soli Deo gloria

On Money

2012-01-11T18:22:00.001-06:00

Proverbs 3:9-10

On Faith, Proof And The Sovereignty Of God

2011-09-14T13:15:00.007-05:00

Faith is different from proof. One is human and the other a gift of God. 'The just shall live by faith' (Rom. 1:17). This is faith that God himself puts into our hearts, often using proof as the instrument. 'Faith comes by hearing' (Rom. 10:17). But this faith is in our hearts, and makes us say not, 'I know' but 'I believe'.

- Blaise Pascal, Pensées, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer (Great Britain: Penguin Group, 1966), #7

On Mariology, Christology And The Ark

2011-09-08T15:32:00.009-05:00

Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although I remain a material heretic to my friends at the University of Dallas, I will engage in thinking and reflecting on Luke 1:42-45 and of course Luke 11:27-28. Earlier in August, Pope Benedict XVI presented some thoughtful insights:

In the First Reading we heard: “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the Ark of his Covenant was seen within his temple” (Rev 11:19). What is the meaning of the ark? What appears?

For the Old Testament, it is the symbol of God’s presence in the midst of his people. However, the symbol has given way to reality. Thus the New Testament tells us that the true ark of the covenant is a living, real person: it is the Virgin Mary. God does not dwell in a piece of furniture, he dwells in a person, in a heart: Mary, the One who carried in her womb the eternal Son of God made man, Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

In the ark — as we know — the two Tables of the Mosaic Law were kept. The Law expressed God’s wish to preserve the Covenant with his People, pointing out the conditions for being faithful to the pact with God in order to conform to God’s will and thereby also to our own profound truth.

Mary is the Ark of the Covenant because she welcomed Jesus within her; she welcomed within her the living Word, the whole content of God's will, of God’s truth; she welcomed within her the One who is the new and eternal Covenant, which culminated in the offering of his Body and his Blood: a body and blood received through Mary.

Therefore Christian piety rightly turns to Our Lady in the litanies in her honour, invoking her as Foederis Arca, that is, “the Ark of the Covenant”, the Ark of God’s presence, the Ark of the Covenant of love which God desired to establish with the whole of humanity, in Christ, once and for all.

- Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Castel Gandolfo (Monday, 15 August 2011).

On Geneva, Calvinism And Universals In Political Discourse

2011-09-07T23:06:00.007-05:00

In 17654, definitively estranged from Catholicism, Rousseau, once more the proud "citizen of Geneva," dedicated his second discourse to his native city-state. And a few years later, as he meditated on the political treatise that was to become the Social Contract, it was Genevan society, Genevan scenes, Genevan political controversies, as he recalled and reshaped them in the urgency of intellectual creation, that dominated his mind. His celebrated assault on representation in the Social Contract is a striking instance of how much Geneva was on his mind as he laid down principles he proclaimed to be universally valid.

And later:

As passages in the Social Contract testify, [Rousseau] was enough of a relativist -the disciple of Montesquieu in this matter as in others- to see the possibility of freedom in moderate aristocracies or elective monarchies. But his ultimate preference was for a Geneva purified, the Geneva in his fertile mind.

And to be more explicit:

And "Geneva" also implied a powerful incentive toward a certain religious style. Rousseau's native city was, of course, a Calvinist stronghold -the very home of Calvinism. ANd while secular doctrines of the Enlightenment had invaded cultivated circles in Geneva, the Calvinist atmosphere remained a palpable legacy even among Voltaire's sophisticated Genevan friends. And this is the atmosphere that pervades Rousseau's Genevan friends. And this is the atmosphere that pervades Rousseau's thinking. He was never an orthodox believer; never a good Calvinist, never a good Catholic. As a mature thinker, he adopted the deism current among the philosophes of his time: the doctrine that a beneficent god had created the world with its laws and then withdrawn from it to leave virtuous men to discover its moral rules and live according to its dictates.

- Peter Gay, "Introduction," in Jean Jacques Rousseau: The Political Writings, trans. Donald A. Cress. (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1987).

On Metaphysics, Objects And Phenomenology

2011-09-07T00:03:00.001-05:00

The first implies that we move round the object; the second that we enter into it. The first depends on the point at which we are placed and on the symbols by which we express ourselves. The second neither depends on a point of view nor relies on any symbol. The first of knowledge may be said to stop at the relative; the second, in those cases where it is possible, to to attain the absolute.

- Henri Bergeson, La Pensée et le mouvant

Ave Redemptor, Sancte Redemptor

2011-09-03T16:46:00.003-05:00

Ave redemptor, Domine Jesus:
Cuius ob opus
Superatur mors, enim salvatio
Nunc inundavit super universam terram.

Sancte redemptor, reputata
Fides est nobis peccatoribus,
Nunc et in morte, ad iustitiam.

- Ave Redemptor

On Christology, Union With Christ And Glorification

2011-09-01T15:13:00.004-05:00

‎So I hold out my arms to my Redeemer, who, having been foretold for four thousand years, has come to suffer and to die for me on earth, at the time and under all the circumstances foretold. By His grace, I await death in peace, in the hope of being eternally united to Him. Yet I live with joy, whether in the prosperity which it pleases Him to bestow upon me, or in the adversity which He sends for my good, and which He has taught me to bear by His example.

- Blaise Pascal, Pensées, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer (Great Britain: Penguin Group, 1966), #737.

