crazy young djs

Okay, I should be able to do this no problem....

re: peter kirk on god's attitude toward humanity

I just read Mr. Kirk's post on John Piper's view of God's attitude toward humanity. I found this to be quite informative, and allowed me to look at the following ideology more clearly, to realize who odd it is.

I have heard it said that when God sees us, who He really sees is Christ. I have probably heard it said thus because I've grown up in an evangelical culture, but my closest friend, who comes from a Lutheran background, has harped on me that "we all have individuality," in response to a statement like the previous. I have now come to agree with him that individuality is extremely important in how God sees us, not in the sense that any aspect of our person impresses Him, but that He looks at us as individuals. I think Kirk put it well when he says:

In other words, Piper’s view seems to be that God continues to hate humans, except for the only one he actually loves, Jesus Christ. And if he does love Jesus, he showed that in a very strange way, by killing him. Also, in this case, as Polycarp asked in a comment here,

If God hates sinners, then why Christ?

I think that is a legitimate question and a sensible argument. When God looks at us, can He not see us as wretched individuals who love Him?

beautiful rain in spring, only the hills may bring

Today began so... unproductive. I skipped class, paced about the apartment, practiced on my turntables a little bit (I finally got them hooked up and can live out my small dream of becoming a house music DJ), played some dulcimer, and ate macaroni and cheese... and ice-cream. I also did something that I won't go into in this public forum, but am ashamed about. This was on top of, or in spite of rather, the massive amount of schoolwork I need to have done by next Monday. All of my classes are wrapping up, and thanks to my procrastinating genius, I am now in a mad rush to finish all of my big projects.

As the afternoon wore on, I sat in front of my computer and compulsively checked facebook (did you know I even try to change the TV to facebook? I am a sick individual)instead of beginning my comparative developmental case study paper and Powerpoint. So, as any good son would do, I called my mother for advice:

"MOM! I'm just sitting here and I CANNOT for the life of me do my work! I've put it all off and now I'm stuck..."
"well... what do you want me to do about it?"
"I just need your advice, what should I do?"
"...Have you been outside today?"
"Nooo...."
"Maybe you should try that- get outside, maybe get some coffee- get a change of scenery,"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.... I guess I'm just frustrated that I lack any form of foresight and now I'm in this predicament."
"Yes I know, darling..." she says in the tone letting me know she has warned me of this every day for the past 20 years.

So I followed my mom's advice, and went outside. I grabbed my school supplies and hopped in my beat up Nissan 240sx. I decided to go to the neighborhood Southwood, since it has wonderful hills on which to longboard. They are long, fast, and wide. I expected a good experience, but was completely surprised; God had intended something much more elegant for me. I arrived at 5:30pm, and was somewhat concerned that the rain would prevent me from longboarding. However, I found an easy, decently long, and dry, hill next to a mystical and unexpected cow pasture (perhaps its unexpectedness made it mystical). Flying down hills instantly became secondary to this new and spectacular sight. The overcast sky and barely damp ground made everything alive, vibrant, and engrossing. The cows ran briskly and congregated next to a large and serene lake, the surface of which was broken only by a cormorant neck poking above the water. A majestic oak reflected off the glassy gray surface. It was quite and windy; everything was relaxed, and it was as if I walked by a stranger, recumbent and asleep, and she is beautiful and unknown, yet her closed eyes warmly invite me, mouth agape, to marvel in her beauty. I want to say something to her, to thank her for grace, yet I dare not touch her, my hand stops and returns to my side, lest I disturb her perfection. Instead, my mind and heart go to their rightful place, and praise God for his evergreen mercies. I am unworthy, filthy. But God has found it fit to Love me, sacrificing Himself so we may be at peace; God and Man. And like a stranger, she is soon gone, yet the thought and mystery of her remain, and until I seen another like her, that is sufficient.

The rest of the day was beautiful, I met some interesting people at Lake Ella: a digeridoist, a massage therapist, an out-of-towner, a support staffer for the Art Department, his 19-month old son who insisted I make a toy merry-go-round spin and spin for him. It was lovely, and anything lovely is a blessing, and blessings come from God, so I thank Him with a reflective smile and glad heart for this very interesting day.


Oh, and I got some work done too.

wrestling with scripture: 1 timothy

I've recently been struggling with some Scriptural precepts, specifically the ones found in 1 Timothy 2 and 5. I found the author's view that Eve was deceived, and not Adam, false quite frankly. I also felt some of the rules laid out in chapter 5 to be somewhat arbitrary and too broad. So, I searched online and withing 10 minutes found acceptable commentaries that addressed both of these issues. My problems have been essentially solved by being shown to look at these verses in context. When the author of 1 Timothy wrote to Ol' Tim, he was writing to a brother in a specific place at a specific time. It is important to understand that some of the laws he lays out are simply limited to that situation, and do not necessarily apply today. However, the concepts still do. The writer was attacking the influence of Gnostic teachers of the day, taking a polemic standpoint to counteract the destructive influence their false doctrine was having on the women of the community. He was not countering it with more falsity, but simply in a way that would hopefully make the women of the congregation reconsider their actions.

Let me link you to the two commentaries I read- they do a better job than I of explaining this:

Women Priest's commentary on chapter 2 and
Enduring Word's commentary on chapter 5

The point I would like to make here is this: do not become too frustrated when grappling the scriptures, but if you do, focus it in a constructive way, because the answers to your questions will be out there. And don't let your problems with Scripture interfere with your faith in Christ, if you have it.

That's all for now!