Blog at Bree

Ailidh Daisy - A Friend's New Blog

2011-08-13T10:49:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine from church has a new blog she has started. It's called Ailidh Daisy. She displays a lot of creative/crafty type ideas, so ladies, you might to check it out!

True Calvinism is the Gospel

2011-07-13T10:43:00.007-04:00

True Calvinism is the Lordship of Christ and sovereignty of God over all things, not just salvation, 5-points, otherwise known as "TULIP". Now, please don't get me wrong, Calvinism is about salvation, but it is so much more! Its not just salvation of individuals but the salvation of the entire world. What does that mean? I love the way Doug Wilson says this: The gospel has two-prongs:

1. We can be reconciled because Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come, was crucified, dead and buried under Pontius Pilate, risen on the third day and ascended to the right hand of His Father. That means....

2. Christ is Lord - if He is not Lord/King over all the nations, He is not Lord over any nation and therefore not Lord over any individual and therefore we are still in our sins. But thankfully, this is not true! Christ is Lord! He has conquered sin and death and has dealt the crushing blow of victory over the devil.

That is the gospel and if you don't have both prongs, you've got a truncated "gospel." That two-pronged explanation is Calvinism pure and simple. A diamond is a simple thing with many facets. The Christian Faith is like that: simple, yet complex. Jesus told the disciples on the road to Emmaus that all the things written back there in the OT were written about Him! Everything is pointing to Jesus, including the promises made to Abraham. Calvinism is nothing more than the biblical teaching of the Gospel as it appears it its many glorious facets.

Quote From A.W. Pink on the Sovereignty of God

2011-07-12T10:27:00.002-04:00

“The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.His government is exercised over inanimate matter, over the brute beasts, over the children of men, over angels good and devil, and over Satan himself. No revolving of a world, no shining of a star, no storm, no movement of a creature, no actions of men, no errands of angels, no deeds of the Devil — nothing in all the vast universe can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed. Here is a foundation for faith. Here is a resting place for the intellect. Here is an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It is not blind fate, unbridled evil, man or Devil, but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own eternal glory.” - A.W. Pink

New Jerusalem - Coming Down

2011-06-24T10:39:00.006-04:00

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:1-2 (ESV)

What - or who is the New Jerusalem? If she is not the church - then who is she? That one prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband....? I take a postmillennial view in the sense I see the church as being the heart of the Kingdom of God and the gospel spreading to and throughout the nations much like the way yeast infiltrates a lump of dough. Take note: this does not come about by the power of man like some magical "utopia" but happens by the power of God through His Spirit.

Like blood flowing in and throughout the body, so the church is the heart of the kingdom. Granted, the new heavens and new earth came in principle with the incarnation/cross/resurrection of Christ but the influence is spreading (coming down) like leaven in the loaf. As C.S. Lewis said, aliens have invaded enemy occupied territory and the results are nothing less than world domination.

That conquering message of the gospel of the love God through Jesus Christ has been spreading for 2000 years now and the outworking of it cannot be stopped. Christ said he will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against her. How is she built? Through the proclamation of the gospel which is the foundation established by the prophets and the Apostles - Christ being the chief Cornerstone.

Jesus used the metaphor of a mustard seed in Luke 13 and in Matt. 13, "It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

The Kingdom is the new Jerusalem, coming down and infiltrating the entire world until the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth like the water covers the sea. It's that stone cut from the mountain by no human hand, which although small, wound up destroying all other kingdoms, mentioned in Daniel chapter 2. It's the proclamation of the Kingdom of Christ - the gospel. It's the entire theme of God's Word and history! The church, the new Jerusalem, as I said before, she is the heart of the kingdom and through her the kingdom spreads by word and sacrament.

That spread of yeast through the bread, or the bride coming down from heaven, in one sense has only just begun. In other words, I tend to see us as being still in the very early stages of church history - Acts Chapter 29 or possibly 30, if you will. Again, I'm not dogmatic on this, but this explains a bit of my understanding of that passage in Revelation 21.

Everything's Enchanted

2011-05-04T14:50:00.002-04:00

There is no need to build a false dichotomy between the physical and spiritual. We can make a distinction between those two without falling into dualism. A naturalistic worldview will only acknowledge the material. But when people say the world is"enchanted" I understand that to mean spiritual. And in one sense, the entire material world is infused with the spiritual. This is, after all, a physical world made by God who is Spirit

Again, I believe everything is enchanted...including that big rock that appears in the sky that some people call the "moon." I'm not pagan but the moon is anything but a cold, lifeless rock orbiting the earth. God, put it there to teach us something about authority.

"And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars." Genesis 1:16

"Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Genesis 37:9

The Wide Window - A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 3

2011-04-13T13:55:00.004-04:00

Read this one to my 7-year old daughter with a few edits. It was okay but not quite as good as the first two. The Baudelaire siblings are entrusted to the care of one Aunt Josephine, a worry-wart in the third degree. A sinister pirate-like character by the name Captain Sham shows up, romancing the nervous Aunt but the children suspect him of being guilty of a little dastardly devilry. Could it be "you know who?" Ah! The tattoo of the eye on his left ankle will give away his identity, but wait --Captain Sham has a wooden peg-leg. What gives?

The plot on this one was slightly thin but the dialog was deliciously fun and a blast to act out. I love to make Count Olaf sound sinister and it's very easy to do! He's such a nasty bird!

Shaming the Devil: Essays in Truthtelling - Book Review

2011-04-07T14:41:00.001-04:00

Another fantastic collection of moral essays from Professor Alan Jacobs! In this volume he covers topics such as the benefits of Christians reading W.H. Auden, a critique of Phillip Pullman and his twisted interpretation of Milton's Paradise Lost, (His Dark Materials) and finally a collection of essays on using computers and being challenged to understand just exactly what we "do" when we use those rascally machines. Jacobs pays attention life in the details and I appreciate his honesty

The Silver Chair-Chronicles of Narnia: Book Review

2011-03-16T11:21:00.007-04:00

In C.S. Lewis's The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia, Full-Color Collector's Edition) Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb are called into Narnia by Aslan the Lion a.k.a. King of Narnia to be involved in an important mission. Jill is given four signs to remember but throughout the story, she acts like a "lunatic" and loses control of her mind by forgetting. She and Eustace set out on an journey through Narnia which eventually will lead them to the Underworld where they hope to find and release the captive Prince Rilian, son of King Caspian, (the same "Caspian" from Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Many adventures are experienced along the way as they, fly with owls, meet up with giants and one of Lewis's most beloved characters; a Marsh-Wiggle by the name of Puddleglum. Lots of "silver" stuff in this book. The resurrection of a certain person at the end was amazing! (I'm not telling who...) The Silver Chair was, all in all- very "moonish," and I loved it! especially this full color illustrated edition.

Code of the Woosters-Book Review

2011-03-12T20:25:00.009-05:00

"The snail is on the wing and the lark is on the thorn-" or is it the other way around? Hijinks and blackmail with Wooster, Jeeves and company!

In The Code of the Woosters, Bertie Wooster has been summoned by his Aunt Dahlia to Totleigh Towers, a country manner owned by a former judge. Wooster's task? Nab a cow-shaped creamer--from the judge! who already suspects Wooster of "foul play." Also, while at Totleigh Towers, Wooster attempts to mend several love spats between couples. Can he be the instrument of reconciliatory "love?" or will he end up in the "chokey" for the accusation of pinching a police officer's helmet? Will Jeeves save the day once again? Will Bertie be able to hold to the "Code of the Woosters?"

P.G. Wodehouse's books are so humorous, I feel like I have to read portions aloud to my wife! (Imagine me chasing her around the house, "but you've got to listen to this!) This book is very funny and man--the plot on this one is tight!

Planet Narnia by Michael Ward: Book Review

2011-03-04T19:14:00.005-05:00

A most remarkable and very fine book by any standard! Michael Ward, chaplain of theological imagination at Oxford University makes a good argument for a "heavenly" pattern within C.S. Lewis's Narniad. Each book corresponds to a different planet--in a classic medieval sense. Ward goes so far as to create a new term to describe Lewis's technique of hiding these things: He calls the form of a hidden Enjoyment, "Donegality." (Drawn from the actual seaside town of Donegal, Ireland where Lewis visited as a child). Ward is no conspiracy theorist either! It is evident he has done his homework when compiling this work and his scholarship and love of Lewis comes through. Ward follows a repeated pattern with each chapter by exploring planetary themes of all 7 books. Early in each chapter, he shows how Lewis interacted with a particular Planet in his work outside the Narniad; drawing largely from Lewis' early poem The Planets, The Discarded Image, and the Space Trilogy. He then shows how the planetary themes play themselves out in each of the Narnia Chronicles. At the end of each chapter, Ward examines the poiema (things made) and logos (things taught) in all 7 stories as it relates to the each respective planet and shows how a pagan concept such as astrology can fit within the framework of a Christian world view. This book should be read after one is WELL acquainted with the Narnia stories but if you do love them (as I do) you'll be blown out of your seat and into blue heaven! By Jove!

C.S. Lewis Phenomenon: Donegality

2011-02-24T11:53:00.010-05:00

Michael Ward, in his book Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis invents a a new phrase in order to describe Lewis's way of drawing the reader into something unaware; a phenomenon Ward calls "Donegality." Ward derives the name from Donegal, Ireland, a favorite place of Lewis's to visit as a young boy. The concept means something like getting caught in the trap of an artist. Sometimes a writer will have a secret agenda within his art and the reader will get caught up into it unexpectedly but simultaneously, the reader will delight in that "trap." Lewis's short essay Meditation in a Tool Shed on getting caught in a sunbeam is a fine introduction to what Ward means by Donegality. Lewis was a master at this sort of thing as evidenced here by this quote from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Take notice of how the narrator draws the reader in by asking the question at the end.

