Whilin' Away the Hours

One more blog addition...
A-Ring. Now, I must be honest. I don't know A-Ring. I refer to him as "him" because, well, I don't know any better. Sometimes you just assume stuff, you know? I mean, A-Ring could be a girl. Or he could be a raccoon. Or a Koala Bear. It's like, opposable thumbs is the key thing, right? You need opposable thumbs to work the mouse. He's probably not a dolphin. But he could like dolphins I suppose. Maybe he's even a Dolphins fan. But the Dolphins are defending the draft so he might decide to argue with the Dolphins if he's eligible. For the draft, that is. He may not want to be drafted. But here again, I don't know how old A-Ring is. I think he's in his 20s but, well, that's because I don't know any better. I just hope he's not an argumentative old curmudgeon. Like Walter Matthau. But Don Rickles would be worse. Hmmm...maybe I should reconsider linking to A-Ring.

A provocative argument
This is a quote from Theses on Paedocommunion by James Jordan. It's from 1982 so I don't know if Dr. Jordan still uses this argument. I'm about to listen to his lecture series on paedocommunion, maybe I'll find out. I found this argument to be startling but intriguing.

"14. We may follow up on this by noting the two trees in the Garden. By prohibiting only the Tree of Knowledge, God told Adam to take Life first, and then build Knowledge and Ethics on Life, and in terms of Life (faith). Life, faith, the Word, the Word visible and eaten - these were prevenient to knowledge and ethics.

Satan, however, reversed God's command. He told man to take of Kowledge and Ethics first, and then get Life. Man was to attain to Life, rather than take Life as a presupposition. Life was to be earned through merit, not taken as a prevenient Word from God.

Any system of apologetics which insists that men must use knowledge and ethics to demonstrate the truth of faith may be seen as ultimately Satanic. Obviously, not by intent, but by effect all the same. Van Til has shown this repeatedly. Faith - life - must be taken as presuppositional. Knowledge and ethics grow out of faith, not vice versa.

Is it not also the case, then, that any theological system which tells people that they must learn a catechism, or any other body of doctrine, before coming to the Tree of Life, may be seen as ultimately Satanic? Obviously, the entire Reformed tradition has not intended to be Satanic, but has the effect been Satanic? Faith and the sacraments have moved from being presuppositions to being attainments."

That's very strong language but the logic of it rings true. I'm looking forward to Dr. Jordan's lectures.

The Lord's Day...
Another baptism. The family of the infant baptized requested that our pastor read the CRC liturgy for baptism. As usual, after he washed the infant in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Pastor had difficulty continuing the service for a few minutes. It was something in his eye or a frog in his throat...just like always.

"Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ:
What the Lord has revealed to us in his Word about holy baptism can be summarized in this way:
First, Scripture teaches that we and our children are sinners from birth, sinful from the time our mothers conceived us (Ps. 51:5). This means that we are all under the judgment of God and for that reason cannot be members of his kingdom unless we are born again. Baptism, whether by immersion or sprinkling, teaches that sin has made us so impure that we must undergo a cleansing which only God can accomplish. Therefore, we ought to be displeased with ourselves, humble ourselves, and turn to God for our salvation.
Second, baptism is a sign and seal that our sins are washed away through Jesus Christ. For this reason we are baptized into the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Our baptism into the name of God the Father is his assurance to us that he makes an everlasting covenant of grace with us and adopts us as his children and heirs. Therefore, he surrounds us with his goodness and protects us from evil or turns it to our profit.
When we are baptized into the name of the Son, we are assured by Christ himself that he washes us in his blood from all our sins. Christ joins us to himself so that we share in his death and resurrection. Through this union with Christ we are liberated from our sins and regarded as righteous before God.
Baptism into the name of the Holy Spirit is the assurance that the Spirit of God will make his home within us. While living within us, the Spirit will continually work to strengthen and deepen our union with Christ. He will make real in our lives Christ's work of washing away our sins. He will also help us each day to live the new life we have in Christ. As a result of his work within us, we shall one day be presented without the stain of sin among the assembly of the elect in life eternal.
Third, because all covenants have two sides, baptism also places us under obligation to live in obedience to God. We must cling to this one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We must trust him and love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We must abandon the sinful way of life, put to death our old nature, and show by our lives that we belong to God. If we through weakness should fall into sin, we must not despair of God's grace, nor use our weakness as an excuse to keep sinning. Baptism is a seal and totally reliable witness that God is always faithful to his covenant.
Our children should not be denied the sacrament of baptism because of their inability to understand its meaning. Without their knowledge, our children not only share in Adam's condemnation but are also received into God's favor in Christ. God's gracious attitude toward us and our children is revealed in what he said to Abraham, the father of all believers: "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you" (Gen. 17:7). The apostle Peter also testifies to this with these words: "The promise is for you and your children and for...all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). Therefore God formerly commanded circumcision as a seal of the covenant and as a declaration that righteousness comes by faith. Christ also recognized that children are members of the covenant people when he embraced them, laid his hands on them, and blessed them (Mark 10:16). Since baptism has replaced circumcision, our children should be baptized as heirs of God's kingdom and of his covenant. As the children mature, their parents are responsible for teaching them the meaning of baptism."

