I’ve just started reading “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey. Grace is a huge topic and one that seems to get its meaning trounced when intermingled with a hundred pounds of theology or overly religious explanations (though I will not deny the importance of such ventures, it’s important not to get lost in the tangled roots of man’s musings). Of course, you can always get Webster’s definition, but in this case even it lacks some of the power behind what God has truly given us.

Here follows the simplest definition of grace I can muster: an unwarranted, unearned, unmerited gift given without the expectation of future repayment.
As Yancey puts it, “…grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather on what God has done for us.” (Yancey, 55)

In the context of Jesus’ teachings including such prominent parables as The Prodigal Son, the concept of grace shows through. If you’re not familiar with the parable, I would recommend reading it.

The most amazing part about grace comes when you realize it applies to you in your own life. No matter what horrible sin–be it sex, lust, pornography, lying, stealing, murder, hatred, etc.–God will forgive you.

1 John 1:8-10 (ESV): “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

He loves you in spite of any terrible thing you’ve done in your past, anything you’re doing in the present, and anything you will do in the future. (This is not to say that he wants you to continue in such a lifestyle.)

It gives me incredible relief to know I’m loved by God and cared about by God despite my numerous shortcomings and my failure to live a life free of mistakes. God loves you the same way.

Categories: Religious
Tags: Bible, grace, Philip Yancey

Genesis 1:1-2: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (ESV)

Categories: Religious

_Editor’s note: I recommend that all of you read the article to which I am responding. Jane Smiley, a liberal, makes some outrageous claims attacking conservatives and Christians alike claiming ignorance to be the driving force behind all who believe such things._

According to Slate author Jane Smiley, Republicans “cultivate and exploit ignorance.” Really? I am _not_ ignorant about the issues and I don’t believe the 59 million people that voted for Bush are, either. In my own defense, I’ve read about most of the major issues in this election and I agree with most of Bush’s major agendas philosophically, not because he’s a Republican. I think it’s unfair to accuse 59 million people of ignorance because they disagree with you, and even more impossible to prove such an argument.

Her historical justification in the article doesn’t follow through, either. She broadly lumps the conservatives of the present together with conservatives of the past who, if looked at carefully, have many, many different social views. The “conservatives” of a century ago included many slave-owners and when she discusses the ignorance of conservatives he’s saying the past beliefs of “ignorance” are a precursor to the current ignorance.

Oh, and here’s another taste of what she has to say:

bq. Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you�if you don’t believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible is tremendously contradictory, and so you must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it.

Okay, Jake, Cora, Jesse, anybody else out there reading and fired up yet? Throw your best disagreements or inflammatory statements in the comments.

First of all, the Bible is not contradictory. Yes, over the past few thousand years, a few minor translation problems arise and we’ve lost the meaning of a couple Hebrew and Greek words. Oddly, however, these are minor errors and do not alter the overall content — the meaning and message — of the Bible. As far as contradictions themselves, I would challenge Jane to find ONE of any significance. She did not offer any in her article.

Secondly, it is ludicrous to claim that critical thinking must be avoided to believe in the Bible. I know numerous amounts of people who are highly critical in their manner of thinking who know the content of the Bible and believe it. Many great apologists in the last two-thousand years, including the apostle Paul, have argued their positions and beliefs quite logically, and many modern apologists also bring in historical, archeological, and other evidence to back their faith-driven beliefs. If you want one example, I recommend reading The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

She goes on to make claims that conservatives desire this ignorance so they can “do anything they [want].” She also, bluntly, says Christians have designed hell as a place for those who they “envy and resent” to go. Based on statements such as these, I wonder what kind of interaction, if any, she’s had with Christians. I also highly doubt if she’s ever read the Bible herself to see what exactly it says. If she did, she’d realize it hardly mandates a person doing whatever they want and it condemns envy and resent. Unfortunately, however, I would not be surprised if she is misinterpreting a cultural manifestation (perhaps Southern) as an example of what Christianity is supposed to be. As with all cultures, that of the South has its flaws and cannot be expected to represent all the truth and teachings of the Bible.

Further lies and other grandiose generalizations lump conservatives, Christians, and residents of red states together as ignorant, cheating, misleading, nonsensical, soul-selling individuals.

Now, for the few liberal readers of my site, I have a question. Do you agree with these kinds of statements? Do you realize Jane Smiley and others who hold similar beliefs back the Democratic Party and influence many of their beliefs, social, and international agendas?

