Powerful Quote

"Marriage is ... in its origin a contract of natural law... It is the parent, and not the child of society; the source of civility and a sort of seminary of the republic." --Justice Joseph Story

HT: Joe F

A Christian Mind

 

Harry Blamires “The Christian Mind: How should a Christian think?

“There is no longer a Christian mind. It is a commonplace that the mind of modern man

has been secularized. For instance, it has been deprived of any orientation towards the

supernatural. Tragic as this fact is, it would not be so desperately tragic had the Christian mind

held out against the secular drift. But unfortunately the Christian mind has succumbed to the

secular drift with a degree of weakness and nervelessness unmatched in Christian history. It is

difficult to do justice in words to the complete loss of intellectual morale in the twentieth centuryChurch. One cannot characterize it without having recourse to language which will

sound hysterical and melodramatic.”

“There is no longer a Christian mind. There is still, of course, a Christian ethic, a

Christian practice, and a Christian spirituality. As a moral being, the modern Christian

subscribes to a code other than that of the non-Christian. As a member of the Church, he

undertakes obligations and observations ignored by the non-Christian. As a spiritual being, in

prayer and meditation, he strives to cultivate a dimension of life unexplored by the non-

Christian. But as a thinking being, the modern Christian has succumbed to secularization. He

accepts religion - its morality, its worship, its spiritual culture; but he rejects the religious view

of life, the view which sets all earthly issues within the context of the eternal view which

relates all human problems - social, political, cultural - to the doctrinal foundations of the

Christian Faith, the view which sees all things here below in terms of God’s supremacy and

earth’s transitoriness, in terms of Heaven and Hell.”

But what is a Christian mind? Part two of the book identifies six characteristics.

1. A supernatural orientation. There is more to reality than the here and now and what we can see.

2. An awareness of evil and what it has done in perverting “the noblest things.”

3. A conception of truth that depends on God’s revelation.

4. An acceptance of authority. We must know what God requires and submit to it. He is the final authority in all of reality, things present and things to come.

5. A concern for the person, realizing that people are not machines. Human life has value.

6. A sacramental cast. In a sacramental view of life, the Christian mind recognizes things, such as relationships and sexual love, as God’s ways of opening reality to us.

Mormonism 101

Last Sunday night we had a seminar on Mormonism
this is the video we used to open
it is a bit dared but very informative

Jeremy Lin

Don't know how many of you are basketball fans or have heard of the new Knicks Asian point guard out of Harvard that no one has ever heard of.  His name is Jeremy Lin and they are calling it 'Linsanity!' Not only is he a phenomenal player who came out of nowhere but he is also (and more importantly) a committed Christian. 

From World magazine:

Jeremy Lin, then a third-string point guard for the NBA's New York Knicks, found himself suddenly in the limelight a little more than a week ago after leading his team to a surprise victory against the New Jersey Nets. Before coach Mike D'Antoni put Lin in the game out of desperation, few Knicks fans, let alone anyone else, had ever heard of the Harvard grad already cut from two other NBA teams.

But now, as he leads the Knicks on a seven-game-and-counting winning streak, everyone's talking about Lin, his underdog story and his faith.

Sports commentators are calling Lin the "Taiwanese Tebow," a nod to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who sparked so much debate last year about public displays of faith. Although the men share a habit of giving God glory during post-game interviews, Lin's friends say the quiet and unassuming basketball player has little in common with the demonstrative football star.

But Lin's story of perseverance on the basketball court cannot be separated from his testimony of dedication to God, a faith that sustained him through rejection, humiliation and now, unexpected fame. Through each setback Lin encountered on his way to becoming a household name, the devout basketball player trusted God and used his trials to encourage others.

During a conference put on by River of Life Christian Church in Santa Clara, Calif., last year, Lin described his journey to the NBA as a roller coaster ride between euphoria and despair.

