Zo Rachel's Take on the Ham-On-Nye Debate

Pigs & Pearls - What's An Evangelical To Do?

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6)

Normally I don't like taking a Bible verse out of context. If I use a bible verse in my blog I read the context it's given in, and if the entire context doesn't match the point I'm trying to make, I reject that verse and look for another. And I never use a partial verse. Doing that you can justify almost anything, my favorite is using the first few words in Luke 13:24 to say that Jesus warned us against using handicapped stalls in public restrooms. (get it?). However Matthew 7:6 is kind of a stand alone verse, totally unrelated to the verses before it (judging and planks in your eye) and the verses to follow (seek and you will find...)

The meaning of this verse is pretty evident, Jesus is saying that we shouldn't be wasting 'the good stuff' on someone that won't appreciate it. I can only imagine but I'm guessing that a pearl in a desert society is a very rare and valuable thing, so pearls is definitely 'the good stuff'. Pigs and dogs? Why pigs and dogs? Pigs are delicious and dogs are loyal, but that's here in this time and place. In a Jewish society pigs are unclean and the middle east dogs are a pest. Fido and Porky are not only unloved in biblical times but are held up as an example of how not to live. 

Noetic Effects of the Fall - A Beginners Guide

I occasionally stumble across a word or phrase that, to be honest, I have no idea what is meant by that word or phrase. Doing the Berean thing I look up that word or phrase in order to clarify the book or article I am reading, and quite often I find the words bulky and rarely use them if ever, but it's good to know what they mean. Words like "presupposition". Normally I don't use "presupposition", especially when speaking of myself, because presupposing that God exists is the same thing as presupposing that air exists. Do we need a special word for 'normal thought'?

Today I was reading an older article at Hip and Thigh blog and was struck by the term "noetic effect of the fall." I could gather the meaning of this phrase from the content of the blog, but it was used more in passing so I went digging. Most of the articles I could find on the phrase "noetic effect of the fall." were long, scholarly, well written, and a lot deeper than I expected. So I decided to put together a beginners guide for myself. 

Do Not Be Surprised...: The Gospel Is Veiled to Those Who Are Perishing: Thoughts on the Creation Debate

I did not watch the Bill Nye - Ken Ham debate, nor did I want to. Some of the reasons why I can easily explain, both men are so single issue focused that they're just going to be bashing their heads together, neither man will ever concede a point, and I disagree with Bill Nyes flawed theology which is is "Science first, last, always" regardless of how many theories are disproven over time. This means for Bill the truth is a constantly moving target. Every so many years everything he knows to be true needs to be thrown away, that concept is so depressing to me.

As for the creation - what I do or do not believe when it comes to creation has nothing to do with my salvation. My salvation is based on God's grace through my faith in Jesus Christ and creation isn't even mentioned. Personally my belief is "Here's what God told us; the creation of everything in just a few words. When we met him face to face we'll get all the details of what went on and that's going to be SO COOL!" (I can hardly wait!). 

There's many more reasons why I didn't watch, most of have to do with the fact that some of the saddest verses in the bible are so true, and it's heartbreaking to watch. Erin at Do Not Be Surprised blog says it a whole lot better than I possibly could:

Do Not Be Surprised...: The Gospel Is Veiled to Those Who Are Perishing: Thoughts on the Creation Debate

Emergent Monday - The Cult Of Furtick

I cannot be a member of Steven Furtick's Elevation Church.

You see, I believe in the doctrine of grace, the fact that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, that elders and pastors are are held to a higher standard and should exemplify that standard, and that Jesus is my savior and it's Him who I serve. 

I don't care that the Elevation church has decided to keep Steven's salary completely and totally secret from his congregation and the public, that's Between Steven, God, and the IRS. And if Steven Furtick has a big enough family that would fill a a 16,000 square foot house so be it - however the dark side of me would love to see him vacuum such an edifice. (B-52 bombers get parked in similar sized buildings) I do have a problem with the fact that he purchased the $1,600,000 estate for $365,000 or slightly more than 20% of its value. That's the kind of deal that gets people in trouble.

There's plenty of reasons why I'd never follow Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte NC, but financial reasons are far down on the list of of reasons to steer clear, there's much more happening here that moves me to avoid Mr. Furticks cult of personality.