The UmBlog

This series started from a lectionary reading last week, Psalm 68. I can't track with David ascribing to God this invitation, Psalm 68:21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins. 22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea, 23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.” But then stories come out, such as today's , of women escaping sexual slavery. And I have to admit, there is a part of me that wants to wade in these brothers' blood. What they did was so wrong, I have a hard time processing it rationally, and want to react to it viscerally. This is why our society has a legal process and tries to stop lynch mobs. Those guys hurt three women, yet it disrupts the baseline of trust in our society, and hurts all of us. Did you see what happened there? My brain and my heart had a dialog and my soul is trying...

The crazy amount of Bible reading continues, half of Judges and half of 1st Samuel. Like yesterday, I read the first half and listened to the 2nd half on my mp3 player. I'll write about Samuel tomorrow and focus on Judges and Ruth today. My feelings on Judges shifts to a better place than it has been in the Pentateuch. Previously, God was portrayed differently than I see Jesus portrayed in the gospels. Rightly or wrongly, I've pushed back pretty hard on the Pentateuch. I've wrestled with God, and like Jacob, the best I can hope for is a limp. The stories in Judges are very human, and God shows up as a savior, over and over again. The book seems to be organized by a pro-monarchy editor, because of a repeated phrase, which also concludes the book. Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  The funny thing is the woe and dread Samuel chastises the people with when he anoints them a king. When I say the book is very ...

It is still a penal colony , but Bastøy prison in Norway , treats offenders as those who can re-enter society and contribute to it. As a result, only 16% re-offend within 2 years of release, in contrast with the United State's punishment focus with a 43% recidivism rate within 3 years. Instead of cells, the prisoners live in wooden cottages, on a working farm, where everyone has to work. They have a beach to enjoy as well as a sauna. It's like a campground, except it's one that you stay at for several years, not just a summer. So why coddle murderers, rapists, drug dealers? As noted in this long CNN article But if the goal of prison is to change people, Bastoy seems to work. "If we have created a holiday camp for criminals here, so what?" asked Arne Kvernvik Nilsen, the prison's governor and a former minister and psychologist. He added, "We should reduce the risk of reoffending, because if we don't, what's the point of punishment, except for ...

One of our other discussions at our high school Bible discussion group as we finished up the Gospel of John was about John's other #humblebrag, the title "the disciple whom Jesus loved" which he uses twice in the last chapter 21:7 and 21:20. The students enjoyed piling on John a little bit for that. But then I asked them, are their any disciples Jesus doesn't love? If not, aren't all of us who believe on Jesus and try to follow him disciples whom Jesus loves? That is so cool. Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times a few nights before the events of this last chapter. Perhaps his leap of faith into the lake that he may have hoped would have been a walk instead of a swim ( see the last blog post ) was an attempt to prove to Jesus how much he did believe him, despite his lame showing at Christ's trial. That didn't pan out. He probably felt even more ashamed when he finally got to the beach with Jesus. Jesus knew that Peter was ready to restore his rela...

This is part of an ongoing conversation at Faith Autopsy. This in response to part 5 , where Ben elevates my comments to blog-postdom. Is HtS,LtS (hate the sin love the sinner) a distillation of Jude1:22-23 " 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. "? We are to show mercy (love) while ***hating*** the things stained by the sins of the flesh. I haven't been searching for answers to this topic, but I thought of this conversation when I came across these words this morning in my devotions. That's the ESV. Here is the Message, " Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven." That's pretty good as well. I read it first in the New Century Version. '23 Take others out of the fire, and save them. Show mercy mixed with fear to others, hating even their...

The #2 way to get kicked out of church is greed . 1 Corinthians 5:11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater , or a reviler , or a drunkard , or a swindler —not even to eat with such a one. NASB All the Americans can now leave the room. Actually, wealth and greed do not necessarily go hand in hand. Greed is only an aspect of covetousness. I covered this topic as well in the 10 Commandment series. It's the 10th commandment . "Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17 (The Complete Jewish Bible) I wrote previously , In short, if God wanted you to have it you would get it. As a parent, I say similar things. Our children do not have many popular toys, at least at the same time as they are popular. When the popularity cools and the price drops, then t...

This is really part B of the idolatry topic from yesterday. A return to idolatry happened en masse a few times in the history of the early church when the Roman emperors tried to crush Christianity. They are called the lapsi . The regular designation in the third century for Christians who relapsed into heathenism, especially for those who during the persecutions displayed weakness in the face of torture, and denied the Faith by sacrificing to the heathen gods or by any other acts. Many of the lapsi, indeed the majority of the very numerous cases in the great persecutions after the middle of the third century, certainly did not return to paganism out of conviction: they simply had not the courage to confess the Faith steadfastly when threatened with temporal losses and severe punishments (banishments, forced labor ... death), and their sole desire was to preserve themselves from persecution by an external act of apostasy, and to save their property, freedom, and life. When things got...

We are working from 1 Corinthians 5:11. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. (NET) Today's focus is on swindlers . The Greek word is harpax . Paul uses the word three times in this very letter and Jesus uses it twice. Here are the verses . Jesus Mat 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists , unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. Paul 1Co 5:10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. 1Co 5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls...

The American version of Solzhenitsyn's history of the Soviet prison labor camps appears in 3 massive volumes. My earlier book reports ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) came from the first volume, books 1 and 2. The 2nd volume contains books 3 and 4. Some of the quotes, including this one are macabre, but I note them because these are not a serial murderers lone quirks, but a bureaucratic, institutionalized deformity of a national soul that turned inward on itself. All of us are capable of this wickedness. I think part of it is that wickedness is easy. Righteousness is near impossible. So what happens in the far northern camp on Solovetsky Island where monks lived peacefully for centuries and disease invaded the crowded facility? ...the doctor gave terminal cases strychnine; and in the winter the bearded corpses in their underwear were kept in the church for a long time. Then they were put in the vestibule, stacked standing up since that way they took up less space. And when they carried th...