When he signed with the Golden State Warriors in July, 2010, Lin said he had confidence in his strong faith, remembering the spiritual training he had at Harvard. He thought he was grounded enough to face life in the NBA. Soon, however, Lin was deluged by media attention and thousands of Facebook friend requests.

"I felt like I was on top of the world," Lin said. "My life changed overnight."

But during training camp, Lin discovered he wasn't as ready for the big leagues as he thought. His teammates outperformed him on the court and even his coaches' encouragement couldn't lift his spirits.

"I was humbled very quickly," Lin said.

Lin eventually found himself headed for the NBA's Developmental League, where teams send players who need to hone their skills. Near despair, Lin wrote in his personal diary that he felt like a failure after putting so much pressure on himself to make the NBA.

"This is probably the closest to depression I've been," he wrote in an entry on Dec. 29, 2010. "I lack confidence on the court, I'm not having fun playing basketball anymore, I hate being in the D-league and I want to rejoin the Warriors. I feel embarrassed and like a failure."

Just a few days later, he decided his basketball career was a mistake: "I wish I had never signed with the Warriors," he wrote on Jan. 1, 2011.

"That's really the amount of pressure and the amount of stress I put on myself, to the point where I really lost my joy, my passion and my purpose in basketball," Lin told last year's conference attendees.

At that point, none of the fame and glamour that come with playing in the NBA mattered to Lin.

"None of the paychecks, the car, the fame, none of the NBA lifestyle, none of that stuff, my dream job, my dream life, none of that meant anything to me anymore...My happiness was dependent on how well I played," he said.

Lin realized that basketball had become an idol in his life, and decided to return to trusting God for his future.


"For me to not trust God is crazy," Lin said, listing all of the ways God had paved his way to the NBA, including his dad's love for basketball, his coaches, and his spiritual growth at Harvard.

Adrian Tam, who served as Lin's spiritual mentor at Harvard, said Lin has a "very strong and vibrant faith." During his last year at Harvard, in 2010, the player's busy schedule kept him from attending the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian-American Christian Fellowship meetings on Friday nights, so he and Tam got together whenever he had a break from classes and practice.

"We would talk about different aspects of following Christ and what that looks like," Tam told World on Campus. "We read a book together, 'Too Busy Not to Pray,' and we would look for ways that he could engage in prayer. He really wanted to have prayer be…a regular thread in his life."

Lin grew up in the church, so he was "thrown off guard" by the godless culture of the Harvard basketball team, Tam said. He got involved with the school's Asian-American Christian Fellowship, led a Bible study for two years for both Christians and non-Christians, and made concerted efforts to reach out to his non-Christian roommates. Tam said Lin was one of two practicing Christians on the basketball team, and when he made efforts to "mobilize" their faith, he did not preach at them.

"He always did it in a way that was respectful and sensitive," Tam said.

pre-season games for Houston before the team cut him loose. He joined the Knicks on Dec. 27 as a third-string back-up point guard. He had to compete for a spot on the roster and made another trip to the D-League in late January.

At the beginning of February, the team considered cutting Lin to make room under the salary cap for a new player. But on Feb. 4, with the team still licking its wounds from a tough loss against the Boston Celtics, D'Antoni decided to give Lin a shot. After playing just 55 minutes during the team's first 23 games, Lin came off the bench to score 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists, leading his team to a 99-92 victory over the Nets.

Questions about Lin and shock over his performance exploded on Twitter and other social networks. As he continued to lead the Knicks on a winning streak, sports writers scrambled to find out more about the 23-year-old from Palo Alto, Calif. Media commentators dubbed the Internet frenzy "Linsanity." It took about a week for word of Lin's faith to spread. Comparisons to Tebow soon followed.

Tam, Lin's Harvard mentor, says the two athletes may share a common faith but have very different ways of showing it. He hesitated when asked whether Lin would become a cultural icon like Tebow.

"He's a very friendly, non-assuming person, so even though he is very bright and very accomplished, you wouldn't be able to tell just by sitting around reading the Bible together or praying together," he said of his friend.

