Philly in today's snowstorm.
Makes me want Hot Chocolate!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
The Internet and Baseball -- Perfect Together
I remember a time when mornings consisted of coffee and newspapers. Back in those days when you could only get one story on your team, maybe two, a day. Even in Spring Training when there is so much going on and guys are getting evaluated, at best you got two different papers at your doorstep, one local and the other regional, then you might get an extra story or two. It made coffee time an efficient 10-15 minutes at the breakfast table.
Enter the new age of the Internet, and for a small fee at espn, you can get every story in print for your team all across the country. This is not a huge deal if you live where your team is, because most of the stories are local, but for the transplanted fan, it just doesn't get any better. Now each morning you can sit down with your coffee and spend as much time as you can spare reading stories about workouts, getting to know new players, and forging a bond with the team you will be following for the long haul, 162 game season. And when your team is stationed in a city that has 15 local papers between 3 states that all cover your team, it is even better. At that level you need to be a little more choosy on the stories you read, because as always, time is of the essence, and you don't want to waste your time reading a story you have already seen, so you have to learn to be able to see behind the headlines. There is only so many times you can read about how Carlos Beltran is taking David Wright and Jose Reyes to the gym with him after practice for extra baseball-focused workouts - and there is no telling how many different ways a sportswriter can headline that story -- I'm telling you, it's a tricky business...
But of course, that is just the beginning. Stories in the morning are just a fraction of the internet goodness available for the baseball lover. History, stats, video highlights, full games, audio or video, interviews, press conferences... everything you could ever ask for is right there at your finger clicks. If you love baseball enough you could spend every moment in baseball related euphoria.
All of this, of course, does not even mention the obvious -- Fantasy Baseball. Could you imagine trying to play this game before the internet? Manually drafting players, keeping stats and adding up points.. every day would be a statistical nightmare.. this would definitely be a full time job (with overtime) for any mere mortal.
So make sure, as you dive in head first to a veritable cornucopia of infinite baseball gratification, that you are thankful to the Lord for Baseball, and of course -- the internet.
Now pardon me while I go repent of my idolatry...
Enter the new age of the Internet, and for a small fee at espn, you can get every story in print for your team all across the country. This is not a huge deal if you live where your team is, because most of the stories are local, but for the transplanted fan, it just doesn't get any better. Now each morning you can sit down with your coffee and spend as much time as you can spare reading stories about workouts, getting to know new players, and forging a bond with the team you will be following for the long haul, 162 game season. And when your team is stationed in a city that has 15 local papers between 3 states that all cover your team, it is even better. At that level you need to be a little more choosy on the stories you read, because as always, time is of the essence, and you don't want to waste your time reading a story you have already seen, so you have to learn to be able to see behind the headlines. There is only so many times you can read about how Carlos Beltran is taking David Wright and Jose Reyes to the gym with him after practice for extra baseball-focused workouts - and there is no telling how many different ways a sportswriter can headline that story -- I'm telling you, it's a tricky business...
But of course, that is just the beginning. Stories in the morning are just a fraction of the internet goodness available for the baseball lover. History, stats, video highlights, full games, audio or video, interviews, press conferences... everything you could ever ask for is right there at your finger clicks. If you love baseball enough you could spend every moment in baseball related euphoria.
All of this, of course, does not even mention the obvious -- Fantasy Baseball. Could you imagine trying to play this game before the internet? Manually drafting players, keeping stats and adding up points.. every day would be a statistical nightmare.. this would definitely be a full time job (with overtime) for any mere mortal.
So make sure, as you dive in head first to a veritable cornucopia of infinite baseball gratification, that you are thankful to the Lord for Baseball, and of course -- the internet.
Now pardon me while I go repent of my idolatry...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Calm before the storm
For expecting 9 inches of snow in the morning, the sky is quite clear, and there is a perfect moon over Philadelphia.
It's 1am and I am studying (or not) for a Hebrew exam in the morning.