We're going to a double birthday party tonight
for my nephews Paul & Will. At a recent birthday party for their sister Louisa (the one mentioned on April 21), we had helium balloons. After the cake & presents were finished, we began eyeing the balloons. Hmm, helium. Wouldn't it be funny to coerce my 74 year old, very proper mother-in-law into huffing a little helium? Just once, for fun?
She resisted, "Oh, No! I couldn't do that! No!"
Mwa ha ha ha! The pressure was on. "Aw, come on! Just try it. It'll be funny! Just once!" We persisted, she protested, we prevailed.

She very tentatively put the balloon to her lips...
We held our breath as the grey-haired Grandma breathed in the low density gas.....
Her eyes grew large as her lungs inflated.......
Abandoning all convention, she let loose with a stream of loony toons exclamations and giggles that left us crippled and crying with laughter!
And then she wanted more.

I wonder, is a repeat performance too much to hope for?

PS.For those of you who know my mother-in-law...try not to laugh the next time you see her, 'K?

A few blogroll updates
I've added some blogs to my roll. These are mostly blogs that I read regularly but haven't got around to linking...
One exception is a new blog by my old cyber-friend the Gnu. Judging from his past message board history, The Wildebeest's Wardrobe promises to be vellly intelllestinck!

Gnu! Get a comment system... please?

Nine Inch Nails' nihilism redeemed
Reading Dr. G's Blog, I learned that Johnny Cash has a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." I scoffed. I remember when Cash covered Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" (you can download it here if you'd like a chuckle). I'll confess that I appreciate the music of both NIN and Soundgarden. As KataJohn reminds us, art is not always beautiful. It's significance is found in it's ability to communicate and, as part of a fallen world, honesty demands that the curse and tragedy of sin be portrayed in art. In the more genuine music of the lost, I find a sorrow that leads to despair, a communication of truth. "Hurt" is one of those genuine moments in secular music. I've always been deeply moved by the song. When I read that Cash covered it, I grimaced thinking it would be a repeat of the "Rusty Cage" travesty. But I found the video and I must say, Johnny travels beyond Reznor's nilhilistic world view and creates a profound statement. I still like NIN's recording better but Cash has taken a cultural icon and demonstrated the truth behind it.

You can view the video here. I had better success with Windows Media than with RealPlayer.

*Correctly communicating the tragedy of sin is a concept I don't know how to define. My first thought was that those who glory in the mire of sin are not honoring God in their portrayal of it. But, I quickly realized that wasn't so. I'd have to cut Romans 1 from my Bible to maintain that position. Inspite of Eddie Vedder's intent when he gives God the finger on stage, his action will honor God and the gesture is about as correct a communication as one could hope to find.

Arg
Another one:

Well, u-- um, can we come up and have a look?

What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Snagged from instapundit.com

PS. You might have to redo the image tag if you copy the code.

