2005-07-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

Confessing Evangelical posted a link to NT Wright's recent closing address to the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. Note that he is addressing the actions of US and Canadian particularly over the ordination of practising homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex relationships.

resurface of the elbow

2005-07-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

Whilst the transition phase of moving my blog to blogger.com has being "quite" smooth, I still don't have much material to show for. But then again, I don't think I had a lot of material in my previous blog to compensate for this one. Sorry.

Firstly, I want to plug some of my previous article linkages which here:

Is your church Catholic enough
Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons by Eugene Peterson

.. now for some of the newer ones

interview with Robert Schuller
Preaching Christ Alone by Michael Horton
Reformation Essentials by Michael Horton
The Theology of Benny Hinn by Kim Riddlebarger
The Legacy of Charles Finney by Michael Horton
The Emerging Church by D. A. Carson
Michael Horton and Andrew Jones are having an "Emergent"conversation
What's Wrong with "White" Magic by Vincent Cheung
Emergent Delusion - A Critique of A Generous Orthodoxy by Bob deWaay
Pope Benedict XVI on Sola Scriptura