I found this article rather appauling in its verbal brutality and unveiled despise if not hatred towards conservatives and Christians. She titled the article “[w]hy Americans Hate Democrats.” I would like to ask, “Why does Jane Smiley hate everyone who disagrees with her so much?” Her closing statement in the article: “Whatever their short-term appeal, they are borne of hubris and hatred, and will destroy their purveyors in the end.” Oddly, given the tone of her words, it appears she would desire almost the same fate for her opposition.

Categories: Politics, Religious
Tags: Bible, homosexuality, Politics, religion

It’s incredible how much more important the whole concept of communication becomes when you’re in a dating relationship. The thing relationships and communication have in common is a requirement that two people be involved. One person says something and the other person listens.

I reread a large part of Joshua Harris’s book “Boy Meets Girl” today (during work — we couldn’t develop film because our machine was broken), and one of the chapters focuses on communication, rather than kissing, being the primary use of lips in a relationship (he’s all into the courtship terminology, but it applies all the same to any sort of boyfriend/girlfriend relationship).

So, the question is, what did I learn? I could recite the five principles he outlined, but I’ll tell you in a different form. This also includes other personal thoughts that may or may not be included or intended in what Harris says in the book.

To communicate affectively, one most realize that communication stems from what’s going on inside the heart. If bitterness and hatred exists within the heart, it’s gonna jump up and make itself known through the things a person says. If selfishness has its ugly grip holding tightly to the heart and sucking the life out of a person, then the person’s gonna have trouble being unselfish in words and actions.

In order to communicate, it’s necessary to listen. You can’t always talk. Note, however, that you cannot always listen. Sometimes talking must occur. Sometimes to let somebody know what’s really going on, you gotta be honest about who you are and tell ‘em what you’re thinking. Even tell them what you’re feeling — as frightening as that may be. It’s easy to be dishonest when you’re not talking about what’s really going on in your life by hiding on the inside. (I’m not saying tell everybody everything ’cause that’d just be stupid — it talks about that in Proverbs somewhere — I’m just saying sometimes people gotta open up and let others know what’s going on!)

Communication isn’t happening if there’s never any conflict. If you’re communicating what’s really going on to another person there’ll be conflict sometimes and it’s okay! You gotta learn from it, work through it, see what’s there, and address the _real_ problems instead of pretending they don’t exist.

Motive matters. Right things, right reasons, that whole concept. If It might be a great technique to speak with the tongues of men and angels, but if it’s being done for the wrong reasons it’ll end up hurting both people more in the long run than stuttering truthfulness.

Luebbe and Cora, this one’s for you! Guard your heart. Hmm… we’ve had this discussion before, I think. You know what I mean. Yeah, you know. You know!

Ok, sorry for the sidetrack. Mostly, I’m just typing this out to let y’all know what’s running around up in my head as I’m still trying to figure out what it’s telling me.

Categories: Books, Religious
Tags: communication, Cora, dating, Joshua Harris, Luebbe

Life hasn’t been too bad. Somehow I got cheered up on Saturday with a few reminders that I’m not any different from other humans in terms of sin and that it’s something we all have to face up to and deal with. Many thanks to Cora and Jesse for listening to my meandering thoughts, bitterness, and disappointment while responding with something more than “yeah, that sucks, hope you get over it.”

So the past few days have been better. I’ve spent some time reading the Bible, done a bit of homework, and talked to/hung out with friends.

I started working on a paper tonight about “Christianity and Slavery in Antebellum (Pre-Civil War) America”. I busted out five pages single spaced of a paper supposed to be 15 pages long. The only problem is that this is my appendix and not even central to the topic of the paper. I don’t care though! It’s basically the gospel boiled down to its guts and talking about Jesus. I’ve not had many opportunities for this kind of thing to fit into a paper, but I plan to include it in this one ’cause I believe it bears mention in explaining something about evangelical Christianity. I also plan to argue that a lot of the problems in social conflict surrounding the issue of slavery came from people manipulating chunks of Biblical text to suit their own purposes instead of accurately interpreting it in light of its context. It’ll be a fun paper. I only wish I had more time to work on it. Now that I’ve gotten started, I’d like to do more research into the Biblical arguements used in support of slavery and against it so I can better discuss any fallacies that appear. Alas, I’m not sure how much I’ll get into that, but I’ll look at what the Bible has to say as it is.

In another news… the rest of the semester will be hard, but the end is near. Less than three weeks in this semester. I’m honestly worried that I may not pass all of my classes. If that happens, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll be furious at myself, of course, and it will derail my plans if I have to take more classes.

I’m also not quite sure about my summer plans post-May. I’m worried about Jacksonville and a bit frustrated with the speed at which info about it is coming. Therefore, I’m wavering about still going. I want to, but I’m worried.

Anyway, I should get to sleep. G’night.

Categories: Life, Religious
Tags: college, Jacksonville, slavery