Wir sind bettler. Hoc est verum.

There are many stories in the world. Stories on all types of topics ranging from your sappy romance between two saplings in love to the most violently scarey attack of the rabid bunny horror films. The truth of the matter is, between all these stories, only the good ones have happy endings. Now of course how good a story is ultimately depends on many factors such as: originality, depth, tone, twists, understandability, meaning, and of course its conclusion. My purposes here is not to discuss all the aspects of story, except for one: the conclusion. No matter how good all aspects of a story are, its ending holds the final trump card which dictates how good the story really is. I would also argue that for the ending of the story to be anything but happy, it isn’t a good story.

Let us first start out by defining the word Story. A story is simply the telling of a particular sequence of events, fiction or not, that communicates a certain message (known or unknown). Every story communicates something (even if not intended by the author). If a sequence of events can be communicated in a way that no meaning can be derived from it, then it isn’t a story. Likewise if one just blathers incoherent and meaningless words, it isn’t a story. All stories have structure. They all have a beginning, middle, and end. They all have a subject and, like I said before, a meaning.

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Grab your pitchforks, iron up your flint, and pitch your hay we are going to talk about science and religion! As the mob grows and the fires burn, I feel the sweat dripping from my brow, for such subjects ought not to be address by morals who value their lives, or at least the approval of others.

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When one thinks of the phrase “quenching the Spirit” one does not immediately think of Pentecostals. After all they are the ones who usually are criticized for being too “Spirit” focused. I am also sure that most evangelicals would reject the notion that their churches too, often quench the Spirit. So, the question is, do they? I believe they do quench the Spirit more often than not, and it has to do with rightly understanding how He (the Spirit) works.

The job of the Spirit is to fill and comfort believers after Christ’s ascension. To spread the word and create the Church. He works from the command of Jesus and the Father. So, if we look at Scripture how do we see Him normally working? We see Him working through pretty ordinary means, although there are some significant exceptions, we never see the exceptions made into the rule nor do we see them lifted up as needed to be in future generations. I propose that the Spirit mainly works through ordinary means such as: Word and Sacrament, while in rare cases works through other means.

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In contemporary Evangelicalism the Altar Call has become the Third Sacrament, and sometimes the only sacrament as it often replaces both baptism and communion (by making baptism and communion be only human responses and not heavenly blessings). The problem is: no where in Scripture are we given a command to have Altar Calls; they are a creation of man not God. I know this position will inflame many people, and upset others for it seems by stating such, I am attacking the heart of the Christian religion. After all, how can one preach the Gospel and expect it to save anyone unless they give an Altar Call right? In a word: wrong, scripture never has demonstrated nor commanded an Altar Call. Let us define our terms so that we are all on the same page.

When I speak of a Sacrament I am speaking of an ordinance in which God works to confirm heavenly realities, grace, and spiritual blessings. The only two taught us in Scripture (sorry my Catholic friends), are Baptism and Holy Communion. Baptism in the most basic of explanations, confers to us the New Covenant, by making us members, and all the spiritual blessings there-in. As a covenant sign like Circumcision in the Old Testament, baptism is to be given to our children, because they are in the covenant, and thus need the covenant sign applied to them. Now please note it doesn’t save, and it doesn’t confer regeneration, but non-the-less there are real spiritual benefits with-in baptism, and to reject it, is to reject God’s covenant (and thus Salvation). One’s baptism, as a believer, can be one of the greatest anchors in which to assure ourselves of our salvation, not because it demonstrates our commitment to God, but His commitment to us within the Covenant.

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As I have grown throughout the years in my Christian faith, my tastes for worship songs have changed. Often I have wondered if the change is merely subjective, or if there is some objective growth to be found under the surface. Am I growing closer to God’s ideal for worship, or am I growing father away? Like any sane person, I consider my changes in tastes and preferences over the years to be an improvement, rather than a de-evolution, in maturity.

This article is my attempt to discuss some of the reasons behind my changes in taste, and why I think more people ought to change with me. I will assure you that my thinking is not bubbling from a latent and invisible arrogance, but rather springs forth from what I am convinced God, through Biblical revelation, desires of His children. If I have gained any truth or maturity in Spiritual things, I acknowledge that God is to be praised and not I.

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So there was this news post about how Apple is notorious for trying to keep end users out of their products, and how their newest attempt is to change out all the screws on their products to screws that require a custom screwdriver (which presumably only they have). And yes, they are doing this to consumers who bring their products in for repair, without telling the consumer they are doing it.

I then had a friend ask an employee at Apple about this and from what my friend said, the employee’s attitude was simply that Apple owns our devices and we are not free to do what we want with them, even if we choose to void the warranty to do so. Now of course this isn’t an official Apple statement, and it may not really reflect Apples true position, but considering how they act, one wonders.

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“Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt.” With those words Augustine enraged Pelagius. The idea that God would command something of men, of which they cannot do apart from Grace, on the surface enrages all of us, and perhaps rightly so. “That isn’t fair” or “I don’t believe in that God” and perhaps even “God would never do that” are some of the complaints we have made to the idea that God commands men to repent and have faith in Jesus, when no man is able or willing to do so. Thus we argue that either God doesn’t require it of all men, or men must be able to do what he requires apart from Grace.

To many of us this seems as absurd and evil as commanding a cripple man “walk or die”, and so it is in that light we look at God’s commanding of us to do what we cannot nor will not do.

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Many people believe in Santa, most of them are under the age of 10. They believe in Santa because their parents told them Santa is real. This cycle has continued for generations, the parent teaches the child, the child their children and so on. So, why would I dare tread on such holy ground? The reason I dare is because I believe the issue, although small, when compounded becomes quite large.

As I see it the issue resolves around a few different planets of thought. Is it ok to lie to someone to increase their happiness? Everyone is doing it and turning out ok, why can’t I? What is the Christian parent’s number one job towards their children? And is culture neutral and its traditions harmless?

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As many of you know the New Atheists (as they are called) not only believe that God doesn’t exist, they believe that religion is evil and ought to be extinguished. They love to especially attack Christianity, because it is so bold as to blatantly tell its opponents that they are wrong. There are many things I can say on the subject, but I would like to address just one small flaw in their thinking.

Many of them, such as Sam Harris, have a distorted logic in how they argue against the existence of God. I will simplify their arguments here for times sake and just point out one of the huge flaws of it. See if you can spot the flaw before I demonstrate it. Remember they are assuming God exists for the sake of their arguments.

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1 Timothy 3:2a “Now the overseer must be above reproach”. Recently there has been some discussion in the world I walk in as to what being “above reproach” means, specifically for us leaders in the church, namely for Elders and Pastors (of which I am neither). Set in the context of some “super” sin, what does it mean to be “above reproach” (although I believe that the Bible teaches degrees of sin, there is a sense in which all sins are “super” since they offend a Holy God, what I mean by “super” is essentially the sins God seemingly point out as greater: murder, adultery, theft, etc. which are essentially listed in 1 Timothy)?

Some people argue that if you commit any of these “super” sins at any time in your life, then you are ineligible to be an Elder or Pastor, due to being not above reproach. Others argue that it is ok if you commit these sins before your vows as Elder or Pastor, but not after. And still others argue that Grace covers all these sins so that even after committing these sins as an Elder or Pastor there is a chance, although slight, that one might eventually be able to be an Elder or Pastor again. Personally I do not think Scripture is clear in support of any of these sides, thus we must appeal to something else and Scripture at the same time.

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