So much for productivity.
but here is a Hebrew lesson for you:
It means: "Your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" ... from Deuteronomy 4:24
"Therefore watch yourselves very carefully" (v.15)
Saturday, February 19, 2005
The Divine Counsel
"The Son did not move the Father to love; electing love arose from the Father himself. Scripture, accordingly, everywhere teaches that the cause of all the decrees does not lie in any creature but only in God himself, in his will and good pleasure (Matt. 11:26; Rom. 9:11ff; Eph. 1:4ff). For that very reason, both for unbelievers and believers, the doctrine of election is a source of inexpressibly great comfort. If it were based on justice and merit, all would be lost. But now that election operates according to grace, there is hope even for the most wretched. If work and reward were the standard of admission into the Kingdom of Heaven, its gates would be open for no one. Or if Pelagius's doctrine were the standard, and the virtuous were chosen because of their virtue, and Pharisees because of their righteousness, wretched publicans would be shut out. Pelagianism has no pity. But to believe in and to confess election is to recognize even the most unworthy and degraded human being as a creature of God and an object of his eternal love. The purpose of election is not -- as it is so often proclaimed -- to turn off the many but to invite all to participate in the riches of God's grace in Christ. No one has a right to believe that he or she is a reprobate, for everyone is sincerely and urgently called to believe in Christ with a view to salvation. No one can actually believe it, for one's own life and all that makes it enjoyable is proof that God takes no delight in his death. No one really believes it, for that would be hell on earth. But election is a source of comfort and strength, of submissiveness and humility, of confidence and resolution. The salvation of human beings is firmly established in the gracious and omnipotent good pleasure of God."
Herman Bavinck
Reformed Dogmatics Volume 2: God and Creation
If you have made it this far, congratulations... not because the above is difficult reading, but it means you have an interest in what is being said -- so congratulations.
This particular section in this volume, which covers far more than the small quote above, is one of the clearest and most helpful discussions on the decrees of God and particularly election and reprobation that I have ever read.
If you are not a theologian, but want to understand some difficult subjects, Bavinck is your man. He is challenging, but very clear and as you can tell from the above quote, often very practical in his dealings with topics in systematic theology. He is quickly becoming my favorite theologian, not only because of his clarity and practicality (and the fact that he's right a lot), but also because he engages the Reformation tradition from the inside in a way that is refreshing and incredibly helpful.
Herman Bavinck
Reformed Dogmatics Volume 2: God and Creation
If you have made it this far, congratulations... not because the above is difficult reading, but it means you have an interest in what is being said -- so congratulations.
This particular section in this volume, which covers far more than the small quote above, is one of the clearest and most helpful discussions on the decrees of God and particularly election and reprobation that I have ever read.
If you are not a theologian, but want to understand some difficult subjects, Bavinck is your man. He is challenging, but very clear and as you can tell from the above quote, often very practical in his dealings with topics in systematic theology. He is quickly becoming my favorite theologian, not only because of his clarity and practicality (and the fact that he's right a lot), but also because he engages the Reformation tradition from the inside in a way that is refreshing and incredibly helpful.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Focused Blather (Blogging Integrity)
Today I am tempted to do something I don't normally like to do... But first:
I feel that when one decides to throw their hat into the "blog-ring", as it were, they are, at least in some small sense, entering into the realm of journalism. We are all editorial writers with no assignment, and so we editorialize on our lives. However, because we do so publicly, I feel as though there must come, with the choice to write, a sense of responsibility. With that in mind, when I threw my own hat in, I did so with a certain standard in mind. I made up rules for myself, none of which are actually written down, but all of which I gathered while wandering through the existent realm of "the blog".
Now, I do not think that what I have started here is some great accomplishment. There are hundreds of people out there, at least one of whom is linked on the right side of this page, that do this way better than I do. They are better writers, have better content, and, on the whole, perhaps more interesting lives... or at least more opinionated ones. But what I had hoped to shy away from during my foray into the world of blogging was the temptation to fill the vast, limitless void of the internet with moment to moment blog posts about the menial "stuff" of life.