Next day they began marching eastward down the side of the great river. And the next day after that, at about teatime, they reached the mouth. The castle of Cair Paravel on its little hill towered up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea and long miles of blueish-green waves breaking forever and ever on the beach. And oh, the cry of the seagulls! Have you heard it? Can you remember?

And then contrast the above quote with Lewis's words from his autobiography Surprised by Joy on visiting Donegal, as a child. Concerning the waves on the beach he said...

"...the wave, the monstrous, emerald, deafening waves, are always the winner, and it is at once a joke, a terror and a joy to look over your shoulder and see (too late) one breaker of such subline proportions that you would have avoided him had you known he was coming. But they gather themselves up, pre-eminent above their fellows, as suddenly and unpredictably as a revolution."

Of course the whole thought of all these things is being "caught up" in something much bigger than ourselves and relishing in the Enjoyment of it! It's all jolly good, Jovial, even!

Sir Gawain & the Green Knight

2011-02-22T15:47:00.004-05:00

[Today, guest blogger Lorien Griffith, age 7 is filling in for her dad as he is home sick with a cold. These are her words.]

My Synopsis of the Story

It was Christmas Time at Camelot. King Arthur's duty was the giving of a feast. Before they ate, someone had to tell King Arthur a story. But no one had a story to tell.

Just then a great big, green, knight showed up! He challenged someone to chop off his head but in a year and a day he would get to chop off their head.

Arthur was brave enough to do it but his nephew Gawain did it instead. He chopped off the head of the giant but his body still lived! It went over and picked up it's head and rode off on his green horse and reminded them of the wager. He would be found at a place called The Green Chapel in a year and day.

The seasons came and went and Gawain was not very excited about going to fulfill his promise. And the people did not want him to go.

He started off on his journey and some geese led him. Along the way, he met some people that were mean and he fought a dragon and an ogre but his worst enemy was the freezing cold!

After going through a dangerous swamp, he and his horse Gringolet find a shiny castle. The people there were very nice. He thought the lady was pretty.

Gawain made a deal with the king of the house: If Gawain took care of the King's wife while the king went hunting, the king would bring Gawain something to eat from out in the woods. In exchange Gawain was to give the king whatever came his way at the house.

So the men of the house go out for a hunt and kill many deer.

Meanwhile back at the house, Gawain gets kissed by the lady.

The king returns and gives many deer to the Gawain and all Gawain can give is a kiss!

Late that night they agree to do the same thing the next day.

The next day the king goes on another hunt and kills a giant, old, mean boar.

Once again, the lady and Gawain kiss but Gawain does not think this is a good idea because he loves the king too and does not want to hurt him.

The king brings back the dead boar and they have a big party and this time Gawain gives the king two kisses!

Gawain now wants to go because he does not want to get in trouble with the lady.

The king says it would be best to stay and play the game, just one more time.

The next day the king goes fox hunting and again Gawain is tempted by the lady. This time she gives him a supposedly magic green belt which will keep him safe. She wants Gawain to keep it a secret from the king.

The king bring Gawain a fox and Gawain gives him three kisses this time but does not tell him about the belt.

The house has a feast in honor of Gawain's going away but he is troubled by a mysterious old woman who watches him.

The next day Gawain rides out with his horse Gringolet and a guide.

The guide leads them to a green hill and warns him of danger.

The Green Knight shows up and Gawain offers him his neck as promised a year and a day ago.

The Green Knight teases him by acting like he is going to chop off his head two times. On the third time he nicks him but spares his life.

The Green Knight at this time reveals that he and the king are actually the same man! He had been testing Gawain's loyalty back at the castle and Gawain passed the test because Gawain had kept the belt only so he could continue to live.

Gawain and Gringolet begin their journey home.

When they return to Camelot, Gawain is welcomed as a hero.

What I Thought of the Book

I thought it was good story and I would recommend it. Some of the pictures in the book were revolting because they showed tons of blood. My favorite part was at the end when I found out the Green Knight and the King were the same man!

A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age

2011-02-17T15:21:00.010-05:00

In A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age, Alan Jacobs tackles themes big and diminutive in this somewhat wildly eclectic collection. Jacobs is an English professor at Wheaton College and his love of the language and it's impact upon our culture shines.

Although, only a tiny bit disjointed (it is an eclectic collection after all!), each essay flows with charity and humility from one subject to the next. Jacobs finds a lot to talk about in such a short book! From the possibility of--along with the pros and cons of ebooks (this book was written in 2001 prior to the creation of the Amazon Kindle) to the virtues of Harry Potter and the proper use of magic...er, I mean technology, Professor Jacobs uses his keen eye of the world and quick wit to engage creatively with moral questions and offers a cultural critique of the 21st Century from a Christian perspective. I especially appreciated his discussion of Bob Dylan and his classic record Blood on the Tracks.

Jacobs is obviously a fan of C.S. Lewis and W.H. Auden as those two writers are prominently quoted and referred to in almost every chapter.

Apparently, Jacobs has put together several collections of essays. He's obviously a gifted man when it comes to observation. In an attempt at a bit of self-deprecating humor in the essay on the "Lives of Essayists," Jacobs suggests that "if an essay is anything, it is the discourse of an inexpert." However, I would suggest Alan Jacobs is one of those sorts of writers who could write about virtually anything and transform it into something appealing by virtue of his insight and articulation! In my opinion Jacobs is one of the finest American writers out there and I'm looking forward to reading more books by him soon....stay tuned!

The Book of Lost Things-Book Review

2011-02-13T19:33:00.015-05:00

The Book of Lost Things--a coming of age tale by John Connolly, begins in war torn England during the 1940's. 12-year old David's mother has succumbed to death at the end of a long term illness. Young David grieves her passing with an overwhelming sadness.

Before too long his father has remarried and and a new step-baby brother has arrived. As conflict arises within the family, David begins to see and experience strange things at their new country home--old books whisper to one another and a crooked man slips past David's bedroom window at night.

An event happens in the backyard which transports David into another realm where he engages in several perilous adventures on his way to see a king who supposedly has the means to help him get back home. Some on David's path help him toward the goal of regaining what was lost and assist him in understanding that which he has not lost but was there all along. Others are bent upon destroying David. The crooked man also shows up in the other world and attempts to make David an "offer he cannot refuse."

Readers experience the vantage point from a touchingly candid 12-year old's perspective. Although some parts are dark and even terrifying the story is told with tenderness and honesty. As with all really good fairy tales, The Book of Lost Things deals with death, abuse and redemption. There are a few brutal scenes and although not graphic--I would not recommend this for a young child to read. But for many of us who have have "lost things" in our youth--even things which may have been taken or ripped from us by cruel hands and caused great pain--this is a story of bravery, moral courage, redemption and is ultimately about hope for tomorrow and that is something we all need!

Christ's Kingdom is Spreading

2011-02-10T14:22:00.014-05:00

In Romans 4:13 the Apostle Paul interprets a key event which happened in the book of Genesis when he says "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith." [emphasis mine] Therefore God's covenant promises to Abraham were not limited to one single spot of land over in the Middle East but the entire world! I would go so far as to say the entire universe or the created realm was promised to Abraham and his Offspring.

And who is Abraham's Offspring anyway? It is none other than Christ himself. Paul explains this clearly in Galatians 3:16 "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ." So Jesus is not only the Offspring of Abraham, which would make Him the True Israel but He is also the New Adam, the New Moses and the New Temple. In other words, there has been a whole New Creation afoot and it has been spreading sense the time of Jesus! The coming of the Son of God into the world as the long promised Messiah and the ascension of the Son of Man to be seated at the right hand of the Father not only fulfilled the promises made to Abraham but also inaugurated the Kingdom of God and the eternal covenant.

Christ's Kingdom is ruled and reigned by Him from His glorious throne in heaven. It is the impetus for His kingdom on earth. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. Jesus taught us to pray like this: "your Kingdom come...your will be done..., where? "on earth as it is in heaven!" The driving force or the stimulus of the transformation of this lowly place or earthly kingdom is the heavenly kingdom in other words the New Jerusalem or Zion. In principle, the Kingdom is already here and has been here for 2000 years but the application of redemption is not just for individuals but has implications for the entire world; Christ came to be the Savior of the world! His Kingdom is spreading and cannot be stopped. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it!

Book Review of the Passionate Intellect by Alister McGrath

2011-02-02T10:57:00.010-05:00

Atheism is a bankrupt and intellectually dishonest worldview. So explains Christian apologist/theologian, British intellectual, former chemist and all around critical thinker Alister MacGrath. Actually, according to McGrath, 21st century Atheism, espoused by such proponents as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris is nothing more than a vain attempt to move intelligent thought back into a very narrow and truncated version of the 19th century age of the Enlightenment.

McGrath's book, subtitled The Christian Faith and Discipleship of the Mind, calls for Christians to be passionately engaged with the world God created, intellectually as well as imaginatively.

I particularly enjoyed the first half of the book which dealt with the Christian imagination. McGrath does a wonderful job of showing how George Herbert interacted with Christian doctrine through poetry and encourages Christians to find similar ways to engage the culture through creativity.

In the second half of the book McGrath interacts with Charles Darwin and his famous book Origins, exploring some of the faulty conclusions of evolutionary theory. McGrath also engages with some leading atheists of our day and their erroneous "god of the gaps" theories. He also talks about his own journey of faith which began as an atheist at Oxford University in Great Britain as he kept running into road blocks trying to understand the world through "naturalistic" eyes.

