no greater agony

There is no greater agony than to lose love, you know that, psychiatrists, counsellors know that. There is no greater agony than a love that really matters to you, you lose it, it's gone, And, depending on how long and deep that love was, the more agony it is.

 

As you know if an acquaintance says, "I never want to see you again" that's bad. If a good friend says, "I never want to see you again" that's worse, If your child or sibling or parent says, "I never want to see you again" That hurts way worse ---- And if your spouse says, "I never want to see you again" that hurts the worst of all.  A lot of you have been through those experiences. It destroys your heart, It destroys your body, it destroys!

 

The quote above is from a sermon on the Crucifixion by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

 

Keller then points out that this terrible suffering is nothing compared to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross, when God the Son is separated from God Father - They (the persons of the One God) had been together for all eternity, and on the Cross the Father abandoned the Son to a brutal, agonizing death.

 

We see Jesus' anguish the night before in the garden of Gethsemane when He prays, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." And then again on the cross when he cries out, in despair, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

 

Jesus, the Son of God, was abandoned by the father when he was being brutally put to death by those he had created. He voluntarily suffered this humiliation and death, so that He could pay our debt of sin. He was punished and abandoned - getting what we deserve - and He did all this to save us from our sins.

 

Coram Deo.

Kenith

 

 

A quote:

…as St, Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary, He told us to be not only "as harmless as doves," but also "as wise as serpents." He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up's head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim... The fact that what you are thinking about is God Himself (for example, when you are praying) does not mean that you can be content with the same babyish ideas which you had when you were a five-year-old. It is, of course, quite true that God will not love you any the less, or have less use for you, if you happen to have been born with a very second-rate brain. He has room for people with very little sense, but He wants every one to use what sense they have... God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking  of becoming  a  Christian,  I warn you  you  are embarking  on something which is going to  take the whole  of you,  brains and  all.

 

C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

 

A letter: Dionysius to Fabian

In the year 250 A.D. the Roman Emperor Decius issued an edict declaring that everyone in the empire had to sacrifice to the emperor, in the presence of a Roman official, and receive a certificate to show that they had done so. This edict led to severe, universal persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

 

What follows below is taken from a letter written by Dionysius, the Bishop in Alexandria, to fellow bishop, Fabius of Antioch. It is about the local persecution that had begun a year earlier in that city.

 

“First, then, they seized an old man of the name of Metras, and commanded him to utter words of impiety; and as he refused, they beat his body with clubs, and lacerated his face and eyes with sharp reeds, and then dragged him off to the suburbs and stoned him [killed him by stoning him] there. Next they carried off a woman named Quinta, who was a believer, to an idol temple, and compelled her to worship the idol; and when she turned away from it, and showed how she detested it, they bound her feet and dragged her through the whole city along the rough stone-paved streets, knocking her at the same time against the millstones, and scourging her, until they brought her to the same place, and stoned her also there.”

 

After these first couple Christians were murdered by the mob, they attacked Christians throughout the city, “Then with one impulse they all rushed upon the houses of the God-fearing, and whatever pious persons any of them knew individually as neighbours, after these they hurried and bore them with them, and robbed and plundered them, setting aside the more valuable portions of their property for themselves, and scattering about the commoner articles, and such as were made of wood, and burning them on the roads… And here is the response of the Christians, “The brethren, however, simply gave way and withdrew, and, like those to whom Paul bears witness, they took the spoiling of their goods with joy... “

 

He then adds, “But they also seized that most admirable virgin Apollonia, then in advanced life, and knocked out all her teeth, and cut her jaws; and then kindling a fire before the city, they threatened to burn her alive unless she would repeat along with them their expressions of impiety.”  Appollonia would not blaspheme God and was burnt alive.

 

Dionysius next writes, “They also laid hold of a certain Serapion in his own house; and after torturing him with severe cruelties, and breaking all his limbs, they dashed him headlong from an upper storey to the ground. And there was no road, no thoroughfare, no lane even, where we could walk, whether by night or by day; for at all times and in every place they all kept crying out, that if any one should refuse to repeat their blasphemous expressions, he must be at once dragged off and burnt.”

 

The above account is only the small beginnings of the universal, extreme persecution of Christians that soon followed these events after Decius released his edict.

 

I know sometimes I think I have it rough and feel sorry for myself; it’s good for me to read things like this. It reminds me to be very thankful for the great courage of our brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone before us in the faith. It also reminds me to be thankful for God’s grace and mercy to me and to those that I love, we have been blessed so very much, yet we to often forget how much we are blessed by God.

