Sola Scriptura!
A Reformed Theology Resource — Dedicated to the Praise of His Glorious Grace
A wonderful resource for the Reformed/Calvinist Christian
What exactly is Open Theism? Antithesis offers this explaination of Open theism
What is Open Theism?
Open Theism (also called Free Will Theism) connects with the spirituality of many Christians throughout the history of the church especially when it comes to prayer. Many Christians feel that our prayers or lack of them can make a difference as to what God does in history. The Openness of God is an attempt to think out more consistently what it means that God enters into personal relationships with humanity. We want to develop an understanding of the triune God and God’s relationship to the world that is Biblically faithful, finds consonance with the tradition, is theologically coherent and which enhances the way we live our Christian lives. On the core tenets of the Christian faith, we agree, but we believe that some aspects of the tradition need reforming, particularly when it comes to what is called “Classical Theism.” We believe that some aspects of this model of God have led Christians to misread certain Scriptures and develop some serious problems in our understanding of God which affect the way we live, pray and answer the problem of evil.The General Tenets of Open Theism
“[Open Theism] . . . Presents an understanding of God’s nature and relationship with his creatures, which we call the openness of God; in broad strokes, it takes the following form. God, in grace, grants humans significant freedom to cooperate with or work against God’s will for their lives, and he enters into dynamic, give and take relationships with us. The Christian life involves genuine interaction between God and human beings. We respond to God’s gracious initiatives and God responds to our responses . . . and on it goes. God takes risks in this give-and-take relationship, yet he is endlessly resourceful and competent in working toward his ultimate goals. Sometimes God alone decides how to accomplish these goals. On other occasions, God works with human decisions, adapting his own plans to fit the changing situation. God does not control everything that happens. Rather, he is open to receiving input from his creatures. In loving dialogue, God invites us to participate with him to bring the future into being.”
Resource: John Sanders: The Openness of God
I am Desiderius Erasmus. Walloworld posts the results from his taking the “What Christian Theologian Am I?” eval. So I thought that I would, in turn, do the same.
| “It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.”
|
| You are Desiderius Erasmus! You have great love for others and will do just about anything to show it to them. You are tolerant and avoid confrontations, so people generally are drawn to you. You are more quiet and reserved in front of strangers, but around some people you open up. When things get tough, you like to meditate alone. Unfortunately you often get things like “what a pansy,” or “you’re such a liberal.” |
Doesn't look like !Hero is coming to my town, yet, but I will keep checking...
!Hero The Rock Opera tours the United States in November. The production features several popular contemporary Christian recording artists, including Michael Tait of dc Talk portraying Christ, Rebecca St. James as Mary Magdalene, and Mark Stuart of Audio Adrenaline as Petrov, the modern-day version of Peter.
Don't Give Me Jesus …
… if giving me Jesus means
telling me about your beliefs,
then walking away.
Don't give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
judging me by appearance,
but never trying to see who I really am.
Don't give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
you're right no matter what,
and I'm wrong no matter what.
Do Give Me Jesus …
… if giving me Jesus means
walking beside me just like
Jesus walked beside
lepers and losers.
Do give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
listening more than talking.
Do give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
laughing with me when I need to laugh,
and crying with me when I need to cry.
Do give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
letting me know when
my actions are harmful or destructive.
Do give me Jesus,
if giving me Jesus means
being my friend.
If you give me Jesus
wrapped in your friendship,
I may be more ready to listen
to what you have to say.
—Anonymous
I found this fan website for the Mel Gibson and Icon Production film, "PASSION." Seems to be quite a bit of interest brewing with this graphic depiction of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life. Is this film Anti-Semitic or is it Biblically accurate?
[PASSION: TRAILER - Mel Gibson Film PASSION of Jesus]
The Story:
Sometime around the year A.D. 30, in the Roman province of Palestine, an obscure Jewish carpenter named Jesus of Nazareth began to teach publicly and to proclaim the coming of a 'Kingdom of God.' For centuries, the Jewish people had expected the appearance of a promised deliverer known as the Messiah --a figure who would restore their ancient dignity, and free their sacred homeland from all evil and despair. In the minds of many, Jesus appeared to be this Messiah. Surrounded by a core group of twelve disciples, Jesus began to attract a massive following from among the common people of Galilee and Judea, who eventually praised him as their Messiah and King. However, Jesus also had many enemies in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, a governing senate composed of the leading Jewish priests and Pharisees, conspired to put Jesus to death.
With the aid of Judas Iscariot, a member of Jesus' own inner circle, the Sanhedrin succeeded in arresting Jesus, handing him over to the Roman secular authorities on unsubstantiated charges of treason against Rome. Although Jesus consistently maintained that his Kingdom was a heavenly and spiritual one, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, faced with the possibility of a riot, ordered that Jesus be taken outside the city and crucified as a common criminal.
