Two Astounding Archeological Discoveries

Bones confirmed as St Paul's remains
Monday, 29 June 2009
The first scientific test on what is believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul appears to confirm that they are genuine, the pope said.
It was the second major discovery concerning St Paul announced by the Vatican in as many days.
On Saturday, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano announced the discovery of a fresco inside another tomb depicting St Paul, which Vatican officials said represented the oldest known icon of the apostle.
The pope said archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of St Paul.
He said scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century.
"This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," he said, announcing the findings at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican's Paoline year, in honour of the apostle.
Paul and Peter are the two main figures known for spreading the Christian faith after the death of Christ
According to tradition, St Paul, also known as the apostle of the Gentiles, was beheaded in Rome in the 1st century during the persecution of early Christians by Roman emperors. Popular belief holds that bone fragments from his head are in another Rome basilica, St John Lateran, with his other remains inside the sarcophagus.
The pope said that when archaeologists opened the sarcophagus, they discovered alongside the bone fragments some grains of incense, a "precious" piece of purple linen with gold sequins and a blue fabric with linen filaments.
On Saturday, the Vatican newspaper announced that a round fresco edged in gold featuring the emaciated face of St Paul had been discovered in excavations of the tombs of St Tecla in Rome. It was believed to have been dated from the end of the fourth century, making it the oldest known icon of St Paul, meaning it was an image designed for prayer, not just art, L'Osservatore Romano said.
Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Vatican's culture department, said the discovery was an "extraordinary event" that was an "eloquent testimony" to the Christianity of the first centuries.
Vatican archaeologists in 2002 began excavating the 8-foot long tomb of St Paul, which dates from at least AD 390 and was buried under the basilica's main altar. The decision to unearth it was made after pilgrims who came to Rome during the Roman Catholic Church's 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint's tomb - buried under layers of plaster and further hidden by an iron grate - could not be visited or touched.
The top of the coffin has small openings - subsequently covered with mortar - because in ancient times Christians would insert offerings or try to touch the remains.
The basilica stands at the site of two 4th-century churches - including one destroyed by a fire in 1823 that had left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt. After the fire, the crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar. A slab of cracked marble with the words "Paul apostle martyr" in Latin was also found embedded in the floor above the tomb.
Today is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a major feast day for the Roman Catholic Church, during which the pope will bestow a woollen pallium, or scarf, on all the new archbishops he has recently named.

Lasers uncover first icons of Sts. Peter and Paul

AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito
June 22, 2010: ROME — The earliest known icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul have been discovered in a catacomb under an eight-story modern office building in a working-class neighborhood of Rome, Vatican officials said Tuesday.
The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were discovered on the ceiling of a tomb that also includes the earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew. They were uncovered using a new laser technique that allowed restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the dark colors of the original paintings underneath.
The paintings adorn what is believed to be the tomb of a Roman noblewoman in the Santa Tecla catacomb and represent some of the earliest evidence of devotion to the apostles in early Christianity, Vatican officials said in opening up the tomb to the media for the first time.
Last June, the Vatican announced the discovery of the icon of Paul — timed to coincide with the end of the Vatican's Pauline year. At the time, Pope Benedict XVI also announced that tests on bone fragments long attributed to Paul "seemed to confirm" that they did indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint.
On Tuesday, Vatican archaeologists announced that the image of Paul discovered last year was not found in isolation, but was rather part of a square ceiling painting that also included icons of three other apostles - Peter, John and Andrew - surrounding an image of Christ as the Good Shepherd.
"These are the first images of the apostles," said Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of archaeology for the catacombs, which are maintained by the Vatican's Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology.
The Vatican office oversaw and paid for the two-year, euro60,000 restoration effort, which for the first time used lasers to restore frescoes and paintings in catacombs. The damp, musty air of underground catacombs makes preservation of paintings particularly difficult and restoration problematic.
In this case, the small burial chamber at the end of the catacomb was completely encased in centimeters (inches) of white calcium carbonate, which under previous restoration techniques would have just been scraped away by hand. That technique, though would have left a filmy layer on top so as to not damage the paintings underneath.
Using the laser, restorers were able to sear off all the layers of calcium that had been bound onto the painting because the laser beam stopped burning at the white of the calcium deposits, which when chipped off left the brilliant darker colors underneath it unscathed, said Barbara Mazzei, the chief restorer.

On the Miracles In My Life

mir·a·cle
Pronunciation: \mir-i-kəl\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin miraculum, from Latin, a wonder, marvel, from mirari to wonder at
Date: 12th century
1 : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

These are the MIRACLES that have occurred in my life - the examples of Divine Intervention that go beyond the ordinary.
1. My husband. Despite the day to day drudgery of raising a family, working, maintaining a household; the frustrations of living with another person who (gasp) doesn’t think always exactly like me; the tendency to take one another for granted…. Despite all of what is “marriage” in the modern world, I have to admit that my husband is the result of a miracle in my life. God undeniably brought us together. I was a newly-graduated physical therapist living in Washington State, Rob was a newly-graduated engineer living in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I got a tax return (my first tax return from my first “real” job), and wanted to buy a telescope with it. My father talked me into buying a computer. I was literally on the internet for the FIRST TIME, when I stumbled one evening upon (through random clicking of links) the message of a “yooper”, who wanted information about moving out West. I remember he said that he and a buddy of his wanted to move West; the mountains in North Idaho were one of his favorite places on the planet. They were MY favorite, too. I felt an enormous compulsion to reply to this message for some reason. I HAD to. A friend had come over so we could go out to a movie, and I remember saying “I can’t go yet. I HAVE to reply to this message”. I HAD TO. And so I did. We began writing back and forth. This eventually led to phone calls, and I found myself talking on the phone for 8 hours at a time to this perfect stranger half a country away. It astounds me now that we had that much to talk about. After several months, Rob agreed to fly out to meet me. The first thing he insisted on doing was meeting my parents. That weekend we went camping, to the park, to the movies. The next month, I flew out to meet him and his family. By our third date, Rob had proposed, and planned to move out west. I am NOT a spontaneous person. I am not a risk taker. And yet here I was agreeing to marry a man I had spent only days with physically. We were married a year later. There are so many variables that could have been minutely different, and we never would’ve met. So many random decisions that would’ve precluded this life that I have now with my husband, the family we have made. And yet, here we are. I often tease Rob that he was SUPPOSED to be a telescope. Yet God knew that what I really needed was a husband. And I trust that He knows what He’s doing.



