Fading like a Rose

This is a review, containing spoilers, for the Doctor Who episode “Partners in Crime,” which aired in the US about a week and a half ago (what can I say, I’m behind).
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Choices

I have been reading through The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, (which I highly recommend) and came across this one:

Choices

O God

Though I am allowed to approach thee
I am not unmindful of my sins,
I do not deny my guilt,
I confess my wickedness, and earnestly plead forgiveness.

May I with Moses choose affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin.
Help me to place myself always under thy guiding and guardian care,
to take firmer hold of the sure covenant that binds me to thee,
to feel more of the purifying, dignifying, softening influence of the religion I profess,
to have more compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
to deem it an honour to be employed by thee as an instrument in thy hands,
ready to seize every opportunity of usefulness,
and willing to offer all my talents to thy service.

Thou hast done for me all things well,
hast remembered, distinguished, indulged me.
All my desires have not been gratified,
but thy love denied them to me
when fulfillment of my wishes would have proved my ruin or injury.
My trials have been fewer than my sins,
and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from thy hands.
Thou hast often wiped away my tears,
restored peace to my mourning heart,
chastened me for my profit.
All thy work for me is perfect, and I praise thee.

Giving

Pastor Rob preached a very good sermon. It wasn’t groundbreaking, in the sense that he brought out any novel interpretation of Scripture; however, it did clearly declare the conditions in which those who are in Christ are to give. It was really good. They’re all good but this one really stood out. Just thought I’d point this out.

Unsinkable

Lacking my favorite literary-pretentious expositions of Doctor Who episodes since the end of Series Two, I have decided to try my hand. Thankfully, the US is only three weeks or so behind the UK this time around, although the Christmas special was nearly four months back.
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Snake-handling fundamentalists

“The Fundamentalists who say the most ignorant things about evolution are wrong on their side. And Dawkins and Myers and their ilk, who dare to call people of faith ’stupid’ (while their own atheism requires as much faith as any snake handling fundamentalist), revolt me.” Original, linked here, found here.

I love the world

What a fun advertisement from (and for) the Discovery Channel! :-)

Here are the lyrics (but it wouldn’t make much sense to read the lyrics without watching the video):

Two astronauts are in outer space looking directly at the earth. One of them speaks up.

“It never gets old, huh?”
“Nope.”
“It kinda makes you wanna . . .”
“. . . break into song?”
“Yep.”

The astronauts break out into song:

“I love the mountains . . .”
“I love the clear blue skies . . .”

Now it changes to different Discovery Channel show people singing different lines (including Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters, Bear Grylls, and Stephen Hawking):

“I love big bridges . . .”
“I love when Great Whites fly . . .”
“I love the whole world . . .”
“. . . and all its sights and sounds.”

“Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da!”

“I love the oceans . . .”
“I love real dirty things . . .”
“I love to go fast . . .”
“I love Egyptian kings . . .”
“I love the whole world . . .”
“. . . and all its craziness.”

“Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da!”

“I love tornadoes . . .”
“I love arachnids . . . ”
“I love hot magma . . .”
“I love the giant squids . . .”
“I love the whole world . . .”
“It’s such a brilliant place!”

“Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da!”

“The world is just awesome!”

Indeed, I love the Lord, his word, his people, and his whole creation — from the stars beyond to the atoms within! Because of Jesus Christ, not only is creation such a brilliant and beautiful place, but far more importantly, so are his redeemed people, whom I love with my whole heart! And my heart sings and rejoices in humble thanks and adoration for the mercy and grace of God in Christ Jesus to his creation, his people, and most of all to a sinner like me! In Christ, I can honestly say that I want to break into song and sing, I love the whole wide world! :-)

HT: Joe Carter.

Superhero toy collection

Awesome superhero toy collection. My fave has always been Batman. Spidey comes in as a close second.

Lundgaard blogging thru Le Petit Prince

Kris Lundgaard is blogging chapter by chapter through The Little Prince. It has remained one of my favorite books ever since we first read it in French class. (For what it’s worth, I made a quick comment in his combox about my short-lived drawing “career,” too.)

By the way, I also want to plug Lundgaard’s book Through the Looking Glass: Reflections on Christ that Change Us, which is a sort of modern-day take on John Owen’s The Glory of Christ. It’s such a beautifully written book which points us to Christ.

First impressions on Expelled

I posted some of my first impressions after watching Expelled over at Triablogue.

Abortion as art?

Even if this never actually resulted in a bona-fide abortion, it’s still horrible. (This is a pretty sad/angry thing to read, so be warned.) (Update: wasn’t even true. Still a pretty horrible thing to deal with, though.)

The transcendental ethics of God

The “problem of evil” has a lot of problems of its own. It’s a favorite of atheists and other people who argue against the God of Christianity, and it generally runs something like “if God is all good, and all powerful, then why is there suffering (or evil; or, why do bad things happen to good people)?” The implication, of course, is that God is either not all good, or not all powerful — either of which would destroy the Christian God’s exclusive claim to deity.

