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This post is not for you

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I wanted to write a short follow-up to my post to an article earlier this week: Analysis Paralysis and making the first move. In that post I shared a quotation from the TV show “Person of Interest” about playing the game of chess:

“No one could possibly predict [all the possibilites]… Which means that that first move can be terrifying…there’s a virtually infinite sea of possibilities… But it also means that if you make a mistake, there’s a nearly infinite amount of ways to fix it. So you should simply relax and play.” – Harold Finch

This post was one of my most popular, so thank you to all of you who shared it on Facebook. It’s always great to know that something I’ve written has been of interest and encouragement 🙂

What has prompted this current post is a discussion I saw about the post Reddit. On one of the threads there were concerns that this quotation could simply be an excuse to avoid making careful decisions. I would like to respond to this concern by telling a story from my time at school…

Headmaster

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Restless Heart: 1 – “Worshipping with St. Justin”

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Justin Martyr

We won’t normally be posting more than one episode a week, but here is the first full episode of the Restless Heart podcast. In today’s show we talk about an important figure in the Early Church known as St. Justin Martyr and look at what he had to say about Mass in 2nd Century Rome.

Episode 1: Worshipping with St. Justin (Download)

 

— Notes —

* If this subject interests you, you might be interested in watching a longer presentation I have given on the subject of worship in the Early Church.

* If you have any feedback or would like to pose a question for an upcoming episode, you can always tweet us at @davidandnessa.

If you have iTunes installed, you can click here to launch iTunes and subscribe. Alternatively, you should be able to find us in the podcast section of the iTunes Store and Google Play. If you need to setup your podcast feed manually, our feed may be found here.

“Master, it is good for us to be here…”

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Tonight, after Benediction, I felt drawn to tarry in the church a while longer than usual. Soon there were only one or two other people left in the church.

While sitting there, I felt a deep, tremendous peace; a peace I haven’t felt in some time.

As I sat there, just enjoying the moment, I was reminded of something that my patron Saint, St. Peter, said at the Transfiguration when he beheld the Jesus’ glory:

“Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” – Luke 9:33

I know there’s a lot of theological significance in what Peter is saying here, but sitting in that church tonight I understood those words in a slightly different light. Peter was seeing the beauty of the Lord and wanted to prolong that mountaintop experience. He didn’t want to go back down the mountain just yet – he wanted to setup camp for a little while…

After Benediction, I, too, wanted to prolong the experience, remain in my pew and maybe setup camp for a little while…

The purpose of getting to higher ground isn’t so we can just enjoy the view, it’s so that, when we come back down from the mountain, we can approach the terrain ahead with a new perspective and with confidence.

You’ve got (ancient) mail!

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When reading any book of the Bible we must first talk about its literary genre. What kind of writing is it? Is it apocalyptic? Is it poetry? Is it historical? The literary genre to which a document belongs affects how we understand it.

If we get the literary genre wrong, it is extremely likely that our interpretation will be faulty. Therefore, when we are looking at a book of the Bible which is an epistle i.e. a piece of correspondence, we must read it as such. It is also extremely helpful when reading a biblical epistle to first examine the conventions of letter writing at the time of the Apostles.

A friend recently asked that we should study the First Epistle of St. Peter together. Since I’ve had to explain the mechanics of ancient letters a few times now, I’ve decided to devote a blog entry to the subject so that I can easily refer to it in future 😀

(There is a technical difference between an “epistle” and a “letter”…
but we’ll ignore that distinction in this post)

Snooping on Mail

To see the structure of ancient letters more clearly, let’s examine a short letter written by a Pagan in approximately AD 150:

Apion sends heartiest greets to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis that he kept me safe when I was in peril on the sea.

As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey money from Caesar – three goldpieces. And things are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand because you brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted.

Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health. Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimon’s boy, and Burbo, Gallonius’ son.

Deconstructing Apion

There are several distinct features in this letter:

1. Greeting. The author first identifies himself (“Apion”) and then identifies to whom he is writing (his father “Epimachus”):

Apion sends heartiest greets to his father and lord Epimachus.

2. Prayer. The author prays for the health and well-being of the recipients (his father, siblings and niece):

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

3. Thanksgiving. The author gives thanks to his god (“Serapis”):

I thank my Lord Serapis that he kept me safe when I was in peril on the sea.

4. Body. There is then the main contents of the letter. He speaks a little bit about military life and expresses gratitude to his father.

