Ren, Stimpy, & Romans 7

Sorry there hasn't been much bloggery this month. Things have been crazy at work. With this said, here is a little clip that I came across a couple years ago that I think exemplifies the law/temptation/humanity struggle that Paul paints in Romans 7. So read the following quote of Scripture and enjoy the clip!

wow... really good book so far...

I came across this book in "Modern Reformation" mag and decided to order it right away. It's really the book I wish I had the smarts and stones to write. It's "Christless Christianity" by Michael Horton. In it he shows how the gospel message has been watered down, taken captive, and even eliminated by what he calls "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism."

Another Cool Quote

Sorry it's been awhile. Things are really crazy at work right now. Because of this all I got is a simple quote a came across in Don Everts' work "God in the Flesh." He writes:

Jesus has always been beautiful. He is, after all, the image of the invisible God. God in the flesh. And seeing him clearly, staring at him and all that his life and death reveal, changes us. That's what the church has always been—simple folks who star at Jesus and are changed because of what they've seen. (Italics mine)

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…

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.

“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.

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.