 

Kenith

A quote:

 

"... there are two kinds of love: we love wise and kind and beautiful people because we need them, but we love (or try to love) stupid and disagreeable people because they need us. This second kind is more divine, because that is how God loves us: not because we are lovable but because he is love, not because he needs to receive but because he delights to give." 

 

C.S. Lewis (in a letter to Miss Breckenridge - 19 April 1951)

 

 

 

Adam or Eve? Who is Responsible?

I think this is a topic many of us seldom think about so here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

 

Eve sinned, but it is Adam’s sin that is preeminent here. Let me see if I can show why this is so.

 

In Gen. 2:15 God places Adam in the garden to keep it. The word keep used here is “shamar.” According to Strong's Concordance this word means “to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life.” Adam’s task in the garden was more than simply that of a grounds keeper. He was also a guard, because there was an enemy on the loose (Satan). Eve did not receive this duty, Adam did. Also Adam was told to not eat of the tree of life, before Eve was created. (Note: We find the same word “shamar” is used in Gen 3:15 to describe the cherubim sent to guard the tree of life.)

 

Next Eve was created as Adam’s “helper suitable”. He was, from the beginning, head over her and responsible for her (he has to protect her as well). In Gen. 3:6 we are told that after Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit that “she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Adam was there with his wife. He should have protected her, but instead he allowed her to be tempted. Remember Paul tells us that Eve was deceived when she partook; This is not true of Adam, he simply disobeyed God (1 Tim 2:14).

 

Because of all this, the Scriptures rightly give Adam credit for the fall into sin and not Eve. Nothing was cursed because of Eve’s sin, but the whole of creation is cursed because of Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:17-19; Rom. 5:17).

 

The above may seem like hair splitting but, Adam’s headship and culpability in this matter are both biblically and theologically important, especially when we look into the different roles that God has given to husbands and wives.

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Kenith

 

 

 

 

 

St. Cyprian

Cyprian (died 258 AD) was the bishop of Carthage from 249 AD until he was executed by the Romans for his Christian faith and for his leadership of Christ Church in North Africa. Cyprian is one of my personal favourites among the early Church fathers.  He was born into family of privilege and wealth, but he willingly gave that up to serve his Saviour Jesus Christ and Christ’s Church. He was willing to do this during a time of serious and extreme persecution, when many fellow Christians were being imprisoned, tortured and killed by the Roman government, because of their faith.

 

St. Cyprian wrote a good deal; we are blessed to still possess, and have ready access to, much of what he wrote. We still have many of his personal letters written to friends and colleagues. We also have a sizable number of his treatises. These treatises are often very much like a sermon and many of them were likely sermons that he preached to his parishioners.

 

The quote below is and excerpt from a treatise Bishop Cyprian wrote on the Lord’s Prayer.

 

…[T]he Teacher of peace and the Master of unity would not have prayer to be made singly and individually, as for one who prays to pray for himself alone. For we say not “My Father, which art in heaven,” nor “Give me this day my daily bread;” nor does each one ask that only his own debt should be forgiven him; nor does he request for himself alone that he may not be led into temptation, and delivered from evil. Our prayer is public and common; and when we pray, we pray not for one, but for the whole people, because we the whole people are one. The God of peace and the Teacher of concord, who taught unity, willed that one should thus pray for all, even as He Himself bore us all in one…

 

I think it is good for modern Christians to remember that we received the Gospel of Christ from those who came before us. It is good to remember men like Cyprian, and elder brother in the faith, who willing gave his life, and was beheaded, for the cause of Christ and His Church.

 

Kenith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quote

Here is a quote from Lewis’s book Surprised By Joy: “This is why, though it was a terro, it was no surprise to learn that God is to be obeyed because of what He is in Himself. If you ask why we should obey God, inn the last resort the answer is, “I am.” To know God is to know that our obedience is due to Him.”

 

 

A quote by CS Lewis

“I was at this time living, like so many Atheists or Antitheists, in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world. “  C.S. Lewis in Surprised By Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.

 

 

 

Mythopoeia by J.R.R. Tolkien

Mythopoeia

By J.R.R. Tolkien

Philomythus to Misomythus

You look at trees and label them just so,
(for trees are 'trees', and growing is 'to grow');
you walk the earth and tread with solemn pace
one of the many minor globes of Space:
a star's a star, some matter in a ball
compelled to courses mathematical
amid the regimented, cold, inane,
where destined atoms are each moment slain.