As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey money from Caesar – three goldpieces. And things are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand because you brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted…

5. Personal greetings. The author asks that his greetings be conveyed to some other people. Finally, he sends greetings from those who are with him.

Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends...Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimon’s boy, and Burbo, Gallonius’ son

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Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 19 (“Hud”)

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hud

As you may have noticed, as the chapters of the Qur’an have got longer, I’ve pretty much resorted to only doing only one a day. Yesterday, I went back and recaculated when I’m going to finish the Qur’an. I’ve concluded that, if I stay at a rate of about one hundred verses a day, I should be finishing the Qur’an at the end of January.

Here are today’s verses:

Surah 11 – “Hud” (Hud)
The first few pages of this chapter are filled with very standard stuff:

  • Worship Allah alone
  • Seek forgiveness, there will be punishment for the disbeliever on the Day of Judgement
  • Allah is all-knowing
  • Allah created the heavens and the earth
  • Those who disbelieve in the Messengers claim magic is at work
  • Mankind is ungrateful for the mercies of Allah
  • The disbelievers ask why Muhammad doesn’t come with some heavenly treasure or an angel
  • Muhammad is told to challenge those who say he invented the Qur’an, by demanding that they “bring ten surahs like it”
  • Those who believed in the former revelations (e.g. the Torah) believe in the Qur’an.

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Mere Christianity – Book I (Summary)

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Book 1
You can look at my more detailed notes, but this is an overview of the content of Book I of “Mere Christianity”…

Preface

Quotations

Mere Christianity

…I have thought that the best…service I could do for my unbelieving neighbours was to explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times…So far as I can judge…the book…did at least succeed in presenting an agreed, or common, or central, or ‘mere’ Christianity…it may possibly be of some help in silencing the view that, if we omit the disputed points, we shall have left only a vague and bloodless [Highest Common Factor]. The H.C.F. turns out to be something not only positive but pungent”

Omitted Topics

I should be very glad if people would not draw fanciful inferences from my silence on certain disputed matters…There are questions at issue between Christians to which I do not think we have been told the answer…you cannot even conclude, from my silence on disputed points, either that I think them important or that I think them unimportant. For this is itself one of the disputed points…I have a reluctance to say much about temptations to which I myself am not exposed…

The Roman Catholic beliefs on that subject are held not only with the ordinary fervour that attaches to all sincere religious belief, but…with…chivalrous sensibility that a man feels when the honour of his mother or his beloved is at stake…contrariwise…Protestant beliefs on this subject…it seems that the distinction between Creator and creature (however holy) is imperilled.

[Regarding contraception], I am not a woman nor even a married man, nor am I a priest. I did not think it my place to take a firm line about pains, dangers and expenses from which I am protected; having no pastoral office which obliged me to do so.

The name “Christian”

When a word ceases to be a term of description and becomes merely a term of praise, it no longer tells you facts about the object: it only tells you about the speaker’s attitude to that object… A gentleman, once it has been spiritualised and refined out of its old coarse, objective sense, means hardly more than a man whom the speaker likes

The Hall Analogy

It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms…it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in…you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling…Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here?…be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house

Questions

1. Why does Jack say that this book not help someone decide between two different denominations? Why did he write the book in this way?

2. Was it a good idea to leave out controversial topics? Why does he say he does this? Do you think this hampers the book?

3. How would you define “Christian”? How does Jack define it? Do you think this is a sufficient definition?

4. Do you find Jack’s “Hall and rooms” analogy helpful when talking about different denominations? What advice does he give for interacting with Christians of other denominations? What do you disagree with and what advice would you add?

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There’s something about Mary… (Part 1 of 3)

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A few days ago I had a comment appear on my old blog by someone named Kelley. This comment was on the post I wrote some time ago in which I spoke of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. I have since transferred that comment over to this blog. Here’s what was said:

“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?

Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”

In this post I’m going to address some of the points raised here…but let’s first begin with a joke to lighten the mood 🙂

Jesus came upon a small crowd who had surrounded a young woman whom they believed to be an adulteress. They were preparing to stone her. Jesus said: “Whoever is without sin among you, let them cast the first stone.”

Suddenly a rock came whistling past from the back of the crowd. Jesus turned and said: “Mother, you’re not helping! I’m trying to make a point here…”

Aren’t theology jokes brilliant? 😉

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