On the verge of greatness?

Got an e-mail today, and at first I was sure it was a joke. But now I'm not so sure. It appears to be from the one and only Frank Turk-Centuri0n, claiming to want to link to my blog. This could be it, the big-time. I may actually have more than one visitor to my blog (not counting spammers).

What's strange about this is, I haven't even had a chance to tell him I was hoping to stop by in December when we head up to JBU for Candlelight Service, and that if I made it, I'd drop off some old comic books for him to scan.

Not only that, but I was also blogspotted by the Pyromaniac himself for a second time.

With all this good publicity, I had to go and get a counter. Now I'll just start watching the numbers roll in.

For the record, I am nothing in the TTLB ecosystem. Maybe a black hole. Or anti-matter. But all that is about to change.

Intelligent Design: 'The Death of Science' - Yahoo! News

I should probably just quit reading stuff like this, because it upsets me, but I never cease to be amazed at the audacity of those who think that evolution is more scientific than creation. This quote is a perfect example of the arrogance involved:

Intelligent Design: 'The Death of Science' - Yahoo! News: "'It doesn't add anything to science to introduce the idea that God did it,' Provine told LiveScience. Intelligent design 'would become the death of science if it became a part of science.'"

Amazing! If this quote is true, I guess we didn't have science at all before Darwin's theory came along. What do we say about all those people (some who were believers in Christ and a Creator) who operated in science prior to Darwin, if their belief would kill it?

Understand the full implications of the thinking here: a finite human being is claiming to understand the universe better than the God who created it. Of course, we see this exact same thing in the church--people will look at the Bible, or the words of Jesus, and say,"Well, they just didn't understand the way the world works the way we do today. They didn't understand things like atoms and subatomic particles and DNA." Really? God didn't understand these things? Perhaps they should read Job 38 sometime, and see what God said to Job about hubris like this.

One final thought--it's a quote from James White. He says,"Why would I trust Jesus for my salvation, my eternal destiny, and not trust him when he testifies about how the universe was made?" Why indeed?

Wrestling with God's Sovereignty

Here's an example of what I've been wrestling with lately. Not so much that it's true, but all of the implications surrounding it--if our lives reflected the belief that God is truly sovereign over everything, would they be radically different than they are now?

The Value of Scripture

Tim Challies writes an excellent post on the incalculable value of Scripture. I love the analogy he uses to the Antiques Roadshow.

Responding to Katrina

I've been slow to post a Katrina response--partly because I've been reading and thinking, sifting through my own thoughts in order to make sure my response was Biblical. (I posted what I believed were some helpful links earlier, but they were among the posts that disappeared.) I'm not sure I'll ever post a complete response; rather, I will probably post my response to news or others responses that I feel are Biblical or unBiblical. In that vein, here is my first post.

To those who claim that this was God's judgment on New Orleans, I refer to Jesus' words in Luke 13:1-5.

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

How do we distinguish between primary & secondary issues from the Bible?

There is a fascinating thread going on right now over at Phil Johnson's blog regarding, in his words, "the biblical basis for making a distinction between primary and secondary issues." This is fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, because he says he's read very little if anything about it. Although he reads lots, Phil probably isn't the guy who's read the most theological stuff (I'm guessing that honor would go to Al Mohler), but as he admits that this is an area that's of interest to him, I'm sure he's constantly on the lookout for this kind of material, and with all of the resources at his disposal--with all of his knowledge of Church History--he's still come up mostly empty. That's saying something.

The other reason this is so interesting (and important) is the implications it has for all who claim Scripture as our only authority. If we don't know the difference between primary and secondary issues, how do we know when to admonish and when to encourage? How do we know when to focus on unity and when to focus on truth? Are men who suggest breaking fellowship with those involved with ECT overreacting, or are they being Biblical? What is my Biblical basis for making this decision? There are many decisions like this that need to be made, and too often the basis for making these decisions is anything but Scripture.

Interesting issues. I trust Phil will continue working his way through this. After all, it isn't a spur-of-the-moment issue--I just listened to an MP3 from March where he addressed it. I would assume the Shepherd's Conference, but I got it from his GraceLife link. The message title is "Dead Right--the Failure of Fundamentalism" (don't let the title put you off--it is good stuff).

My Brother on a Team for Katrina Cleanup

My brother's church has sent a team over to Mississippi to help with Katrina cleanup. Updates to be available starting tomorrow on their blog.

Test

This is a test post, since my posts seem to be disappearing.

Watching Joel Osteen (from Reformation 21)

I told you Reformation 21 was a blog to watch.

Just had to make reference to a post made recently on Joel Osteen. I, too, had a chance to watch him, and I, too, found it very interesting.

I sat there and listened to him talk about how his wife told him that one day they were going to live in a big house, and he didn't believe her. Until one day, he let that seed take root, and after that, God just started blessing the socks off of him.

As he continued on like this, my six year old walked in, and asked me what I was watching. I said I was watching a man who wasn't telling the truth about God, and was saying that if you believe God, he'll give you what you want.

She replied, "That's not true. If you believe in God, he'll give you eternal life."

I followed up with "Will God give you what you want, or what you need?"

"Need," she replied. Then she said,"I don't want to watch him anymore. Let's turn him off."

That's my girl.

The Best R-Rated Movie You've Never Heard of...

(with apologies to Reformation 21).

After I add my two cents worth, jump over here to read the post on To End All Wars (which actually highlights another post--this one from Steven Hayward.

It's difficult to do justice to this movie in mere words, but let me give my brief but ringing endorsement. It isn't a "Christian" movie, in the sense of a sappy, feel-good flick. It is a gritty and realistic war movie, yet full of both message and meaning.

I heard of it because the producer is my Dad's best friend from high school and was best man at his wedding. You just wouldn't believe the effort that went into completing the movie and trying to get the word out.

Although not a commercial success, it is successful at telling a powerful story of sacrifice and redemption. Make no mistake--it earns its R rating in spades; this is not one for the kiddos. But for the discerning adult (and perhaps even some adolescents) looking for relief from meaningless summer fare, this is your movie.

I agree with Hayward when he says "You will not be disappointed." He goes on to say this,"You also won’t be able to stop thinking about it for a week." I'm still haunted by it, almost two years later.