For the first time in a number of years I have begun reading fiction. For almost a decade I read little or no fiction because my experience as an English major in college sapped the joy out of the experience. It was then that I started focusing on philosophy, and the analytic branch at that. I wanted to get as far away from fiction as possible. The last year or so has softened me toward fiction, however, and I have polished off a few novels in the last few days. I must admit that none of them are difficult works, but one of them is a classic.
Two of the books are from the Harry Potter Series. Yes, yes, I know there are Christians out there who hate the books and think they're evil, but I'm not one of them. The two I've read in the last week or so are Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone early some time last year.
I'll admit it: I love the Harry Potter books. They are utterly delightful to read, whether they're considered children's literature or not. The stories are full of adventure and humor. But by far my favorite things about the series are the emphases on bravery and fighting evil. Harry gets scared, but he perseveres because he must do what he can to conquer evil (Voldemort).
The books also show that we do not come through these battles without scars, emotional and physical. Harry's parents lost their lives because they chose to do what was right. **SPOILERS AHEAD: IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS SKIP THIS SENTENCE** Sirius Black died fighting the same evil, and so did the honorable Albus Dumbledore.
Harry Potter shows us that things will not always turn out as we want, but we must continue the fight. There are some things that are more significant than our lives. I think this is actually a valuable lesson for Christians in the West, though it is unfortunate if we have to learn this through Harry Potter when it should be learned from the Bible.
Obviously there are negatives about Harry Potter, but those have been well covered. If you're looking for a fun read, I recommend them.
The other novel I recently read was Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. Like Harry Potter, this book took me in with its story of adventure, piracy, and honor. Once I started reading it was difficult to stop. Though I knew the basic story, I didn't know all of the details. Not surprisingly, I recommend this book as well. I can't wait untill my sons can read!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Monday, May 01, 2006
I'm A College Graduate!
It’s over. I have finally, after 10 years, finished my Bachelor’s degree. On Saturday May 6, 2006 I will graduate from Tri-State Bible College with a BA in Biblical Studies. Praise God!! It has been a long road, but I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had for anything. I can see how God has made me into a more mature person in the years between my high school graduation and today. I was ill equipped to make life-changing vocational decisions in 2000, which is when I would have graduated from college had I taken the traditional route.
Soon my family and I will move to St. Louis, taking us hundreds of miles from our parents and siblings. We will no longer have quick access to baby sitters. The boys’ cousins will see each other with less frequency. These are definite negatives.
On the positive side, I am sure as I can be that this move is the direction in which God wants us to go. Covenant seems to be a great school, and I very much look forward to my education there. There are also plenty of kids on campus for the boys to befriend and plenty of educational opportunities in the St. Louis area. Missouri is also pretty friendly toward homeschoolers as well.
I am still a little concerned for our finances. We’re taking student loans right now, but I would like to not have to do that any more after this year. That may be an unattainable dream, but I’m going to try to find a way. Pray for us that I will be able to find a job, as this will ease the burden somewhat.
Also, my wife and I are considering raising support. Pray for us to make the right decision on this matter, but most of all pray that we will rely on God no regardless of our money situation.
Soon my family and I will move to St. Louis, taking us hundreds of miles from our parents and siblings. We will no longer have quick access to baby sitters. The boys’ cousins will see each other with less frequency. These are definite negatives.
On the positive side, I am sure as I can be that this move is the direction in which God wants us to go. Covenant seems to be a great school, and I very much look forward to my education there. There are also plenty of kids on campus for the boys to befriend and plenty of educational opportunities in the St. Louis area. Missouri is also pretty friendly toward homeschoolers as well.
I am still a little concerned for our finances. We’re taking student loans right now, but I would like to not have to do that any more after this year. That may be an unattainable dream, but I’m going to try to find a way. Pray for us that I will be able to find a job, as this will ease the burden somewhat.
Also, my wife and I are considering raising support. Pray for us to make the right decision on this matter, but most of all pray that we will rely on God no regardless of our money situation.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Mark Dever Writes on the Atonement in Christianity Today
Mark Dever has written an interesting article on the importance of the doctrine of substitutionary atonement in Christianity Today. Here's a link:
Nothing But the Blood
The gist is that the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement is under attack in the evangelical church today. I agree with Dr. Dever that it is, and I also agree that defending that doctrine is of the utmost importance. I'm glad that CT printed such a good piece.
HT: Justin Taylor
Nothing But the Blood
The gist is that the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement is under attack in the evangelical church today. I agree with Dr. Dever that it is, and I also agree that defending that doctrine is of the utmost importance. I'm glad that CT printed such a good piece.
HT: Justin Taylor
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Link Changes
I added two links and dropped another today. I added the "Together for the Gospel" blog which features four men who I admire greatly. Alber Mohler, J. Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, and last but not least, Mark Dever. All four men have a passion for God and His truth, and just about anything they write will be worth reading. I enjoy Dr. Dever's work in particular, and secretly dream of living in the D.C. are one day so I can attend Captiol Hill Baptist Church!
I also added the "Trivium Pursit" blog, which is run by the Bluedorn family. Some of you will recognize the name Bluedorn from Harvey and Laurie's book, Teaching the Trivium, which has helped many parents provide a Christ centered and classical education for their children. The Bluedorns have a large number of cool resources in their on-line store. They are pretty conservative (moreso than me), but I recommend a lot of their material.
Finally, in the spirit of adding influential classical home educators to my blogroll, I just added Susan Wise Bauer's blog to the roll. Susan wrote The Well-Trained Mind, which I own and highly recommend (full disclosure: I do not own Teaching the Trivium, but have read a number of resources by the Bluedorns and feel comfortable recommending their book). Enjoy!
On the other side of things, I have removed "Classical Education 4 Me". Kris is no longer doing classical education with her children, and that was why I linked her in the first place. Understand I am not being critical of Kris. She knows what's best for her kids and I know she would do nothing to harm their education. I hope God blesses her efforts, but linking her no longer serves my purpose.
God bless you as you enjoy these new links.
