Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Cool Quote

"I am the man who with the utmost daring discovered what had already been discovered before"

-G.K. Chesterton "Orthodoxy" pg 4

As a whole this book failed to keep my attention, but it did have some slam dunk quotes. This was one of my favorites. I think it perfectly describes what this blog is going for. Just rehashing and reflecting on what has already been discovered.

I also think this quote is an apt description of the history of Christian thought. Pretty much every generation of Christianity finds in its own way what has already been discovered before. From Wycliff to Luther to Wesley to Barth and to whatever other big name you want to throw in there. They discovered in a fresh way that which had already been discovered before.

That's all I got for today…

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Law/Gospel, Judgment/Grace, Condemnation/Love, and the Dentist…


This week, upon noticing that the cavity on my lower front tooth had grown, I thought it was time to set up an appointment with a new dentist. As this appointment for what was dubbed "a thorough examination" began to approach, I noticed myself getting a little anxious; even to the point of a Panic Attack. It was here that I had a sort of new realization about why I, and I think others, hate going to the dentist.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

“Jesus What a Friend for Sinners”


While I was shaving the other day I began to muse about the drama of the election and started to think about the political strategies used by both candidates. Eventually my mind went to the fear by association tactics that the McCain/Palin campaign used on Obama. You know what I'm talking about: "Obama pals around with terrorists…" "Obama is connected to the Acorn scandal…" "Obama has a radical spiritual advisor…" To be honest with you, I hate these tactics, but they are affective. I had many conversations with both sides concerning these issues and the majority of people I talked to concluded that, "I just don't know if I can trust someone who had associations like this in the past."
After musing about this for awhile, I began to think about myself and if I had any past associations that would come back to haunt me if I ran for president. After this, I began to think about Jesus and the people he associated with. "If" he were to run for president (and I don't think he ever would so this is a mighty big "if"), would the opposing candidates be able to use his associations against him. The answer is an unequivocal yes. In fact, I believe that the people who Jesus associated with would ruin any chance he had to even run for president. Let's take a look at some of the characters he called friends.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Between Reality, Depression, and Hope: some thoughts on the election and low anthropology…


Because of all the talk about hope as of late, I've been feeling kind of conflicted. Part of me wants to believe that a "new day has dawned," but the other part that is more realistic and sometimes prone to bouts of depression sighs with the knowledge that nothing has really changed and nothing ever will.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

My Top Ten Favorite Books as of October 23, 2008


Considering my last post was a bit heavy, I figured I'd lighten things up with some top ten lists. This first one has to do with my favorite books. When I say favorite, I mean the books that have had the most influence on me throughout the years. There are some that I'm reading right now or that I've just read that might displace some of these, but they must stand the test of time to see if they make a lasting impact. So without further ado here they are:

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Politics and Idolatry


One of the cool things about my new ministry position is that I get to lead students through Martin Luther's "Small Catechism." For my whole seminary career I ate up Luther's writings and now I get to teach his theology to middle schoolers, life couldn't be any better. Coming back to the subject, about a month ago I was teaching on the first commandment and for a brief moment something dawned on me. Not only that, it has stuck with me and hasn't let me go so I figured I might as well put in on this blog.