At bidding of a Will, to which we bend
(and must), but only dimly apprehend,
great processes march on, as Time unrolls
from dark beginnings to uncertain goals;
and as on page o'er-written without clue,
with script and limning packed of various hue,
an endless multitude of forms appear,
some grim, some frail, some beautiful, some queer,
each alien, except as kin from one
remote Origo, gnat, man, stone, and sun. 
God made the petreous rocks, the arboreal trees,
tellurian earth, and stellar stars, and these
homuncular men, who walk upon the ground
with nerves that tingle touched by light and sound.
The movements of the sea, the wind in boughs,
green grass, the large slow oddity of cows,
thunder and lightning, birds that wheel and cry,
slime crawling up from mud to live and die,
these each are duly registered and print
the brain's contortions with a separate dint.
Yet trees are not 'trees', until so named and seen
and never were so named, tifi those had been
who speech's involuted breath unfurled,
faint echo and dim picture of the world,
but neither record nor a photograph,
being divination, judgement, and a laugh
response of those that felt astir within
by deep monition movements that were kin
to life and death of trees, of beasts, of stars:
free captives undermining shadowy bars,
digging the foreknown from experience
and panning the vein of spirit out of sense. 
Great powers they slowly brought out of themselves
and looking backward they beheld the elves
that wrought on cunning forges in the mind,
and light and dark on secret looms entwined.

He sees no stars who does not see them first
of living silver made that sudden burst
to flame like flowers bencath an ancient song,
whose very echo after-music long
has since pursued. There is no firmament,
only a void, unless a jewelled tent
myth-woven and elf-pattemed; and no earth,
unless the mother's womb whence all have birth.
The heart of Man is not compound of lies,
but draws some wisdom from the only Wise,
and still recalls him. Though now long estranged,
Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.
Dis-graced he may be, yet is not dethroned,
and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned,
his world-dominion by creative act:
not his to worship the great Artefact,
Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light
through whom is splintered from a single White
to many hues, and endlessly combined
in living shapes that move from mind to mind. 
Though all the crannies of the world we filled
with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build
Gods and their houses out of dark and light,
and sowed the seed of dragons, 'twas our right
(used or misused). The right has not decayed.
We make still by the law in which we're made.

Yes! 'wish-fulfilment dreams' we spin to cheat
our timid hearts and ugly Fact defeat!
Whence came the wish, and whence the power to dream,
or some things fair and others ugly deem?
All wishes are not idle, nor in vain
fulfilment we devise -- for pain is pain,
not for itself to be desired, but ill;
or else to strive or to subdue the will
alike were graceless; and of Evil this
alone is deadly certain: Evil is.

Blessed are the timid hearts that evil hate
that quail in its shadow, and yet shut the gate;
that seek no parley, and in guarded room,
though small and bate, upon a clumsy loom
weave tissues gilded by the far-off day
hoped and believed in under Shadow's sway.

Blessed are the men of Noah's race that build
their little arks, though frail and poorly filled,
and steer through winds contrary towards a wraith,
a rumour of a harbour guessed by faith.

Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme
of things not found within recorded time.
It is not they that have forgot the Night,
or bid us flee to organized delight,
in lotus-isles of economic bliss
forswearing souls to gain a Circe-kiss
(and counterfeit at that, machine-produced,
bogus seduction of the twice-seduced). 
Such isles they saw afar, and ones more fair,
and those that hear them yet may yet beware.
They have seen Death and ultimate defeat,
and yet they would not in despair retreat,
but oft to victory have tuned the lyre
and kindled hearts with legendary fire,
illuminating Now and dark Hath-been
with light of suns as yet by no man seen.

I would that I might with the minstrels sing
and stir the unseen with a throbbing string.
I would be with the mariners of the deep
that cut their slender planks on mountains steep
and voyage upon a vague and wandering quest,
for some have passed beyond the fabled West.
I would with the beleaguered fools be told,
that keep an inner fastness where their gold,
impure and scanty, yet they loyally bring
to mint in image blurred of distant king,
or in fantastic banners weave the sheen
heraldic emblems of a lord unseen.

