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156 comments:
As a certifiable weather geek, AND an amature photographer, I very much appreciated the link to the cool cloud pics.
Phil, thanks for exposing me to the best heresy on the web! The simulation argument is irrefutable if you belive the premise (Successful Evolution To Date). How could we not be sure we are living in a simulation to the benefit of someone else, having no real purpose and no accountability. This is the best logical extension of neo-Darwinism I've ever come accross.
The other great hope of the BASICALLY GOOD MAN syndrome is transhumanism. You have to download the Gooogle Movie "Building Gods" to get the full dose. Sure, technological imortality is right around the corner. These "Futurists" are truly brilliant thinks and have professed themselves wise to help us dullards out, less we fear what they have to offer.
Keep up the good links, it helps me understand modern (post) thought better and can help me witness of the Creator (not Simulator) to those around me.
You did know the curator of those cloud photos was a new age crackpot, right? Still, the photos are pretty cool.
The Campolo article was right on...
The campolo/emergent this was out of the top drawer
Sorry, bad grammar
Glad to see the links are still there.
I couldn't get the computer to work back when you were soliciting comments on whether to keep 'em or dump 'em.
Big fan of Mendlesshon's Elijah. Back before I started spending all my time singing new-fangled Christian praise heresy ( ;) ) I sang the tenor solo "Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth" from that oratorio a couple of times. It's one of those pieces that's easy to do, but almost impossible to do well.
Which recording do you have?
Chris: "Which recording do you have?"
It's amazing what you can learn about your own relatives on the Internet.
In college (30 years ago) I wrote a term paper about the evangelical spin Mendelssohn wrote into Elijah's libretto with the help of Julius Schubring, a Lutheran pastor and friend of the composer. Mendelssohn was of Jewish descent, and Elijah was the perfect vehicle for him to honor his Jewish roots while proclaiming a New Covenant message. The final few choruses, which critics have occasionally denounced as extraneous and anticlimactic, are actually the best part of the oratorio musically, and they contain the heart of the messaage Mendelssohn wanted to convey. Although he and Schubring disagreed somewhat as to whether the work should be dramatic or sermonic (Mendelssohn opting for the former the pastor preferring the latter, of course), they both wanted the oratorio to declare the gospel plainly. He succeeded.
Anyway, I had three fine recordings of Elijah way back in the days of vinyl LPs. Nowadays I have at least seven full recordings (one or two of which I haven't ripped to my iPod yet. I have loaded on my iPod this one (in German), and (in English) this, this, and this. My favorite is the Chandos recording with Richard Hickox and the LSO. I linked to this one because I like the cover best.
Phil,
You may want to tell people to fast foward to about 9 min. 30. seconds into that "idiot stew" link from Way of the Master. They are all going to be scratching their heads if you don't.
Nice plug, though
Fred
Phil, would love to ask what aspect of the Wells "Earthly Pow'rs" book you find the most compelling. Feel free to leave a comment at prayforrevival.blogspot.com
Thanks.
So tell me, what makes Keith Olbermann a "...left-wing nutbag propagandist.." etc.? Is it because he dared to criticize Bush? As a Christian who is a REAL conservative (as opposed to the current big govermnent neo-cons) I think he's dead to rights in his criticisms of the Bush administration policies! If you don't want to listen to Olbermann(since he's a "left-wing yadda-yadda-yadda"), then read Paul Craig Roberts, who was Assistant Secretry of the Treasuty under Reagon. You can't call him a crazed left-winger! He's very critical of the UN-conservative nature of Bush's policies. Take a look at his articles in the archives at www.lewrochwell.com. Or how about James Bovard, the author of "Feeling Your Pain" -a book about the abuses of govermnent power during the Clinton administration. However, he's become a pariah with many "conservatives" since critizing out current President in books such as "The Bush Betrayal". Read THAT book if you dare.
Too many Christians want to treat our President as St. Bush, Our Glorious Leader-Who Is Beyond Mere Human Criticism. Yet I don't remember these same Christian leaders refraining from criticizing the Clintons.(Some seemed almost non-stop in their radio programs and news letters.) My duty as a Christian is to PRAY for President Bush, not treat his every utterance as Sacred Text.
Robert: So tell me, what makes Keith Olbermann a "...left-wing nutbag propagandist.." etc.? Is it because he dared to criticize Bush?
I was pretty clear, I think: it's because of the way he did it. I expressed no opinion—and won't—on the policy issues. But if you watch Olbermann's rant again and honestly cannot see why anyone would think his style of delivery is hypocritical, irrational, and emotionally over the top, I prolly can't help you.
(Hint: read again what I wrote when I linked the clip. It helps if you pay close attention to the actual words, then compare my words to what Olbermann himself said.)
