The world is "God Breathed"

I ran across the following quote from a comment discussing "Whatever happened to Bill Gothard".

This world is God-breathed. It is a wild, perilous, vivid, and unpredictable place. You cannot put it into a paternalistic, legalistic box and hope to see His face. Where can we experience God if we refuse to experience anything?

As a parent, I want to keep my son from experiencing pain and injury. On the other hand, those are things that make us stronger.

A case in point is our bones. In a recent podcast on bone health, the woman who was the "expert" stated that while taking calcium was needed, your bones only became stronger with impact. While cycling and swimming are good thing for your aerobic abilities, it is the impact of running or walking or punching a bag that helps increase the strength of your bones.

I've often said that it is my job as a parent to let my son "fail safely" so that he can learn. Each failure helps strengthen his character.

Jesus Manifesto revisited...

A few months ago, I mentioned the book "The Jesus Manifesto". This month, WBCL's (Indiana, Ohio, etc) "Mid-Morning" show's Char Binkley talked with Gloria Gather about the book.

You can listen to the discussion below...

Puzzling logic

Online, I saw this article -- "Does a New Life Form Mean God Is Dead?" -- with the following paragraphs:

The discovery of what is apparently an entirely new form of life -- a bacteria based on toxic arsenic rather than phosphorus, one of the six building blocks of all life on Earth -- has set the scientific world abuzz, prompting White House inquiries to NASA and threatening to upend longstanding beliefs about biology.

But some say the announcement also signals an end to religious faith, or at least the beginning of the end, because it implies that life can spring forth unexpectedly on Earth or even on other planets, and in unexpected forms -- developments that seem to run counter to literal readings of biblical creation accounts.

"The polite thing to say is that discoveries such as this don't really impeach the credibility of established religion, but in truth of course they really do," David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association (AHA), a leading secularist organization, said of this week's revelations about the microbes discovered in Lake Mono in California.

"The fact that life can spring forth in this way from nature, taken in context with what else we've learned in recent centuries about space and time, surely makes it less plausible that the human animal is the specially favored creation of all-powerful, all-knowing divinity," Niose said.

Oddly enough, reading this, I didn't come to the same conclusion of Mr. Niose. What that does mean, however, is that I have a different view of how God can work in the world.

Why do we fight it...

This post has been a long time in the making.

When I mean making, it's sort of like a crock pot rather than a microwave.

You see, about a month ago, while listening to the Daily Audio Bible, I heard the story of David prior to his being made king of Israel and with his struggle with the king at the time, Saul (1 Samuel).

Several attempts were made on David's life by Saul, including throwing a spear at him, plotting to kill him, etc.

At the same time, however, David had opportunities to kill Saul and refused to do it. Why? Because he refused to take on the job of killing God's anointed king.

Fast forward to Romans 13 (the Daily Audio Bible hasn't gotten this far yet). The first verse reads.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1 TNIV)

Then I hear of the pastor who is praying for President Obamas death (an extreme case but...). I also hear conservatives who call themselves Christians who are also quite outspoken about the president. How is this any different than David's situation. These people believe that somehow, what is in their best interest is in danger so they slander and defame the man in the office. A man that, if I read the passage above correctly, God appointed.

Then I think back to David... I will not kill God's anointed king...

Hmmm...

The Kingdom of Heaven vs the Kingdom of God

There are people who believe the Kingdom of Heaven talked about in Matthew and the Kingdom of God talked about in Mark & Luke are different things.

I don't believe that is the case.  To make the point, let's look at Matthew 13:31-33 and Mark 4:30-32

Matthew 13:31-33 reads...

Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Mark 4:30-32 reads:

Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

Luke 13:18 reads quite similarly to Mark. So why the different phrase?  It is the audience that the different books are written to.  Matthew was writing to a primarily 1st century Jewish audience.  They would have been offended if he referred to God in a too casual way so, in tradition, there was an inference of God by saying Heaven.  Mark and Luke were writing to a primarily non-Jewish audience.  One not offended by the use of God in that context.  I don't know but they may have been confused if "Kingdom of Heaven"were used instead.

Inauguration day preparation

With the inauguration of our new president coming up on Monday, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit this....

No matter who you voted for or what side you are on, you'll never have "A Savior on Capitol Hill".  There is only one Savior for this world.

The end of politics for a while?

I hope this is the end of my political posting for a while but...

First, a coworker (who lives in Phoenix) was at the McCain "party" Tuesday night and happened to be caught during the concession speech by an AP photographer.  He is on photo #8 here.  The disappointment shows on his face.

Now to what really brought on this post.

Cal Thomas wrote an article that appeared in the Modesto Bee titled "Power evangelicals seek isn't in government".   It is worth reading.

A quote from that that I found quite good:

Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative evangelical image has failed.

The question now becomes: Should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?

I opt for trying something else.

Too many conservative evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government?

Of course he is right about that. He continues

What is the answer, then, for conservative evangelicals who are rightly concerned about the corrosion of culture, the indifference to the value of human life and the living arrangements of same- and opposite-sex couples? The answer depends on the response to another question: Do conservative evangelicals want to feel good, or do they want to adopt a strategy that actually produces results?

I'll let you read his article for his answer.