I will not walk with your progressive apes,
erect and sapient. Before them gapes
the dark abyss to which their progress tends
if by God's mercy progress ever ends,
and does not ceaselessly revolve the same
unfruitful course with changing of a name.
I will not treat your dusty path and flat,
denoting this and that by this and that,
your world immutable wherein no part
the little maker has with maker's art.
I bow not yet before the Iron Crown,
nor cast my own small golden sceptre down.

In Paradise perchance the eye may stray
from gazing upon everlasting Day
to see the day illumined, and renew
from mirrored truth the likeness of the True.
Then looking on the Blessed Land 'twill see
that all is as it is, and yet made free:
Salvation changes not, nor yet destroys,
garden nor gardener, children nor their toys.
Evil it will not see, for evil lies
not in God's picture but in crooked eyes,
not in the source but in malicious choice,
and not in sound but in the tuneless voice.
In Paradise they look no more awry;
and though they make anew, they make no lie.
Be sure they still will make, not being dead,
and poets shall have flames upon their head,
and harps whereon their faultless fingers fall:
there each shall choose for ever from the All.

A letter from David Greely

Many thanks from David Greely, (Français suivant)

Thank you all very much for all your kind compliments for the work I’ve done with the Mamou Playboys over the last 23 years. For nearly twenty years before I ever met Steve Riley, I played traditional fiddle and dreamed of playing music of my own culture- music that would make me proud, would make a difference, and that would take me all over the world to see the things I’d always wanted to see, and to meet the people I’d always wanted to meet. With Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and thanks to all our fans, every one of those dreams have come true, and for that I will always be grateful.

It has become necessary for me to reduce my exposure to loud sound. I have researched ALL my alternatives, including the ones you’re thinking about right now, and the only one that makes me certain of my ability to keep my hearing into my later years is to play acoustic music, exclusively.

I want to especially thank you for your good wishes for the future. The future is very bright and busy, as I continue to play homestyle Cajun music in a variety of formats. Thankfully, all my projects lately have been acoustic, exploring the riches of the home music we seldom get to hear in dance halls, so I’ll be able to keep on cruisin’ with all of the following forms of Cajun music:

Solo performance and recordings: I will continue to play solo in concert and to release recordings of new and traditional Cajun music, like Sud du sud, only better !

GreelySavoyDuo : that most sublime and primeval of Cajun lineups, two fiddles, with the indefatigable Joel Savoy.

GumboJet : Cajun acoustic trio with Daniel Gale on fiddle and accordion, Jo Vidrine on guitar, and moi on fiddle, with vocals and lots of your old favorite tunes, as well as a bunch of new ones, played like we own the place.

Marce LaCouture and Friends : Cajun a capella ballads and home music. I’m a friend. Last summer we performed at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center! On the same day!

Teaching at music camps, workshops and in private lessons in person and by Skype : I have become fascinated with teaching since I’ve discovered how to help students understand how music works, especially in the context of Cajun songs. It’s a blast for me.

Adding the Greely Cajun touch in collaboration with musicians in other genres, like the Andrea Hoag’s Old Doors/New Worlds project, and The Golden Triangle Blues Trio, with Johnny Nicholas.

So please join me in my adventures. Visit davidgreely.com, and sign up for my newsletter.

See you soon, I hope,

David Greely

Remerciments de David Greely,

Bien merci pour tous vos beaux compliments regardent le travail que j’ai fait avec les Mamou Playboys pendant les dernières 23 annees. Pendant presque vingt ans avant que j’ai rencontré Steve Riley, j’ai joué le violon traditionel et rêvé d’un vie en jouant la musique de ma culture même- musique de qualité, fierté, et qui pouvait faire une différence, qui pourrait me porter alentour du monde pour rencontrer tout le monde que je voulait. Avec Steve Riley et les Mamou Playboys, et grace à tous nos fans, tous ces rêves ont devenu vrai, et pour ça, je suis eternellement reconnaissant.

Je dois eviter le sonne fort tout net. J’ai fait toute ma recherche, même les solutions dans vos idees a ce moment, et la seule maniére d’être certain de preserver mon audition pour les années qui viennent, c’est jouer la musique acoustique, exclusivement.

 Je veux surtout vous remercier pour vos bonnes veuxs pour l’avenir. L’avenir et brillant. Heureusement, tous mes projets dernièrement ont été acoustique, ça fait, je suis capable de continuer sans cesse avec tous ces formations de musique Cadienne :

Solo et disque : Je joue solo en concert, et je continue avec des disques de musique Cadienne nouvelle et traditionelle, comme Sud du sud, et encore mieux !

