Hell; Tweeted and Defeated

*In the Epistles, sin = death and destruction, not eternal torment – Rom 1:32, 2:12, 6:23, 9:22 – no eternal torment
+The death that sin = is an eternity in Hell, we all die once

Hell: Biblical

Biblical


*The overwhelming majority of Bible verses support some form of annihilation; more support universalism than eternal Hell
+Contextually if you approach the Bible with the answer in mind you will always find the scriptural support to shore up your predetermined thought ... if however you go to Scripture with only a question in mind you will find the answer

Hell: Theological

Theological


*Eliminating a doctrine of eternal Hell does not mean eliminating justice, judgement, punishment, and so on
+If our reward is eternity in Heaven, then the only option for justice to be served is Hell

Comfort

"It will come certainly.

Hell; Ethical/Rational?

Ethical/rational



*Eternal Hell is not in any way restorative – it eternally severs relationship and eternally prevents redemption
+For those who reject Christ in this life ... it is just and appropriate

Time

Time is a friend ... giving opportunity to heal,

Time is an enemy ... taking unrequited moments

Time passes.

It seems that life is so busy ... the time is so short ... there is never enough ... and always so much ahead.

As and So

 If anyone has taken the time to read my blog... it will not take long to realize that I have a conservative theological bent. This bent I have towards a tight and literal view of scripture and interpretation places me, in this eras context, as an edgy, uber-conservative. It also means that my views contain some controversial opinions and ideas. The mural I had painted on my bike is an example of that take. It is the cross represented as a balance beam, holding our afflictions and our consolations.
,—"In the world, ye shall have tribulation; in me ye shall have peace."

Deus Ex Machina

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"
— Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion)

The End of the World

It is interesting hearing people talk about the End of the World, especially this year with all the prophecies and calendar events and cyclical occurrences which have seemed to determine that this is the year in which our demise is evident.

Poet's Juncture

Blest proofs of power and grace divine,

That meet us in His word!
May every deep-felt care of mine
Be trusted with the Lord.

The Debate Continued ...

For Augustine, human will is freed by divine grace to believe, not over powered and dragged to Calvary kicking and screaming.

Contentment

Discontentment, and perhaps in certain instances, disappointment are a direct result of a false expectation. False expectations of what life's reality is to be come, stems from the fabrication of a paradigm (a system of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality) which only views life through desires and sugar-coated dreams. The proliferation of this mentality is a result of media and the Prosperity Gospel preached by many generations of Pastors.

Go Pound Sand or Not

We muzzle dogs; shall we leave men free to open their mouths and say what they please?...God makes it plain that the false prophet is to be stoned without mercy. We are to crush beneath our heels all natural affections when his honour is at stake. The father should not spare his child, nor the husband his wife, nor the friend that friend who is dearer to him than life.

--John Calvin, Protestant Reformer and Father of Calvinism (1509-1564)

Remonstrance

Why I am of an Arminian bent;

The five points of the Remonstrance asserted that:

Intimacy, Affirmation and Fellowship

Intimacy means a feeling or atmosphere of closeness and openness towards someone else, not necessarily involving sexuality.

Affirmation means a declaration that something is true.

Fellowship means a company of people that shares the same interest or aim or a feeling of friendship, relatedness or connection between people.

Eulogy

Eulogy from Greek. eulogia "praise; good or fine language," to "speak well of."

Lest We Forget

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER (A Soldier Died Today) By A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
and he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past
of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
in his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

Poetry for the Soul

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Civic Reactor

There is a big difference between reacting and responding.
When we react to a situation or crisis we are predominantly moved by emotion.
When we respond to a situation or crisis we are utilizing our thought processes.
It is comparable to the discussion of the difference between being happy and content.
One is emotionally based while the other relies on an attitude.

Legacy: Thanksgiving

Ecclesiastes 2:21, For there is a man whose labour is with wisdom, knowledge and skill, yet he must leave his heritage (legacy) to a man who has not laboured for it. This also is vanity and  a great evil."

Legacy; Trancendence

Exodus 34:7, "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

Legacy;

Legacy is a much discussed term in some circles. I recently attended a funeral of a dear man who influenced my life greatly. It was touching and poignant to hear his children and his Pastor speak of his life, even in death his life was the predominant and primary topic. This is because of what is called a legacy, the heritage of his life, and in that, it is the life that was lived that established the precedents, traditions and model for not only his children but everyone whose life was touched by him.

Sarx

Sarx means strictly the flesh which is stripped from the bones of an animal; by implication our human nature with all its frailties and weakness, what is finite, perishable, and vulnerable, including our passions.

Sarx

"Through the power of death and the devil, sin that reigns in men gives rise to fear and anxiety and to the general instinct of self-preservation or survival. Thus, Satan manipulates man's fear and his desire for self-satisfaction, raising up sin in him...Because of death, man must first attend to the necessities of life in order to stay alive. In this struggle, self-interests are unavoidable. Thus, man is unable to live in accordance with his original destiny of unselfish love. This state of subjection under the reign of death is the root of man's weakness in which he becomes entangled in sin at the urging of the demons and by his own consent.

Tradition, Tsunami Stones and Tolerance

Tradition is the by-word for antagonistic intolerance. What tradition has come to mean is the archaic, the non-enlightened, the conservative, “the past” as though there was anything monolithic about the beliefs and practices of previous ages.",  the theological presuppositions or doctrines seen as intolerant to any new-age belief and in this lies its inherent fault. Tradition is usually contrasted with the goal of modernity and is therefore deemed as antiquated and arcane.