By the way, the implication that anyone who writes here would "treat [any politician's] every utterance as Sacred Text" is out of line. Play nice, or we won't let you play here at all.
Phil,
Point taken. Point taken.I apoligize for impling too much to your personal attitudes in my response. I DO admit I am getting frustrated by the obsequiousness to Republican politics - at the expense of Biblical truth - that I see in some parts of the evangelical Christian world lately. Just as the "Christian" liberals bow to the alter of Democratic politics.
Can we both admit that just as there is an irrational, visceral hate-anything-Bush-does atttitude on the far left today(most of the MSM, it seems), there is an attitute on the Christian right that Bush is "God's man" and therefore not to be criticized. It's very similar to the "don't criticize anything the preacher does because he's GOD'S MAN" in Hyalite (how do you spell it?) fundamentalist circles.
Yeah, you know, I looked at the transcript of the Olbermann rant again. None of my objections to this thing has anything whatsoever to do with anyone's political position. Consider:
1. He starts by referring to Chris Wallace as "a monkey posing as a newscaster."
2. He ends by questioning whether Bush is a "true American."
3. In the middle, as a visual backdrop for his bombast, he features a scene of a torture victim on a rack from the movie version of Orwell's "1984," while (ironically) he solemnly intones, "Bill Clinton did what almost none of us have done in five years. He has spoken the truth."
4. He called Bush "dishonest" while insisting that Bush personally orchestrated and ordered the Chris Wallace interview to ambush Clinton. Olbermann's exact words: "As with all the other nefariousness and slime of this, our worst presidency since James Buchanan, he is having it done for him, by proxy."
5. In the entire 10-minute rant, Olbermann did not give direct quotations or documentation for any of his angry insinuations. It was pure and simple propaganda, or rather the fulmination of a fanatic, delivered in a tone any tin-horn Aytatolla would be envious of.
So in this case, I'd be very careful about which side you compare to the Hylesites.
I really hate kung fu movies, which is really another way of saying that I hate myself for being unable to stop watching them.
For the sake of those of us who check out TeamPyro at work (during lunchtime), could you please identify links that are to youtube and other video sources, as our network blocks them. I get a nasty message about company policy when I click through accidentally.
Phil, can you please tell me where on earth you got a copy of the Buckaroo Banzai soundtrack? I've been trying to find it for the last 15 years or so.
Lee:
I think it's published only in Japan. But one of my sons ordered it for me from the Web.
Thanks! I'll check it out. That movie is one of my all-time favorites.
That pentacostal bedlam YouTube video with Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland is very sad.
I watched the Pentecostal mayhem thing with my 12 year old son looking over my shoulder.
His comment?
"Do those people ever look stupid. You'd kill me if I behaved that way"
Glad you're reading Oriana Fallaci. I think she's totally cool. The WSJ did some great interviews with her in recent years.
The middle east map you posted is very interesting. Amazing how you find these things.
Have you checked out "God Stuff" on YouTube? The videos are funny...sad...funny. Especially one where a "Sister Spring" describes why teen boys get acne.
The slow motion lighter thing was quite beautiful. Maybe I just like seeing hot gas give off light - but still - coooool...
Daniel:
If you liked the lighter, check "Zippo Tricks" in the "on My iPod" category.
After the Six Drummers I thought you were a little weird. Then I went to 99 rooms. That's worse than the nightmares I had a little kid.
Freil really outdid himself this time with "Revised Gospel Hymns for the Lukewarm Church." Wait until the staff hears this. . . .!
The Revised Gospel Hymns is one of the funniest things I have heard lately!
Phil,
Links I liked/"You thought TBN was bad? Try Christian Science TV"
is posted twice
Phil,
How come the book links are to Christianbook.com and not to the usual Amazon.com, or cheap buy.com?
The Six Drummer video is so absolutely cool. I sent it to my daughter (the one in a punk band living in Hollywood) because I know she will love it. I just slipped in the fact that I saw it on a Christian blog of a church that happens to be in the same vicinity she live in....more or less.
Phil,
The billboard video shows the falseness of our society. We do not live in the real world, but spend time in a fantasy world of perfection.
The link to the banning of blogging by the Restored CoG is also interesting. While some real concerns are expressed, they go overboard (but that's almost the definition of a cult, isn't it?).
I found the comment that last century was mostly Philadelphia and we are now living in Laodicea to be interesting. Those who hold to such a view of Revelation 2-3 twenty years ago were saying that the 19th century was Philadelphia and the 20th was Laodicea.
Blogging has become a socially accepted practice—just as are dating seriously too young, underage drinking and general misbehaving
I am a complete slave to peer-pressure, it's true. I feel so naughty.
"It could happen to me"?
