Against Nothingness

"We have all of us been told that grace is to be found in the universe. But in our human foolishness and shortsightedness we imagine divine grace to be finite... But the moment comes when our eyes are opened, and we see and realize that grace is infinite. Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude." - General Loewenhielm, Babette's Feast ( quoted in "What's so Amazing About Grace?" by Phillip Yancey, pg. 25)

Here, have a look at this. And I thought I was bad for wasting time. Of course, one might then question this blog, and notice that I just spent approximately 36 seconds, at work, posting this....

John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate . Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009. 192 pages. John Walton is a Prof. down at Wheaton College, and an author of numerous books on various parts of Old Testament scholarship. This particular book is an explanation of what he believes to be the most accurate and, when properly understood, 'literal' reading of Genesis one as it would have been understood by its original hearers. In order to explain this view, Walton lays out 18 propositions, each one taking up a chapter of his book. These propositions begin from highly general points (i.e. Proposition 1: Genesis One is Ancient Cosmology) and slowly progress towards the more specific (Proposition 9: The Seven Days of Genesis One Relate to Temple Inauguration). Once here, he then moves from his specific reading of Genesis 1 back out to a broader view on current theological and cultural issues (i.e. Propositions 18: Public Science Educat...

The weekend is over. Yes, its Monday night, I know. For me, that is now the end of the weekend. Anyway, I was at History Maker Conference Fri-Sun, as I mentioned in my last post. It's over now, but it was a great weekend. It is true that regardless of religion or the presence of God, having 3500+ people in an arena singing has a deep emotional impact all its own. Nonetheless, God was there. Christianity, and our experience this weekend, was not merely emotionalism, but it certainly wasn't less than that either. My number one highlight remains seeing students, particularly BAC students, surrender to Christ and ask God to use them. Other than that, day 3 brought some more good talks by Bob Lenz (both in the main session and a break-out session), a 2nd terrible talk by that other guy , and more good times. Today was a day to catch up on sleep, be with family, fail to run errands (mostly because everything is closed on a holiday Monday), and watch 4.5 hours of "Lost...

ICON (plus counselors, almost entirely from 3D) are in the middle of going to the History Maker conference out in Langley this weekend. Now it's Sunday morning, the last day is before us, and I am home alone waiting until it is time for me to go pick people up. Seriously, I don't sleep well without Kristina... I miss you honey, and I love you :) Anyway, the conference. I have to start by saying that one of my biggest struggles is to contain my cynicism. I know I need to. I know it comes from pride more than anything. I also know that the conference is not for me; its for the teens. So, that said, most of the conference has been quite good. Watching students praise God, surrender their lives, having fun, growing and bonding, all of it is amazing. The main speaker, Bob Lenz , has delivered humorous, engaging, and content rich talks which focus on God and heaven and Jesus and surrender. I am looking forward to hearing him again today. Other than the hip-hop rappers (and...

Hilarious video clip making fun of hip church: Here (Link courtesy of Prof. John Stackhouse's weblog ). I can't wait to get my full dose of contempervant growtivation, I'm just so excited!

Tony Ballantyne, Recursion , New York: Spectra Publishing, 2006, 432 pgs. Gotta love awesome little cover descriptions on books right? Personally, regardless of the quality of the book, I always get a kick out of how these things are written out. Designed to tantalize, effected to entice, and constructed to captivate, these phrases leap from the front, and back, of book covers in all their cheese covered glory. Thankfully it is usually the editors, I presume, who write these things rather than the author. So, what is this book? Well, you won't get a very good idea from reading the back, thats for sure. Not that I was entirely disappointed, but it was not what I expected. The problem is that it is hard to tell you what the book is really about without ruining the ending. So, instead, let me tell you how it is constructed. The book is made up of 3 stories, all in different time periods, and all radically different. There is the story of a woman living in a society where lite...

Leslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt , and Certainty in Christian Discipleship. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1995. 105 pgs. In this gem of a book Newbigin takes the reader on a journey away from the idea of Cartesian certainty and towards a more proper scaffolding for thought and belief. He denies the possibility of ideal certainty with no doubt and concludes that seeking this ideal can only to skepticism (of an extreme sort) and Nihilism. The thesis of this book might best best be stated as follows: the proper confidence of a Christian is not the possession of indubitable knowledge but the confidence of one who has heard and answered God's call of 'Follow me.' In order to demonstrate this point, Newbigin first examines three 'paths' whose titles, which are his first three chapter titles, seem somewhat counter-intuitive. In the first chapter, 'Faith as the Way to Knowledge,' Newbigin argues that if knowledge, and God, are ultim...

