Rambling Thoughts

Political Idealogy in the Presidential Election

2008-10-28T11:32:00.002-04:00

In response to an email looking at racism in the election by reversing the attributes of John McCain and Barack Obama:I hope that we can all agree that racism in all of its varied forms is a great evil. You make a great point regarding the perceptions of the candidates in regard to how they are viewed and/or criticized in the media. Certainly it would seem unlikely that Obama could have risen as

Is the Constitution Dead?

2008-01-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution in condensed form reads: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes…provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States…To borrow money…To regulate Commerce…To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization…To coin Money…To establish Post Offices…To promote the Progress of Science…To constitute Tribunals…To define and

Flirting with others is healthy for marriage?

2008-01-23T22:11:00.001-05:00

Here's the articleYuck, yuck, yuckI happened across this article a little while back and was, frankly, appalled. Here are some of the quotes:"And while I know that flirting can be a dangerous game if you're playing with the wrong people, I also believe that flirting can be healthy - as long as you're taking the energy you're building and putting it back into your relationship.""What flirting

Documentary: Maxed Out

2008-01-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching a documentary entitled "Maxed Out" which is written as an examination of the debt obsession of America. 2006 was the first year since the Great Depression in which America's net savings was negative and all indicators point to 2007 continuing that trend. The video starts out by thrashing the credit card companies who prey on college freshman, the recently bankrupt, and

Calculating Christmas

2007-12-20T17:24:00.001-05:00

So generally I try to post things that are rumbling around in my head and which are fairly original to me. However, I read a blog about the subject of the origins of Christmas and just had to pass it along as it intrigued me so much. This is all based on an article in Touchstone magazine from a few years back. Here is an except followed by my summarization:"Many Christians think that Christians

Chrismation

2007-12-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

This upcoming Sunday, Anna and I will join the Orthodox church. I find it interesting that after spending so much time in the charismatic church, then flirting with PCA all through college, I now find myself in the Eastern Orthodox church. I still find myself having to re-explain certain pieces of the liturgy to myself so that I don't react awkwardly to how differently the theology presents

Saturday, November 24th 2007

2007-11-26T23:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday, November 24th 2007 This picture shows my cousin Shaun with his wife-to-be, Julia, sometime in 2006 in front of the Madison, Wi capital building. The above three photos were

Choosing Faith

2007-09-16T02:19:00.000-04:00

Response to Michael's post here: http://ruminationsofacox.blogspot.com/2007/09/choosing-faith.htmlMichael, I appreciate reading your religious/ philosophical statements and thinking through them... While I would agree with Webster's definition of faith as you expressed it ("firm belief in something for which there is no proof"), I think that it is rather open-ended. There are many types of faith

Al and Robbie

2007-09-07T10:21:00.000-04:00

Posted in response to Suburban Delusions.I don't know Al or Robbie, but I know a couple Als and Robbies. There are a few that come to our church, mostly for the food afterwards, but certainly not only so. I think there is a slight sense of belonging, of recognition from a reputable community that boosts their self esteem. I recently realized how differently I relate to them than I would a more

Article on Global Warming

2007-08-30T20:54:00.000-04:00

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/08/how_plants_will_make_climate_c.html The article describes how recent studies have shown that increased levels of CO2 make plants absorb less water so that they are predicting more flooding as global temperatures rise. It's interesting to note that they don't discuss what effect this is going to have in terms of water vapor. Most people don't realize

Perseverance of the Saints- What's the Point?

2007-08-20T02:26:00.000-04:00

So this might just ruffle some feathers, but I intend to lay out my thoughts on both Perseverance of the Saints (Once saved, always saved) as well as confront the common Protestant criticism of Orthodox/Catholic lack of "Assurance of Salvation" as they would say.Perseverance of the Saints (POTS) is defined by Wikipedia as knowing that "None who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or

Eternity in Their Hearts

2007-08-17T03:18:00.000-04:00

The ancient Incas believed in a God, Viracocha, who was not a created being, but rather the author of all that was created. They believed that “He is ancient, remote, supreme, and uncreated… He manifests himself as a trinity when He wishes… He created all peoples by His ‘Word’… He is man’s Fortunus, ordaining his years and nourishing him… He is a bringer of peace and an orderer. He is in His own