My favorite quote of the book came from Voltaire of all people: "Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy; the mad daughter of a wise mother."

McGrath's book is a very accessible introduction to Christian apologetics and theology for thoughtful people who want to be honest about their presuppositions. It is also a passionate call for Christians to use the brains, gifts and talents God has given them, not just to process things rationally but to be engage with God and Christian doctrine through the imagination as well. McGrath joins a long list of authors and Christian thinkers who are encouraging Christians to have a fully-integrated biblical worldview which would include the arts, science, government and philosophy, etc. In other words a fully-orbed Christian/biblical worldview. I highly recommend this book as a welcome addition to that conversation.

Review of Beowulf

2011-01-31T14:53:00.010-05:00

Blood, guts, destruction, bravery and all glory and honor to God Almighty, lumped into one little package! My daughter and I loved Beowulf by Michael Murporgo which is actually a retelling of the classic epic poem in a children's book format, complete with full color illustrations.

If you're not familiar with the story, it's told in three parts: Beowulf, a mighty hero, is called in to save the day. An evil fiend had been brutally terrorizing folks in a mead hall in a nearby kingdom. What's a "mead-hall?" It's something like a local pub where citizens get together and have a pint or two and talk about the good ol' days. Beowulf kills the creature Grendel, barehanded. But before the victory gets back into full swing again at the mead-hall, trouble brews once more out on the moors. Evidently, Grendel, the defeated foul foe, had a mother and now Beowulf's got to get rid of her as well. She is sea hag-like and just as wicked as junior. Beowulf goes to her evil under water lair, which is guarded by several diabolical sea-serpents and brutally cleans Grendel's mother's clock with a mighty sword. In the third act, Beowulf has gone back to his homeland a hero and becomes king after the passing of his father. Years later a vicious dragon is awakened after someone does something really stupid, (*warning: never steal gold from a sleeping dragon) and Beowulf must save his own people from the dragon's venomous fire. I won't tell you the outcome but it's extraordinarily exciting!

The illustrations in this children's story book are as brutal as the descriptive language which make it all the better! No watered-down "Walt Disney-ish" reprogramming here, so reader beware! Beowulf, is a true hero who actually fights and kills monsters with his bare hands and it ain't pretty...But it's good!

Review of The Well at the World's End: a tale

2011-01-28T22:46:00.011-05:00

Messeemeth as though William Morris' The well at the world's end, a tale may be one of those books one might either loveth or hateth. I, loved it! Although it is hard not to like a book which has a character named "Gandolf" and which predates Tolkien's work by close to 100 years! The book is also chock full of archaic expressions, i.e. forsooth, meseems, betwixt, etc. If reading such fanciful language is a turn off to you, run far, far away, and very fast. Actually, even if you are into it, digesting those old words takes a while to get used to but that's part of the charm. Besides, the book is so long, (more about that in a bit), those words will soon begin to seem like old hat. What's it about? Here's the plot: Young knight goes in search of adventure far from home, encounters lots of dangers in a variety of perilous woods, (a lot of talk about a group called "The Men of the Dry Tree"....I never quite figured it out), meets the love of his life, she's murdered, he seeks revenge (sort of), becomes very sad, falls in love again, the two are married, they continue their quest which is to drink from the WELL a the WORLD'S END. (It's all part of the plan, you see). They do and come back and the Shire ain't what it used to be, (whoops, wrong story)...Anyway, you get the point. On their way back home, after drinking from the WELL at the WORLD'S END, Ralph of Upmeads, (our brave young hero), and the dainty Ursala, conquer all their enemies. She and he are crowned the new queen and king and live happily every after. A simple tale, right? Yes! but Morris took his time spelling out the details. I can see the length of a book like this turning some people off. But the glory of it is in the telling of the tale. And "glory" forsooth! 119 chapters and 800 pages. Forsooth, indeed!

Hunger Games Book Review

2011-01-12T08:41:00.008-05:00

I'm generally a fan of dystopic and post apocalyptic novels so I was intrigued when I heard of this story of a teenage girl living in a futuristic North America under tyrannical rule who gets put into a tight jam with difficult choices to make. But as soon as I finished the last page of The Hunger Games: Book 1 by Suzanne Collins, I immediately had to turn to William Morris' The well at the world's end, a tale in order to cleanse myself of such defilement! I admit however the action in the "arena" was quite intense and kept me glued to my Kindle. However,the whole "makeup" scenes with flames painted on her fingernails, and the kissing scenes with the "bread boy" etc. were just "icky!" (Maybe, I've just forgotten what it was like to be a teenager). There were several places I would consider "page turners" but by the end, I was ultimately disappointed. The characters were like cardboard cut-outs to me and I felt zero emotion for them. No, I cannot understand the popularity. Harry Potter, where are you when we need you? I think I'll wait for the movie in order to find out what happens, rather than read the next two volumes.

Young Jean Cauvin-Umber Stage 4

2010-12-16T15:46:00.002-05:00

I've finally got paint covering the entire canvas! Primarily worked on background on this stage. Detail work to follow.

Young Jean Cauvin-Stage 3

2010-10-25T19:28:00.004-04:00

Was able to get a little bit accomplished on this tonight. This will be a monochromatic painting in the style of my self-portrait from last year. The background is much for difficult for me than the face, that's why I've left it to do later... I'll need to paint that upside-down. More to come.

Box-Cutter Toothpicks on Airlines

2010-10-22T10:05:00.007-04:00

In our politically-correct environment, the most successful way to discredit your opponent is to label him with an irrational fear or "phobia," when he disagrees with you on any given topic. For instance, if you believe God teaches in the Bible that homosexual behavior is a sin, the one who disagrees with this position will say you suffer from "homo-phobia."

Do people who don "Islamic attire" and use box cutters to pick their teeth with on airlines freak you out a little? If so, you might be a "Islama-phobe." All you gotta' do is take the name of the thing your opponent disagrees with you on, add the word "phobia" to the end and you are ready for him to be committed to an insane asylum- never to be heard from again! See how it works? Nifty, huh?

in which I Interact with a Jewish Rabbi

2010-10-07T19:05:00.006-04:00

In a recent article in First Things, Rabbi Meir Y. Soloveichik has written an essay discussing the bridging of the gap between man and God as it relates to the Torah and the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Soloveichik misses some very important things with regards to his understanding of the Christian Faith; particularly his view of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Soloveichik says, "The Torah is infinite and inexhaustible," By this, Soloveichik means one can interpret the Torah until the cows come home and never get to the bottom of it. Of course, if one does come across "a bottom" the suggestion would be to keep looking up because if you find it, it's really not there! I am sure one could come up with an infinite amount of interpretations of the Torah if they tried hard enough but at the end of the day the Old Testament is an incomplete book without the New Testament. After all, where is the promised Messiah? Jesus said they never find Him, because they refuse to see what is there! Is Jesus in the Old Testament? Yes, but every time He shows up, men like Soloveichick shut their eyes and say, "I don't see him..." Is it no wonder he never gets to the heart of what it is all about and the direction the Torah is moving? i.e. worldwide redemption? The promise God gave to Abraham was that the nations would be blessed through him. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me," John 5:29

Soloveichik goes on to say, "Judaism...stands in contrast to the Christian Faith and its turn toward what the Gospel of John calls, "Word made flesh." And that is does! It is kind of sticky point isn't it, that we Christians worship "a man?" However, Jesus is not just any man, He is the God Man! The New Adam. He is Immanuel, who "tabernacled" amongst us. The veil has been ripped in two and God Himself has stepped out from behind the veil. He inaugurated the Kingdom of God on earth and made Himself known to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If Jesus does not have two natures, then the Jews have got it right: The New Testament would contradict the Old. That is why it is so very important we understand that Christ has two distinct but not divided natures. Yes, He is 100% man but He is also 100% God, not 50% man and 50% God.

Soloveichik said, "God warns us that "man cannot see Me and live." True! No man can see God and live, that's why we must die first. This is where many Evangelicals get confused. Jesus did not come so we could just live forever, He came to die and rise from the grave so that we might die and be raised again with Him and then live forever. (HT: Doug Wilson). We have eternal life because we've died and been raised with Jesus. Jesus died on the cross. And what about our death? Our death is passing through the waters of baptism and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit must kill us so that we might live forever. Jesus said, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God. One must first die before he can be raised to new life and one cannot see God unless goes through that death, burial and resurrection.

Soloveichik said, "That Christians believe the gap between God and man is bridged by the incarnation." Again, this is where the two natures of Christ is essential. Christ is the only Mediator between God and man because He is the eternal Son of God. Those who cling to Judaism fail to acknowledge that God has made Himself known. The light of the new day has come but men love to dwell in darkness rather than come into the light lest their deeds be exposed. Both Judaism, Islam and Gnosticism want a God that's far off but with the incarnation, God has come near. Of course this scares the pants off of people so they run and hide from it!

Soloveichik said "Christians are in danger of violated the second command by worshiping man by seeking to bridge the gap between God and man." He acknowledges the gap between these two religions is radically wide and he is right. If Jesus were not infinite He would not be able to bridge that gap but because He is infinite, He is able to do it. Soloveichik goes on to say that "Jews reject the notion that God might take bodily form..." What? That is not consistent with the Torah (OT)! How about the men who visited with Abraham, wrestling with Jacob and other instances of what Christians call "Christophanies?" This supports Peter Leithart's suspicion that gnosticism grew out of a form of Judaism which rejected Christ. It makes sense too when you think about the physical place where Jews once worshiped; The Temple, has now been destroyed. Where do Jews go now to worship God? Nowhere, He becomes mystical in that sense and ultimately unknowable.

Soloveichik says, "the Jews may have been bound hand and foot but their intellects were never enslaved." This remark reminds me of the conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees, "we're slaves to no one!"

