Why am I posting articles titled "Research Notes"?

 I am in the beginning stages of designing/architecting a website as a repository for my notes, writings, sermons, exegetical sermon notes, blog posts, opinions, outlines for books and articles, etc. It is intended to be developmental: a public blog, a subscriber forum, and a supporter portal.

For now, that means I need to transition from saving everything as a Gmail Draft to blog posts, partly for ensuring the information gets saved more securely, but also forcing me to turn disorganized notes into organized notes (public viewing driving accountability to that end!)

So if you actually read this nearly shallow pulsed blog, I apologize for the uptick in dry content posts...but you'll gain an insight into what's going into the project that's getting underway.

Delaying Moving for Seminary, Maybe Indefinitely

We have made the decision to stay in Washington state for the time being.  That time could be one year or indefinite.  We don't really know.  What we do know is that as a family we are not ready to go into the crucible that is seminary.  It is a crucible because it would involve three years of intense study, little disposable income, homeschooling challenges in PA, challenges regarding housing, and maybe a few more things that do not readily come to mind.

I think that deciding to deny myself something I've wanted to pursue since I was 18 years old is wise.  It is wise because it is the best choice for my family.  It is also wise because God has called me to minister in our local context. 

First, I have been called to minister to my family.  I have recently taken over the finances and am paying off our debts as well as starting to set up budgets and spending plans that will be forward looking rather than merely resolving day to day needs.  I was not able to serve my family in this way during my navy days.  I have been out of the navy for four years now and we are in a position where I can now do this.  I am also the primary disciplinarian in my home.  If I focus more on my studies, I will focus less on the nurture of my children.  This is only natural.  But what is better, four classes at a time that max out my ability to focus or one class at a time which raises a challenge but allows for focus on the nurture and care of a large family with several young children?

Second, I have been called to minister in my parish and diocese.  Ministering to youth and families is the closest to my heart in terms of passion and calling.  I have a strong sense of informal calling to a parish that is experiencing the addition of energetic families and young couples.  I may also have a formal calling; we will see if it comes to fruition.

Third, there is the general calling and admonition given to all Christians in the Great Commission.  We have spent six years here and are building community.  We have many connections through church, work, and homeschooling.  We want to get more involved in responsibly sourcing our food.  That involves purchasing grass fed beef, buying from local food coops, and starting to experiment with growing some of our own food!  I want to transition to working from home.  We'll see if this one pans out, but it has already provided opportunities to talk to people and hone my skills in writing.  Just the other day I was reading On Writing Well while waiting for my eye exam.  The optometrist took down the title of the book because he also has an interest in writing!  These connections are built over time.  Entrepreneurship is a way to serve the people.  A career in writing does just that.  It is also a way to influence people.  Preaching the Gospel isn't merely an exercise in spewing facts or logic, though it may include those aspects, but it is an opportunity to create fresh and vivid vision with words that people can readily accept and cling to as if their lives depend on it; they surely do.

Why leave?  Why leave when everything that I truly feel called to do is staring at me in the face?  My work is cut out for me.  If I fail it is because I knew what the right thing to do was, but I didn't do it.

Revisiting Writing as a Career

What has gone on that you want to know about?  Well, I haven't blogged as you know.  I have participated in music a lot more this year than any other year of my life.  I am getting comfortable with singing into a microphone (it was weird the first dozen times, or so).  I made the decision to attend seminary.  Really, it was a decision 16 years in the making, but the plan is for the fall of 2019.  Trinity School for Ministry (TSM, aka "Trinity")(near Pittsburgh), here we come!  I have learned to type, finally!  I am getting up at 4 am, reading a bit of scripture, then reading a book on homiletics (in preparation for seminary).  How did we get here?

Singing
The volunteers for serving at the altar have increased in number.  The amount of times I am on the schedule for each quarter has dropped, freeing me up to join with the musicians in leading congregational worship.  Some days I fare better than others.  No, it's not a "performance."  Yes, the word "perform" still applies to how a person 'does' music.  In that way, my performance isn't always where I would like it to be.  I want to aid in the worship, not distract.  Enough on that.  Morning singing?  Yuck!  Who knew?  Not I.  I don't have enough time to warm up my voice and then give it time to recuperate following the inevitable over use/straining/whatever I am doing.  I am left on the horns of a dilemma.  Do I warm up or do I risk losing my voice (due to fatigue, yeah, I think that's what it is)?  Any morning singers out there who could help me on this one?!  (Maybe I should ask my voice coach.  I just stopped going after 5 sessions in 2017 partly due to time and partly due to money.  But if your'e ever in Seattle and want a good coach, check out Chris McCafferty, he really helped me on my journey of getting to the next level.)

