My Top Ten Personal Events of 2006
1. I was reintroduced to the incredible sufficiency of Jesus Christ. 2. I recommitted myself to Biblical Christianity and returned happily to my Brethren in Christ church and heritage. 3. I saw liberal and/or progressive religion/Christianity for what it really is: Secular Humanism (well, at least when it’s not Modern Paganism/Witchcraft) dressed in religious/Christian garb (vocabulary). 3. I deeply contemplated, prayed over, and embraced God’s calling on my life. 4. I shared deep moments of communication with my wife. 5. Saturday morning breakfasts with my son. 6. A cool and costume-themed birthday party for my twin girls and their grade school friends at Wheatland, the house of James Buchanan - the 15th President of the United States. 7. My family survived - without injury - a stop light rear-ending of our Honda Accord by a Dodge Durango chock-full of underage, drunk Amish kids who scotch-taped porn to their dashboard. 8. We adopted a family puppy pre-named Trinity, during the time I admitted and repented of my own theological error re: the actual Trinity. 9. I noticed the blazingly new “Stay Out of My Room!” signs my kids made and taped to their bedroom doors (good time flies by!). 10. I bought and read Mark Driscoll’s Confessions of a Reformisison Rev. I love that book!
The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre: Future Communal Living?
A glimpse of future communal living: Cae Mabon Pictures. “The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre has been evolving since 1989,” according the Cae Mabon website. “It is set in natural woodland by a rushing river, near a deep lake, at the foot of high mountains and almost within sight of the sea. A family of beautiful, natural, earthy structures provide appealing spaces for groups to meet, retreat, work and play. People have looked all over Britain for something similar but in vain.”
That Roundhouse: Yet Another Low-Impact Ecohome
A Page from a Seminarian’s CPE Journal
Sept 18 2006: Today was the first day of CPE orientation. I met a great bunch of folk. The people I will be learning with seem wonderful. The 1st year residents are great too. The entire setting is wonderful. The director has really built a solid department, to say the least. I am so glad to be a part of the department. I expect to learn a lot. Read More »
Are Low Impact Woodland Homes the Future?
I wonder if “Low Impact Woodland Homes” are the future? The way forward, according to the site: “Somehow, as dozens of green writers have already pointed out, we need new policies that conserve nature while encouraging people to choose and build their own homes. We need to reverse the flow of people from the land to the cities, and to give people something worthwhile to do. We must grow more of our own food, organically, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels and techno-fixes. Will there be humans living here in a thousand years? Birds, trees, hedgehogs,apples too? If so, we have to move fast now.”
Americans See Gloom and Doom in 2007
Among other predictions for the U.S. in 2007: 1. 35 percent predict the military draft will be reinstated. 2. 35 percent predict a cure for cancer will be found. 3. 25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ. 4. 25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ. 5. 25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ. (SOURCE: DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer)
The Execution of Saddam Hussein
When is enough death and killing enough? I am sad for our humanity today. The whole human race is seriously broken, as is painfully obvious. The execution of Saddam Hussein is no victory. It is no occasion for happiness or celebration. We should all cry, and profusely so. Killing will not usher in peace, it only results in more killing. The execution of Saddam Hussein is in fact a symptom of a huge theological problem of which we all play a sick part. I watched the uncut video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein (the video is living on my hardrive right now). It was awful. It is also one of the clearest windows through which one can peer deep into our human sin, brokenness and consequent and universal human condition. We are a sinful, broken people, all of us. The so-called Enlightenment has failed. The Enlightenment is dead! Western methodology and Science have their place, as does a man like Dawkins, but none of it speaks authentically about the human condition as displayed for the world to see in this video (which is only a small, small slice of a much, much larger broken reality). Human beings in the 1st century and 21st century are indistinguishable, save the difference created by our possession of fancy toys, technological gadgets and the now corrupt idea that we know so much that we no longer need God. So, we know that the earth is not flat - big deal! Our great and wonderful “knowledge” has not made one ounce of difference in the way we treat our neighbors and consequently ourselves. We still are broken in all the wrong places. God is still waiting for us to admit our broken condition, and our need for Him, and to repent and embrace His Word. Peace and the end to this cyclical destruction and violence will never be realized until we do so. I pray for forgiveness for us all.
What is a Deep Evangelical?
Not more than five minutes after I posted the words “Deep Evangelical” in the post directly below this one, did I receive an e-mail inquiry asking about the phrase. I will explain what I mean by “Deep Evangelical” in a bit. So, stay tuned. Thanks!
In Dire Search of Something to Transform
Note: The following is a short piece I wrote for a leadership class I recently completed at the liberal seminary I attend. The class drive was toward what was called “transformative leadership.” The practical and theological question(s) inherent to my following reflections are being asked from within a specific context, and speak directly to this context. What is this context? The context is one wherein a liberal religious organization is proclaimed before an authentic religious center is identified. I am simply at a loss as to how one can in fact become a “transformative leader” in an organization which lacks something tangible to actually transform. I am not a religious liberal, or a progressive Christian. I am a Deep Evangelical who is dedicated to orthodox Christianity and practice. I am thus largely because of time spent bewildered in liberal religious settings, which only resulted in questions as follows. Read More »
Joseph Smith and Mormonism
A 24-year-old Joseph Smith published the now famous “The Book of Mormon.” Smith’s mission was to restore original Christianity. The Christianity Smith witnessed was not the original, but a form corrupted by what was called “The Great Apostasy” (the apostasy began soon after Jesus’ ascension and remained until Smith’s First Vision in 1820). Smith says that while a teenager he was visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni directed him toward a hill where he discovered numerous artifacts and most importantly a book of golden plates upon which strange writings were etched. He returned to the hill over a period of years because he was not permitted to take the book of golden plates. The golden plates were translated over time with the help of friends and later became known as the “Book of Mormon: An account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the Plates of Nephi” (the title was translated directly from the title page, according to Smith). Smith had baptized several followers by the time The Book of Mormon was published. Kirtland, Ohio served as the location of the world’s first Mormon temple. Smith’s many, many followers consider him to be an “American Prophet” (the first latter-day prophet). Joseph Smith also thought that God approved of polygamy.
