Wednesday 27 May 2009

DELUSION

Last evening men were gathered around Ida, ecstatic about her form, worshipping at her shrine.

' ....and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.'

2 Thessalonians 2: 10,11

Friday 22 May 2009

IDA, THE IMAGE OF GOD?

Ida is described as 'the Eighth Wonder of the World'.
Looking at the fossilised, dead lemur, our 'ancestor', thoughts of greatness and glory hardly come to mind.

'What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you take care of him?
You made him little lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honour,
And set him over the works of your hands.
You have put all things in subjection under his feet'

'I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.'

We have indeed:
'changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man....birds, four-footed beasts and creeping things.'

Man is worshipping Ida as if she was some kind of god. Her fossilised remains fit the description well.

David Attenborough sees this 'beautiful little creature' as our link with the animal world, the research as 'an act of faith'.
All the marks of a religion.

Man becomes what he worships.
We should be preoccupied with life rather than death

Tuesday 19 May 2009

CHANGE

The pure Gospel never changes, but its followers will.

Saturday 16 May 2009

ELDERS AT THE GATE

Virtuous men should be elders at the city gate, the judges of society.

Virtue - being able to withstand temptation and follow the honorable way at cost to oneself.

Today’s 'elders' have no values or standards. They seek to escape hassle, living in a virtual world of their own making. They have no loyalty to anyone and have nothing to conserve. Meritocracy to them means escaping from the common lot with no room for compassion. Selfcentredess gone rife - the sure way to the destruction of all we hold dear.

They are the betrayers of democracy.

Some thoughts from Christopher Lasch 'The Revolt of the Elites - The Betrayal of Democracy'.

DANCING

Malcolm Gladwell talks of interactional synchrony in his book, 'The Tipping Point.'

There is a rhythm to our interactions with others, be this by body or spoken language. Some draw us, others repel us. Towards some there may be polite relating, at other times, indifference.

When someone, in graciousness, is quick to hear our call, drawing near to us, this synchrony is set on its course and we in turn are drawn. There is a joyous response by those who know they are heard and understood. This gives freedom, the assurance of a safe haven. Also lightness of spirit and the joy to dance through life.

Through this we are able to draw others to dance with us. And so the circle never ends.

Isn't this perhaps the heart of true Christianity?

Wednesday 13 May 2009

IDEAS

'Men not only have ideas, they steep them in emotion'.
Steven Pinker: 'Stuff of Thoughts'

Psychoneuroimmunology reveals that every cell feels every emotion. For every thought there is a neurochemical reaction.

'Keep the heart for out of it are the issues of life'

Sunday 10 May 2009

THERE IS A TIME FOR ALL THINGS

There is a tension of opposites throughout Scripture.

God loves and hates.
He forgives and condemns.
War and peace are His to give.
Joy and sorrow come from Him.
Christ, the Lion and the Lamb.

It sometimes seems God contradicts Himself.
The people of God are described as a remnant, and yet as many as the sand upon the shore.
They are dressed as a bride but also addressed as a worm.
God's sheep are never ultimately lost, yet can fall away, unable to be renewed unto repentance.

All come together in God alone. This is His otherness.
God's incomprehensibility is anathema to man, who sees patterns and creates his own gods.

It is God who says:
'My ways are not your ways, neither are your thoughts my thoughts'.
Our answer should be:
'How unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out.'

It is not us who question God , but He who will question us.
Like Job, we are those who ' darken counsel without knowledge'.
Like him, we should become those who 'abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes.'
That from which we came.

Charles Spurgeon said: 'If a truth is proclaimed in one part of Scripture, I will preach it. If the opposite is proclaimed in another, I will preach that too.'

Saturday 9 May 2009

THE LANGUAGE OF WORDS

The adherents of evolution speak with verbs that require an agent, but have none, other than the evolutionary processes themselves, which appear to have a mind and life of their own -
'the next evolutionary development addresses this problem’.

God has no problems in creation.
'And God saw that it was good.'
There is no thought of progress.
'Let there be...and it was so'. All was complete.

The only command was to be fruitful, each according to its kind.

"According to Steve Pinker, in 'Stuff of Thoughts', species are not some 'holistic being' capable of making a decision and moving in step, but made up of individuals, like a heap of pebbles.

Perhaps the principles of language expose an evolutionary fallacy. God is replaced by another agent who may even remain un-named. Words can make a difference.

Thoughts provoked by Denis Alexander in 'Creation or Evolution. Do We have to Choose ?'

METAPHORS

God made us for metaphors.

Creation is a metaphor for the unseen God.
'Since the creation of the world God's invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead'

The First-born of creation, the final metaphor.
'He is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn over all creation'.

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SACRIFICE

God did the unthinkable.

In His holiness, He burned up His Son on His altar.
He was made sin for us and His Father is of purer eyes than to look on evil.
Yet in all this He was a spotless Lamb, the Perfect Sacrifice.

Sunday 3 May 2009

FRUITFULNESS

This is the first commandment to God’s creatures. It is His purpose for His creation and pleases Him above all else. A sterile relationship is anathema to God and may be a great sorrow for man.

Now it comes by blood, sweat and tears. The land must be cultivated with great effort. Women labour to give birth.

God has His reasons for this. The harvest is gathered with great joy.The intense pain of childbirth leads to greater bonding. Man in his rebellion and foolishess seeks to evade this at any cost but always pays a price.