I'm not surprised that sinners act sinfully, especially during a political campaign. I don't believe any one side is any worse than any other side. But when a partisan PR firm uses personal names for youtube accounts to upload blatant lies against the opponent in an attempt to get a video viral then,when exposed, suddenly deletes all the accounts, well that's disappointing from a quality perspective. Will this company lose accounts over this neglect of anonymity? I present a report on a recent slander on Governor Palin exposed . update: a confession

Solzhenitsyn points out the folly of pride which will manifest even in a prison camp such as the GULAG. I often have to blush at my recollections of my younger years (and that's where my younger years were spent!) [in the GULAG -jpu] But whatever casts you down also teaches you a lot. And it turned out that as a residue of the officer's shoulder boards, which had trembled and fluttered on my shoulders for two years in all, some kind of poisonous dust had settled in the empty space between my ribs... when they formed us up for the first time, and the work-assignment foreman looked down the line to pick out temporary work-brigade leaders, my worthless heart was bursting under my woolen field shirt: Me, me, pick me! I was not chosen, But why did I want it? I would only have made further shameful mistakes. Oh, how hard it is to part with power! This one has to understand. (p. 558)

I finished the abridged version of Bullock’s Hitler: A Study in Tyranny . I want to share a couple more quotes from it before I give my final book report. War, the belief in violence and the right of the stronger, were no corruptions of Nazism, they were its essence. Recognition of the benefits which Hitler’s rule brought to Germany in the first four years of his régime needs to be tempered therefore by the realization that for the Führer, and for a considerable section of the German people- these were the by-products of his true purpose, the creation of an instrument of power with which to realize a policy of expansion that was to admit no limits. (199) A relative of mine asserts that Hitler did many good things for Germany, but the data show the benefits were only a by-product of gearing up for empire building. He stopped paying war reparations and put people to work by ordering weapons and munitions for his near future intentions. Hitler had been brought up as a Catholic and was imp...

v. 13 And mayest Thou not lead us to temptation, but deliver us from the evil, i memorized this in King James' version where evil isn't prefaced with "the." i later learned about "the" and how this could be translated "the evil one," which implies our spiritual adversary, Satan. Matthew uses this construction in the parable of the soils in chapter 13. in verse 19 Jesus explains to his disciples that "the evil" comes and eats the seeds off the road. Mark and Luke confirm "the evil" equals "satan" in their recountings. John uses this construction in 1 John 5:18 and 19. We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (NET) It's as if John is amplifying this section of the prayer. We ask Father to deliver us because He protects those he fathered, and we ...

what an unusual way to make a request of Father. Jesus asks us to ask negatively. perhaps He assumes we are already doing the Proverbs 3:5, 6 thing, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight" (meaning successful). perhaps He assumes we are already trying to love Him with all of our hearts and souls and minds. perhaps He expects that we will love our neighbors as ourselves. after that it's all petty i guess. while walking the dog tonight i was thinking, wrongly, that maybe the verse was parsed this way, Lead us, not into trials... but the "not" in the Greek is modifying the verb and not the noun, and its not negotiable. that "not" "MH" in Greek is a verb modifier only. so i had a much better blog post on this verse. but my insight is not good. why doesn't Jesus have us pray for strength in trials? why not pray to be lead into ever gre...

in Daniel 9 , Daniel repents of the sins of his people. 9:3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 9:4 I prayed to the Lord my God, confessing in this way: “O Lord, great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments, 9:5 we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. 9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, and to all the inhabitants of the land as well. (NET) and it's always been a puzzling thing to me. how does Daniel's repentance of something he didn't do move God? but at Bible study at work (AKA work church) some griping was heard regarding unethical behavior by leaders. and i thought, stuff like this rolls downhill. if those of us lower down the food chain adopted ...

another grim body count page .

Like Challies, i found this perspective on counseling helpful. If your history can explain anything then it explains nothing. Our history can provide context for our sin but not excuses... One aspect of David Powlison's ministry that has often challenged me is that he gives no quarter to sin. He never allows sin to be shown to be anything other than what it is: an offense to God that arises from a person's sinful nature. For instance, when speaking of the counselor's method of helping Amelia understand the source of her sin, he writes, "Knowledge of a person's history may be important for many reasons: compassion on sufferers, sympathetic understanding, locating the present within an unfolding story, knowledge of characteristic temptations, and so forth. But it never determines the heart's proclivities and inclinations." We know this because many people experience similar events in their histories and react differently. One woman may indulge in lesbian fan...

We had an interesting discussion around the dinner table last night. We were talking about the kids' futures. We talk about cars and motorcycles and children... you can't put a babyseat on a motorcycle... and then one of them said, they would prefer to not grow up and just go to heaven so they wouldn't sin against Jesus and do things like smoke cigarettes, drink too much alcohol, deny Christ!!!! Woooo... While my wife and I internally panic over their longing for death, we calmly exhort them that life is good. We acknowledge that sin is bad and takes away from life as God made it, but God made so many good things like families and nature and other cultures and the clincher, more books to read. Such serious reflection from a child always catches me off guard. Only, half an hour ago they were fighting over blocks. I think i need to encourage the kids in the Kingdom Now part of the gospel. It may not help that we've been reading the historical books of the Old Testament ...