Out of the mouths of babes...
Yesterday in church, my niece, who just turned 6, informed her aunt Nancy that she wasn't a Christian yet. How did this very young little girl reason her way to that conclusion? Christians take communion. I'm not allowed to take communion therefore, I am not a Christian.

How heartbreaking. I know she's not taught that reasoning at home. Her parents would never tell her such a thing. She, at barely 6, was able to make that deduction based on her denied access to the Table. A 6 year old has the intellect to understand the implications of being denied the Supper! What havoc the legacy of the half way covenant has wrought.
"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."

A kinda fun day at church...
Just a few things on the side:
We sang Christ the Lord is Risen Today as our very talented Amanda played. She pulled an Auburn Avenue (from which she hails) by cutting out for an a cappella verse. It was beautiful, especially since we've added Matthew Peacock ( also from Auburn Avenue ) to our congregation - he has an indescribable voice. And then Charles, Amanda's husband, joined the postlude on trombone. Wonderful. Auburn folk, there is a palpable difference in our worship since "y'all" arrived. Thank you for all that you add.**
Our pastor's 8 (or is he 9?) yr. old son became a communicant member. Pastor had a bit of trouble continuing the service for a few minutes afterward. Seems he had something in his eye or a frog in his throat. Something like that anyway...
Our pastor recommended Tim's Biblical Studies Center from the pulpit and quoted from one of his articles. That was an encouragement...
Last but not least, I got a giggle out of the fact that the latest Credenda Agenda's back cover was being circulated around church today like some kind of contraband. I'm only an occasional fan of sarcasm but I had to admit it was funny. Cheese indeed...

**I've blogged about this before but it bears repeating: worshiping with Auburn Avenue PCA just about ruined me. Not only is the liturgy beautiful, the exuberance of the congregation is awesome. They know where they are and what they are doing! Would that the worship of all God's people was on earth as it is in heaven. Reformed people, more than any others, should know they are before the throne of God in worship. How can we sit and pick at our fingernails or distractedly let our minds wander to other business or otherwise goof off? Sigh... we are so foolish.

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.' "

"When no less sacrifice would be a proper satisfaction to the justice of God than that of Christ himself, then Christ voluntarily came into it: 'Lo, I come! I delight to do thy will, O God! Let thy curse fall upon me, but let these go their way. Father, I delight to fulfil thy counsels, and my covenant with thee for them; I delight to perform all thy promises, to fulfil all the prophecies.'" Matthew Henry

Hebrews?
If anyone is ever in need of an excellent exposition of Hebrews, go to Faith Presbyterian's recent sermons and scroll down to April 2002 for notes.

In entertainment news today...
Coming to a theater near you:
THE SAEED SENSE
starring Saddam Hussein

I see dead people...

The law is grace
I just listened to a lecture by Greg Bahnsen, The Grace of Law (if you'd like to listen, scroll down a little until you come to the title).

Dr. Bahnsen did a great exegesis of the word "law." If you're a theonomy-phobe, don't let the name Bahnsen scare you off; this particular lecture isn't a promo for reconstructionism. Rather, it offers solid support for the Reformed doctrine that the law is grace for those that are believing.

I realize I'm a bit late to the show but I'm just stumbling onto these things online over time. It's interesting to be listening to this lecture years after it's delivery. I can't help but notice the similarity of some of Dr. Bahnsen's key points and N.T. Wright's views. There are dissimilarities as well but I hear Wright echoing Bahnsen when he says that O.T. saints didn't enter the covenant by law keeping but they could be identified as God's people by their faithfulness.

Oh, and I had to laugh. Noting the similarities in Bahnsen to some recent controversies, the occasion for these lectures is a hoot.

