Recently I made a trip to Lake of the Woods, Kenora to celebrate the marriage of my cousin and his girlfriend. With the modern attitude towards marital vows, covenant, trustworthiness and the human sexuality this marriage stood as an imperial, glorious reaction. It was a conundrum, a problematic wedding, a thorn in the side of Western values. This wedding ought not to have occurred, the very act of its exchange was so strikingly holy it panged all of our amorality, it was our judgment. This wedding was the judgment of the modern human consciousness, a Christological triumph over the devil and how he has blasphemed and polluted the God-ordained sacrament. The devil would have marital union so fraught with destruction and filth, homosexal agendas, continuous patterns of divorce or the simple choice of a couple not to marry whatsoever; that perhaps God would withdraw His hand from understanding.
Yet it was the very acknowledgment of God, of our glorious God during this marriage, the silent affirmation of both individuals over wilderness and lake and cloud and storm, the recognition of covenant, of Christ and the church, that in one act silenced a hundred years of demonic effort. As the humble preacher led us through prayer, his attitude drawn heavenward to the transcendant sacredness of what we were observing, firm peals of thunder rumbled from overhead. One could almost reach out past the pedestal, and grasp the presence of God over the rain-spattered lake. God was there, there as observer, there to initiate, there to bless, there to judge in His mercy. Not as if our acknowledgment of God in marriage was the initiative of the blessing and presence of God. God's acknowledgment of us was our acknowledgment of Him. God always gives the First Word, God always gives the Final Word. We were caught up into the grace of God as marriage was articulated in the precise manner as He so wished, and this precision silenced us. I will take a risk and call my beloved friends and relatives by name: Justin and Bobby were co-partakers, co-laborers with Christ in proving once for all that marriage belongs to Christ and always will belong to Him... causa finita est.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
An atheist gives good theology II
I was carrying out a lengthy dialogue with atheists on why the acceptance of the gospel means the abandonment of reason. They kept prodding me to display some proves for God; I was adamant that the only 'proof' for God is Christ, accepted by faith. One atheist joined the discussion and responded," And how could experimental proof of a god dethrone him? Surely he is not so weak." Precisely the point of the gospel message. The gospel is a devastation of experiment, of proof, of the human conception of strength. We come to know God in the weakness of God on the cross. God offers His proof to us in weakness and absurdity; in absolute maddening love. In the same event of knowing God in His weakness, in foolishness; we know Him in His absolute power, wisdom and strength. The weakness of God is the very coronation of God; His very dignity and kingliness. As Paul expounds in Phillipians 2:8-11 God,"Being found in appearance as a man.. humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Vindication in condemnation, kingliness in servitude, exaltation in humility, glory in shame. Who would have thought that the event of the condemnation of a simple Jewish man would be the cosmic coronation, the most powerful enthronement in eternity; the declaration of God?
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than mans strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25)
Vindication in condemnation, kingliness in servitude, exaltation in humility, glory in shame. Who would have thought that the event of the condemnation of a simple Jewish man would be the cosmic coronation, the most powerful enthronement in eternity; the declaration of God?
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than mans strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Recieving God.
Today was Fathers day. Out of love for my wonderful dad I blended ice together to create a sort of quasi-snow, packed it all together and placed some pepsis snugly into the center. Growing up in the household my Father and I have exploited the rare occasions of snowfall by packing cans of pepsi in the bank and enjoying them extra cold.
When my father had seen what I had done, he laughed and offered a semi-decline," I cannot son. This is great, but I'm already full up from beverages at dinner. Give me half."
"What Father? Will you slight my gift? I insist you drink it whole!". He laughed and we enjoyed cold pepsis out on the deck.
As we were drinking, the force of God's gift of salvation hit me; the very quality of salvation as gift. God has offered me eternal reconciliation through a covenant of love in Christ; offered it in love and apart from what I have done. The greatest part of this gift is its essence; salvation is not something secular, exterior to the being of God. Salvation [i]is God[/i] Himself, God in Christ, God the Spirit offered to us to live in love with the Tri-une relationship. We are caught up into the divine, invited to the communion of the Lord who governs the universe. This all offered to wicked man, by grace. Am I slighting His gift? Am I willing to grab at some, and not the whole? Am I hurting God by grabbing what is desirable from salvation, from Christ but leaving the discomfiting parts of suffering and obedience? To take only a part of the gift is the slight of all slights; and it is also impossible to do. God cannot be divided into portions lesser then Himself and distributed at the volition and taste of the reciever. Either you recieve God in full or you don't. Either you recieve Christ in full or you reject Him, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ." (Collosians 1:9)
To accept God's gift of life truly, also means to accept God's gift of death, truly, simultaneously and inseperably. To accept the cross of Christ means to bear the cross of Christ. To partake in His life completely means partaking in His death completely. We cannot have resurrection without crucifixion. We cannot live to God without dying to self. Living eternally to God means dying eternally to self. And the grandeur of the offer is its pouring out again and again on the reciever. Daily we die, daily we are raised to life. The greater the shame, the greater the glory. Is it not absolutely lovely and beautiful that God's revelation is paradoxical? Does that not shame all our wisdom and pride? Our reason and rationality?
