A few reasons why Calvinism doesn't glorify God

Here are a few reasons why Calvinism doesn't glorify God:
(Disclaimer: While I believe the Scriptures utterly and clearly demolish the tenets of 5-point Calvinism, this is not an exegetical piece, but a theological piece designed to flesh out the implications of this particular theological system).

1) It's not glorious to determine all things. Even I can set up a scenario in which I determine all things to happen according to my every whim. Is this what it means to be God-like? If so, that's not very impressive. Causally determining all things to occur is hardly praiseworthy; if anything, it conveys a lack of sophistication and an inability to govern wisely and creatively. Only a God who can work with genuine human freedom is worthy of worship, glory, and praise.

2) It's not glorious to cause people to love you. Laying aside the point that creaturely love must be chosen to be real love, it's really not that glorious to causally determine "people" to embrace you and bow at your feet. That's more akin to an inordinate love of oneself than a genuine love of a creature for His Creator. Only a God who can tenderly and graciously win over genuinely free creatures to His love is worthy of worship, glory, and praise.

3) It's not glorious for God to need to depend upon creation and sin to achieve His highest good. At the end of the day, Calvinism entails a denial of divine aseity, for "to be God" means to display your wrath at sin. Therefore, God needs sin. Without sin, God cannot be God. And without sin, God cannot acheive His highest good of "glorifying" Himself through the display of His "wrath." Only a God who doesn't need sin to be fully glorified or to achieve His highest good is worthy of worship, glory, and praise.

4) It's not glorious to use people as means to your end. While the Bible declares that love is not self-seeking, apparently God's love is the cosmic exception to the rule. He uses people as means to His end of "loving" and "glorifying" Himself. Only a God who treats people as ends and loves them accordingly is worthy of worship, glory, and praise.

5) It's definitely not glorious to causally determine sin solely to display one's ability to do so. While Calvinists often say that God's goal is to display all of His attributes, it really just boils down to showing off His power to unconditionally damn much of mankind. Why is this so? Well, is it loving, merciful, and gracious to cause someone to rebel against you, hang them within an inch of their life, then come in "to the rescue" to save them? How would you feel if someone you knew did that to you? Would you praise him? And is it just and holy to cause people to sin, hold them responsible, then unconditionally damn them for all eternity? You see, at the end of the day, all of God's attributes are sacrificed on the altar of sheer divine omnipotence. They are redefined to the point of unintelligibility. Apparently, if God can do something, He should, and He probably will. Nothing within His character will stop Him - except perhaps for the obligation He has to maximize His glory quotient through an optimal display of divine power. Really, Calvinism is just drunk with omnipotence. Only a God who is truly loving and holy and who exercises His omnipotence accordingly is worthy of worship, glory, and praise.


Yes, I am zealous for God's glory, and that is precisely why I am not a Calvinist. For all of the nice-sounding rhetoric about God's glory being the supreme concern of Calvinism, at the end of the day, consistent Reformed theology does everything but glorify God. The intractable problems of Calvinism in terms of the glory of God demonstrate quite clearly the human origin of this theological system.

Props to my friend and former Calvinist Ramon for giving me the inspiration for this entry. :)

Spring Break and Easter

Alright, classes are over, midterms are basically done, and it's finally time to relax. This semester has been great so far. I am far more settled in terms of living on my own, and I have things more under control. I am less stressed and anxious overall as I learn to lean on God for all things. I have found that the more weight I shift from my shoulders to God's in trust, the more joyful, peaceful, and light my life is. By grace, through faith is truly the way all things are accomplished in the Christian life. Our job is to "let go" into God's hands so that He might life us up; there is a holy and gracious rhythm to it. His grace is sufficient for all our needs. As I have said before, being on our knees before God is the best position for us, not because we are dirt, but because only there are we fit to receive all that God has for us.