There are quite a few interesting things about this idea. First, of course, is the obvious assumption on the part of our atheist, that suffering is evil and therefore wrong. Usually it’s a good idea to start by taking this apart. What is wrong with suffering? What is evil as opposed to good? This separates the men from the boys right away, because the atheist has to realize that he is mounting an internal critique of Christianity. An external critique on this basis is hard to justify, because in a naturalistic world of survival of the fittest and the pretensions of meat machines to higher function, “good” and “evil” are either meaningless, or to be defined in terms of what is best for (a) me, or (b) my offspring. And nobody can deny that suffering and “evil” are powerful applications of nature to cull the weak and encourage the ongoing life and multiplication of the strong. Let’s not fight straw men, though; some atheists believe that they have a workable system of ethics without religion. Whether they actually do isn’t part of the scope of this post.

So, our atheist is trying to mount an internal critique of Christianity. Perhaps we should rephrase the problem for him: if God is good by His own (revealed) standards, and all powerful, then why is there evil in the world? If God really loved His creation, then would He allow crack-addicted babies to be born, or six million Jews to be brutally murdered in a space of a few short years, or people to go to eternal conscious torment? The obvious answer to the atheist is usually that He cannot be good and allow those things, and therefore Christianity is either a religion of horrors serving a God Who delights in misery, or an inconsistent system of beliefs.

Bahnsen points out that the syllogism need not end like this. He recommends that we actually try to grasp this internally, like so: God is good. God is all powerful. There is evil in the world. Therefore God has a morally sufficient reason for the existence of evil. This is consistent with the Scriptures, and logical.

However, the atheist has a problem with that, because he does not see how there can be a morally sufficient reason for crack babies, holocausts, or hell. And generally speaking, the Bible does not provide direct answers for such things, beyond the glory of God (doubly repugnant to somebody who is already disinclined to glorify Him). So, the atheist judges God’s standard of goodness, and finds it wanting…

And at this point, the atheist’s attempt at an internal critique fails, because he had to step outside the critique to come to his conclusion (that God is not good).

How can I say this?

Consider: the internal critique begins with the premise that God is good. Everything that God does is good; one might say that good is defined by the character and action of God. Under the circumstances, the God of the Bible is in fact the only One capable of judging the goodness of a thing, but nobody is good except for Him. And anything He does, and anything He chooses, is good. When the atheist decides that something God has ordained or allowed is not good, he is effectively taking God’s place as the judge of what is good, and setting himself above God. The atheist is on the bench, and God is in the dock once again. That is usually where the atheist chooses to be, but we must point out that there can be no internal critique anymore, because internally, the system of Christian theology presupposes that God is good, and the atheist must declare that, no, he will be the judge of what is good, effectively switching places with God, and breaking any hope of consistency. To put it simply, the atheist is not comparing himself to the Christian God if he thinks that he can judge God. The Christian God, and the revelation that He has delivered, exclude any possibility of that fact.

Once the atheist is outside the paradigm of Christian ethics again, he has the same problem we outlined above; he must defend his concept of good and evil without God. Inside the paradigm, the atheist finds himself begging the question of God’s transcendental goodness.

Truly, though, we have a point of contact with the atheist at this stage. He can’t get away from the idea that there is such a thing as good and evil. Now it is only a matter of proclaiming to him the truth of the God Whose ethical system he is borrowing in ignorance.

National Geographic wallpaper

Tons of cool National Geographic photos for your desktop. Taken from Jan. ‘07 to now.

Protesting Protestants

I neglected to mention the protest about the cancellation of Issues, Etc. which happened at work on Monday.

Permanent link for weight loss chart

Rather than bore you all on an ongoing weekly basis with my progress on Atkins, I’ll just quietly (or not so quietly, if something surprising happens) update this permanent page on the site with my progress.

Modern parables

Modern parables is pretty cool! It’s a re-presentation of Christ’s parables via, well, modern cinema. (I know I got this from somewhere but I forget where I got it from. So, sorry, no hat-tip for you! I say in my best Soup Nazi voice.)

Gresham on Prince Caspian

Christianity Today interviews Douglas Gresham about the upcoming Prince Caspian flick. Gresham’s verdict? “Prince Caspian started with a poorer story than Lion/Witch, but has worked out probably to be a better movie.”

HT: Justin Taylor.

LOLcats on bottles

I can has bottle labelz?

Chaz on Bruce and William

Clearly there is at least one Lutheran with excellent taste.

In the midst of pain and hurt

I thank God and rejoice even for pain and hurt.