I also added the "Trivium Pursit" blog, which is run by the Bluedorn family. Some of you will recognize the name Bluedorn from Harvey and Laurie's book, Teaching the Trivium, which has helped many parents provide a Christ centered and classical education for their children. The Bluedorns have a large number of cool resources in their on-line store. They are pretty conservative (moreso than me), but I recommend a lot of their material.
Finally, in the spirit of adding influential classical home educators to my blogroll, I just added Susan Wise Bauer's blog to the roll. Susan wrote The Well-Trained Mind, which I own and highly recommend (full disclosure: I do not own Teaching the Trivium, but have read a number of resources by the Bluedorns and feel comfortable recommending their book). Enjoy!
On the other side of things, I have removed "Classical Education 4 Me". Kris is no longer doing classical education with her children, and that was why I linked her in the first place. Understand I am not being critical of Kris. She knows what's best for her kids and I know she would do nothing to harm their education. I hope God blesses her efforts, but linking her no longer serves my purpose.
God bless you as you enjoy these new links.
Monday, March 27, 2006
The Road to St. Louis Continues
The day approaches. In July I will likely be heading to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Covenant Theological Seminary. I say 'likely' because I'm not entirely certain I'll be able to pay for housing and tuition for the summer Greek course I want to take. My family and I are living with relatives right now so we can save money, but I can't make guarantees. The good news is that my financial aid award came in the mail today. I haven't actually seen the letter from CTS, but my wife told me about it over the phone. The bad news is, I'm fairly certain that I won't be getting that money until the fall semester begins. That means it will be of no use during the summer. We're praying that we will be able to find the money so we can maintain our current plan. We're also concerned that the aid we are getting will not be enough, which brings up the possibility of an unsubsidized Stafford loan. We don't want to do that for obvious reasons.
I am confident, though, that God will provide.
I am confident, though, that God will provide.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Toward Literacy: Helping a 3 Year Old Recognize Letters
A few weeks ago I made my first post chronicling my oldest son's journey toward literacy. We're still working on recognizing the letters of the alphabet. We've made some progress over the last couple of weeks, with many letters moving up into other categories. If you recall, I categorized all the letters according to my son's level of recognition. There was "Always Recognizes" (AR), "Often Recognizes" (OR), "Rarely Recognizes" (RR), and "Never Recognizes" (NR). After last night I am able to recategorize many of the letters.
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, K, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X
Often Recognizes
F, G, J, M, N
Rarely Recognizes
C, D, E, I, U, V, W, Y, Z
Never Recognizes
----
As you can see, no letters remain in the NR category. Last night he remembered 'W'for the first time. That was a big event, and was pleased that 'K' had moved from 'NR' to 'AR'. We had worked hard on that one.
That was the good news. The bad news is today I realized that I haven't been showing him lowercase letters. I was reading The Well-Trained Mind today and it hit me like a lightning bolt. I felt like a doofus, but then I also realized that we don't have anything that actually has lower case letters except a dry erase board that it too advanced for him. My wife and I are trying to decide if we want to buy a banner with upper and lowercase letters or if we'll make one on our own. Hopefully by the time his 4th birthday rolls around we'll have both cases down.
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, K, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X
Often Recognizes
F, G, J, M, N
Rarely Recognizes
C, D, E, I, U, V, W, Y, Z
Never Recognizes
----
As you can see, no letters remain in the NR category. Last night he remembered 'W'for the first time. That was a big event, and was pleased that 'K' had moved from 'NR' to 'AR'. We had worked hard on that one.
That was the good news. The bad news is today I realized that I haven't been showing him lowercase letters. I was reading The Well-Trained Mind today and it hit me like a lightning bolt. I felt like a doofus, but then I also realized that we don't have anything that actually has lower case letters except a dry erase board that it too advanced for him. My wife and I are trying to decide if we want to buy a banner with upper and lowercase letters or if we'll make one on our own. Hopefully by the time his 4th birthday rolls around we'll have both cases down.
Monday, March 20, 2006
More Alphabet News
I know everyone is itching to hear about my oldest son's progress in learning to recognize his letters. Let's take a look, shall we? As you can see in my previous post on the topic, I divided his knowledge into four categories:
Always Recognizes (AR)
Often Recognizes (OR)
Rarely Recognizes (RR)
Never Recognizes (NR)
Since March 3 most of the letters have moved out of NR. Some of them, in fact have made it all the way up to AR. Some letters, however, have moved down on the list a bit. Here is how it currently stands:
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, K, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X
Often Recognizes
F, G, M, N, J
Rarely Recognizes
C, D, E, I, U, V, Y, Z
Never Recognizes
W
He still struggles with 'W', wanting to turn it upside down and make it an 'M'. I also want to add about all of the letters in the 'RR' category. Many of those he will not recognize at first, but with some verbal prompting like making the first sound of the letter name he is able to get it.
Always Recognizes (AR)
Often Recognizes (OR)
Rarely Recognizes (RR)
Never Recognizes (NR)
Since March 3 most of the letters have moved out of NR. Some of them, in fact have made it all the way up to AR. Some letters, however, have moved down on the list a bit. Here is how it currently stands:
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, K, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X
Often Recognizes
F, G, M, N, J
Rarely Recognizes
C, D, E, I, U, V, Y, Z
Never Recognizes
W
He still struggles with 'W', wanting to turn it upside down and make it an 'M'. I also want to add about all of the letters in the 'RR' category. Many of those he will not recognize at first, but with some verbal prompting like making the first sound of the letter name he is able to get it.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Congratulate Me! I'm a Daaaangerous Man!
I haven't mentioned it here before, but I am currently taking Tae Kwon Do courses at church (yes, you read right). I've always wanted to try some form of martial arts, so when we began offering a free Tae Kwon Do course as a ministry I jumped at the chance. Grand Master Chuck Martin has sponsored our church's group through the World Christan Taekwondo Federation, so we are an officially sanctioned school. It has been difficult, but rewarding. I'm fitter than I've been in a long time, my muscles are hardening, and I've even lost a bit of that fat that so stubbornly clings to my waistline.
