Thoughts on words

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Eph. 5:4 - ESV)

It is interesting that the replacement for wrong words is to be thanksgiving. If we are concentrating on the One to whom we have so much to be grateful for, we will not slander His name or glory by having filth or crudeness come from our mouths.

Ruminations on glory

In 2 Chronicles 13, the Bible records that King Abijah of Judah, though he did not follow God wholly, was given a tremendous victory, because God was glorified in that victory. This is the purpose of man and the creation, to glorify God. Yet we say that God is glorified both in the salvation of His children and the damnation of the unrighteous. How do these fit together? At times, theologians speak of the attributes of God as His "perfections." When the perfections of God are most fully displayed in their true glorious character, then God is glorified. It is certain that the perfections of God are seen clearly in both salvation and damnation, though we may not see it in the latter case as easily as the former.
What does this mean today, here on earth? The creation declares God's eternal power, His deity, His glory, His righteousness. But we were made image-bearers, those made in the likeness of God, by God's own hand with His life breathed into us. We are called to live out those of God's perfections with which He has graced us. Think on it - made in Almighty God's image to disply who He is! Is it any wonder that it is only when we abide in Christ Jesus, the God-man, that we can bear fruit and glorify God? Only in that way we can display some measure of His perfections and show that we are truly His followers.


*1 Kings 15; Psalms 19:1; 50:6; Romans 1:19-20; John 15:8

Pictures of sunrise

It is not often that I see the sunrise in my normal routine. So, as a tribute to my currently normal but generally abnormal routine, some pictures.

Difficulty walking with God

If you approach the Old Testament from a historical perspective, you begin to realize that no one has had an easy walk with God.
- - Dr. Gilbert Braithwaite.

from "To Diognetus"

I am doing reading for a course on church history that I am supposed to take this fall, and came across this quote from one of the earliest Christian apologists:

"Christians are no different from the rest in their nationality, language or customs. ... They live in their own countries, but as sojourners. They fulfill all their duties as citizens, but they suffer as foreigners. They find their homeland wherever they are, but their homeland is not in any one place. ... They are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. They live on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey all laws, but they live at a level higher than that required by law. They love all, but all persecute them."

May we take up the challenge to live the way that this apologist said Christians live, and not in the lesser ways that we can unthinkingly slide into.

Long Slide falls

Long Slide falls

On Saturday, I went with some friends/family to Long Slide falls; it is a charming little park that is well worth visiting, being quite off the beaten road and quite impressive as little waterfalls go.

Sarah, Miriam, Andrew, and I hiked around and took pictures; we relaxed and talked. And then, we had a picnic supper. All around a very nice expedition.

There were lots of damsel flies fluttering about.

There's Andrew, and Miriam kind of got into the picture.

Arrivals

Well, I am back at Northland at long last. I arrived in Indiana late Saturday night after several relatively uneventful flights. Then I spent 2 or 3 days with family, before coming back up to WI yesterday. So, I am now again becoming ensconced in a dorm room. :)

Leaving

The fateful day is nearly upon me... tomorrow morning, at a relatively reasonable hour (8:55AM), I should be on my way back to the States. I am scheduled to land in Indianapolis around 11pm. Next week, I will plan to head back up north to Dunbar. Till then, I bid thee adieu.

Called a Pilgrim

Called a Pilgrim

At home,
With friends,
In times of ease,
The thought of life’s realities
With fearful haste escapes and flees.

Pilgrim,
Stranger
Without a land –
Recall your home in heaven and
Rewards conferred by Jesus’ hand.

- MCC

A ridiculous article

I don't usually post articles simply to seek to invalidate them, but this article "Early Arabs Followed the Rain, or Didn't" seems particularly in need of some negative publicity. The researches compared weather data from 11,000-10,300 years ago to the Y chromosome in men from "from Turkey, Egypt, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates." They then proceed to say that the two subgroups that they found in their study "corresponded to lifestyle as well as geography", with one group representing the descendants of farmers and the other the descendants of semi-nomadic herders. So, ancient people eventually adopted one lifestyle or the other on the basis of how the wetter or drier climate affected their DNA. The conclusion of the article wonders about the results of global warning...

Several points seem highly suspect in the article, but I think two are particularly worthy of mention. One, the researchers ignored history... samples of men from Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt are unlikely to turn up many people who would be genetically linked to people living in those areas 10,000+ years ago. The Turks came in waves from the East and conquered or lived in all of those areas. The Greeks had captured the area previously. The Romans, the Persians, the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Assyrians, and others had all also spent time mixing the genetic history of this area. 

Two, what the researchers are trying to prove genetically is completely bogus. Genetic biologist Richard Lewontin documents this throughout his book Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA. His chapters on genetics make this type of article look completely unscholarly. I read several portions of his book for my Philosophy of Science class this last semester, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is combating genetic determinism.