GreelySavoyDuo : cette formation Cadienne le plus sublime et primevale, deux violons, avec le formidable Joel Savoy.

GumboJet  : Trio Cadien avec Daniel Gale, violon et accordeon, Jo Vidrine a la guitare, et moi. Beaucoup de vos danses favoris, et un tas des nouvelles, jouées comme si on est les proprietaires !

Marce LaCouture et ses amis : Ballades, complaintes, et chansons de maison. Je suis un ami. L’été passé on a chanté au Bibliotheque de Congrès et le Kennedy Center, la même journee !

Ateliers, stages, et lecons privées en personne et aussi sur Skype. Je suis fasciné avec l’enseignement    depuis que j’ai decouvert comment faire mes étudiants comprendre la musique même, surtout dans le contexte de musique Cadienne.

Mettre la style Cajun en collaboration avec des projets des autres, comme Old Doors/New Worlds avec  Andrea Hoag, et The Golden Triangle Blues Trio, avec Johnny Nicholas.

Venez me rejoindre dans mes aventures. Visitez davidgreely.com et enregistrez pour mes nouvelles.

À bientôt, j’espère,

David Greely

 

This message was sent to shara.a.ortego@conocophillips.com from: Mamou Playboys | P.O. Box 53926 | Lafayette, Louisiana 70505

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What I've Been Reading

I've finished five chapters in Darwin’s Origin of Species (I only read this book when relaxing in the tube, so if I ever do finish it, it will not be any time soon). If have, for the second time, started reading The Sword of the Prophet: Islam History, Theology, Impact on the World by Serge Trifkovic. I'm also several chapters into Like Father, Like Son: The Trinity Imaged in Our Humanity by Tom Smail.

I’ve also read Emmanuel Kant’s prefaces (one and two) to his Critique of Pure Reason and have started reading the book. My buddy Seep has informed me that, even though I read some very obscure stuff, I will not be able to complete Kant. He says it is worse than Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, which I did not like at all.

I’ve also been dabbling in Holiness by Bishop J.C. Ryle and I recently completed his The Thing As It Is: Being Questions and Answers about the Lord’s Supper. I also finished a short book, which I downloaded via Google Books, titled The Book of Common Prayer: Its Origin and Growth by J.H. Benton. I found this little book informative and I learned some interesting history as well.

Today, I started a little book that I picked up at a used bookstore in the Vieux Carré this summer. It’s titled C.S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands: The Story of His Life with Joy Davidman. I should finish it up quickly. I am reading the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, which is the only magazine to which I currently subscribe.

I want to tackle something in the Church Fathers. I need to get back to St. Augustine’s City of God. I read the first book when I finished it I set the rest of it aside, even though I thought the first part was very good. I need to pick it back up.

I have books on the nightstand next to my bed and scattered here and there in the hose that I am always reading snippets from. It the moment my reading is way too scattered.

I’ve been listening to a lot of lectures that Seep and I downloaded from Reformed, Covenant and Westminster Seminaries. Right now I am listening to Dr. John Frame’s lecture series (from Reformed Seminary) History of Philosophy and the Church. I’ve completed 25 of the 35 lectures in the series. I am also listening to the audio version of David McCullough's biography John Adams.

Yes, I know most of these items sound REALLY boring, but I like this stuff. I find most of this stuff very interesting, but I still want to finish painting my house so I can go fishing in my kayak.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

The Book of Bertram

The link is what I believe to be a very interesting book (The Book of Bertram) written about 840 AD by a French monk (Bertram). It is written to King Charles the Bald, the grandson of Charlemagne. This small book is written to answer questions the king asked concerning the Lord’s Supper.

Bertram’s view of the Eucharist differs significantly from the Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation, which became official Church teaching at the 4^th Lateran Council (1215 AD). The views expressed by Bertram are similar to those of the Protestant reformer, John Calvin some 700 years later. This book also played an important role in convincing a number of important English reformers to reject Transubstantiation and turn to the Reformed position on the Supper.

Kenith

St. Cyprian and the Bishop of Rome

I have read the writings of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, which were written during the middle of the third century. Cyprian served as bishop during a time of great persecution and controversy in the Church of Jesus Christ. He served the Christ and His Church during a very trying time for the people of God.

