More Ken Samples! HBO's "The Pacific" and Just War Theory

Good stuff from Ken! 

Here's the link:  http://reasons.edgeboss.net/download/reasons/straightthinking/st78-080310.mp3

Ken Samples on "Issues, Etc.," Discussing Ramadan

Ken Samples was on "Issues, Etc.," earlier today discussing Ramadan.

Here's the link (http://issuesetc.org/podcast/55608161010H2S3.mp3).

Ken's very helpful series on Islam (delivered at Christ Reformed's Academy) can be found here (scroll down toward the bottom):  http://christreformedinfo.squarespace.com/mp3s-and-real-audio-of-academy/

This Week's White Horse Inn

American Spirituality

What is the nature of American spirituality, and how does it differ from classical Christian conceptions of God, revelation, and redemption? On this edition of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton walks through various popular views of American religion and contrasts them with the biblical gospel of free grace in Jesus Christ.

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/



Hey, I'm on Vacation

 

What more could you want?

A cool mountain breeze . . .

A good cigar . . .

An ice cold adult beverage . . .

A good book (a new biography of Constantine) . . .

And my snuggie . . .

And then we went on a nice hike out of Lake Mary.

Hey, I'm on vacation!

Christ Reformed Folk Invade the Sierras

A bunch of us from Christ Reformed have invaded the eastern Sierras.  Some of us are camping, some enjoying one of the many condos in Mammoth.

Lake Mary (below Mammoth Mountain) is one of the prettiest in the Sierras.  The fishing was pretty good, or so I am told.  I've got nothing against fishing mind you, but I don't like getting up at the crack of dawn.  I'm on vacation!  The whole point of vacation is sleeping in and eating too much.

The scenery is great, but the fellowship is even better.  There are fifteen families or so here this year and we've been hanging out in between fishing, hiking and running (several of our group are training for marathons).

Can't wait for the meteor shower tomorrow night!  That is always one of the highlights of the trip!

This Week's White Horse Inn

Christ's View of Scripture

Having established in previous programs that the New Testament documents are the most reliable texts of ancient history, the hosts in this program discuss the way Jesus throughout these texts speaks of the Old Testament Scriptures. Are these a collection of myths and fables with helpful moral lessons? Is one interpretation just as good as the next? Since Jesus Christ rose again from the dead, his view of Scripture may be worth considering above all others (originally broadcast April 29, 2007).

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/



The URCNA Synod, The Overturning of Prop 8, and other Musings

During the 2010 URCNA synod, I had a great conversation (or two) with Dr. Gerhard Visscher (of the CanRC theological seminary).  Here's Dr. Visscher's take on the URCNA-CanRC merger.  I heartily agree with Dr. Visscher's assessment.   Dr. Visscher on the CanRC-URCNA Relationship

Scott Clark offers up a very helpful take on the overturning of Prop 8 and related matters here:  Clark on Natural Law and Sexual Liberation

OK, now I've heard it all.  Here's a car which runs on human waste.  Well, actually it runs on the methane produced by processing human waste.  There are so many great quips which could be offered up, but the voice inside is saying, "don't do it!"   However, I am worried about the prospect of methane being in demand for fuel--I will either be a rich man, or else some evil cabal will capture me and run experiments to find out why my body converts pretty much everything I eat to methane.   The Poop-Mobile

So, John the Baptist's remains have been found . . . in Bulgaria?  That is the first place I would have looked.   Hey, they found bone fragments of a skull, hand and tooth.  That's all the proof I need!  Maybe these gentlemen would profit from reading Calvin's rather sarcastic treatment on relics.  We've heard this before.  More John the Baptist Relics

You Gotta Love the Bureaucrats

Here's part of the flow chart for our new ObamaCare.

I can just see it now. 

• Bureaucrat A tries to figure out from Bureaucrat B if I am eligible for care.
• Bureaucrat B contacts Bureaucrat C for approval. 
• Bureaucrat C must check with Bureaucrats D-F, but Bureaucrat E is on vacation.
• Bureaucrat B contacts the supervisor (Bureaucrat G) and asks what to do. 
• Bureaucrat G tells Bureaucrat C to wait for E to return.
• Meanwhile, I contact A, to learn the outcome. 
• A directs me to customer service Bureaucrat H.
• H tells me to contact appeals Bureaucrat I to expedite the matter. 
• Bureaucrat I tells me to go back to B.
• B tries again to contact C, but now C is out on pet bereavement leave. 
• Meanwhile E has returned and contacts C, who has lost the paperwork.
• C contacts B (but B is now on vacation)
• Upon return, B contacts A.
• A calls me to inform me that I must contact appeals panel (bureaucrats J-M)
• C finds the paperwork, but sees the appeal is underway and files it away . . . somewhere.

I could go on and on.  You get the point. 

I guess my baldness treatments will have to wait.

A Synodical Ordeal

Quite frankly, the 2010 URCNA Synod in London, Ontario, was an ordeal.  At least it was for me.

Along with Christ Reformed's elder delegate, I made my way from the OC to London, Ontario.  But our bags remained in Detroit . . .  We finally got our stuff the next day.  Good thing.  I was getting a bit gamey.

Some guy sitting about three rows back on the flight from LA to Detroit was hacking and snorting his head off.  Sure enough, I was getting sick by Tuesday night and spent much of synod stoned on cold tablets trying not to cough, sneeze or make other gross sounds.  Nothing worse than sitting next to someone coughing, snorting and repeatedly clearing their throats.  I did my best to keep quiet, but that meant sneaking off to go blow my nose every 20 minutes or so . . .

The delegates worked from 8:00 a.m. in the morning until 11:00 p.m. for four straight days.  Despite the grueling schedule, the 200 or so sleep-deprived bone-weary men kept plowing ahead with few signs of the usual crabbiness that goes with that kind of stress and fatigue.  I was impressed with the level of civility shown under such duress.  I know I was tired and crabby!

Adding insult to fatigue, apparently, American Reformed ministers are viewed as a security risk by Canadian authorities!  Here I am getting frisked in front of a bunch of my fellow ministers and synod attendees on the same flight out with me (hence the photo).  I'll bet the security people were looking for Cuban cigars--the contraband most likely to be found on a Reformed minister's person.

Yes, synod was an ordeal.  But . . . 

The nine points of Synod Schereville were re-affirmed by a large margin.  When it came time to approve the study report on justification and the Federal Vision, the matter came to the floor in the form of six recommendations.  The first recommendation (to receive the report) passed without dissent.  Then the second recommendation passed.  Then came the third, the heart of the report.  Not a single "nay."  When it became clear that the vote was unanimous, someone out in the hall applauded.  Before long virtually all the delegates inside began applauding.  Then, there was a cheer or two, and I can only describe the atmosphere in the room as one of spontaneous heart-felt joy.  Never seen anything like it!  About as close as the Reformed come to a "second blessing."

So, if synod was an ordeal, it was well worth it.  The gospel was cheered, the Federal Vision was rejected by every one of the delegates to our synod. 

And once I've caught up on my sleep and my cold is long gone, what will remain is the unanimous vote of Synod London 2010, when the delegates cheered as the gospel was affirmed and the Federal Vision condemned!

Thanks be to God!

This Week's White Horse Inn

Christ the Key to Scripture

All great books are difficult to master and according to classicist Mortimer Adler, the Bible is the most challenging of all the great books. This may in part explain why there are so many varying interpretations of this sacred book. But when we begin to see the scarlet thread of redemption running from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible’s central message becomes unmistakably clear.

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/