Let us eagerly recieve the fullness of God's gift, because as is repeated again and again in Ephesians one this is to His glory. This pleases Him. A Father is pleased when His son merely recieves the gift, even if the gratitude mustered is not perfect. Our enjoyment of the gift is the Fathers greatest pleasure. Let us learn to enjoy the fullness of what God has given us; Himself.
Do not despair. Whatever is in you that ought not to be there, that discourages you and seems impossible to obliterate, is there for the purchase at the cross.
When my father had seen what I had done, he laughed and offered a semi-decline," I cannot son. This is great, but I'm already full up from beverages at dinner. Give me half."
"What Father? Will you slight my gift? I insist you drink it whole!". He laughed and we enjoyed cold pepsis out on the deck.
As we were drinking, the force of God's gift of salvation hit me; the very quality of salvation as gift. God has offered me eternal reconciliation through a covenant of love in Christ; offered it in love and apart from what I have done. The greatest part of this gift is its essence; salvation is not something secular, exterior to the being of God. Salvation [i]is God[/i] Himself, God in Christ, God the Spirit offered to us to live in love with the Tri-une relationship. We are caught up into the divine, invited to the communion of the Lord who governs the universe. This all offered to wicked man, by grace. Am I slighting His gift? Am I willing to grab at some, and not the whole? Am I hurting God by grabbing what is desirable from salvation, from Christ but leaving the discomfiting parts of suffering and obedience? To take only a part of the gift is the slight of all slights; and it is also impossible to do. God cannot be divided into portions lesser then Himself and distributed at the volition and taste of the reciever. Either you recieve God in full or you don't. Either you recieve Christ in full or you reject Him, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ." (Collosians 1:9)
To accept God's gift of life truly, also means to accept God's gift of death, truly, simultaneously and inseperably. To accept the cross of Christ means to bear the cross of Christ. To partake in His life completely means partaking in His death completely. We cannot have resurrection without crucifixion. We cannot live to God without dying to self. Living eternally to God means dying eternally to self. And the grandeur of the offer is its pouring out again and again on the reciever. Daily we die, daily we are raised to life. The greater the shame, the greater the glory. Is it not absolutely lovely and beautiful that God's revelation is paradoxical? Does that not shame all our wisdom and pride? Our reason and rationality?
Let us eagerly recieve the fullness of God's gift, because as is repeated again and again in Ephesians one this is to His glory. This pleases Him. A Father is pleased when His son merely recieves the gift, even if the gratitude mustered is not perfect. Our enjoyment of the gift is the Fathers greatest pleasure. Let us learn to enjoy the fullness of what God has given us; Himself.
Do not despair. Whatever is in you that ought not to be there, that discourages you and seems impossible to obliterate, is there for the purchase at the cross.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Is swearing acceptable? An eschatological perspective
"Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." (Collosians 3:6)
Our life in Christ is a here and now, a life for the present, a kingdom in and among us. Nevertheless, such a present state of being dwells within the polar forces of the death and resurrection past, and the coming advent of Christ as King and Judge in the future. We draw from both wellsprings, acts inseperable from the eternal reality that is Christ. At the cross and resurrection of Christ we collide with the God of love through faith and repentance. With this in one hand we are nourished with the hope of eternal life under the reign of Jesus Christ in the future, just as we may look to the future reign and find hope in the cross and resurrection of the past. God as Christ is fully revealed in both acts, which supposes a unity of the two. In the tension and unity of both acts we find our being in the now. Nevertheless, the disclosure of God has always been called a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Bearing the fullness of the weight of God's love in Christ, penetrating the most hardened of hearts in redeeming grace, is the fullness of the weight of God's wrath on Christ, our judgment. The advent of Christ to restore the world and save mankind is also and in the same act an advent to destroy the world and obliterate mankind. It is no slip that Jesus often affirms the guilt of man upon His arrival in the gospel of John. Which side of the sword is your tongue choosing?