In the year 250 AD, the Roman Emperor Decius ordered that all the inhabitants of the empire had to offer a sacrifice or burn incense “for the safety of the empire” for which they would receive a certificate. The sacrifice and the burning of incense were both forms of pagan worship and Christians refused to comply with the order. This in turn led to fierce persecution of Christians. Many Christians had all their property confiscated by the government, while others were imprisoned, tortured and killed for failing to comply to the order of the emperor. Other believers fled and hid from government officials.

During this time there were Christians who compromised their faith and capitulated to the orders of their pagan rulers. They obeyed Caesar rather than God. Many of those who failed the test repented of their failings and sought to be reconciled with the Church. This led to a crisis in the Church. Those who had were able to keep their property. They also avoided imprisonment, torture and death, by denying Christ before government officials.

This crisis in the church was dealt with and the “lapsed” who repented were reconciled to the Church in time, but for a while there was a schism over how to deal with those that failed th test but wished to be reconciled to the Church. Some people wanted to just forgive and forget and let the lapsed return, even while fellow believers were still being tortured and killed for their faith in Christ. On the other extreme were some Christians who believed the lapsed should never be allowed back into the Church.

Bishop Cyprian, the bishop of Rome and the majority of other bishops in the empire took a middle course, which sought to reconcile the lapsed believers to Christ Church. Still, Cyprian and the bishop of Roman disagreed on a number of particulars and it becomes clear when reading Cyprian that he did not believe that he, or his fellow bishops in Africa, were answerable to or had to bow before the edicts of the Roman bishop.

While reading Cyprian it became clear to me that he did not believe the Bishop of Rome had authority over him or over other bishops. J. Patout Burns Jr, in his book Cyprian the Bishop comes to the same conclusion. He writes, “When Stephen [Bishop of Rome] asserted such a right, by virtue of being the successor of Peter and the bishop of a church which preserved authentic apostolic practice, Cyprian explicitly rejected the claim. Firmilian [bishop] of Caesarea ridiculed Stephen’s assertion… Neither could conceive of such authority being wielded legitimately by a single bishop over his colleagues.” (pg 158)

Elsewhere, Dr Burns concludes that the bishops of that time, “consistently rejected the Roman bishops’ claim to authority on the basis of apostolic foundation.” (pg. 165)

The 6^th decade of the 3^rd century was a very trying time for the Church. Three of Rome’s bishops were killed because of their faith in Christ, as was St. Cyprian in 258 AD, but it needs to be remembered that at that time the Bishop of Rome was not recognised by Cyprian, Firmilian or their fellow bishops to have authority over them.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

More On St. Paul's Advice

I’ve mentioned before that my favourite text of Scripture is found in St. Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. It reads, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things. Do those things which you have also learned and received and heard and seen in me. And the God of peace shall be with you.”

 

These words have meant a lot to me over the years. I have read them countless times and I still read them often. In these word’s St. Paul is telling us to always look and see that “The glass is half full” and then act with that in mind. It seems that some of us, me included, are born with the predisposition to do the exact opposite of what Paul advises. We tend to look at the down side of every thing. We can’t see the good because we automatically focus in on what is wrong, or on what is less than perfect in a given situation.

 

We live in a fallen world where sin abounds, but we also live in a world created by God. God has entered this world in the person of Jesus Christ, and in so doing He has overcome sin and the devil. In the future, Christ will return and but an end to sin and death forever, but in the mean time we are to go about our lives looking for the good in things (in light of Scripture) and doing good.

 

We can all make excuses for not following the advice of St. Paul and think, “he would not have said that if he were in my position.” But that’s not true. Paul, by most of our standards, had a very hard life. He was often beaten, he was beaten so bad that he was left for dead on at least one occasion, and he was often imprisoned because of his service to Jesus and His Gospel.

 

In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, we learn that he is “in chains” and a prisoner. At the time he writes this letter, Paul has been a Roman prisoner for four or five years. In his letter he is not giving us some “pie in the sky” advice while every thing is going his way.

 

He tells us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice!” while he is a prisoner in chains. He tells the church at Philippi, “whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things” even though he is a prisoner at Rome and he could be sentenced to death.

 

Paul’s words to the Philippians are also God’s command to us. We are to think Christ’s thoughts and Paul’s words tell us how to do that.

 

Coram Deo,

Kenith

 

What About Tradition?

The idea of tradition can be, and often is, a controversial subject among Christians. Still, it is a fact that all Christians observe and follow some type of tradition in what they believe and in their forms of worship. Let's look at one modern evangelical tradition, as an example of what I mean.

