The Itinerant Iconoclast

A Personal Relationship

2011-12-30T11:31:00.002-05:00

From A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God:
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"The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His Word. We have almost forgotten that God is a Person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can. It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge ofone personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental relationship that the full possibilities of both can be explored."

Living Out Christian Unity

2011-12-22T11:26:00.000-05:00

This can apply not just to East and West, but to any division in the church: High Church and Low, Liturgical and Free, Evangelical and Charismatic, etc ...

"If I can unite in myself, in my own spiritual life, the thought of the East and the West, the Greek and the Latin Fathers, the Russians with the Spanish mystics, I will create in myself a reunion of the divided Church. From that secret and unspoken unity in myself can eventually come the exterior and visible unity of all Christians."
-- Thomas Merton

Old and New in One

2011-12-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

From a devotion by James H. Kurt:
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"Jesus will be born of a woman from whom it seems no child could come -- a consecrated virgin -- and this of the Holy Spirit, who is with Him and even before time. He is a new testament, however, signified by His birth of a woman of youth and not old age. Though hailed by the old, he brings the newness of God into our midst. His birth fulfills all the births and words and wisdom of the prophets and judges and kings of the Old Testament."

Bearing the Cross

2011-11-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

from St. Thomas a Kempis:

"If thou willingly bear the Cross, it will bear thee, and will bring thee to the end which thou seekest, even where there shall be the end of suffering; though it shall not be here. If thou bear it unwillingly, thou makest a burden for thyself and greatly increaseth thy load, and yet thou must bear it. If thou cast away one cross, without doubt thou shalt find another and perchance a heavier."

Athanasius on Resurrection

2011-11-21T16:23:00.002-05:00

"Before the Savior came, death was terrible to the saints. Everyone wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Savior has risen, death isn't terrible anymore. For everyone who believes in Christ tramples over death. They would rather die than deny their faith in Christ. For they know that when they die they aren't destroyed, but actually begin to live."

Augustine on Charity

2011-11-12T17:01:00.002-05:00

"That bread which you keep belongs to the hungry; that coat which you preserve in your wardrobe, to the naked; those shoes which are rotting in your possession, to the shoeless; that gold which you have hidden in the ground, to the needy. Wherefore, as often as you are able to help others, and refuse, so often did you do them wrong."

From Saint Teresa of Avila

2011-11-06T13:28:00.000-05:00

"Christ has no body on earth but your, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."

Einstein on Charity

2011-10-28T13:24:00.001-05:00

Albert Einstein: "More and more I come to value charity an dlove of one's fellow being above everything else ... All our lauded technological progess -- our very civilization -- is like the axe in the hannd of the pathological criminal."

"Finished"

2011-10-13T12:44:00.000-05:00

From John Calvin:

"Now this word, which Christ employs, well deserves our attention; for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation, and all the parts of it, are contained in his death ... the meaining therefore is that everything which contributes to the salvation of men is to be found in Christ and ought not to be sought out anywhere else."

The Cross

2011-10-03T08:20:00.000-05:00

From Saint Theodore the Studite:

How precious the gift of the Cross. How splendid to contemplate. In the Cross, there is no mingling of good and evil as in the tree of paradise. It is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise, but opens the way for our return.

This was the tree on which Christ, like a king on a chariot, destroyed the devil the lord of death and freed the human race from his tyranny. This was the tree upon which the Lord like a brave warrior wounded in hands, feet and side, healed the wounds of sin that the evil serpent had inflicted on our nature.

A tree once caused our death, but now a tree brings life.

The Problem With Protestants

2011-09-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

... of which I am one ...
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"The diversity of belief within even so small a segment of Christianity ... illustrates one of the frustrating aspects of Protestantism in general. No one agrees with anyone else, becasue there is no final authority. This has led to the formation of literally hundreds of denominations, with more being added continually."

-- David B. Currie

A Religious Man

2011-09-15T12:50:00.000-05:00

From Thomas A Kempis
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"A religious man who exercises himself seriously and devoutly in the most holy life and passion of our Lord shall find there abundantly all things that are profitable and necessary for him, neither is there need that he shall seek anything better beyond Jesus. Oh! If Jesus crucified would come into our hearts, how quickly and completely should be have learned all that we need to know!"

The Power of the Cross

2011-09-01T19:38:00.002-05:00

From Thomas a Kempis:
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"In the Cross is health, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection from enemies, in the Cross is heavenly sweetness, in the Cross strength of mind, in the Cross the joy of the spirit, in the Cross the height of virtue, in the Cross perfection of holiness. There is no health of the soul, no hope of eternal life, save for the Cross."

A third way

2011-08-25T14:58:00.001-05:00

From Simon Ponsonby:

"It strikes me that the charismatic and Pentecostal tradition has the right experience but a flawed doctrine, while the conservative evangelicals have the right doctrine but often a flawed doctrine. All Christians, by faith in the finished work of Christ, have drunk of that living water and have ben baptized in the Spirit, into Christ ... The Pentecostals and charismatics may have expressed what they have experienced wrongly, but at least they have experienced it. Many evangelical Christians know biblically that they have been na[tized in the Spirit, but do not know it existentially."

Augustine on our suffering

2011-08-17T09:31:00.004-05:00

I love it when church fathers show such wisdom. Reading this, it is humbling to know that 1600+ years ago, St. Augustine was preaching a sermon that could just as well be preached today.
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"Our Holy Scriptures themselves do not promise us peace, security, and rest. On the contrary, the Gospel makes no secret of the troubles and temptations that await us. But it also says that he who perseveres to the end will be saved. What good has there ever been in this life since the time when the first man received the just sentence of death and the curse from which Christ our Lord has delivered us? Is there any affliction now endured by mankind that was not endured by our fathers before us? What sufferings of ours even bear comparison with what we know of their sufferings? And yet you hear people complaining of this present age because things were so much better in former times."

Tozer's teachings on the Cross

2011-08-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

"The cross is rough, and it is deadly, but it is effective. It does not keep its victim hanging there forever. There comes a moment when its work is finished and the suffering victim dies.

After that is resurrection glory and power, and the pain is forgotten for joy that the veil is taken away and we have entered in actual spiritual experience the Presence of the living God."

The Absurdity of the Passion

2011-07-28T17:39:00.002-05:00

From Tertullian:

"The Son of God was crucified. I am not ashamed because mankind must be ashamed of it. And the Son of God died. It is, by all means, to be believed because it is absurd. And He was buried and rose again. The fact is certain, because it is impossible. But how will all this be true if He wasn't true Himself, if He hadn't had within Himself that which might be crucified, might die, might be buried, and might rise again?