Seminary
It started back when I was 18 years old.  I have never lost that desire to attend seminary and become a pastor.  Is it the INFP in me?  More on that later.  Anyways, I attended the Diocese of Cascadia 2018 Spring Men's Retreat and was confronted with many thoughts.  What is God trying to tell me?  Will I leave this weekend with answers?  If I get quiet enough, maybe.  My Bishop poked me about attending Trinity for something like the third time in as many years.  God, do you really want me to uproot my family and leave all of the connections we have been making here in the Pacific Northwest?!  I was brought up in Evangelical circles.  If there is anything that we want to hold onto more than God, let that be ANATHEMA!  I put my growing attachment to this area on the "altar" and it became abundantly clear to me that it was time to pack my bags.  Three years prior, when I was leaving active military service, we counted the cost and realized that we would not be able to afford going to seminary at that time (we are on track to be debt free as we embark on this journey, God willing).  Then I threw a proverbial dart at the dartboard, aiming for the Fall of 2019.  And here we are!  Time will tell if God is with us.  I have a sneaking suspicion, He is.

INFP
Speaking of typing, er, I mean type; I love my 'impossible' segues, sometimes they're all you've got.  I slowed down my typing a year ago.  I was henpecking with the best of them, but I wanted change.  Now I'm typing about as fast (maybe faster, at times) than when I was a full time 'chicken.'  That has no relation to this paragraph's title "INFP" to which, we will now turn!  I have always tested as an ISTJ when taking those fun, online MBTI tests.  I have never been fully satisfied with it however.  Or I cannot just leave well enough alone.  Unfortunately people (read: I) take these things in a predictive manner (think: astrology).  I didn't intend to, it just came too easy in self-analysis to use what I learned and in verbally presenting myself to others.  In 2014 I learned about cognitive functions and I realized that my earlier assignment may have been wrong and I could likely determine what my personality type really was and is.  After a bit of reading and analysis, I determined that I could not be a J type and was clearly a P type.  So, I did the second worst thing you can do with personality typing (my created list of worsts, of course; the first of which I mentioned above) and I changed one letter of the four in ISTJ.  I now identified myself as an ISTP.  This I have learned is totally NOT legit'.  My brother, in one of his prescient moments over the years, said that he thought I was more intuitive than I gave myself credit for (uh! ending with a preposition, I know; hence the parenthetical, oh yeah!).  Reading more about cognitive functions, I came across this website:  Type in Mind (that's a link to my type, BTW).  I knew enough to figure out my type, finally!  I knew my cognitive functions and I could only be one of two types:  ISTJ or INFP.  Well now, doesn't that give you pause for reflection?  Maybe I am an ISTJ.  Really drilling down on my personal history (all in my head, so you cannot validate this, you'll have to trust me, or not), bending my powers of thought to the task, and trying my best to be frank with myself, I have concluded that I have always been an INFP and that I will probably test as an ISTJ for the foreseeable future given my upbringing and the first 30 years of my life spent in a "Te grip."  Look it up.  It took talking to a psychologist to break me out of this grip (none of this was discussed then and there, BTW.  This is all hindsight analysis).  It is all kind of a "laugh."  I should not have put so much stock into this stuff and yet I could not ignore it either.  If you suffer from what I do, I'm sorry for your plight.  Talk to me, maybe I can help.  After all, I'm a "healer" type (INFP), at least I think I am ;)

Homiletics
I have a suggested reading list for seminary preparation.  On that list is a book on exegesis and hermeneutics.  But as I was reading that book, I was starting to get "that" feeling.  You know what I'm talking about.  "We are probably going to argue, a lot."  My ink started to spill into the margins of the page as I progressed through a book which promised to be as helpful as a bowl of warm soup to an empty stomach (my metaphor, not the publishers).  Alas, I was disheartened.  Am I such a contrarian that I can't get along?  Does this foreshadow my seminary experience?  But before I could succumb to the "just deal with it," I remembered that I had a book in my library which pertained (if you are serious, you have a library full of books which you have not read and may never read, yeah, that serious, now you know).  As I started reading it, my fears and anxieties transformed into an excruciating intellectual "suck."  By that, I mean that it feels like I'm having to vacuum my mind of cobwebs and other junk which may be clouding my ability to put what I am learning from this book into practice.  Backstory - I read Days of Vengeance when I was 17/18 years old and became hooked on the way of thinking presented in the pages of that volume.  Fifteen years later, I finally read the book outlining a thesis which helped that former book to take shape.  This book is titled That You May Prosper.  In the bibliography, a seminal book was identified Sola Scriptura.  It is this book, the author intimated, which should be read by everyone who desires to preach the Word of God.  It is here, in the pages of this doctoral thesis, where my mind has been of late.  It is here where I grieve through the process of purifying my thinking, blundering about, trying to understand the author.  If I have cracked out any meat from the husk thus far, it has left me sore grieved to think about how badly we have preached the Word of God to the people of God.  I'm not talking about a "we've all been doing it wrong until now" kind of mentality.  I'm talking about an open discussion/debate which took place in the 20's and 30's in reformed churches in the Netherlands and was never settled, to the detriment of the reformed theology preaching community.  I haven't finished the book, so I really cannot say more without (probably) misrepresenting the issues at play.  Suffice it to say that, if Sidney Greidanus is right, I have a lot of work to add to the "a lot of work" I already knew I had to do in getting into this particular vocation.

