The 8th point...

"Nothing angers a man so much as seeing his own sin in someone else..."

- Ravi Zacharias

In the last several months, I've had to endure something that has been horribly tough; I've sat by and watched as a friend's life crumbled around him. I've tried to encourage him, whenever we've talked (which has been fairly frequent). I've prayed for him, and I've done my best to give him biblical advice.

What has been the frustration is that in the light of biblical counsel, and in the light of fairly obvious scriptural teaching, he has gone off and done what seemed right in his own eyes. He's added mistake to mistake, and sin to sin, and the fruits of his labors are now coming down on his head...and there's not much I can do.

One of the most discouraging things in my adult life has been seeing people whom I love, people with whom I've served the Lord, turn their back on God when they needed him the most and reject the faith when the refiners fire burned the hottest. I remember when news of a spiritual mentor's suicide came to me shortly after I completed my first undergrad; right when God seemed to be burning away the chaff in his life, with one motion of a finger he made a lasting comment on his view of Christ's sufficiency and soveriegn provision in his life; that day was dark indeed.

Over the years, I've had so many conversations with people who used to be mentors, or spiritual brothers, or even pastors, who've thrown in the towel and given up either on God or on hope. I've talked to friends who've been burned out by pain/trials/suffering and embraced anything BUT God, whether that be in the form of abandoning a call to ministry, the simplicity of no longer fighting sin (like making justifications for sexual immorality), or an alternate 'faith' altogether (like Islam or theological liberalism).

As a theologian I study the scriptures and expect plenty of seed to fall on the rocky ground, get scorched by the sun or choked by weeds...but seeing grain get choked by weeds or scorched by the sun never gets any easier.

And the worst is when I see weeds rising and the sun getting higher in my own life. Something I'm learning the importance of remembering is this:

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
- 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

I don't want to run the race in vain...I must not run the race in vain.

Lord, grant me the strength to run the race and reach the finish. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

The Foundation of the Answer to the Question of Cessationism: Part 9 - A look at Old Testament Miracles/Signs and Wonders...

Well, it appears that there’s a few bites of salad left until we get to the main course, but we’re getting close, although sometimes it seems like this meal is taking forever. So where am I going? Well, before we jump into the Gospels and Acts (among other places), I think it would be wise to take a quick flight through the Old Testament and examine the historic frequency of miracles/signs and wonders, as well as any teaching on their purpose(s).

Before we get running, I should also clarify something. In this post when I refer to ‘miracles/signs and wonders’, I’m not talking about a miracle or miraculous sign done exclusively by God, like creation or regeneration. I am talking more specifically, about miracles or signs performed by God via human agents, like healings or the multiplication of food or other things of that sort. The Cessationist and Non-Cessationist both would agree that God performs miracles, independent of any agent, whenever he wills to do so. If a person is sick and the church prays for him and he’s ‘miraculously’ healed, I would suggest that both sides of the debate would not challenge accrediting such a healing to God. The disagreement comes when the Cessationist and Non-Cessationist talk about miracles (and this is specifically really talking about 'healings') that are performed by human agents. An example of this would be the variety of miracles performed by God through the agent of Elijah, or the various healings performed by the apostles.

Now, back to our quick run through the Old Testament:

1. The first recorded miracles in the Old Testament, performed by a human agent, were the three signs that God gave Moses in Exodus 4:1-9. The life of Moses was most certainly marked by the miraculous; there were the Egyptian plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the bringing forth of water from the rock, the bronze serpent, and many more. The miracles of the exodus did not occur only in Moses’ life; several miracles occured under Joshua. Interestingly, Exodus clearly gives the purpose of the miracles of Moses in Exodus 4:1-9; God explicitly states why he gave Moses the three signs/miracles. Exodus 4:5 says

"This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you."

The miracles verified the messenger and his message, that they were both from God.

I would also suggest that it would be fair to say that the period of the exodus (Moses' and Joshua's time of leadership over Israel) was somewhere around 65 years, from around 1491BC (rough date of the Exodus) to 1426BC (rough date of beginning of the period of the Judges).

2. The next period of miracles/signs and wonders occured during the lives of Elijah and Elisha. As for the question of purpose, 1 Kings 17 says something interesting. After Elijah has fed the widow at Zarephath for many months, and raised her son from the dead, what does she say? 1 Kings 17:24 records it:

Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

Again, the miracles verified the messenger and his message, that they were both from God.

Elijah performed miracles starting in Zarephath (1 Kings 17), which would be somewhere around 918 BC until the death of Elisha during the reign of Jehohaz, which ended around 825 BC.