Jesus vs. Pharisees

2011-07-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

From Simon Ponsonby:

The Pharisees' holiness made much of rule -- Jesus' holiness made much of God.

The Pharisees' holiness made much of themselves -- Jesus' holiness made much of others.

The Pharisees' holiness kept company with the scrupulously clean -- Jesus' holiness kept company with the notoriously wicked.

The Pharisees' holiness viewed God primarily as a lawgiver -- Jesus' holiness depicted God primarily as a love giver.

The Pharisees' holiness led them to be murderers -- Jesus' holiness led him to martyrdom.

Pascal's fire

2011-07-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

This is the revelation of God's Spirit to Pascal, that was discovered after his death, sewn into his doublet, next to his heart:
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Fire
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.

Not of the philosophers and scientists
Certitude, certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace.
My God and your God.

You shall be my God.

Becoming Holy

2011-07-04T15:35:00.001-05:00

From Simon Ponsonby:

"Sanctification is an internal work evidenced externally through personal Christlike character and good works to the benefit of others. It becomes a holy habit through the habitation of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is a journey, as we know in practice what we are called to be when we first believe. Entire sanctification, though only realized at the end of like or the end of history, must be the passionate aim and tenacious work of every believer."

from Origen

2011-06-23T12:59:00.002-05:00

"Jesus, however, is continually attacked by false witnesses and, while wickedness remains in the world, is continually exposed to accusation. Yet, even now, He remains silent in the presence of these things and makes no audible answer. Instead, He places His defense in the lives of His genuine disciples. They are an outstanding testimony, one superior to all false witnesses, that refutes and overthrows all unfounded accusations and charges."

The spiritual man and the natural man

2011-06-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

From Simon Ponsonby:

* The spiritual man has his minds on things that God desires.
* The natural man has his mind on things the flesh craves.

* The spiritual man has a mind that brings life and peace.
* The natural man has a mind that brings death.

* The spiritual man has a mind that lives to please God and submit to his law.
* The natural man has a mind hostile to God tha rejects God's law.

* The spiritual man's mind is filled with the things of the Spirit.
* The natural man's mind is filled with the things of this world.

Way Truth Life

2011-05-31T15:14:00.000-05:00

From St. Hilary of Poitiers:

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"He who is the Way doesn't sidetrack us or lead us into spacious wastelands. He who is the Truth doesn't mock us with lies. He who is the Life doesn't betray us with deathly delusions. Christ chose these names for Himself to indicate His methods for our salvation. As the Way, He will guide us to the Truth. And the Truth will root us in in the Life. Therefore, it is vital that we know the mysterious way (which He reveals) of attaining this life."

Tertullian on Prayer

2011-05-23T16:18:00.001-05:00

"Prayer is the wall of faith. It arms us and hurls missiles against the enemy who watches us on all sides. So we never walk unarmed. By day, we are aware of our post -- by night, of our vigil. Under the armor of prayer, we guard the banner of our General."

Christ-likeness

2011-05-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

From Simon Ponsonby's The Pursuit of the Holy:

"Christ is sinless, and as we allow ourselves to be led bythe Spirit, something of that sinless nature rubs off on us. As we devote ourselves to Jesus, constantly looking to him, meditating on his sublime words, his sinless life, his grace-filled acts, his agonizing substitutionary death, his victorious resurrection, his glorious ascension, his majestic reign, his anticipated glory, his unassailable power, his matchless beauty, his breathtaking wisom -- oh, as we look face-to-face with Jesus, so we are transformed, perfected, like a caterpillar changed into a butterfly. But we must make time to meditate on Christ and allow the Spirit to mold us into his likeness."

Humanity

2011-05-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

From The Sign of the Cross, by Andreas Andreopolous:

"The repercussions of the fall of our forebears were so grim not because humans introduced sin to the world but because of the special position God gave humanity. According to the tradition of the church, the human being stands in the middle of all creation, participating in the spiritual as well as in the material world. The place of humanity is therefore above that of angels, who are normally limited to the invisible world. The cosmic dimensions of humanity exceed anything we might imagine. In perfected creation, humans would stand in the center, transmitting the will and the love of God to every corner of the world."

Changed for the Better

2011-04-21T22:12:00.002-05:00

From Gregory of Nyssa:

"The Divine Word doesn't want us to be slaves of anything; our nature has been changed for the better. He has taken everyuthing that was ours with the agreement that He will give what is His to us in return. Justr as He took diseasse, death, condemnation, and sin, He also took our bondage.

There won't be disease, condemnation, sin, or death in the life that we hope for. Anbd bondage will also vanish. The Truth Himself testifies to this. Let all now, as never before, look up at the truth and see that He who owns allt he Father's things is Lord of all and isn't a servant."

Jesus' sepulchre

2011-04-13T11:30:00.001-05:00

From Pascal's Pensees #560:

"Jesus was dead but seen on the cross. He was dead and hidden in the sepulchre.
Jesus was buried only by saints.
Jesus peformed nio miracles in the sepulchre.
Only saints went into it.
It was there that Jesus took on a new life, not on the cross.
This is the supreme mystery of the Passion and Redemption.
Jesus teaches alive, dead, buried, risen again.
Jesus had nowhere on earth to rest except in the sepulchre.
His enemies only ceased tormenting him in the sepulchre.

Sufficient

2011-04-02T13:49:00.000-05:00

From Thomas a Kempis:

"Give, therefore, place to Christ and refuse entrance to all others. When thou hast Christ, thou art rich, and hast sufficient. He shall be thy provider and faithful watchman in all things, so that thou hast no need to trust in men, for men soon change and swiftly pass away, but Christ remaineth for ever standeth by us firmly even to the end."

Earthly & Divine Wisdom

2011-03-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

from Clement of Alexandria:

"The Savior teaches nothing in a merely human way, but teaches His own with Divine wisdom. Therefore, we must not listen to His words with worldly ears. We must search out and lern the meaning hidden in them. For what the Lord seems to have simplified for the disciples requires even more attention than puzzling statements because of its overabundance of wisdom. In addition, the things He explained to His children require even more consideration than the things which seem to have been simply stated."

Sin & Forgiveness

2011-03-02T09:40:00.003-05:00

From St. Augustine:

"For if He who neither has, nor had, nor will have any sin, prays for our sins, how much more ought we to pray for one another's in return! And if He forgives us, whom we have nothing to forgive, how much more ought we, who are unable to live here without sin, to forgive one another!"