Now that I've established some background I'll get on to the real topic of this post. Two weeks ago I passed the test for my yellow belt. The test was pretty easy, so my sense of accomplishment is small, but it's progress. It's funny because I used to look at people with belts beyond white as real 'martial artists', but now that I'm on the other side of the divide I know that I'm much too tenative to be any good in a fight. The main difference is that if I somehow did the right move at the right time it would hurt my opponent a lot more.
Now that I've established some background I'll get on to the real topic of this post. Two weeks ago I passed the test for my yellow belt. The test was pretty easy, so my sense of accomplishment is small, but it's progress. It's funny because I used to look at people with belts beyond white as real 'martial artists', but now that I'm on the other side of the divide I know that I'm much too tenative to be any good in a fight. The main difference is that if I somehow did the right move at the right time it would hurt my opponent a lot more.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Teaching a 3 Year Old the Alphabet
As my *ahem* regular readers already know, my wife and I are homeschooling our children. The first thing I want to do is to get my oldest son reading. He's only three so I am trying to find a balance between being lax and being heavy-handed. I don't want to turn him off to reading, but I don't want to let him think it is unimportant. He loves books, and will sometimes "read" by himself. It's a pleasure to hear him tell a story he's familiar as he looks at the pages, or simply describe the pictures on the pages.
My main task at this point is making sure he can correctly identify all of his letters. He can recite the alphabet, but his recognition of the letters is spotty. I want this to be the initial post chronicling my Max's journey to literacy.
As far as I can tell, Max has four categories or levels of recognition for his letters. As common sense would have it, they are 1) Always Recognizes, 2) Often Recognizes, 3) Rarely Recognizes, and 4) Never Recognizes. Just to get them in order in my own head, I am going to categorize the letters.
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T
Often Recognizes
G, M, N
Rarely Recognizes
D, E, I, U, X,
Never Recognizes
C, F, J, K, V, W, Y, Z
There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to which letters he knows. Sometimes his mood plays a factor in which letters he "knows." If he was always cooperative I think at least 'G' and 'M' would be in the 'Always Recognizes' category.
Three of the letters in 'Never Recognizes' are there because Max confuses them with other letters. He always calls 'K' 'R', he calls 'V' 'A', and confuses 'W' with 'M'. He thinks it's upside down. The other five we haven't worked on very much.
I must admit my approach has been scattershot. At first I was too pushy, so we both ended up frustrated. My more recent approach has been to play with magnetic letters we have, periodically asking him to name certain letters. When we clean up, I'll purposely drop letters he is less familiar with and say, "Oh Max, could you pick up that 'F' for daddy?" or something of that nature. It has been helpful, I think. He learns to recognize them without feeling pressured to perform for me. I also ask him to name letters when we read at night, going back and forth between letters he doesn't know well and letters he knows very well (to review and bolster his confidence). I praise his successes, but try to avoid being too effusive.
In sum, we're making progress. I look forward to the day when that "Never Recognizes" category is empty, and even more so to the day when he will "Always Recognize" all 26. If anyone has any tips, I'm definitely listening!
My main task at this point is making sure he can correctly identify all of his letters. He can recite the alphabet, but his recognition of the letters is spotty. I want this to be the initial post chronicling my Max's journey to literacy.
As far as I can tell, Max has four categories or levels of recognition for his letters. As common sense would have it, they are 1) Always Recognizes, 2) Often Recognizes, 3) Rarely Recognizes, and 4) Never Recognizes. Just to get them in order in my own head, I am going to categorize the letters.
Always Recognizes
A, B, H, L, O, P, Q, R, S, T
Often Recognizes
G, M, N
Rarely Recognizes
D, E, I, U, X,
Never Recognizes
C, F, J, K, V, W, Y, Z
There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to which letters he knows. Sometimes his mood plays a factor in which letters he "knows." If he was always cooperative I think at least 'G' and 'M' would be in the 'Always Recognizes' category.
Three of the letters in 'Never Recognizes' are there because Max confuses them with other letters. He always calls 'K' 'R', he calls 'V' 'A', and confuses 'W' with 'M'. He thinks it's upside down. The other five we haven't worked on very much.
I must admit my approach has been scattershot. At first I was too pushy, so we both ended up frustrated. My more recent approach has been to play with magnetic letters we have, periodically asking him to name certain letters. When we clean up, I'll purposely drop letters he is less familiar with and say, "Oh Max, could you pick up that 'F' for daddy?" or something of that nature. It has been helpful, I think. He learns to recognize them without feeling pressured to perform for me. I also ask him to name letters when we read at night, going back and forth between letters he doesn't know well and letters he knows very well (to review and bolster his confidence). I praise his successes, but try to avoid being too effusive.
In sum, we're making progress. I look forward to the day when that "Never Recognizes" category is empty, and even more so to the day when he will "Always Recognize" all 26. If anyone has any tips, I'm definitely listening!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Homeschooling Makes Strange "Link-Fellows"
Three years ago last September my first child was born. From the beginning I was eager to determine what to do about his education, and my wife and I decided we would homeschool him. After a quick perusal of available methods we settled on the classical method. Fast forward to today, and that first boy is three years old (he also has a one year old baby brother). I decided it was high time we start preparing in earnest for his schooling, so I started surfing around to various blogs and other websites. As you will know if you've done any homeschool research online, there are millions of pages out there on the topic. Most of these pages are run by homeschooling mothers, which stands to reason since it is most often the mother who does the teaching (thought fathers seem to be taking a more active role, as I intend to).
Just yesterday I added links to a couple of homeschooling blogs, and I couldn't help but chuckle. I showed a friend of mine a blog that I linked because...well...its design is pretty much the antithesis of what I would choose. Click the "classical education 4 me" link and you'll see what I mean. I'm not really a "cross-stitch" kind of guy (or is it needlepoint?). I would not very often use the phrase "cozy cottage." Pink is not my color.
I don't mean to be insulting to Kris, by the way. She has a lot of great content, and that's why I linked her. It's just interesting the way that homeschooling connects two people with very different tastes.
Anyway, I'm excited. My wife and I are going to order The Well-Trained Mind as soon as we have some money and get our preparation started. My father-in-law also ordered a phonics program for my oldest. It supposed to get your kids reading in three weeks, so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you posted!