Phil -- isn't that how you and I met? I mean, except for the fact that you took me to lunch instead of beating me with a pick handle, and of course the fact that we talked about the Gospel rather than Islam, and we took pictures and posted them on our blogs.
That's exactly what happened to you and me. It's Eerie.
Libbie:
You are naughty.
Now how do you feel?
Re: "Todd Friel dismantles an apostate TMC alumnus"
Now this is spooky. Just yesterday during a phone conversation I commented to a friend that there are professing Christians that wouldn't know what a Christian was if one fell from the sky and landed on their head.
Then, I listened to the Todd Friel show. Not only was the interviewee (Dan somebody or other) out in left field, the caller at the end of the hour made my point perfectly. Calling herself a Christian - with no idea why she was a Christian, and no idea how to tell someone else how to become one. It's sad that in our time there are still people like this, but there are plenty of them.
Every Christian should listen to that lady at the end of this audio link. If that doesn't give folks even more motivation to proclaim Christ and Him crucified to their friends, neighbors, loved ones, strangers... I don't know what will.
Rambling thoughts outloud...
Phil:
Love Bob Newhart's counseling technique. No wonder you can fit in so many counseling sessions in an eight-hour work day!
(Eight-hour work day? What's that??)
Phil,
Why'd you like
http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/staff/s-punch/samanthapunch.php
Dr. Samantha Punch, lecturer in sociology?
The Shuttle launch photos were taken from the WB-57 WAVE Aircraft
I found your blog and I was amazed at the title. As a fervent Christian and a retired fire investigator I find anyone (or group of people) that would pride themselves as "Pyromaniacs" to be tragic. Yes I understand our God is a consuming fire. But the redemptive fire of God's love and mercy does not equate in any way to the tragedy and destruction caused by arsonists. I have witnessed too much evil destruction and death wrought by.."pyromaniacs". The deaths of the 5 firefighters this past month is mocked by your sad title.
My comments are probably not appreciated however. As a former Protestant minister who has returned into full commnion with the Roman Catholic Church (now a Permanent Deacon) I suspect I may know where you believe I should be in regards to your flames.
Respectively, In Christ,
Harry Martin
Hey man, love the Gresham stuff. If you check out the post from my blog dated 11/13, there is a link to a speech that Machem gave before congress concerning the establishment of the Dept. of Education. My blog address is:
www.miryblog.blogspot.com
Coram Deo,
Rob
The "bus plunge" story is great. Reminds me a bit of the banter that newscasters employ at the end of the broadcast....just filling in space.
Your link to "Youch! On Reformation Day? Wow." (http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2006/11/07/)
shows a post-less blog.
I wonder...
if you read through the entire "248 ways to annoy people" and found more of them funny than not, does that mean you're annoying?
:o)
Re the "sprouts":
BWAhahahahaha!
Thanks for sharing that. Unfortunately I was singing the song for hours afterward...
Phil,
Reading 'God's plan for Israel'? When are we going to see some posts on that? :) Talk about a comment thread...
Compare/contrast with 'The Israel of God' by Palmer Robertson, and that would get some attention. I would really enjoy that one, and would take you up on a few things :)
SDG
That bat-eating centipede is alarming. I may not sleep tonight.
I'd also like to know how something like that "evolves".
Re: Andy's Early Comics Archive-Thanks for the link to it, great site...Coincidentally I had just been looking up turn of the century comic strips-and didn't really expect to find a wealth of them from a pyro link. I should've known better.
The comic speech balloon evolution sent me on a journey of early cartoonists. I checked out George Herriman who did Krazy Kat. He also illustrated a book my mother possessed that I gave to my daughter after my mom passed away recently. It was a well liked book in its time: archy and mehitabel. I used to look at all the pictures when I was a little girl. I reread it before I gave it to my daughter and realized that it was chock full of quotes that my mother repeated as far back as I can remember. Quotes like, "There is a dance in the old dame yet". Anyways, sort of a poignant moment for me.
Good stuff Phil. You rip me a new brain. come tell me what you think of my evangelism blog ala way of the master at streetfishing.blogspot.com
Just when I thought you couldn't suprise me you go and post up that you are listening to Itchycoo Park.
Dude, talk about taking me back.
Although I must say I never much listened to anything past "Immediate". The psychodelic thing wasn't me bag.
I need me one o' them helmets.
Oh come on Phil, that was the most obvious "please buy me one of these for my birthday" hints I've ever seen.
If you really wanted a Velostat-Thought-Protector-Helmut, all you had to do, was say so.
I wonder if they ward off telemarketers?
I see you are listening to Dr. S. Lewis Johnson's "Three Great Imputations" I've listened to his entire "Divine Purpose" series. I found it to be great stuff.