2. My Boys. Rob and I tried for five long, agonizing years to start our family after we were married. After a year and a half , I realized that something must be wrong, and we saw a doctor. After exhausting his “tricks”, we were sent to a fertility specialist two hours a way. There we started down the road that so many infertile couples journey: surgery, tests, fertility drugs, artificial insemination. Yet nothing worked, and the stress on our marriage was immeasureable – financially, emotionally. After three and a half years, we were referred to a reproductive endocrinologist in a town four hours away, to begin IVF. We had heard good things about this doctor, and were assured that we would finally become the parents we had dreamed of being. The doctor told us that our chances were excellent. Our first round of IVF started without a hitch, and 11 healthy eggs were harvested. The embryologist then injected Rob’s sperm into those healthy eggs, and we waited patiently to hear about how many of our “babies” grew. No one called at the appointed time. Hours later – still no call. Eventually, we heard that not a single one of those eggs fertilized. It was a scenario that had never happened before in any of the specialist’s knowledge – the procedure normally has a 75%-80% successful fertilization rate. The embryologist was highly skilled, one of the best in the country, and yet our trial had failed more miserably than any in history. We were devastated. I remember Rob wondering whether our genetics were compatible. We assumed (although the fertility clinic denied it adamantly) that some mistake HAD to have been made on their part, because this just didn’t happen. Not only had we failed to achieve a pregnancy, but we had failed utterly. Eventually, we bought two more rounds of IVF, and decided to try again. The second attempt, three embryos fertilized, and we opted to use all three. When Rob got a job offer near his parents, we jumped at the chance, assuming that triplets were on the way and that we would need help. Before the move was complete, though, we lost the pregnancy. Heartbreak again. After moving to Michigan, Rob insisted that we have a new beginning. He was never in favor of fertility treatments, but did not want to adopt, either. That left us nowhere, if we wanted to be parents. I prayed incessantly, anguished over this. I felt so strongly called to be a mother, and yet it seemed the likelihood of that happening was quickly deteriorating. We had one more IVF attempt paid for, though, and it was our last, dim hope. I would fly back to Spokane to the fertility clinic as soon as my period started and I could start the fertility drugs. My period never came. I was furious at my body for ruining this one last chance at motherhood. In tears, I called my sister, who suggested that I take a prenancy test.  Was she KIDDING?  After all I'd been through?  I did what she said though... bought the test at the dollar store,  because I wasn't about to waste another cent on those stupid, disappointing tests that had always been negative.  This time, however... there was the faintest of second lines.  Every other test I'd ever taken had been an undeniable "negative".  I called Rob into the bathroom, asked him what he saw on the stick.  "A line".  Was there two?  Well, maybe.  We'd never had a maybe before.  That day I called the fertility clinic and told them that I wasn’t able to start the drugs “on time”, and requested a pregnancy test.  The results? Pregnant. Unbelievable.  The nurse, when she called with the results, told me she wouldn't have ordered a pregnancy test in our case, because she knew the heartbreak we'd been through, and knew it wasn't a possibility.  But I had requested it, and here we were.  Pregnant.  Without fertility drugs, without the help of medical science. God had allowed us to fail miserably at everything MAN and SCIENCE knew how to do, to show us His glory. We couldn’t do it, but God could. I firmly believe that. As I had already bought my plane ticket, I ended up flying out to Spokane anyway, and seeing the endocrinologist. He did our ultrasound, and asked “did anyone tell you that this pregnancy was unusual?” I panicked immediately. WHAT WAS WRONG?? He showed me the baby, it’s sac, it’s heartbeat. Thank God. The baby was allright. Then he said “and here’s the OTHER baby. You’re having identical twins!” We were astounded and thrilled beyond belief. God is so good!!! The doctor kept saying “Wow! I didn’t do this one? You did it yourselves?” The doctor might have thought that “we” did it ourselves, but we knew better. It was Divine intervention. We COULDN’T do it ourselves. God blessed us on HIS time, through His power – not through our own. We had to fail, science had to fail, man had to fail – utterly and completely, so that His glory could shine through. As if to leave no doubt about the nature of this amazing gift God had blessed us with, the boys were born on my birthday. Happy Birthday to me, from God. I get to be a mom.

3. Quinn’s Kidney. We knew before the boys were born that there was water on their kidneys. It was a difficult pregnancy, I had gone into labor at 22 weeks, and was on bedrest alternately at home and in the hospital for the remaining 12 weeks of the pregnancy until the boys were finally born 6 weeks premature. We were told not to worry about the boys’ kidneys – they wanted me “calm” to keep the contractions under control, and assured me that by the time they were born, the kidneys would be normal. In the NICU, however, the hydronephrosis was found to persist, and both boys ended up getting kidney infections – extremely dangerous for preemies. There was talk of flying them to Ann Arbor for emergency surgery, but the nephrologists eventually thought we should wait until they were big enough to handle such major surgery. We soon found out that each boy had a “dead” kidney, and would need it removed. That was scheduled soon after their first birthday. The surgeries were long (5 hours each) but successful. Colby’s other kidney was fine, but Quinn’s remaining kidney was still had grade IV-V reflux (the same as the kidney that Colby had removed). He continued on daily antibiotics, and we were told he would need an additional surgery when older to correct the problem. If the reflux persisted uncorrected, he would most likely need a kidney transplant. For another year we watched Quinn closely, had regular tests to assess the damage to his remaining kidney, gave him daily medication. When visiting my parents one spring, however, my mother asked if we could have Quinn anointed at church. I was skeptical, but thought there was no reason not to. The priest called us up during the service – Rob holding Quinn (who was fussing and crying, and had spent the first half of the service in the narthex so as to not disrupt everyone else), my parents, Colby and I, and my sister’s family. We were asked to lay our hands on Quinn as the priest anointed him with oil and began praying. It was no ordinary prayer. Father Jack prayed under his breath, but I could tell it was not English he was speaking – he was praying in tongues. Quinn, surprisingly, fell immediately into a deep heavy sleep in Rob’s arms. He didn’t awaken for the entire rest of the service. Rob leaned over to me and said “something happened. I could feel it. He just went so instantly calm.” After the service, my normally reserved husband went up to Father Jack THREE TIMES to thank him, and to tell him that he knew “something happened” during the anointing. I, however, remained hopeful, but wasn’t counting on anything concrete. A month later, we were back in Michigan, and it was time to have Quinn’s annual kidney study done at a hospital two hours away. The doctor started the procedure, and then asked me “What am I looking for again?” I told her grade V reflux. She was quiet. An hour later, she said “Well, I don’t see anything.” Nothing? Not at all???? “There’s no reflux here.” He was healed. Completely. I remember calling my mom, and she started crying. “It’s a miracle!” I have the xrays from before and after, which I keep up in my closet as physical proof (mostly to myself) of this miracle. A follow up visit to our nephrologists downstate confirmed the healing. I remember asking him “does this happen? Can grade V reflux just GO AWAY on it’s own, within a month?” He said “Well, it DID happen, so it must be possible.” That’s all he would say on the matter. Whenever I recount Quinn’s kidney history to other doctor’s now, they always ask me when his corrective surgery was done. I told them never. He was healed. They invariably are shocked that the healing occurred without surgery, which reaffirms my conviction yet again that God is good and works extraordinarily in our lives.