Just yesterday I added links to a couple of homeschooling blogs, and I couldn't help but chuckle. I showed a friend of mine a blog that I linked because...well...its design is pretty much the antithesis of what I would choose. Click the "classical education 4 me" link and you'll see what I mean. I'm not really a "cross-stitch" kind of guy (or is it needlepoint?). I would not very often use the phrase "cozy cottage." Pink is not my color.
I don't mean to be insulting to Kris, by the way. She has a lot of great content, and that's why I linked her. It's just interesting the way that homeschooling connects two people with very different tastes.
Anyway, I'm excited. My wife and I are going to order The Well-Trained Mind as soon as we have some money and get our preparation started. My father-in-law also ordered a phonics program for my oldest. It supposed to get your kids reading in three weeks, so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
What Am I Doing?!?!
As you may recall, I attempted to write a novel for NaNoWriMo this past year. I FAILED. Miserably. I don't think I made much progress on the novel at all. I was going for a fantasy novel, and I think my idea is pretty good, but the events of November 2005 conspired against me.
Be that as it may, I decided not to discard my story. After all, I still think the idea is good. What I've realized in the last couple of months is that there is more back story that must go into a good fantasy novel than can be written in a month. Characters need to be given histories. Heck, the whole world needs a history, in my opinion. I've been having a LOT of fun developing backgrounds for the different characters and places I've developed. Basically, I have the opportunity to write a world history from scratch. That might sound daunting, but it's actually quite enjoyable. I'm not filling in every single detail, but I'm trying to be fairly thorough.
I've found that this practice can make a big difference in understanding the mindset of the characters. For instance, how would a Vilagal from Kurjik react if he was asked by outsiders to participate in a war that has not touched his village? With suspicion, I assure you! And exactly what motivates the Linodith? Okay, now I'm just throwing out different names from my story, and that's not helpful. What I want to say is, once you get certain people, cultures, and attitudes established it's almost as though the story writes itself. You get to watch history unfold!
I've debated over writing about my story in this blog. Right now I don't think I'll write much more than the occasional vague reference because I don't want to give everything away. After all, it's sure to be a best seller and I'd hate to ruin the suspense now! [/tongue-in-cheek] You never know, though. I might just share the development in relative detail! Well, I guess it's back to story-crafting to me! God bless.
Be that as it may, I decided not to discard my story. After all, I still think the idea is good. What I've realized in the last couple of months is that there is more back story that must go into a good fantasy novel than can be written in a month. Characters need to be given histories. Heck, the whole world needs a history, in my opinion. I've been having a LOT of fun developing backgrounds for the different characters and places I've developed. Basically, I have the opportunity to write a world history from scratch. That might sound daunting, but it's actually quite enjoyable. I'm not filling in every single detail, but I'm trying to be fairly thorough.
I've found that this practice can make a big difference in understanding the mindset of the characters. For instance, how would a Vilagal from Kurjik react if he was asked by outsiders to participate in a war that has not touched his village? With suspicion, I assure you! And exactly what motivates the Linodith? Okay, now I'm just throwing out different names from my story, and that's not helpful. What I want to say is, once you get certain people, cultures, and attitudes established it's almost as though the story writes itself. You get to watch history unfold!
I've debated over writing about my story in this blog. Right now I don't think I'll write much more than the occasional vague reference because I don't want to give everything away. After all, it's sure to be a best seller and I'd hate to ruin the suspense now! [/tongue-in-cheek] You never know, though. I might just share the development in relative detail! Well, I guess it's back to story-crafting to me! God bless.
Friday, December 30, 2005
No Santa=No Fun? No WAY!!
Some of those who visit my blog may know that in my family we don't do the Santa Claus thing for Christmas. I've taken some criticism about this. People think that I'm sucking all the fun out of Christmas for my two little boys. Well, I'm going to set the record straight! We have plenty of fun on Christmas, and I thought I'd tell you exactly what we did this year to prove it!
We started out our Christmas season by decorating our tree. Actually, I decided a tree was too dangerous (it might tip over). After racking my brain for a replacement, I pulled a nice, soft pillow off of my son's bed and laid it in the floor. Voila! The christmas pillow! We then started decorating it our beloved pillow. First we got out the lights, but I decided that plugging it in was too much of a shock hazard. Still the christmas pillow looked quite lovely with the little bulbs wrapped around it. Suddenly I realized that those pretty bulbs were easily breakable, so they had to go too. As I was plucking all of the bulbs out of their little sockets, I noticed that the chord was still a choking hazard. What if one of my sons got that wrapped his neck? I couldn't take that chance, so I threw the chord away too.
Next we brought out the ornaments. The first box was full of glass ornaments, which I of course vetoed. My oldest son (three years old) helped me put them in the trash compacter. Oh, you should've seen the tears of joy streaming down his cheeks as I threw the brightly colored balls and figurines of Santa and Frosty in the trash to be crushed. He was so happy!
The next box contained the plaster handprints my boys had made. Now, everyone realizes what kind of breathing trouble plaster dust can cause, so I bagged those suckers up in a sandwich bag on the double. Then, wearing a surgical mask of course, I backed over them with my car. I sucked up any escaping dust with a shop-vac. Threat eliminated.
I came back inside the house to behold a wonderous sight. There was my whole family staring at our Christmas pillow and weeping. I have never been more proud.
My wife looked at me, pointed to our christmas pillow and said, "What are we supposed to do with this!?!" Then she hurried back to our bedroom for some unknown reason. I pondered her question for about a half hour with no results. Finally, an epiphany!! I knew what to do with our christmas pillow.
My wife emerged from our room, picked up our boys and headed toward the door.
"Sweetheart," I said, "I know what to do with our christmas pillow!!"
"SIT ON IT!!" she screamed as she slammed the door in my face.
And by golly, she was right! That was my idea! She always seemed to be a step ahead of me!
So there I was, by myself with the christmas pillow. I guess my wife and the boys went out for more wrapping paper or something. She should be back any day now...
