Paul's Idea Of Sonship Is Not Absolute And Developed Over Time

In Galatians it's a fact meant to distinguish starkly God's elect under the promise:

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.

-- Galatians 4:4ff.

But by the time of the composition of Romans the fact of it is no longer susceptible of any unqualified absolute "spiritual" interpretation which flies in the face of reality. Instead sonship finally depends upon the resurrection of the body and apart from that still remains tenuous because of human weakness. Adoption as sons in the final analysis remains contingent upon the advent of the general resurrection from the dead at the last judgment:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

-- Romans 8:22f.

A Rob Bell Sympathizer Admits "Spiritual" Experience Can Be Manufactured

"[S]o many Christian teachers oversell, and therefore inevitably underdeliver—or better, put God in the position where he will underdeliver. I suspect that in many cases, they are merely using hyperbole to drive home a point, but I'm convinced that readers and listeners take such exaggerations literally because they desperately want them to be true. ...

"I myself have experienced a healing of severe pain in my leg. I have also almost been "slain in the Spirit" (but got hold of myself just in time!). And as the Spirit leads, I speak in tongues. I have also had ecstatic experiences when the love of God penetrated my whole being.

"And in a life of 60 years, I can count these experiences on one hand. Because I've had such experiences, I understand perfectly the desire to have them all the time, and to imagine that maybe there is a technique, a method, a way to pray, a way to be open and alert—something!—that will allow me to experience this daily. Believe me, I tried that for a while and discovered that, yes, I could manufacture something very similar to a genuine spiritual experience. But it soon became clear that the search for daily wonder was creating a religion of Mark Galli."

-- Mark Galli, here

Yeah, well, what if the "genuine" experiences were in fact manufactured, too? It's the rare, unwilling conversions which interest me, the road-to-Damascus sort which are devoid of "the religion of feeling". Rob Bell's religion of feeling, on the other hand, appeals to an American culture which has finally surrendered to the sentimental in the post-war period because of the triumph of liberalism. And in an important sense Romanticized Christianity from the Great Awakening onward paved the way for that victory, just as it paved the way for socialism and communism in early 20th century Europe. To be converted today is to reject all these forms of Christianity.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?"

-- Jeremiah 17:9

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever."

-- Psalm 73:26

A Little Greek Lesson For Rob Bell From Mark 9:44-48

3 dits, 4 dits, 2 dits, dah!

Bell's hell's not eternal, despite ou tel-eu-ta.

dit dah, dit dit dit, dit dit dit!

Broad is the way that leadeth to the pit.

For Destruction Ice Would Suffice, As It Has In The Past

The maximum extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, or Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), occurred approximately 18,000 years ago (Figure 2). During peak glacial conditions, the ice sheet was about 2 km thick over Eastern Ontario and as much as 3 km thick to the north over what is now Hudson Bay. At this time, in the east, ice extended almost as far south as present-day New York City, and throughout northern Pennsylvania (Gilbert 1994). The eastern part of the ice margin was constrained by the Appalachian plateau (extending across several of the present-day eastern States), whereas its southward extent in the west was greater: the ice sheet had by about 20 ka BP reached south-central Illinois (Hansel and Johnson 1992).

For more, see here.

There Goes The Apple Crop Again: None Escape His Wrath

Obama Purges Christians From Military, Sexual Assaults Skyrocket

From the story in Crisis Magazine, A Voice For The Faithful Catholic Laity, here:

This week Congress mulled over the Pentagon’s admission that sexual assault cases have spiked 35 percent in the last two years. ... 

In 2010, Admiral Michael Mullen informed a Christian chaplain who opposed the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that “if you cannot get in line, resign your commission.” That same year Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick told “bigoted” soldiers to “get with the program” or “get out.”  In 2011, the Army, until a backlash prevented the change, planned on tweaking its visiting guidelines at Walter Reed Medical Center to read: “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.” In 2012, officials at the Air Force erased the Latin word for God, Dei, from the logo of the Rapid Capabilities Office. The logo had said in Latin “Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money.” It was changed to: “Doing Miracles with Other People’s Money.” ...

Meanwhile, Congress is baffled at how the culture of the military could permit so much sexual mischief. An exasperated Senator Angus King of Maine said, “Within the Air Force, it has to become unacceptable culturally.” It is a little late for politicians to be lamenting the loss of traditional mores.  The two trends within the military on display in the press recently—rising cases of sexual misconduct , declining Christian presence—are exactly what they should expect.

