Friday, July 28, 2006

John Newton on Salvation by Grace

Salvation is wholly of grace, not only undeserved but undesired by us until God is pleased to awaken us to a sense of our need of it. And then we find everything prepared that our wants require or our wishes conceive; yea, that He has done exceedingly beyond what we could either ask or think. Salvation is wholly of the Lord and bears those signatures of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which distinguish all His works from the puny imitations of men. It is every way worthy of Himself, a great, a free, a full, a sure salvation. It is great whether we consider the objects (miserable, hell-deserving sinners), the end (the restoration of such alienated creatures to His image and favor, to immortal life and happiness) or the means (the incarnation, humiliation, sufferings and death of His beloved Son). It is free, without exception of persons or cases, without any conditions or qualifications, but such as He, Himself, performs in them and bestows upon them.

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, July 24, 2006

Evolutionary War or Curse?

Fox News is running an article about a new idea about a thorough evolutionary war between mammals and snakes. This idea suggests that much of early human evolution is attributable to the battle between early primates and snakes.

This is at least mildly interesting in light of the fact that the Bible speaks of the tension between serpents and humans as a result of the fall and the events leading up to it. There are some truly fascinating aspects of the relations between humans and animals. Too bad so many people are unwilling to accept the testimony of Genesis 1-11, or at least they are unwilling to accept it in a reality-connected fashion and relegate it to the level of mysticism.

The article quotes an evolutionary biologist as saying "Snakes and people have had a long history; it goes back to long before we were people". Philosophically, I wonder about this statement! :) It definately makes me wonder. First of all, if we were not people at some point of the past then the snake-people relationship would not exist at that same point. In that vein, how can you reconcile the internal contradiction of people having a relationship "long before we were people"? Wouldn't "they" be more appropriate than "we" if we are talking about some supposedly less evolved creature?

Labels: , , , , , ,

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Back Home

Just this weekend I returned home from a 1 week stay at a Christian retreat in Harrisonburg, Virginia in Shenandoah Valley. It was a very nice week to learn, pray, and fellowship (and buy books).

The trip there brought us through a number of states including Michigan, Ohio, Pennyslvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Here are a few small photos:



Now I must adjust to being back home.

Labels: , ,

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Pulpiteering Podcast

Ian Clary from Ruminations by The Lake along with some friends are publishing the Pulpiteer Podcast. There's only been two episodes so far, and I've only listened to one of them, but it sounds pretty good.

The episode I listened to so far covered things such as prayer, evangelism, etc. I look forward to seeing what comes out of this project.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Funny Video

This is a funny video for you soccer/philosophy fans.

http://www.youtube.com/v/xrShK-NVMIU

Special thanks to Michael Haykin for finding this gem on another blog.

Labels: , , , ,