Soloveichik concludes by saying, "God has not forsaken us." In one sense, it is true that ethic Jews can still come back into the covenant through faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but presently, as a nation they are cut off, and they are laying at the foot of the Olive Tree as dead branches. They can be grafted back into the true Israel but there is no other covenant other than the one that has been established by Christ in his life, death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of the Father.

One Minute Review of The Town

2010-09-25T13:32:00.001-04:00

One Minute Review: The Town from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.

Mother Kirk by Douglas Wilson

2010-09-24T11:03:00.008-04:00

Subtitled; "Essays and Forays into Practical Ecclessiology." And Mother Kirk by Douglas Wilson pastor of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho is just that. Within these pages are many, many useful ideas and help for Church leaders.

With 30+ years of serving as a pastor Wilson sets out to define who the Church is and then spends the rest of the book explaining what She ought to be doing. I particularly enjoyed reading his thoughts about Parish Churches and also the idea of a church having a publishing ministry. A few of his ideas about publishing seems to be a little dated in that he doesn't mention blogs, etc. but the practices he suggests could be easily be put into those contexts as well. Wilson says the modern Church ought to be ashamed at doing so little with publishing when compared with the shear volume of wrtings of the Puritans and what they did with such little technology. There were several times I had to stop reading and say to myself, "Duh! Why are we not doing that?"

A great read for anyone remotely interested in studying the life of the Church! This is the kind of book which needs to be read multiple times because forgetting who we are and what we ought to be doing is more of a moral problem than anything else. The bibliography found in the footnotes throughout is worth the price of the book!

I would encourage anyone who might be interested in reading this book to do so in conjunction with David Wells' The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World. The former being what we ought to be doing and the latter being what we ought not be doing.

Smoking "Gonja" in the Capital Bathroom

2010-09-17T14:59:00.005-04:00

There are the way things are and the way they ought to be. According to our Constitution, this is the way they ought to be:

Legislative Branch: Make laws.
Executive Branch: Enforce law
Judicial Branch: Interpret law using Constitution as the standard.

But something else is happening; we've got the judicial branch making laws, executive branch failing to enforce laws already established, i.e. border control, and congressional aides smoking "gonja" in the bathroom of the capital building. This is troubling. The reason we have experienced such great freedom here in the U.S. is because our founding fathers were wise enough to separate those powers into three different branches. The more we move away from those principles, the less freedom our children will have.

Super Mario Brothers-Pinball Machine

2010-09-14T20:06:00.014-04:00

After several weeks, I have finally completed my wife's, cousin's Super Mario Brothers-Pinball Machine. This was no easy task. The painting was fun, but getting an accurate drawing onto the cabinet was incredibly hard! Trust me, I was seeing Mario and his minions in my sleep! In essence, this was like painting five paintings in one: Two bottom sides, two top sides and the front of the cabinet. I basically painted one color at a time, working my way around, and around, and around. I had a jolly good time painting it and it provided me with challenges I solved which will help me in future projects. Usually, I'm focused on smaller pictures and the nature alone of the painting of this machine helped me think in terms of "big."

It was painted in oil, so it will take at least few weeks to dry. My wife wants it out of the family room before Christmas. heh heh!

The Bible and the Qu'ran: Let's Compare

2010-09-14T11:18:00.003-04:00

The Bible and the Qu'ran are in essence very different books. The Bible was written over the course of hundreds of years, in different genres (parables, advice, dreams, etc), by a wide variety of authors, (nomads, leaders, scholars, fishermen, etc). Thoughtful Christians do not take every word of the Bible literally but they should believe it absolutely. The Qu'ran was written by one man over the course of his own lifetime and is meant to be taken as literal commands. Whereas the entire Bible is an unfolding of drama of redemptive history and claims to be and is un-contradictory, (there are however mysteries which appear contradictory but are not). The Qu'ran provides an easy way out for it's contradictions (and they are there); very simply, the later, more violent writings supersede the earlier more peaceful writings. Those more gentle and tolerant passages in the Qu'ran were written very early in Mohammad's prophetic career. If you put the Bible and the Qu'ran side by side and read them closely you will find they teach radically different concepts. At the very heart of the Christian Faith is the concept of grace; Jesus gave His life and rose from the grave. That great redemptive act in history was the THE act whereby Jesus established his people. Mohammad built his religion by conquering with the sword. Although that approach may be effective in the short term, the essence of what the Qu'ran teaches is not a message of grace. Peace.

The Old Man and the Sea

2010-09-14T09:54:00.004-04:00

The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a short novel about one man's perilous struggle with the natural world. The "old man" fights with a glorious fish as he longs for companionship out on the open water. Written with an eye for detail and passion I could feel my hands burn from the friction of the fishing line. In my mind, I saw the colors of the grand fish change from purple to silver as it met it's fate. The salty sea air drifted from the pages as I read this tale, or maybe that was only because I bought this worn out copy from a used bookstore. The story also confirmed by suspicions that sharks are not our friends! There's a metaphor laying around here in my tackle box, I just need to find it. A great, quick , classic read!

One Minute Review of Inception

2010-09-04T19:08:00.002-04:00

Thomas McKenzie has recently become one of my favorite film reviewers. Here is his review of one of my favorite movies of the summer; Inception.

One Minute Review: Inception from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.

The Skin Map: Part 1 of Bright Empires by Stephen Lawhead

2010-09-04T17:52:00.010-04:00

Ancient, alternate realities collide in Stephen Lawhead's new tale,The Skin Map (Bright Empires). Filled with intrigue, humor and suspense the first in a series of the Bright Empires trilogy is a combination of Back to the Future, and Sherlocke Holmes, with a bit of Indiana Jones thrown in on the side.

We first encounter young Londoner, Kip, who meets his great-grandfather Cosimo, (gotta love that name!), who instructs him in the way of traveling across "ley lines," which enable a person to not only leap spontaneously from one place to another but also lets one to travel through time, (and you thought Stone Henge had something to do with ancient paganism, heh..!) So, early on the characters are split not only across geographical boundaries but chronologically as well. A very important ancient map is sought which was originally tattooed on the back of a man; a "skin map," hence the title. That map is full of interestingly important symbols which help plot a course across the Aeons.

Lawhead has written a twisty-turney plot, sprinkled with laugh-out-loud dialogue. The Skin Map had me engrossed from beginning to end with it's story of the first kaffeehaus known to mankind . Warning; this first of a trilogy ends in somewhat of a cliffhanger. I only regret I didn't wait until the entire thing was written before starting it. Now, I've got to wait until September of 2011 before The Bone House is released! Big-time of a bummer but I am delighted nonetheless to be able to get to read a really good book and now, I have something to look forward too next year!

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

2010-09-03T21:37:00.009-04:00

My 7-year old daughter and I were glued to Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) from beginning to end. Her friend from across the street even stopped in and caught the last chapter as I read aloud. This neighbor girl will hardly sit still for anything but was riveted to her seat as we approached the climax of the story. I confess to being as curious as to what was going to happen to the Baudelaire children as they were!

The story follows three wealthy orphans who are forced to live with a distant relative after their parents die in a fire. There are several delightful twists of plot throughout. Count Olaf is a deliciously dastardly fellow. It was written with a classy style and I particularly enjoyed the way Snicket approaches children. Tolkien once said, "Never mind about the young! I am not interested in the 'child' as such, modern or otherwise, and certainly have no intention of meeting him/her half way, or a quarter of the way. It is a mistaken thing to do anyway, either useless (when applied to the stupid) or pernicious (when inflicted on the gifted)." Snicket must have taken Tolkien's wise advice, because the book doesn't talk down to children at all but speaks to them on a even keel. We're looking forward to the next one with much anticipation--"anticipation" here meaning, "waiting with much eagerness."

Covenant Children and Church Discipline

2010-09-03T20:59:00.008-04:00

THE promises made in the Old Testament concerning the new covenant with regards to children of believers are plentiful. For example:

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”-Isaiah 59:21

A verse like this is entirely consistent with passages in the New Testament:, i.e. Peter's sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2, Lydia's household being baptized, and Philippian jailer's household being baptized.

It's very important we understand the Bible as it was written within an historical context where people understood the concept of federal/covenant headship as it relates to head of households. An example of this kind of error happening would be someone in our day reading the passage about Abraham being called out from Ur in the book of Genesis and assume it was just he and Sarah who made that long journey. Not so. We're told Abraham brought along an entourage of over 300! They were all, in one sense (objectively) a part of Abraham's family of which he was the head, (so much for an ethically pure bloodline of Hebrews!). So, all the men, including the servants, would have been circumcised.

Just as there are two ways to be a part of Israel, (Rom. 9:6) there are two ways to be a "Christian," i.e. outward/visible member of a local church, and inwardly/invisibly regenerated by the Holy Spirit. In a perfect world we would know who all the regenerate are. Sadly, we do not. Jesus told us there are tares amongst the wheat. The church, generally speaking is a wheat field, not a tare field. Therefore, we ought to treat those within the church, including the children the Lord gives us as if they are wheat. This is why church discipline is so very important.