These are the two periods in the Old Testament where the miraculous, as performed by God via human agents, was frequent, and in both times we see that they have the same purpose: The verification of the messenger and message; to confirm that both were from God.

Beyond that, there is a small point to be made from the sheer historical frequency of miracles/ sign and wonders. In 4,000+ years of Old Testament History we have recorded miracles/ signs and wonders occurring for around 160 years.

That suggests that the miraculous was 'normative' around 4-5% of the time, The argument from sheer recorded instances of miracles/ signs and wonders isn't that strong an argument (admittedly), but it definitely suggests strongly that in the Old Testament, miracles/ signs and wonders weren't the normative occurrences of daily life. I'd guess, maybe, that for such a reason the miracles were recorded; so that people wouldn't forget the miracle/sign that occurred 'hundreds of years ago.'

The historical pattern is a point of interest, and is not a clinching argument for cessationism. It is only one brick in a large wall. The purposes of the miraculous are much more important though, just as a point of note.

Miracles/ signs and wonders never were a purpose unto themselves. They did not happen for the sake of anything short of the verification of a messenger from the Lord, at least in my study of scripture.

My purpose here is to only lay a foundation of an Old Testament understanding of miracles/signs and wonders, and specifically in the context that I’m discussing: miracles or signs performed by God via human agents. I know this will generate exponentially more questions than answers, but that cannot be helped. I can only go one step at a time. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

Enough already!

Before I even post this, I want to say "I KNOW!". I know what some are going to say. I'm flying off the cuff. I'm an alarmist. I'm a crazy fundamentalist. Blah blah blah. Either way, this is crazy-go-nuts.

My best friend is working in Korea, and has been for a year now. We've often talked about how gender roles are super confused in Korean culture, with boys trying their best to be effeminate...wearing lipstick, pink tight shirts, etc. No kidding.

And, I've been involved off and on in debates and conversations about gender issues over here, including doing some writing regarding the current "ordination of women" debate in the Mennonite Brethren circles.

Anyway, my friend and I were recently talking and he sent me a link to a youtube site, which was a video be a Korean artist named "Ha RiSu". I watched it and thought it was just another K-pop girl dancing around and singing and whatnot. Here's the link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jy3nt2nOOiU&search=harisu

After I watched a bit, he told me that the "she" is a "he". Excuse me? But yes, that's a "him"...a "him" who's had a sex change, but a "him" none the less. So we kept talking and I realized that Korea has a growing fascination with 'transgendered' pop stars. Now, Korea has a growing 'transgendered' pop scene. There's a group called "Lady" that is cutting tunes over there. Here's a link to a news story from last March:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200503/200503270008.html

And here's a link to their blog:

http://blogpage.com/UserPage/Lady/index.asp

It's, uh, something. I'm not going to say that Canada is headed for that level of gender confusion...(the kids in my friend's hogwan think it's 'cool' and such...*sigh*), but it's interesting...albeit quite sad. I may do some research into Korean history sometime to see how 'traditional' male/female roles have been so completely overturned and lost. Anyway, just some thoughts. What are your thoughts? Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

I was recently inspired...

Here's a little known fact about me. Being the tech-head that I am, I used to have "the canonical list of Mennonite Jokes"; a web page that used to be hosted on Geocities. At one time, it swelled with around 160+ Mennonite jokes. But, seeing that I didn't have a computer at that time, and it was 1996 (the internet was note quite 2 years old back then), it's long been lost. Maybe one day I'll try to rebuild it. (and for the sticklers, this isn't a MENNONITE joke...it would be funny, though not as much, if other denominations were substituted in) Anyway, this post is for Camille, who recently inspired me with a good joke:

There were 3 ministers; a Mennonite, a Southern Baptist and a United Church minister. All three of them were car pooling to a different city for whatever reason when they were involved in a head-on with a rig and were instantly killed.

As they all opened their eyes, they were standing at the pearly gates and saw an angel. They walked up to him and he motioned them to stop. The angel said "Now, all three of you are in for some shockers...you all believed a thing or two on earth that wasn't necessarily accurate, and I want to warn you that not everything in Heaven will be exactly as you expect."

They all hurridly agreed and got in line.

The United Church minister went first, and as he went through the gates, his voice was heard exclaiming 'Hey! Where is everyone? Not everyone's here!"

The angel looked at the other two and said "See? Those United Churchers are always surprised at that one."

Then, as he went through the gate, the Southern Baptist pointed at the United Church minister and exclaimed "HEY! You let HIM in?! What gives?"

The angel looked at the one remaining minister and said "See? Those Southern Baptists are always surprised at that one."