The passage quoted up top from Pauls letter to Collosae deals with God's revelation of Christ as wrath in the coming advent. The sword is flipped by a looking back to the love of Christ at the cross and leaving sin in the past act. One such sins that must be put to death is filthy language from the lips (v.8). The presence of it fosters the contingency of God's coming wrath. The projection of a filthy mouth is in itself a projection, a heralding of God's judgment. As Paul later says," The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them." (1 Timothy 5:24). On the other hand, the projection of purity presupposes the coming grace and restoration of Christ, the giving of eternal life (Romans 2:7). Fortunately, in all things mercy triumphs over judgment, the side of love shines brighter than the pitch of wrath. Right now, as in some form all of us are presupposing the coming judgment, God's love offers us to step up to the cross, again and again, and die to ourselves, with the promise of the Spirit that offers us new life every day.
I need to be more careful with my lips and what comes from them, and for that I need the determination of God's grace on the cross to kill me. May He do the same for you. And He has.
Our life in Christ is a here and now, a life for the present, a kingdom in and among us. Nevertheless, such a present state of being dwells within the polar forces of the death and resurrection past, and the coming advent of Christ as King and Judge in the future. We draw from both wellsprings, acts inseperable from the eternal reality that is Christ. At the cross and resurrection of Christ we collide with the God of love through faith and repentance. With this in one hand we are nourished with the hope of eternal life under the reign of Jesus Christ in the future, just as we may look to the future reign and find hope in the cross and resurrection of the past. God as Christ is fully revealed in both acts, which supposes a unity of the two. In the tension and unity of both acts we find our being in the now. Nevertheless, the disclosure of God has always been called a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Bearing the fullness of the weight of God's love in Christ, penetrating the most hardened of hearts in redeeming grace, is the fullness of the weight of God's wrath on Christ, our judgment. The advent of Christ to restore the world and save mankind is also and in the same act an advent to destroy the world and obliterate mankind. It is no slip that Jesus often affirms the guilt of man upon His arrival in the gospel of John. Which side of the sword is your tongue choosing?
The passage quoted up top from Pauls letter to Collosae deals with God's revelation of Christ as wrath in the coming advent. The sword is flipped by a looking back to the love of Christ at the cross and leaving sin in the past act. One such sins that must be put to death is filthy language from the lips (v.8). The presence of it fosters the contingency of God's coming wrath. The projection of a filthy mouth is in itself a projection, a heralding of God's judgment. As Paul later says," The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them." (1 Timothy 5:24). On the other hand, the projection of purity presupposes the coming grace and restoration of Christ, the giving of eternal life (Romans 2:7). Fortunately, in all things mercy triumphs over judgment, the side of love shines brighter than the pitch of wrath. Right now, as in some form all of us are presupposing the coming judgment, God's love offers us to step up to the cross, again and again, and die to ourselves, with the promise of the Spirit that offers us new life every day.
I need to be more careful with my lips and what comes from them, and for that I need the determination of God's grace on the cross to kill me. May He do the same for you. And He has.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
An atheist gives good theology
A few days ago I was debating with an atheist on the justice and mercy of God. He could not wrap his head around why God would reward someone with eternal life for believing and punish them with eternal death for disobeying. In frustration he retorted," Your God is operating on the level of the pettiest of humans!" Precisely the point of Christianity. Little did he know that his words contained a concise explication of the fulcrum of God's revelation: Christ. Christ is God acting on the level of the pettiest of humans, Christ is God among the lowest of lows, associating with sinners and dying an accursed death. And may we all be thankful that God works among the lowest of us (and for that reason makes the gospel very simple), that all might be saved.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Fides et Ratio or Fides Contra Ratio?
The doctrine of creation has suffered a great decline in its riches in the last 200 years. One could almost point the problem right back to the dawn of the Reformation, where the blessed Martin Luther projected a hermeneutical method that heightened personal, subjective interpretation over and against the interpretation of the church. Not a terrible thing in itself, given the recovery (or discovery) of climactic doctrines within the sacred text that have indeed re-bolstered the life of the church.