Christopher J.H. Wright, The God I Don't Understand (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008) 221pgs. Christopher Wright has, apparently, been around and writing for a long time. I had no idea. I wish I had. He is an Old Testament (OT) scholar who has written quite a few books that look like they could be worth reading. In the meantime, I had this book recommended to me by a friend who knew I was thinking through, and struggling with, the issue of the Canaanite genocide texts in the OT. So, I picked it, and I am very glad I did. In this book Wright writes about different things about God, or God's actions/plan, that he does not understand. They are, he lays out in his introduction, mysteries. But they are mysteries of different sorts. Thus, he begins with the the problem of evil, and of genocide commands in the OT. Both issues which make him angry and grieved and morally disturbed and puzzled. His third section, however, focuses on the Cross. And his fourth, and...

Right, so more explanations. Right now I am at least 7 books behind in reviewing books (I think I am missing one or two, but not sure). I will get to them, but I just wanted to share a minor change with you. I now have 3 categories I will place books into in terms of organization. I don't know if you pay attention to such things, but at the bottom of each of my posts are labels. These labels are intended to help you navigate my blog if you wish to find posts with things in common. So far all of my book reviews have had 3 labels: Book Review (duh), Fiction or Non-Fiction, and then the specific kind of writing (fantasy, science fiction, theology, etc.). I have now added a fourth: Not Recommended: Pretty self-explanatory. Conditionally Recommended: This means that it was a decent, or good, book but that something about the book will make some people unable to enjoy it, unable to read through it, or simply not care. I am pretty sure the majority of books I review will fall into...

Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn. (New York: Penguin, 1968) 304 pages. My second Peter Beagle book and, I have to say, this novel was as much of a treat to read as were his short stories . The Last Unicorn is a faerie tale. Not only that, but it is a faerie tale of exactly the right sort. It is the kind of tale where nothing is as it seems and everything is as it should. A tale which starts out in such a simple, non-presumptuous, way but which ends by giving so much more than you anticipated. A tale in which each character is human, frail and weak and a mix of good and evil, but where each one surprises you and makes you feel for him or her. It is, in short, a very good story. The tale begins with a unicorn in a wood. This is Beagle's description: " The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But he...

Memories , interesting things. This time a year ago I had just finished my last term as a full time student. Hannah was barely 1 month old, and Nick, my brother-in-law, had very recently passed away. We were living with Teresa and Kevin (Kristina's sister and her husband), and I was spending a lot of time praying and thinking about a job offer from Burnaby Alliance Church. I couldn't tell you what courses I was in, during the summer, or my last term. At least, I couldn't tell you without checking. Now, this year, I just graduated from Regent. I have been a fully time pastor for just over 9 months, Hannah is 13 months old, and we are living in our own place. The job at Burnaby Alliance has turned out great (God, once again, showing His goodness), and we have a baby boy on the way. As I look back I realize that time always passes so quickly. This is not news, but somehow there are moments, every couple of months, or every year, in which I am surprised by how much ha...

C.S.Cowles, Eugene H. Merril, Daniel L. Gard, Tremper Longman III. Show Them No Mercy: 4 Views on God and Canaanite Genocide, ed: Stanley N. Gundry. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2003. 210 pages. Right, I don't know what attempt this is, but I have decided the easiest way to write this review is to simplify. The Issue(s): Many people read the Old Testament (OT) and get uncomfortable. They see a God of violence, and compare this God to their own image of Jesus and can't make them line up. Perhaps no part of the OT stands out in this regard as much as the account of the Canaanite genocide (and surrounding commands/events. One may look at Deut. 20 , Josh. 7 , and other passages such as Deut. 7:1-5 ; Josh. 11:11-21 ; etc.). Deut. 7:1-2 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations --the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger ...

I should be either practicing my sermon or sleeping. Naturally, I am doing neither. And, if I am going to blog, I ought to be working through the review I mentioned in my last post... so, naturally, I am not doing that either. Instead, I want to share two of my favorite custom desserts (though not all of my own customization). Now, if you know me at all, you know that I have a massive sweet tooth. I dread the day (which fast approaches) when my metabolism fails me and I inevitably start to either gain weight or watch what I eat. Until then, I will enjoy the freedom to eat what I wish as a gift from God. So, on to the recipes: Bread and Cream and Sugar Yes, the title says it all. (Credit where credit is due: I learned this particular delight from my Father) 1. Take one slice of bread (brown or white or rye or whatever is fine, but I do not recommend any of the more 'crunchy' varieties of bread that include actual pieces of grain or nut) and cover it with a layer of brown...

Well, its been a while since I posted. I'm quite a bit behind on reviewing books now, as lack of time to write does not mean I am not reading. One has to keep one's priorities straight after all :) Let's see; I went on a youth pastors retreat organized by the Alliance district. That was a lot of fun, but I won't bore you with the details. I would only pass on this: Know how you recharge, and keep first things first. For me, the retreat hit all of my major 'recharge buttons' (time alone, beautiful creation, competitive games, and interesting learning), so good times. I'm skipping lots of stuff, but then my parents came to visit for my graduation (which was this last Monday, and felt great). That same night there was an attempted break-in at our house. I'll tell that story in more detail (based on the assumption that while you might not be interested in a youth pastors retreat, most people want to hear crime stories): Basically I wasn't asleep ...