I don’t mean I rejoice in pain and hurt, because these might be great evils. But I mean that I rejoice within the midst of pain and hurt, because by his grace I know that God is in the midst with me like he was in the midst of the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that he will never leave me nor forsake me, because he died on the cross for me — even for a worthless sinner like me! The Son of God loved me and gave himself up for me on the cross! What more do I need but Christ and his love in the midst of pain and hurt and worse? It is more than enough. And infinitely more than I deserve.

I know that God is absolutely trustworthy. His promises never fail. His words are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace, purified many times. It is a word which is both alive and which abides. His word lives, and gives us life; and his word lasts forever. Though heaven and earth shall pass away, God’s word shall never pass away.

What can man do to me? Why ought I to dread the future? Nothing shall ever separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus!

After all, what can the most painful and hurtful things in life do to the Christian but to draw him nearer to Christ, to make him cling onto the Savior more, to cause him to know and love his precious Lord more, to cause his heart to sing with deeper thanks to his Heavenly Father who loved him and gave up his own Son to die for him? Thus I am moved to proclaim to all peoples everywhere the excellencies of him who called me out of the darkness of my sinful, rebellious, and evil life and into his marvelous light!

God is good and loves me, God is great and is in control of all things in my life, and God will provide in his providence exactly what he knows to be best. Even if it’s physical pain. Even if it’s emotional hurt. Even if it’s the loss of one familial tie or friendship or other relationship after another. Even if family and closest friends reject and abandon me. Even if it’s not merely witnessing from afar but experiencing firsthand suffering, either in my own life or (although I want to cry “God forbid” for them) in the lives of those I most love, in my family and friends. Even if it’s seeing those closest to me at death’s door, only later to succumb. And, although it seems far away from me at this moment (but one never knows), even if death wraps its skeletal fingers around me.

Even still, God is continually with me; he holds my right hand. He guides me with the counsel of his word illumined by his Holy Spirit, and afterward he will receive me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but my precious Lord? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides Christ. My flesh and my strength may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Such things are decreed by our loving and trustworthy Heavenly Father for our good and his glory. Not capriciously but so that we might know him and rejoice in his love and share in his holiness. Is not the Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief? Indeed he is. And it has been granted to us not only to trust in Christ but also to suffer for his sake (again, not for our sake or for another’s sake or for no sake whatsoever but for his sake), so that we might be transformed into his likeness, conformed into his image.

As for me, may “the God of all comfort” comfort me with himself. Not only for my own comfort, but so that I might be able to comfort others in their pain and hurt, in their grief and sorrow. And, like one beggar telling another beggar where to find food, may I point others to Christ who is the Bread of Life, broken for us — and risen from the dead in newness of life to give us life, life abundant and eternal and glorious and free.

For in Christ all these light and momentary afflictions and pains and hurts and sufferings are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Thus, in the midst of pain and hurt and worse, may we praise the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever!

With this in mind, here’s a wonderful hymn penned by John Ryland to reflect upon:

Sovereign Ruler of the skies,
Ever gracious, ever wise;
All my times are in thy hand,
All events at thy command.

His decree who formed the earth
Fixed my first and second birth;
Parents, native place, and time,
All appointed were by him.

He that formed me in the womb,
He shall guide me to the tomb;
All my times shall ever be
Ordered by his wise decree.

Times of sickness; times of health;
Times of penury and wealth;
Times of trial and of grief;
Times of triumph and relief;

Times the tempter’s power to prove;
Times to taste the Saviour’s love
All must come, and last, and end,
As shall please my heavenly Friend.

Plagues and death around me fly;
Till he bids, I cannot die;
Nor a single shaft can hit,
Till the love of God sees fit.

Fours

I saw this from Katie’s weblog:

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
1. Paper boy
2. Life insurance processor
3. Bookseller
4. Movie theater usher

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. Dark City
4. The Incredibles

Four places I’ve lived:
1. Turin, Italy
2. London, England, UK
3. Berkeley, California, USA
4. Highland, Illinois, USA

Four T.V. shows I watch:
1. Doctor Who
2. BSG
3. The Office
4. I can’t think of any more as I don’t really watch TV as much as I used to

Four places I’ve been:
1. Australia
2. Switzerland
3. Israel
4. Mexico

Four favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Shepherd’s pie
3. Teriyaki steak
4. Actually, there are few foods I dislike, and I’ll try almost anything once

Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. Chillaxing at Starbucks and people watching or reading a book
2. Inside the TARDIS
3. The Aosta Valley
4. Most of all, anywhere with Christ and his people (e.g. Bible study, church)

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:
1. Going to New Orleans
2. Attending a couple of upcoming Bible conferences
3. Participating in the wedding party at two of my friends’ weddings
4. Growing in the grace of God, daily drawing nearer to my precious Lord and Savior, daily stepping closer to heaven (how my heart aches to be with my Beloved, with my Christ!)

Four places I love to shop:
1. Amazon.com
2. Monergism Books
3. WTS Books
4. Highland’s Super Wal-Mart

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