From the (late) Internet Monk

2011-02-18T12:29:00.000-05:00

"Gospel honesty. That's what Jesus gives us. The Good News that we aren't good enough to be Christians. The truth is that we are so messed up that we have no other choice but to be Christians." -- Michael Spencer, Mere Churchianity

Pascal on Adam & Jesus

2011-02-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

Pensees # 590:

"Six days to create one, six ages to create the other. The six days which Moses represents for the creation of Adam are only an image of the six ages for creating Christ and the Church. If Adam had not sinned and Christ had not come, there would have been only one covenant and one age of man, and creation would have been represented as accomplished at a single moment."

From the (late) Internet Monk

2011-02-05T09:56:00.003-05:00

"Religion is our negotiation with God to try to get his help in exchange for our good behavior. We promise to do what we're told, and we expect God to reward us. This is a straightforward business arrangement, and we fully expect it to work. Meanwhile, we talk about being God's child as if we're family. But in our performance-for-reward arrangement, things don't operate on grace. Under the rules of religion, God is kept at arms length and expected to be involved only to the degree that he gives us what we think we deserve." -- Michael Spencer, Mere Churchianity

Invitation to Contemplation

2011-01-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

"Let us take Jesus at his word and we will be contemplatives at the heart of the world, because if we have faith then we are his permanent presence. In contemplation the soul draws directly from God's heart the graces that the active life has been entrusted to distribute. Our very existence is to be intimately bound to the living Christ within us. If we do not live in God's presence, we cannot keep going ... Our lives and our contemplation are one. It's not a question of doing but of being. In fact it is about the complete happiness of our spirit through the Holy Spirit who breathes God's fullness into us and send us into all creation as his own, personal message of love." -- Mother Teresa

disguise, falsehood & hypocrisy

2011-01-26T19:23:00.000-05:00

The conclusion of Pascal's Pensees #978:

"Man is therefore nothing by disguise, falsehood, & hypocrisy, both in himself and with regard to others. He does not want to be told the truth. He avoids telling it to others, and all those tendencies, so remote from justice and reason, are naturally rooted in his heart."

Faith & Reason

2011-01-11T12:04:00.000-05:00

From Pascal's Pensees #589:

"Faith is a gift of God. Do not imagine that we describe it as a gift of reason. Other religions do not say that about their faith. They offered nothing but reason as a way to faith, and yet it does not lead there."

December reading list

2010-12-31T12:56:00.014-05:00

65. Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
66. Worship Old & New (hc), by Robert E. Webber
67. The Cheater (ua), by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
68. Penses (pb), by Blaise Pascal
69. Imager's Intrigue (ua), by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
70. Sand Sharks (ua), by Margaret Maron
71. Painted Ladies (ua), by Robert B. Parker
72. Guild of the Cowry Catchers, Book 2 (ua), by Abigail Hilton
73. Holy Bible, various translations

The Practice of Worship

2010-12-22T16:46:00.000-05:00

From Worship Old & New, by Robert E. Webber:

We must always remember that worship has a horizontal as well as a vertical dimension. It is important for us to enact the work of Christ as an offering of praise and thanksgiving to the Father. But is is equally important that we act on what we have enacted ... the pattern of the world is one of injustice, inequality, discrimination, war, hate, immorality and all those human abuses that the New Testament and the early church fathers described as the way of death. The true worship of God inevitably leads the people of God into positive social action. Our calling is to worship God not only with our lips but with our lives.

reason & passions

2010-12-10T16:38:00.001-05:00

From Pascal's Pensees #621:
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Civil war in man between passions and reason.
If there were only reason without passions.
If there were only passions without reason.
But since he has both he cannot be free from war, for he can only be at peace with the one if he is at war with the other.
Thus he is always torn by inner divisions and contradictions.

November reading list

2010-12-01T19:13:00.000-05:00

59. The Big Short (ua), by Michael Lewis
60. NurtureShock (ua), by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
61. First Family (ua), by David Baldacci
62. Ironside (pb), by Holly Black
63. Kisser (ua), by Stuart Woods
64. Ford County (ua), by John Grisham

Contemporary Worship

2010-11-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

From Robert E. Webber's Worship Old & New:

"New shifts are taking place in worship today that call for a reconfiguration of the worship space. Underneath all these shifts is the recovery of the biblical understanding of worship as the ocngregational celebration of God's mighty deeds of salvation. Worship is no longer something to be watched or listened to, but something to be done by the people."

Pascal on Jesus' Teachings

2010-11-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

Pensees 369:

"Jesus said great things so simply that he seems not to have thought about them at all, and yet so clearly that it is obvious how much he thought about them. Such clarity together with implicity is wonderful."

October reading list

2010-10-31T13:41:00.006-05:00

53. Crocodile Tears (ua), by Anthony Horowitz
54. Left Behind: The Kids #16 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins & Time LaHaye
55. Left Behind: The Kids #17 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins & Time LaHaye
56. Left Behind: The Kids #18 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins & Time LaHaye
57. Imager's Challenge (ua), by L. A. Modessitt, Jr
58. Infinite Playlists (pb), by Todd Stocker

NT Wright on the Future Hope

2010-10-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

From Surprised by Hope:

"What I am proposing is that the New Testament image of the future hope of the whole cosmos, grounded in the resurrection of Jesus, gives as coherent a picture as we ned or could have of the future that is promised to the whole world, a future in which, under the sovereign and wise rule of the creator God, devay and death will be done away, and a new creation born to which the present one will stand as a mother to child ... What creation needs is not abondonment on the one hand, nor evolution on the other, but redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is what the whole world is waiting for."

Pascal on Man's Corruption

2010-10-12T10:02:00.003-05:00

from Pensees 446:

"If there were no obscurity man would not feel his corruption: if there were no light man could not hope for a cure. Thus it is not only right but useful for us that God should be partly concealed and partly revealed, since it is equally dangerous for man to know God without knowing his own wretchedness as to know his wretchedness without knowing God."

on the theology of signs

2010-10-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

From Robert E Webber's Worship Old & New:

"Protestants are the weakest in the third area of communication, the language of symbols. We have capitulated to the Enlightenment penchant for scientific objectivity, for obervation and proof, for cerebral communication. This has resulted in a loss of our ability to express feelings and intuition symbolically."

September Reading List

2010-09-30T13:03:00.005-05:00

48. Goth Girl Rising (hc), by Barry Lyga
49. Imager (ua), by L. A. Modessitt, Jr
50. The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (ua), by Steig Larrson
51. Left Behind: The Kids #14 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins & Time LaHaye
52. Left Behind: The Kids #15 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins & Time LaHaye

Pascal on Man's True Good

2010-09-27T07:30:00.001-05:00

from Penses 148:

"God alone is man's true good, and since man abandoned him, it is a strange fact that nothing in nature has been found to take his place: stars, sky, earth, elements, plants, cabbages, leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever, war, plague, famine, vice, adultery. Since losing his true good, man is capable of seeing it in anything, even his own destruction, although it is so contrary at once to God, to reason, and to nature."