4. Reagan’s Prophecy. I felt enormously blessed by the gift of our sons, their miraculous entrance into our lives. The fear of never being a mom was so tangible, that I gave thanks to God outloud every day that He honored me with my boys. I couldn’t shake the feeling, however, that someone was MISSING. We weren’t complete yet. I felt a little greedy about that. God had already granted me a miracle. And I wanted more??? I had always wanted four children. Rob, however, was perfectly content (or overwhelmed) by our two rambunctious boys. He didn’t want more. This again caused tension between us. I KNEW someone was supposed to be there, and felt like God was telling us that we weren’t done. Rob was convinced it was my biological clock speaking and not the Lord of Hosts. I knew I wanted four kids, but I felt like we were only missing ONE – that, to me, was proof that my “feeling” wasn’t of my own origin. Anyways. When the boys were two and a half, I was at work one day when a truly amazing thing happened. I was doing therapy with a 10 year old autistic boy, when he suddenly stopped, looked at me, and said “Monica, who’s going to be my therapist when you have the baby?” I was shocked, but said “I’m not having a baby. You don’t have to worry about that.” He was insistent, though, and very worried about who would be his therapist when the baby arrived. I tried to divert the conversation, thinking it inappropriate. He would not be diverted. “Matthew, I’m not having a baby.” “Yes you are,” he replied. “It’s a girl. Monica Jr. She’s standing there waving at me! See? She looks like you, and she’ll be born in November.” This was September when all of this occurred – further proof that this young man was just being silly. He would not let up the entire hour, no matter how many times I tried to change the subject. He was so INSISTENT, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being spoken to by more than a 10 year old boy. The next morning, I gave in and took a pregnancy test. I was, indeed, pregnant. And, if Matthew was right about the rest of what he said, we were having a girl. The November thing? Well, maybe he was just being silly. This baby would be due in May. Well, late in October, I miscarried. Turns out it was a molar pregnancy – just an empty sack. We were, of course devastated. The next time I saw Matthew for therapy, he looked at me and said “Where’d the baby go? Is she born?” I told him she was up in Heaven. He just shrugged, and said “Oh. She was supposed to be born in November.” He never said another word about it, and not long after moved out of state with his family. I was devastated once again, but felt guilty about my grief – how greedy was I to want more than what God had already granted me? After all we’d been through with the boys? The feeling wouldn’t go away, however, that someone was MISSING. I felt it so strongly, and yet Rob was adamant it was my DESIRE for another child talking, and not something more. Tension grew between us again. Finally, one day, Rob said “Fine. If you can get pregnant before you turn 35, I’ll consider it. Otherwise, you need to give up this idea of another child forever.” I knew my fertility was poor. We’d been married almost 10 years by that time, and I’d been successfully pregnant only once, despite being open to pregnancy for most of that time. So I prayed. I remember distinctly one day praying to Mary – something I am admittedly not in the habit of doing. I remember praying “Mary, you are a mother, and know the desires of a mother’s heart. If you see fit to ask your son to bless us with another child, I would be truly thankful.” That was it – my simple prayer. On Easter Sunday, 2 months before my 35th birthday, I gave in and took a pregnancy test - certain that it would be negative just as every other disappointing test had been before it. This time, however… it was positive! I was ecstatic!! How fitting to find out about new life on Resurrection Sunday!! Even more surprising, our first ultrasound showed us that we were having identical twins yet again. What a roller coaster. At 9 weeks, however, I lost one of the babies, and was again on bed rest for a short time. That’s when it occurred to me… I had always wanted four children, but strongly felt like God only promised us ONE more. It helped me through that miscarriage, that promise. And despite early labor pains that threatened an early October delivery, we made it until NOVEMBER, and gave birth to a baby GIRL. Just like Matthew had said we would. Little Reagan Anne, who looks a whole lot like her Mommy.

A Catholic Apologetic, written for my children, when they are old enough to understand.

I heard an analogy the other day that seemed particularly astute, given the misperceptions and vilification of the Catholic church from those outside her walls. The analogy had to do with windows – particularly stained glass windows. From outside a church, a stained glass window is unreadable, dark. The picture in the window can’t be seen, it’s message hidden. From inside the church, however, with the Light of the outside sun (I could say “Son”) to illuminate them, the stained glass windows come to life, and their full glory revealed. So it seems to me that the only way to truly see the fullness of God’s glory is from inside His church.

I’ve been thinking about some simple facts lately, which compels me again back to the Catholic church. One is this verse:
Matthew 16:16-19
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven."

I ask myself, WHICH church can trace itself back directly to Jesus through Peter? Which lineage is recorded in an unbroken line, and ends up directly at the grave and physical remains of St. Peter himself, deep within a church at the Vatican? Not to a man establishing a denomination – not 200 years ago to a Joseph Smith, or Charles Russell. Not 500 years ago to John Calvin or Zwingli, Henry VIII, or Martin Luther. But back, all the way back, greater than 2000 years back, to the very person who soaked up the same air as Christ Himself, and was granted by Christ His authority hold the keys to Heaven.

I have heard people outside the church claim time and again that Paganism crept up inside the Church, distorting it beyond all recognition, and that the church, millennia after inception, needed to be “restored” or “reformed”. I cannot deny that the Church can stray, has strayed, and is made up of sinners and frail human beings. The church is not the pristine bride Christ commissions her to be. What I DO know is that Christ NEVER LEFT THE CHURCH, never repealed His blessing of her. I know this because of the “new and everlasting covenant” He established with His church. I know this because He promised to be with us, until the end of the age. I know this because He sent the Holy Spirit, the Advocate ( John 14: 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. ) Even when the Church sinned, even when the gates of Hell TRIED to prevail, they didn’t. Because Jesus said they couldn’t. He is stronger. I often wonder, for those so convinced that Christ abandoned His church to paganism for millennia…. at what point do they think He left? Or rather, when did the Church leave Christ so completely… when did the “divorce” occur? At the time of Constantine? Before that? After? Did the church really only “last” for 300 years, despite Jesus Himself promising that it would last until His second coming?

I go back to the writings of the Early Church. Any “reformation” needs to “reform” back to an original, or it’s nothing more than a change to something new and novel. Are we “restoring” or are we “changing for our own reasons?” So the writings of the Early Church NEED to be crucial to us. This may not be the full revelation of God the Father through the Son, with the help of the Holy Spirit, as sacred scripture is. But it is a history of the early church, their beliefs, their practices. It is Christianity in it’s infant, pure form. And it is worthy of study. It is UNDENIABLE that those Christians were “catholic”, in every sense of the word. That church was sacramental, believed in the literal Power of God to act in every day lives of it’s people, through the authority invested in the church. That church believed in the actual and true presence of Jesus Christ, body, soul, and divinity, in the Eucharist and wine. That church knew liturgy, was solemn and sacred. That church had a structure, an organization, and that church was centered in Rome, because that’s where Peter was. That church believed in a communion of saints, living and dead, that could pray and support each other, petition to God on each other’s behalf. Undeniably.

It’s possible to think, however, that none of this is important. That regardless of these facts, the “culture” of the Catholic church is such that it doesn’t "speak” to me. It’s too solemn, not joyous enough, not friendly enough, boring. The people are hypocrites, the structure leads to corruption. Whether you believe that as true or not, I would argue that it is all CULTURE. It is not what is important. It is environment. That is the result of frail human beings. And culture can be changed, is changing at any given second. The church itself, though, is unchangeable. It hasn’t changed substantially, theologically, liturgically, in over 2000 years. It is the church established by Christ Himself through St. Peter, and that is enough for me. Because Christ promised never to leave it.

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED .
I AM A PART of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look
back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God's hands. I am
finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth
knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and
dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I
don't have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live
by faith. I lean on Christ.s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the
power of God's grace.
My face is set. My gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my
companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I
will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the
table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid
up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know,
and work until He stops me.
And when He returns for His own, He will have no difficulty recognizing me. My banner is
clear: I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
Adapted from the original (author unknown) by Patrick Madrid

Calvinism... the Summary

The beliefs of Calvinism can best be represented by the acronym T.U.L.I.P. Here are the interpretations of what each point of belief means to a Calvin, and what the Bible says in response.

Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability)
What Calvin Meant: Humans are completely sinful, and incapable of doing good.
What the Bible Says:
Genesis 1
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

1 Timothy 4:4 (New International Version)
4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Matthew 13
The Parable of the Weeds
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

THEREFORE: We are created in God’s image, and God himself deemed us VERY GOOD. We have chosen, however, of our own free will, through temptation by “the enemy”, to fall from that perfection that God originally created. That means we are imperfect and sinful – all of us, from the moment of birth. But we are STILL created in His image, and have, for that reason (and it alone) the capacity for good, the ability to choose good, to choose right. We are CAPABLE of making a choice to lead us closer to the Father because of the nature God gave us, just as we are CAPABLE of making a bad choice that moves us farther away from the Father because of our own disobedience and sinful nature. Man is sinful, but not TOTALLY DEPRAVED, by virtue of being a creation of God. God cannot and does not create Evil. We choose evil. Can we deny that non-Christians are capable of making a right choice, of doing good, even if it does not lead to their salvation? This can only be because of that quality endowed by the Creator, making all men in His image. We must remember that Jesus himself was human and flesh – it is Gnosticism to believe that all matter is completely evil.