This was my first Easter after coming to know God, and it had great meaning for me. Few people reflect upon the earth-shattering significance of the Resurrection. This was God in the flesh, on this earth, truly and physically rising from the grave. Can a better story than the Gospel really be told? Human beings turn from God in rebellion, and yet this God of the universe becomes a man and comes down to give His own life to conquer death and restore us to Himself. What greater love is there than this? Can anything greater be conceived than a God of holy love who dies for us while we are His enemies? A God who pours out His grace while we are spitting in His face? Nothing surpasses this, nor can anything ever surpass this. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God revealed it to us by His Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:9). The world cannot offer a better story, for a better story doesn't exist.

If the Resurrection didn't really happen in history, Christianity is a sham. As Paul said, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1 Cor. 15:19). Christianity is only as good as its results; if it doesn't deliver, then it's just another worthless and vain human philosophy. Let God be true and every man a liar: Jesus Christ came to save us from the power of sin and death, and He delivers on His promises. May He be glorifed, and may His Gospel be preached in all the world. Nothing is more real, nothing is more ultimate, and nothing is more wonderful. The knowledge of God in Christ is ultimate reality, and nothing else will suffice to fill the hearts of men and women with everlasting joy.

"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Cor. 2:14).

Confessions of an Adult Picky Eater

Okay, so most of you reading thing probably know that I have Adult Picky Eating Disorder. Seriously, even though it's not an official eating disorder, I think it ought to be. Something is wrong with me, and it has haunted me my entirely life.

Ever since I can remember, I've always been an extremely picky eater. I remember my parents trying to force me to eat various fruits, vegetables, and dishes when I was younger. They wouldn't let me leave until I finished them, and it was like torture for me. I would hide them behind the stove or in my mouth until I went into the bathroom and spit them out. They'd find old food weeks later in various places throughout the kitchen. It was crazy.

Eventually, they gave in to the fact that I am just a picky eater. And a very picky one, at that. Here is probably an exhausive list of the foods that I eat from memory:

Apple sauce
Peanut butter sandwiches
Grilled Cheese
Hamburgers (only catsup)
Chicken breast
Mashed potatoes
Pizza (only cheese)
Spaghettios
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Various breads
Chicken fingers
French fries
Garlic bread
Turkey (white meat only)
Cranberry sauce
Bagels
Donuts
Crackers
Hashbrowns
Fruit loops cereal
Some candy and deserts

There you go. I can't tell you how sick I am of these foods, but I also cannot express how nausiating other foods are to me. I have a hair-trigger gag reflect to even the slightest oddity of texture, smell, or taste. When my dog gets sick, I have a hard time not getting sick myself. Even as I contemplate certain foods, I can feel the gag reflex kick up. The last three foods I tries were Granny Smith apples, smoked turkey on potatoe bread, and barbeque chicken. The first I could tolerate, the second I didn't much care for, and the third made me sick. So, what's wrong with me? Is there any cure?

This is not just a food issue, it's a social issue. Throughout my life this has caused me great anxiety and embarassment. Sitting at the kids table, ordering from the kids meal, being chided by people to "just try something," being smirked at and made fun of, being frightened of social situations like weddings, proms, and other events that usually have fancy catering...it has been a constant source of social agony for me. Is there a way out? My parents have suggested hypnotism, and I'm so desperate I might actually seek that out. In any event, it's a kind of brokenness, and I wonder if it will always continue to be a burden in my life

Nothing more practical than good doctrine

We had a very interesting discussion today in Vocation of Ministry about moral problems within the church generally, and sexual immorality in particular. One issue that seemed to keep coming up was this dichotomy between Biblical truth and practical results. But is such a dichotomy valid?

I think not. It seems to me that we don't give the Bible enough credit for being a book filled with useful principles, practical advice, and concrete ways to deal with real problems. For instance, take the problem of sexual immorality. Scripture actually tells us exactly how to deal with sin in our lives, and it is far from an abstract "spiritualization." After all, we are spiritual beings, so everything we do is spiritual in a real sense.

