A Man in a Box

Baptism and the New Covenant

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Recently, I have been slowly reading through A Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism, ed. by Gregg Strawbridge. While it has certainly advanced my understanding of baptism, it has more importantly opened my mind to the idea of covenant theology. What do I mean by covenant theology? I mean that: 1) There is one covenant of grace, spanning the Old and New Testaments, 2) Christ's life, death, and resurrection is the only source of salvation for all time, 3) "Israel" and the Church are synonymous in the New Covenant era, 4) the New and Old Covenants are fundamentally continuous, and 5) the means of the New Covenant are fuller expressions of the means of the Old Covenant. In essence, the New Covenant is simply the perfection of the Old Covenant.

How does this view affect one's view of church and spiritual life? First, it gives new perspective on the sacraments. Second, covenant theology reminds us of God's immutability and covenant faithfulness. Third, it gives Christians reason to study the Old Testament. If, as some Christians assert, the covenants are fundamentally discontinuous, then the Old Testament is of suspect benefit for those in Christ. On the other hand, if there is one covenant, entirely mediated through Christ, then the Old Testament is simply the first part of that one covenant and therefore points to Christ. As such, it is worthy of the study of Christians.

Is there a difference between the "Old" covenant and "New" covenant? Yes, for the New Covenant has inaugurated the last days. In the last days (church history from Pentecost to Christ's return), Jesus has brought the Kingdom of God and anointed His church with the Holy Spirit.

Why am I posting this? Primarily, because I want to grow more in my understanding of God's grace. Secondarily, I want to start an energetic, but charitable debate with those who support alternative views of the Covenants. I am, as always, very open to changing my views. Let's discuss this and grow to know the truth in a deeper and more life-changing way.

Magic, Muggles, and Miracles

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:30:00 +0000

John Mark Reynolds has a great post over at Scriptorium Daily on the innate desire to know God.

Why Philosophy Does Not Equal Atheism

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Yesterday, I heard one of my professors speak at our History and Political Studies department chapel. He had selected Colossians 2:8-15 as his text, but he strangely interpreted it as a putdown to all philosophy.

Verse 8 does say "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." Yet, not all philosophy falls into this category of which Christians must be wary.

I have not done exhaustive studies upon any philosopher or philosophy, but my reading and education have given me some knowledge about the writings of Plato and Aristotle. For example, Plato articulated the doctrine of "loving one's enemies" long before Christ's incarnation. Aristotle, though steeped in a culture of polytheism, reasoned his way to an all-powerful, purposing Deity. Should Christians reject these elements of philosophy?

Rather than condemn any philosophy, Christians should take a stance of critical acceptance. We ought not to swallow any idea put forward by seemingly influential people; nor should we assume that only the Bible contains truth.

Indeed, Christians are in the best position to reason correctly. We are united through baptism and faith with Christ, the Logos. With Jesus as our starting point, we can and should seek to understand the world at a deeper level. Viva Philosophia!

The Cordoba Conundrum

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:53:00 +0000

Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote in The Friends of Voltaire: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This is exactly my attitude toward the proposed Muslim cultural center near Ground Zero. As our president has said, this may not be the wisest idea, but all people have a right to peacefully practice their religion at all times. For New York or, worse, the federal government to shut down the peaceful practice of Islam would be a rejection of the founders' ideals, including free religion and free speech.

I do not agree with the wisdom of locating the Cordoba House in an area which will offend many who were hurt or lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. But it may be that such a move is exactly the gesture needed to bring closure to the attacks. Furthermore, allowing the cultural center and mosque to operate freely will highlight the difference between authoritarian Islamist regimes and the liberal governments Western civilization has created.

There is no easy answer to this dilemma, but we must always keep one question in mind: what if it were a synagogue? or a church? The same rules one would apply to those places of worship ought to be applied to the Cordoba House. As-Salamu Alaykum.

Wisdom Teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:07:00 +0000

Personal note: I just got all four wisdom teeth pulled out. It went quickly, and I'm now recuperating with old episodes of the Office on the couch. Hope to be up-and-running in a few days.

Also, if you would, I'd appreciate prayer for my grandfather, who suffered a massive heart attack last Saturday.