N.T. Wright on the value of resurrection

2010-09-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

From Surprised by Hope:

"The revolutionary new world which has begun in the resurrection of Jesus, the world where Jesus reigns as Lord having won the victory over sin and death, has it's front-line outposts in those [of us] who have shared his death and resurrection.

The intermediate stage between the resurrection of Jesus himself and the renewal of the whole world is the renewal of human beings -- you and me! -- in our own lives of obedience here and now."

Favorite. Band. Ever.

2010-09-13T20:53:00.001-05:00

In 1990, the self-titled debut album Iona was released in the US. I had heard one song (Dancing on the Wall) on the local Christian radio station, and thought it was it was a cool sounding song. There were sounds in there that I had never heard before, from the Celtic harp to the Uillean pipes.

But it was an aritcle in CCM Magazine that stoked my intrigue about this band. In this article, Irish singer Joanne Hogg talked about the story behind the concept album. That first album focused on the history of the island of Iona, and the critical role the early Celtic saints Columba & Cuthbert played in preserving. This was revelatory stuff for me, not raissed in the church, and then brought into the evangelical movement, which tends to not care much about church history. By the time their second album came out, based on the ancient illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells, I was hooked forever.

I am convinced that the reason I am so interested in church history and the ancient-future movement is because of Iona. The stories that they told in their songs captured my imagination, and showed me what a blind spot I had toward the stories of the forebears of my faith.

I drove 2+ hours to see Iona play in 1997, one of the highlights of my concert-going experiences. The pure musicianship that I saw stunned me. The 5 members of the band played more than a dozen separate instruments, all with skill and passion that put other bands to shame. They spent the next 13 years NOT touring in the US.

In the years since, my wife and daughter have become big fans of the band, as well, and we bought their Live in London concert DVD a few years ago. In a music class in probably 9th grade, my daughter did a report on the band.

We were planning on attending the 2010 Cornerstone Festival, and when I went to order the tickets in early December, I scanned the band list and saw that Iona was playing, and my jaw dropped. I showed my wife, and her jaw dropped. I printed that page and wrapped it with the tickets under the Christmas tree, that my daughter opened up. When she saw who was playing, her jaw dropped.

We couldn't wait.

Falling in Love With God

2010-09-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

Attributed to the former head of the Jesuits, Don Pedro Arrupe:
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Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

August Reading List

2010-08-31T19:44:00.012-05:00

38. Ghosts of Manhattan (pb), by George Mann
39. U is For Undertow (ua), by Sue Grafton
40. Wisdom of the Benedictine Elders (pb), by Mark W. McGinnis
41. Enemies & Allies (ua), by Kevin J. Anderson
42. Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels (ua), by Mindy Starns Clark
43. Par For the Course (pb), by Roy Blackston
44. Temple of the Winds (ua), by Terry Goodkind
45. Amy Inspired (pb), by Bethany Pierce
46. Good Omens (ua), by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
47. Outcast of Redwall (ua), by Brian Jacques

Book Review

2010-08-26T19:46:00.001-05:00

Heartless, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

This debut novel fits firmly in the genre of light Christian fantasy. There are dragons, battles, a beautiful princess, more than one prince, fairies and mystical animals. The Christian content appears in the form of a spiritual allegory in the novel's climax -- there are no direct religious references in the text.

The plot is well-paced, and the balance between action and romance is nicely balanced. I enjoyed the book overall, although it seemed that a few of the characters and one bit of intrigue from early in the novel disappeared late in the novel. There seemed to be a few threads that were dropped.

Although the book leaves room for additional books in a series, this novel does tell a complete stand-alone story. I tend to prefer my fantasy novels less sterilized and tame, but those works are few and far between in the Christian marketplace. But for a lighter, less intense novel, this book does its job well.

Cornerstone 2010 Review (#6)

2010-08-20T06:48:00.000-05:00

Day 2.

After another good night's sleep, we arrived at teh festival grounds in the middle of the morning. My wife had a series of seminars that she was intersted in, so my daughter and I left her to do that and we wandered.

The first place we found was the used books tent, and we each spent a few dollars. We were still close enough to the entrance of the fest that we returned to our car to drop off some of these books -- no need to carry the extra weight around all day.

Then, she and I made pur ways back to the generator stages. We did not have anything scheduled until 1 PM, but we decided to hear what tent was playing music we wanted to listen to, and we found Witness7, a hard rock outfit with a nice groove, one of the most serendipitous moments of the week. When they finished up, we stayed for another loud group, So Long Forgotten.

One of the great things about the generator stages is the multiple performances that bands are able to make. We had planned to see Don't Wake Aislin later in the week, but saw that they were playing at 12:40, so we found that tent. What a thoroughly engaging band, with a driving sound, interesting lyrics, and a social conscience.

The whole family hooked up for a late lunch, and then we set up at Luminate and Ilia.

I wandered back to spend a few more hours at the generators, and heard Ascend the Hill, Sean Michael and Reilly. Reilly was another great discovery, and dual-violin rock band who just put on such a great show. Their sound is certainly unique, and the live show was a treat to see.

We all met up for the evening at the Gallery Stage, which is a large tent with row of chairs(!) up front and tables in the back. We were here for the evening, so we grabbed food and headed over there.

The evening started with another great Cornserstone discovery, Shel, and 4-piece sister act from Colorado who played with much skill and passion. They were followed by the blues of the Glenn Kaiser Band -- for those who don't know, Glenn is a Cornerstone legend, leading the JPUSA church and fronting Rez Band for all those years. They were followed by The Lost Dogs, which started as a side project for a bunch of front-men in the nineties but has turned into a solid act since then.

And then came Iona.

Cornerstone 2010 Review (#5)

2010-08-11T10:49:00.006-05:00

Day 1.

Breakfast at the hotel was not great, but got the job done -- cereals, danish, and we each snagged a piece of fruit for later consumption.

We arrived at the campground with no drama, got our wristbands, and found our place to park. We each had a backpack (book, snacks, water) and our chair. Our schedules didn't have any music planned until 1:15, so we had a few hours to "get the lay of the land" and figure out where all the stages were in relation to each other, and to the food court, the restrooms, the merch tent, etc ...

We decided to stay together this first day, although we knew later in the week we would be going 2 (maybe 3) directions at once for parts of the day. We wandered to the generator stages, and found a rocking outfit (Alive Through Love) playing loudly, and settled in for a few songs, and then another band (The Skies Revolt) in the same venue.

