Bell's Hell

I want to read Rob Bell's book "Love Wins".  It's on order.  Supposedly a controversial view on hell, even though Rob Bell is convinced he remains within orthodox Christianity, and that he is not a universalist.  Here is a video of NT Wright answering a question about hell and bell.  I find most amusing that we can hear his ice cubes tingling around in his ice tea as he talks.

Galiano Trip

Just came back from a week long, all-expense paid trip to Galiano island - invited along with 15 other pastors from north america to join some Regent profs and staff, to discuss the harmony between Science and the Christian faith...and how we might work together to communicate to our churches how Science can help us worship God by unveiling his glory.   I am so grateful to Regent and the John Templeton Fund for making this possible...and to my church for blessing me to go.

I was so blessed by this week: it was gift upon gift upon gift...the setting, the learning, the fellowship, the food - every meal was a feast prepared for us.  I met amazing people, with passion for God's creativeness and the value of discovery.  For more detailed update, click here for Richard Dahlstrom's blog.

Here's some photos, taken with my iphone.  

Let's start with the setting:

And the lectures, along with post-lecture chatter, and break-time: so good, and notice the backdrop

A little free time, walking the trails:

Appetizer time: a table prepared for us, including wine, beer (micro-brew), cheeses, dips, amazing fellowship....it truly was a glimpse of the kingdom.  You can't see the entire art piece behind the table, but its an amazing portrayal of Jesus hanging on the cross and seamlessly blending into creation.

And the dinners: the Wilkinson's prepared these unbelievable feasts - all organic and local...salads made of nettles from their field, they made their own pasta - that kind of thing.  They also roasted the coffee in the backyard (Vansloten has got a photo of Loren transferring the beans from one bowl to the other, giving the chaff a chance to blow away - which makes Loren look like a priest offering a sacrifice...and can we be certain?)

 This is a video of a sung blessing:

God knows

So I'm trying to explain to my 5 year old why I let his older brother have two popsicles.  It's not fair, says Sam, because "me and Jude only got one".  My reasoning: "Finn never got to go to Starbucks and you and Jude did".  Then we proceed into a very mature dialogue,
Sam: "That's not fair"
Me: "Yes, it is fair"
Sam: "God knows its not fair"

I don't know whether I should be concerned that my 5 year old is reaching for higher authority...or delighted that my 5 year old is reaching for higher authority.

I don't know whether I should be concerned that my son is putting God on his side...or delighted that my son is beginning to recognize that a just God reigns, and even when injustice is exercised upon us....God knows....

First Visits

When the Resurrected and Reigning Christ appears, among the people he stops in first are: the ones with no status; his dear friend the denier; a skeptic he loved; and the vocal doubter. Might this signal to us what is high and dear on the mind of Christ?

Kid Rock - Born Free (American Music Awards 2010)

1st Sunday of Advent coming up - which means I am preaching on hope. Last week we heard an awesome message on hope, delivered by chaplain Case Vink. So hope upon hope. Where would you like to see this go? what is your angle on hope?

Kid Rock has good perspective on hardship in his song 'times like these' which he performed last night at the American Music Awards.

Creation and Evolution - a good article

This article is found on "Calvin Institute for Worship" website.

In it Scott Hoezee, who is the Director of Calvin Seminary's "Centre for Excellence in Preaching", cautions: "that preachers who ignore or disrespect scientific findings often alienate Christian scientists and educated young people. The more we set science and faith against each other, the more God looks capricious. You end up worshiping a God who seems quite content to trick you with stars or dinosaur bones that only look old."

There are some great resources and audio clips at the end of this article.

Creation and Evolution RESOURCES

Just came across a great resource. This is extremely helpful!!! http://www.faithaliveonline.org/origins/. This is a website that gives further resources behind each chapter of the book entitled "Origins: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, and Evolution." Debra Haarsma co-authored, is a prof. at Calvin College. And Faith Alive publishes this book. This gives us an indication of how much Creation by Evolution is gaining acceptance in the CRC. The last part of the website is questions Christians ask: "but what about....?" Here's an example:

Would humans be less significant if God created us through common ancestry with animals rather than through special miracles?

"The idea of human evolution raises concerns about human significance. If we evolved from animals, are we nothing more than animals? Even if humans share a common ancestry with apes and other animals, our line of descent diverged from other animals at some point. Something differ- ent happened in our line of descent that did not happen to apes or other animals, something that makes us unique among life forms on earth.

Our significance, however, does not primarily lie in our biological uniqueness but in how God chooses to relate to us. In Genesis 1-2 God...."