By popular demand

If you haven't seen WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com yet, do go have a look. Baghdad Bob has the potential to become bigger than Bill and Hillary. While you're there, don't miss Infodude Throughout History
Here is a little known fact:

More real than real
Today, I attended the funeral of a brother in Christ whom I'd known for years. We weren't close but, until recently, we went to the same church and it was rare that a Sunday passed without a conversation with him. The minister chose 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 for his message. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." As I listened to the passage, I let my eyes wander around the room to the grieving faces of family and friends finally fixing on the face of my friend, asleep in Christ. My thoughts turned from the room in which we were gathered to that heavenly gathering of the saints and beyond that to the last day when the new creation will be complete. I realized that for my friend, the world he left behind must now seem like a shadow, something smokey and impossible to grasp. He would see the world as it is, ephemeral and passing away because he now lives in the eternal. That with which he is surrounded, that upon which his eyes are fixed is more real than real. He beholds the Glory!

I was reminded of the day excursion to heaven from hell which the ghosts took in C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. The dismal twilight nether town seemed real enough to it's inhabitants. But when they debarked the bus in the bright outskirts of heaven, they found the light to be a threat, the grass tortuous to walk upon.

"At first, of course, my attention was caught by my fellow passengers, who were still grouped about in the neighborhood of the omnibus, though beginning, some of them, to walk forward into the landscape with hesitating steps. I gasped when I saw them. Now that they were in the light, they were transparent - fully transparent when they stood between me and it, smudgy and imperfectly opaque when they stood in the shadow of some tree. They were in fact ghosts: man- shaped stains on the brightness of that air. One could attend to them at will as you do with the dirt on a window pane. I noticed that the grass did not bend under their feet: even the dew drops were not disturbed.

Then some readjustment of the mind or some focussing of my eyes took place, and I saw the whole phenomenon the other way round. The men were as they always had been; as all the men I had known had been perhaps. It was the light, the grass, the trees that were different; made of some different substance, so much solider than things in our country that men were ghosts by comparison."

More real than real. I long for it.

Vinyl records
Indirectly inspired by Barlow and because lists are making the rounds again, I've decided to list what I consider to be the best vinyl records I have. Each one is a trip...down memory lane that is. ;-)
Saving the best for last:

The Best of Mountain, 1973 (had tickets to go see them around 1971 but couldn't go due to blizzard)
Every Picture Tells A Story, Rod Stewart, 1971 (he was good in his early years. saw him at Madison Square Garden in '71)
Shapes of Things, Yardbirds, (1968, hovering over an FM portable radio listening to the "underground" rock station)

Goat's Head Soup, Stones, 1973 (Keith Richards & I have the same birthday)
Sticky Fingers, Stones, 1971

Waiting For Columbus, Little Feat, 1978 (saw them that year but left the concert early because a fight broke out. bummer)
Feats Don't Fail Me Now, L.F., 1974
Dixie Chicken, L.F.. 1973
Sailin' Shoes, L.F. 1972

Rainbow Bridge, Jimi Hendrix, 1971 (a great regret, I never saw Hendrix. I was at lunch in high school when I heard he'd OD'd & died)
The Cry of Love, J.H., 1971
Electric Ladyland, J.H. 1968
Axis Bold As Love, J.H. 1967

Imagine, John Lennon, 1971

Abbey Road, Beatles, 1969 ( I saw them on Ed Sullivan in black & white)
SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles, 1967
Yesterday and Today, Beatles, 1966

And the #1 best vinyl I have is:
Kum Back, the first Beatles bootleg album, 1968

Calling out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the streets

On Iraqi TV today

Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf reports that the
lying yellow-belly infidels are nowhere near Baghdad.

If Forrest Gump's mama were a Christian
she'd say, "faith is as faith does."

The quote on my side bar is all too true.
I really do seem to carry on my theological education in public - often to my acute embarrassment. So in keeping with that tradition, I am going to offer up an experiment for public critique. My little venture into uncharted relms was inspired by something I read today which suggested that there is a repentance which is simply a change of mind, a one time event leading to a point of justification. Out of disagreement with the comment, I decided to try to make a syllogism based on my Reformed understanding of repentance. I've never studied logic or philosophy so I expect to fall flat on my face. With great fear and trembling, here it is:

A) Without repentance there is no justification.

B) Obedience is a constituent part of repentance. (WCF 25:2,3; LC Q 76)

C) Therefore, without obedience there is no justification.

Does it fly?