1 John 4: 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Unconditional Election
What Calvin Meant: God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not. Some are predestined to Hell.

What the Bible Says:
1 Peter 1:2 (New International Version)
2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Therefore: We do not earn our salvation. There is no formula for meriting the grace of God. God knows, however, the choices we will make in response to His calling, before we make them. He has the foreknowledge and knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are and are not capable of, and what will work to His purposes. Using this knowledge, He chooses those whom He will to carry out His divine plan. Council of Orange 529 AD, Canon 12: "God loves us because of what we will be by the gift of His grace, not because of what we are by our own merit." St. Augustine said "God does not command what is impossible, but in commanding advises you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot do,"(67)


Limited Atonement:
What Calvin says: Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect.
What the Bible Says:
John 3:16 (New International Version)
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 Timothy 4
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

Matthew 23:37 (New International Version)
37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."

Matthew 22
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
5"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
13"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14"For many are invited, but few are chosen."

Acts 13
38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Revelation 3:20 (New International Version)
20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
THEREFORE: God does not reject His creation – we reject HIM. MANY are invited. He is knocking at our door. If WE hear him knocking and answer, He will enter our lives. In the sower’s parable, the seed is spread on all different types of soil. A good farmer, however, knows where to focus his seeds to produce the best crop. He will not waste seed on poor soil, because he knows how the soil will reject the seed. He has FOREKNOWLEDGE. Does he not want all his land to be good for planting his crops? Absolutely. But our free will essentially determines the type of soil we will be, and how we will receive His message. God did not purposefully make “bad soil”, He did not create some people for the express purpose of going to hell, and He desires all to be saved, but knows (through His omnipotence and foreknowledge) that all will not choose Him. As St. Augustine stated : "God does not abandon those whom He has once justified by His grace, unless He is first abandoned by them." (68)

Irresistible Grace:
What Calvin Meant: When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call and it cannot be resisted.

What the Bible Says:
Acts 7
51"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

Hebrews 12
15See to it that no one misses the grace of God
22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.
The Book of Jonah

THEREFORE: God has the power and sovereignty to COMPEL us to Himself, but He chooses not to. He allows us to make a choice in response to His call. Why would He allow us this ability? Because He knows that love is not love if it is compelled. He allows us the dignity of choice. From the beginning – as Adam and Eve. Because He wants us to CHOOSE to love, as He chose to love us. Don’t get me wrong. God is VERY PERSUASIVE , and our will is no match for His, not by an infinite long shot. Ask Jonah about that. But the story of Jonah tells us something very important. God said “Go”, but Jonah said “NO!” Over and over again. Until God set the circumstances in motion to the point where Jonah finally agreed to God’s plan for himself. But God did not use Jonah as a puppet, as He certainly could have, taking him over so that He said yes instantly. He allowed Jonah the dignity of Free Will, and then He made it very clear to Jonah that the answer needed to be “YES”, and eventually Jonah changed his mind. Moses was reluctant to God’s call, as was Paul initially. That’s why it’s so worthy of emulation for those examples in the Bible who said “yes” without hesitating, immediately, without question. 38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." The ultimate example is Jesus in the garden of Gesthemane “Not my will, but Yours be done”. Jesus died for us willingly, because it was the Father’s will – he was not COMPELLED to die for us. If so, there would have been no need for the devil to tempt Jesus. The temptation in and of itself shows that Jesus COULD HAVE chosen another path, but DID NOT of his own free will. He was in complete obedience to the Father, but he did not HAVE to be. Jesus had a choice, and made the right one.

Perseverance of the Saints:
What Calvin Meant: You cannot lose your salvation
What the Bible Says:
1 Timothy 4
15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Hebrews 10
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38But my righteous one[f] will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."[g] 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.


Matthew 13:
20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.
2 Peter 1
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

THEREFORE: There would be no need to encourage the saints to persevere, if there was not a risk on salvation being lost. There would be no use of the word “IF” in the above Bible verses, if salvation was secured regardless of one’s actions and obedience to God’s word. There would be no parable of the seed on the rocky soil. We have the hope of the promises the Lord gives us. We trust in that hope. But it is arrogance that leads to complacency to assume that we are all a “sure thing” by virtue of being one of the “special, chosen ones”. We persevere in the hope and promise of things to come, as the pearl of great price.

The Appeal

God calls each and every one of us to Him, but it is up to us and our free will to respond. It seems to me, though, that this call can appeal to us in one of three ways…..

The first is through an obedience to tradition – faith as passed on from those that came before. Some view this in a negative light, as if being born into the faith isn’t legitimate without a “born again” experience. Personally, though, I find such beauty in the idea of the seeds of faith being sowed in the youngest members of a community, and growing in a nurturing environment to blossom and bear fruit. A person knows God because God as always BEEN THERE – there has never been a day, a time, when God was not a part of their existence, and they accept that implicitly. “Teach a child in the way he should go, and He will not stray from it.” As G.K. Chesterton wrote – “there are two ways to get home, and one of them is to stay there.” The danger here lies only in the chance that faith never rises above “religion” (not that religion is a negative word, as it’s often portrayed) – or more accurately “ritual” and “culture”. Christianity is NOT a heritage, as one might claim to be an Italian, or bear the mark of a familial Roman nose. There is a Christian heritage, a Christian culture, but it is not what being “Christian” IS. Being a Christian implies an active faith, an active relationship both with our God and a community of believers (“Where two or more are gathered in my name, so also will I be”). God seeks us on a deeper level, and at some point – be it in small increments over time too gradual to pinpoint, or in jumps and starts in some dramatic, definitive way – that heritage of faith needs to be owned for yourself. Not because it was what you were taught by those around you, but because you believe it for yourself. And that’s where the two other means come into play.

Whether you start inside or outside a faith tradition, God "knocks at our door" in two ways: through our heads, or through our hearts. Logic or emotion. We often seem to be called in the way that most resonates with our personality (who WE are), but in reality, we are called based on who GOD is. God is love, He is not merely loving. God is the Word, logos, logic. He is not merely logical. Love and Reason. That is God.

For the thinkers among us, God calls us to Himself through logic. He plagues us with questions, planting a desire for answers. “Why are we here? How did we come to be? How do we reconcile science with faith? Who was Jesus historically, and what evidence, what documents, support his existence?” Reason can point us in the direction, put us on the path to truth, if we step back far enough to gain perspective. It is undeniable that Jesus and His followers existed. We know from outside sources (or “hostile witnesses” if you will) that Jesus performed unexplainable feats deemed “miracles” or “magic” even by skeptics. Our reason tells us then that we can either believe one of two things: Jesus is the Son of God that He claims to be, or He is a madman. Our logic can take us right to the foot of Jesus, but then it leaves us there. The last final step, the “conclusive proof”, the scientific certainty, cannot be. The last step is the leap of faith that takes us from the miracle worker or the madman, to the divinity of Christ. Where science ends, God begins. This also makes logical sense. Science is an understanding of our existence. We can comprehend only those things that are finite, that fit inside our brain. How can we possibly understand the infinite? If God is greater, then there is no way we can begin to completely understand – we can only attempt a glimpse. Science can tell us only the “how”, but not the “why” or “by whom”. In the end, we have faith. But it is not a blind faith, or an illogical faith. Because God is neither blind nor illogical.