Keep up the good work on the blog,
Doug
Dear Phil:
I noticed in your sidebar links a reference to "Tim Zimmerman and the King's Brass."
Now, I am not familiar with The King's Brass, but I have met Tim Zimmerman. I met him and his then music partner, Marvin (Marvin's first name escapes me at the moment) back in the mid '80s when they played at my Alma Mater, Appalachian Bible College.
I have been looking for their album, "A Backwards Glance" for some time now. With joy I found it through your sidebar link, billed as "Tim Zimmerman's solo album" though the album cover plainly says, "Zimmerman & Marvin."
I knew the album cover because I have it on vinyl and have wanted to get it on CD. Thanks to your sidebar link, a copy on CD is on the way. Not only that, but it was only $15.98 through the website, and Amazon has one copy for $29.95--so I got a good price to boot.
Former Canadian defence minister. And that was in the 1960's. We don't believe that stuff anymore.
That dish thing with the girl on the unicycle? We do that in the backyard, except the dishes are made of ice and it's usually 95 degrees outside -- we can get it fixed before the ice melts.
Before breakfast.
Hi all!
Phil, do you have a public e-mail address that I can use to ask a question of you? Nothing personal (it's a theology question), I just didn't want to get a post off topic and I'm not sure if this is the place either. (Took me weeks just to realize this was here!)
~Mark:
It's Phil [at] Spurgeon [dot] org
Maybe the best thing about this thread is that it's like a running conversation of regulars. I didn't have a clue what half the stuff was that people were commenting on, yet I could still appreciate it because of who was commenting.
Just wondering where FIDEO's link on the blogroll went?
and why?
Christ Follower: "Just wondering where FIDEO's link on the blogroll went?
Dawg house.
and why?"
Are you serious!!??
Let me just say this: Even if an all-star blogger like Tim Challies adopted a new view on some secondary issue—let's suppose, for example, that he decided he's a trichotomist or a paedobaptist or a non-cessationist or a foot-washer (none of which we really care much about)—and then spent 5 or six months blogging about it nonstop, every day, we'd get bored with him and drop him from the blogroll.
In fact, I'll go even further: if John MacArthur himself started playing one note all the time, nonstop, with the volume getting louder and more ear-piercing all the time, I'd de-link the Pulpit Live blog.
When the Dawgs move beyond the adolescent stage of their newfound eschatalogical fervor, we'll put them back on the blogroll.
Maybe.
But we'll prolly reinstate the "irritating" category and keep them there for at least as long as they have kept their end-times blog-marathon alive.
Don't misunderstand. We still like them. But every now and then, even the "Best in Show" needs a solid thwack with a rolled up newspaper. When you're dealing with junkyard dawgs, a good, solid stake and a short chain is sometimes a more effective remedy.
nuff said,
and by the way, he's still going at it.
thanks.
You have excellent taste in tunes.
Thanks a lot Phil for adding "Good Morning Starshine" to your iPod. Now, I have an amateur crooner belting it out all over the house.
Phil, I just had a question about Romans 10. When Paul uses the quote from Ps 19 in v18, the quote supports the universality of general revelation, but the context has been about the gospel. I think that the "they" in 14-18 must refer to all humanity, but it seems like he has just emphasized the need for concrete communication of the gospel (14-17). So in 18 when he says "surely they have never heard, have they?", I think he is saying, "Since faith comes through a concrete means (the hearing of the Word), surely (rhetorical) the problem with humanity is that they have never heard the Word." He then answers his own question, saying, "In truth, they have heard." And then backs it up with the quote from Ps 19. Maybe you can help with this? Thanks.
Wow, that SacBee piece was pretty intense...
The photo essay about a mom and her son who had cancer was really heart wrenching. Seeing those photos and events of the past week sure reminds us to hold our loved ones close.
Phil, you're reading Crowder? I'm shocked... I love his music("You are my Joy" was my favorite song of '06), but expect that he registers high on the pomo wacky meter.
Phil, some friend and I have recently launched a website called ContendForTruth.com. We are in the "building" stages of the project as far as our writing goes, but we figure quality over quantity. As cheap of a plug as this is, we welcome anyone to take a look.
More specifically, though, I would like to call your attention to a particular article which I have written. In it I suggest a new alliance in which I think you would be interested. It is known as P.A.T.M.A. - Preachers Against Too Much Alliteration. I'm sure you'll appreciate it.
To go directly to the article just tag on "/nonsense/data/ic_nonsense/2/" at the end of ContendforTruth.com.
THANKS
Those deep-sea fish are gross. You ever eat any of those?
Phil, I would like your thoughts on Answers in Genesis' new Creation Museum. Here is an article NYTimes wrote on it: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/arts/24crea.html
And here is the Creation Museum Official Website: http://answersingenesis.org/search/default.aspx?oload=yes&q=creation+museum#q=creation%20museum&site=default_collection
Thanks!