On Prayer to God

2011-08-23T06:54:00.006-05:00

"The purpose of the prayers and the meditations [of Anselm] is to stir up the mind of the reader to the love or fear of God, or to self-examination. The are not to be read in a turmoil, but quietly, not skimmed or hurried through, but taken a little at a time, with a deep and thoughtful meditation" (pg. 89)

Almighty God, merciful Father, and my good Lord,
have mercy on me, a sinner.
Grant me forgiveness of my sins.
Make me guard against and overcome
all snares, temptations, and harmful pleasures. (5)

May I shun utterly in word and indeed,
whatever you forbid,
and do and keep whatever you command.
Let me believe and hope, love and live,
according to your purpose and your will. (10)

Give me heart-piercing goodness and humility;
discerning abstinence and mortification of the flesh.
Help me to love and pray to you,
praise you and meditate upon you.
May I act and think in all things according to your will (15)
purely, soberly, devoutly,
and with a true and effective mind.
Let me know your commandments, and love them,
carry them out readily, and bring them into effect.
Always, Lord, let me go on with humility to better things (20)
and never grow slack.

Lord, do not give me over
either to my human ignorance and weakness
or to my own deserts,
or to anything, other than your loving dealing with me.
Do you yourself in kindness dispose of me, (25)
my thoughts and actions, according to your good pleasure,
so that your will may always be done
by me and in me and concerning me.

Deliver me from evil (30)
and lead me to eternal life
through the Lord.

St. Anselm, "Prayer to God," trans. Sister Benedicta Ward, S.L.G. (1973).

On Father God, Father Abraham, Stones And Faith

2011-08-06T00:40:00.010-05:00

Always, we should be cautious in appealing to Religion (Judaism), Ethnicity (Being Jew) or Morality (having the Law). It is by faith alone. Consider the following. In Luke 3:8, John the Baptist states:

8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

Compare that with Paul in Romans 9:6-8.

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

On Catechesis And Caritas

2011-06-29T23:14:00.012-05:00

Our salvation begins with God's initiation and grace. Similarly, our sanctification too will be a product of God's grace by the work of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we are not perfected in knowing, but we are perfected in love. We will not overcome sin by hating sin but by loving Jesus.

All the divine precepts are, therefore, referred back to love, of which the apostle says, "Now the end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart, and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned." Thus every commandment harks back to love. For whatever one does either in fear of punishment or from some carnal impulse, so that it does not measure up to the standard of love which the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts--whatever it is, it is not yet done as it should be, although it may seem to be. Love, in this context, of course includes both the love of God and the love of our neighbor and, indeed, "on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" --and, we may add, the gospel and the apostles, for from nowhere else comes the voice, "The end of the commandment is love," and, "God is love."

- St. Augustine, Enchirdion on Faith, Hope and Love, trans Albert C. Outler (1955), XXXII.

On Abortion And The Hypocrisy Of Unnatural Selection

2011-06-27T13:23:00.004-05:00

I came across an interesting article in the NY Times "160 Million and Counting." For once, the author explicates the implications of abortion.

The tragedy of the world’s 160 million missing girls isn’t that they’re “missing.” The tragedy is that they’re dead.

On Science And Nominalism

2011-06-24T16:12:00.006-05:00

Maritain, an Aristotelian-Thomist roasts the failure of modern science and nominalism

‎The error of pseudo-scientific mechanism clearly supposes the error of nominalism. If the universal doesn't directly or indirectly designate an essence but only a collection of individual cases, its not at all possible to understand how scientific law can be necessarily the succession of singular events contingent.

- Jacques Maritain, Degrees of Knowledge (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999).

On Sin And Daily Mortification

2011-06-22T09:35:00.001-05:00

If sin be subtle, watchful, strong, and always at work in the business of killing our souls, and we be slothful, negligent, foolish, in proceeding to the ruin thereof, can we expect a comfortable event? There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed on; and it will be so while we live in this world.

- John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, in Overcoming Sin and Temptation, ed. Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006).

On Time And Distance

2011-06-11T23:30:00.001-05:00

Arlington, TX - 0 mi (12:52 pm)
Fort Worth, TX - 23 mi (1:14 pm)
Waco, TX - 99 mi (2:18 pm)
Austin, TX - 191 mi (3:35 pm)
San Antonio, TX - 265 (4:57 pm)
Laredo, TX - 430 mi (7:10 pm)

Total time 6 hr 19 min

On Existentialism And Modern Skepticism

2011-06-10T15:47:00.000-05:00

An escalator ride is a good time to reconsider, to reconsider everything: where are you from? Where are you going? Who are you? What is your real name? What are you after?

- Oskar Matzerath in Guntar Grass, The Tin Drum, (1964)

On Hegel, Marx And Materialism

2011-06-08T21:54:00.001-05:00

There is, however, as much materialism in Hegel as in Marx. Since matter is for [Hegel] certainly a stage in the begriff. (Just as there is also a strong strain of teleological idealism in the supposedly scientific materialism of Marx.)

- J.N. Findlay, Hegel: A Re-Examination (New York: Macmillan, 1958).

On Old Perspectives For New Perspectives

2011-06-02T13:54:00.001-05:00

‎The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel through the fact that w respect to salvation no one is excluded whether he should come as a Jew, Greek, or barbarian. For the Savior says equally to all, 'Come to me all you that labor and are burdened.

- Origen's Commentary on Romans 1:17 trans Schek (CUAP)

On Society, Virtue And Trash

2011-05-12T15:57:00.003-05:00

‎A style of this sort will seem to modern readers marred by classical stiffness- "truth," "Knowers," the Good," "Man" -but we can by no mean deny that behind our objection to such language is a guilty consciousness of the flimsiness, and not infrequently the trashiness, of our modern talk about "values."