Others find their way to God through their need, their desire, through their heart. The idea of God fulfills a longing placed there by the very Creator who can be the only one to fill it. We have a “God”-sized hole in our heart. It is a universal human desire to be loved. It sets us apart from mere animals. A dog might desire affection from it’s master, but it’s a need that’s fulfilled with a pat here and there, a thrown ball now and then. Humans desire to be LOVED perfectly, completely. Evolution has no means of explaining that uniquely human desire. As part of being human, we inherently know that there is a perfection SOMEWHERE, and our existence falls short of it. It is the reason we call out in despair “Jesus, I need you. Heal me.” And He responds. Often, this lends itself to a dramatic conversion experience, what some evangelicals might call being “born again”. But we must not fail to note that being “born again” in the Bible was explicitly referring to baptism, and not to an emotional conversion experience. One must be born of the water and the spirit. It seems to me that this way to faith, this emotional need or desire, is a means very much rooted in the present, the “here and now”. It runs the risk of losing all perspective and grounding, as emotions are volatile and subject to change.

Whichever path leads you to the Father, the important fact is only that you GET THERE. It’s evident, though, that one cannot exist without the other. Complete rationality cannot explain the magnanimous agape, the all-encompassing love our Creator has for us, and desires us to spill out to our fellow brothers. Emotion when not tempered with logic loses it’s theology and orthodoxy – the grounding which keeps us straying from the truth.

God draws us to Him, through Himself, love and logic. In a much more concrete sense, God drew all humanity to Himself in the physical embodiment of that self -- in the person of Jesus Christ.

Catholicity

I am Catholic. It is the denomination of my heritage... my mother, my aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents have all been Catholic. I am not sure how far back the links of this chain go; for certain back to the mining towns of Idaho, the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Battle of Little Big Horn, and before that -- across the distance of an ocean, back to the motherland of Germany. It was a gift given to me at birth, this heritage, and for this reason Catholicity is in my blood, and frames my way of viewing the world. It has only been as an adult, though, and through the loving questions of non-Catholics, and the skepticism of myself and others, that I have been led to become a Catholic in my head and in my heart. That I have been able to say that I choose this way of viewing the Truth that was revealed and entrusted to us by God. I choose this way of worshipping -- a way as old as Christianity itself. I know that every time I attend Mass, I am speaking the same words that billions have spoken before me through 2000 years of Christian history. They sang the same songs, partook of the same supper. I am part of a body of Christ that does not consist only of those of us who happen to be alive and walking around. I am a part of a communion of saints and believers that worship together still, even though their earthly eyes witnessed different eras. This is immensely comforting to me.

It may seem hypocritical to some (it does even to myself) that although I feel THIS Catholic, I have worshipped in the Lutheran Church for the past 10 years.  I love my church, and the family it has become to me.  I love the warmth of this congregation, and the Christian examples that inspire me daily.  I love the sincerity of faith that is shown in  humble people going about God's work.  And I love the questions that have made me think and dig and research and challenge my heritage of Catholicty.  There are very few people that know that, although I attend this church for many reasons, I don't consider myself Lutheran.  I consider myself a Catholic attending a Lutheran church.  I attend a Catholic church on Saturday and a Lutheran church on Sunday, and as I write this, it seems ridiculous.  Choose one.  Make a decision.  It's more complicated than that, although I agree it shouldn't be.  Part is resistance, part is fear - of the rift it would cause in my marriage, with my inlaws, with my friends.  The gut anti-Catholic reaction in Protestantism is alive and well, I assure you.  So I feel a "secret" Catholic, or a "closeted" Catholic.  I feel that I am worshipping with hands containing four fingers instead of five - that the biggest thing that is WRONG with the Lutheran way of worship is that it lacks fullness, the completeness that I yearn for.

I go back to the Early Church, and I study the Church Fathers, and I know that that church was undeniably "catholic". It may have grown and morphed in appearance over time, but there it is in it's fledgling form. I see a sacramental view of the world, a theology that does not deny the POWER -- real, non-symbolic, actual POWER, through the grace of God -- that is granted to His church body. I see a depth of understanding of His word; not merely literal and fundamental, because if we take these words at only their surface meaning, we miss the wellspring of revelation beneath. I see liturgy that has remained essentially unchanged throughout history, and it is as if I hold the hands of the early martyrs and all that have gone before me when I participate in such a liturgy. I see apostolic succession. As I look into all the major Christian religions who claim apostolic succession (such as the Copts, and eastern Orthodox churches), I see their similarities, and know that those truths entrusted by the first Christians have been preserved and protected through out the ages, to remain intact. I also see how the history of God's people didn't end with the book of Revelation - it could continue to be written today. God didn't drop a book in our laps and leave. He's still HERE among us, with the Holy Spirit to guide us. I see, as I look back on this faith of my heritage, the frailty of the human being, how imperfect we are, and how we have failed our commission, failed our Covenant, repeatedly. But I know that God has not failed US. When Jesus said it would be a new and EVERLASTING covenant through His body and blood, I know that the powers of Satan infiltrating Christ's church cannot break that covenant. The love story God has with mankind is permanent.

So I stand at a crossroads - because I don't want to upset the cart, the peace, because I have been told that how things are is "good enough".  Because I am afraid.  Which is silly, but true.  And I want my children to know the fullness of faith that I am finding.  I want them to know TRUTH.  Full truth.   I want unification - not a "your" and "my" church, but OUR church, OUR way of worship.  I want to be another link in the chain, and pass the gift on to my children, just as it was a gift given to me.  I do not want this chain to end with me, especially not because I am AFRAID. 

As G.K. Chesterton says, "There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there." Others, like myself, leave home, and go searching, only to one day turn around and find our answers in the very place we just left. We just need the perspective to see it.

Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The boys have been learning about the Fruits of the Spirit in Sunday school. It’s been wonderful listening to them rattle them off – it’s sinking in!! It’s also gotten me to thinking about what living a spirit-filled life LOOKS LIKE. What the world sees on the outside when God changes us on the inside. It’s not self-righteousness. Not condemnation. We shouldn’t become more stern, laugh less, have less patience with those around us because they aren’t living up to God’s standards. We are more acutely aware of ALL of that as we grow closer to God. That is true. But instead, as we truly become more in tune to how often we as humans fail our loving God – a fact that should rightly strike us with guilt – He grants us the grace to face that realization with JOY. And HOPE. Yes, we’re all sinners. Yes, this world is going astray. We know that – it’s been the way of humankind since Adam and Eve. We are frail, and weak, and make mistakes. But through God’s grace, as we grow ever mindful of these facts, the Spirit blesses us. Because through our darkness, we see the hope that the Light brings, and we rejoice in that! Thank God! There is a way out! And that faith, that hope in salvation, causes a blossoming, not a shriveling, inside of us. The fruit of that hope is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. THAT is what we need to portray to the world as Christians. We need to let the Spirit shine through us. Let us not portray ourselves as self-righteous, judgemental. We recognize evil, we call it for what it is, but our response is not one of condemnation, but LOVE. Because that is what Christ offers us. ALL of us, if we only accept that gift. And if we let the Spirit shine through our lives, those in darkness will flock to it like moths to a flame. We are called the share the Light with all. May the fruits of the Spirit in our lives be a beacon.

An Inspiration

I have a friend who is newly 5 years old, and is fighting a cancer that is spread throughout his body. His mother is a woman of great faith, and - as the family is in the throws of a full-on battle with this cancer - has the fortitude to be an inspiration to others. This is her latest journal entry. I a humbled by her faith, humbled by this little boy's faith, and humbled by all of their strength.

Friday, November 27, 2009 11:21 PM, EST

We are headed into the hospital Monday for another week, more chemo.

It’s not easy for any child to be in the hospital. Early in Everest’s hospitalization, I shared with family/friends that I was concerned about him managing the hospital and all it entailed with his sensitivities. Has the cancer, pain, and the extreme month of tests, transition and treatment escalated how he sees his experience and responds to it? Yes. Yet I’ve been realizing cancer or no cancer, Everest is who he is…loving, creative, restless, strong, sensitive, driven, challenging, brave, curious, stubborn, thoughtful, and always beautiful….He’s our Everest. We give thanks.