But the very thrust of life given to us in this modicum of interpretation is only one side of the sword. The penetration of personal study also empowers the utilization of personal reason, understanding, method and experience; all of which to a certain degree have been cultured by nature. This eventually gives rise (I would assume) to the experiential theologies of the Quakers, Classical Liberalism, Deism and Higher Criticism. We might also observe the progress of the natural sciences in the 19th century via Darwin, Wallace and Thomas Huxley, and it is this movement and its relationship to creation that I will deal with. Darwin's theory of natural selection has and continues to create controversy within the church, and for seemingly good reasons. The suggestion behind this theory (well demonstrated and observed in nature) posits an origin of species that almost (not quite) removes the need or use of a creator. There is no teleological process guiding an amoeba 'up' the 'stages' to an eventual human being; natural selection is as its title suggests, a purely natural function. In other words, according to scientific observation there would have been no need for God to do anything after spawning the first simple forms of life. This is a horribly basic description of philosophical and scientific development, but my concern is more dealing with where we are then what brought us here. Somewhere along the line (perhaps with certain rationalistic assertions made by Augustine) the church began playing with the idea that the natural world gives us a good idea of truth. That truth can be known and understood in an absolute sense via observation of the natural world is something the church ought to have nothing to do with, at least in a serious sense. But that is exactly what they have everything to do with; why else would the established evidences for an old earth and the evolutionary origin of man be such a controversy?
If one were to walk into a typical Christian bookstore and peruse the shelves for volumes on the subject of creation, he may find any number of titles such as:
'Scientific Creationism' by Henry M. Morris
'Creation as Science by Hugh Ross
'A Case for The Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That points Towards God.' Lee Strobel
The list goes on and on. Secular authors have even picked up on this; type creationism in the amazon.com search box and you'll find similar titles by atheist proponents.
The problem here is that creationism has wrongly been called science. Creationism has been reduced to science; that is all we are familiar with. That is also heresy. Let us take a look at the doctrine of creation as scripture defines it:
'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.' (Hebrews 11:3)
Do you see the model that sacred scripture presents? We understand that the world and universe was created by faith. This is how the Creator wishes to be known and understood. This is how the doctrine of creation is to be defined; a doctrine of faith. This is how the definition of creationism is to be understood, a 'science' (I mean science here in the sense of general sciences) of faith. To make it more clear, let us explore what sacred scripture here means by faith:
'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.' (Hebrews 11:1)
Do you see that? Scripture defines the very essence of faith right before delving into creation. We know that the universe is created by 'things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
We know that the universe is created by trusting in God... by trusting in the unseen... the unseen God. This very command is a devastation to the utter incapabilities of us to know anything about God apart from faith. God will have the last Word, and this last Word will be accessed by faith alone, from first to last.
The greatest thing we can glean from creation is that this unseen God who we put our hope in, this unseen Creator whom we trust..... Has made Himself 'seen', has made himself known. Creation is all about Christ, the very Word of God mentioned in Hebrews 11, made flesh. Christ has been seen, therefore God the Creator has been seen. And it is this very sighting of God which occurred 2,000 years ago as attested by the inspired gospels and apostolic writings, that fuels our hope, our conviction of the unseen. A perfect dialectic; God is both seen and He is unseen. The Creator is unseen, but He is seen in Christ, even though Christ is unseen.
"Though you have not seen Him now, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:8)
The natural world and scripture don't have to line up, as we have read so much in current books on creation. What you see in the Heavens is fading, destined to wear out like a garment, but the Word of the Lord, again and again endures forever. Don't let scientific observation be the new ruling magisterium of sacred scripture and your faith.
As Martin Luther once said," Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and ... know nothing but the word of God."
"Reason is the Devil's greatest whore; by nature and manner of being she is a noxious whore; she is a prostitute, the Devil's appointed whore; whore eaten by scab and leprosy who ought to be trodden under foot and destroyed, she and her wisdom ... Throw dung in her face to make her ugly. She is and she ought to be drowned in baptism... She would deserve, the wretch, to be banished to the filthiest place in the house, to the closets."
May the God of Creation, as revealed in Christ alone, be praised!
