Of This and That:
Being a List of Somewhat Random and Disjointed Comments

Not having a PC or ISP connection at home has been good for us as a family over all. But it also means that I'm not always able to blog as often as I may sometimes want to. Ideas that need careful construction have to wait. News and other blog posts I'd like to post comment on in this place get passed over. This will be a kind of random catch up post.

From My Christmas Stocking:

Books:
Greek/English Interliner New Testament: I've found this a VERY helpful study tool. Some of the Greek I learned from seminary so many years ago is starting to come back.

The Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn. John Bunyan wrote "Pilgrims Progress". C. S. Lewis wrote "Pilgrim's Regress". Alcorn has brought the concept into the 21st century.

The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. Let's face it. The stories we learned in Sunday school class were "sanitized". What did it really mean for the eternal Son of God to live as a man in this fallen world?

DVDs:
Worship: Michael W. Smith: I enjoyed this. Others may not depending on their view of music and worship.

The Fourth Wiseman: Martin Sheen before he was Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg. I have always enjoyed this apocryphal story; a story of one man's faith and hope.

Joshua: What would happen if Jesus visited your town? The ecumenical aspect of this story will probably be a turn off for many.
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My friend Paulos recently had a post that illustrated the Proverb that "A soft answer turns away wrath." It's a worthwhile post that you may read here.

Exegetical Musings: Is the "Lord"s Day of Revelation 1:10 referring to the first day of the week (the majority view), or is it John's way of speaking of what Paul and Peter call "the Day of the LORD" (minority view)? I do not have time to develope this, only to say my own preference, based on grammatical and contextual concerns, is the minority view. By the way this is not a "make or break" text for the church's meeting on the first day of the week.

I'm at the local library and my time is about to expire.

Peace to all who love Jesus,

~ The Billy Goat ~

The Black Cat In the Dark Room
"My philosophy teacher in college once said, "A philosopher is a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat, that is not there."

"..It is one thing to say that you use principles in Scripture to build a system, and quite another to say you can do what ever you like. Likewise, it is one thing to build a system on 'necessary consequences' instead of actual Bible texts and admit that logic supplied many of your 'facts,' and quite another thing to build a system with logic and then boast that your entire system is totally biblical. It is one thing to believe you have caught the cat,1 but it is quite another to bring him out of the dark room of your own prejudices and sit him under the clear light of biblical texts of Scripture..." (John Reisinger)

" Sometimes, the Bible doesn’t give you enough evidence, one way or the other, to settle a question beyond the possibility of a continuing discussion and debate. If this is true, and if the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit does not remove this ambiguity, then there are points beyond which dicsussion and debate ought to proceed only with considerable and generous amounts of respectful humility." (
The Humility Zone)

One of my convictions is that I do not have to have hard, set in stone, convictions on every last little detail of theology, and that there are areas of theology where I should hold my own convictions with a loose hand, and a great deal of humility. The above articles by John Reisinger and Michael Spencer articulate some of the same concerns. To say such is not a deniel of the sufficancy of Scripture. On the contrary it is an affirmation of the sufficency of Scripture. I've seen ministries where it was insisted that the "black cat" was indeed in the room. What I saw in those ministries was not very pretty at all. In fact it often became really ugly. We have not been called to the boundage of men.

Sola Scriptura!

~ The Billy Goat ~

The Ekklesia of Christ - Part Three
(The use of authority in the local church.)
by John G. Reisinger

In a church I was once a part of, and in a noticeable part of the movement that church was part of, John Resinger was persona non grata. We knew he existed, but his name was not to be mentioned unless in that certain tone of voice that, without going into detail, would let the un-initiated know that Brother John didn't cross all our "t"'s and dot all our "i"'s, and as such was to be shunned as someone who should know better, but... Well, you get the picture...

Having been away from that church and movement for several years, I've had opportunity to more objectively evaluate John Reisinger and his ministry. I have found that years before he had come to conclusions that I only more recently had come to in the light of experience and Scripture. The above article touches on some of those issues.

The above article is part three of his discussion on The Ekklesia of Christ. The first part can be found here, and the second part of the series can be found here, with part four and five here and here.

Let me conclude by quoting the first paragraph from this third article.

"The theme of this third article on the ekklesia deals with authority. This is the main issue in nearly all discussions of the ekklesia of Christ. Several years ago a group of Reformed Baptist pastors published a book entitled Shepherding God's Flock. The book was specifically aimed at trying to correct a growing problem of abusive eldership within that movement. The very fact the book was written and published is testimony to the severity of the problem about which these men were concerned. It is obvious that there are a lot of elders in that movement, and in other movements, who are acting like mini-popes. These writers evidently felt a moral obligation to the church to expose such tyranny. The introduction says it all:.."

'nuff said.

~ The Billy Goat ~

Post-Modern Culture Meets the Magic Kingdom
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The World of Harry Potter

Yes, I've read the Harry Potter books, all six of them. Yes, I've seen the movies, including the latest release, The Goblet of Fire. No, these are not books for young children to read. I avoided that quandary because my youngest daughter was a teenager when I let her read the first book. Yes, she and I have talked about it.