The Great Equalizer To The Wise

 

You shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

-- Leviticus 19:32

And They Say Religious People Trust In Mere Myths

The top ten most-trusted (!) people in America specialize in pure fiction, story-telling, fantasy, mere representation, poetry, acting, unreality, emotionalism, entertainment and gaming, and the technology to deliver it all. In a word, liars.

1. Tom Hanks

2. Sandra Bullock

3. Denzel Washington

4. Meryl Streep

5. Maya Angelou

6. Steven Spielberg

7. Bill Gates

8. Alex Trebek

9. Melinda Gates

10. Julia Roberts.

Story here.

The Kingdom Is Coming So Quickly There Isn't Even 24 Hours To Bury The Dead

 

 And a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." And Jesus saith unto him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." And another of his disciples said unto Him, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus said unto him, "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."

-- Matthew 8:19ff.

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

-- Luke 9:57ff.

What Do Ancient Jewish And Our Sluts Have In Common?

"She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse."

-- Ezekiel 23:20

The World Upside Down In Two Pictures

Out but in

Just plain out

Will Love Come To An End, Or Not?

 

"Love never comes to an end."

-- 1 Cor. 13:8

"The love of many will grow cold."

-- Matthew 24:12

"And you will be hated by all for my name's sake."

-- Matthew 10:22

"And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake."

-- Matthew 24:9

"And you will be hated by all for my name's sake."

-- Mark 13:13

"You will be hated by all for my name's sake."

-- Luke 21:17

"And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

-- Luke 18:7f.

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

-- Psalm 136:1

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

-- Psalm 34:18

Matthew's Jesus Came To End The World, Not Save It

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ... And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. ... And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

-- Matthew 10:5ff, 14f., 22f.

The Synoptic Jesus Did Not Expect Many To Be Saved

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

-- Matthew 7:13f

"For many are called, but few are chosen."

-- Matthew 22:14

And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

-- Luke 13:23f.

"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'"

-- Matthew 7:21ff.

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

-- Matthew 24:21f.


And [the disciples] were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Mark 10:26

When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Matthew 19:25

"And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."

-- Mark 13:20

And they that heard it said, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Luke 18:26

Did The Many Women Followers Of Jesus "Say Goodbye To Everything They Owned"?

Or keep it but devote it to cook for him and the disciples?

"And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Mag'dalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joan'na, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, who customarily served him out of their own possessions." -- Luke 8:1ff.

"So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." -- Luke 14:33

One Thing Needful, Or Two?

 

Two things I ask of thee; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.

-- Proverbs 30:7ff.

And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her."

-- Luke 10:39ff.

If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there

 

 

 

If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

-- Psalm 139:8

True Repentance: The "Cannot Be My Disciple" Sayings Are All Luke's

walk away

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

-- Luke 14:26f.

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

-- Luke 14:33

God's Judgment May Tarry For Centuries . . . Or Not

"After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction."

-- Genesis 15:16

Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. "Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" they asked. "Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it."

-- Genesis 19:12f.

Sorrow is better than laughter, Mourning better than mirth

For the trials and travails of the week that was, for the intemperate threats of an immature Kim Jong Un, for the annual reckoning that is tax day, for the two-day collapse in gold prices, for the inconvenience of a local power outage, for old friends who no longer act like it, for the Boston Marathon Terror Massacre, for the death of a loved one in the family far away, for the passing and funeral of Margaret Thatcher, for torrential rains and winds and record-setting floods in West Michigan, the words of The Preacher:

"A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."

-- Ecclesiastes 7:1ff

If It Weren't For Islam You Wouldn't Need A "Coexist" Bumper Sticker At All

So says Mark Steyn, here:

"[I]f it weren’t for that Islamic crescent you wouldn’t need a bumper sticker at all." 

One Man's Altar Is Another Man's Alter

Jesus, Cleaver Of Relationships, Especially Family Ones

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."

-- Luke 12:51ff.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

-- Matthew 10:34ff.

"Love your enemies."

-- Luke 6:27, Matthew 5:44

What Belongs To Caesar Belongs To God, Because Even Caesar Belongs To God

The earth is the Lord's . . . and they that dwell therein . . . whether they like it or not.

Who Rules The World, The Lord Or The Devil?

"He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and on them he has set the world."

-- 1 Samuel 2:8

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."

-- Psalm 24:1

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. ... If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof."

-- Psalm 50:7, 12

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them."

-- Psalm 89:11

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"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out."

-- John 12:31

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me."

-- John 14:30

"[T]he ruler of this world is judged."

-- John 16:11

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

-- Ephesians 6:12

The Sons of the Kingdom and of the Evil One Must Coexist Until The End

Weeds among the Oregon hard red wheat

And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'

-- Matthew 13:27ff.

