Suddenly stupid.
mOrsecode has asked this question:
If the evangelical belief is that only an omniscient, omnipresent God can inspire infallible inerrant words, then a fallible creature cannot. Since mOrsecode has assumed the Biblical description of a created being then its impossible given the criteria for inspiration for a fallen angel to inspire anything, or write the Bible.
Given, then that mOrsecode is speaking of the Biblical devil, then it must be accompanied by a Biblical theology of the devil. Since the Biblical theology of the devil precludes the devil from inspiring anything, then mOrsecode isn’t even attacking Christianity. Its a straw man.
Furthermore, mOrsecode is engaged in equivocation. If God can only inspire, and God inspired the Bible then to call God, Satan would simply be another name for God. That is God would be Satan – there would be no difference. Now, the Bible makes a distinction b/w God and the devil.
Ultimately what mOrsecode is asking is, what if God were evil? Well if God were evil then the Bible would tell us that God was, he would have decreed evil and made himself evil, instead decreeing that he is good makes God good.
Finally, in a world that mOrsecode lives in, its impossible to know what evil is, I refuse to allow him to stand upon a foundation that he doesn’t believe in. mOrsecode rants against the ethics of Paul, and the book of Revelation, and since he does he should establish his own ethic and demonstrate why 1st century Christians or Jews were bound to mOrsecode’s value judgments.
So, we can conlcude then that mOrsecode has to firstly develop a proper understanding of Satan. Since Satan is not sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent he cannot inspire a text, unless mOrsecode wants to argue that Satan is God, which would then simply be an equivocation. Since if God’s name is Satan, he would not be Lucifer the fallen angel. Of course, that is also not Christian theology so that then mOrsecode would like to argue for an extra Biblical theology. Christians don’t believe in extra-Biblical theology(which is why we reject the Book of Mormon, Quran etc) so then mOrsecode is actually just creating an impossibly hypothetical siutation that poses absolutely no problem to anyone who holds to a consistent, Biblical position.
Until then, the ‘Suddeny atheist’ has shown to be ‘thoughtfully stupid’ . 
The Sinners Prayer, the missing ordinance…
Typical Arminian churches have two ordinances or sacraments, but modern evangelical Arminians today enjoying a third sacrament – The Sinners prayer.
Ex opere operato is a Latin phrase meaning “from the work done” referring to the efficacy of the Sacraments deriving from the action of the Sacrament as opposed to the merits or holiness of the priest or minister.
According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, to receive the fruits of the sacraments requires that a person be properly disposed. This means reception of grace via the sacraments is not automatic. There must be, at least in the case of an adult, an openness to receive the grace which is available in a sacrament. When the recipient is properly disposed, the grace of the sacrament is effective and is received even if the priest or minister is in a serious state of sin. This principle gives a certainty to the availability of grace through the sacraments. source
As long as one believes that the prayer works, if one is properly disposed they will receive the grace offered through the sinners prayer, therefore Arminians and ‘The Prayer’ are no different than Rome and the Eucharist.
Let us recall ancient anathemas against the Arminians:
CANON 3. If anyone says that the grace of God can be conferred as a result of human prayer, but that it is not grace itself which makes us pray to God, he contradicts the prophet Isaiah, or the Apostle who says the same thing, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me” (Rom 10:20, quoting Isa. 65:1). – The Canons of the Council of Orange 529 AD
Fort Worth Star Telegram, and empty phrases
FORT WORTH — On a normal dry Sunday, it takes Marie Reynolds less than 15 minutes to drive to St. Ann Catholic Church in Burleson for Mass.
Reynolds and her daughter, Joann Reynolds, didn’t make it Sunday morning.
The Reynolds’ car was swept away in a rain-swollen street Sunday, then lodged against trees where the two women held onto the car for almost two hours before Fort Worth firefighters could rescue them.
“I said so many ‘Our Fathers’ and ‘Hail Marys’ while we were stuck there,” Reynolds said Sunday afternoon. “Oh, it was so cold.” …
7“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8
Jenny Jonezzz, and chicken friend chicken…
Jenny Jonezzz told me that she had never heard of Chicken Friend Chicken, or Chicken Friend Steak until she moved to Texas. (She’s one of those snug, crude, and forward New Englanders). She was so thrown off by chicken friend steak, I was flabbergasted to find out that she hadn’t heard of it when she came to Texas, guess thats what happens when you grow up in the south and stay there.