Such thanks in this light allows me to recognize that the traits I first worried about when looking at “How do we get him through treatment???” are likely the exact traits required of him to climb this mountain. Sensitivity makes him extremely aware of what is going on around him. Even though sometimes he may not have the words to address things, he is a participant in all that is happening and his being will not allow him to be anything else. Awareness brings strength. Stubbornness means it takes a heck of a lot to get medicine down him at times, but it’s that same drive that will fight, fight, fight. Giving thanks for all parts of him I am reminded where we each need to be, about ourselves and in how we see others.

In our home we talk about being a child of God and celebrating that we are God’s children. In everyday activities and with our congregation, Good Shepherd, (who bless their hearts accept we don’t always make it there every Sunday, or with two young kids roll in late!) Everest sees gifts in each person he meets. While enjoying stories and pictures sent from many of you he asked, “How do they ALL know I am here?” We talked about how it was important for us to tell people who love him that he wasn’t feeling well, so they could share prayers for him to get better and good thoughts to help him feel comfortable in treatment. My words came out, “Because you are a very special child of God.”

His response was immediate and strong, “BUT MOM…EVERYBODY IS A CHILD OF GOD!” I tried to be a bit more specific, only to be met with the same response even louder. “EVERYBODY!” To Everest, every life is special and valuable. If only we could package that and sell it, but I know it spreads….It spreads.

So, as we pack bags to head back in, and my mind knows all of this I have shared with you, please send prayers, warm thoughts, and peace our way. The minute we get on the floor, my heart will again need reminders to keep celebrating every day, every person, every part….even when I am tired and not seeing as clearly. I thank God for Bill as well. He brings me back when needed and holds a caring, calming strength. We are a team.
(Also, though Grandma Sandy is as strong as they come, she has been ill and receiving treatment for an intestinal illness. She is on the mend, but has struggled as all she wanted to do is be here and play with her Everest. Please keep her in mind as well.)

Finally, thanks to friend Ruth (the Elder) for the hymn reminders. I have been in prayer in a very meditative sense; seeking quiet spaces, walks, chapels. But yesterday I sang in the tub! It was full of spirit and needed.

Here we go! Everest is strong, like a mountain. He’ll again climb another stretch of his journey as only he can. -Liz

The “tub hymn” for those who wish to raise their voice for Everest…

Earth and all stars! loud rushing planets sing to the Lord a new song!
Oh, victory! Loud hosts of heaven sing to the Lord a new song!

Refrain:
God has done marvelous things.
I too, I too sing praises with a new song! (repeat)

Hail, wind, and rain! loud blowing snowstorm sing to the Lord a new song!
Flowers and trees! loud rustling dry leaves sing to the Lord a new song!.....

(Refrain)

Trumpet and pipes! loud clashing cymbals sing to the Lord a new song!
Harp, lute, and lyre! loud humming cellos sing to the Lord a new song!.....

( Refrain)

Engines and steel! loud pounding hammers sing to the Lord a new song!
Limestone and beams! loud building workers sing to the Lord a new song!.....

( Refrain)

Knowledge and truth! loud sounding wisdom sing to the Lord a new song!
Daughter and son! loud praising members sing to the Lord a new song!.....

( Refrain)

An Encounter

Odd, what happens in the check-out line at Walmart sometimes. Today, as I was loading my groceries on the belt, I noticed a book on angels and miracles amongst the People magazines and National Enquirers. I picked it up briefly, glanced at it, and then put it back on the shelf, going about my business. A few minutes later, an elderly gentleman behind me did the same thing. Then, he tapped me on the shoulder.

"Do you mind if I tell you a story about a REAL angel encounter?" I told him I didn't mind at all.
He then proceeded to tell me that he was a crisis chaplain for the military. He was counselling a man who had been in the elite forces in Cambodia years ago, a group of 31 men sent to capture Pol Pot. They never got him, but captured (and beheaded) several of his hench men. Upon their return to the states, all but 5 of those men died from self-inflicted injuries - suicide, drugs, alcohol. This man that he was counselling was one of the last five left, and he had contacted this chaplain because he wanted him to preach at his funeral. He was planning on committing suicide in the near future, and was making his arrangements. The chaplain called a friend, and together they prayed that angels would protect this man from harm until he had a chance to know God. Two days later, he received another call from the vetran. He said that he had been out in his field, riding his tractor, when the tractor went over an embankment and rolled. Twice. On top of him. It was heading for a third time - a blow that would surely have killed him -- when a large, bright figure stopped the tractor. Just as it was about to crush him. This man was not a believer, and he was afraid to tell anyone about what had happened to him, afraid he was going insane. So he called this chaplain - the one he wanted to preach at his funeral. The one who had prayed not two days earlier for angels to protect him. And the one who is now leading this man to know his Father.

The man behind me in the Walmart check out line had tears in his eyes as he told me this story. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. So I muttered something about "WOW", and then kept unloading my groceries. There was awkward silence on both our parts, but I kept feeling like I needed to say MORE. After a few minutes had passed, I turned to him.

"Well, I believe in angels, too. My son was miraculously healed. His kidney." And then I had tears in my eyes, too -- talking to this perfect stranger about precious, private things. He just looked at me, and said "I don't normally talk to people about this stuff, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to talk to you. You are a believer?"

"Yes," I said. He nodded.

"This world needs all the believers it can get right now."
I agreed. And then there was nothing more to say, and I paid the cashier, gathered my children, and left.

One can truly encounter God anywhere. Even in Walmart.

On Calvinism and Free Will, part 2

God is not on a power trip.

Why does God want us to obey Him? So He can prove He’s “in control?” That He’s “da Man?” Why then, is “the fulfillment of the law” LOVE? (Galatians 5:14)
The Law does not state “you shall wear green on odd Thursdays”. They are not pointless, endless laws to obey with no purpose. The law of God was obviously not established for the sole purpose of bending us to His will, although He very well could have made it that way. He is all-powerful, our Creator. He can do whatever He wants. If His only goal was to control us, then the Law would be random. But it isn’t. Even the laws and commands that made no sense at the time (washing hands before you eat? WHY?) make sense in the light of retrospection. NOW we know why it’s important to have clean hands before you eat, even if the scientific data to support that was another few thousand years in coming.
Look at God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Do we think God was doing a trial run for human sacrifice? Do you think Abraham had ANY idea why God would possibly want Abraham to kill the son God had so miraculously blessed him with in his old age? Why would God do such a thing? Abraham didn’t question God’s purposes, though. He just obeyed. In light of the New Testament, however (thousands of years later), we can get an inkling of what God was thinking with this command to His faithful servant. We realize, with a giant “AHA” moment, that God knew HE would give up HIS son as sacrifice for US, because He loves us so much. He wanted to know that some one of His creatures would sacrifice as much for Him. God did not caprciously order Abraham to do anything. There was a purpose. And that purpose was LOVE.

I feel like our time here on earth is essentially our infancy, to prepare us for the “adulthood” of a “new Heaven and a new Earth”, which we are gifted to partake of through our Savior’s sacrifice. Our lives here are but a training ground. God is our Father, and just as an earthly parent sets down “the rules”, so does He. Our rules as a parent aren’t random, though. They’re designed to mold our children into thinking, moral adults. As such, we allow our children to make mistakes, and suffer the natural consequences of those mistakes. Not that we don’t WANT them to obey us every time, and that we couldn’t MAKE them obey us every time. A good parent, though, knows when to back off and let the child experience for themselves the consequences of their own actions, in order to learn the lesson well. To prepare them for making the right choice the next time. To prepare them for being an adult. We don’t leave them alone. Even when they’re making a bad choice, we’re in the distance, watching, making sure they don’t fall too far to get seriously hurt. We’re saying to them “remember what I taught you!” We’re prompting them, guiding them. But ultimately, we let the child old enough to make a right decision the opportunity to MAKE that decision. “I taught you to wear a coat outside so you don’t get cold. Now that you’re 10 – if you don’t wear your coat, then…. Get cold!”