The first popular deconstruction...
John Cage was a demigod to some people I went to school with.
That ESV journalling Bible is almost brilliant -- almost. It needs to be real leather, and needs to be in large print. It would weight 7 lbs in that format, but it would suddenly become useful in a way that tiny hard-cover Bible is not.
And the slideshow of the clock master? That's what I miss about NY -- the only thing I miss about it. Everybody there speaks as if they are an expert, and most of the time they are. They care about details.
OK -- it's not everybody. But everybody I knew and cared about was like that. Sort of vulgarly brilliant.
And the Rhett and Link link is long overdue. Maybe we can get some college kids who aren't in seminary to read this blog ...
Phil, you never cease to impress me with your eclectic, yet tasteful musical selections. Two suggestions for you: Polini on Chopin, Reiner & Chicago Symphony performing Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta - Bela Bartok. Zoltan Kocsis performing Bartok piano music as well.
An unrelated question follows. I used to love to read 18th & 19th Century Lit. (Hardy, Balzac, Stendahl, James, et al). Haven't read this stuff since becoming a christian and a father and have recently thought I'd enjoy reading some as a family or encouraging the kids to imbibe. Any opinion?
Thanks, we will miss you & the rest of Gracelife while baking in Bakersfield.
That rusted car is AWESOME.
It should be left as is and considered found art...
The link to the Free Grace controversy says it all. When you start out with a flawed soteriology, you are on a slippery slope, and the writer is painfully finding that out.
When you take away the need to accept Christ as Lord, everything else is up for grabs, and man, in his fallen state, will naturally head down the path that the Free Grace group has taken.
What a nice surprise. Whatever made you decide to link there?
Click the link again, Buggy. I fixed the link so it works better.
The link to the review of Chris Seay's book about how wicked his dad and grandfather are is classic. There's no way to better identify Seay than what that article does.
FWIW, the abortion thing Donald Miller foists on the elder Seays has to eventually encounter a fact at which time we can see that he's just a yammerer.
Best.
Bono.
Link.
EVER.
Really good article on Bono. Interesting to read since we had a potluck the other night with a nurse/missionary who just returned from the Sudan for a furlough. She will be returning to the Sudan to be the director of a Leprosy Clinic. Her stories of numerous snakes (including a very aggressive snake that waits in the grass by a path to bite someone, and then when that person dies within a half hour, slithers back in the grass to wait for the next person, and soldiers who are supposed to protect the villages going around drunk and shooting off their guns. She told us stories about the Muslims up in northern Sudan who pound nails in Christians heads if they don't recant. Not to mention all the bugs and diseases she deals with daily and the two buckets of water that comprise her shower. Oh, forgot to mention the 140 degree heat. Yeah. She can't wait to go back!
What a contrast to celebrities who romanticise the plight of Africa but never really get their hands dirty. One never hears about the grassroots efforts that take place in Africa.
WHAT?! Third-world Pentecostal claims of healing are DUBIOUS?!
Dude, that's slander; that's LIBEL. That's down-right NOXIOUS.
I'm sort of angry about getting both the Relevant tip and the "E Soup" tip at the END of the weekend. I could've listened to these while cutting the lawn this weekend in 95+ heat and 50+% humidity.
Bailey is good reading...depth...
At least they linked to us.
My, those sorts take themselves seriously, don't they?
Crash tests are simply wonderful.
It's really sad when a caricature of a satire of a joke of a movement which doesn't really ever represent itself as standing for something is what CT thinks is worth linking to.
Wow. That's all I'm going to say: Wow.
Almost makes me miss the Coast Guard. Semper Paratus
So Phil, can I borrow that Piper book when your done with it? :-)
Garet:
It's just page-proof right now, but--
wow.
Is smoking a cigarette every now and then a sin?
Our debate is this...is smoking a "monkey on the back" if done every now and then? Recking God's temple (our bodies)? A sign of not trusting God when done randomly? Or simply, is it just enjoying a "smoky treat"? (uugghh)
By the way, tobacco kills! My friend claims that smoking the brand that doesn't use chemicals and pesticides, etc., isn't as bad...hummm.
We need the FACTS! Thx
RE: Buffet. Crunchy Critter recipe round-up for sure. I didn't know one could eat seahorses. The weird thing is that all that stuff really does look tasty to you doesn't it?
The Christmas catalogues! I am in retro-festive heaven!
Once again. Very impressed by your musical taste. However, Cheryl and I find it difficult imagining you and Darlene dancing in the kitchen to "I Wish." Just as long as you stop the CD at "I Just Called..."
Looking forward to seeing you in Bako soon. We miss GraceLife!