Baptists, and many other evangelical churches, have a tradition in which, at the end of their worship service, they have an altar call. This a tradition. The altar call after a worship service is a fairly recent tradition, and dates back only to the 19^th century. Still, it is a tradition that many, if not most of the people in those churches where it is practiced, can not imagine Christian worship without it.

If you were to suggest to Southern Baptists that they do away with altar calls, I believe you will find that most Baptists would not even consider such an idea. As far as they know, and most of them probably believe, altar calls have always existed in the church even though it did not exist as a part of worship for the first nineteen hundred years that Christians have been gathering to worship the God of Scripture.

The altar call, after a worship services, is the invention of 19^th century American revivalists preachers, yet it has become a very important tradition in American Evangelical forms of worship.

In the Bible we find tradition treated both negatively and positively. Traditions can be both a hindrance and a help in our Christian walk. Jesus repeatedly berated the Pharisees because they had “made void the word of God because of your tradition.” Yet Paul repeatedly tells those who received his letters to continue in the "traditions" that they had learned from him.

As human beings, it is impossible for us to avoid tradition in both our faith and our worship. The question is, how do our traditions line up with the word of God?” Are our traditions in accord with His Word, or are they making His word “void” as many of the traditions of the Pharisees had done?

Most Christians today don’t have a clue about what their own traditions are. They don't know where they came from or why they developed. It is all to human for all of us just to assume that “our way” of doing or saying this or that is the correct way. It is also natural to believe that our way is the way Christians have always done it.

It is normal to think that way. It is also normal to be wrong when you think that way.

For many of us, the only “old time religion” we know is what we have seen practiced in our own lifetime. We take for granted that this is right, because it is what we have experienced and all the people we worship with agree with us.

We Christians are in the “New Covenant” and this New Covenant was given to us more than 2,000 years ago. It is not something that began recently. The Christian Church has is a long history and we are poorer disciples of Christ when we know so little of the history of His Church, which is the body of Christ.

Our faith, our worship and our Scriptures did not appear to us out of thin air. They all have a history. There are traditions to all that we believe and do. It would be good to know the history of Christ's Church and when and how our traditions have developed.

St. Paul and Jesus had things to say about tradition, what would they think of your traditions or my traditions? Do any of our traditions make " void the word of God" like the traditions of the Pharisees?

Coram Deo,

Kenith

My Radical Political Views

Long a go I read the Federalists and many of the Anti-federalists. My political views would be closer to both those groups than to modern Reps. or Dems.

As to the Federal Government, I am a Jeffersonian -- I would like a federal government that is truly federal and not the Nation State that now exist in the District of Columbia. (You know the one described in the Constitution and debated in the state ratifying conventions.)

Modern Democrats and modern Republicans worship the Nation State in Washington. Both parties want to use the national government to impose their ideology on the whole country.

I would go for a secession of blue from red states, or if you prefer, red from blue states, then the Red guys could do their thing and the Blue folks could do their thing and they could both stop trying to politically force their political/social ideologies on the other side.

I like the way Czechoslovakians settled their differences. There is no longer a Czechoslovakia today, instead there is now a Czech Republic and a Slovak Republic. The two peoples separated peacefully.

Of course the Dems. and Reps. will both consider my views as crazy. After all, if we were to divide up along the blue/red divide than we would no longer be the only remaining "Super Power" and we would have to start minding our own business and stop being the world's policeman. (Which will happen sooner or later anyway because bankrupt nations tend to be weak nations)

Coram Deo,

Kenith

New Job and Audio

My new job at is proving to be a great blessing. It is a stress free job, while my old job as Top Operator over a couple of HDS units, two Reformer units and a clean fuels unit was often very stressful and busy.

My new unit has few if any surprises and I was warned that I would become bored doing the same routine job everyday. I told them that after working as top operator for as many years as I have, I was ready for a little boredom. The good news is my new job is not boring. Sure it is the same routine everyday, but I am indoors and we are allowed radios with iPod docking stations here at the lab.

I'm currently only qualified for one job and I work in a building alone when I am on nights or working the weekend. Yesterday, I was able to listen to several hours of biographical lectures about the great French Reformer John Calvin, that my buddy MK downloaded from Reformed Theological Seminary's website. Today I've been listening to a course, also given at Reformed Seminary, on C.S. Lewis.

I can do my job, which is pretty routine, and listen to lectures or books. This is GREAT. I love my new job.