- Saul Bellow in Allan Bloom, Closing of the American Mind (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987)

On Descartes, Newton And Mathesis

2011-05-07T14:50:00.004-05:00

And therefore our present work sets forth mathematical principles of natural philosophy. The difficulty seems to be to find the forces of nature from the phenomena of motions and then to demonstrate the other phenomena of these forces.

- 1724, Isaac Newton, The Principia: Mathematical Principles for Natural Philosophy, trans. I. Bernard Cohen (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999)

On the Importance of Adversatives Or A Lack Thereof

2011-04-24T07:21:00.002-05:00

Reflections for Easter Day

14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them:

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible.

- Acts 2:22ff

It all begins with two words in the Greek: Oddly enough, the NASB translates the relative pronoun "on" as an adversative. Thus, they render Acts 2:24 as "but God." However, there is no adversative. Again, there is no adversative. Consider, how strange would it be for Peter to say that it was literally by God's predetermined plan and foreknowledge that Jesus was murdered yet then say, "but God raised Him..." -that would be God working against God! Thus. today is a day to be thankful for God's plan of salvation, the sovereignty of God over evil for the sake of good, the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead, the end of "birth-pains" (wdin) of death.

On Resurrection And The Old Testament

2011-04-23T12:01:00.001-05:00

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another

- Job 19:25ff (NASB)

On Predestination, Evil, Love And Glory

2011-04-22T07:00:00.007-05:00

Reflections for Good Friday

14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them:

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death."

- Acts 2:22f

What is clear are four things.

1) Christology: Jesus Christ has proven his divinity by miracles, wonders and signs. Peter affirms simultaneously that Jesus is also a man.

2) Sovereignty: the murder of Jesus was God's plan; it was no mere accident.

3) Evil: the men who murdered Jesus were guilty and responsible for their actions.

4) Soteriology: God intends to predetermine (orizw) evil for the sake of love, glory and redemption.

On Sleep And Soteriology

2011-03-20T20:28:00.002-05:00

Awake, O sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you

- Ephesians 5:14

Perhaps Paul is referencing a contemporaneous hymn thus highlights the one of the ubiquitous triplet metaphors for salvation (Isaiah 9:2; 26:19; 52:1; 60:1)

1. Being awakened (Romans 13:11)
2. Being raised from the dead (Ephesians 2:1-10)
3. Transferred from light to darkness (John 3:19ff; Colossians 1:10-14)

- For more see the discussion in Francis Foulkes, Ephesians, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, vol. 10 (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1989), 149.

On Grace, Worship And Love

2011-03-19T00:23:00.000-05:00

I was blessed to remember this hymn.

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.
O what a peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!

- Joseph Scriven, "What A Friend We Have in Jesus," 1855.

C.f. Jesus' words to his disciples:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

- John 15:16f

On Sinn And Bedeutung

2011-03-18T21:11:00.002-05:00

While discussing the malleability of language, the example of firetrucks and its corresponding reference unfolded. Needless to say, it was well received.

Sense: "Fire Truck!"
Referent: Love

C.f. Gottlob Frege, Sense and Reference, 1892.

On Christology And Hope

2011-03-11T09:18:00.003-06:00

All our failure and all our fear
God our love, He has overcome

All our heartache and all our pain
God our healer, He has overcome

All our burdens and all our shame
God our freedom, He has overcome

All our troubles and all our fears
God our love, He has overcome

God our justice, God our grace
God our freedom, He has overcome

God our refuge, God our strength
God is with us, He has overcome

- Hillsong United, "Take Heart" from Aftermath, 2011.

On Faith, Reason, And Understanding

2010-12-13T15:11:00.006-06:00

I acknowledge, Lord, and I thank you, that you have created in me this image of you so that I may remember you, think of you, and love you. Yet this image is so eroded by my vices, so clouded by the smoke of my sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do unless you renew and refashion it. I am not trying to scale your heights, Lord; my understanding is in no way equal to that. But I do long to understand your truth in some way, your truth which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order to believe; I believe in order to understand. For I also believe that "Unless I believe, I shall not understand.”

- St. Anselm of Canterbury, Proslogion, trans. Thomas Williams (Indianpolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1995).

On Hegel's Geist Contra Kant's Transcendental Ego

2010-12-09T23:08:00.004-06:00

However, the transition from Kant's talk of "consciousness in general" and "synthetic unity of consciousness" to Hegel's conception of a literally general consciousness has been understandably challenged as one of the most confused and notoriously invalid moves in the history of philosophy.

- Robert C. Solomon, “Hegel’s Concept of Geist,” in The Review of Metaphysics, vol. 23, no. 4 (1970).

On Love And Affection

2010-11-29T02:01:00.002-06:00

"May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine"

- Song of Solomon 1:2

On Being, Theology, Metaphysics And The Failure Of Platonism

2010-11-28T19:38:00.003-06:00

The fact that Neoplatonism makes bad theology and worse [biblical] exegesis is no philosophical argument against the Platonic notion of being. Yet, it goes a long way to prove something else, which is the only point I am now trying to make. If any being ever entailed the notion of existence, it is Yahweh, the God whose very name is, I AM; and here is a Christian theologian [Marius Victorinus] who, because he still conceives being after the manner of Plato, cannot even understand the very name of his God. A tangible proof indeed that the Platonic notion of being is not only foreign to existence, but inconsistent with it.

- Étienne Gilson, Being and Some Philosophers, 2nd Ed., (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1952).

On Romans 8:1-4, Reflection And Observation

2010-11-27T20:56:00.000-06:00

Having read Romans 8 countless times, it is easy to oversee the intricacy and brilliance of Paul's argument. There are so many things to think about. For instance: what is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; or what is the relationship between no condemnation (v. 1) and the condemnation of sin in the flesh (v. 3); moreover, who is the "He" in v. 3; further, what do we do with the en hemin in v. 4; finally, what was Paul doing with the tois in relation to the hemin and the following kata limiting qualification in v. 4?