The Taliban photo essay was really interesting. I finished a book recently called The Kite Runner about two boys who grew up together in Afganistan pre-taliban era, and what happened to them when the Taliban came in. It gave me some interesting insight into a culture that I knew nothing about.
Oh man, that is so cold...
Putting a Link to J-Mac's newest book only to find that it doesn't come out until NEXT APRIL (2008)! Ouch. That stung a little.
Can't wait...
PastorJim
I make it a policy to never watch horror movies and yet you have posted two of them together. Omazing Grace and the mice rodent youtube just about did me in.
There's something creepy about the Staetler pencil video, and I can't put my finger on it ...
I think the simple answer to "Wasted Pulpit" is that they do not believe that the scripture is the Word of God. I grew up in a church like that. A secondary thought is.... have they not been taught homiletics? As a leader in Bible Study Fellowship I was taught this technique, of course I only used it teaching women, but even today my habit is to study a chapter in the Bible daily and I can't help but break the passage down in this manner. It always brings me a wealth of insights and applications. What JOY it must be to fill a pulpit and share the treasures God has given us!!!!!!!!
I'd like to know how you came across that deep fried hotdog.
Ok, so I signed up for an account just so I can ask the question: WHY IS BOOKER T. WASHINGTON A HOMEBOY (in the "pawn shop")? This is sincere. I Googled and Yahoo searched and read on Wikipedia and couldn't find anything on his Christian life. I know this is totally random, but I'd appreciate it!
Oh, and I just finished "The Truth War," it was the smartest birthday present I ever asked for!
God bless you. Thanks for this blog!
-Corinne
Martin:
We scour the Web for all the best stuff, so that you don't have to.
Corrine:
Frank could probably give you the best answer about the Pawn Shop merchandise, because he designs all that stuff. You can leave a comment at his personal blog to get him to answer.
But the Wikipedia entry includes this quotation from Washington's autobiography:
"Think about it: We went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery with chains clanking about our wrists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands . . . Notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, we are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe."
I bet you are just dying to have some of that maggot cheese on your Thanksgiving pizza....oh and the coffee beans? I am sure coffee made from those beans is much earthier than even Starbucks.
Did anybody really need -another- reason to disbelieve CBN?
Pheh.
For the record, Booker T. got into the Pawn Shop as part of the contest we ran last year (2006) where everybody suggested their favorite historical Protestant, and the player who suggested the name which got the most t-shirt sales won free stuff from the Pawn Shop.
I think we hurt ourselves by forgetting that there are other ways for Protestants to distinguish themselves besides writing systematic theologies.
Wow. I mean the PBS special on ECM was WOW! And McKnight's little ditty about boundaries inside christianity was completely unexpected.
Tony Jones, however, was exactly what I expected.
Everyone, thanks for the "mind opening" posts and blogs. i'm from the philippines, in a province not too reached by the intellectually (but still spiritually) challenging trends (and developments) of christianity. thanks for keeping my and my faith on my toes, encouraging me to contend for the "faith of our fathers". i've added the link to my favorites, and check up on it regularly. Fire away, boys!
Merry Christmas Phil, family, and Pyro's:
I read the Groothius article on Frank S.
WOW! I must be honest about my own fears of somehow making God look bad as a generational son of the ministry. I see these men and women who have parents of high regard fall far from the faith of their parents and want to put stops along the way to make sure that I am not that man!
I agree with Groothius that the prudence of the book is a real question mark! We all have personal low water marks that make us who we are as sinners. Having worked with W.A. Criswell for four years, who's daughter has said many unfavoravable things about mom and dad. I know first hand that I could write a book of humerous tales about he and the group of super pastors he brought in and around FBC Dallas. What point would that book have? Prudence and a closed mouth seem more to the biblical pattern of keeping others faults to a prudent low beam of exposure unless necessary.
The book, from its review, seems to lack the necessary reason to publish such things other than the attempt to make his parents and their God look bad.
The follwoing quote from Groothius sums up a great lesson from expose' type writing such as this:
"a reformed church always reforming.” Evangelicalism -- if that word retains any meaning -- should reform, repent, and seek renewal. We should become more critical of popular culture, more reflective, more biblical, and more worshipful. There is no need to abandon historic, biblical Protestantism as a worldview in order to accomplish these things. This is a rich, deep, and rational tradition, rooted in divine revelation itself".
We, the generational sons and dughters of our parents faith and ministry should be about the business of evangelizing a fallen world and a corrupt culture. Thank you Phil for pointing me to this article.
John Prentice
Enjoy your blog. It is the only one I bookmark.I agree that talking with emergent church fans is unprofitable. Actually it's a distraction to keep us from concentrating on evangelism. The lack of the true power of God in this movement should produce quite an opportunity for real evangelism. Lets pray for workers to be available when these followers truly need Gods' grace. Also enjoyed the Piper piece on God speaking. When it happens I think you feel broken, and joyful at the same time.