Turns out, Chicken Friest Steak/Chicken is Texan in origin. No wonder.
More change…
More ‘change’ coming, Japan elects leader with Obamaesque message.
To my long gone grandpa.
My uncle Sergio.
As I age, I gain a great appreciation for my older family members. I appreciate my dads advice, I listen to what wisdom my mother teaches me and I love to hear grandma talk about her traditional Mexican remedies. I do wish to hear more about my grandfather.
Tomorrow is my grandfathers birthday, I’m not sure how old he’d be but it would be pretty old. I know that on the Roman Catholic calendar August 28th is the day of St. Augustine. Being good Roman Catholics his parents named him after the saint for that particular day. My grandfather was named after a saint who would later on in life mean so much to me, I treasure Augustine for his influence on Luther and Calvin.
My grandfather was a guitar player, he played in a Mexican mariachi band. He was also a carpenter who worked a lot. On the weekends he played guitar with his band and on the weekdays he would do carpentry. He built my grandmothers cabinets and her dinner table. His sister, my great aunt later on took the chairs and table and made a bar out of it because it was falling apart. She now actually uses that bar and those chairs for a specific table at her restuaurant.
He was very artistic, firstly he was a carpenter and secondly he was a musician. He could do many other things (from my understanding, I’d enjoy a beer with him today too) but he also loved his family.
At the dinner table.
I never knew him. I have no memories of the man. The only thing I do know is that he made much of me. I was the only one he knew. In fact, I was the only one who saw him. Perhaps somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind I can dig out a memory or two of him. My dreams sometimes bring back some cloudy figure who would carry me as a child, but mostly the stories I know of him are told to me by others. I’m an American of Mexican ancestry and while the European American abandoment of family has somewhat infiltrated our group it hasn’t destroyed the hispanic sense of family – at least not yet. So, on random occasions we gather together and I like to listen to my aunts and uncles talk about the old times, those stories they treasure the memories of grandpa and how he’d treat them. I like to go over on Saturdays and drink coffee with my grandmother and just listen to her tell me the wonderful times she had in Mexico, and how she met the man who brought her to the states.
A pic I took at a mall.
My grandfather died of a heart attack when I was young. I don’t remember anything, I don’t remember how it happened or the circumstances. I know one of my uncles was home, the other was too young and the rest of the family was gone. I know that it was a really dark time in my families short history, but it served to build up my grandmother and it set the stage for God’s work in the life of my family that exists to this day.
Its my hope to one day see him, and while my hope may be in vain I await with eagerness that perhaps someone could have reached out to him before it was too late. I love my grandpa.
My mind in the morning…
I wake up this morning and for some reason my memory bank becomes flooded by memories of my sins. It starts with those minor sins, the things I hate to do but always fall into. I gossip, cuss (usually driving), or get angry. Then I remember the worse ones, those that I don’t like others to know about, the ‘hardly confessable’ sins, the ones other people hate to hear or the ones a pastor might even react against.
I get up from bed, and head towards the shower. I let out a big sigh.
At that point, I begin to hate myself. I begin to realize what a failure I am, what a miserable wretch I’d beome. I begin to fear and an intense pressure overcomes me I am feeling the weight of my sin. I become overcome with dread as I see the wickedness that is in me. I realize I am evil and it is undeniable.
I iron my clothes, and go back to the restroom to brush my teeth.
It was at thist point in the disaster of my misery that the words of Paul take on a whole new meaning, in Romans 7 Paul begins to lament about his slavery to sin but rejoices in praise of our Lord.
24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24
Mind you, all of these are the thoughts that are flooding my mind as I’m dressing for work at 6am. I continue to get ready, I begin to meditate on God’s Word, His beautiful Son our glorious King seated in heaven and ruling and reigning (today). As soon as my sin convicts me, the scripture reminds me that these acts have been accounted to another and as the hymn says:
‘Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.
I’m now downstairs, preparing lunch. I’m reminded that God has imputed my evil to Christ and that my righteusness isn’t my own but Christ’s and because of that I can come to the throne of God. I can appeal to the Father not because of myself but because I have an ever mediating mediator.
I get in my truck and head off to work. My song of sorrow now turned to praise, I begin to praise God for the wonders of the cross, the mystery (in a revelatory sense ) now revealed in our scriptures. I thank him for dying for me, because he loved me.