(image source)

Explaining America's Obsession With Perfect Lawns

"The weeds are the sons of the evil one."

-- Matthew 13:38

If You Turn Up Your Nose At God, He Will Turn Up His At You?

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." -- Gal. 6:7

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." -- Matthew 5:44f.

Wisest Thing Barry Ritholtz Ever Said

Here.

The problem is, he may one day soon come to believe it's an original insight, along with the other insights he's had which he thinks are original but are not.

"It is exceedingly difficult to change the world. It is apparently impossible to change human nature."

He Hath Done All Things Excellently

Libertarian John Tamny says humans are capital

 

 

 

 Here, just in time for Holy Week.

Yeah. The life of Jesus was worth just 30 pieces of silver. Maybe 30 of these Tyrian tetradrachms, about 4 months' skilled wages.

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. ... When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." So they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me."

-- Matthew 26: 14f., Matthew 27:3ff.

If Agape Is So Special . . .

If agape is so special . . . then how come you can:

love darkness with it? (John 3:19)

Or the praise of men? (John 12:43)

Or worldly treasures? (Matthew 6:24)

Or the best seats in the synagogues, and shows of respect in the streets? (Luke 11:43)

Or little? (Luke 7:47)

You kids out there might want to come up with something else for "my bad".

A "bad" person, "inferior in quality" from 1200 C.E., from Old English baeddel or baedling, an "effeminate man", a "hermaphrodite", a "pederast", from baedan, "to defile". 

Some Historical Problems Of The Palm Sunday Accounts

• Mark 10-11 has the healing of the blind Bartimaeus at Jericho immediately precede the Palm Sunday event, otherwise known as the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Matthew 20-21 has the healing of two unnamed blind men at Jericho precede it, while Luke 18-19 has the healing of a single unnamed blind man at Jericho precede the assembling of crowds hailing Jesus riding into Jerusalem. But John 11-12 has no such healing of anyone blind at Jericho at all. Rather John has the presence of the previously raised from the dead Lazarus now back at Bethany, not mentioned by the other Gospels. It is Lazarus arisen the crowds are there to see in John, and his miracle worker Jesus.

• Mark has a single colt for Jesus to ride in procession, found by two disciples, Matthew has an ass and a colt, and Luke has one colt, whereas John has Jesus find a single young ass for himself without the aid of disciples.

• Mark has both garments and branches strewn in the way before Jesus as does Matthew, but Luke has only garments and knows no branches of any kind, whereas John knows no garments but only palm branches.

• Mark says the crowds blessed the Kingdom of David that comes in the name of the Lord as Jesus proceeded on his way, in addition to blessing He that comes in the name of the Lord. But Matthew has only the latter, while Luke has the crowds explicitly bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord, as does John who expands that to the King "of Israel". In Luke the additional intruding narrative about Zacchaeus at Jericho also includes the expectation of the people that the Kingdom of God would appear forthwith.

• The Synoptics agree that Jesus enters Jerusalem after the procession, and heads straight for the Temple. In Mark however it is an anticlimactic reconnoitering mission only, with Jesus entering, having a look around, and retreating overnight to Bethany. Jesus cleanses the Temple only on his return the next day. In Matthew, however, Jesus cleanses the Temple immediately on the same day as the triumphal entry, and hangs around also to perform healings, which elicit Hosannas from the children there, to which the scribes and chief priests object, only after which he retreats to overnight in the safety of Bethany. In Luke the objection is from the Pharisees, to the earlier procession pronouncement Blessed Be The King, not to the Temple healings and acclamations per se, which Luke does not mention. For now Jesus is found in Luke daily teaching in the Temple, where the chief priests and scribes engage him in debate but are frustrated in their attempts to destroy him because he was too popular with the people, a sentiment also expressed in Mark. Matthew includes the Pharisees with the chief priests in fearing the multitude supporting Jesus, which kept him ring fenced and out of their reach. Still by night, Jesus in Luke is said to be retreating to the Mount of Olives.

• John, of course, locates the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, not at the end of it as in the Synoptics, right after the first of his miracles, the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana. Instead, at this point in John's narrative the hubbub producing the Palm Sunday event crowds is the presence of Lazarus at Bethany, and Jesus' public return there after having gone into hiding after raising him from the dead. It is this Lazarus event which the Pharisees see as the cause of the whole world going after him, not the Jericho miracle, and preventing them from prevailing against him. The subsequent entry into Jerusalem, however, is inconclusive in John, if he ever really makes it on this try. A voice thunders from heaven during an interlude in the procession, after which Jesus again goes back into hiding. We next meet him, all of a sudden, days later at a Passover meal in Jerusalem.