Then, as the Mennonite went through the gate he pointed and yelled "JOHN TRAVOLTA?!"

************************

Like all good Mennonite jokes, it's WAY funnier if you tell it in low German. Enjoy. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian.

P.S. - Here's a REAL Mennonite Joke -

Q: Why did all the Mennonites get fired from NASA?

A: Because everytime they called a "launch", they all took off to eat!

Something I didn't know...

It's said "You learn something new every day". Here's something I always kinda 'knew' but didn't really have any proof of. I was noodling around on the internet tonight, studying Pakistani law, (what else would I be doing?) and stumbled across something of interest. It's pretty self explanatory, and I tried to copy and paste the relevant text, though some of the formatting is lost. This is quite eye-opening:

**********

ACT III OF 1986 CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ACT, 198
An Act further to amend the Pakistan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, part 1, 12th October 1986) The following Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) received the assent of the President on the 5th October, 1986 and is hereby published for general information: Whereas it is expedient further to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1893), for the purposes hereinafter appearing: It is hereby enacted as follows:
1.	Short title and commencement (1) This Act may be called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 1986. (2) It shall come into force at once.
2.	Insertion of new section 295-C, Act XLV of 1860. In the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860), after section 295-B, the following new section shall be inserted, namely: 295-C. Use of derogatory remarks, etc. in respect of the Holy Prophet. Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."
3.	Amendment of Schedule II, Act V of 1898. In the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), in Schedule II, after the entries relating to section 295-A, the following new entries shall be inserted, namely: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 295-B Defiling, etc of copy of Holy Quran, May arrest without warrant Ditto Ditto Ditto Imprisonment for life Court of Session 298-C Use of derogatory remarks, etc. in respect of the Holy Prophet Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Death, or imprisonment for life, and fine Court of Session which shall be presided over by a Muslim

**********

SO, in Pakistan, if one would say anything bad about the prophet Mohammed by "words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly", you'd be "punished with death". The punishment for saying, or even suggesting, anything negative about Mohammed is the death penalty (or life imprisonment). Just so you know I'm not making this up, I checked it out in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_Pakistan

There's the link for y'all. It's not that I didn't believe the 'martyrs by the millions' stories. I just was unaware that there is nationally binding legislation in ANY country that makes it one's duty and national responsibility to kill Christians (or imprison them for life). I always thought that the proliferation of martyrs were strictly results from Islamic teachings, not official legislature...though in many countries in the 10/40 window, the Islamic teachings and the national legislature are inseperable. (I understand that...)

I guess I need to start praying a lot more seriously for Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, and much of the Middle East. They're killing those who love Jesus, and only because they don't love Mohammed...and it's a national legislated activity. Wowzer.

I heard about this site and thought it was kinda a silly gimmick of a site:

http://www.bodybagmissions.org

Now I know it's serious. Some sobering food for thought. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

Editors note - I don't have a computer right now, so my blogging is done from either my roomie's compie (when he's gone) or work, after work (when I have a spare hour or less). I'll keep on with the cessationism thread that some of you are waiting on, but it's going to be a month...probably. I'll start working on something and keep it as a word document on my memory stick, when that thing arrives in the mail. God bless.

Something funny...

...I muttered this at a breakfast meeting this morning and realized what a tremendously true 'funny' it was:

"Us Mennonites don't go off to fight in a war; instead we stay home and fight in church!"

No kidding. Mennonites are Pacifists? YEAH RIGHT! Anyone who thinks that hasn't ever "crossed the line" in an MB church (like suggested at a church meeting that we "sell that old organ since we don't ever use it anymore"). I love Mennonites. We have the best food, the most beautiful women, the craziest youth groups, the best self-deprecating humor, the most HILARIOUS family reunions and the most violent churches. Ironic. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

************
And NO! I was NOT the one who suggested that we "sell the organ", but my mom sure clucked about it for weeks. The person who said that also, all of a sudden, had very poorly behaved children from then on, and you know someone's kids are B-A-D when mom comments on children's behavior in Low German. LOL!

The MOST obscure quote in the world!

I've posted some obscure quotes (or poetry or whatever) before that people googled and found and whatnot, but if anyone can get this one, I'll eat my own toe:

"I'm Mike and I'm from Burion, and because I'm from Burion I like the 3 "B's": Beer, Bowling, and VAN HALEN!"

I was thinking working on my C&C notes for Monday, but this stupid quote kept jumping into my head. Stupid sleep deprived useless brain! So much for this dumb filler post. Oh, and pray for Curt Jurgens (who posts as Leenis) as he broke his neck, diving into shallow water. He's in rough shape, but I don't really know much than just that he's busted up good. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

Holy Jerusalem!