1 Therefore there is no no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh: God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

- Romans 8:1-4

On Nonverbal Communication

2010-11-26T23:55:00.002-06:00

Upon immediate reflection, it appears as though the relationship between nonverbal communication and communication by way of blogs is seemingly ironic. Either way, it's important to learn how to communicate one day at a time, one mode at a time.

On Time, Wisdom, And Love

2010-11-12T19:27:00.008-06:00

Moses writes in Psalm 90:1-12:

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man back into dust and say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. 5 You have 1swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; in the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. 6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; toward evening it fades and withers away.

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger and by Your wrath we have been dismayed. 8 You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. 9 For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh. 10 As for the days of our 1life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away. 11 Who 1understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

I find it interesting that in Ephesians 5: 15-21 Paul seems to not only echo Moses but includes an ethical exhortation of love. In other words, perhaps Paul is fortifying his exhortation that we should be careful in the way we love one another in the humility of time since our days are fleeting and evil. Therefore, he argues we must intentionally love one another without hesitation; if you can love your brother today -don't wait until tomorrow.

To weave the final theme of wisdom in, Paul argues that true wisdom is fulfilled in love for God and love for neighbor that is without delay. It seems, perhaps, that this is nothing more than a simple ethical recapitulation of the greatest commandment resituated through the wise lens of the humility of time and life (c.f. Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:27). Consider Paul's words for yourself:

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And ado not get drunk with wine, 1for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to 1one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

On Faith And Reason

2010-11-11T18:30:00.005-06:00

Theology is structured as an understanding of faith in the light of a twofold methodological principle: the auditus fidei and the intellectus fidei. With the first, theology makes its own the content of Revelation as this has been gradually expounded in Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Church's living Magisterium. With the second, theology seeks to respond through speculative enquiry to the specific demands of disciplined thought.

Philosophy contributes specifically to theology in preparing for a correct auditus fidei with its study of the structure of knowledge and personal communication, especially the various forms and functions of language. No less important is philosophy's contribution to a more coherent understanding of Church Tradition, the pronouncements of the Magisterium and the teaching of the great masters of theology, who often adopt concepts and thought-forms drawn from a particular philosophical tradition. In this case, the theologian is summoned not only to explain the concepts and terms used by the Church in her thinking and the development of her teaching, but also to know in depth the philosophical systems which may have influenced those concepts and terms, in order to formulate correct and consistent interpretations of them.

With regard to the intellectus fidei, a prime consideration must be that divine Truth "proposed to us in the Sacred Scriptures and rightly interpreted by the Church's teaching"89 enjoys an innate intelligibility, so logically consistent that it stands as an authentic body of knowledge. The intellectus fidei expounds this truth, not only in grasping the logical and conceptual structure of the propositions in which the Church's teaching is framed, but also, indeed primarily, in bringing to light the salvific meaning of these propositions for the individual and for humanity. From the sum of these propositions, the believer comes to know the history of salvation, which culminates in the person of Jesus Christ and in his Paschal Mystery. Believers then share in this mystery by their assent of faith.

For its part, dogmatic theology must be able to articulate the universal meaning of the mystery of the One and Triune God and of the economy of salvation, both as a narrative and, above all, in the form of argument. It must do so, in other words, through concepts formulated in a critical and universally communicable way. Without philosophy's contribution, it would in fact be impossible to discuss theological issues such as, for example, the use of language to speak about God, the personal relations within the Trinity, God's creative activity in the world, the relationship between God and man, or Christ's identity as true God and true man.

- Pope John Paul II in Fides et Ratio §§ 65f.

On Beauty And The Moon

2010-11-05T23:16:00.003-05:00

You love the moon and the stars because they are beautiful. But if I seek beauty why, then, should I look at the sky?

"Who is this that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners?"

- Song of Solomon 6:10

On God's Grace For Contentment In Him

2010-10-12T19:59:00.003-05:00

My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you to enlarge it. it is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it.

- St. Augustine, Confessions, Bk. I.5

On Ens Causa Deus

2010-09-29T13:19:00.005-05:00

quid enim est, nisi quia tu es? ergo dixisti et facta sunt atque in uerbo tuo fecisti ea.

- S. Aureli Augustini, Confessiones XI, 5.

On Incarnational Missions And Twitter

2010-09-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

"There’s no other way for the great commission to be done than for a group of people to learn a new language, cross cultures, incarnate the gospel, plant the church. There’s no other way. It won’t be done with twitter."

- John Piper

On The World Of Man, The Kingdom Of God And Value Theory

2010-09-27T21:47:00.002-05:00

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

- Matthew 16:26

On Friendship

2010-09-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

‎"Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy."

- Proverbs 27:5-6

On The Necessity Of Metaphysics

2010-09-17T19:28:00.004-05:00

In other words, it is quite possible that actual existence may be an active force and an efficient cause of observable effects in those things of which we say that they are. If such were the case, all philosophies based upon an existenceless notion of being would be courting disaster, and eventually meet it. It would not take more than two or three disastrous experiments of that kind to convince philosophers that it does not pay to posit being as the first principle of metaphysical knowledge. Hence their repeated attempts to replace it by any one of its many possible surrogates, at the risk of multiplying philosophical failures, so to speak, ad infinitum.

- Étienne Gilson, Being and Some Philosophers. 2nd Ed. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1952.

On Sin And Grace

2010-09-17T10:23:00.000-05:00

"Who O Lord could save themselves -their own soul could heal? Our shame was deeper than the sea, Your grace is deeper still..."

On Perseverance

2010-09-16T22:26:00.000-05:00

"great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me"

On Purpose

2010-09-05T19:28:00.002-05:00

"Yes, get married, make babies. You look so old."

- Gus, from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 2002.

On Aesthetics, Music And God

2010-09-03T23:44:00.002-05:00

On the page, it looked... nothing. The beginning was simple, almost comic, just a pulse: bassoons, basset horns like a rusty squeezebox. And then, suddenly, high above it, an oboe. A single note, hanging there unwavering, until a clarinet took it over -sweetened it into a phrase of such delight. This was no composition by a performing monkey. This was a music I had never heard -filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.

- Salieri, Amadeus, 1984.

On Longing, Satisfaction, And Love

2010-08-29T23:21:00.005-05:00

My soul today is thirsting for living streams divine,
To sweep from highest Heaven to this poor heart of mine;
I stand upon the promise, in Jesus’ Name I plead;
O send the gracious current to satisfy my need.
Like a mighty sea, like a mighty sea,
Comes the love of Jesus sweeping over me;
The waves of glory roll, the shouts I can’t control;
Comes the love Jesus sweeping o’er my soul.
- A.I. Zelley and Henry L. Gilmour, "Like A Mighty Sea"

On Dumb But Honest

2010-08-26T23:43:00.005-05:00

Vaughn to Annie:

I see it when you smile and I want to sing a song

But then I sing a song and they always come out wrong

They come out wrong

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes

But then words get frozen in my mouth like eskimos

I like your nose

- "Romantic Expressionism," Season 1: Episode 15 of Community.

On The Church And Men

2010-08-24T12:23:00.003-05:00

"They don't look like church boys, wearing sweater vests and walking around singing love songs to Jesus. Guys like David are known for slaughtering other men."

- Mark Driscoll

On Brilliance, Vision And Insanity

2010-08-21T00:43:00.003-05:00

My film is not about vietnam; it is vietnam. It's what it was really like -it was crazy. And the way we made it was very much like the Americans' were in Vietnam. We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access too much money, too much equipment, and little by little... we went insane.

- Francis Coppola, Cannes Film Festival, 1979.

On Oranges, Oreos, And Love

2010-08-12T04:36:00.005-05:00

Two important conversations with two important women in my life. Lord I am thankful for their loving heart to forgive and to renew their relationships' with me. As Christ loves us, let us love one another.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

- 1Peter 4:8

On Election, Joy, Glory, Love And The Supremacy Of Christ

2010-08-11T10:50:00.004-05:00

Jesus makes clear the connections between election, glory, love, the joy of heaven and the supremacy of Christ for us. Jesus prayed:

Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

- John 17:24

On Ancient Regimes And The Obama Administration

2010-08-09T09:59:00.004-05:00

"It is epitomised above all by the President’s relentless drive towards big government against the will of the American people, and the dramatic increases in government spending and borrowing, which threaten to leave the US hugely in debt for generations. It is also showcased by Barack Obama’s drive towards a socialised health care system, which, as I’ve noted before, is 'a thinly disguised vanity project for a president who is committed to transforming the United States from the world’s most successful large-scale free enterprise economy, to a highly interventionist society with a massive role for centralized government.'"

- Nile Gardiner, "The Obama PresidencyIncreasing Resembles a Modern-Day Ancien Regime: Extravagant and Out of Touch with the American People," in Telegraph, August 9, 2010

On Economics, Liberals, And Thieves

2010-08-04T15:59:00.001-05:00

"A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which he proposes to pay off with your money."

- G. Gordon Liddy

On Big Government, Slavery, And Obamacare

2010-08-02T10:50:00.015-05:00

Interesting connections that the congressman only affirmed; if she is right, all those for social justice needs to reevaluate their stance on obamacare.

On Nature Vs. Nurture

2010-07-29T15:48:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 60: My immersion in Korean culture is complete in it's affect. I saw my parents at the airport and the first thing I did was "in sa'ed"

On Prayers, The Heart, And Love

2010-07-28T06:49:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 59: People always say that prayers are often windows to one's heart. When a 9 year old prays for his mother it begins with "thank you Lord for my mother, she's so pretty..."

On Worship And Theology Of The Cross

2010-07-27T02:00:00.007-05:00

May the words of Christ be on hearts and on our lips. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his 1life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24f).

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me
Still all my song would be nearer, my God, to thee

- Sarah F. Adams (1805-1848)

On Early Birds

2010-07-26T07:23:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 57: today David and I went to early morning prayer. I get home and lay down. What's the first thing a 9 year old does when he gets home? He goes and wakes up his brother and then runs into his parents room to wake them up. Sorry :(

On The Ubiquitous Application Of Kimchi

2010-07-25T18:28:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 56: while eating at Olive Garden with a bunch of Koreans, I hear the mothers start talking ab the need for kimchi... umm lols?

:(

On Manners, Chicken, And Fatness

2010-07-24T01:17:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 55: I literally ate a whole chicken for dinner. When Koreans make chicken soup, they give you a bowl with broth and a full chicken. I'm not proud of myself, but at least I'm not hungry.

On God, Holiness, And Humility

2010-07-22T06:19:00.001-05:00

"Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the LORD;"
- Genesis 19:27

What will I see?

On Joy, Worship, And God

2010-07-21T06:09:00.000-05:00

‎"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

- Psalm 118:24

On Small Town Fails

2010-07-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 51: guess which city doesn't have a chipotle. I am so sad... and hungry :(

On Marriage, Media, And Sexual Ethics

2010-07-20T09:56:00.005-05:00

After reading the article about Christina Saunders who copied Sex and the City's Samantha and bedded 1,000 men, I can't help but to comment on the misguided comments.