Creeds, Cults, and the Bible

2010-09-02T13:06:00.007-04:00

Did you know the Table of Contents in your Bible is a creed? Where do you think our Bible came from? It didn't fall out of the sky! It was given to us within an historic context, written over thousands of years. Douglas Wilson has said, "Before we come to the Word of God in Genesis 1:1, we come to the word of the church in the table of contents." In other words, what Wilson means is you won't find anywhere in the Bible itself where it says, "These 66 books are the ones we need to use." The table of contents is a creed (or a statement of belief) because we, as Christians are trusting somewhere along the line that somebody with some kind of authority, recognized those 66 books as the inspired Word of God..and got it right. Keith Mathison has a great book on this; The Shape of Sola Scriptura

Interestingly enough, the Bible must be read, and it must be interpreted. If the final appeal to authority is to the mind of the individual, we've got a serious problem. This is where cults come from; i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses (Arians) and Mormons (Gnostics). Those cults hold to ancient heresies which have already been dealt with in the church. Why do these "newer" cults advocate the same doctrine taught by ancient heretics? Because somewhere along the line, their leaders encouraged their followers to abandon the historic creeds and confessions of the faith.

The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World by Douglas Kelly

2010-08-30T14:41:00.011-04:00

Growing up under the tutelage of the secularist state-controlled government educational institution, I was taught very little about the origins of our government here in this great country called The United States of America. But there was one small tidbit of information which has stuck in my mind; Every year around Thanksgiving, amongst the making of paper turkeys, pilgrims, and Indians to hang on the wall, we were told our ancestors came to this country because they were trying to escape"religious" persecution of some sort or another. "Really," I remember thinking, almost out loud, "weren't those countries, i.e. England, Scotland, Ireland, etc, also Christian?" Of course they were, but if I ever did ask that question, I never remember getting a very good answer to it!

Enter Douglas Kelley's excellent little book on,The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments from the 16th Through 18th Centuries. This is the book everyone should have read in high school in order to understand the origins of our free country. Kelly traces the history of Calvinistic influenced government from the time of Reformer John Calvin in Geneva Switzerland, through the Huguenots in France, (who suffered tremendous persecution), up through John Knox in Scotland and his dealings with Queen Mary, on to the Protestant Reformation in England and the fight between the balance of power there between church and state; which is the point where our "Calvinistic" ancestors fled to these wondrous shores of America, in order to establish religious freedom. In other words to escape the tyrannical rule of the British crown.

Kelly gets the heart of the theological convictions of our forefathers. He focuses a lot on the Puritans and their influence and struggle with the British monarchy and the goal of resisting tyrany; the depravity of man as it relates to men being in power over others being a crucial point. The overarching theme of Kelly's wonderful little book is Calvin's view of the outworking of the two-pronged view of the separation of the powers of church and state. This is extremely important as we try to understand the reason for the separation of the three branches or powers of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The power of the church does not derive it's authority from the state but from Christ alone who is Lord over both the church and state.

A great little book! I highly recommend it for anyone at least remotely interested in how our government here in America came into being.

Worshipers and Women

2010-08-29T13:01:00.004-04:00

We're all religious in one sense: What I mean is we're all "worshipers." We are human beings who have the capacity to delight in, and enjoy things. The thing we delight in and and enjoy the most is what the Bible and Christians define as"worship." Some delight in money, fame, fortune, family, new car, dog, or cat, or whatever, they're enjoying something above all else and that's worship. Negatively put, John Calvin said our hearts are "idol factories." In a nutshell he means this, God created us all to be worshipers and yet as fallen human beings we attempt to find our satisfaction in any and everything else other than the one who can satisfy our greatest desire. Saint Augustine said, "our hearts are restless until they find their delight ultimately in the God who made us." (my paraphrase).

Secondly, any religion that delights and enjoys the practice of abusing and dishonoring women is despicable. Period.

Bed Bugs- Still Sucking Blood

2010-08-27T22:22:00.012-04:00

A couple years ago some friends of mine brought bed bugs into their home from an overnight stay at a hotel room. It took them months to get rid of them! I saw my friend on a daily basis and I can attest to observing the red splotchy marks on his neck. I would ask him, "Still got 'em, huh?" His answer? "Yep.." Their family was horrified by it!

Now, I hear in New York City, 1 in 5 people have them in their apartments, houses, etc. This is scary stuff!

Take a look at the photo at the upper left. This is place where you will want to examine on a mattress if you check into a hotel room. They like to hide out in the crevices of mattresses. I know, it's gross but it's worth a check before you sleep in a strange room. During dailylight hours they crawl behind the walls and under the floor.

As you can see from the photo on the right those red markings are not attractive naturally red features but blood showing through the body of a bed bug. Why? Because they are blood suckers, which is grotesque but worse of all, they are one of the absolutely hardest pests to ever get rid of. I wish you well my friends! (And don't let them critters bite you when you're trying to sleep!)

If you plan to vacation in NYC, you ought to consider taking a "bed bug proof" mattress covers with you. See below.

Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher

2010-08-26T21:28:00.009-04:00

Ghostwriter: A Novel The protagonist, a writer of horror fiction with a bad case of writer's block, struggles with the recent death of his wife and a ghost who won't leave him alone. He's also haunted by flashbacks of his stories which seem real, but are they? One never knows... Many loose ends and thoroughly unsatisfying. Thrasher shows potential to be the next "Christian" Stephen King but he needs to work on the rough edges of his plot and try not so hard to be the next King or Koontz.

Deep Comedy by Peter Leithart

2010-08-22T21:31:00.007-04:00

With a big emphasis on the word "deep," Leithart paddles into the pool of punditry in his book Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, & Hope In Western Literature with a very serious look at comedy and the Christian Faith with regards to literature. But seriously folks, this book ain't funny. If you're looking for light, fluffy humor stick with the Sunday funny papers because this book is as serious as a heart attack!

Leithart defines "deep comedy" as a story that ends with a better ending than the way it began, with a good dose of tragedy in the middle.

The book is basically split into three parts: Firstly he examines ancient literature, i.e. The Iliad, The Odyssey, etc. According to Leithart, there is very little if any "deep" comedy in ancient literature. In the second part, he looks at "deep comedy" as it relates to theology. And finally, in the third and last part, Leithart focuses on Shakespeare, particularly the plays, King Lear, and Twelfth Night (which I have never read but I'm afraid they might "kill" me if I were to do so!); showing how these stories are very much examples of "deep comedy." In other words they are profoundly "Christian" in their scope.

It would behoove me to go back and read this book again sometime in the future. It was a short, albeit hard, difficult, and deep book. And that's no laughing matter!

"9" starring Elijah Wood

2010-08-19T12:38:00.008-04:00

9 [Blu-ray] is fantabulistic visually stunning, post-apocalyptic thriller with a lot of heart and soul but kinda' lame on story character development. I loved the look and personality of the characters, (an interesting thing since they were all robots with the exception of one). The special effects were particularly thrilling and believable. It had just the right amount of Tim Burtonish visuals to make it freaky and fun! The bad guy (robot) was really bad. I'm always a sucker for "machines taking over the world" films. The atmosphere created by the computer animators was dirty, grimey, and gritty enough to seem like I was watching reality rather CGI. The sound effects were sensational and caused me to almost jump out of my seat a few times! The running time was short, 1 hour 12 minutes and hardly enough to even develop an introduction to what the story had the potential to be. Aesthetically and superficially wonderful with very little depth of story and character development. Check out the preview below!

The Poisonwood Bible

2010-08-18T17:17:00.011-04:00

Barbara Kingsolver in her book,The Poisonwood Bible has told a rich, detailed, yet flawed story of a family torn between religions, cultures, and relationships.

A fiery Baptist preacher, his wife and four daughters head into the ruthless and vengeful jungle of the Congo in 1960 to do missionary work. This historic narrative is told through the eyes of the sisters and mother. It alternates viewpoints from one chapter to another and traces approximately 40 years of history. Their voices seemed authentic and sad. I felt as though I was reading a biography of real people going through real turmoil. The father figure is ruthless, (more about him in a moment).The family meets not only with the dangers of nature and the Congo natives but their worse enemy may have be their ownselves!

Although, I found her style of writing to be thrilling and very imaginative her negative outlook towards Christians and America is apparent on almost every page. The father is hard-headed, oppressive, and exhibits no love toward those to whom he's preaching the gospel and no love towards his own family. He's a hypocrite of the worse fashion and yet he's the only "real believer" in the story. The entire family rejects the faith of their father and the author presents this as a positive thing. I kept gettting the feeling that if Kingsolver would have put as much research into real Christians as she did African culture the book would have been 100 times better! She's very sympathetic towards paganism.

Overall it was is both funny, thrilling and sad in parts but I found her bias against Christian missionaries to be diappointing. A pageturner but a turn-off ultimately.

Justification by N.T. Wright

2010-08-11T08:38:00.013-04:00

Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision is N.T. Wright's well written answer to John Piper's book,The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. His tone toward Piper is gracious yet firm. He believes a paradigm shift must takes place in how most theologians have understood "imputed righteousness," over the last 400 years, which he believes was a knee jerk reaction of the Reformers against Roman Catholicism. According the Wright the issue was never about "merit" but about God's faithfulness to keep his promise to Abraham. That faithfulness of God to keep covenant, according to Wright is what Paul means by God's "righteousness."

The first half of the book is theological and the second half is exegetical. Wright's emphasis and constant reminder to his readers is God's promise to Abraham to bless the nations and remedy the curse of sin by sending the faithful Israelite; Jesus the Messiah to live and die for His people in order to redeem them. This, according to Wright is Paul's message and the overarching theme of the Bible. According to Wright, it must not be ignored when trying to understand how the world is being redeemed for God's glory and how a person becomes a child of God.

A must read for anyone interested in the subjects of Soteriology, Ecclessiology, or Eschatology; in other words anyone wanting to know how and why they fit into this community called, "The People of God" ought to read it!