Well, watch the news folks. I was reading this link, which is an article from the Jerusalem Post, and August 6-12 is "World Pride Week"...i.e. international "gay pride week". The organizers of the world pride week laid seige against Rome in 2000, doing everything in their power to offend the Catholics. Now, it's time for all of Judaism and Christendom to get attacked, slandered and mocked. 6 days of half naked men in leather speedos dancing around, with pavilions and gay film festivals and phallic candy and everything that comes with a huge gay pride parade...In Jerusalem.

Apparently, 3/4 of the city are opposed to the parade, but them homosexuals don't care; like always, any opposition to their 'righteous cause' is automatically homophobia and bigotry. They're storming into your city, like it or not, taking off most of their clothes, and dancing around. Next, they'll be hopping the fence into your backyard and crashing family events, and if you don't like it, TOO BAD! You're a fundamentalist, or a bigot, or a homophobe! I'm amazed, and I predict that on August 6th, CNN will have something on the headlines about "fundamentalist Jews/Christians picket gay pride parade in Jerusalem". August 10th, the 'top story' will be something along the lines of "3 homosexuals shot in Jerusalem today when an unknown gunman opened fire on a crowd".

I mean, I know that homosexual's hate Christ and live in open daily aggressive defiance of the Lord, but don't they have a lick of 'common sense' of any sort? I mean, it's the middle east! Come ON you idiots! Jews and Palestinians and Muslims kill each other over there for fun on a daily basis...And a bunch of people that all three groups hate are going to go over there to have a party in their backyard. Are these homosexuals INSANE? If ONE thing could unite Jews, Muslims and Palestinians for a second, it would be to bomb a crowd of homosexuals desecrating their first and second holiest cities in their respective faiths. In fact, if there isn't any bloodshed at this event, I'll be so astounded that I'm going to bake a cake.

What's more, I constantly (sorta) laugh at the gay communities need to have a parade to 'shove down everyone's throats' that they're normal people. They're constantly fighting for their 'rights' and whatnot...sure, sure. I wonder what would happen if all the heterosexual couples decided to have a 'straight pride' parade, and fight for their rights to promote family values and fight the insurgence of soft core pornography into the media and homosexuality into the school systems? (Even better would be if all the Protestants had a reformation pride parade, celebrating the biblical doctrines of the reformation. I wonder if the media would portray that in a positive light?) I can just see the "straight pride parade" news interview now...

Anchor: "I have Fred Phelps here. He's a 'typical' heterosexual man, and a respected Christian pastor, who's travelled all they way to be here from Topeka Kansas..."

***
Anyway, I agree with some of the people who posted comments on the Jerusalem Post's website. If the homosexuals are so proud and need to celebrate their sexuality, in public, regardless of what the hosting city thinks of it, then they should consider the following cities for 2012:

Amman
Beirut
Monrovia
Tripoli
Muscat
Islamabad
Teheran
Baghdad
Doha
Riyadh
Damascus
Ankara
Sanaá

or my personal favorite:

Mecca.

Come on! Show your pride! Don't let the bigots get you down!

Can you imagine the headlines? "Gay Pride Parade ends in bloodbath!" Those Saudi Muslims would pull out the swords and go absofreakinlutely nuts. The 500 homosexuals stupid enough to show up would be killed by a mob of half a million muslims in about 2 seconds. Man! The homosexuals can cry 'bigot' all they want but over yonder, where the muslims have relatively theocratic states, there's no RCMP or legal tape to hide behind. Anyway, watch the news August 6th. I predict that it will hit the fan HUGE. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theology Pride Parade!

- And kudos for Deo Volente for the link.

Something For Canada Day...

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

****

Many people don't know that the Canadian National Anthem was originally a poem that was written in a hymn structure. Here's an older version from 1880. Interesting, no?

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North, strong and free!
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

Refrain
O Canada, glorious and free!
We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!

Refrain

O Canada! Beneth thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!

Refrain

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion whithin thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.

*****

I want to sing all 4 stanzas when we sing the national anthem, but keep the first verse as it is. Here's my proposed national anthem:

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!

Refrain

O Canada! Beneth thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!

Refrain

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion whithin thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.

****

I wish we'd still sing the 4th stanza, but it's far too offensive. Maybe when my roomie becomes the dictator of Sweden, he can strongarm NATO and the UN to make Canada change the anthem to my proposed version; same first verse with the added other 3 stanzas! Here's hoping!

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

...If only we actually meant that.

Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian