Monthly Archives: August 2006

Misquoting the Westminster Catechism

John Piper likes to misquote the Westminster Catechism. And out of everything I have heard him say, this misquotation has shaped my thinking the most… Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy | 7 Comments

Remembrance

I’ve decided to start uploading some of the music I write here. I’ll probably try to post something new each week. Last year, I produced a poetry CD for Voices in Wartime that featured poems from the documentary film Voices … Continue reading

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Like a Square Peg in a round hole…

I’ve written here before about the Square Peg Alliance, a group of 13 singer/songwriters here in Nashville. It includes Andrew Osenga, Andy Gullahorn, Andy Peterson, Billy Cerveny, Chris Mason, Derek Webb, Eric Peters, Jeremy Casella, Jill Phillips, Katy Bowser, Matthew … Continue reading

Posted in Music | 1 Comment

Wearing the old ruts deeper

Quote of the week: There is little to be gained by wearing the old ruts deeper. The creeds, symbols, and liturgies of Christianity were framed originally to convey not a sense of beauty but a meaning. We hold on to … Continue reading

Posted in Quote of the Week | 1 Comment

Consistency

As I work through what I believe and why, one area I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about recently is consistency. I’ve found that far too often we don’t consider the full implications of our arguments. It is illogical to use one argument as why you support an issue, and then turn around and use its antithesis as to why you disagree with another issue. Continue reading

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Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, and Oversimplification

I heard a sermon Sunday on the Lord’s Supper that reinforced one of the points Shaun Groves made when he taught on the same subject recently in IKON. Shaun was talking about the differing views of what happens while taking … Continue reading

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At the risk of self-discovery…

I recently read Anne Lamott’s novel “Crooked Little Heart”, and as I was finishing it I came to the conclusion that all of her writing could be summed up in this way: We are messed up people, living in a messed up world. We screw up all the time, but some of us are able to hide it better than others. And life is still beautiful. We are selfish, caring only about ourselves and our needs. We do whatever it takes to try and make ourselves comfortable, no matter who is hurt by it. We go to great lengths to protect our illusions of perfection. But every once in a while we help a friend, we allow ourselves to be inconvenienced, we put aside our rights. And life is beautiful. Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Music | 4 Comments

“Rapture Ready” or “How to Misinterpret Scripture”

In light of current events in the Middle East, statements currently being made by various Christian leaders such as this one by Jerry Falwell: Quite likely, the most important date of the past 20 centuries, since the resurrection of Christ, … Continue reading

Posted in News, Philosophy | 1 Comment

Crystal Ball

I posted this in the comments section of my last post but just read it again and decided it needed more attention: “The problem with the evangelicals who turn the Bible into a kind of crystal ball is that they … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy | 1 Comment

I am now a Secular Humanist

Or at least, according to Tim Lahaye, there is no difference between me and a secular humanist. In an interview last week with Newsweek, Lahaye, co-author of the best-selling fiction series Left Behind (and I stress the word fiction), declared … Continue reading

Posted in News, Philosophy | 5 Comments