As sad as the situation in the article is, the sad thing is that the girl admits she has regrets wishing to settle down with a "man who does not want her only for sex" but is afraid she has now "put men off." Yet, people still aren't thinking through the issues. She slept with 1,000 men and feels no more confident than before. In fact, she feels regretful and scared she has hurt any future long term relationship. She isn't happy, confident, empowered or proud. That's the point of the article.

Ironically, in the comments some people reacted as if 1,000 partners all of a sudden made it a poor choice -as though excess made something a vice -not moral facts. Think it through. At what number does it begin to be a vice: 10, 50, 100, 500? Others, although grossed out, still stuck to their guns saying:

"Give it rest, she slept with a 1000 blokes, not like she went out shooting anyone? she's a good looking girl, who just likes sex, she's not hurting anyone, or doing anything wrong, fair play to her, and whats god got to do with it also? I dont see him handing out words of wisdom on a regular basis, he kicked the bucket 2000 years ago......"

And here our modern morality of mutual consent and unprofessional, mitigated utilitarianism rears its ugly head. Let's at least face the facts. She did hurt someone -she admits to hurting herself!

Sadly, the question not being entertained in the modern mind is this: is it disgusting and wrong that she had 1,000 one night stands or merely 1? Or: does having a series of one night stands actually make you happy? Do people ever consider that perhaps she would be happiest if she had gotten married and found confidence, security in the fidelity of marriage. There was even an Atheist who conceded in the function of virginity until marriage citing studies of strengthened emotional attachment in marriage. Clearly, 1,000 one night stands didn't do the trick.

You may not want to talk about Jesus, God and the Bible -which you should because there is a God who holds us accountable yet is merciful to forgive. You may not want to believe in moral facts -which you should because moral facts exist regardless of your belief. However, you would be remiss if you didn't listen Christina: she isn't happy and all she wants now is to settle down, and 1,000 one night stands didn't help.

- Jane Atkinson, Sex and the City Fan Beds More than 1000 Men, in News of the World, July, 18, 2010.

On Fighting The Beat

2010-07-18T13:39:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 49: today at church I put on show my fist pump... no one was impressed :(

On Korean Mothers, Lectures And Samonims

2010-07-16T22:29:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 47: today the parents gave me a lecture on why I need to get married. They also lectured me on things they would like in their samonim. Coincidence?

On Love And Obedience In Truth

2010-07-15T14:34:00.004-05:00

What does it mean to "walk in truth" (2 John 4)? John explains the requisite connection between orthodoxy, orthopraxy and love.

"And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments."

- 2 John 6a

On Media As Epistemology

2010-07-13T23:05:00.001-05:00

‎"We have reached, I believe, a critical mass in that electronic media have decisively and irreversibly changed the character of our symbolic environment. We are now a culture whose information, ideas and epistemology are given form by television, not by the printed word. Just because TV and print coexist, doesn’t mean there is parity — print is now merely a residual epistemology."

- Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in An Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 2005)

On Daschunds, Poop, And Weddings

2010-07-13T09:16:00.001-05:00

I had a dream that I adopted a dachshund off the street with her puppies. But my wife kept getting mad bc it kept pooping everywhere... I need to find me a wiener doggy :]

On Odd Thoughts And Feelings

2010-07-06T18:41:00.000-05:00

Am I the only person who gets random desires to solve math problems?

On Clarity And Typology

2010-06-29T21:36:00.003-05:00

Typology: The idea that persons (e.g., Moses), events (e.g., the exodus), and institutions (e.g., the temple) can—in the plan of God—prefigure a later stage in that plan and provide the conceptuality necessary for understanding the divine intent (e.g., the coming of Christ to be the new Moses, to effect the new exodus, and to be the new temple)

- Graham A. Cole, He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2007), 289. Also see http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/

On God's Glory, Fear Of God, Nature And Love

2010-06-22T12:43:00.005-05:00

Psalm 19:1 explains:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Lewis makes a nice connection between nature and glory.

Nature never taught me that there exists a God of glory and of infinite majesty. I had to learn that in other ways. But nature gave the word glory a meaning for me. I still do not know where else I could have found one. I do not see how the "fear" of God could have ever meant to me anything but the lowest prudential efforts to be safe, if I had never seen certain ominous ravines and unapproachable crags.

- C.S. Lewis, The Four Lives, in A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C.S. Lewis, ed. Clyde Kilby (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968), 202.

On The Poor, The Wealthy, And Righteousness

2010-06-22T12:09:00.004-05:00

How does God view economics? First, money is never an end in itself. At the same time, money is never the root of all evil; it is never a sin to be rich. James reminds the wealthy, that it is their unirghteousness and shortsightedness that is the cause of their ruin. Lord, help us to be biblical with our money. As much as current trends in society may argue, social justice does not entail a mitigated or tacit socialism and communism. Instead, teach us to be righteous, kind and compassionate to others with the wealth You give us.

Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of the armies. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

- James 5:4ff

On Jesus, Glory, And Election

2010-06-19T12:37:00.003-05:00

God's righteousness is not the enemy of His mercy. His commitment to uphold the worth of His name does not cosign me to destruction, though I have besmeared His name by indifference and distrust. Rather, in the death of his Son, Jesus Christ, god conspired to vindicate his righteousness and justify sinners in one act. Which means His zeal to be glorified and His zeal to save sinners are one.

- John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1998).