Far too often when I happen to click the "next blog" button in the upper right hand corner of my web browser, I am thrown into a meaningless whirlwind of bloggers who insist on telling the world that they don't have very much meaningful to say. When I stumble onto a person's blog, I want to hear them, perhaps see them, not in pictures, even though I do not know them. Frankly, I don't really want to "get to know them" in the sense of what they do and where they live, I'm not interested in the superficial things like what you do for a living or how you hate your boss or that the boy in your study hall circled "no" on the "do you like me?" note you passed him in second period. I want to learn something substantial about them in a different way; through how they interact meaningfully with the things that effect them in their world.
That doesn't mean that every post has to be some in depth dissertation on the price of tea in China, but I think we should all seek to write something that requires a response. I do not mean that we should end with a question, or that we should expect everyone who reads our latest post to leave us a comment, be it positive or negative. I mean that we should all at least try, on some level, to engage whoever stumbles upon our very small pixel of cyber space and give them something worthy of stopping to read - something that they can take with them when they go. Whether that is a laugh, a "hmm, never thought of that", raging disagreement, or a subtle nod of appreciation or agreement, we should not allow ourselves to fall into the habit of posting our vomit in public, just for the sake of making other people smell it.
That being said, there are of course times when we will all fall below the somewhat high standard I have suggested. If you go through my own archives you will surely find posts you'll read and say "who freakin' cares?" ... I guess what I am trying to say in far too many words is that we should write what we care about, and care about what we write.
But perhaps I have become a blog snob in my short time here...
Now I wrote all of that because I was tempted to write a crap post about how I looked at my tracker for this blog when I got home and saw that only 1 person visited today. I was going to talk about my sometimes "short-term-obsessive" nature and how there was a while were this blog was way to important to me - like fantasy baseball last year: Spending way too much time with very little return on my investment. I was going to whine a little about how blogspot can be so very unresponsive and how slow things have been moving lately and how really unfair blog-life can be. I was going to complain about how I only won 3 dollars today in my friendly neighborhood seminary poker game, and quip over how one of my friends left his credit card at our usual lunch spot and my temptations to go on a spending spree. I was going to top it all off with how my professor circled "yes" on my "do you think I am a good student?" note I left on his podium during a class break today...
Now aren't you glad I didn't do that?
**Addendum**
Please - do not be offended if anyone reads this who actually has a blog like that which I describe here. I did not write this with any particular blog in mind, nor did any one blog or series of blogs inspire me to do so. It was only for my own amusement and self flagellation.
I feel that when one decides to throw their hat into the "blog-ring", as it were, they are, at least in some small sense, entering into the realm of journalism. We are all editorial writers with no assignment, and so we editorialize on our lives. However, because we do so publicly, I feel as though there must come, with the choice to write, a sense of responsibility. With that in mind, when I threw my own hat in, I did so with a certain standard in mind. I made up rules for myself, none of which are actually written down, but all of which I gathered while wandering through the existent realm of "the blog".
Now, I do not think that what I have started here is some great accomplishment. There are hundreds of people out there, at least one of whom is linked on the right side of this page, that do this way better than I do. They are better writers, have better content, and, on the whole, perhaps more interesting lives... or at least more opinionated ones. But what I had hoped to shy away from during my foray into the world of blogging was the temptation to fill the vast, limitless void of the internet with moment to moment blog posts about the menial "stuff" of life.
Far too often when I happen to click the "next blog" button in the upper right hand corner of my web browser, I am thrown into a meaningless whirlwind of bloggers who insist on telling the world that they don't have very much meaningful to say. When I stumble onto a person's blog, I want to hear them, perhaps see them, not in pictures, even though I do not know them. Frankly, I don't really want to "get to know them" in the sense of what they do and where they live, I'm not interested in the superficial things like what you do for a living or how you hate your boss or that the boy in your study hall circled "no" on the "do you like me?" note you passed him in second period. I want to learn something substantial about them in a different way; through how they interact meaningfully with the things that effect them in their world.
That doesn't mean that every post has to be some in depth dissertation on the price of tea in China, but I think we should all seek to write something that requires a response. I do not mean that we should end with a question, or that we should expect everyone who reads our latest post to leave us a comment, be it positive or negative. I mean that we should all at least try, on some level, to engage whoever stumbles upon our very small pixel of cyber space and give them something worthy of stopping to read - something that they can take with them when they go. Whether that is a laugh, a "hmm, never thought of that", raging disagreement, or a subtle nod of appreciation or agreement, we should not allow ourselves to fall into the habit of posting our vomit in public, just for the sake of making other people smell it.
That being said, there are of course times when we will all fall below the somewhat high standard I have suggested. If you go through my own archives you will surely find posts you'll read and say "who freakin' cares?" ... I guess what I am trying to say in far too many words is that we should write what we care about, and care about what we write.
But perhaps I have become a blog snob in my short time here...
Now I wrote all of that because I was tempted to write a crap post about how I looked at my tracker for this blog when I got home and saw that only 1 person visited today. I was going to talk about my sometimes "short-term-obsessive" nature and how there was a while were this blog was way to important to me - like fantasy baseball last year: Spending way too much time with very little return on my investment. I was going to whine a little about how blogspot can be so very unresponsive and how slow things have been moving lately and how really unfair blog-life can be. I was going to complain about how I only won 3 dollars today in my friendly neighborhood seminary poker game, and quip over how one of my friends left his credit card at our usual lunch spot and my temptations to go on a spending spree. I was going to top it all off with how my professor circled "yes" on my "do you think I am a good student?" note I left on his podium during a class break today...
Now aren't you glad I didn't do that?
**Addendum**
Please - do not be offended if anyone reads this who actually has a blog like that which I describe here. I did not write this with any particular blog in mind, nor did any one blog or series of blogs inspire me to do so. It was only for my own amusement and self flagellation.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Forever Valentine
Valentine's Day was never a big deal for me. I never cared if I was alone on V-D and most of the times I was with someone, the day was a pressure filled mess. Always trying to think of new and exciting ways to say "I Love You" - or as it happened for many years.. something far less romantic...
But those days are long gone.
Last year I had my last Valentine's Day as a single man. I had it in mind that I was going to ask my girlfriend to marry me in the near future, but I had no plan of attack or big bad scheme to blow her mind or sweep her off of her feet. I had designed a ring for her and was waiting for it to be finished. It just so happened to be Valentine's Day when the jeweler called me to let me know it was finished.
Now, I have to preface the next part of the story that I am sure is already unfolding in your mind. You have to understand that I am the least cliche type person you may ever know. The mere idea of proposing on Valentine's Day makes me want to hurl. That being said, the fact that my then girlfriend, now wife, Natalie knew this about me, made for a unique opportunity.
While leaving work(last year, V-D was on a Saturday), Natalie was cajoled by her co-workers, half joking, about her coming back with a ring on her finger. She, knowing her man, replied with an aloof "yeah right". I think the idea of me proposing to her on Valentine's Day was perhaps as unbecoming in her mind as it was in mine.
So when I showed up at the Jeweler, I actually had no intention of even picking up the ring. I just wanted to check it out and make sure it was what I wanted, etc.. But after examining it, I was loathe to leave without it. So I took it with me, just in case...
As I drove back to my place, the last thing in my mind was whether or not to propose tonight... but as I walked up onto my porch, it dawned on me that I may never have the opportunity for surprise like this ever again... hmmm... nahhh... But I'm going to take the ring with me.. just in case. I left the box at home.
I had bought her some gifts and a card which I had surprised her with earlier, a diamond pendant necklace, and a love letter. We also had plans for the night. Natalie made lobster for dinner (yum!) and Creme Brulee for desert (my favorite!), and we went to see 50 First Dates which had just come out. We really had a great time, and the movie was a lot of fun, maybe my favorite romantic comedy.. right up there with Serendipity. We went back to her apartment to eat Creme Brulee and hang out for a little while and end our fun Valentine's Day together. I went into the bathroom before I left and after washing my hands I slipped one into my pocket and found something I had completely forgotten about... the ring. I don' think it could have been more perfect.
I left the bathroom with my hand still in my pocket. I sat down next to Natalie on the couch and after a moment, I said, "I have one more surprise for you."
Now, in an ideal world I would have very smoothly slid my hand out of my pocket and directly onto her finger while asking her to marry me... it didn't quite go so hot. I fumbled it, and even dropped it.. but she was in shock, so unless you remind her, she may not even remember. I finally got the sparkling ring onto her ring finger, and asked her if she would be my wife...
You obviously know how she answered.. but if you could have been there, you would have waited with me for what seemed like an eternity until the fog cleared from Natalie's mind. I have no idea what was going on during that time. I could not tell if she was seriously thinking about it, or if she was blinded and entranced by the shiny rock, or if she had not yet realized what had happened.. in any case, she eventually said yes, and as they say... "the rest is history".
It is not, however, ancient history. This is the anniversary of our engagement. Tonight we will go grocery shopping together for our dinner - my 'specialty' steaks. We will enjoy an evening of each other's company and watch the movie that got me "in the mood' to pop the question one year ago. Perhaps this will become our V-Day thing, dinner and 50 first dates.
Lord willing, this is the first of decades of Valentine's Days together. And now it means more than ever.
But those days are long gone.
Last year I had my last Valentine's Day as a single man. I had it in mind that I was going to ask my girlfriend to marry me in the near future, but I had no plan of attack or big bad scheme to blow her mind or sweep her off of her feet. I had designed a ring for her and was waiting for it to be finished. It just so happened to be Valentine's Day when the jeweler called me to let me know it was finished.
Now, I have to preface the next part of the story that I am sure is already unfolding in your mind. You have to understand that I am the least cliche type person you may ever know. The mere idea of proposing on Valentine's Day makes me want to hurl. That being said, the fact that my then girlfriend, now wife, Natalie knew this about me, made for a unique opportunity.
While leaving work(last year, V-D was on a Saturday), Natalie was cajoled by her co-workers, half joking, about her coming back with a ring on her finger. She, knowing her man, replied with an aloof "yeah right". I think the idea of me proposing to her on Valentine's Day was perhaps as unbecoming in her mind as it was in mine.
So when I showed up at the Jeweler, I actually had no intention of even picking up the ring. I just wanted to check it out and make sure it was what I wanted, etc.. But after examining it, I was loathe to leave without it. So I took it with me, just in case...
As I drove back to my place, the last thing in my mind was whether or not to propose tonight... but as I walked up onto my porch, it dawned on me that I may never have the opportunity for surprise like this ever again... hmmm... nahhh... But I'm going to take the ring with me.. just in case. I left the box at home.
I had bought her some gifts and a card which I had surprised her with earlier, a diamond pendant necklace, and a love letter. We also had plans for the night. Natalie made lobster for dinner (yum!) and Creme Brulee for desert (my favorite!), and we went to see 50 First Dates which had just come out. We really had a great time, and the movie was a lot of fun, maybe my favorite romantic comedy.. right up there with Serendipity. We went back to her apartment to eat Creme Brulee and hang out for a little while and end our fun Valentine's Day together. I went into the bathroom before I left and after washing my hands I slipped one into my pocket and found something I had completely forgotten about... the ring. I don' think it could have been more perfect.
I left the bathroom with my hand still in my pocket. I sat down next to Natalie on the couch and after a moment, I said, "I have one more surprise for you."
Now, in an ideal world I would have very smoothly slid my hand out of my pocket and directly onto her finger while asking her to marry me... it didn't quite go so hot. I fumbled it, and even dropped it.. but she was in shock, so unless you remind her, she may not even remember. I finally got the sparkling ring onto her ring finger, and asked her if she would be my wife...
You obviously know how she answered.. but if you could have been there, you would have waited with me for what seemed like an eternity until the fog cleared from Natalie's mind. I have no idea what was going on during that time. I could not tell if she was seriously thinking about it, or if she was blinded and entranced by the shiny rock, or if she had not yet realized what had happened.. in any case, she eventually said yes, and as they say... "the rest is history".
It is not, however, ancient history. This is the anniversary of our engagement. Tonight we will go grocery shopping together for our dinner - my 'specialty' steaks. We will enjoy an evening of each other's company and watch the movie that got me "in the mood' to pop the question one year ago. Perhaps this will become our V-Day thing, dinner and 50 first dates.
Lord willing, this is the first of decades of Valentine's Days together. And now it means more than ever.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Technical Words...
I found out this week that I am a Supernaturalist Evangelistic Particularist of the Hetero-Soteric order.
Not to be confused with a Naturalist, or a Remonstrant Naturalist or even a Supernaturalist Remonstrant. Not to mention the Supernatural Sacerdotalist, or the Supernaturalist Evangelical Universalist of the Remonstrant, Wesleyan or Lutheran Orders.
I think the scary thing is that I could explain it all....
Not to be confused with a Naturalist, or a Remonstrant Naturalist or even a Supernaturalist Remonstrant. Not to mention the Supernatural Sacerdotalist, or the Supernaturalist Evangelical Universalist of the Remonstrant, Wesleyan or Lutheran Orders.
I think the scary thing is that I could explain it all....
Friday, February 04, 2005
A Texas "Flashback"
About 3 weeks ago I posted THIS record of my traipsing about Texas with my friend Kyle.
Today I received the above photo from the groom of one of the weddings we attended. I had not really forgotten the circumstance of the photo, but not having a picture to commemorate it, I did not share it with you, as words just could not have done it justice. But now I have a picture, and can explain my severe, sometimes life threatening, stupidity.
The festivities were drawing to a close and the bridal party and some other friends (myself included) were trying to see the happy bride and groom off to their first night of marital bliss together. We loaded up the explorer with balloons, wrote on the car with show polish, and were dashing about trying to get as much done as possible before the newly married couple emerged from the hotel ballroom.
Some folks like to throw rice at this time, but this has become bad for the birds, as the rice expands in their stomachs and kills them (reminds me of alka-selzer rumors). Others use birdseed to alleviate this threat to the wildlife, and a still newer trend is blowing bubbles, which leaves no mess and is environmentally friendly. As this wedding took place at night, none of these solutions were viable, so they went with the most obvious choice for a night wedding - Sparklers!!!
(Now, as you may or may not know, sparklers are made from Potassium Nitrate or similar fuel. By itself, in the form of a sparkler, it tends to be fairly harmless, although it does burn quite hot, and can easily burn you if you are not careful.)
The couple was just about to run out, and we had not lit any of the sparklers yet!!!
and they are cumbersome and sometimes hard to light, so trying to help things along, I came up with what, at the moment, seemed like a very good idea. I grabbed about 20 sparklers with the intention of lighting them all at once and quickly handing them out to guests in order to have everyone ready for the exit of the honored coupled. Now, had I taken an extra 10 or 15 seconds to think about this, I would have anticipated what came next, as the photo clearly indicates...
I lit the lighter in my right hand and leaned it in to the waiting stack of sparklers in my left. The first one lit and began to burn...
but then without warning the rest of the sparklers began to light all at once from the heat of the first, and with each new lighting, the combined fire burned brighter and hotter. It was all over in less than 3 seconds, but I assure you, to me the process was nearly eternal. The spark built from a small flicker to a blazing birth of a flaming star right before my eyes. I might have been entranced much longer had the sensation in my left hand screamed in searing pain as its proximity to the burning Potassium Nitrate quickly snapped me out of my trance.
I of course threw the burning rods to the ground, screaming like a small child, dancing out of the way of the blazing inferno that nearly seared my very soul from my flesh... (slight hyperbole for effect)
We all had a very hardy laugh at the whole thing, no one more than me. My being one of the only 'yankees' in the vicinity, most people were very understanding.
I was unaware however, that the ruckus was caught on film. But I am grateful.
Feel free to inundate me with messages questioning my intelligence.. I deserve it.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Some notes on Nehemiah
One more book after this and my outlining escapade through this section of the Old Testament will be over. Today we stop in Nehemiah, and there were just a couple of thoughts that came to mind while I was reading this.
First, is Nehemiah the only book, apart from the Psalms, that is written at least partly in the first person? I had not really noticed this before (I couldn't tell you the last time I read Nehemiah, honestly).
The other thing is.. There is something that tweaks me a little about this book, about Nehemiah. And perhaps it says more about the nature of the Law than Nehemiah himself.
It seems to me that the kind of obedience that Nehemiah was trying to bring about, especially in chapter 13, is not the kind of obedience that God would want to bring about.
And especially in regards to how marriage was looked at and treated. Yes, the Jews married women from other nations and that was forbidden, but marriage was still marriage was it not? Is this not the behavior that Jesus is trying to correct in when He teaches on marriage in the Gospels?
It seems that here in Nehemiah we perhaps see the beginning of the "fencing" of the Law that has become our understanding of first century 'law keeping'. So much focus on the outward keeping of the law and no understanding.
My instincts tell me that Nehemiah is not a 'how to' model for good church life. Perhaps an example of what not to do? Or am I off base here?
How are we really supposed to read this book?
I guess I'll find out... classes start tomorrow.
I also get the sense that there may be a few Nehemiah's wandering around the Church these days as well...
First, is Nehemiah the only book, apart from the Psalms, that is written at least partly in the first person? I had not really noticed this before (I couldn't tell you the last time I read Nehemiah, honestly).
The other thing is.. There is something that tweaks me a little about this book, about Nehemiah. And perhaps it says more about the nature of the Law than Nehemiah himself.
It seems to me that the kind of obedience that Nehemiah was trying to bring about, especially in chapter 13, is not the kind of obedience that God would want to bring about.
And especially in regards to how marriage was looked at and treated. Yes, the Jews married women from other nations and that was forbidden, but marriage was still marriage was it not? Is this not the behavior that Jesus is trying to correct in when He teaches on marriage in the Gospels?
It seems that here in Nehemiah we perhaps see the beginning of the "fencing" of the Law that has become our understanding of first century 'law keeping'. So much focus on the outward keeping of the law and no understanding.
My instincts tell me that Nehemiah is not a 'how to' model for good church life. Perhaps an example of what not to do? Or am I off base here?
How are we really supposed to read this book?
I guess I'll find out... classes start tomorrow.
I also get the sense that there may be a few Nehemiah's wandering around the Church these days as well...
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Things that make my head explode: Vol 1
A girl who happens to be on "the real world" says:
"God told me that this guy might be the man of my dreams, but in order to confirm that, I am going to play the field for awhile." (paraphrase)
Need I say more?
Please, someone shoot me in the face with a bazooka....
p.s. - don't ask why I happened to be watching the Real World, it's not important, as this kind of thing happens everyday.
"God told me that this guy might be the man of my dreams, but in order to confirm that, I am going to play the field for awhile." (paraphrase)
Need I say more?
Please, someone shoot me in the face with a bazooka....
p.s. - don't ask why I happened to be watching the Real World, it's not important, as this kind of thing happens everyday.
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