We started out our Christmas season by decorating our tree. Actually, I decided a tree was too dangerous (it might tip over). After racking my brain for a replacement, I pulled a nice, soft pillow off of my son's bed and laid it in the floor. Voila! The christmas pillow! We then started decorating it our beloved pillow. First we got out the lights, but I decided that plugging it in was too much of a shock hazard. Still the christmas pillow looked quite lovely with the little bulbs wrapped around it. Suddenly I realized that those pretty bulbs were easily breakable, so they had to go too. As I was plucking all of the bulbs out of their little sockets, I noticed that the chord was still a choking hazard. What if one of my sons got that wrapped his neck? I couldn't take that chance, so I threw the chord away too.
Next we brought out the ornaments. The first box was full of glass ornaments, which I of course vetoed. My oldest son (three years old) helped me put them in the trash compacter. Oh, you should've seen the tears of joy streaming down his cheeks as I threw the brightly colored balls and figurines of Santa and Frosty in the trash to be crushed. He was so happy!
The next box contained the plaster handprints my boys had made. Now, everyone realizes what kind of breathing trouble plaster dust can cause, so I bagged those suckers up in a sandwich bag on the double. Then, wearing a surgical mask of course, I backed over them with my car. I sucked up any escaping dust with a shop-vac. Threat eliminated.
I came back inside the house to behold a wonderous sight. There was my whole family staring at our Christmas pillow and weeping. I have never been more proud.
My wife looked at me, pointed to our christmas pillow and said, "What are we supposed to do with this!?!" Then she hurried back to our bedroom for some unknown reason. I pondered her question for about a half hour with no results. Finally, an epiphany!! I knew what to do with our christmas pillow.
My wife emerged from our room, picked up our boys and headed toward the door.
"Sweetheart," I said, "I know what to do with our christmas pillow!!"
"SIT ON IT!!" she screamed as she slammed the door in my face.
And by golly, she was right! That was my idea! She always seemed to be a step ahead of me!
So there I was, by myself with the christmas pillow. I guess my wife and the boys went out for more wrapping paper or something. She should be back any day now...
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
I've Been a Long Time Away, Let's Talk
It's been over a month since I posted anything here, and it's been even longer on the apologetics blog. I guess it was partly because I was wrapping up my second to last semester at Tri-State Bible College, and partly because I didn't have much to say. Or maybe I just didn't feel like saying anything. Either way, I'm back to blogging. At least I'll get one post in for the month of December!
As I said, I have finished another semester at Tri-State Bible College. Come next June I will officially be a college degreed individual. I must say I'm more excited than I thought I'd be. I guess it's because I've been an undergrad for about TEN YEARS now. It hurts to think about that. Still, I wouldn't change much if I had to do it over again. Indeed, what would I change? I certainly wouldn't change my wonderful marriage (five years have flown by!), nor would I change our decision to have children (two beautiful boys!). A family makes a full time job necessary, so I wouldn't change that decision either. Add to that the fact that God has been shaping me for this entire decade, and I don't see many things I would change at all. I can see how every memorable experience has been valuable in shaping me spiritually.
After that, it's on to seminary at Covenant in St. Louis. I'm excited. The community was great on our visit, and the class I attended was thought provoking. This is probably rehashing some of what I wrote in my last post, though, so I'll move on.
I have a few other things I would like to write about here, so they should be showing up shortly. One, Mary Ann and I saw the Chronicles of Narnia this past weekend so I'd like to talk about that. That might have some apologetic impact, so I might post it on the other blog. The other is on the ever-churning Santa Claus controversy. As Christians, should we tell our kids that Santa is real? I might try to post on that today while I'm in the mood to blog.
Let's see, what else...
Check out Steve Camp's blog for a post on John Owen. Reading about this great man of God moved me today. I particularly love this sentence: "His primary motivation was the growth in holiness of his flock." Most pastors today would say, of course, mine is too! And in a way it is. But for Owen and so many other Puritans this dominated their lives. Not church growth, not cultural relevance, but holiness. The means to getting their flocks to the destination? The Bible. The very Word of God. We are too focused on being like the surrounding culture in order to attract it, in my opinion. I focus on this because of the painful lack of holiness in my own life.
In closing, some prayer requests:
We are running low on funds at this time of the year, so pray that we would be wise with our money and faithful to Christ amidst any arising difficulty.
We are also trying to sell our house in preparation for the move to St. Louis. Pray that we are able to do so quickly. If you know anyone who wants to move into the Huntington, WV area, let me know! I might post some pictures of the house a little later.
Talk to you soon!
As I said, I have finished another semester at Tri-State Bible College. Come next June I will officially be a college degreed individual. I must say I'm more excited than I thought I'd be. I guess it's because I've been an undergrad for about TEN YEARS now. It hurts to think about that. Still, I wouldn't change much if I had to do it over again. Indeed, what would I change? I certainly wouldn't change my wonderful marriage (five years have flown by!), nor would I change our decision to have children (two beautiful boys!). A family makes a full time job necessary, so I wouldn't change that decision either. Add to that the fact that God has been shaping me for this entire decade, and I don't see many things I would change at all. I can see how every memorable experience has been valuable in shaping me spiritually.
After that, it's on to seminary at Covenant in St. Louis. I'm excited. The community was great on our visit, and the class I attended was thought provoking. This is probably rehashing some of what I wrote in my last post, though, so I'll move on.
I have a few other things I would like to write about here, so they should be showing up shortly. One, Mary Ann and I saw the Chronicles of Narnia this past weekend so I'd like to talk about that. That might have some apologetic impact, so I might post it on the other blog. The other is on the ever-churning Santa Claus controversy. As Christians, should we tell our kids that Santa is real? I might try to post on that today while I'm in the mood to blog.
Let's see, what else...
Check out Steve Camp's blog for a post on John Owen. Reading about this great man of God moved me today. I particularly love this sentence: "His primary motivation was the growth in holiness of his flock." Most pastors today would say, of course, mine is too! And in a way it is. But for Owen and so many other Puritans this dominated their lives. Not church growth, not cultural relevance, but holiness. The means to getting their flocks to the destination? The Bible. The very Word of God. We are too focused on being like the surrounding culture in order to attract it, in my opinion. I focus on this because of the painful lack of holiness in my own life.