Actually there is nothing really profound about the title to this post. What would we expect? J.K. Rowling was not writing a philosophy of life with the Potter books, but the books reflect a philosophy of life, and it's not just the witchcraft and magic. Rowling is a child of her age, and the Harry Potter books reflect that age in a context of magic. What did we expect?

Suits of armor singing Christmas carols, Christmas trees in the halls of Hogwarts in December, Easter is mentioned, but what do those mean in the world of Harry Potter? The same thing they mean in the secularist post-modern Britain that is the setting of Rowling's life, a feel good tradition with little real meaning.

But even the world of Harry Potter longs for redemption. Has Snape, the former deatheater, really changed for the better? Your heart wants to say yes in spite of all the apparent evidence to the contrary. At the end of book six, The Half-Blood Prince, for the first time in all the years Harry has known Draco Malfoy, he finally actually feels some pity for him. Is there redemption even for Draco? We'll have to wait for the seventh and final book to find out.

The world of Harry Potter is broken even as our world is. The world of Harry Potter is filled with imperfect people, and even the heroes are clearly flawed. So it is in our world. It remains to be seen if there will be any redemption in the world of Harry Potter. In our world, redemption has been made manifest in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and the final consummation of that redemption is yet to come. That is our blessed hope.

Sola Deo Gloria!

~ The Billy Goat ~

Creation and the Fall: I am beginning to feel the impact of the fall on creation to a greater degree then ever before in my 56 years. God has been VERY good to me health wise over my life time. Aside from a few stitches here and there as a kid, I've not up to this point had to have any surgery or go through any serious illness.

That changed this past week. There was a problem with this old body that needed surgical repair. Not to many years ago, the surgery required would have called for a week in the hospital for recovery. Now days it's an out-patient procedure. (Thank you LORD!) A few days off work, and back I go. It helps that my job does not involve any repetitive or heavy lifting.

This recovery time has been opportunity to reflect on the subject of pain. Frankly when it comes to pain, I admit I'm something of a wimp... I don't like pain, and if I can legitimately do so, I avoid it. I've thought of that in terms of the pain Christ went through for me. The servant is not above the Master. Pain is part of the fall and even as a believer, I am not immune. What physical pain I have felt in my life time is nothing compared to what Christ went through when He suffered on our behalf.

Nor does it compare to the physical pain and suffering other believers are going through. Our friend Lola is going through pain. She is a believer. Believers in closed countries are going through suffering and pain for the sake of the Name of Christ.

Yes there are other kinds of pain in life beside physical pain, and some of those I have experienced. But in all the different kinds of pain a believer can go through, physical or otherwise, one thing remains as a common denominator for them all... God's grace is sufficient...

In His grace alone,

~ The Billy Goat ~

Rosa Parks - R.I.P
February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005

"Stand up and be counted", we say. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks counted more them any of us by refusing to stand up. When she refused to stand up she was not only affirming the dignity and humanity of black Americans, she was affirming the dignity and humanity of us all. There is a fundamental respect to be given to all humanity whatever their skin color.

She did more then that one thing though. By her quiet and dignified life she was an example others who are always seeking center stage should take a cue from.

Her seven hour funeral will be little remembered. To my knowledge no great oratory came from the numbers of public speakers, famous or infamous, who were there; apparently nothing to equal the words spoken so many years ago, "I have a dream..." that gave a vision that all human beings could relate to.

How odd it was. That night after her funeral I was at our local Meijers store. At the checkout line I was standing behind a black American family having their purchases checked by a black American cashier.

It was then I turned to look at the magazine rack. On the front covers of all the glamor rags and tabloids there was not one black face. They were all pale white. I wondered if I had been black, what would I have thought if I saw all pale faces on the magazine rack like that.

Now it may be considered a positive thing not to be represented on shallow glamour rags and cheap sleeze tabloids with all their cheap meaningless gossip. Where is the dignity and respect for humanity in those publications?

Rosa Parks showed us a better way, not just by that one act in 1955. She showed us a better way by the way she lived the rest of her life with quite dignity. She made a differnce.

Thank you Mrs. Parks.

~ The Billy Goat ~

Lola's Journey

We got to know Bob and Lola years ago, ages it seems, when we were living near Winona Lake, Indiana, and Bob and I were in the same class at Grace Theological Seminary. As it was, neither one of us graduated. We moved back to Michigan, and latter Bob and Lola ended up in the Spokane, Washington area. Though we had been good friends, for a number of years we lost track of each other...

Until this summer. I did a WWW search on their name and came up with a page from their former church. An e-mail note to the church office resulted in our re-connecting after all these years.

Just in time to find out Lola has been battling cancer these past few years. She had her ups and downs with it, but things had got to the point that she needed a bone marrow transplant. Just before the transplant was to happen my home computer crashed taking my address book and everything. It seemed that just as we had regained contact, we were losing it again... We thought of them and prayed for them over the past few months...

Then last week when we found a copy of one of Lola's e-mail notes. So we were able to find her on-line journal again...... (See link above.) Only to find out the bone marrow transplant had failed..... She's home with her family.... One son lives in the area so she has some grand-children around to give her joy in what may be the last year of her life.