Illegal Means Against the Law

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:42:00 +0000

"The court will not allow the state of Arizona to criminalize undocumented immigrants." So said Isabel Garcia, an attorney who opposes the recent immigration bill passed by the Arizona state legislature. Really, she said that. She seems to lack the basic requirement to be an attorney: knowledge of and/or respect for the law. SB1070, the recent bill, did not make innocent people's actions crimes; it merely allowed illegal aliens (who are already criminals because they are illegal) to be punished for their crimes.

Pity the state whose lawyers have rejected the law in favor of their own personal vendettas.

Radical Unity

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:27:00 +0000

All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

John 17:10-11 (ESV)

In the middle of Jesus' high Priestly prayer, He prayed for a radical sort of unity. He asked the Father to keep His followers unified in the name of the Father. The radical feature of this prayer is the analogy He used to describe the unity His followers ought to have: "they may be one, even as we are one." Essentially, Jesus is praying that Christians everywhere have the same level of unity that the Trinity have. This is possible because all Christians are directly, personally, mystically united with God. Therefore, they can be united fully with each other.

Do you see this kind of unity in your church, let alone the universal church? Lord, may we be so unified with You that we enjoy fellowship with one another, just as You enjoy communion with Your Father!

The Outrageous Spirit of God

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:47:00 +0000

"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 2:2-4 (ESV)

The Spirit of God is not merely a "still, small voice."

He is outrageous!

He is loud, powerful, visible, audible, miraculous, and even earth-shaking!

"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

Acts 4:31 (ESV)

The Lamb's Banquet of the Eucharist

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:35:00 +0000

This is the Banquet of the Lamb.

It is made ready for those who love Him

and for those who want to love Him more.

So, come, you who have much faith and you who have little,

You who have been here often and you who have not been here long,

You who have tried to follow and you who have failed.

Come, because it is the Lord who invites you.

It is His will that those who want Him should meet Him there.

--From the Book of Common Prayer

The Gospel in Genesis 3

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

"Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

And the LORD God

made for Adam and for his wife

garments of skins and

clothed them.

Our Lord -- Defiled, Guilty, and Cleansing

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:43:00 +0000

Theological blogging is a dangerous business. I am compelled to deliver the truth I find in the Bible, but the medium of my blog dilutes my message unless I use incredibly blunt language. The danger is slipping into blasphemy in an attempt to capture my readers' attention. Out of all the posts so far, this is the most dangerous, but don't assume from my title that I am a blasphemer.

What do I mean when I say "Our God is defiled and guity"? Or to put it another way, "Jesus needed cleansing from sin"? I mean that on the cross, our sins were both legally and morally transferred to Jesus, Whom God punished mercilessly. His blood thereby cleansed Himself from our sins.

This is the doctrine of "expiation": that is, our sins are removed from us and placed upon Jesus by divine decree. Meditate on that last sentence: your sins are completely, permanently removed! Your history is cleared! Every sin, from the smallest lie to the grossest deceit, from a lustful look to adultery, from drunkenness to bribery, from pride to sorcery, is removed forever.

Now we come to a crucial point: Jesus did not simply endure legal punishment for sins he had never committed. This would have been indeed unjust of the Father to punish the Son without cause. Rather, He endured the just wrath for our sins which now truly stained His soul. In expiation, God did not simply remove our sin, he transferred it to His Beloved Son. God defiled Himself voluntarily.

This has long been the teaching of the church, but is there a biblical text which proves this expiation? Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus, the Holy Son of God, became sin during His crucifixion so that we might become righteousness itself.

What practical effect should this doctrine have upon our lives? First, never fear punishment for sin. If you follow Jesus, you may have faith that God transferred all your transgressions to Jesus, then punished them, so they are gone forever. One way to think about it is that God, by divine miracle, changed history so that every sin you've ever committed was actually done by Jesus. Forget what lies behind and press onward in full assurance of your cleansing!

Second, If you have not believed on Jesus or turned to follow Him, then these promises do not apply to you yet. Yet they are open to all who turn to Jesus. "Look to Him, all you ends of the earth and be saved!" If you want the cleansing of which I've written, talk to a pastor as soon as you can. Ask them how you can be saved.