Both the Synoptic accounts and John's portray a Jesus who looks less certain of what he's supposed to be doing next than is often admitted. The inconsistency of the more minor details of the narratives suggests there was trouble with this part of the tradition which was not susceptible of easy resolution. It is noteworthy that quite apart from the cleansing of the Temple, the people's acclamation of Jesus as their King, and his refusal to disown it, can stand alone as the reason for his eventual arrest, trial and execution. It is not necessary to make the Temple cleansing the straw which somehow broke the camel's back.

In the Synoptic accounts Jesus is more or less retreating from Jerusalem to Bethany or its vicinity nightly, the cleansing of the Temple having accomplished nothing in the way of ushering in the Kingdom of God. As earlier in the sending out of the disciples to proclaim the gospel in Matthew 10, the failure of the Kingdom to materialize meant to regroup and move forward, not give up. Accordingly Jesus appears to use willingly the protective curtain of the multitudes for safety by day, and hiding out of town under cover of darkness by night. In Mark you almost get the impression that he is nonplussed on arrival at the Temple after all the fuss made over him, says what now, and retreats to Bethany to figure out what to do next. The events in Gethsamene a few days later with armed disciples under cover of darkness suggest further indecisiveness, not purpose. He does not go willingly to slaughter. He has not yet surrendered all. Perhaps just the opposite of the what the text says, he really did call on his father's legions of angels, but they did not come. And from there it was not far to My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

In John the picture of a Jesus hiding out from the authorities is more thoroughgoing. He has to flee, for example, after raising Lazarus, and does so again on Palm Sunday itself, not reappearing until the night in which he was betrayed (nevermind the problem that his attempted entry into Jerusalem appears to be a day later than in the Synoptics). That is all the more remarkable because at least in this part of John's narrative Jesus' pretensions to being the coming King of Israel smack more of an earthly than of the heavenly one of the rest of the narrative. The explicit reference to the palm branches strewn in the procession as opposed to the more generic parts of trees as in the Synoptics must have signified the end of the present earthly conflict with Rome and the commencement of a new era of peace.

It was not to be.  

Neither Abraham, Nor The Lord, Kept Kosher At Mamre

The Oak of Mamre in 2008

"And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead [it], and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave [it] unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat."

-- Genesis 18:1ff.

Why Lent Is A Protestant's Favorite Time Of Year

The Market Is Like The Devil

One little word can fell him.

Interesting Description Of Catholic Right Wing

Interesting description of the American Catholic right wing (seen here in the comments):

• Libertarian in economics -- The Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan

• Pro-torture -- Rev. Robert A. Sirico, President of The Acton Institute, and Raymond Arroyo, EWTN News Director

• Pro-preventative war -- George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Richard John Neuhaus, First Things

Interesting description of inter-war period Catholic Europe:

• Grandmothers of Bolshevism -- Oswald Spengler

Just When You Think You've Heard It All, Along Comes "Grilled Cheesus"

GrilledCheesus.com bought an ad on Larry Kudlow's WABC radio program this morning.

Just in time for Easter!

Here's the link.

The New Pope On Same Sex Marriage

“This is no mere legislative bill. It is a move by the father of lies to confuse and deceive the children of God.” (Pope Francis I, quoted here)

The Purpose Of Life: The Heavens Declare The Glory Of God, And So Do We

 

Can you hear the sound the universe makes?

 

Can you hear the sound that you make with it?

 

Just by living you make that sound, perhaps especially when you say nothing at all.

 

Let all mortal flesh keep silence before Him! So be! So do! Speak, and be silent! So create, and take your rest! For everything there is a season. Let the excellence of it be! Do well! Give thanks in everything. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might! To the glory of His holy name! 

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

--Psalm 19:1ff.

Joel Miller Misunderstands "Martyr" From Every Angle

Joel Miller, here:

"Coptic Christians have long tattooed their wrists with small crosses, little blue-green marks that silently profess their faith. It’s not without irony that the word witness in Greek is martyr. Copts are often harassed by Muslim neighbors for their markings, and reports of Christian girls forced into Muslim marriages include references to having their crosses cut out or burnt off with acid."

Not only did Greek "martyr" not have the sense Christians later came to invest it with but had instead a long judicial pedigree which informs the main sense of "witness" in the New Testament itself, the idea of actually craving to be tortured and killed for Christ like Ignatius is probably the last thing on the Copts' minds when they get a small tattoo on the wrist. It's like an identity card you flash to identify yourself to a fellow Christian, or to a westerner you assume is Christian, in a country where you need all the friends you can get. 

Was Jesus "Good"? He Didn't Seem To Think So.

 

 

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

-- Mark 10:18

Single Sense Exegesis v. The Multiple Senses Of Scripture

Single sense exegesis produces multiple good outcomes

The multiple meanings of "Stop" produce multiple bad outcomes

Devil's Dictionary Definition Of "Proselyte"

Proselyte: Twofold more child of hell than yourself.

Also happens to be Jesus' definition in Matthew.

I Went To Church Today, Oh Boy . . .

 

 

I went to church today, Oakhill Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, oh boy . . . the English Army had just lost the war.

"The church is incredibly confused about grace" the pastor said.

"The law is scary stuff" he said.

Everywhere we turn in today's society, he had started, all we see is law and legalism. "Grace is above the law" he ended, as if that meant paraenesis were secondary, or the law so dangerous that it must be kept locked up in the ark against its purpose. The man obviously never contemplated the Lutheran demand for Law and Gospel, the letters of Paul, a mezuzah, or teffilin.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

-- 1 Cor.6:9f.

We have millions of dead in our country from abortion. Do Christians need to reminded that this is murder? They lose themselves in an hour of praise in a church with daring hands held high to God when they should be lying prostrate in sackcloth and ashes.

Millions are in defiance of God's law of marriage, even in the church which blesses broken union after broken union while they eat bread and wine. Do they need to be reminded that divorce is against God's law?

Millions support the right, the right, to live in sexual immorality, as if that had something to do with what the founders of the country meant. Do they need to be reminded that this was not their intent, that the founders accepted the moral code of the Bible and thought our constitution would not survive without a Christian population?

Millions now support homosexuality, unimaginable just a generation ago. Do they need to be reminded that this is against nature and nature's God? And yet this pastor calls it a law-oriented society, when it is fast becoming nothing but a nation of greater and greater lawlessness.

If ever there were a time for grace, this is not it. It is instead a time for condemnation, repentance, separation and woe. A time for Christians to flee from the wrath which is surely coming.

I Dig A Hate Crime

 

 

 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

-- Psalm 139:21f

And Now, A Word On Behalf Of Legalism

 

 

 

 Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them stumble.

-- Psalm 119:165

Some People Go To Hell On Purpose

This was my hell from 1986-1989. My cell number was 406A. The only person who befriended me there was Ioan Culianu. He was murdered in the same bathroom I used for three years, two years after I left. Sometimes I wonder which one of us got out alive.

Rod Dreher And David Bentley Hart Finally Say Something Wholly Agreeable And Right

 

 

Here:

If you don’t believe there is any cosmic order undergirding the visible world, and if you don’t believe that you are obliged to harmonize your own behavior with that unseen order (the Tao, you might say), then why should you bind yourself to moral precepts you find disagreeable or uncongenial? The most human act could be not to yield to nature, but to defy nature. Why shouldn’t you? Or, to look at it another way, why should we consider our own individual desires unnatural? Does the man who sexually and emotionally desires union with another man defying [sic] nature? Well, says Hart, it depends on what you consider nature to be.

In the final analysis the struggle for conservatism in America is the struggle for America, the struggle for the priority of what Russell Kirk called the permanent things, for what Plato called the ideas, for what Moses called the words written by the finger of God on the holy mountain, for what Paul claimed was written on every Gentile heart, perhaps even for what the Confucians called the mandate of heaven, and surely for what George Washington called an indispensable support: the religion and morality we all once shared, "with slight shades of difference" he said.

It is fundamentally the struggle for the priority of a transcendent moral order which cannot be derisively swept aside as passe "social issues." Neither "fiscal conservatism" nor liberty can exist without "Thou shalt not steal." There can be no rapprochement with libertarianism, not even as a private matter, and the First Amendment must be rescued from those who insist its intent was inspired by the ideological thinking of the Enlightenment's atheists rather than by the progress of specifically Christian weariness with internecine warfare over religion.

Why The Papal Resignation Was Unwise

J2P2

Joseph Bottum, here:

"In other words, the modern world doesn’t really need to see in the pope a model of competent administration, nice as that would be. It does need, however, a public reminder that we are not incapacitated as human beings when we age and prepare to die. We are not to be tucked away or compelled by moral pressure to remove our lives and deaths from public view. The older vision of life is the more complete one, and in today’s world, perhaps uniquely, we are in special need of remembering that."

Jesus Denied That Foods Make One Unclean

 

 

"Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

-- Mark 7:18ff.

God Forbids Eating Road Kill And Other Dead Critters

"Then said I, 'Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.'"

-- Ezekiel 4:14