Then the day bogged down a bit. We were planning on seeing 5 straight shows from 2PM - 7PM at one particular tent, but scheduling issues and miscommunications brought us some down time -- and we learned that 2 of our anticipated acts were not going to perform :0(

Once the bands started playing, there was some good music to be had -- Thunder School, Focal Irish Worship, Rhona Kelly, and the Wayside.

Then on to one we were totally looking forward to, my daughter's new favorite band, a female-led rock act called the Letter Black. We had bougt their CD beforehand and had jammed out on the road to their songs, but we know that sometimes an act is not quite the same in concert as they are in the studio. But these guy rocked it out, and even my wife could understand the lyrics (a big deal for her). My daughter bought a poster, had the lead singer sign it, and we were set to the headline show for the night.

Switchfoot is probably my wife's favorite band, and boy did they put on a show at the main stage. They told great stories, played all the hits, even my favorite the under-rated "Awakening." Just a great rock show, high energy, high quality, high entertainment.

There were a few bands we were vaguely interesting in playing later that night, but we decided they could not top the double-feature of The Letter Black and Switchfoot. So we called it a day.

Cornerstone 2010 Review (#4)

2010-08-07T13:39:00.003-05:00

Day 0.

A few of the generator stages started up on Monday the 28th, but that was our travel day -- since we were paying for a hotel, we figured Monday was a light day of music that we could afford to miss.

The trip itself was very much fun -- we had a great music playlist (Switchfoot, Iona, House of Heroes, Skillet, the Letter Black, the Wrecking, Don't Wake Aislin) and a good family-friendly audiobook to listen to (A Penny For Your Thoughts, by Mindy Starns Clark). And all of us in the family (me, wife, college sophomore daughter) like each other, which makes a road trip all the more enjoyable.

Our road-trip car had been in and out of the shop the week before, and I was not convinced that it would make it all the way to Illinois without an issue, at least without annoyance. But the car perofrmed well, and I was extremely grateful to the Lord and the Ohio mechanics for that.

We realized that we would be eating "fair food" for the next week, so decided to eat "real food" on Monday -- that meant salads and beef for lunch, and salads and beef for dinner in Macomb, Il. The hotel seemed fine, and despite a little drama of my daughter leaving her purse at the restaurant (we retieved it safe and sound), the first day went extremely well.

It was an "early to bed" night -- the last one for a while.

Cornerstone 2010 Review (#3)

2010-08-02T09:44:00.003-05:00

So we had our tickets, we knew Iona was playing, as well as Switchfoot and a few other acts that had us excited. But I got antsy as the time passed and the Cornerstone website had not presented an official schedule by the start of May.

I cheated and checked the websites of the acts we were interested in, and got from their websites the day & times of their Cornerstone shows: Switchfoot at 8PM on Tuesday, Iona at 11:30 PM on Wednesday. So the band schedule began to take shape (taking a nap on Wed became essential, as some of us in the family are older than we used to be), but the control-freak in me wanted to see the whole schedule.

And then in early June a new link showed up on the site -- the official Cornerstone schedule maker. This was a revelation. The site listed all the acts (and seminars), and you could click on the acts you wanted to see, and a schedule would be produced, so you could work around the conflicts. Cornerstone has more acts and stages than any festival I've been to, and part of the experience is dealing with the scheduling conflicts that are bound to happen.

Most of the spots on the schedule creator linked to music clips from the bands, which introduced me to a number of acts that I previously did not know, but whose music was great and who we put right on the schedule -- Don't Wake Aislin, the Letter Black, the Wrecking, Sent by Ravens, and Men as Trees Walking. I bought a number of these act's songs from iTunes, to help build the playlist for the road trip.

So we hit the road with high anticipation.

July Reading List

2010-07-31T08:00:00.006-05:00

34. Surprised By Hope (pb), by N.T. Wright
35. My Life With the Saints (hc), by James Martin, SJ
36. Empire of Ivory (ua), by Naomi Novik
37. A Cat on a Jingle Bell Rock (ua), by Lydia Adamson

Cornerstone 2010 Review (#2)

2010-07-21T13:30:00.003-05:00

Prologue #2

By the end of last year, we had firmed our Summer plans, and Cornerstone 2010 was included. I went ahead and made the hotel reservation (we are NOT campers, and I understand how that limits the true "festival experience") and bought the tickets.

Even though it was not a "surprise" to anyone that we were going, I decided to put the tickets under the Christmas tree as a family present. So I went to the Cornerstone website to print out the list of confirmed bands -- and was stoked to see that our family's favorite band, the Irish band Iona, would be playing! I saw Iona on their last US tour -- in 1997! That's thirteen years ago.

My daughter (18 yo) opened the present, and scanned the band list, and then her jaw dropped. And then she danced. And we all had a huge family hug! We were going to attend Cornerstone 2010 anyway, we had already made that choice, but our favorite band was going to be there. Icing on the cake.

So the stage was set -- we were all psyched.

http://www.iona.uk.com

Cornerstone 2010 review (#1)

2010-07-14T10:03:00.001-05:00

Prologue

Since I became a Christian more than 25 years ago, the Christian music scene has always bene important to me. I have been to probably 10+ Christian music fests over the years, from Fishnet to Creation to Alive to Inner Seeds. But the grand-daddy of them all, Cornerstone, was always beyond me reach. Grographically, it was a challenge for me, and I admit I may have been a bit intimidated by the counter-culture vibe of the event. But as I matured and outgrew much of the standard evangelical culture, Cornerstone became progessively more intriguing to me.

I dipped my toes in the Cornerstone waters when they put out a mini-festival on the East Coast in the early 2000s. But it was not the "real" Cornerstone.

My family moved about 500 miles West, bringining western Illinois within a day's drive. I went to the real Cornerstone 2007 by myself, to "check it out" for the family and get a vibe for the place. It was wonderful, and it helped crystallize my thoughts on the "ancient future" movement, and give a context (and a label) to my feelings on the value of the early church and their practices. And of coruse, the music was great, too, including the reunion shows by Bloodgood and WhiteCross, and shows by the Violet Burning and Roe vs. Pritzl.

Pascal on our wretchedness

2010-07-11T12:00:00.003-05:00

Penses 192: "Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness."

Happiness vs. Joy

2010-07-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

From Walter Wangerin, Jr.:

"The difference between shallow happiness and a deep, sustaining joy is sorrow. Happiness lives where sorrow is not. When sorrow arrives, happiness dies. It can't stand pain. Joy, on the other hand, rises from sorrow and therefore can withstand all grief. Joy, by the grace of God, is the transfiguration of suffering into endurance, and of endurance into character, and of character into hope."