I’m now at work, I park in our parking lot. Turn off my truck and sit there. I’ve driven thirty minutes and for those thirty minutes I’ve recognized how wicked I am, how holy God is and how glorious the cross is. I let out a big sigh and say:
Thank you Lord that justification is by faith alone.
9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified,you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God 1 Corinthians
I
Below is my attempt at fiction, it might seem to come from a premil position with its emphasis on Israel but its not even eschatological in nature.
The heart of man plans his way,but the LORD establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Jerusalem, Israel- “Kate! Kate! Guess what!?” Sarah sat down on top of a bar stool, “We’re going back to the states!” They’d grown up in Israel all of their life and occasionally visited the United States. They both loved home, they both hated Israel. All they knew was this double life, so they took advantage of the times when dad would take them home. What do you mean?” Kate asked as she sat next to her sister with a bowl of corn flakes. “Daddy said that we’re going back home for a long vacation.” Sarah chomped on her cereal.
Kate and Sarah were twin sisters, short for their age, Kate had long straight hair, and Sarah had curly hair, she was also the pudgier one. Both had cute little dimples, and soft pasty white skin; they each possessed the most beautiful set of blue eyes. At nine years old they’d grown up in the eyes of the media as the two darlings of a politician. Everyone loved them, pop magazines had hailed them as ‘Double Trouble’ in political parties. Very inquisitive and outspoken they knew the intricacies of political theory, and defended their father’s positions on various issues. Of course, they were children, but they possessed an irregular and rare intellect. Time couldn’t get enough of them. MTV had even had them on for an award presentation on the VMA’s.
Sarah and Kate were daughters of James Warden the ambassador to Israel for the United States. President Miles appointed him ambassador after his breakthrough compromise through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He successfully managed to get the Israelis outside of Gaza and allow the Palestinians to occupy former Israeli settlements. This was an amazing feat for one who had previously been a strong supporter for exclusive Israeli state position, which did not allow for the separate existence of a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish nation. The media was abuzz about his abandonment of the exclusive state position, and the conservative politicos had slain him with the political anathema. James Warden was a political apostate, a compromiser and a coward who denied the dogma of the radical conservatives. All things aside, his political notoriety was overshadowed by his popularity amongst Arabs and leftist Jews. He was seen as a messiah of sorts, a god who had done what many had believed to be impossible. James Warden was a darling of darlings, and he enjoyed his popularity, indeed even his infamy.
———-
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2
Outpost 60,345/ Ashdod Christian Church, Ashdod, Israel – A dark morning, it was very cold and quiet. The agent appeared out of nowhere. Like an overgrown shadow, he stood at about seven feet tall, he was covered in black scales and had red eyes. He had been placed on a reconnaissance mission to gather intelligence for the accuser. Quietly he prowled around the church looking for clues that would establish his case that the King was going to expand his already expanding Kingdom.
As he grew closer to the entrance of the building, he admired the Christian artistry, a medium sized gothic building that had also once been occupied by Muslims and Jews. This was at least until the more conservative Protestant sect took over and purchased the church. Rual remembered the scene quite vividly, it was the overseer of the church who met with the Imam and Rabbi and had attempted to convert them. He had held a meeting to advise them that they would no longer be able to house the Muslims or Jews due to religious conviction. Controversy surrounded the expulsion, some even mirroring this to the crusades when Muslims, and Christians removed each other from houses of worship, and Jews from synagogues to form their own places of worship. The pastor stood his ground and didn’t budge. The Church was a vibrant community of faith now. A total thorn on the side of the resistance.
Rual drew closer to the doors. As he was about to enter the church, a sound like a rushing wind blew him away. “Thud.” He was thrown back a full seventy feet from entrance to the floor. A sudden light cleared the darkness, and there appeared two angels. “Oh, you again…” He said, recovering from the fall. He rubbed his shoulder and stood to his feet.
“Yup, and you’re in trouble. What do you think you’re doing here?” Ira spoke. He appeared in human form, a simple Jew.
“You heard the man, well, angel…whatever” Raphel responded. “Go along.” Raphel in human form spoke more authoritatively.