While Lin might not share Tebow's flair for attention, both men have a commitment to sharing their faith and backing it up with their actions, Tam said: "They both want to give all the credit to God."

All Men Seek Hapiness

True happiness is only found in a relationship with Christ

Pascal Pensees (#148)
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”

Blaise Pascal's Pensees

From Blaisie Pascal ‘Pensees’:

'the only thing that consoles us from our miseries is diversion, and yet this is the greatest of our miseries. For it is mainly what prevents us from thinking about ourselves, leading us imperceptibly to our ruin, without it we would be bored, and this boredom would drive us to seek a more solid means of escape. But diversion amuses us and guides us imperceptibly to death"

Tim Hawkins is Funny!

Tammy had a chance to see Tim Hawkins at the Woman of Faith conference.  He gets funnier and funnier ever time we hear him. Enjoy

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.”

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

“Death . . . is Life’s change agent.”

—Steve Jobs, Commencement Address at Stanford University (June 12, 2005)

Check out the link to Job's commencement address, its well worth the read
(HT: J.F. & J.T)

This is how you do it!

IBM Super Computer Watson

If you remember last February IBM's super computer Watson won at the game show Jeopardy against the best and the brightest including Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings.  Imagine if after it won it declared: "There is no such thing as mankind" Going on to report it evolved from a more primitive machine; the toaster! Ridiculous! how could a man made machine declare its creator did not exist.  And yet many will deny God is their Creator

Encouraging article from NY Times

From Nicholas Kristof:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/opinion/sunday/kristof-evangelicals-without-blowhards.html?_r=2

Centuries ago, serious religious study was extraordinarily demanding and rigorous; in contrast, anyone could declare himself a scientist and go in the business of, say, alchemy. These days, it’s the reverse. A Ph.D. in chemistry is a rigorous degree, while a preacher can explain the Bible on television without mastering Hebrew or Greek — or even showing interest in the nuances of the original texts.

Those self-appointed evangelical leaders come across as hypocrites, monetizing Jesus rather than emulating him. Some seem homophobic, and many who claim to be “pro-life” seem little concerned with human life post-uterus. Those are the preachers who won headlines and disdain.
But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I’ve seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith.

I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way — and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties.

How many young people leave the church after High School?

this question has been debated and researched for some time
no matter where you get the data the news is not good
found this on http://www.conversantlife.com/theology/how-many-youth-are-leaving-the-church

These are the most recent and most cited studies that I could find:

88%: The Southern Baptist Convention's Family Life Council study in 2002

70%: LifeWay Research study in 2007 (LifeWay also found only 35% eventually return)

66%: Assembly of God study (again, I can't find the actual study, only references here and there)

61%: "Barna study in 2006 -- "Most Twentysomethings Put Christianity on the Shelf..."

Good Point

This is AWESOME

What if kicking a soccer ball could produce electricity!?

160 million 'missing' women

Mara Hvistendahl’s in her book:  Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men, reports ".... a sobering update on the gender imbalance that is growing ever-more prevalent around the world, but especially in Asia. As a result of sex-selective abortion by families desiring boys, India has a ratio of 112 boys for every 100 girls; in China it’s 121 to 100. (The “natural” sex ratio is 105 to 100 and biologists consider anything over 106 to be "impossible.") With the passage of time and continued population control measures in, especially, India and China, she puts the number of “missing” women at more than 160 million. The number is so high as to be practically incomprehensible, but Hvistendahl puts it in perspective: It’s more than the entire female population of the U.S..." 


(quoted from: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2011/07/08/unnatural_selection_by_mara_hvistendahl_is_the_doublex_book_of_t.html) 

Do Christians have to go to church?

Do Christians have to join a church? from Crossway on Vimeo.

Happy 4th of July

Look Lord, My Shell Collection!

The Crowd or the Cross

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Last Week's Sermon was on Mark 3:7-35

This Video sums it up very well