But the very thrust of life given to us in this modicum of interpretation is only one side of the sword. The penetration of personal study also empowers the utilization of personal reason, understanding, method and experience; all of which to a certain degree have been cultured by nature. This eventually gives rise (I would assume) to the experiential theologies of the Quakers, Classical Liberalism, Deism and Higher Criticism. We might also observe the progress of the natural sciences in the 19th century via Darwin, Wallace and Thomas Huxley, and it is this movement and its relationship to creation that I will deal with. Darwin's theory of natural selection has and continues to create controversy within the church, and for seemingly good reasons. The suggestion behind this theory (well demonstrated and observed in nature) posits an origin of species that almost (not quite) removes the need or use of a creator. There is no teleological process guiding an amoeba 'up' the 'stages' to an eventual human being; natural selection is as its title suggests, a purely natural function. In other words, according to scientific observation there would have been no need for God to do anything after spawning the first simple forms of life. This is a horribly basic description of philosophical and scientific development, but my concern is more dealing with where we are then what brought us here. Somewhere along the line (perhaps with certain rationalistic assertions made by Augustine) the church began playing with the idea that the natural world gives us a good idea of truth. That truth can be known and understood in an absolute sense via observation of the natural world is something the church ought to have nothing to do with, at least in a serious sense. But that is exactly what they have everything to do with; why else would the established evidences for an old earth and the evolutionary origin of man be such a controversy?
If one were to walk into a typical Christian bookstore and peruse the shelves for volumes on the subject of creation, he may find any number of titles such as:
'Scientific Creationism' by Henry M. Morris
'Creation as Science by Hugh Ross
'A Case for The Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That points Towards God.' Lee Strobel
The list goes on and on. Secular authors have even picked up on this; type creationism in the amazon.com search box and you'll find similar titles by atheist proponents.
The problem here is that creationism has wrongly been called science. Creationism has been reduced to science; that is all we are familiar with. That is also heresy. Let us take a look at the doctrine of creation as scripture defines it:
'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.' (Hebrews 11:3)
Do you see the model that sacred scripture presents? We understand that the world and universe was created by faith. This is how the Creator wishes to be known and understood. This is how the doctrine of creation is to be defined; a doctrine of faith. This is how the definition of creationism is to be understood, a 'science' (I mean science here in the sense of general sciences) of faith. To make it more clear, let us explore what sacred scripture here means by faith:
'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.' (Hebrews 11:1)
Do you see that? Scripture defines the very essence of faith right before delving into creation. We know that the universe is created by 'things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
We know that the universe is created by trusting in God... by trusting in the unseen... the unseen God. This very command is a devastation to the utter incapabilities of us to know anything about God apart from faith. God will have the last Word, and this last Word will be accessed by faith alone, from first to last.
The greatest thing we can glean from creation is that this unseen God who we put our hope in, this unseen Creator whom we trust..... Has made Himself 'seen', has made himself known. Creation is all about Christ, the very Word of God mentioned in Hebrews 11, made flesh. Christ has been seen, therefore God the Creator has been seen. And it is this very sighting of God which occurred 2,000 years ago as attested by the inspired gospels and apostolic writings, that fuels our hope, our conviction of the unseen. A perfect dialectic; God is both seen and He is unseen. The Creator is unseen, but He is seen in Christ, even though Christ is unseen.
"Though you have not seen Him now, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:8)
The natural world and scripture don't have to line up, as we have read so much in current books on creation. What you see in the Heavens is fading, destined to wear out like a garment, but the Word of the Lord, again and again endures forever. Don't let scientific observation be the new ruling magisterium of sacred scripture and your faith.
As Martin Luther once said," Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and ... know nothing but the word of God."
"Reason is the Devil's greatest whore; by nature and manner of being she is a noxious whore; she is a prostitute, the Devil's appointed whore; whore eaten by scab and leprosy who ought to be trodden under foot and destroyed, she and her wisdom ... Throw dung in her face to make her ugly. She is and she ought to be drowned in baptism... She would deserve, the wretch, to be banished to the filthiest place in the house, to the closets."
May the God of Creation, as revealed in Christ alone, be praised!
Friday, May 23, 2008
About the Blog
Greetings,
Because we cannot properly understand being apart from action, it might be thought charitable to reserve all personal information about who I am to an anticipated gold dig; discovering the 'I' in the act of this blog and its evolution. The factum of such an ontology is much more interesting than a long, drawn out account of my life. Nevertheless, a short preamble (which presupposes slight autobiographical skecthes) is in order.
I intend this blog primarily for youth, making an indignant observation that gentlemen my age are that only in a nominal sense, along with the rest of their assigned titles. We youth typically have trouble losing ourselves and finding Christ. We rest in a tension of obedience and rebellion, a usual 'yes, but...' to the command of God. I've been wrestling with this problem for most of my teenage life, and were it not for the stern discipline of my loving Father in Heaven I would likely be exiting the eve of my youth with nothing but youthful passions to boast of. Nevertheless, God is a gracious God, and you will find that one foot in front of the next reduces the 'but' in your response to Him significantly, and that eternally.