In closing, some prayer requests:
We are running low on funds at this time of the year, so pray that we would be wise with our money and faithful to Christ amidst any arising difficulty.
We are also trying to sell our house in preparation for the move to St. Louis. Pray that we are able to do so quickly. If you know anyone who wants to move into the Huntington, WV area, let me know! I might post some pictures of the house a little later.
Talk to you soon!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
St. Louis Bound!!!
Big news!! I was recently informed that I have been accepted to Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. Some of you may know that in the past I had considered going into philosophy for my graduate work, but that has changed. I was considering philosophy because I wanted to make a difference in the the world of ideas, but then I began teaching some Bible classes at my church. As I taught on the epistles of John and then Hosea, I began to realize that I was teaching from the most important text that has ever existed. I also have a passion for reform in the evangelical church, and I think that going to seminary and teaching afterward will be the best way I can effect change in the Church. Cultural change can only come after the Church stops trying so hard to imitate the culture.
Pray for me and my family because this is a big move for us. Almost all of our family lives here in West Virginia. We are leaving behind both sets of grandparents, which will be hard for my two sons. It will also be hard for them, particularly my mom. She could also use your prayers. This will be the first time we would officially be "on our own," so it is both exciting and unnerving. Ultimately we would like to be in St. Louis by July of next year so I can take some summer Greek courses.
We will be going to St. Louis for a visit this weekend, so you can also pray for a safe trip for us. We'll be leaving Thursday after I finish work and stopping at a hotel after traveling for a few hours. Interestingly, the hotel room we reserved is in Evansville, IN, the site of the recent tornado. I don't think the hotel was damaged, but we all know about the loss of life there, so if you want to pray for the folks in Evansville as well, be my guest!
I am very much looking forward to seeing the campus and getting a feel for the city of St. Louis. I realize I won't be able to do much of either over a mere weekend visit, but I'll know more than the nothing I know now. I'm supposed to go to class with my friend Shawn who already attends Covenant, which will be fun. Then I will have a tour of the campus and have an admissions interview (cue forboding music). I'm actually not all that nervous about it. I have no idea what they'll ask me, but I've been envisioning an interview like this for the past three or four years. I'm sure it will be different than the way I've pictured it, but I'm still not nervous. Maybe that's foolhardy, but I'm just so excited to have this opportunity nothing drags me down. I'm thankful that God has given me this chance. I very much want to learn how to how to handle His Word carefully.
Pray for me and my family because this is a big move for us. Almost all of our family lives here in West Virginia. We are leaving behind both sets of grandparents, which will be hard for my two sons. It will also be hard for them, particularly my mom. She could also use your prayers. This will be the first time we would officially be "on our own," so it is both exciting and unnerving. Ultimately we would like to be in St. Louis by July of next year so I can take some summer Greek courses.
We will be going to St. Louis for a visit this weekend, so you can also pray for a safe trip for us. We'll be leaving Thursday after I finish work and stopping at a hotel after traveling for a few hours. Interestingly, the hotel room we reserved is in Evansville, IN, the site of the recent tornado. I don't think the hotel was damaged, but we all know about the loss of life there, so if you want to pray for the folks in Evansville as well, be my guest!
I am very much looking forward to seeing the campus and getting a feel for the city of St. Louis. I realize I won't be able to do much of either over a mere weekend visit, but I'll know more than the nothing I know now. I'm supposed to go to class with my friend Shawn who already attends Covenant, which will be fun. Then I will have a tour of the campus and have an admissions interview (cue forboding music). I'm actually not all that nervous about it. I have no idea what they'll ask me, but I've been envisioning an interview like this for the past three or four years. I'm sure it will be different than the way I've pictured it, but I'm still not nervous. Maybe that's foolhardy, but I'm just so excited to have this opportunity nothing drags me down. I'm thankful that God has given me this chance. I very much want to learn how to how to handle His Word carefully.
Friday, October 14, 2005
The Biblical Nature of Calvinism: A Response to Jacob
About two months ago I wrote a post complaining about people who call themselves “Biblicists” in the debate between monergism (Calvinism) and synergism (Arminianism and other similar positions). I admit it was a rant and the tone of the post wasn’t the best that I’ve written, but it is what it is and I won’t edit it to make it sound more measured (I’m sure it’s pretty tame for some people, but not for me). It actually generated more response than any post I’ve written in a while, which is not surprising considering the subject matter.
The most substantive comment came from Jacob, who then expanded his critique on his own blog, Via Crucis. I surfed around Via Crucis for a while, and I like some of what Jacob has written. I particularly enjoyed "The Sharlet Letter", his analysis of Jeff Sharlet’s article “The Young and the Sexless” that came out in Rolling Stone a few months back. I imagine I’ll go back from time to time for a visit.
I must take issue, however, with some of his comments about my post. He criticizes me for holding that it is wrong to be ignorant of “supra-scriptural ‘theology. The point of my original post, however, was that in holding to Calvinist soteriology I do not believe myself to be holding to a supra-scriptural theology. Calvinism is, in my opinion, scriptural. This point will rear its head again later.
Jacob correctly states that I believe that one can be either a synergist or a monergist with no other option. He then goes on to talk about a phone conversation he had to make a point:
UPDATE!!!!! Jacob has asked if I would be interested in debating the fact that Calvinism is entirely Biblical, and I accepted. I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but we'll see!
The most substantive comment came from Jacob, who then expanded his critique on his own blog, Via Crucis. I surfed around Via Crucis for a while, and I like some of what Jacob has written. I particularly enjoyed "The Sharlet Letter", his analysis of Jeff Sharlet’s article “The Young and the Sexless” that came out in Rolling Stone a few months back. I imagine I’ll go back from time to time for a visit.
I must take issue, however, with some of his comments about my post. He criticizes me for holding that it is wrong to be ignorant of “supra-scriptural ‘theology. The point of my original post, however, was that in holding to Calvinist soteriology I do not believe myself to be holding to a supra-scriptural theology. Calvinism is, in my opinion, scriptural. This point will rear its head again later.