Coram Deo,

Kenith

Examine More Fully the Scriptures

Regrettably, in the history of the church, there have been times when the study of Scripture was discouraged by the Church. With the Protestant Reformation came a great push and emphasis on the importance Bible reading and study. Thanks to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, the Bible and other books became cheaper and much more accessible by the time Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany (i.e. 1517).

Greater distribution of the Bible and other books played a big part in bringing about the Protestant revolution that swept through much of 16^th century Europe. And while Bible study was very important to the early Protestants, they were certainly not the first Christians to stress the importance of reading, studying and knowing the Word of God.

In 248 AD, about the same time Cyprian became Bishop of Carthage, he wrote a treatise for his “beloved son” Quirinus. Here is some of what Cyprian said about the importance of reading the Scriptures, “And these things may be of advantage to you meanwhile, as you read, for forming the first lineaments of your faith. More strength will be given you, and the intelligence of the heart will be effected more and more, as you examine more fully the Scriptures, old and new, and read through the complete volumes of the spiritual books.”

Bishop Cyprian knew how important it was for believers to be immersed in the Word of God. He understood that knowledge of God’s Word gives "strength" and "intelligence of the heart" to the believers who “examine more fully the Scriptures, old and new.”

While reading the letters and treatises of St. Cyprian one thing becomes very clear almost at once, it is clear that Cyprian had immersed himself in God’s word. His writings are full of quotes from the Scriptures.

Cyprian knew the Bible at a time when getting access to the Scriptures was difficult and passion of the Scriptures could cost you your life. Today, there are Bibles everywhere and we will not be arrested or executed for reading the Scriptures.

In our day, Bible study is encouraged in Protestant and Catholic churches alike. We all would do well to heed Cyprian’s advice to Quirinus and “examine more fully the Scriptures, old and new, and read through the complete volumes of the spiritual books.”

Coram Deo,

Kenith

Unmoved Against all the Terrors

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, served Christ and His Church during a time of fearful persecution. It was common for Christians to be killed and maimed simply because they would worship no other God other than the triune God of the Bible.

 

In a treatise written to Demetrianus, Roman proconsul of Africa, Cyprian addressed the persecution that the Church was then having to enduring at the hands of Demetrianus. He wrote, “You deprive the innocent, the just, the dear to God, of their home; you spoil them of their estate, you load them with chains, you shut them up in prison, you punish them with the sword, with the wild beasts, with the flames. Nor, indeed, are you content with a brief endurance of our sufferings, and with a simple and swift exhaustion of pains. You set on foot tedious tortures, by tearing our bodies; you multiply numerous punishments, by lacerating our vitals; nor can your brutality and fierceness be content with ordinary tortures; your ingenious cruelty devises new sufferings.”

 

The government could then seize your property just for being a Christian. They could arrest you and throw you into prison for being a Christian. They could torture you in the most blood thirsty and brutal way, just for being a Christian. They could kill you by sword, crucifixion, feed you to wild animals in the arena, or burn you alive – just for being a Christian.

 

Demetrianus, was the man in charge of doing all these things to the Christians in North Africa, still Cyprian could write and say to him, “…we pour forth our prayers, and, propitiating and appeasing God, we entreat constantly and urgently, day and night, for your peace and salvation.”

 

In another treatise Cyprian wrote to his fellow believers, he wrote to encourage them in there suffering, he wrote to strengthen them, he wrote them to prepare them for torture and death at the hands of the state. He said, “The brave and steadfast mind, founded in religious meditations, endures; and the spirit abides unmoved against all the terrors of the devil and the threats of the world, when it is strengthened by the sure and solid faith of things to come. In persecutions, earth is shut up, but heaven is opened; Antichrist is threatening, but Christ is protecting; death is brought in, but immortality follows; the world is taken away from him that is slain, but paradise is set forth to him restored; the life of time is extinguished, but the life of eternity is realized. What a dignity it is, and what a security, to go gladly from hence, to depart gloriously in the midst of afflictions and tribulations; in a moment to close the eyes with which men and the world are looked upon, and at once to open them to look upon God and Christ!”

 

Modern Christians can learn a lot from St. Cyprian and those in his diocese who suffered and died for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom.

 

Coram Deo,

Kenith

 

 

Video on Texting while Driving

Texting while driving...it is not gory, but it is an eye opener!!!

http://zerofatalities.s3.amazonaws.com/1085-Echo_TRANSCRIBED.wmv