It tells us to confess. To confess means to finally admit your sin before your Creator. It means to tackle it head on, to bring it into the light in all of its horror, and lay it down before God. I can't think of a better first step. Even AA gets this right: admit you have a problem.

It tells us to repent. Repentance is not some empty exercise where you go to the altar and make a big show of how sorry you are. Such a person is probably not really penitent at all. Repentance is fully coming to grips with the power of sin over your life. It's having a true self-knowledge, a hearty desire to be rid of the sin that has dominion over you. Its fruit is usually an attempt reform your life. Granted, you will soon find this is impossible, but it's an important first step.

It tells us to receive the forgiveness of sins and the regeneration of our nature by grace through faith. Only through the power of God, received by faith, can we overcome the sin in our lives, and the best place to wait for this work is in the means of grace. Read Scripture, listen to preaching, fellowship with Christians, pray. These are not idle spiritual excercises; they are the avenues through which God's transformative grace is conveyed. Only through dependance upon God can we overcome our sin.

It tells us that bad company corrupts, and that we are to be accountable to the church. Confession is actually commanded to be done to each other. The church is supposed to discipline, exhort, and rebuke. The body of Christ provides the spiritual life-support system that we need.

Take another example. In class, we were discussing how to deal with a leader in the church who gets caught in sexual immorality. Not surprisingly, the Bible is actually extremely specific on this very issue! Check out Matthew 18:15-17. We are to confront the individual alone, then with two or three witnesses, then take him before the church, then treat him like a Gentile. I think our problem is that we prefer to psychologize and over-complicate matters that are usually very simple. We pile on layer after layer of abstraction just so we can avoid the one glaring truth: we are to blame. We're moral agents, and more often than not psychologists simply confirm sinners in their sin by soothing their consciences and not holding them personally accountable. In our 21st century context, we are all victims. We try to blame everything except for our own stubborn, sinful wills.

I am not against psychology itself at all, for I think that all truth is God's truth. Psychology can help us ask the questions that get to the heart of the problem. Even a secular psychologist can discover something useful about human beings to which we can then apply biblical principles. But I do think we tend to separate the Biblical from the practical in a way that is actually detrimental to our spiritual lives. The Bible contains the best advice on the most important issues of life in more ways for which we often give it credit. It's not just a book of propositions or theological affirmations. It's the way God speaks to us as we open ourselves up to hear from Him through the sacred volume. It's the means through which God conveys His grace, and His grace really is our only hope at the end of the day.

Like my good scientist friend, who is not a Christian, says: there is nothing more practical than good theory. Translated into Christian theological terms, we get the following truth: there is nothing more practical than good doctrine. After all, what was the Great Commission? To baptize, and to teach. We'd know that if we read our Bibles more! :)

What peace we often forfeit

Over the course of the past few days I have been alternating between feelings of nostalgia, fatigue, and heaviness. I miss hanging out with my college friends. My schedule is wearing me out. That old despair is besetting me somewhat.

What I need is a healthy dose of peace, joy, faith, hope, and love. What I need is a fresh outpouring of God's lavish, free grace to sustain me for yet another week, another day, another hour. I am so weak, so vulnerable, so insecure, so dependant upon God for everything. Perhaps that's why I begin to feel these negative feelings: because I begin to shift some of the weight from God's shoulders to my own. What is this proclivity that I feel, this pull to self-reliance that yet remains within me? God is teaching me to rely upon Him, teaching me to be open to all of the graces He desires to bestow upon me so freely. This self-abandonment is the very act of Jesus in the garden and on the cross, and it is the only way to eternal life. We hold onto ourselves only to our ultimate peril. This is the holy mystery of Christianity: lose your life, and you will gain it. Seek the Kingdom, and all else will be added unto you. Be crucified with Christ, that you might share in His life. God calls us to bend the knee to Him not merely for the sake of docile obedience, but that through obedience we might have life, and have it abundantly.

"Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer"

Jesus is the trailblazer, He has already paved the way. From the despair of Gethsemane, to the pain of Golgotha, to the victory of the empty tomb, the God-man has traversed the path. No greater love than this...

Sunday

What a wonderful Sunday for a change. Communion and amazing sermon at Mt. Zion by Dr. Thobaben, lunch and fellowship with some great friends, an afternoon nap, and a warm day on top of all that! The grace of God is sufficient for all of our needs, and His healing touch is so gracious. Thou lovely source of true delight... =)

Peace

And when you finally do
Let it come from You
The peace of understanding grips my soul
You're the reason I've
Found meaning in this life
So I'll swallow up my pride and give you control
I give it to You
-- Relient K

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Follow Me

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him (Mark 1:16-18).

This text stuck out in my devotional reading because of its implications for discipleship and how it relates to my own journey to faith. Unless we're willing to leave everything and follow Christ, I don't think we're ready even to begin the Christian journey at all. Until we are willing to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, make restitution, set aside our secret and obstinate sins, and completely resign ourselves to Jesus, we are not ready to follow Him. Only when we come to the end of ourselves, repudiate every last shred of self-sufficiency, and cast ourselves solely on the blood of Christ can we be reconciled to God and begin to follow Jesus. Only then does forgiveness and renewal take place. Then, with the love of God shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, we follow Him in His cruciform life, willing to suffer joyfully or the sake of the world.

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." -- Dietrich Bonheoffer

But, of course, death is not the last word, but eternal life. Death is merely the narrow foyer into God's everlasting and joyful Kingdom, now and in eternity.

Thankful?

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Rom 1:21).

I often hear non-Christians say that they are "thankful" for this or that particular thing, and it always puzzles me. Thankful to whom? Who else is there to thank for every good gift but God, as we all ought?

Are you thankful for all of the unconditional benevolence that God showers upon you? And if you are thankful, do you take the time to reflect upon Who you should properly thank?

I'm thankful that I was privileged to sense the presence, peace, and joy of God so palpably on this beautiful day. May I live to glorify and praise God another day for who He is.

Another Love Song for a Savior

Who is this King of Glory that persues me with his love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory who offers it to me

Who is this King of angels, O blessed Prince of Peace
Revealing things of Heaven and all its mysteries
My spirit's ever longing for His grace in which to stand
Who's this King of glory, Son of God and son of man

His name is Jesus, precious Jesus
The Lord Almighty, the King of my heart
The King of glory

Who is this King of Glory with strength and majesty
And wisdom beyond measure, the gracous King of kings
the Lord of Earth and Heaven, the Creator of all things
Who is this King of Glory, He's everything to me

The Lord of Earth and Heaven, the Creator of all things
He is the King of glory, He's everything to me

-- Third Day, "King of Glory"

Devotions for a Savior

Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine!
O What A Foretaste Of Glory Divine
Heir Of Salvation, Purchase Of God,
Born Of His Spirit, Washed In His Blood.

Perfect Submission, Perfect Delight,
Visions Of Rapture Now Burst On My Sight;
Angels Descending, Bring From Above,
Echoes Of Mercy, Whispers Of Love.

Perfect Submission, All Is At Rest,
I In My Savior Am Happy And Blest;
Watching And Waiting, Looking Above,
Filled With His Goodness, Lost In His Love.

This Is My Story, This Is My Song,
Praising My Savior All The Day Long;
This Is My Story, This Is My Song,
Praising My Savior All The Day Long.
-- Fanny Crosby

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
-- Psalm 42:1-2a

Cold

This cold weather is really draining me. It reminds me of the long, depressive winters I had all throughout my life, and the despair of those days begins to beset me as the winter cold seeps into my bones. My faith in God weakens, I begin to doubt His goodness, and the witness of the Spirit is partially eclipsed. I don't sense that God has left me, but the presence of despair, doubt, and depression inhibits my peace and joy with their heaviness.