Why do we allow our children to make choices, even when they are BAD choices? Why do we give them FREE WILL? Because we love them, and we want them to love us, and we want them to learn to eventually become the people we want them to become. A parent who makes every last decision for a child ends up with an adult who is incapable and weak. Our God is no less of a parent to us.

I feel that there is a fear out there that if we say we have the ability to make a free choice in our response to God, that it means somehow that He is not in TOTAL CONTROL, and that it belittles His power. This is not true in the least. Man has the ability to make something that he totally controls - he has the intellect and power to make a robot. It obeys a man's every command. TRUE power and genius comes from creating something that can think and feel and reason for itself. Man hasn't even come CLOSE to the genius of the Father.

He allows us FREE WILL, not because He CAN’T control us, but He chooses not to – for Love’s sake.

On Calvinism and Free Will

Our God is a sovreign God. He is all-powerful, and is capable of total control. The question, however, arises.... does He utilize that total control? Or does He, in His infinite wisdom, allow us to make a choice in response to His leading, His prompting, and His calling? Does He pre-ordain his "elect", or allow His children free-will in choosing Him?

The problem starts with the idea of the Total Depravity of Man... utter and complete. Man is a creation of the Father, and made in His image. Man is a recipient of His love. "And God saw that it was good". From the beginning, however, we chose to move away from that perfect love, through our disobedience. The Great Fall separated us from intimate union with God. Did Adam and Eve's decision rid all future generations of any worth? I look at an unwanted child, whom our society has deemed "worthless". We intrinsically base that child's worth on whether or not it is loved and wanted by it's parents - we base that child's right to LIFE on whether or not it is loved and wanted by it's parents. So we inherently and subconciously base WORTH on love. What we, in our short-sightedness, fail to remember, is that even that unwanted child is loved by the Father of creation, and therefore has worth. Our worth stems not from ourselves, but from God. A canvas and paint is of no value in and of itself. Only through the mastery of the Artist does it become priceless.

Evil is the opposite of Good. Sin moves us away from God, as Love draws us toward Him. Can God love what is the opposite of Himself? That which propels away from Him? Yet he loves us repeatedly and completely. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God IS love. And our worth as recipients of that love comes not of our inherent selves, but only as a consequence of Him, and being His created being.

This idea of Utter Depravity leads to the concept that we are not CAPABLE of doing anything in our relationship to God, and not WORTHY of being an active participant. Thus the idea of pre-destination... that God chooses only those whom He wants beforehand, controls them to His purposes, and elects them for salvation. But is the opposite also true, then? Would an all-loving God predestine His own child to Hell? Would God purposely give up a SINGLE one of His children? Would a loving father or mother condemn one of their children from its first breath out of the womb? Would an Artist create a masterpiece for the sole purpose of burning it? Could we believe even for one moment that Jesus died for the atonement of only a few, and not for the many? What parent would give up his life for one of his children, and not the others?

Without worth, there can be no free will. And without free will there is no merit (nothing we do can be deemed "good", because it is God controlling us for His purposes). On the same token, though, without free-will there is no GUILT. If I am merely a pawn, then those choices I make that are disobedient are also not of my doing. Without guilt there is no REPENTENCE, and without repentence there is no SALVATION. The inherent worth of a man given to us by God our Father makes us capable of responding to His touch, makes us able to make a choice to obey Him, have faith in Him. We are worthy of taking responsibility for the wrong choices we make, and that responsibility grants us our NEED for God and salavation. Read Genesis 1:31. "God looked at everything He had made, and found it very good." Now read Genesis 6:5-7. "When the Lord saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, He regretted that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was grieved." How do you get from "very good" to "ever anything but evil"? Free will. How do you explain the fall of man? Free will. God's heart was grieved, because it was not HIS plan for us to fail as miserably as we did. Not that He couldn't have made things differently. But He chose not to.

God is infintiley wise, and knows us better than we know ourselves. Predestination is not the same as preknowledge. God is omnipotent and outside of time, and knows which decisions we will make before we make them. But they are still OUR decisions to make, right or wrong - towards God or away from Him. He chooses NOT to control us. We humans, as pitiful as we are, constantly put God on the judgement seat, to see if He is worthy of our faith in Him. We creatures put the God of All Creation on the "dock", when, in reality, it is we who are being judged on how we live our life for HIM. He prompts us through the Spirit, and then allows us the choice to obey that call, because the fufillment of the law is LOVE, and love cannot be compelled. Love is a choice, not a feeling. God wants us to love Him, but He would never compel us to do so. Would God deny anyone who comes to the foot of the cross with a sincere desire and true repentence? As John 3:16 states so succinctly, God LOVES US. It is WE who choose to reject HIM through our unbelief- never the other way around. And our choice is our Free Will. For good or bad. Not that God CAN'T control us, but that He chooses not to. For Love's sake.

C.S. Lewis states it far more eloquently than I ever could....
"(God) could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers; or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaires. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to co-operate in the execution of His will. 'God', said Pascal, 'instituted prayer in order to lend to His creatures the dignity of causality.' But not only prayer; whenever we act at all He lends us that dignity. It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so. They have not advised or changed God's mind - that is, His over-all purpose. But that purpose will be realized in different ways according to the actions, including the prayers, of His creatures.... He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly in the twinkling of an eye. We are not mere recipients or spectators. We are either priveleged to share in the game or compelled to collaborate in the work, to weild our little tridents."

Quotes from one of my favorite Authors

G.K. Chesterton is one of my favorite authors. He just had such an abundance of common sense. These quotes are so applicable to today's world, that it's hard to believe that the man lived at the turn of the last century. Here's some of his quotes:

"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions."

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."

"Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance."

"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."

"The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right."

"Reason is always a kind of brute force; those who appeal to the head rather than the heart, however pallid and polite, are necessarily men of violence. We speak of 'touching' a man's heart, but we can do nothing to his head but hit it."

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around."

"War is not 'the best way of settling differences; it is the only way of preventing their being settled for you."

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

"The Declaration of Independence dogmatically bases all rights on the fact that God created all men equal; and it is right; for if they were not created equal, they were certainly evolved unequal. There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the divine origin of man."

"Love means loving the unlovable - or it is no virtue at all."

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists."

"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions."

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

"Theology is only thought applied to religion."

"The whole truth is generally the ally of virtue; a half-truth is always the ally of some vice."

"Truth is sacred; and if you tell the truth too often nobody will believe it."

"It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong."

"Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice."

"All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive."

"Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities."

"[No society can survive the socialist] fallacy that there is an absolutely unlimited number of inspired officials and an absolutely unlimited amount of money to pay them."

"We are learning to do a great many clever things...The next great task will be to learn not to do them.-

"Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it." –

"When people talk as if the Crusades were nothing more than an aggressive raid against Islam, they seem to forget in the strangest way that Islam itself was only an aggressive raid against the old and ordered civilization in these parts. I do not say it in mere hostility to the religion of Mahomet; I am fully conscious of many values and virtues in it; but certainly it was Islam that was the invasion and Christendom that was the thing invaded."

"There is no bigot like the atheist."

"Progress is Providence without God. That is, it is a theory that everything has always perpetually gone right by accident. It is a sort of atheistic optimism, based on an everlasting coincidence far more miraculous than a miracle."