Third, know the greatness of God's love for you. We can say that God loves you more than He hates sin, because He was willing to let the guilt and shame of sin rest upon Himself rather than punish you.

Fourth, hate sin. Think upon the effect of your sin, not only upon yourself and other humans, but upon your Lord. Will you heap more shame, guilt, and dishonor upon your King? You can not call Jesus your Lord and yet continue to do those things which He hates and which He bore in Himself.

Last, when we inevitably sin and feel defeated and shameful, we can find relief and hope in the truth that Jesus knows those feelings to the utmost. We unholy creatures do feel great shame for our sin, especially after we become Christians, yet Jesus, the great Creator truly knew the depth of evil and iniquity which stained Him upon the cross. Find strength in the thought that Jesus knows what you're going through. Sin will kill you by depression if you do not realize that Jesus knows your pain and will dwell with you and strengthen you.

Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:36:00 +0000

n.
Short for weblog.
A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life. Consists of such riveting entries as "homework sucks" and "I slept until noon today."

(Urban Dictionary)

Fear Versus Kindness

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Fear of the Lord leads to

wisdom,

but the kindness of God leads to

repentance.

-- Allan Yeh

How Many People Have Googled This?

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Preludes by T. S. Eliot

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:54:00 +0000

I recently began reading through the Complete Works of T. S. Eliot. Today I read one of his early poems: "Preludes." Its conclusion shows clearly the despair from which Jesus saved him later in his life:

Wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh;

The worlds revolve like ancient women

Gathering fuel in vacant lots.

Where are the Riots?

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:47:00 +0000

About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. . . . When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. -- Acts 19:23-26, 28-29 (ESV)

In ancient Ephesus, the ministry of one man ("this Paul") turned the whole city upside down in a riot. Where are the modern ministries so powerful that the world riots over them?

Does the Bible Frighten You?

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:15:00 +0000

"A Christian must always be frightened by the Bible, because it makes demands of him that only a saint could even come close to meeting and that no saint ever believes he has met."

--John Mark Reynolds, in his liveblog on Sarah Palin's new book.

Lose Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:36:00 +0000

I get headaches somewhat frequently (about three days out of the average week). When my headaches are especially bad, I remember something my grandfather once said, "After a certain age, you are always in pain." Always in pain. Imagine waking up with pain and going through life with no relief. That is where, unless we die young, we will end up. Your future most likely ends in a slow, painful death from old age.

So why do we try to save ourselves from discomfort? Pain is inevitable. Protect yourself all you can for your whole life, and you will still end your life with constant pain.

Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

We have two options: attempt to preserve our lives from discomfort or embrace suffering for a cause greater than ourselves. Jesus calls us to lose our lives for Him and promises that He will save us.

Don't waste your life trying to keep it pain-free; instead, radically follow Jesus through all the pain involved and enjoy His salvation.

I'm An Adult!

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Hello again. Today is my eighteenth birthday, if you didn't know. I'm very happy to be a legitimate adult (I can smoke, get a credit card, vote etc.). Now I guess I just need to have my soul's maturity catch up to my age. Goodbye, readers, and have a very good Thanksgiving!

On Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Nostalgia affects humans like no other basic emotion. Recently, I took a trip home. After dropping a friend off a bit south of my childhood home, I drove the back streets of my hometown. Driving those familiar roads, nostalgia filled my heart. I began considering nostalgia's nature: what is it and is it good?

My conclusion: nostalgia is a love basic to the soul and beneficial to mankind.

As we go through our lives, we subconsciously associate memories with locations, foods, books, music, and many other things. We involuntarily throw ourselves into others. In this way, nostalgia is a love. It is just as much a type of love as is "eros," "philia," or "storge."

This love pulls our gaze off of ourselves. Hence, it is a "proto-morality": the most basic hint at selflessness and love for others. An example: driving past a shopping mall while at home, I remembered the good time I had there with my youth group a year and a half ago. For a time, that memory pulled my gaze off of myself and onto the beauty of the friendships in that group. Nostalgia forces us to remember the good, true, and beautiful moments in our lives.

