JUDGMENTALISM

from The Sacred Sandwich:

Posted on 16 March 2009

Jan thought about warning the diver that the pool wasn’t filled with water, but she didn’t want to appear too judgmental.

George Whitefield and Naps In Church

This approach may not be directly transferable to our day and context, but I think more men would do well to have Whitefield’s chutzpah:

He [Whitefield] had complete confidence in the authority of his message, and was determined that it should receive the respect it deserved as God’s Word. Once in a New Jersey meeting-house he “noticed an old man settling down for his accustomed, sermon-time nap”, writes John Pollock, one of his biographers. Whitefield began his sermon quietly, without disturbing the gentleman’s slumbers. But then “in measured, deliberate words” he said:

“If I had come to speak to you in my own name, you might rest your elbows upon your knees and your heads on your hands, and go to sleep!…But I have come to you in the name of the Lord God of hosts, and (he clapped his hands and stamped his foot) I must and I will be heard.” The old man woke up startled.

(John Stott, Between Two Worlds, 32-33)

HT: The Fool’s Gold

Ancient Arminian Manuscript

By Jason Robertson

CAIRO, EGYPT – In a stunning discovery, archaeologists working near ancient Alexandria have come upon what appears to be a second century manuscript of Luke’s gospel. This particular manuscript, which is in excellent condition, had been sitting in a clay jar in what appears to have been an old storage chamber under several levels of city streets. Lead archaeologist Dr. Wilson Davies, professor of Middle Eastern history at Southern Methodist University, told TBNN, “We are very excited about this find. We believe it will shed light on what Luke was really trying to tell us so many years ago. The chapter 15 passage in particular is very interesting.” In most bibles Luke 15:4-5 reads something like this, “”What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” According to the archaeological team, this new manuscript reads differently. In Greek, it says in Luke 15:4-5: “What sheep of you when you are lost does not leave the open country and go after the shepherd until you find him? And when you have found him, you jump on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Dr. Davies defended the find by stating that the manuscript does not appear to have any tampering and appears authentic. According to Davies, “This manuscript just lends further support to our Wesleyan-Methodist theology at SMU. Ever since John Wesley himself, we have believed that it is man who chooses God. This manuscript, which could be a copy of the original writing of Luke himself, supports our beliefs. It is now clear that the sheep searches for the shepherd instead of the shepherd searching for the sheep.” ___________________

Addressing Real Need

from Out of Ur:

Lost Sheep Looks for Shepherd

Thanks to Tominthebox News Network…

CAIRO, EGYPT – In a stunning discovery, archaeologists working near ancient Alexandria have come upon what appears to be a second century manuscript of Luke’s gospel. This particular manuscript, which is in excellent condition, had been sitting in a clay jar in what appears to have been an old storage chamber under several levels of city streets.

Lead archaeologist Dr. Wilson Davies, professor of Middle Eastern history at Southern Methodist University, told TBNN, “We are very excited about this find. We believe it will shed light on what Luke was really trying to tell us so many years ago. The chapter 15 passage in particular is very interesting.”

In most bibles Luke 15:4-5 reads something like this, “”What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

According to the archaeological team, this new manuscript reads differently. In Greek, it says in Luke 15:4-5: “What sheep of you when you are lost does not leave the open country and go after the shepherd until you find him? And when you have found him, you jump on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

Dr. Davies defended the find by stating that the manuscript does not appear to have any tampering and appears authentic. According to Davies, “This manuscript just lends further support to our Wesleyan-Methodist theology at SMU. Ever since John Wesley himself, we have believed that it is man who chooses God. This manuscript, which could be a copy of the original writing of Luke himself, supports our beliefs. It is now clear that the sheep searches for the shepherd instead of the shepherd searching for the sheep.”

Smart Wolf

The wolf found that shepherd’s clothing worked even better. (from Reverend Fun Cartoons)

Antidotes to Contemporary Stupefaction

Doug Groothius has done it again – compiled an indispensable list. Oh, how I love his lists… JB 

1. Read old, challenging books.
2. Talk to people in situations with no background noise.
3. Pray through the Psalms.
4. Read the Book of Ecclesiastes multiple times until it sinks in.
5. Talk to older people and really listen to them.
6. Sit in silence, doing nothing for short or long periods of time (but not in a yoga posture).
7. Thank God for what cannot be taken away.
8. Write a letter (not an email) to a friend or family member.
9. See a worthwhile film and then talk about it with a group of people. Don’t use the word “awesome.”
10. Drive in silence–no radio, music, cell phones, etc.
11. Listen to John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” until you get it. But don’t accept the theology of the liner notes.
12. Fast and pray for a few days (without telling anyone who doesn’t need to know).
13. Pray written prayers from The Book of Common Prayer.
14. Read historical confessional statements such as The Thirty Nine Articles or The Westminster Confession of Faith or The Athansian Creed.
15. Do not interrupt people when you talk with them. Do not finish their sentences. Maybe they are looking for just the right word.
16. Weep with those who weep.
17. Stop watching television for one week. Note what happens to your soul.
18. Listen to a classic book on tape when you are driving.
19 Buy someone a book they wouldn’t buy for themselves and ask them to read it.
20. Pray for strangers as they pass you by.
21. Take communion on a regular basis.
22. Look for opportunities to share the Gospel with strangers in creative ways. (I’ve done it in a public steam bath several times.)
23. Listen to Mars Hill Audio interviews.

Now, dear readers, please add a few of your own to his incomplete list.

How to be a Popular “Evangelical” Writer

from Doug Groothius 

1. Write on a controversial topic with little understanding of it.
2. Be autobiographical.
3. Luxuriate in metaphors you don’t understand.
4. Take potshots at “foundationalism,” “propositional truth,” and “modernism,” without defining, explaining, or actually arguing against them.
5. Chose a clever title for your book like, “Plastic Jesus” or “Velour Bono,” or “Red like Rock.”
6. Make the book short, with plenty of graphics.
7. Make a video to go with the book. No, make a series of them.
8. Write in incomplete sentences. Like this.
9. Use plenty of one sentence paragraphs, like this:

Huh?

10. Advocate something historically rejected by Christians in the name of “tolerance” or “freedom” or “postmodernism” or “authenticity.”
11. Be sure to “reinvent,” “deconstruct,” “reimagine,” “reconceive,” and “emerge.”
12. Pose on your yoga mat for the back cover, smirking.

posted by Doug Groothuis at 12:39 AM 3 comments

Fish Food

 

 

 

  

HT to Out of Ur

The Downside of Finding Your “Purpose”

from Extreme Theology

Bill Cosby tells a story about a friend who tried to convince him to try cocaine by claiming that it enhances one’s personality. Cosby’s retort was classic. He asked, “Yeah, but what if you’re an ass****?”

I think the same principle applies to being “Purpose-Driven” and “finding your purpose”.