"There are arguments for atheism, and they do not depend, and never did depend, upon science. They are arguable enough, as far as they go, upon a general survey of life; only it happens to be a superficial survey of life."

"There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there."

"Alone of all creeds, Christianity has added courage to the virtues of the Creator. For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point and does not break."

The man of the true religious tradition understands two things: liberty and obedience. The first means knowing what you really want. The second means knowing what you really trust."

"I might inform those humanitarians who have a nightmare of new and needless babies (for some humanitarians have that sort of horror of humanity) that if the recent decline in the birth-rate were continued for a certain time, it might end in there being no babies at all; which would console them very much".

I Believe....

The upcoming national election, and a few brief conversations with friends, have got me thinking about what my personal "platform" is in terms of our country.... what values, beliefs, hopes, dreams, thoughts do I have regarding the United States of America. To be a responsible voter, I really should pick the person who I feel can best represent THESE specific things. There's not going to be a candidate that agrees with Monica Aho 100%, I realize that... but when "interviewing" for the job of President, I suppose it's my responsibility to really clarify my own stances about things. For myself. So that's been on my mind, and this is what I've come up with....

I believe....

In the sanctity and dignity of all human life, at all stages of life, and all conditions of life. From conception to natural death, including the abled and disabled, all life is precious, a gift from God, and to be protected. No one is expendable.

That our country was founded on the concept that all men are CREATED equal, and that all members of society have equal OPPORTUNITY to create the life that they want for themselves. This does not mean that everyone will BE equal - financially, or otherwise- but rather that every person has the opportunity to work hard, to become educated, and to better their own lot in life through perserverance, talent, ingenuity, and self-discipline. Those opportunities for betterment should be protected. Everyone's status in life is not, and shouldn't necessarily be, the same as everyone elses.

That, when assisting members of society, it is far more beneficial to provide a "hand up", rather than "hand out". Give a man a loaf of bread, he eats for a day. Teach him how to farm, he can provide for himself forever.

There is evil in this world, and our country MUST forever recognize this fact realistically, and choose actively to be a beacon of light and hope to the world.

In pragmatic stewardship of the environment. Our natural resources are limited and precious, and a source of great pride - another gift from God. They need to be utilized appropriately and responsibly. But I believe they SHOULD be utilized.

Our society is obligated by God to protect the most vulnerable amongst us - the unborn, the young, the elderly and the disabled. Those who make bad decisions, as knowing adults, need to be accountable for their own actions. Those whose condition is, through no fault of their own, vulnerable - those who are unable to protect themselves - require our help. I believe that even the disabled have something to add to society, and can contribute to their ability.

In personal responsibility, and that the role of government is not to "take care of" the people, but rather to represent the common interests of society as a whole. That includes defense, education, infrastructure, safety of the citizens, protection of individual rights, and maintenance of common, public land. Beyond that, government's role should be limited.

Taxes are the people's money, pooled together to achieve the above goals of government. It is not inherently "the government's money". It should be used responsibly, and with fiscally sound practices. If there is a surplus, it should be returned to the people.

In a strong, but fiscally and morally responsible, national defense. I fully realize that Freedom Isn't Free, and that military might is at times necessary to protect our country.

In freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. Religion should not be publicly imposed on citizens, but neither should it be ignored or, worse yet, villified by government. A free society respects that it's people have varying belief systems, and it rejoices in the freedom of all to practice those beliefs, so long as they do not impinge upon the rights of other individuals. "Impinging upon the rights of others" does not include "offending others" by virtue of displaying outward signs of one's own religion. I believe that the Founding Fathers, when drafting the concept of separation of Church and State, were more worried about government corrupting religion than vice-versa.

Separation of the branches of goverment - executive, judicial and legislative. Each has it's role, and great care must be taken so that those boundaries are not over-stepped.

In the rule of law, and strong enforcement of those laws. The death penalty should be rare, and reserved for extreme circumstances only. The government acts as a representative for society on the whole in such cases, and we all bear the responsibilities for such public executions..

Immigration reform. Our nation was built on immigration. Problems exist, however, when foreigners enter the country illegally, breaking the rule of law. If we need them as workers, then there needs to be legal and efficient ways of allowing them into the country for work. If they entered illegally, there needs to be consequences for that. Deporting 12 million illegal aliens is not an option. Creating a physical barrier to keep them out is a symptomatic band-aid, not a cure. Finding ways for foreginers seeking a better life to enter the country LEGALLY, if in the best interest of our economy, needs to be streamlined. Keeping people out who wish our country harm (terrorists, drug dealers, etc.) needs to be a top priority as well.

Gun ownership is a right, but has nothing to do with "sports and recreation". It has everything to do with protection of one's self, family, and property. Obtaining guns through legal means does not impede on this right. Laws governing guns can be appropriate, so long as they do not impinge on the right of responsible citizens to protect themselves and their property.

Education is the foundation of our economy and our future. Increased general funding does not necessarily translate into a better quality of education. Teachers who are well-qualified and teach because they are talented and love to teach are imperative. Scholarships attracting the best and brightest to education, and merit salary increases for teaching based on student performance and results will reward those teachers that are best at teaching. School districts need standards and accountability, with increased funding for increased achievement (achievement can be measured by academics, percent of parental involvement, decrease in drop-out rates - many different aspects of successful education, not just test scores).

That the family unit of man-woman-child is the core of our society. Individuals form family units, family units form communities, communities form states, and states form countries. There are other living arrangements, but the most stable unit is that which has been the anthropological grouping of human kind throughout all of history. This is not imposing my religious beliefs or morality on anyone else. It is how we are created, how the species has perpetuated and protected itself throughout time, in every culture, in every location, in every time period, for as long as human beings have been human beings. Aberrations to this unit have been found, but they have always been recognized as just that -- aberrations to the "norm". I have no problems with "civil unions", where any one individual may bestow rights of survivorship, buy a house, or share life with any other person of their choosing - and what they do in private is up to them, their conscience, and God. I do have a problem with marriage as being defined as anything other than what it always has been. The word "marriage" has already been taken, and has already been defined, long before any of us were here.

A Quote

"Miracles... seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always." Willa Cather

A Meditation

This is something I wrote several years ago, while camping in a wilderness area. It was a beautiful, quiet day, surrounded completely and utterly by nature, and I felt very close to God. I wrote this letter to myself to remember the feeling, so I wouldn't forget.




In between the green filtered light and shadows of trees, underneath the songs of birds, above the tickle of the river, just this side of the aroma of lupines and pine.... there.... THAT is where it is found. It is here but not here, a shiver outside what your senses tell you. But be sure of this. It is REAL. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face, the faint breeze that kisses the back of your neck. You know it is real. So, if you go to find it, sit quietly, close your eyes, breathe deep and just listen. Just wait. Just BELIEVE. There you will be, to the tiniest degree, in the presence of the kingdom of God.

Once you have seen and experienced, it will be incomprehensible that you had not thought to seek before. You will not fathom that anyone could NOT want to be in this place, in this presence. You have caught a glimpse of something you could find only by closing out everything else. Getting rid of the stuff that clutters the mind and ultimately has no meaning, no bearing whatsoever on this pure life. You now have been here, to this place of ultimate forgiveness, unbounded love, and true peace. Remember it! Because in our concrete world, the knowledge of it quickly fades, forcibly pushed out by the details of our every day. Go back as often as you can, stay long, cherish each instant. Move deeper and deeper each time, don't be content to stay at the entryway. You have been offered a glimpse of the truth -- that which is to come, that which is struggling to take hold in the hearts of a billion souls. Nurture. Fan into flame. Walk the narrow path. Believe.

It is REAL.