Only Lola will live forever.... She is a Christian, trusting in Christ alone, and in the mercy, grace, and love of God. She has the hope of the resurrection from the dead. Her body may fail and be placed in the grave, but it will be raised up in that Great Day, and reunited with her spirit to live forever in the New Heavens and New Earth... And all who are in Christ, and who love her will see her again... Come quickly Lord Jesus!

We wish we lived much closer to Bob and Lola so we could be with them in this time... But Spokane is a half a continent away, and only the Lord knows if we will be able to get out there before her spirit departs to be with Jesus.

Bob and Lola, we love you and we are praying for you. And I'm publishing this to ask others to pray for you also, holding you up before His Throne of Grace. Someday, here, or there, or in the air, we will see you again... Blessed be the Name of the LORD...

With love, tears, and hope,

~ The Billy and the Nanny Goat ~

Thoughts Regarding the Matter of Respect: October is almost gone. Two more months and the year 2005 A.D. will be history. I remember as a kid thinking in terms of the 20th century. It simply did not enter my head that I would also be living in the 21st century. Well, here we are. The things I grew up with are now found in the history books.

Respect. How do you view it? You can talk all you want about respecting the office, President, Supervisor at work, Pastor or elders at church, and so on. But the truth as much as you may respect the office, the person holding the office needs to earn your respect and maintain it. How many in positions of leadership squander the respect of those under them. (Bill Clinton comes to mind as an example.)

I've thought about this issue of respect with regard to a former church we left several years ago. Simply put, the leaders of that church did not conduct the over all ministry of the church in a way that maintained my respect. So we as a family "fired" them by leaving that church. Respect for the leadership was squandered by a pattern of disrespect by that leadership for the integrity and conscience of God's people. Sorry, but my rational and critical thinking facilites will not be left at the church door. Being an Elder does not nesecarrily equate with being wise and knowledgable. A pattern of un-wise decisions and pulpit statements indicating a lack and deficiancy of knowledge and discernment does not engender and maintain respect. What it does do is indicate that those in leadership are not qualified for the office they hold.

This leads to a critical conclusion. I can only care about a person or group's opinion to the degree I respect that person or group. The degree of caring is proportional to the degree of respect. Realizing that truth is liberating indeed.

Sola Deo Gloria,

~ The Billy Goat ~

U2 and the Christian Imagination

"In Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 , Steve Stockman reflects upon the way the church has received U2 throughout their music career to discuss the role of the arts in the Christian community. A theological grasp of art requires the use of a Christian imagination which allows for a person to conceive of the world in a way that is flavored with Christian thought through stories, music, art, poetry, etc. A Christian theological imagination presents the Christian with an opportunity to expose their spiritual journey in a personally, real, and deep way. Unfortunately, Christians today often lack the type of imagination necessary for viewing and interpreting the world through artistic expressions. Stockman traces the historical roots of this phenomenon while explaining the ways in which U2 uses the Christian imagination to inform their faith and music.

To begin, the loss of the Christian imagination began with the Protestant Reformation....."

The place I cut this quote off was deliberately chosen. The last statement standing by itself is deliberately provocative. Before you start sounding the heresy alarms, you may want to go to Semper Reformanda and read the whole article. Yes, I have a sympathy for the general thrust of the article, though retaining a critical mind regarding some of the things said. Read the whole article for yourself, and draw your own conclusions.

Jesus reigns!

~ The Billy Goat ~

Fall Colors: We've had occasion to take a ride or two and see some of the Fall leaf colors. It was an enjoyable time, though the trees had not turned color as much as perhaps we had hoped.

Did I tell you our autistic grand-daughter broke her arm? It was about a month ago when she fell of some playground equipment at school. She sustained what's called a "stable break" in her wrist. She's been sporting a cast on that arm and therein is the story. My daughter and her husband woke up one morning to find their daughter had taken off her cast! So off to the doctor's office for another one. While there, they did another x-ray, and said things were healing well. The second time she was at school. The teacher looked a way for a brief few moments, and when she turned around, our grand-daughter handed her the 2nd cast which she had just taken off. So far the third cast has remained on, and is due to be permenetly removed at the end of this week. We are thankful she has handled this as well as she has.

One of our associate pastors at church is priming for his ordination exam. I asked him if he had wrestled with the infra and supra-lapsarian question. He acknowledged he had some review to do on that issue. I told him he needed to be able to articulate what the different views were, but then should question the validity of dealing with that issue in the first place. Do you know the mind of God that you can tell Him how His decrees should be logically ordered? I personally find that very question presumptuous. Is someone really going to go to hell if they get the answer wrong? Are you ready to discipline someone out of the church who doesn't hold to "the correct" answer? Where does Scripture lay out what the logical order of God's decrees are? If they are not clearly laid out in Scripture, would you not think that maybe the reason they are not is because that's not something we need to be spending a lot of time and words on? Do you really want to tell God how and what He should have said in the Scriptures? Why in the world are we even asking such a question???!!! Someone clearly had way to much time on their hands...

Sola Deo Gloria,

~ The Billy Goat ~