QUESTION 87. What is repentance unto life?
ANSWER: Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism Project, a companion Catechism on the Catechism by James Fisher:

Q. 3. Whether is repentance a transient action or an abiding principle?
A. It is an abiding principle, continually disposing the person to mourn for sin, and to turn from it all the days of his life, Isa. 38:14, 15.

Q. 4. Is repentance then to be considered as a thing that is over with the first days of one's religion?
A. No; but it is to be viewed as a permanent grace, an habitual frame of soul, inclining those who are privileged with it, to mourn daily for sin, till "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," in heaven, Rev. 21:4.

With an eloquence I could never match,
Tom of Cruciformity has expressed in his prayer on April 4, 2003 what I have been struggling to say this week about developing a meaningful theodicy, that is, one in which God Himself shares our plight.

Read Tom's prayer. It is beautiful.

An essay for which I've been waiting:
Credit where credit is due, Jon scooped it but since I'd like to see it receive a wide circulation, I'm going to link this essay as well.

Caution and Respect in Controversy by Randy Booth.

Here is a teaser of a quote:
"In addition, the question has come up, where did some of the respected leaders of the past come down on these issues? This question will not be of universal interest, but is significant in light of the historical and theological connections of some who have leveled these allegations of heresy. It has been insinuated that men like Cornelius Van Til, R. J. Rushdoony and Greg L. Bahnsen would have opposed this "neo-Shepherd theology" of the AAPC."

Useful advice for understanding the Bible
In times such as these, it's not unusual to find that friends and neighbors have an interest in learning about God. Did He bring the world into existence only to step back with austere indifference to observe it's ebb and flow? Are we ricochetting off one another on a random course through time? Or, does He care about us? Is there design and purpose in creation?

The response of a Christian is to rely on the Bible for answers to such questions. God has revealed Himself in it's words. But, it can be a difficult book. I've seen my neighbors puzzle over it's meaning. In our American culture, I think the tendency is to approach the Bible as if it were a self-help book; a book of moral platitudes to help us feel better about who we are. No wonder so many people shrug off the scriptures as insignificant for today's world.

But help is on the way!

John Barach has written an excellent piece in U-TURN titled Reading the Bible in which he provides simple guidelines to understanding the Bible. Simple guidelines yes, but approaching Scripture with them will open it's depths for any willing reader.

Rev. Barach observes, "The Bible isn’t a theology textbook telling us a number of truths about God. Nor are the stories in the Bible designed to illustrate some moral principles or to show us something of what Jesus is like. If they were just illustrations, they could just as well be fictional. But instead, they are parts of the history of God’s covenant, the one story of God’s walk with His people from creation to the full fellowship we’ll enjoy with God when Christ returns."

In a wonderful summational quote, he points to the words of Doug Jones, "'We often hear Scripture portrayed as an unconnected mishmash of hero stories, when in fact the Lord has gloriously developed one message, an interlaced and many-faceted outworking of His central promise, ‘I will be your God, and you will be My people.’”

I would recommend this essay for anyone who wishes to learn how to read the Bible.
(Thanks, Theo, for passing this on)

From L.T. SMASH
Where do they get young men like this?

We've been noticing...
The goal of war in Iraq was to disarm Hussein. We were told he surely had WOMDs and that he was a threat to both our nation and the world. It seems that, day by day, as the war progressed, the emphasis shifted. This is now a war to liberate the Iraqi people. Normally, this sort of sly refocusing maneuver would anger me. Orwellian manipulation is not the way to make friends and influence people. But, in this case, I don't mind if what was to be a by-product becomes the primary focus. The more I learn about the insanity of Hussein's regime, the more sympathy I feel for the Iraqi people. I can't fathom living among men so cowardly that they would cover themselves with women and children to gain advantage or force suicide attacks with death threats to family members. What atrocities await in Baghdad? I'm not fooling myself; I imagine that many Iraqis have as much affection for Americans as for a swarm of sand fleas. But I hope and pray that in time, the Iraqi people will know that we are not the great satan and that the door to freedom will be thrown open.