Sleep, Snooze, & Sloth

2010-08-06T10:14:00.003-04:00

According to Psalm 127:2, sleep is a gracious gift. "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil;for he gives to his beloved sleep." However, like other gracious gifts from God, i.e. "wine, women, and song," sleep can be abused. Consider this verse from Proverbs 19:15, "Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger." The important thing to know about wisdom literature, is it speaks in generalities and cannot be applied the exact same way in every situation. Case in point, one could take the two verses quoted above and say, "see, the Bible contradicts itself." Well, no...duh! It does not. Both statements, "Look before you leap," and "He who hesitates is lost," may appear to be contradictory but must be understood in a proper context with an appropriate application.

Which Shoe First, God?

2010-07-30T15:13:00.003-04:00

"But if a man stops to get the will of God in tying in shoe, or on making a lane change, he will soon be experiencing what might be called piety paralysis. God governs the world; we are not competent. Our lives are a mist. This does not mean we are to throw up our hands and abdicated all responsibility in decision-making. It simply means that God is God and we are not, and He wants us to make responsible decisions (according to our best light), not because He needs our help running the world, but because He is shaping us into the kind of creatures He has called us to be. We think we are making the world, when actually God is using the world to make us"- Douglas Wilson, Mother Kirk

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt

2010-07-30T08:44:00.015-04:00

Told through the eyes of a seven-year old Jesus, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel traces the life of His family as they travel from Egypt back to Nazareth. When they reach Jerusalem there is war going on and much bloodshed. The young Jesus witnesses a man brutally killed with a spear by a Roman soldier. This event will impact his thoughts the rest of the story. Jesus sees much death and suffering on his trip back to Nazareth, such as bodies hung on crosses which line the roads as far as the eye can see. However these brutal things are counterbalanced with love and respect of his family for one another. This family compassion is a very real presence throughout the story.

Anne Rice has written from the viewpoint of a Jesus who does not know He is God in the flesh. Throughout the story he is very inquisitive about himself, without turning into morbid introspection, as there seems to be much ambiguity about his birth and his family going down to Egypt. He learns of the angels who visited his mother and father from his uncle Cleopas.

The book ends just after Jesus is found by his parents in the Temple after He has gone missing for several days. While there he learns from Temple priests of the murder by Herod of the male children at his birth. This event also troubles him, as he sees himself as the cause of it.

The book is well written and told with reverence. Rice tries to be historically accurate. Her acknowledgments at the end of the book are well worth reading as she recounts her own personal and spiritual journey, along with her interaction with history and biblical texts while researching the book. Her conclusion? There is much error and biased opinions out there concerning the "historical" Jesus. She herself was biased for many years. I was a little troubled by her use of such resources as the Gospel of Thomas, i.e. Jesus turning clay pigeons into real birds, etc. But, her use of those are very, very limited. All in all, I thought Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel by Anne Rice was very good and I look forward to reading the sequel,Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana sometime in the near future.

Being the Church

2010-07-29T08:55:00.002-04:00

The Greek word for church, "Ekklesia" means "called-out people," as in "called-out" from the old way of being human. There is a difference in "going to church" vs. "being the church." "Being" the church means being a part of God's family; in other words, being a part of the new way to be human, which worships and lives life together as brothers and sisters with God as Father, Jesus as Lord, bound together by the Spirit of love. So, in that sense, "He who has not the church as his MOTHER, has not God as his FATHER."

When Nations Get Saved

2010-07-22T08:40:00.006-04:00

Paul preached before a variety of kings and rulers; the gospel eventually going all the way to Rome. And the message was, as it still is, Christ is Lord! But suppose, like Constantine, Caesar says, "Okay, yes, I concede, Christ is Lord." What does he, (Caesar), do now? What happens if Obama says, "Christ is Lord?" How does that manifest itself? In other words, we kinda'/sorta' know what it looks like when individuals get saved but what happens when nations repent and believe gospel? What then? Well-meaning "Christians" might even rail against that sort of thing when it happens. Can't you hear them? "Sure Jesus is Lord over the church, but He ain't Lord over the U.S. Supreme Court....we do have "freedom of religion" after all...I mean, haven't you heard of the separation of church and state?"

Surprised by Hope Thoughts

2010-07-21T09:19:00.015-04:00

I finished N.T. Wright's fascinating Surprised by Hope. A very good book, I highly recommend it. There were only a few parts I found a bit troubling but all in all good, sound, historic biblical teaching from a "fresh" perspective. Below are some gleanings I took from his thoughts about the resurrection, heaven and the future.

Primarily a rebuttal to gnostic tendencies so prevalent in modern evangelicalism concerning heaven and the resurrection; be it the liberal or conservative variety. Wright is not traditional in that sense. He talks scarcely little about the second coming or judgment day, although he does have some things to say about those topics. He has much to say about rethinking heaven, the resurrection and practical implications for here and now. He stays away from speculation about what the future will look like other than bringing attention to "signposts" that point us into the "mist," i.e. "seedtime and harvest." In that sense he's very optimistic and focuses on the victory of Christ over the grave and how that has implications for those who believe. Let me give you a for instance: He says when you read in the Bible about Jesus going to prepare a place for us, he compares that to a friend who tells you he's got beer in the fridge. That doesn't mean you've got to go into the fridge (heaven) to drink it. What your friend will do (hopefully), is break it out in the open to enjoy.

According to Wright heaven and earth is/will converge into one and even now heaven is overlapping or poking into this world, but more about that in a moment, (he says this a lot too!!!) His focus is how eternal life has already begun and ways the church ought to be about the business of putting that into practice now instead of waiting to float around as a disembodied spirit on a cloud somewhere strumming a golden harp. In that spirit he attacks head on, Dispensatinoalism put forth in such popular books as the Left Behind series. Yuck! Away with such gnostic drivel!

Wright talks a lot about 1 Cor. 15 and believes it to be the heart of what the New Testament teaches concerning the resurrection. Almost every time he mentions it he brings up the last verse, 58 and says this is Paul's conclusion of the matter:"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

His encouragement to those who would read his book is that what is done in the here and now has ramifications for the future. As for John 14, he would say Christ is here, yet in another dimension, i.e. heaven.

His description on Hell was confusing, however he does a good job at explaining how purgatory, as defined historically, is a ridiculous idea, unless you consider the world we are in now as a type of purgatory, as in the stage on which our sanctification is played out. I found this to be a very intriguing idea.

He defines Jesus' parousia as an appearing rather than a coming, which he thinks is misleading. Again, the heavenly realm is very much present, yet we cannot see it. Christ is Lord over all and is transforming this world into something that looks more and more like heaven. And he says the dimensions of heaven and earth are interwoven, with heaven spilling over into this world. Two two are converging until one day they will be one. You see it happening when the hungry and poor are fed and clothed in the name of the risen Jesus Christ. So Christ's appearing is the manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth and yet there is a future aspect to his appearing, but it's more like a curtain being pulled back and this world being allowed to see what's actually going on. Christ has been here all along. But as for now we're not sure exactly what that will look like. But what we ought to be doing in the meantime, as God's people, is painting, planting gardens, writing books, building homes, teaching Sunday School, feeding the hungry, etc. all because this is the new way to be human and is living proof of the resurrection.

All in all, a thought provoking and challenging book.

N.T. Wright and the Meaning of the Gospels

2010-07-14T13:35:00.010-04:00

I listened to a couple lectures from N.T. Wright yesterday and this morning which he recently delivered at Wheaton College's 2010 theology conference.

In the talk, Wright poses a question: What are the Gospels all about? What's the primary thrust of their message about Jesus? This is not a trick question. He thinks many in the church have gotten it wrong for a number of years. He thinks many believe the Gospels are the written record which supports the deity of Christ, verified by His resurrection from the dead. Although, most emphatically true, Christ is God in the flesh, Wright believes the writers of the four Gospels had an even larger thing in mind.

Wright believes the Gospels are primarily about the inauguration of the Kingdom through the Cross. This is my paraphrase but he said, historically the church pendulum has swung in error from one extreme to another.

1. Kingdom---where the gospel becomes altogether "social" and misses the point of the cross, or

2. Cross--Where the kingdom becomes pietistic and "other-worldly,' and ignores the earthly ministry of Jesus, or at best, presents Jesus' earthly ministry as a prelude only to the cross. Most folks in my circle of Christianity seems to fall into the latter trap.

Wright says in order to understand the Gospels one must understand they are primarily about Jesus being Israel's Messiah inaugurating His Kingdom through the Cross. These points may seem ultra-nuanced but they have great and practical ramifications.

Prophets, Priests, Kings, and the Trivium

2010-07-02T08:39:00.009-04:00

Priests (Grammar)
Priests are those who hold the office of household servants. They learn and serve through rote repetition. They are given detailed instructions and ordered to perform a task but told very little about why they must do it. This is true of young children in a household. Memorization is key in the early years. This is the grammar stage of learning.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing;”—John 15:15a

Kings (Logic)
A king is one who has matured and is now able to exercise and incorporate wisdom into the way he makes important decisions. As children grow in their knowledge of facts, they grow in maturity and they begin to connect the dots and understand how facts fit together into a larger picture. This is the logic or dialectical phase of learning.
“And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king, (Solomon) had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.”—1 Kings: 3:28

Prophets (Rhetoric )
A prophet is one who speaks for God to the nations. He speaks and the world changes. When one has learned the basics and sees how the pieces fit into the bigger puzzle, he becomes able to speak as one who has wisdom. This the rhetorical stage in which the important truth of God is communicated to others.
“and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. “—Genesis 41:54

The Bible is Hugely Typological

2010-06-30T09:11:00.006-04:00

I've been reading Mike Bull's book Bible Matrix and it's got me thinking about Bible interpretation and symbols. Maybe because I'm a visual artist I tend to be attracted to biblical typology. Yes, there is a continuity of essence in biblical theology but the Bible does not come to us as a systematic theology. It's history; a history of full of symbols. And yes, many of those symbols have come to end because Christ has come. But understanding them in their historical-redemptive context, helps us better to understand what they have fulfilled. We shouldn't ignore what they were pointing too.