On Korean Grandmothers, Authorial Intent, And Authority

2010-06-18T11:56:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 19: when a Korean grandmother asks if you want to eat food. She isn't really asking and you don't really have a choice.

On Davidic Just War Theory

2010-06-15T12:16:00.003-05:00

The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." David said to the Philistine,

"You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD's and He will give you into our hands."

- 1Samuel 17:43-47

On Games, Expectations, And Youthful Perseverance

2010-06-14T15:54:00.002-05:00

Laredo Day 15: Here's a life lesson. When playing hide and seek with a 5 year old boy for 3O min, don't hide too well because they give up after 10 minutes... to play with legos.

On Foreign Languages At Home And Abroad

2010-06-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 14: As counterintuitive as it may seem, as I work at a Korean church I speak the most english at church (sermons, lessons, etc). then I get home and am forced to speak korean.... all day long. Thank goodness for some patient youth who constantly are forced to translate!

On Parking And Culture

2010-06-11T23:59:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 12: No one parks on the street. Instead, everyone parks on the sidewalk -literally. Apparently, they do it so their car won't get hit. I told myself I wouldn't do such a silly thing -but I was wrong. Now, I too do it.

On Humanitarianism And The Free Market

2010-06-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

Jack Sim is a genius. He understands that if you wants to progress the improvement of basic health standards and provide toilets in order to end open defecation someone has to be making money. Be careful about organic fertilizer, apparently fertilizer from human waste is premium stuff! He helps people make the necessary connection that sanitation and business that can flourish because of it can help end poverty. He's a good example of the relationship that entrepreneurship and the free market should have on social issues.

http://www.worldtoilet.org/index.asp

On Enjoying God To Overcoming Sin

2010-06-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

"The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of the taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks"

- Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1708), 1096.

On The Chief End Of Man

2010-06-10T09:36:00.007-05:00

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend tot his end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.

- Blaise Pascal, Pascal's Pensées, trans. W.F. Trotter (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1958), 113, thought #425.

On Trinitarianism And Islam

2010-06-05T12:31:00.005-05:00

Whenever I hear people say, "Christians and Muslims worship the same God," I think to myself:

This not only offends me but it should also deeply offend Muslims.

I am tired of hearing this claim. And anyone who tries to throw this out is simply lazy or ignorant. Christianity, in its very essence, is Trinitarian. A Muslim should be extraordinarily offended that Christians believe in one God in three persons. Namely while Christians sing praises, "God in three persons -blessed Trinity." Muslim's should be shouting, "Shirk!"

On Egg Donation, Greed, And Value Theory

2010-06-04T10:38:00.003-05:00

Debt and Donation probably better titled "regret and donation" from Regrets of an Egg Donor from the ruthinstitute.org -read and share any thoughts.

An injustice that comes to the fore is the literal abuse of the women who are giving their eggs. Say what you want about egg donation, but the woman's body undergoes a lot of stress (albeit self-induced) while the companies provide no follow up health care.

For what it's worth, I think the entire process is wrong. But, if a company has the desire to purchase the eggs from a woman, they ought to make sure she has adequate care afterwards. A woman's value is not relegated to her eggs. She is made in the image of God (c.f. Genesis 1:26f).

On Calling And Joy

2010-06-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 5: Its humbling to reflect on the fact that people pay me to share the gospel and teach the Word of God all day. They like to learn about our glorious Savior Jesus Christ and I like talking about Him. What a joyous display of the "nash equilibrium."

On The Combination Of Hot Weather And Spicy Food

2010-06-03T13:47:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 4: today I learned that eating spicy food only exacerbates hot weather. In other words, you just get hotter. In 115 degree heat, spicy food is *not the way to go.

On Navigational Ignorance And Reverse Border Control

2010-06-02T13:09:00.001-05:00

Laredo Day 3: I can officially find three places: Church, Starbucks, and the gym. Ask me to go anywhere else and I risk drifting across the border never to find my way home.

On Heat, Humidity And The Need To Not Feel Gross

2010-06-01T21:15:00.002-05:00

Laredo Day 2: I'm taking three showers a day in Laredo and I still feel gross.

On Ignorance And The "Laredo Accent"

2010-05-31T22:57:00.000-05:00

Laredo Day 1: today I learned that "Mier Street" (the street our church is located) is not pronounced "My-er" but "Mi-er." This has revealed 6 months of ignorant pronunciation. Hopefully I soon will gain a Laredo accent (a Spanish accent) and gain some street cred.

On Suffering, Sovereignty And Worship

2010-05-29T15:05:00.002-05:00

In heaven will we sing songs about suffering and pain? Piper argues that suffering and sovereignty are at the very essence of worship because they are at the very essence of the cross. Therefore, indeed, there will songs about suffering and pain -especially in heaven.

"Good Friday did not happen to be forgotten..."

- John Piper, "The Supremacy of Christ in Suffering" May 8, 2010

On Suffering, Sovereignty, And Glory

2010-05-28T20:14:00.000-05:00

"If the leaves had not been let go to fall and wither, if the tree had not consented to be a skeleton for many months, there would be no new life rising, no bud, no flower, no fruit, no seed, no new generation"

- Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity (Grand Rapids: Flemming H. Revell, 2002).

On Reality Checks, Detachment, And Snitches

2010-05-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

"Well thank you for that. I saw all your hard drives and guess what? You're not a photographer. And you definitely can't fit into a size two. Darryl, man, you're on Facebook. Why you been telling people you not on Facebook? People want to be your friend man. Alright? And you, this guy, you're the one who told the press. You wrote an email to an editor; I saw it. And I also saw a quicktime movie of your little printer file test on your hard drive. but this guys the snitch -he's the snitch. So, that's it. Check it out."