The non-Biblican principal of personal ownership

2007-06-30T01:16:00.000-04:00

So what does the title mean? Basically, my statement is that I believe that a Christian having the attitude that your legal property (house, car, salary, etc) is something that you own, rather than God, is antithetical to Christianity. Furthermore, I believe that the often spoken 10% tithe is not only unscriptural, but is also cheating the American people out of truly living a life of abandon for

Orthodox forms in the Charismatic church

2007-06-06T10:05:00.000-04:00

In general, as opposed to being divisive as many of my posts might suggest, I tend to look for points of unity in any debate. While I love a good argument, if it is an issue of true division, I generally will present my case in a way that seeks common ground. That being said, the point of this post is to highlight some items of unity between the Charismatic church, in which I was raised, and the

Sola Scriptura and Cessationalism

2007-05-24T01:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I am going to try to make this a rational argument but forgive me if it turns into a rant. Let me just say it: Cessationalism is the least biblical founded, most historically divergent, and Christologically errant theology of mainstream Christianity of which I am aware (off the top of my head that is…). So I said it. For the uninitiated, Cessationalism is the theology that the working of

The Theology of Church Architecture

2007-05-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

“If while remaining loyal to our respective dogmatic standpoints we could succeed in getting to know each other, above all in those points in which we differ, this would undoubtedly be a surer way towards unity than that which would leave differences on one side. For in the words of Karl Barth, ‘the union of the Churches is not made, but we discover it.’” –Vladimir Lossky So since I have

Response to MC's posts on religion

2007-05-15T16:41:00.000-04:00

This is my response to MC’s three blogs: here, here and here. Regarding Jesus, generally you have three sources (excluding spurious books written centuries later): The historical teachings of the church, the bible, and extra-biblical historical accounts. I take from what you said that you discount the church because it twists things so as to manipulate itself into power, you discount the bible

2007 Republican Presidential Debate #1

2007-05-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

So I decided to watch the debate last night (or try since my computer connection at home kept cutting in and out and then when to my mother-in-law’s to watch the last 15 minutes on TV, missing another 15 minutes in the process). I missed the first democratic debate, but read many commentaries on it that all basically concluded that Obama took a step ahead through his general like-ability and

America's Tax Disadvantage

2007-04-25T17:44:00.000-04:00

So in light of news such as Toyota overtaking GM as the world's top selling automaker, I am frustrated even more over the tax disadvantage that American manufacturing is placed at in the World Market. Here is a letter to the house ways and means committee ( a bit long) from Americans For Fair Taxation (The FairTax folks), that makes an outstanding point regardless of what you think of the

Lightening up the mood...

2007-04-07T00:17:00.000-04:00

So I've been crazy busy with work trying to get things finished up before Anna and I head to Europe for 2 weeks of vacation (!) and haven't had the time to put together any well thought out posts. So, since I don't have anything useful to contribute, I will just post a video from my college days (I say that like it was a long time ago...) which a few friends have bugged me to put up somewhere.

Maryphobia?

2007-03-29T17:48:00.000-04:00

Growing up in a Charismatic Protestant church, I knew Mary to be both the mother of Jesus’ birth and the wife of Joseph. I knew that an angel revealed to her that she would bear the Son of God and that she willingly participated by carrying him. That was all well known Biblical history. But such titles as “Virgin Mary” or certainly the title “Theotokos” were very foreign to me as was any

On Politics and Morality

2007-03-23T07:04:00.000-04:00

Emerging from the last post, I thought I would post my thoughts on this topic. Certainly there are many who have researched this issue much more than I have, but I never have and never will present my ideas as the most educated, more researched, or most rational… They are mine and for that I will disclose them rather than for any virtue they possess. This topic of Politics and Morality is one

Homosexuality and the Church

2007-03-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

This has to be one of the most exhausted topics of the last 30 years, but, alas, I will attempt to add my two cents and hopefully do so from a perspective that is both thought provoking and refreshing. I am NOT going to focus my rant at the homosexual community. I am not going to focus it on “liberal” churches and their acceptance of such practices. And I am not going to attack “conservative”

Ancient and New

2007-03-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

So I was thinking back to perceptions of the church that I had as a child, and one that stands out strongly: the concept that Christianity is progressing greatly over time. I don't know the origins of this thought as it was never explicitly taught (that I can remember), but I know at least two sources from which I might have inferred this.The first was the emphasis on "New" in the charismatic