Trusting in God is not easy. In the face of life's pain and confusion, it's sometimes hard to see His hand. Sometimes the weight of it all becomes so overwhelming that I find myself weeping as a song on the radio plays, then I feel as if I have been healed in some sense. Is God pealing off those layers of wounds that have been overlayed during my years without Him?

I have made lots of progress since I was born again. Having the Holy Spirit, I have all new resources with which to deal with doubt, despair, and anxiety - and they are no longer nearly as pervasive or intense. I cast them on Christ, because He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). I become still before Him in prayer, and I just meditate on the truths that He is God, He is good, and He is faithful and loving (Psalm 46:10). When I do this, it's like the weight of my burdens are lifted off of my heart and I'm put in perfect peace. I'm getting better with having this abiding peace more regularly as God deepens my faith and trust in Him from the inside out. He is healing my anxiety, insecurity, and tendency to despair. In due time, I will be whole.

These journal-esque entries have been a big part of my healing. Pouring my heart out helps me empty out all of the pain that so readily builds up when I begin to think too much. My mind is both an ally and an enemy to my faith. Because of my nervous, anxious, and over-active nature, I often have a hard time falling asleep or relaxing. This must be why it was so hard for me to finally "let go" to God in the first place to finally let Him save me; I was holding on to my own life so tightly that I wasn't willing to lose it. Once again, the words of Jesus proved to be uncannily true: unless you lose your life, you will never find it (Matt 16:25).

When it comes down to it, the cross is what gives me comfort and hope. Am I suffering alone? No, banish the thought. Jesus has born the brunt of the world's pain, and He is still bearing it as we complete the wounds in His flesh through the ministry of His church (Col. 1:24). The God of holy love revealed in Jesus Christ is not aloof, watching the suffering of mankind with a callous sense of disassociation. He is tender and compassionate, and His five bleeding wounds prove it beyond all doubt (Rom. 5:8).

Once again, like the Psalmist, I begin with pain, but end with peace =)

Atheistic Naturalism vs. Christianity

The stark and inescapable implications of Atheistic Naturalism:

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in the endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money, won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
-- Kansas

Everything is vanity. And then there's eternal life in Jesus Christ. Take your pick, but don't kid yourself into thinking life has any meaning, value, or purpose without God. Bite the bullet, or spit it out.

Atheists strengthen my faith

Whenever I'm feeling a little down and my faith is wavering a bit, I've found that listening to the arguments of atheists and agnostics are a great way to strengthen my faith.

I am a man of reason. I love using my mind, and I love logic, arguments, and dispassionate analysis. Unlike many religious believers, it was my mind that first led me to belief in God. That's why I always find it so humorous when atheists speak about how religion stifles open and free inquiry as if it were afraid of being exposed at the bar of reason. Some of the most influential Christians have been intellectual giants, and some of the best minds today are minds possessed by theists. Where is your intellectual capital, atheists? Do you feel threatened? Is your only weapon, reason, failing you?

What's even funnier is that atheists seem to think that Christianity is just about believing a list of propositions about God and Jesus. You hear it all the time: "Christianity is ridiculous. People go to hell just for believing the wrong things." Have these people ever even read the New Testament? Have they ever read the words of Jesus, "Seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given to you, knock and it shall be opened unto you?" Atheists can't seem to grasp that God could care less whether or not you believe He exists. What He wants is for you to come to know Him, be reconciled to Him, and be redeemed. It's not about getting the right information, it's about either seeking God or refusing to do so, and seeking includes evidence and arguments.

One wonders if the New Atheism with all its vitriol and dogmatism is really just the desperate last gasps of a group clamoring to remain relevant and legitimate. Why so upset, Mr. Atheist? Is your faith that the universe that just popped into existence uncaused being challenged? "But God hasn't given us enough evidence to believe in him!" Garbage! Atheists haven't given us enough evidence to believe in Atheism. I will maintain a posture of skepticism until they fork over some good arguments and evidence. Until then, I'll continue to be rational and remain a Christian.