The Bible is hugely typological, i.e,. 7-day creation week, tabernacle and all the symbols therein, the temple, dietary laws, man himself is created as a symbol: "imago Dei." Indeed, all of creation is symbolic, "the heavens declare the glory of God." Paul calls the church the "body of Christ." The sun and moon are symbols that rule: "And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars."

Symbols that are repeated time and time again are like a musical refrain. If you watch The Empire Strikes Back and you hear that deep, dark, brooding, powerful tune: Dum Da Da Dum, Dum Da Dum, Dum Da Dum, you don't have to be a genius to know who's coming up in the next scene: Darth Vader'! The Bible has very similar patterns and to ignore them is to miss something. Why does Acts 15:29 say they were to stay away from things that were strangled? "I don't know....let's just skip over that part!" No, we can't do that. The writer had a reason for including that and our task is to understand why he said it.

Sure, typology can be overdone and has been abused, but typological patterns are there and they have something to teach us about covenant theology. Chiasms are there too and ought not to be ignored when doing biblical exegesis. Sorry, but if we ignore them we are not seeing the forest for the trees.

A Splintered Body

2010-06-24T14:04:00.003-04:00

HOW is Jesus in the world by the power of the Spirit? He's in the world by Spirit-empowered New Humanity, aka, the "Bride of Christ." The church is the visible, or physical body of Christ on this earth. We not invited to participate...we are that Body. And we're either telling the truth about who Jesus is by the way we love one another or we're telling a lie, in which case we need to repent. If I were an unbeliever and I saw the way the church was splintered over so many factions, i.e. denominations, age, race, etc. I would find it disgusting. A whole "body" is a beautiful thing. A splintered "body" is repulsive and gross. Who wants to be a part of that??? People are not flocking to the American evangelical church from outside because, quite frankly they find our lack of love for one another and lack of unity to be quite grotesque. Until the church in America, and other parts of the Western church recovers, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, she's going to continue to have a "revolving door" type church membership.

The church is not the destination, the Kingdom of God is. But the church is the heart of that Kingdom, and in principle, she is already there. The world is groaning and longing to be changed and it is looking to us to see what that change looks like. The church alone has been given the message of the Gospel and it is that Spirit-empowered message which has the power to transform, (and is transforming) this world and making all things new.

Young Jean Cauvin-Umber Stage 2

2010-06-01T19:52:00.003-04:00

I've continued to work on shadows. There is a bit of "personality" showing through now. The eyes are the windows to the soul.

Young Jean Cauvin-Umber Stage 1

2010-05-25T23:07:00.003-04:00

I've concentrated on the darkest shadows using burnt umber. In this early stage, I used Liquin as a medium. I keep the layers of paint very thin and try to eliminate as many brush strokes as possible. The shadows in the clerestory is not easy to get right. Many shadows with changing shades of darkness. I'm not sure where the lines begin and where they end!

"Young Jean Cauvin"-Imprimatura

2010-05-20T22:38:00.003-04:00

Imprimatura stage on new painting of well-known French Reformer John Calvin. Basically, at this early stage, I've drawn a "cartoon" of the image on the canvas with a ink-gel pen and then applied a very "thin" layer of an olive color mixture of oil paint. The painting at this stage is very 2-dimensional. The next stage I will concentrate on shadows and thereby take the painting into the appearance of three dimensions.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Finished! (Again...)

2010-05-16T20:34:00.004-04:00

"Mrs. Geraldine Lawson"

24"x30" Oil on stretched canvas

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 9!

2010-05-09T19:36:00.004-04:00

Details, details, details....

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 8

2010-05-04T20:36:00.002-04:00

I've been refining details. This has been the most difficult part for me. Lots of guesswork!

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 7

2010-05-02T19:14:00.003-04:00

Scumbled a flesh color over entire face, arms, and hand. These "back and forth" steps of highlights, shadows and overall foundations are essential in building form and luminosity. Also, scumbled highlights onto shirt. And I glazed shadows onto bottom left corner of theater curtain. Next step will be to re-establish shadows and highlights.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 6

2010-05-02T19:11:00.003-04:00

Put "apple" back into cheeks, chin, nose, and ears. Glazed blue onto shirt, and yellow over entire seating area.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 5

2010-04-27T19:53:00.003-04:00

I've "scumbled" lighter opaque colors this evening. This is the opposite of glazing where you apply transparent dark colors. Scumbling builds "form." The obvious change on this layer is the scumbled light on her face. But I've also scumbled light on the columns on the sides and on the highlights of her shirt.

I've also glazed some a very dark crimson/scarlet mixture onto the curtains. In my opinion, they're looking a lot better than what they did, and I'm not sure if I'll do a lot more to them, other than glazing a dark color into some of the shadows and highlights on the folds.

And I've repainted the chairs and hepefully, receded them into the distance a bit. Details, and more, more details...but I love it!

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 4

2010-04-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

I've re-established shadows on this stage. It is a very necessary step. If I don't do it, I'll easily lose my place as I continue to build "light" upon the subject. Next step will be to bring "light" into the painting using Naples Yellow.

Also, on a side note, if you notice, I've glazed "blue" color onto her neck. A truly classical painting will have blue on the neck, red on the face and yellow on the forehead. I don't know why this makes it look nice but it works!

2010-04-24T19:21:00.005-04:00

My wife wanted me to mow grass this evening, but I had too much fun painting this!

I glazed flesh color over skin. Although I lose definition, I gain luminosity. My next step will be to glaze "cool" shadows onto face and re-establish dimensionality. I defined the blue shirt with shadows and highlights, and put some shadows into folds of stage curtain. And I defined shadows in side columns and brought more details into seats.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 2

2010-04-20T19:54:00.004-04:00

I've "put the apple" into her face on this stage. The idea is to put splotches of red into areas where cartilage and blood vessels are closest to the surface of the skin. It looks strange in this early stage, but it seems to work as future thin opaque layers of flesh color will almost completely cover the bright red. If you want to see an example of this, look at the veins in your wrist...What color are they? They aren't red, but you can still see color there can you not? That's the effect I'm going for by doing this.

I've also glazed a bright scarlet red into the theatre curtain and it is literally sparkling! I'm very pleased with it. Also, I've glazed Raw Sienna on the columns on side and turquoise blue onto shirt. On the next stage I hope to concentrate on her face and cover it with an opaque flesh color.

King James Thompson Chain Bible On Sale

2010-04-18T21:09:00.006-04:00

This handy size King James Version (KJV) makes an excellent gift for a high school graduates! It's bound with beautiful but durable leather soft cover. The Thompson Chain reference Bible is a classic!

Scripturetruth.com is offering a FREE Bible when you purchase ten (10) copies of this Thompson Handy Size Kirvella (softleather) Bible at the regular price of $32.95 per Bible. That's already an excellent price! But here is the really great part: If you order 10 copies of this Bible they will provide a FREE copy! Yes! That's right a free Bible if you buy 10 copies. Get them while you can for you graduates!

KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible #537 Handy Size softleather at Scripturetruth dot com for $32.95.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Color Stage 1

2010-04-18T20:52:00.003-04:00

I read somewhere that every "classic" painting has four essential colors: red, yellow, blue, and black. I think I've got them all covered in this one. There is still much work to do on this painting, but the overall look and feel of it is coming together. In subsequent layers I hope to bring more more detail and luminosity into the face. This will be accomplished by multiples layers of paint, alternating between light and dark, warm and cool values and colors.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Grisaille Stage 3

2010-04-11T19:56:00.002-04:00

I have refined details to the point on this stage that I'm ready begin to add color when it's dry. I think she looks happy!

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Grisaille Stage 2

2010-04-06T20:45:00.002-04:00

Finally, I have a greyscale version covering the entire canvas. On the next stage I'll refine details and then I'll add color....one stage at a time.

2010-04-04T22:57:00.002-04:00

I spent 3 1/2 hours on this stage and still did not complete the "grisaille." I did however accomplish what I thought was the most difficult/detailed sections. On the next stage I hope to completely cover the umber stage with the grisaille, aka, greyscale painting and bring more detail into the face.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Umber Stage 3

2010-03-30T20:17:00.003-04:00

On this third stage, I've continued to establish shadows. These were subtle changes but an essential step. The next stage will be the grisaille (pro-nounced "gri-sigh."

Seymour Deeds -Snippets of Grace

2010-03-28T19:29:00.004-04:00

My friend Seymour Deeds has a very funny series of videos out there in which interprets the Bible using a very "loose" hermeneutic. Seymour is a antinomian pharisee extraordinaire. Not only is he very informative, but hilarious too! The series is called Snippets of Grace and it is an excellent example of Christian satire! I would encourage you to check it out, but please stay away from his way of interpreting the Bible!

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Umber Stage 2

2010-03-28T19:27:00.002-04:00

I've continued to establish shadows. This painting is so big, I'm going to need to go to a third stage on the umber layer.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Umber Stage 1

2010-03-27T18:10:00.004-04:00

I'm used this stuff called T.R.P.S. (a turpentine substitute) to thin the paint but I won't use it again. It cuts too much! You can see where it thinned all the way through the imprimatura and reveals the white canvas beneath. Fixing an oil painting is generally easy to do because it can be covered with another layer. Yet, it's somewhat aggravating. Overall, I'm pleased with the progress. I think it looks like a stage in the background.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Imprimatura Stage

2010-03-23T19:38:00.003-04:00

This painting is going to be huge! It's 24"x30". I've successfully transferred the drawing (you can barely see it, but it's there...) onto the canvas and laid down a very thin coat of oil. This will need to dry for several days before I begin the umber stage, where I will concentrate primarily on shadows.