- Nick the IT guy, The Office, Season 6, Ep. 26.

On Modern "Expectations"

2010-05-25T17:22:00.004-05:00

Cher! You're being another woman behind my back…. Spare me the lame excuses. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but when a girl dates a straight man who impersonates her on stage for mostly gay audiences -she has certain expectations. Fidelity, Paul, it's not just the name of a bank that sued me.

- Jenna Maroney, 30 Rock, Season 4: Ep. 22.

On The Logician, Myopic Intellectual Pride And Poetry

2010-05-25T03:29:00.002-05:00

The general fact is simple. Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross the infinite sea, and so make it finite. The result is mental exhaustion, like the physical exhaustion of Mr. Holbein. To accept everything is an exercise, to understand everything a strain. The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.

- G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1936).

On Holiness, Glory And The Trinity

2010-05-12T23:52:00.001-05:00

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

- Reginald Heber, "Holy, Holy, Holy," 1826.

On Grace, Sovereignty, And Grace

2010-05-12T01:21:00.004-05:00

Therefore this alien righteousness, instilled in us without our works by grace alone-while the Father, to be sure, inwardly draws us to Christ- is set opposite original sin, likewise alien, which we acquire without our works by birth alone. Christ daily drives out the old Adam more and more in accordance with the extent to which faith and knowledge of Christ grow. For alien righteousness is not instilled all at once, but it begins, makes progress, and is finally perfected at the end through death.

- Martin Luther, Two Kinds of Righteousness, in Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989).

On Salvation, Union With Christ, And Imputation

2010-05-11T23:07:00.006-05:00

Through faith in Christ, therefore, Christ's righteousness becomes our righteousness and all that he has becomes ours; rather, he himself becomes ours. Therefore the Apostle calls it "the righteousness of God" in Rom. 1:17: For in the gospel "the righteousness of god is revealed...; as it is written, "the righteous shall live by his faith.'" Finally, in the same epistle, chapter 3:28, such a faith is called "righteousness of God": "We hold that man is justified by faith." This is an infinite righteousness, and one that swallows up all sins in a moment, for it is impossible that sin should exist in Christ. On the contrary, he who trusts in Christ exists in Christ; he is one with Christ, having the same righteousness as he. It is therefore impossible that sin should remain in him. This righteousness is primary; it is the basis, the cause, the source of all our own actual righteousness. For this is the righteousness given in place of the original righteousness lost in Adam. It accomplishes the same as that original righteousness would have accomplished; rather, it accomplishes more.

- Martin Luther, Two Kinds of Righteousness, in Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989).

The Gospel, Blood, And Macbeth

2010-05-07T17:13:00.004-05:00

Reflecting on the Cross of Christ and Salvation, I would be remiss not consider themes of blood. Consider: the hope of the world compared to the hope in Christ by faith?

“Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnating making the green one red.”

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act II, Scene II, 71-75.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

- Romans 5:6-11

On Sudan, Miracles, And The Gospel

2010-05-07T03:03:00.001-05:00

Tonight, I had a really edifying conversation about the impact and influence of Christianity in Sudan. I walked away with much to reflect on and much to consider. Here are some of the topics of conversation:

1. Due to the unstable political climate there is a melting pot of languages. As a result, the question must be asked, "what language do you preach the gospel?" Next time I think it is hard to preach a message, I should be thankful everyone speaks English.

2. Furthermore, there is a lack of educated ministers. As a result, there are many who must teach and preach who have not even a high school degree. With that said, God works in spite of this. And, often due to the passion and faithfulness of the heart of those called, many repent and forgive -not even waiting until the sermon is over to change their lives! Thus, How important it is to have men who are passionate and wholly devoted to the Lord. Or all the more, it is not enough to have knowledge and facts -godliness and faithfulness to the Lord cannot be substituted with education and degrees.

3. To be sure, there is also uncertain political realities that are looming. For instance, should Sudan remain united? Aside from all the war that separates families, the North is occupied by Muslims. As a result, many of the people in the south are resistant and would actually like to be free of their oppression. Yet, unfortunately it is in the south where there is all the oil. Without a doubt, the conversations in their churches are far different and faith requires more than a simple acknowledgement of a concept followed by a superficial change of life. There is no such thing in this climate. You are either are Christian who is persecuted or you are not. There is no room for casual Christianity.

4. Finally, death is not foreign to everyday life. Not only is war a common reality of their history, many die of illness and specifically aids. To be sure, the gospel cannot and must not be tamed. Faith must call one not simply to notional assent but a faith that transcends the reality of sickness and death. What is more, it begs the question -if God can forgive sin -can God not also heal your body? Indeed, if God creates you and can resurrect you -can he not heal your body from aids? Our faith must move beyond a common comprehension of the Christian life understood through the distorted lens of the "American Dream." Instead, the gospel must call people to die. To have radical faith that trusts Jesus as Paul, Peter and John portray. We must ask different questions. What is the fullness of the atonement? What does Jesus mean for the salvation and redemption of those who need more than your middle class American?

As the conversation went on, the Holy Spirit began to evoke the question in my heart: what would you give for the blind to see, the lame to walk, and for the gospel to regenerate dead souls to life? How difficult is it for my heart to ascend to the higher places of life and contemplate and live out the gospel and redemption of Christ radiating His glory to the world. Will I not have a deeper faith in Christ who has already forgiven me?

“Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

- Mark 2:8b-11

Lord give me a passion for Your glory!

On Christus Salvator

2010-05-02T01:37:00.004-05:00

quid est veritas?

- Iohnnaes 18:28a