Curb Your Zeal? Some Reflections

The several debates about debating (yes, you read that correctly) that have ensued in the past week or so have given me occasion to reflect upon this issue of tone and zeal for serious disciples of Christ. I take what my brothers in Christ say quite seriously, so I've been wrestling with my good friend Isaac's point of view for some time now, and here are the results of some of that reflection.

Now I hear where my brother is coming from. The New Testament is very clear that Christians are supposed to exemplify the love of Christ in His gentleness, kindness, longsuffering, and patience. We are to be tender and gracious to others, even praying for those who hate us and persecute us. There is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for your friends - and your enemies! Our lives are to be characterized by the law of love, both for the brethren and for the world. We do this because God loves all people, sinner and saint alike (Matt 5:43-48). This is what it means to participate in the redemptive life of God: to imitate God (Eph. 5:1-2) through the work of His Spirit in us that we appropriate by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-10).

Yet, there is another side to this love, since, after all, this is a holy love we are talking about. I say "another side," but it's really just another aspect of the same essential nature of God's holy love. God's love is not sentimental, nor is it indulgent. It's not the well-wishing of a kindly old grandfather who desires nothing more than for a good time to be had by all - a "senile benevolence," as C.S. Lewis put it. It's not about being nice, soft, and sentimental. This is what the world calls "love," but it's not what the New Testament calls love. What the world means is more along the lines of "luv," a weak, wimpy, even flaccid trivialization of biblical love.

So, is indignation ever an appropriate response for Christians, perhaps even outrage? Can these reactions properly be manifestions of holy love? I think they clearly can, and even more to the point, I think they are indispensible elements of a healthy moral life. Indeed, unless we make room for responses such as these, we are forced to label Jesus a sinner, as well as Paul, James, and other writers of strongly polemic pieces in the NT.

Where am I going with this, and how does it connect to zeal? What is zeal anyways? What does it look like? Dictionary.com defines zeal as "fervor for a person, cause, or object." It was prophesied of Jesus, in reference to His cleansing of the temple, that "zeal for Your house will consume me" (John 2:17). And consume Him it did as Jesus proceeded to make a whip out of cords to drive out the cattle and sheep, scatter the coins of the moneychangers, and flip over their tables (John 2:13-16). One would have to have a fantasically unrealistic imagination to think that Jesus did this without any anger (though no sin) within His breast. He was indignant, He was outraged, and He didn't hide it. Add this to Jesus' strong censure of the Pharisees as being hypocrites, broods of vipers, and whitewashed tombs, and I think the common picture of Jesus as a harmless dove is thoroughly exploded. Was Jesus lacking in love? Was He just being a jerk? Was He being prideful? Quite the contrary; I think that this was done out of His deep holy love for the world, a love that is aware of the destructive and perilous results of sin, a love that is serious and compelling. Aslan is not a tame lion, but he's good.

Now, I'm not saying that we should go around breathing fire and puffing smoke all the time. Nor do I think we, as finite human with limited judgment, should be throwing around epithets, making personal attacks, judging motives, or, God forbid, lashing out at people. This is a call for discernment and temperance, to be sure, but not a call for abstinence. To attempt to eradicate holy and righteous anger from our souls is the way of the ascetic, not the way of the Spirit. What we need is to always be controlled by the Spirit, and He will enables us to have the proper attitudes, one of which is holy anger in its proper place. Nor can we ever allow anger to turn into bitterness or hatred. Paul advises us to "be angry, and sin not (Eph. 4:26)." We abhor what is sinful, evil, and wrong, yet we always love those who do such actions, for that is the posture of the Most High God Himself. Holiness and love are to be held in tension, for they are really two aspects of the nature of God Himself. Love tempers holiness, and holiness tempers love.