Commenting on the nominal nature of Christian youth, I might inquire as to its being this way because our sinful passions are inflated and accentuated by an over-exposure to the culture of North America. Legalist per se? Am I being reactionary? Perhaps. I candidly affirm that culture of itself is a neutral thing, as the definition:
1.
the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc. (dictionary.com)
None of the listed are 'bad' or deleterious of themselves, indeed the church itself must inevitably fulfill all of these attributes of culture in order to exist. Nevertheless, culture is one thing, and North American culture another. If letters, arts and manners etc.. were done with the attitude of glorifying a Holy God (though inevitable, not commissioned) youth might be justified in being enfatuated. However, I fear that it is conversely the push away from glorification to rebellion that fuels the way post-modern culture operates today.
To return to the beginning, this blog is at its core an exhortation to remember our Creator in our youth, before trouble (Ecclesiastes 12:2). Will you dare to do anything less when your very existence partakes in His creative will?!!!
A note on future posts: I am dogmatic; I believe all that God is and has done for us requires a positive response. For instance, I do not fear bellowing out a dogmatic 'Yes' to an important question. Is Christ the only pathway to God? Yes. Is the Bible the Word of God? Yes. etc.. However, dogma does not necessarily mean conclusion; it means we're getting closer to a conclusion. Language about God that is neither inspired nor infallible must needs always be perfected, I know little and am open to revision.
Enough said, I'd like to commit this blog to God
Father,
I know so little, but what I do know I devote to you now. Whether this blog is read by everyone or no one, I can rest content in that you are reading it, as your Holy Word says,"The Lord examines the righteous" (Psalm 11:5). May it be a pleasing fragrance to you in Christ. May it help others. I open myself to your constant correction, be gracious to me Father. Amen.
Because we cannot properly understand being apart from action, it might be thought charitable to reserve all personal information about who I am to an anticipated gold dig; discovering the 'I' in the act of this blog and its evolution. The factum of such an ontology is much more interesting than a long, drawn out account of my life. Nevertheless, a short preamble (which presupposes slight autobiographical skecthes) is in order.
I intend this blog primarily for youth, making an indignant observation that gentlemen my age are that only in a nominal sense, along with the rest of their assigned titles. We youth typically have trouble losing ourselves and finding Christ. We rest in a tension of obedience and rebellion, a usual 'yes, but...' to the command of God. I've been wrestling with this problem for most of my teenage life, and were it not for the stern discipline of my loving Father in Heaven I would likely be exiting the eve of my youth with nothing but youthful passions to boast of. Nevertheless, God is a gracious God, and you will find that one foot in front of the next reduces the 'but' in your response to Him significantly, and that eternally.
Commenting on the nominal nature of Christian youth, I might inquire as to its being this way because our sinful passions are inflated and accentuated by an over-exposure to the culture of North America. Legalist per se? Am I being reactionary? Perhaps. I candidly affirm that culture of itself is a neutral thing, as the definition:
1.
the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc. (dictionary.com)
None of the listed are 'bad' or deleterious of themselves, indeed the church itself must inevitably fulfill all of these attributes of culture in order to exist. Nevertheless, culture is one thing, and North American culture another. If letters, arts and manners etc.. were done with the attitude of glorifying a Holy God (though inevitable, not commissioned) youth might be justified in being enfatuated. However, I fear that it is conversely the push away from glorification to rebellion that fuels the way post-modern culture operates today.
To return to the beginning, this blog is at its core an exhortation to remember our Creator in our youth, before trouble (Ecclesiastes 12:2). Will you dare to do anything less when your very existence partakes in His creative will?!!!
A note on future posts: I am dogmatic; I believe all that God is and has done for us requires a positive response. For instance, I do not fear bellowing out a dogmatic 'Yes' to an important question. Is Christ the only pathway to God? Yes. Is the Bible the Word of God? Yes. etc.. However, dogma does not necessarily mean conclusion; it means we're getting closer to a conclusion. Language about God that is neither inspired nor infallible must needs always be perfected, I know little and am open to revision.
Enough said, I'd like to commit this blog to God
Father,
I know so little, but what I do know I devote to you now. Whether this blog is read by everyone or no one, I can rest content in that you are reading it, as your Holy Word says,"The Lord examines the righteous" (Psalm 11:5). May it be a pleasing fragrance to you in Christ. May it help others. I open myself to your constant correction, be gracious to me Father. Amen.
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