June Reading List

2010-06-30T10:48:00.012-05:00

29. Guild of the Cowry Catchers, Book 1 (ua), by Abigail Hilton
30. Called out of Darkness (ua), by Anne Rice
31. Heartless (pb), by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
32. The Swan Thieves (ua), by Elizabeth Kostova
33. Penny For Your Thoughts (ua), by Mindy Starns Clark

On seeing God

2010-06-25T11:44:00.003-05:00

From a homily of St. Gregory of Nyssa:
------------------------------------------------
The happiness God promises certainly knows no limits. When one has gained such a blessing, what is left to desire?

In seeing God, one possess all things. In the language of Scripture, to see is to have. "May you see the good things of Jerusalem" is the same as "May you possess the good things of Jerusalem."

One who has seen God has in the act of seeing gained all that is counted good: life without end, everlasting freedom from decay, undying happiness, a kingdom that has no end, lasting joy, true light, a voice to sing pleasingly in the spirit, unapproachable glory, perpetual rejoicing. In a word, the totality of blessing.

From The Stowe Missal

2010-06-20T18:49:00.000-05:00

An ancient prayer book from about the year 800:

You are God, one and immortal;
You are God, incorruptible and unmoving;
You are God, invisible and faithful;
You are God, wonderful and worthy of praise;
You are God, strong and worthy of honour;
You are God, most high and magnificent;
You are God, living and true;

We believer you, we bless you, we adore you;
ANd we praise your name forever more.

Book Review

2010-06-12T08:26:00.001-05:00

Giving Church Another Chance, by Todd Hunter.

Todd Hunter has had a varied and intriguing career in the ministry. He was a leader in the early days of the Vineyard movement, including a stint as National Director. He then lead Alpha USA for a time, before pulling out of the formal curch altogether and becoming involved in the "home church" movement. He then turned around another 180 degrees, and is a newly-ordained bishop of the Anglican Mission in America.

Hunter brings much of this interesting spiritual biography to bear in this, his second book. His focus is on the historical liturgical practices of the church, encouraging evangelicals to re-consider how to adopt these practices.

The book covers a range of topics, including quiet time, reading scripture, giving, communion and blessings. He brings an interesting take to these topics, relying the works of Eugene Peterson and N.T. Wright, among others.

I heard Hunter speak years ago, when he was a Vineyard pastor, and was quite impressed. I have followed him as his pilgrimage has taken him around the church, and was intrigued when he joined the Anglican community. My own move into the ancient-future church ideas has not been as dramatic as Hunter's, but I found this book an intersting and thought-provoking treatise on integrating the ancient practices of the church into a modern life.

On the two natures

2010-06-06T17:41:00.000-05:00

From St. Leo the Great

"To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that is incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God & Men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature and unable to die in the other.

He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature, whole in ours. By our nature, we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning and took to himself in order to restore it."

May reading list

2010-05-31T11:04:00.010-05:00

24. The Professional (ua), by Robert B. Parker
25. A Twisted Faith (hc), by Gregg Olsen
26. Archangel:Legion (ua), by Scott Roche
27. Giving Church Another Chance (hc), by Todd Hunter
28. The Scarpetta Factor (ua), by Patricia Cornwell

Scot McKnight on Living the Bible

2010-05-28T08:39:00.002-05:00

God did not give the Bible so we could master him or it; God gave the Bible so we could live it, so we could be mastered by it. The moment we think we have mastered it, we have failed to be readers of the Bible."

More from Blaise Pascal

2010-05-22T07:19:00.000-05:00

From Penses #131:

"There are in faith two equally constant truths. One is that man in the state of his creation, or in the state of grace, is exalted above the whole of nature, made like unto God and sharing in his divinity. The other is that in the state of corruption and sin he has fallen from that first state and has become like the beasts. The two propositions are equally firm and certain ... whence it is clearly evident that man thhrough grace is made like unto God and shares his divinity, and without grace he is treated like the beasts of the field."

St. Hilary on the Trinity

2010-05-18T06:57:00.000-05:00

from a treatise:
---------------------------
Our Lord commanded us to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, then, we profess faith in the Creator, in the only begotten Son, and in the gift which is the Spirit.

There is one creator of all things, for in God there is one Father from whom all things have their being. And there is one only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; through him all things exist. And there is one Sprit, the gift who is in all.

So all follow their due order, according to the proper operation of each: One power, which brings all things into being; One son, through whom all things come to be; and one gift of perfect hope.

Nothing is wanting to this flawless union. In Trinity, there is infinity of endless being, perfect reflection of the divine image, and mutual enjoyment of the gift.

Defending the Trinity

2010-05-10T17:49:00.001-05:00

Many of the great heresies that have faced the church have come from different understandings (misunderstandings) of the doctrine of the Trinity. Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology lists the three core components of the trinitarian belief. They are in tension, they don't "make sense" to our human mind, but deviating from any of these three core components leads us astray:

1. God exists eternally as three persons.
2. Each person is fully God.
3. There is one God.

From St. Maximus of Turin

2010-05-02T07:14:00.000-05:00

From a sermon:

Christ is risen.

He has burst open the gates of Hell and let the dead go free. He has renewed the earth through the members of his Body, born again and baptized, and has made it blossom afresh with man brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of Heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from earth. Because of Christ’s resurrection, the thief ascends to Paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city, and the bodies of the dead are restored to the company of the living.

Christ is risen.

His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and Glory to the saints.

April reading list

2010-04-30T06:53:00.005-05:00

20. Reliving the Passion (hc), by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
21. Madman (pb), by Tracy Groot
22. Dexter by Design (ua), by Jeff Lindsay
23. The Law of Nines (ua), by Terry Goodkind

Book Review

2010-04-25T18:15:00.000-05:00

Mother of God, by Miri Rubin.

Rubin, a history professor from England, presents an extremely well-research and detailed "history" of the Virgin Mary. In reality, it is a history of the Christian era of human history, using the Catholic Church as its focus, using the portayal of the Blessed Virgin as the narrative thread.

Rubin reviews (extensively) nearly 2 millennia of art, poetry, and songs of Mary, explaining how specific portrayals relate to a particular cultural view of the Virgin. She also covers theological and political developments as they relate to the Catholic Church and Mary's role in it.

The volume of notes at the end of the book place it firmly in the cAtegory of "academic," but is also manages to be a very readable and intersting work.

More From Blaise Pascal

2010-04-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

Penses #121:
-------------------------
It is dangerous to explain too clearly to man how like he is to the animals without pointing out his greatness. It is also dangerous to make too much of his greatness without his vileness. It is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both, but it is most valuable to represent both to him.

Man must not be allowed to believe that he is equal either to animals or to angels, nor to be unaware of either, but he must know both.

Podcast Review

2010-04-13T18:34:00.001-05:00

The Bible Study Podcast

Note that there are many podcasts in iTunes with similar names -- this review is for the weekly podcast hosted by Chris Christensen and produced for Mevio.