“I, I don’t think I want to leave.” The fear rose in Rual’s heart, he knew that the Angels could overtake him. He knew he’d lose the battle. Hell, they’d lost almost every battle since the final battle took place. But it was worth the fight. “The resistance will not win!” That’s what he was always told. He spread his arms out, a sword slid from his left arm and placed itself firmly between his dark scaley skin. “I have something to do. You’ll lose this I promise.” He knew the effort was futile. He threw himself toward the angels, flying with the sword accompanied by high winds pusing towards his aim. Ira flew to the right, and Raphel to the left. They took their swords from their side. One kick to the back of Rual’s head by Ira knocked him to the floor. Raphel lifted him up. Rual could not move, it was as if the angels had bound him with an invisible rope.
“Hisssss!” He made the noise of a snake as he suffered from the collaborated efforts of the two angels that had stood watch outside the doors of the outpost. Ira’s sword struck through the rebel and he disappeared instantly. “Sir, we’ve completed the task. Outpost 60,345 has been secured” Ira, and Raphel had responded to an apparent attack on a local body of God’s earthly ambassadors. “It seems they’re becoming more wise…” Ira recovered some of the crafts that the rebel group had organized outside of the church. “Check this out, it caught me by surprise that the old creep had entered so deeply into the ranks of this outpost, they have such a strong union of belief a complete disregard for theology must have birthed this confusion.” The battle took place in Israel, the issue was deeply theological and it carried many spiritual implications.
“Wretched humans, it used to be infralapsarian versus supralapsarian divisions we fought which usually ended up with hand shakes and hugs. Now its universalism and that dumb theory of open theism.” Raphel assumed his human form as a Palestinian Arab.
“Well, its getting rough out here. I’m not sure whats going on. What happened here? Such a healthy body of the Lord, now its divided about this petty theological issue?” Ira said. He was short in stature, with a long nose, slightly overweight and a long beard. Ira loved the human form, who wants to look like a young punk? Ira enjoyed being the Jewish old man the kids respected and the Palestinian kids hated. It was great.
“Well…” Raphel said, “at least its not like those dumb baptist divisions, who likes that stuff? Dancing. No dancing. Drinking. No Drinking. Smoking. No smoking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other type of insanity.”
Ira glared at him, “Really? Where were you in 1054?”
———-
“Pop!” James opened up a bottle of soda pop.
“Daddy! You can’t have soda for breakfast! Remember what mommy used to say!?” Kate frowned at her father.
“Sweetheart, you can’t have soda for breakfast.” He smiled back.
James Warden was a forty year old who looked sixty. Years of politics and negotiations through Israeli Palestinian conflicts had left him worn. His face, suffering from years of middle eastern sun had succumbed to the threat of folds and saggy skin that faced any middle aged man. He had green eyes, a balding head with grey hair on the sides. For an old man who looked older he was not bad looking. At least that’s what GQ said, but he preferred to stay away from pop culture. He called the magazine “a waste of recyclable paper”.
“Daddy, you need to stop drinking that stuff its bad for you. Studies show that one soda a day that isn’t diet can cause you to shrink over time and diet soda only increases your propensity for enjoying sweets. You lose either way, you’ll shrink or expand – its up to you.” Sarah said chomping down her cereal.
“Oh, you and your studies schmudies. I like my morning soda, its like my coffee.” He kissed his daughter on the forehead.
“When are we going home Daddy?” Kate hugged her dad around the legs. “I want to go visit mema, and papa.”
““Well, sweetheart, we have a few more weeks here, and then I’m going on an extra long vacation.” ” He dropped a couple of ice cubes from the freezer into his cup for the soda. “I have to meet with a few colleagues regarding the last few settlements that’ll be released from Israel to the Palestinians.”
“Daddy, I think the peace we’ve seen in Israel is unprecedented. Netanyahu attempted to accomplish things like this, but not even former Presidents have accomplished what you have! I love my dad!” Sarah said.
“Okay, sweetheart stop repeating what every newscaster has said. The Palestinians and Israelis have been at war for so long, I think they’ve grown tired. You’ll soon understand that secularism has had such an impact upon Islam and Israel that it has loosened the religious motivations for attacking Israel by terrorists because — well, they are just not that interested in fighting a war for God.” James was an atheist. He rejected all gods, and hated them as well. Those gods caused division and one of the motivations for James was ‘world peace through understanding’. He’d indeed made that the opening sentence of the Israeli Charter for Palestine.
