Archives For Owen
Katie Kirkpatrick, 21, held off cancer to celebrate the happiest day of her life. Katie had chased cancer, once only to have it return-to clog her lungs and grab hold of her heart. Breathing was difficult now, she had to use oxygen. The pain in her back was so intense it broke through the morphine that was supposed to act as a shield. Her organs were shutting down but it would not stop her from marrying Nick Godwin, 23, who was in love with Katie since 11th grade.
Click to see the incredibly moving presentation.
NPPA: Best of Photojournalism 2006: Still Photography Winners: Enterprise picture story
Some footage of the Cathedral Christ the Savior being destroyed on Stalin’s command. The cameraman who filmed it speaks about how he thought it was great blasphemy, but couldn’t refuse the order:
Dear Christianity Today:
In response to Paul D. Apostle’s article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I’ve ever met.
Phyllis Snodgrass; Ann Arbor, MI
Dear CT:
I’ve seen other dubious articles by Paul Apostle in the past, and frankly I’m surprised you felt that his recurrent criticisms of the Church deserved to be printed in your magazine. Mr. Apostle for many years now has had a penchant for thinking he has a right to “mark” certain Christian teachers who don’t agree with his biblical position. Certainly I commend him for desiring to stay faithful to God’s word, but I think he errs in being so dogmatic about his views to the point where he feels free to openly attack his brethren. His attitude makes it difficult to fully unify the Church, and gives credence to the opposition’s view that Christians are judgmental, arrogant people who never show God’s love.
Ken Groener; San Diego, CA
Continue reading “If Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians was Published in Christianity Today“
A few weeks ago, I listened to a sermon by Mark Driscoll on 1 Peter 3:18-20, one of the most difficult to understand passages in the Bible:
Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
A traditional understanding is that after he was crucified, Jesus descended into Hell. This is codified in the Apostle’s Creed, which I remember being exposed to in my two semesters at a Lutheran school:
Jesus Christ … was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
John Piper has an interesting interpretation up that would make the narrative more consistent with the very clear passage of Jesus to the thief in Luke 23:43 (“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”):
With regard to 1 Peter 3:19, I take these words to mean that Christ, through the voice of Noah, went and preached to that generation, whose spirits are now “in prison,” that is, in hell. In other words, Peter does not say that Christ preached to them while they were in prison. He says he preached to them once, during the days of Noah, and now they are in prison.
I encourage you to read the whole post for a fuller picture of the evidence for this interpretation, as well as its consequences.
This is what happens when you try to please two masters, the world and God:
Mr. Warren told CNN’s Larry King on Monday that he “never once even gave an endorsement” of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman.
What Mr. Warren said he did do was send out a video to his 22,000-member church explaining his position the week before Proposition 8 went before state voters on Nov. 4.
“Now let me say this really clearly: We support Proposition 8,” he said on the video, “and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues, I come out very clear.”
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said his denial is “absolutely baffling.”
“Whether he supports Proposition 8 now, after the fact, is overshadowed by the bizarre claim that he did not say what the evidence so clearly proves he said.”
From John Piper’s Desiring God:
CHRISTIAN:
Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me?
I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death.
Where is your sting?
DEATH, sneeringly:
My sting is your sin.
CHRISTIAN:
I know that, Death. But that’s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is.
Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting?
Where is, my sin?
What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?
O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more.
Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be his servant. For me, you will have no sting.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
It’s hard to believe that when I was a child, in the early 1980s, it was still illegal in much of America to home school your children. Apparently, it still is in Germany, and one couple is seeking refugee status:
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their five children, aged from three to 11, will appeal to a court on Thursday in Tennessee, where they fled after attempts by German police three years ago to force the family to obey the country’s laws which make school attendance compulsory.
When the Romeikes refused to comply with repeated orders to comply with the law, police came to their home and took the children, crying and upset, to school.
German family claim asylum in US over home schooling – Telegraph.
Campus Crusade for Christ has put up an interesting and comprehensive guide to fasting.
If you’re thinking of starting, or just want to see what other’s have to say about it, I encourage you to check it out:
YOUR PERSONAL GUIDE TO FASTING AND PRAYER :: Campus Crusade for Christ International.
Fasting is one of the most neglected spiritual admonitions. In fact, it has been ignored for so long that it is difficult to find information on the “how-to’s” of this life-changing experience. When I first undertook an extended fast, I had a difficult time finding information on the nature of a Biblical fast, how to start, what to expect physically and spiritually, and how to terminate a fast.
These pages are designed to answer your practical questions about fasting and ease any concerns you might have. In this series, you will learn:
* Why you should fast
* How to fast safely
* How long and what type of fast is right for you
* How to prepare yourself spiritually and physically
* How to manage your schedule while fasting
* How to deal with the responses of friends and loved ones
* How to make your spiritual experience the best it can be
* How to maintain nutritional balance and health from beginning to end (including specific juice and broth recipes)
* What physical benefits to expect
* How to finish your fast and return to your normal schedule in a HEALTHY way