This is a nice, bite-size podcast, that runs 10-12 minutes per weekly episode, covering a topic or book of the Bible in 10 to 20 episodes. After series on "The Church is Called to be" and "The Bible on Leadership," Chris is currently working his way through Acts, after covering Luke's Gospel.

The theology espoused in this podcst is standard and orthodox, a "safe" presentation of biblical truths for Christian believers of all stripes.

From The Carmina Gadelica

2010-04-08T18:59:00.000-05:00

a collection of Celtic psalms, hymns, & poetry, gathered by Alexander Carmichael more than 100 years ago.
-----------------------------------

May God shield you on every steep,
May Christ aid you on every path,
May Spirit fill you on every slope,
On hill and on plain.

May the King shield you in the valleys,
May Christ aid you on the mountains,
May Spirit bathe you on the slopes,
Inhollow, on hill, on plain,
Mountain, valley and plain.

March Reading List

2010-03-31T12:18:00.010-05:00

13. The Whole Five Feet (hc), by Christopher R. Beha
14. The Lost Symbol (ua), by Dan Brown
15. Watching the Watchmen (hc), by Dave Gibbons, Chip Kidd, & Mike Essl
16. The Best Game Ever (ua), by Mark Bowden
17. Green (ua), by Ted Dekker
18. Hothouse Orchid (ua), by Stuart Woods
19. Scott Pilgrim, vol. 1-3 (gn), by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Interpreting the Bible

2010-03-25T16:43:00.000-05:00

From Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem's Big Picture guidelines for helping interpret passages of Scripture:

1. It's a historical document
2. The authors wanted the readers to respond in one way
3. The whole Bible is about God
4. The center of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ
5. Salvation history is the core story of the Bible

From Blaise Pascal

2010-03-19T12:48:00.000-05:00

Penses #45:

"Man is nothing but a subject full of natural error that cannot be eradicated except through grace. Nothing shows him the truth, everything deceives him. The two principles of truth, reason and senses, are not only both not genuine, but are engaged in mutual deception ... they both compete in lies and deception."

Devotional

2010-03-11T14:34:00.002-05:00

From a devotion by James H. Kurt:

"To them, it is our duty to call. To darkness, we must bring light, and realize too the fate of Jesus, who will die on the cross for his work, to bring salvation to the world. It is this same cross to which we are all called, for it is by this same cross we have been called. And those who are yet to be gathered in must hear our voice. Let us stand with the Lord and gather in His grain despite the stiffened necks we might find."

Book Review

2010-03-06T10:04:00.000-05:00

A Brief History of Theology, by Derek Johnston.

This is an excellent 300-page survey of 2000 years of Christian theooogy. In sixteen chapters, Johnston covers the early church (Sts. Paul & Augustine), the middle ages (Aquinas), the reformation (Luther, Ignatius, Calvin) and the last century (Barth, Rahner, Brueggermann). Each of these theologians are analyzed in their social and cultural settings, and their life and teachings are appraised in these contexts.

The book is not always an easy read -- because the ideas of these theologians do not always lend themselves to an easy read. But it is indeed a worthwhile overview of the broad theological landscape.

February Reading List

2010-02-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

7. Hunter's Moon (pb), by Don Hoesel
8. Frankenstein: Dead And Alive (ua), by Dean Koontz
9. Juliet, Naked (ua), by Nick Hornby
10. The Mother of God (hc), by Miri Rubin
11. The Buck Stops Here (ua), by Mindy Starns Clark
12. The Downhill Lie (ua), by Carl Hiaasen

Podcast Review

2010-02-22T17:15:00.003-05:00

Build the Church

In the couple of years that I have been listening to podcasts, I have run across a few pretty good music shows, but none are as consistently entertaining -- nor as prolific -- as Build the Church.

This show just celebrated its four hundredth (yes, 400!) episode. Mark does a fine job scouring podsafe music networks for terrific Christian songs. He consistently introduces me to great independent musicians, including JJ Heller, Sonia V, Stephanie, Hoi, and Trade Cities.

The occassional video podcasts that drop into the feed are also nice surprises.

A Poem of Confession

2010-02-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

From a 9th century Welsh poem:
---------------------
Grant me tears, O Lord, to blot out my sins;
may I not cease from tears, O Lord, until I have been purified.
May my heart be burned by the fire of redemption.
Grant me contrition of heart so that I may not be in disgrace.
O Lord, protect me and grant me tears.

2010 Thoughts

2010-02-06T17:56:00.002-05:00

I try to not make resolutions and plans right at January 1 -- that's just too predictable. Actually, I think that's too much pressure, and I prefer to get a feel for the shape of the year before making plans.

So here at the plans/hopes/goals/dreams for the remaining 90% or os of the year:

Read Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.
Continue staying up-to-date with the Daily Audio Bible.
Attend Cornerstone Festival with my family.
Attend academic conference in Dallas.
Attend ACFW conference in the Fall in Indianapolis, with a completed manuscript -- either Identity or A Hero Over His Head.
Visit family in Richmond
Visit family in North Carolina
Get podcast survey project "live" and collect data.
Analyze survey data.

Book Review

2010-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hunter's Moon, by Don Hoesel

Don Hoesel's first novel, last year's Elisha's Bones, was a workmanlike effort in a genre that has been overworked in the CBA marketplace, that of the search for the supernatural artifact. It was a fine, albeit standard, thriller.

His second work, the upcoming Hunter's Moon, shows a great leap in craft. This is a much subtler novel, more akin to a mainstream literary work than the standard fare offered in the Christian publishing world. I am encouraged that Bethany House has taken the steps to publish a novel that does not fit the standard CBA mold in terms of its setting, plot, and overall feel, and hope that its publication will lead other houses to expand their offerings.

Not to say that the world that Hoesel paints is altogether unique. The main character, CJ Baxter, is a successful author from a politically-connected family with secrets to hide. Both of these worlds, of the author and of the politician, are well-worn, but Hoesel exercises a deft touch in weaving these disparate worlds together. He delivers to us a taut family drama, a story of a man coming to terms with his own failings and the consequences of his own actions.

Hunter's Moon moves at a nice pace, slowly building up tension that finally comes to a head in an exciting extended scene that covers the book's final 6 to 7 chapters. The spiritual aspects of the novel are also woven in subtly and without distraction, an accomplishment that many Christian authors would do to learn from.

January Reading List

2010-01-31T10:50:00.013-05:00

1. The Path of Celtic Prayer (hc), by Calvin Miller
2. Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements for Teens (pb), by Marc Campbell
3. Purgatory (ua), by Tim Dodge
4. A Quarter for a Kiss (ua), by Mindy Starns Clark
5. Power Through Prayer (pb), by E. M. Bounds
6. The Language of Bees (ua), by Laurie R. King

Sola Scriptura?