African Grassland

2010-03-23T18:28:00.002-04:00

I drew this picture with colored pencils of a scene in Africa while I was in West Virginia over the weekend.

Mrs. Geraldine Lawson-Drawing Stage

2010-03-15T23:18:00.007-04:00

This new portrait will be of the late Mrs. Geraldine Lawson. The size will be 24"x30". Although my "drawing," may look strange, it will be a very helpful map to let me know where to put paint on the canvas in the very early stages. I have not even stretched the canvas for this painting, so I have much yet to do. If it turns out good, it may have a opportunity to hang in the Geraldine Lawson Performing Arts Center, home of Attic Productions; a theater group in Fincastle, Virginia.

Portrait Contest- (Revised Version)

2010-03-15T17:59:00.003-04:00

I glazed a blue color onto the background in order to make it (the background) recede and bring her face forward. Never, never, never, paint the face the same color as the background!

Portrait Contest

2010-03-14T20:41:00.004-04:00

Portrait contest winner!

8"x10" Oil on stretched canvas.

Scripture Truth Blog

2010-03-13T14:51:00.004-05:00

I started a new blog for Scripture Truth Book Company. It's appropriately title Scripture Truth Blog. You should consider adding it to your favorites because in the future we will be adding some extra special deals on discount Bibles and Christian books! Also, I would appreciate your opinions/suggestions as to the look and layout of it. Thanks! Now I can free the Blog at Bree up to engage in all other cultural affairs!

Matthew Henry- A Method for Prayer

2010-02-18T14:39:00.014-05:00

MOST people know Matthew Henry by his excellent commentary on the whole Bible. However, Pastor Henry wrote another smaller, but very good little book on prayer called A Method for Prayer. The book just went on sale at Scripture Truth Book Company for $11.50.
Publisher's Description
True prayer comes from the heart, so why do we need a method? The great devotional commentator and pastor shows here that Christians benefit from discipline just as much as talking freely with God. You will discover the methods Jesus taught, look at styles of prayer, and see helpful examples. Duncan has incorporated some of Henry’s other work on prayer. Edited by Ligon Duncan.

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) is a beloved commentator, was a pastor of a church in Chester and was a prolific writer.

Scripture Truth Book Company is a family-owned and operated business selling Bibles and Christian books since 1956. For all your Bible purchasing needs visit Scripture Truth!

Imago Dei-Finished

2010-02-16T22:12:00.003-05:00

"Imago Dei" (Image of God)

11"x14" Oil on Stretched Canvas

Imago Dei-Color Stage 6

2010-02-13T20:22:00.005-05:00

I put a lot of paint on the canvas this go around! Some of it was even impasto and I am afraid I've made some parts look flat. I'm not sure you can call what I did glazing, but it seems to have worked. I need to darken the shadows more in order to bring depth.

The changes at this latter stage of a painting are so very subtle but they are equally as important for making it beautiful.

Al Mohler-The Disappearance of God

2010-02-11T10:27:00.010-05:00

Al Mohler's book The Disappearance of God is for sale at Scripture Truth Book Company for $10.50.

Publishers Description:
Do you really know what spiritual lies you’re swallowing?

More faulty information about God swirls around us today than ever before. No wonder so many followers of Christ are unsure of what they believe in the face of the new spiritual openness attempting to alter unchanging truth. We need to know the truth to save ourselves from errors that will derail our faith.

As biblical scholar, author, and president of The Souther Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr Albert Mohler writes, ’’The entire structure of Christian truth is now under attack.’’ With wit and wisdom he tackles the most important aspects of these modern issues:

Is God changing His mind about sin?
Why is hell off limits for pastors?
What’s good or bad about the ’’dangerous’’ emergent movement?
Have Christians stopped seeing God as God?
Are churches pandering to their members to survive?

In the age-old battle to preserve the foundations of faith, it’s up to a new generation ton confront and disarm the contemporary shams and fight for the truth. Dr Mohler provides the scriptural answers to show you how.

Scripture Truth Book Company is a family owned and operated business selling Bibles and conservative Christian books since 1956. Find discount Bibles and Christian books at Scripture Truth!

Imago Dei-Color Stage 5

2010-02-09T23:36:00.002-05:00

I've literally "warmed" it up a bit this go around. It some places it's overly "warm" or red, or orange, but that's great, because when I glaze a "cooler" color over top, it'll shine through from beneath. I love painting! (Indian Orange on arms and Cadmium Red Scarlett on checks, toe and fingertips.)

Imago Dei-Color Stage 4

2010-02-07T13:06:00.004-05:00

On the previous session I re-established shadows in order to perform this stage of "bringing in the light." I did this by glazing Naples Yellow onto areas of strongest light. I also glazed Alizirim Crimson onto black background.

I've been spending roughly an hour on each session on this painting. It looks a little strange at this point, but these preliminary steps are necessary for building luminosity. Going back and forth between building light and establishing shadows and glazing color in between is what oil painting is all about!

Imago Dei- Color Stage 3

2010-02-06T17:15:00.002-05:00

I've redefined shadows on this stage. This was necessary in order to bring light in on the next go-around.

Imago Dei- Color Stage 2

2010-02-05T12:06:00.005-05:00

I have glazed burnt sienna into shadowy areas and yellow ochre into lighter areas. On the next stage I hope to re-establish shadows; a simple but necessary procedure.

I'm amazed at light, and the behavior it has with objects! What I mean is I can glaze a "cooler" color onto a object and it makes it recede into the background. If I paint a "warmer" color, it will bring it into the foreground.

This is an amazing world we live in because it was created by an even more amazing God! We think His thoughts after Him!

Charles Spurgeon-Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

2010-02-04T13:58:00.007-05:00

My wife and I often read Charles Spurgeon together for our evening devotions. We are always amazed at how Spurgeon puts deep, spiritual truths into very practical and beautiful language! I highly recommend this book!

This leather-soft, attractive, "cheque book" shaped devotional is on sale at Scripture Truth Book Company for $14.99.

From The Publisher

The writings of C.H. Spurgeon have long been classics for devotional and inspirational reading. Now the bestselling Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith, a collection of daily readings, is handsomely bound in tan and burgundy with the feel and texture of fine leather. Checkbook size makes it easy to tuck into briefcase or pocket, and each page contains one KJV Scripture text and devotional comments by Spurgeon. Gilt-edged pages, satin ribbon marker, top stitching details; 7" x 3.5". Cash in on the bountiful store of blessings when you withdraw daily from the Bank of Faith.

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Imago Dei- Color Stage 1

2010-02-03T19:27:00.003-05:00

I rubbed a sticky substance called Liquin over the entire canvas in a very thin layer with my index finger. I used a bristle brush made from the hair of a hog and rubbed vermillion red onto parts of the babies face, fingertips, and toes. I rubbed a mixture of vermillion red and raw sienna onto the adult arms and fingers. I blended Prussian blue into the dark background and then I smoothed all of it out with a dry red sable brush.

In this early stage, there is very little color. Luminosity builds with each successive layer, transitioning from from light to dark, and cool and warm colors.

Imago Dei-Grisaille Stage 2

2010-01-31T20:39:00.003-05:00

I've been busy last few weeks and have not had time to paint. Was glad to get a moment to tweak some of the details on this tonight before I begin to glaze color. The hands of the adult and the toes of the infant on this piece scramble my brains!

John Piper-Desring God

2010-01-29T08:50:00.005-05:00

John Piper's book Desiring God is available for an excellent price at the Scripture Truth Book Company for the low price of $10.39

I mention this book because it had a profound influence on me and my understanding of the sovereignty of God and what God requires of us.

From the Publisher:

Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Readers will embark on a dramatically different and joyful experience of their faith...The pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential.

To find other discount Christian materals and low-priced Bibles visit Scripture Truth!

Imago Dei-Grisaille Stage 1

2010-01-21T21:03:00.002-05:00

Harder than it looks!

Imago Dei is Latin for image of God. Scripture tells us man was made in the image of God. Murder is wrong because to take the life of a man is to attack the image of God.

Mumford & Sons

2010-01-15T16:29:00.001-05:00

Hard not to like Mumford & Sons. Here is their song Roll Away Your Stone

Antikythera Mechanism

2010-01-10T23:00:00.002-05:00

What sort of technology did the ancients have? According to this recently discovered proof, quite a bit! This incredible video from Scientific American spotlights a fantastic ancient mechanical device found on a sunken ship which was able to measure astronomical movements. It was also able to measure the four year interval between ancient olypmic games!

Avett Brothers-Distraction #74

2010-01-10T22:17:00.002-05:00

Avett Brothers "Distraction #74" from Marshall J. Baumgartner on Vimeo.

What would you call this kind of music, Punkgrass? Whatever it is, it's really good!

Imago Dei-Umber Stage 2

2010-01-05T19:39:00.003-05:00

I've continued to establish shadows. At this time, there's only one color on the canvas. I do think the toes are a "little" cute!

Scott Avett-"Relief" Printing at ECU

2010-01-03T16:18:00.002-05:00

Scott Avett Printmaking from Ramseur Records on Vimeo.

"Imago Dei" Umber Stage 1

2010-01-03T16:00:00.003-05:00

This new painting is somewhat abstract, but you should be able to tell what it is. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure! (But it's for a worthy cause...more later.)

And the Winner Is...

2010-01-01T10:37:00.001-05:00

Self Portrait-2009 Finished!

2009-12-18T16:14:00.002-05:00

"Self-Portrait 2009"

11"x14" Oil on Stretched Canvas