Therefore, I think confrontational language is sometimes eminently appropriate. Polemics have their place. The duty of the Christian is not to ensure that he step on as few toes as possible; rather, the duty of the Christian is ensure that He is being obedient to the God of holy love in the way that is most appropriate to the situation at hand, which may very well include zealous indignation.

How does this fit into the Calvinist/Arminian debate? Surely Calvinists aren't evil, so why the indignation? My indignation is not against Calvinists, but Calvinism, whose God really is evil in the final analysis. Imagine if your wife or your best friend were woefully mischaracterized, even if it were unintentional. How would you feel? Now apply that to Almighty God, and I think you can begin to see why I rightly get so upset about Calvinism's gross distortion of the biblical God of holy love.

There are my two cents and much more, submitted in respect and love for God and neighbor.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Well, this Sunday was far better than the last one. Having 70 degree weather does a lot to lift a guy's spirits up, as does spending hours in the worship team and taking communion.

Plus, the usual lull of Sundays was broken up by a rousing debate about Postmodernism on the Asbury Coffee House. Good stuff, although in the end I think PoMo is crazy and it cannot help but affirm outright relativism - at least, that's what I've come to see so far.

God is so good, and He is such a living reality in my life every day. I now know what C.S. Lewis meant when he spoke of "joy," that barely definable sense of goodness that he experienced peppered throughout his youthful existence, only to come to full fruition in knowing Christ. God is the source of all joy, goodness, peace, and love. You can't talk about something good without borrowing from the infinite Goodness, for He is the source of it all.

Humanity has always longed for a purpose, a goal, a telos. Only Jesus Christ fits the bill.

See th' eternal Son of God,
A mortal son of man,
Dwelling in an earthly clod,
Whom heaven cannot contain!
Stand amazed, ye heavens, at this!
See the Lord of earth and skies
Humbled to the dust he is,
And in a manger lies!
-- Charles Wesley

Polemics are good, but not all the time!

Okay okay, while I think polemics are legitimate and valuable, they can be tiring, draining, and even detrimental as a steady diet. Given that my most recent engagements have been largely polemical, I think it's time to take a deep breath and lighten things up a bit. So here are some anecdotal reflections from my day.

So today I woke up, went grocery shopping, then went to go to some homework. It was beautiful out, and when the sun is shining I always sense the presence of God. It's almost as if we were designed to know that God exists under certain circumstances....interesting... :)

I'm learning so much in seminary, and not just from the books. I'm learning things about relationships, people, faith, and just life in general as I live here in KY on my own. And my walk with Christ is deepening through each experience as He leads me victoriously and peacefully through all of them. The more I walk with Him, the more I am cognizant of my utter dependency upon Him. I was made for this relationship, so it only makes sense that it becomes more and more natural to me.

God is really so wonderfully good. He's good in His love, in His holiness, in the majesty and glory (thanks, Adam) of His creation and who He is, in His loving kindness to me, Kyle. It's still difficult for me to fully grasp that the infinite and eternal God cares and me, and desires to provide for me each day. Can something really be that good? It can, and it's God. And He's not a something, He's a Someone, which makes Him even gooder (yes, I intended that).

I'm still a very anxious, worrisome, and nervous individual. My legs shake uncontrollably in class, I often have a hard time falling asleep, and I'm uncomfortable in various social situations. But God is healing me, and part of that healing is realizing that I have to live in this Moment, in the now (thanks, Kierkegaard). The more I keep focused upon the immediate presence and sustaining grace of God, not looking ahead in fear of what may come, the more I am at peace. It's not easy, and it's a process, but it's improving greatly.

All of those scars, all of the ravages of sin, all of the brokenness, all of the infirmities of mind, body, and soul, God is healing. After all, He took the brunt of the effects of sin of the world upon Himself in what was indisputably the most incredible act of goodness ever, the Atonement. If all I had was the Atonement, I think I would know enough about God to fall down on my face and worship Him forever.

The Gospel is the best story ever told, and the best story that can ever be told. You can take that to the bank.

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
--Psalm 46:10