And death i think is no parenthesis

**** EDITED ***** Here is the revision: A gauche, burly man once approached my friend and me as we were straining to gain access into a rapidly filling auditorium. “Lemme talk to you boys a minute.” We had been arguing with others all day, and perhaps we did not have any resistance left within us. Besides, the fear of what this large stranger might do to us if we did not let him talk moved us in such a way that anything relating to the auditorium appeared trivial. “I know what you kids are up to; you ain't gonna fool me. Them African countries y'all are talkin' about – Sierra Leone, Liberia – what do they all have in common? I'll tell you – diamonds. You're just wantin' to infiltrate them peon countries with ex-navy SEALs, so they can dig for all of them diamonds,” he rasped. The ridiculous accent he put on the words “Sierra Leone,” coupled with the twitch in his left eye and his accusatory finger gave us the sense that he genuinely believed that the governmen...

Today I sat outside to do some work, and as I sat, I saw a beautiful blue bird. This bird has visted the backyard on several occasions, so I was not surprised at its boldness in coming so near to me. However, on this occasion, this bird's sheer beauty shocked me. It had a large seed of some sort in its beak. Upon landing, the bird used its beak to dig a small hole in the soil (Steve had just planted some trees, so the soil was soft). After this, it dropped the item into the hole and used its beak as a hammer to drive the seed deep down into the hole. Finally, the bird picked up small twigs and pebbles with its beak and gingerly placed them over the hole. All the while it was doing this, I sat completely still and watched it pause from its work and look around momentarily to make sure no other bird was watching. A strange feeling of awe came over me during this entire process. It's the kind of feeling that makes me want to go write a poem, or paint a picture or something. Inspir...

Phew! I'm done with 'round 1' of books. Here is what I thought: First on the list is Mathison's The Shape of Sola Scriptura . For a good portion of the book, I had an unanswered objection to some of Mathison's logic, but near the end his arguments came to a magnificent crescendo, and my objection was no more. The book as been a tremendous help in sorting out the issues of authority in the church. If you want to know why so many people in your church are leaving for Orthodox or Catholic churches, this book will tell you why (hint: they actually have good reason to, in most cases). The issue of authority is an argument that is majorly twisted and abused in probably 95% of literature that addresses it, particularly in apologetic literature. The Shape of Sola Scriptura : A Next, I read both of Malcom Gladwell's books: The Tipping Point and Blink . These books have fascinating studies throughout that also make really interesting conversations. They will challenge yo...

I'm settled into a church family's house here in Valencia, and boy is it great. I like listening to my pastor talk about theology. He is also a wonderful counselor, and has been helping me work with some of my personal problems (yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I do have problems). Here is his blog site, if anybody is interested: The Craw . Also, here is the website of my church, along with its blog: Saint Andrew's Community Church , The Chronicles of Saint Andrews . In the meantime, I have been reading The Shape of Sola Scriptura by Mathison, who also wrote Given For You . Both of these books have had an enourmous impact on me, and I strongly encourage all of you to get out and read The Shape of Sola Scriptura , particularly if you've ever struggled with the authority of the Bible, and how it squares away with church tradition. The thesis is that most evangelicals treat the issue of the Bible and tradition wrongly, particularly those in radically reformed chu...