It also provides necessary elements of human life: stability and joy. Our souls need to return to home. If we are unable to do this, we will settle for returning only in our mind, through nostalgia. It enables us to recall previous joys at the mere sight, sound, or smell of a familiar object. God made humans to feel deeply nostalgic. While we ought not to waste too much time reminiscing, we ought to embrace nostalgia when it comes.

Prof J's Dating Paradigm

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:04:00 +0000

Today was an interesting day in my history class. My very colorful professor, Jeff Jensen (he asked us to call him Prof J), always puts on a show, but today was special. After giving a tough quiz, he turned to the subject of dating. He pronounced that the dating culture at The Master's College is all wrong. Here's his paradigm for dating:

1. Back off! Don't assume that other people are dating and don't pressure others to move too quickly in relationships.

2. Be realistic. Pursue love, not romance (here he quoted Bono's "Man and a Woman"--the pop culture references he made throughout the talk were hilarious).

3. Be holy. Don't act like the world in your dating.

4. Be mature. Communicate with people honestly and openly. We're adults; we can act like them now.

His main point was to marry your best friend. That's what he did, and that's what he thinks everyone should do. So, what do you think? Is Prof J right? Should we marry our best friends or is there an element of romance which ought to be present?

Tales from Denny's

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Last Thursday night, my friend Jordan and I went to Denny's to work on our history projects all night. We arrived about 12:30am and ordered some "Sumwiches" (they're scrumptious, try them). About forty-five minutes later, a homeless man walked by to sit at a booth near ours. He stopped when he saw us, pointed at me, and said, "I think you're going to be a minister." I was shocked. "Yeah," I said, "I'd like to be a minister." He had called it. This was just the first of many slightly odd but true things he said to us that night.

We talked to him off and on for about three or four hours. Gradually, I realized he was extremely smart but perhaps a little mentally ill. In appearance, he was your typical homeless man: ripped jacket, extremely dirty hands, half his teeth missing, cigarette smoke clinging to him. But he carried several papers into Denny's and promptly began to read them cover to cover. He was very proud of his quick mind and told us many times that we need to keep our minds sharp as we grow older. He had been to Vietnam in the 70s and had clearly come away with a sense of the evil of man.

What made Michael (when I asked him for his name he said it was the same as Saint Michael's) so interesting was one thing he said right after he said I would be a minister. He said that there was no point in trying to save him for he was too mean and crusty. I stammered back that I could save nobody, but God could save anybody. But his comment brings up a question we should all ask ourselves: do we believe that God can save the dirty and smelly homeless? They obviously don't fit our narrow picture of the ideal Christian: White, affluent, and educated. Of course we believe He can save anybody, but do we live out this truth by evangelizing to any and all, even those different from us?

The Point of the Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. --Galatians 4:5f.

Why did Jesus die? To save you? To take your sin? To give you eternal life? Here's an idea: none of those things are the true point of the Gospel. Redemption is a means, not an end. God gave us righteousness so He could give us something even greater: adoption.

Adoption. Consider that. The all-consuming Fire, the sovereign Creator, the Lord of all wants to make you His son or daughter. He desires to adopt you so much that He gave His only begotten Son to redeem you.

If we get stuck on redemption alone, we miss the point. God wants to be your Father! Never get stuck on redemption and lose sight of this, the greatest grace in the universe, the point of the Gospel.

Jackson Hole! Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:54:00 +0000

Goodbye, Jackson Hole. I have had perhaps the best week of my life here these past days. Chopping wood, giving it away, moving furniture, and all of this work for Jesus has changed my outlook on life to a Kingdom-centered view of my life. I am God's child, Jesus' sheep, the Holy Spirit's temple. I have no right to my own life. My whole life ought to be filled with work for the Kingdom of God. I came to Jackson Hole to teach its residents how they ought to follow God, and instead learned how I ought to follow my Lord. Praise be to God, the Infinite, Preexistent, Preeminent, Glorious, Eternal, Sovereign, Mighty, Benevolent, Gracious, and Just King.

Jackson Hole! Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:36:00 +0000

Hello everyone, sorry I missed last night. We spent all yesterday chopping and stacking wood for our wood giveaway, then helped set up for a relationships class sponsored by Cornerstone Church. Today, we woke up early and headed off to Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world. It was an amazing time that can't be expressed in words, so here are some pictures.