The Cast:
Jesus Christ: James Caviezel
Mary: Maia Morgenstern
Mary Magdalene: Monica Bellucci
Gesmas: Francesco Cabras
Satan: Rosalinda Celentano
Pilatus Wife: Claudia Gerini
Pilatus: Ivano Marescotti
Dismas: Sergio Rubini
Scott Hanselman ponders this question at his weblog at radio.weblogs.com.
Scott Hanselman's Weblog : Scott Hanselman's Weblog
Christianity Today has discusses this topic in light of the ESV Bible offering a web service to which programmers can use SOAP enabled clients to consume bible passages for free (some restrictions apply).
Bible Is Getting Even Friendlier to Programmers - Christianity Today Magazine
Here is the direct link to the ESV Bible Web Service...
A remarkable resource for encouraging anyone who is looking for a deeper meaning in life.
I really don't know what the kind of vehicle Jesus Christ would drive, but these folks seem to know...
What Would Jesus Drive?
Now, these folks are not happy about the WWJD folk's decision on the vehicular choice of the Risen Lord and Savior....
Welcome to Sport Utility Vehicle Owners of America
SUVOA has started a petition to WWJD:
We are joining together and asking you to stop your personal attacks against those of us who drive SUVs. It is shameful and offensive when you imply that God disapproves of us or that we support terrorists.
SUVOA is also pitching an ad campaign, "What Would Jesus (Rivera) Drive?" to counter the "What Would Jesus Drive?" ads.
Hmmm...what WOULD Jesus drive? All I know is that the scripture tells us that Jesus only spoke what He heard the Father say and that the only did what He say the Father do...
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
John 8:29-30 KJV
SO the really question becomes, what would God drive?
God doesn't need to drive anything, He's always everywhere at all times...
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
John 139:7-10
My take on the issue is that Christians should demonstrate wisdom, prudence, moderation, and faithfulness without using Jesus' name as a marketing tool, in this instance.
True, actual facts ARE stacked up against large SUVs in the areas of safety and fuel consumption, but at the same time would Christ and the 12 disciples all fit in a Toyota Prius?
The trailer for the controversial film, “The Passion” is online, now. See inthefaith.com for details.
Update
How to Contact Mel Gibson
GS Megaphone said it best... It's Good to be Alive
I like this group and this song... Had the chance to meet with them concerning a discipleship program/tool for their ministry.
Who is GSM?
I have had cookies at Randy's house with his family, including the cats! How cool is that?
When I mentioned the tangible presence of God. It really refers to an overwhelming peace or sense of a presence that overshadows everything. Basically, you make contact will the supernatural. It's really hard to explain beyond that point.
Here are the details of what happened.
We fondly believe in the power of prayer so we set aside an hour and thirty minutes of prayer time prior to our worship service.
This intercessory and preparatory prayer starts every Sunday morning at 9:00 AM and continues until 10:30 AM. At that point we go into our worship service.
The prayer time was charged with power, that same energy overflowed into our worship. Deacon Jerome Sims made the transition from the private prayer into a corporate prayer setting when he prayed from the podium from 10:20 to 10:35.
Following that, I started praise and worship by singing a Judith Christie-McAllister song, "Everybody Dancin'". From there, I sang a variation of "Oh, How I Love Him". That song transitioned into a time of ministry and then to the song by the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship Mass Choir, "Bow Down and Worship Him." From there, I sang a couple of songs as recorded by Benny Hinn's Ministry, "I Worship You, Almighty God" and "There is None Like You."
Next was our Confession of Faith... (I'll post that later)
Let's jump to the Word of God. Our Pastor, Bishop Stephen Christian, was out of town ministering so his wife, Minister Masako Christian, preached. In continuing with the series at our church, "What the Bible Says About...", her subtopic was "Women in Ministry."
She shared with the congregation that there are Seven areas in the bible where women serve in ministry.
Those areas are:
(1) Prophecy - Acts 2:17, 18
(2) Giving - Luke 8:3
(3) Teaching - Acts 18: 24-26
(4) Servant Leadership - Romans 16:1-3
(5) Service - Luke 10: 38-41
(6) Evangelism - John 4:29, John 4:49-42, Acts 8:104, Acts 22:4
(7) Ministry to the Family - II Timothy 1:5
We were really blessed and encouraged by this message. God really blessed us through Minister Masako Christian.
Hey...
God bless you, today.
More on the Confession of Faith a little later. . .
Wow. It was really awesome. From the time of the collective prayer of the congregation, into the praise and worship, continuing in the preached Word of God, the tangible presence of God was in the building.
Really, in layman's terms, what does that mean?
Sounds like a bunch of religious terms...
I'll clarify a little later