2010-01-24T17:06:00.001-05:00

I appreciate the sentiment of Sola Scriptura, that we will base our theology totally on the Bible, and on nothing else. It sounds good, it's a nice slogan in a debate. I suppose it even makes a bit of sense, but it's not realistic.

None of us are Sola Scriptura believers.

We are all believers in Scriptura-plus. Plus our pastor, or plus our denomination, or plus how we were raised, or plus Beth Moore, or plus Oswald Chambers, or plus TULIP, or plus the Wesleyan Quadrangle, or plus Augustine, or plus The Shack, or plus Left Behind, or plus the Creation Museum. Even if we would check the "Sola Scriptura" box, most of us really aren't, way deep down.

But don't misunderstand. I think this is a good thing. When we enter into relationship with Christ, we don't need to begin with a blank slate. We jump into the middle of a great story, join a "great cloud of witnesses," who have wrestled over the hard issues, maybe 18 or 19 centuries ago. What a font of wisdom we have to tap into. We should not cut ourselves off from this great resource.

On keeping regular devotion

2010-01-14T06:54:00.000-05:00

A Welsh poem:

God shall not
refuse or reject
whoever strives to praise Him
at the beginning and end
of the day.

Book Review

2010-01-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

The Path of Celtic prayer, by Calvin Miller

In this thin book, Miller describes 5 specific types of Celtic prayer, and encourages us to make these ancient practices part of our regular prayer routine.

Miller cites numerous examples of these types of prayer, both in our Celtic heritage and other parts of our Christian past. Examples of the five types of prayer -- trinity prayer, scripture prayer, long wandering prayer, nature prayer, lorica prayer, and confessional prayer -- are described and explained, and each chapter gives the reader the chance to compose their own prayers along the lines of those described.

The book is custom-made for someone like me, interested both in the ancient-future movement and Celtic Christianity. This is an excellent volums for anyone else interested in this subject matter.

2009 Reading Summary

2010-01-03T11:38:00.003-05:00

I have been keeping track of my annual reading for about 5 years now (thank you, LibraryThing). In 2009, I read 80 books. This is down from 110 last year, and around 140-150 the years before that. This is because I listen to an absolute ton of podcasts. I have always been a fan of audio, and 48 of the 80 books I read this year were via unabridged audio.

The 58 novels I read break down as follows: (note that the total exceeds 58, as many books fit into more than one category)
Fantasy/SF -- 34
Thriller/Adventure -- 13
YA -- 13
Mystery -- 10
Christian -- 8

The 22 non-fiction works I read break down as follows:
Christian/Theology -- 10
Business/Technology -- 4
Reading and Writing -- 4
TV/Entertainment -- 3
Biography -- 1

December reading list

2009-12-31T08:17:00.000-05:00

73. Elisha's Bones (pb), Dan Hoesel
74. The White Dragon (ua), by Anne McCaffrey
75. Novel Ideas (pb), by Barbara Shoup & Margaret Love Denman
76. A Brief History of Theology (pb), by Derek Johnston
77. Blood of the Fold (ua), by Terry Goodkind
78. Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight (hc), by Scott Beatty
79. Kiss of Life (hc), by Daniel Waters
80. Acacia (ua), by David Anthony Durham

Life Verse (#2)

2009-12-27T16:44:00.000-05:00

God calls us to know Him, but tells us he is unknowable. He calls us to walk with him, but he is wholly other. These tensions -- and the faith contains many tensions -- once frustrated me. Now they invigorate me.

I love what he says of himself in Isaiah 55:8 & 9. In the NIV, the verses read, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

This liberates me as I study and meditate on the Lord and his word. This liberates me from totally understanding the Trinity, or the dual natures of Christ, or free will and the chosen. I cling to those 2 verses in Isaiah when my mind gets stuck trying to unravel one theological paradox or another.

These verses have taught me how small I am in comparison to him. And they have taught me to be suspicious of any theology that seems too easy. If I could understand God, he wouldn't be much of a God, would he?

He is coming

2009-12-24T07:13:00.002-05:00

From a devotion by James H. Kurt:
---------------------------
Has he not said, 'my kindness is established forever?' and in Heaven confirmed his faithfulness? And should be not enter His house, enter His Heaven, and praise His holy name?

Here we stand, with His word, with His body and blood. Here we have His teaching and His food. What more need we?

And this day, the child who is the house of God approaches. Are we ready now for His coming?

Life Verse (#1)

2009-12-21T16:50:00.000-05:00

The first Bible I owned had a list of memory verses in the back, and one of the very first I memorized was Jeremiah 33:3, which I immediately became a personal favorite. In the NIV version, this verse says "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

What I love about this verse are the multiple promises that it contains. First, if we call on the Lord, He will answer. That alone would satisfy my parched and lonely soul. But the verse does not end there. No, he will tell us things we do not know. He will bring clarity, He promises revelation. And not just ordinary things. No, he will tell us great and unsearchable things.

Early in my walk, it stunned me to realize the vastness of the God I was in new relationship with, and this verse crystallized that notion. Years later, I am still stunned.

From St. John of the Cross

2009-12-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the feast day of this great Doctor of the Church.
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We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures. However deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seems of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.

For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ, "In Him are hidden all the treasures of the widsom and knowledge of God." The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.

All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ. This is the highest wisdom attainable in this life. Would that men might come at last to see that is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and the wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul find there its consolation and desire.

The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first and in truth to enter the thicket of the cross. Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the heighth, and the depth, to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross. Because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.

Book Review

2009-12-09T07:49:00.000-05:00

A Life With Karol, by Stanislaw Dziwisz.

In this delightful little book, Dziwisz details his forty-year friendship with the man who became Pope John Paul II. Dziwisz started his career as the personal secretary to Father Wojtyla, then stayed by his side as he advanced through the Polish church as Bishop & Archbishop, then as Cardinal and eventually as Pope.

Dziwisz, now himself a Cardinal, tells the story of Wojtyla's career as an anti-communist in Poland, detailing many of the indignities he faced in the officially atheist regime. He tells a humorous story of the trouble then-Cardinal Wojtyla faced trying to to attend the second conclave of 1979. He received permission to leave Poland, but was told that he would have a difficult time returning to his country. Little did the minor communist functionary who gave Wojtyla his one-way visa know that he would not be returning to Poland for a year. And then he would be returning as leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.

I found stories of these early years, specifically the fight against totalitarian communism, to be fascinating reading. It is the level of detail and "insider" stories that makes a very worthwhile book to read.