The pork chop criminal actually looks like his weapon of choice.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
Review one of Mike Bickle's NEW books when you have time. His old stuff is certianly wacky, but no one talks about the present IHOP prophet-school madness !
thanks!
I second that request about Mike Bickle. I'd really appreciate some help in countering the influence he's had among friends of mine.
I heard a story. King Louis xiv claimed himself to be the great. As the funeral crowed gathered to hear the dead kings prepared statements, the bishop snuffed out the single candle and said, "Only God is Great."
Best line from that Jesus marshmallow Peeps video: "When we showed our pastor SHE just loved it."
Fred
Oh yay! I saw that story about the frozen ham on Fox News over here, and Ant and I looked at one another and said "Phil!" :-D
You want to be remembered as an angry old goat who went berserk and killed a godly old man?
Dude. You need a sabbatical or something.
Was the pastor a Cubs fan?
He wasn't the first pastor killed by an old, angry goat, and he certainly won't be the last. Sadly, churches have more than a few old goats just waiting for the pastor to get tangled up.
"Burt Bacharach"?
Ohhh, dude.
The CT article about Enns was pretty vague, but from what I have gleaned from other sources it seems like Enns needed to be suspended. I am wondering what the Pyros think about the issue. Perhaps someone would like to blog about it? Maybe?
The Astrid Storm essay on pre-marital sex was perhaps the worst thing I have ever read on the subject -- and by "worst", I mean morally, theologically, sociologically, intellectually, and spiritually.
Thank God she's the kind of woman the Episcopals are ordaining. It makes the difference between what they are doing and what the Christians are doing very transparent.
One could compose many sonnets when stuck in that elevator for that long.
You may not want a Komodo Dragon for a pet, but I bet you would eat one.
DJP: "Burt Bacharach"?
I'm confident enough in my own manhood to say this boldly: Burt Bacharach is one of the most underrated songwriters of the 20th century.
Granted, Hal David's lyrics ("Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"; "What's New Pussycat?"; etc.) were often unarguably effeminate and/or dopey, but there's nothing wrong with the music.
Think: the soundtrack to the original "Casino Royale"; "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"; and at least 7 or 8 classics from the Tijuana Brass. Say no more.
Sure beats Hoobastank.
I have a very random question that probably has nothing to do with any of the previous posts. How would one witness to a humanist? They are so completely enveloped in science and reason that i find it difficult to give a solid example of christianity and the existence of God. How should i counter their attacks on the christian with strong, reformed, proof?
Meat chub incident
Perhaps it's time for a waiting period for meat chubs?
Sorry I'm having a hard time sorting the tongue-in-cheek from the true wisdom. We have been struggling over women in office, emergent ?doctrine?, authority of scripture and other fundamentals of the faith. Our leadership is demanding unity, and we are united in our desire to glorify God, in our love for one another and our commitment to this body of believers. What does unity in the face of false teaching look like? How do you agree to disagree on such vital issues?
I agree with Jon Voight's speech. I really think we might see some interesting things happen if Obama becomes president. Interesting as in, "Whoa! I didn't see THAT coming!" from previously naive Americans.
I can see why Angelina doesn't want to see her father. :)
I'd own about half of those metaphors in that link, Phil. Just because something is a startling mental imagine doesn't mean it's an good metaphor.
For example, that one where the kid said the hail looked like maggots in hot grease ... that doesn't do anything for anybody. It's just a random mental association. Now, if he has said something like "the hail came down like the luck on 100 slot machines all paying off at once," or "the hail came down like 10,000 one-legged tap dancers trying to line dance," those capture the visual of the hail and the sound, and they underscore the chaos of a hailstorm.
Frying maggots prolly smells bad and doesn't really pop like ice of your roof does.
When a commenter at TKS can post the phrase "emergent has jumped the shark" and not get torn to bits for it, there is a light at the end of that particular tunnel.
How did you do that weird thing with your blog? The matrix thing?
Candy:
Check "The Eater of Meaning." It'll do that with any website.
My heart went out to that guy in the UK who had enough of the Spirit to stand up in the congregation and call for the repentance of the openly gay cleric. We need more men of his calibre.
Oh man, what a sad waste of a meat product!
My grill is weeping.
That Campolo clip.
I can't ... I don't know where to start. Maybe by saying, " the most poor and oppressed person I have ever heard speak is Tony Campolo."
The Pagitt video about emerg*** was astonishing, and I think the two breakthrough moments for me were these:
[1] Pagitt said that the movement he's a part of has really taken place in the last 5-10 years. TSK has to look at that and ask himself if his rants about the global emerging church have any categorical relevance when Pagitt is willing to make a confession like that.
[2] The part where he says that the conversation about whether "emerg***" is dying "isn't worth having". Think about that -- this guy in a movement that isn't even as old as the internet wants to say that talking about whether his view of things isn't going anywhere is a conversation that's a waste of time. Stunning.
I think that as long as guys like him are willing to speak in public about the things they believe, we should encourage them to do so. There are no arguments against them as convicting as the things they are willing to say about themselves.
First of all, Phil, don't be so shy or whimpy in your defense of Burt Bacharach. He has written some of the greatest popular songs of the 20th century. Sure, he is rather far down the list in comparison to Duke Ellington, but his highly original sense of harmony was highly innovative and just down right beautiful. And what's wrong with the lyrics to Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head? I sing it with my daughter all the time and if you think it's effeminate, well, let's take a walk outside and see who's effeminate.
On another, very shrill note. I have to say I am thoroughly displeased with this Palin business. Once again, Christians are being played by the Republican Party who think (unfortunately correctly) that all they have to do is throw someone into the campaign who is pro-life and we will all respond like Pavlov's dogs. I am even more upset at how many Christians are completely ignoring the importance of Biblical roles for women, by throwing their whole hearted support behind her. Let's get one thing straight. Sarah Palin should be at home with her 3 month old baby. Do you mean to tell me that there were no qualified men with a pro-life stance that could have joined the McCain ticket? Christians should not be supporting this ticket without qualms. Unfortunately, we are just going to have to eat it.
Paggit discovers the Po-Motivators....maybe you should do another Po-Motivator: "Platonic." This seems to be Paggit's favorite way to justify ignoring everything certain critics say.
I imagine Pecadillo would have several procedural criticisms of how the Crazy Running Yelling Swedish Twins were handled.
Please get a blog of your own if you want to write jeremiads. This space is for comments in response to our sidebar links.
A jeremiad is a well-chosen word for what I wrote to you earlier. It truly was a lamentation over the captivity of Israel by carnally-minded worldlings like yourself. Continue your enlightened discussion about Burt Bacharach, but pay no heed to a serious call for self-examination.
Bacharach actually makes more sense than the jeremiad did.
(And I don't really like Bacharach.)
DJP,
Your comment about "making sense" is at the very heart of what I wrote (point #1). The whole difference between true Christianity and its imposters is around the issue of being lead by child-like faith in the plain Word of God versus being led of carnal reason in accepting some things of the Word that "make sense" and dimissing other seemingly contradictory things of the Word that thus don't "make sense". For instance, the Calvinists correctly accept the doctrine of election, but incorrectly oppose the universal love of God as displayed in the universal atonement of Christ. The Arminians correctly accept the universal atonement, but then dismiss election. You see, it is not faith leading in either case, but depraved human reason. And since we are saved only by faith, what are we to make of this other leader? If you want to understand this better, read Martin Luther's "Against the Fanatics" (Luther's Works, vol. 37). He writes there against the very evangelicalism that we see today.
Stuart:
I'll tell you what: You start a real blog, identify who you really are, post your jeremiad there, and I'll come 'round and reply. But how in the name of common sense am I obliged to let someone hijack my blog for his own agenda when his whole starting point is that he thinks Christianity is not supposed to make good sense in the first place?
What's to discuss with someone whose introduction rejects all rational thought? You have just turned the whole idea of truth on its head. You believe truth is irrational and self-contradictory. In fact, that is the place where you start!
So even if someone could definitively make a point that flatly contradicted one of your assertions, you would be impervious to the correction, because you think truth always contradicts itself. So "truth" to you is--what? something to be felt by intuition?
See: that's not Christianity. It's a pagan view of truth. You are welcome to it. But you don't get to peddle it here.
Hey Phil, I listened to you on "The Way of the Master " radio today and I loved every minute of it. But I especially enjoyed the part where you and Todd where debating politics vs preaching. Which came first: the moral decline of America, or the laws that permit immoral activity? I've never thought about it that way. How many civil laws does a Christian need? or what would a heathen nation look like without civil laws? Do we need more laws to reign in a banking industry that is run amuk with personal and corporate greed or do we need more Christians on Wall Street? This country was founded on Biblical Christian principals. Without Christian morality in the hearts of it's citizens there could never be enough laws or law enforcement officers to force morality on the heathen populace.
This is my first time to your web site (actually I'm trying to figure out what a blog is) . There is so much stuff I could spend days here. Thanks.
Phil / Dan / Frank:
Just stopping by today to thank you guys for your work on one of the blogs that fill my daily lunch hour with edifying information. Primarily, though, I would like to thank and praise God for the Body of Christ.
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