Jacob correctly states that I believe that one can be either a synergist or a monergist with no other option. He then goes on to talk about a phone conversation he had to make a point:
Duncan begins by saying that ”…you can eitherI’m not certain what this phone conversation is supposed to prove. Is it that one can be a Christian without knowing whether you’re a synergist or monergist, or even what the terms mean? If so, that is something I would grant without debate. A little further in the paragraph below the phone conversation, however, Jacob begins to deliver the meat of his first objection:
be monergistic of synergistic with no third option available”, and for the sake
of proving a point, I contacted a Christian friend of
mine:
Me: Hey, I’ve got a question.
Friend: shoot
Me: Would you classify your beliefs as monergistic or
synergistic?Friend: What does that
mean?
Case in point. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What do these terms mean?” or “Where do my views fit into this?” Therein lies my concern with Duncan’s claim. The importance he places on theological systems implies that ignorance of such systems is in some sense wrong
The importance he places on theological systems
implies that ignorance of such systems is in some sense wrong.
Here again is the assumption that Calvinist soteriology is “supra-scriptural,” a claim which I deny. I hold that Calvinism is Biblical, and therefore ignorance of it is ignorance of Biblical truth, which is never a good thing. However, the heaviest objection comes next:
To say that ignorance (or avoidance) of such issues is unacceptable is to argue against the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures.He uses 2 Peter 2:13 as support:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…
Of course, I disagree quite strongly with Jacob’s point. As I study the Bible, reading verses that pertain to the manner in which God brings salvation, I realize that each verse must be brought into harmony. If the Bible is to be inerrant it must be internally consistent. As a result, I have found that God enacts salvation monergistically; that is, He does all of the work from beginning to end without human assistance. The question is, how can a theology taken directly from the pages of the Bible cut against the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures, as Jacob claims? If Jacob or anyone else does not believe Calvinism is taken directly from the Bible, that is fine. We can discuss that point, but by painting Calvinism as “supra-scriptural” Jacob has short-circuited that discussion.
Jacob later insists that it is possible, contrary to my contention, to not be a part of the debate. To that I say, “yes and no.” It is possible to drop out of the debate by simply refusing to discuss it. However, there is no possible way that anyone who studies the Bible thoroughly cannot hold a position on this topic. Ask any Christian what Ephesians 2:8 means:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God
If the Christian says, “it means that even our faith is given to us by God,” then he or she is likely a monergist. If the Christian says something like, “it means that we exercise faith because of God’s gift of grace,” he or she is likely a synergist. With enough study, we will all arrive at one position or another unless we consciously choose to avoid it. But why should we make such a choice? Why choose not to dig deeper into God’s word to find out just what Paul was saying in Ephesians 2:8?
The rest of Jacob’s response misconstrues some of the things I said in my original post. I think this may have been due to the tone with which I wrote it. First, he questions why I call myself a Calvinist if I do not believe that Calvin was right on everything. He states that
The answer is no. This question also stems from my lack of clarity. Whenever I wrote this post, and particularly this bit about “pseudo-humble arrogance” I had specific individuals in mind. Jacob was not one of them, and he still is not. I should have been clearer regarding the sort of person at whom I leveled this criticism. I was thinking more of the “fighting fundamentalist” types. I am not comfortable naming specific names at this time. I will think on it and I may later if I think it is appropriate.
Moving on, we find what is probably the most fundamental claim underlying this critique. “Simply, the term “Calvinism” would be unnecessary if it did not go beyond what the Scriptures teach.” (emphasis in original) This is certainly false, and I think I can demonstrate why. Let’s look at this sentence, but change a key word:
“Simply, the term “Trinitarian” would be unnecessary if it did not go beyond what the Scriptures teach.”
Obviously this is not what Jacob said, and I suspect he affirms the doctrine of the trinity, but I think it demonstrates a good point. Theological terms often exist to differentiate correct theology from false theology. In my opinion, “Calvinism” and “monergism” are simply words that describe correct theology, just as “trinitarianism” is a word that describes correct theology. So you see, it is not as cut and dried as Jacob makes it out to be. There are causes for the use of theological terms other than the one Jacob asserts.
In his final few paragraphs, Jacob again accuses me of following the teachings of men over the teachings of the Bible via 1 Corinthians 1:10-14:
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported
to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I
mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I
follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
As I showed above, calling myself a Calvinist does not demonstrate that I am following a man over Christ. If the Word of God convinced me that Calvinism is false I would abandon it that moment, even if John Calvin himself were sitting in the room with me.
Ultimately, my ire was not directed at all people who claim to stick to the Bible, because that is what I do myself. Rather, my ire was directed at those who, in a caustic spirit of arrogance, deny me the ability to claim that I stick to the Bible. Again, I admit that I was somewhat caustic myself in my original post, and I am sorry for that. In venting my spleen I was ungodly, but I still maintain that I am both a Calvinist and a “Biblicist.”
UPDATE!!!!! Jacob has asked if I would be interested in debating the fact that Calvinism is entirely Biblical, and I accepted. I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but we'll see!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
NaNoWriMo Returns!!
I just got my e-mail informing me that NaNoWriMo is starting up again. I participated last year but didn't finish. I did, however, write a lot more than I ever had before, so I'm hoping for a victory this year.
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month." The idea is that during the month of November you write a short novel. 50,000 words, to be exact. It's that simple! That breaks down to 1,666.67 words a day, though you might want to go ahead and throw that 1,667th word in there just to get ahead of the game.
Last year's novel was a bit of a tragic tale about a man and how he copes with the fact that his wife was left brain damaged in a swimming accident. I enjoyed writing it, and wouldn't mind getting back to it some day. I ended with a paltry 20,188 words, but that's just 4,912 words short of halfway!
My novel this year is going to be TOTALLY different. I'm going to write a fantasy novel. I love the idea of inventing my own little world. I've already got a map drawn up and some ideas with where to take portions of the story. I need to settle on exactly what the larger conflict of the book will be though. But, chin up! I have the rest of October to think of that stuff.
Three cheers for NaNoWriMo!! Whee! I'm already giddy with excitement.
Some advice to first timers:
1. Don't worry if it's not an spectacular. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to hit 50,000 words. You can edit and tweak all you want later.
2. Have a plot in mind. You need a basic idea of where you're going or else you won't know how to get there. Things go a lot more quickly if you're not wandering aimlessly.
3. Have fun! Yeah, yeah, I know it's a lame thing to say, but that's what this is all about. Enjoy your time writing, and when it's all over you can truthfully claim to have written a novel!! And who knows, it might actually be good!
4. Visit NaNoWriMo.org early and often. They can give you much better advice than I can, you can commiserate if the need be, or even look up writers from your area. Plus, visiting the site gets you into that crazy, whimsical NaNoWriMo frame of mind.
By the way, be sure to check out my awesome "NaNoWriMo Participant" pic to your right. Oh yeah. You know you want that pic. Sign up!
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month." The idea is that during the month of November you write a short novel. 50,000 words, to be exact. It's that simple! That breaks down to 1,666.67 words a day, though you might want to go ahead and throw that 1,667th word in there just to get ahead of the game.
Last year's novel was a bit of a tragic tale about a man and how he copes with the fact that his wife was left brain damaged in a swimming accident. I enjoyed writing it, and wouldn't mind getting back to it some day. I ended with a paltry 20,188 words, but that's just 4,912 words short of halfway!
My novel this year is going to be TOTALLY different. I'm going to write a fantasy novel. I love the idea of inventing my own little world. I've already got a map drawn up and some ideas with where to take portions of the story. I need to settle on exactly what the larger conflict of the book will be though. But, chin up! I have the rest of October to think of that stuff.
Three cheers for NaNoWriMo!! Whee! I'm already giddy with excitement.
Some advice to first timers:
1. Don't worry if it's not an spectacular. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to hit 50,000 words. You can edit and tweak all you want later.
2. Have a plot in mind. You need a basic idea of where you're going or else you won't know how to get there. Things go a lot more quickly if you're not wandering aimlessly.
3. Have fun! Yeah, yeah, I know it's a lame thing to say, but that's what this is all about. Enjoy your time writing, and when it's all over you can truthfully claim to have written a novel!! And who knows, it might actually be good!
4. Visit NaNoWriMo.org early and often. They can give you much better advice than I can, you can commiserate if the need be, or even look up writers from your area. Plus, visiting the site gets you into that crazy, whimsical NaNoWriMo frame of mind.
By the way, be sure to check out my awesome "NaNoWriMo Participant" pic to your right. Oh yeah. You know you want that pic. Sign up!
Monday, October 03, 2005
New Link
I just added "Dead Christians Society" to my blog links. I have an interest in Church History, so it promises to be a fun blog to read. It's run by Chris Armstrong, Bethel professor and managing editor of Christian History Magazine. Enjoy!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
My One Year Anniversary Has Passed!!
I can't believe it! I missed my one year blogging anniversary! On September 10, 2004 I made my initial post on this very blog. Frankly, I didn't think I had the fortitude to keep it up. It's been good for me, though. Hopefully I've been able to hone my writing skills in a year's time, but I'll have to go back through and check that out.
My track record is all the more pleasing when I consider that I've also been posting on The Huntington Apolgetics Team blog since December last year. I don't suppose that I've been all that prolific, though. There are people who write twice as much in a day as I do in a couple of weeks, but I didn't get into this to win some sort word counting contest.
Anyway, happy birthday to me! I'm officially one year old!
Have some virtual ice cream cake.
My track record is all the more pleasing when I consider that I've also been posting on The Huntington Apolgetics Team blog since December last year. I don't suppose that I've been all that prolific, though. There are people who write twice as much in a day as I do in a couple of weeks, but I didn't get into this to win some sort word counting contest.
Anyway, happy birthday to me! I'm officially one year old!
Have some virtual ice cream cake.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Back From Vacation
I suppose I should've posted something about this before going on vacation, but I was off of work last week. I took the liberty of vacationing from blogging as well. I had a pretty good week, even though we didn't go anywhere. In fact, it's quite possible that I had a good week because we didn't go anywhere. Heck, I even gave the lawn a good mow/trim/edge and stripped the wax off the kitchen floor. If you know me, you know that's generally not my idea of a good time, but somehow I enjoyed it.
The best part of vacationing at home is that it is a vacation in the truest sense. No stress, no long trip, no financial crunch. I could just relax with my family and enjoy a job-free week. Plus, I avoided the need for a "post-vacation vacation." How many times have you taken a vacation trip only to be more exhausted when you return? Give me the comforts of home over some scorching hot beach anytime.
We also celebrated my son Max's 3rd birthday on Saturday (his actual birthday was Sunday). The party was great, and it was a joy to watch his face as he opened his presents. He got a lightsaber for his birthday, and since he already had one we can now engage in lightsaber duels. He and my brother-in-law Brad, who is a fellow Star Wars fan, were dueling out in the front yard during the party. The best part was when Max used his "force powers" on Brad. He stuck his hand out and "pushed" Brad down several times during the duel.
Another welcome pleasure is the beginning of the semester at Tri-State Bible College. This is my last year as an undergrad! By this time next year I will be a degreed individual. I might post on my grad school prospects after lunch.
The best part of vacationing at home is that it is a vacation in the truest sense. No stress, no long trip, no financial crunch. I could just relax with my family and enjoy a job-free week. Plus, I avoided the need for a "post-vacation vacation." How many times have you taken a vacation trip only to be more exhausted when you return? Give me the comforts of home over some scorching hot beach anytime.
We also celebrated my son Max's 3rd birthday on Saturday (his actual birthday was Sunday). The party was great, and it was a joy to watch his face as he opened his presents. He got a lightsaber for his birthday, and since he already had one we can now engage in lightsaber duels. He and my brother-in-law Brad, who is a fellow Star Wars fan, were dueling out in the front yard during the party. The best part was when Max used his "force powers" on Brad. He stuck his hand out and "pushed" Brad down several times during the duel.
Another welcome pleasure is the beginning of the semester at Tri-State Bible College. This is my last year as an undergrad! By this time next year I will be a degreed individual. I might post on my grad school prospects after lunch.
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