Writing
Now to be more definitive (in line with the title of this post).  If you google the careers for an INFP, I have done the ones that are "bad" for my type.  Don't I know it!  I am revisiting the old ideas which have never quite left me alone.  Writing is one of them.  In a writing career I can tap into my strengths as long as I develop my career along those lines:  independent, creative, and innovative (not the qualities that the military is looking for, despite recent initiatives to the contrary).  It is scary to say the least, to contemplate another career change.  But I know that I have the support of my family and that a happier me (not that happiness is everything, but it is something) will alter our family life for the better.  I don't know if the "pulpit" of writing is what I have been called to or a pulpit in a parish setting or neither.  All I know is that I have thoughts, healing thoughts and they are burning in my chest.  The time to share them with the world has come (prompts like this help too!).  Stay tuned for more.

Dreaming, Planning ... Doing *sigh*

The advice to do anything well, heck to do anything at all, is to do it.  It is so obvious that it might even a tautology in the way I have constructed the concept.  Hmm, to do anything at all, you must do it.  Yep, sounds like a tautology.  But deciphering my cryptic writing is not my purpose here.  My purpose here is to write.  The advice was to write for at least an hour a day.  I have not done this.  But I haven't been trying to craft my career as a writer either.  Should I have?  Perhaps, but I needed to give up the poorer qualities that I have carried with me since I was young.  This will not be subject to excruciating edits and will be more raw than you have seen elsewhere on this blog.  Again, my purpose is simply to write.  I have not written much and may not write ever again after this.  But for now, my purpose ... Okay, got it.  Why?  It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in anything, supposedly.  Not doubting it.  I also watch a Ted Talk or TedX Talk on the concept that it takes 100 hours to basically master something.  How many things have I reached 99 hours on?  I don't know.  But there are some things that I want to reach 100 hours on this year.  Writing.  Music.  That might be all.  Other things that I'm hoping to hit higher numbers than even that would include study of the word of God, presenting of the truths so eloquently presented to us in the word of God (and sometimes crassly put as well), putting the principles into practice, living life to the fullest (in the confines of the way God would have me live, that is consistent with his character), growing as a Christian, maturing as a good husband, maturing as a good father, and so on.  I didn't think I had to go through all of that but I also didn't want to give the impression that writing and music were the only things I'm after for this upcoming year.  In any case, I hope you get the point that I will [try to] do stuff instead of just talk about it.  I will do stuff instead of just plan on doing stuff.  I am an inveterate dreamer.  The more I dream, the less I do.  The less I change.  I can be honest about it because there's no point in obscuring the facts.  There are few things that I passionately pursue in my life, but those few things I intend to do well.  A word of advice to you, if you are reading this, and really to myself divest [or continue to divest] the things that waste time.  Facebook.  Netflix.  I'm not saying cut off all the things, all at once, unless of course you really need to go cold turkey.  Life is freer when you unplug.  I love technology, but I am also at risk of worshiping it as well.  It is because I know this that I avoid it sometimes.  I tend to trail behind in the technology department.  I trail behind people who are not "tech savvy."  Sounds kind of pathetic doesn't it?  I dunno.  I have rearranged my mental space and seemingly created space and time that I didn't think was available.  I can't be a good dad because I work too much.  Well, instead of grabbing a beer on the way home from work, I can head straight home.  Poof!  I created time.  You can see what I'm talking about, can't you?  I have a house that's too small.  But I am getting rid of things I don't use, making better use of vertical space, and rearranging to eliminate wasted space and ... Poof!!  The house has loads of more room.  How is this even possible?  How can I have an entire room, actually two rooms freed up to be spaces for gatherings and children to play?  There is a little dreaming, a little planning, but all doing.  Without doing, it doesn't happen.  I'm back to my tautology!  Ha, but what I want to get to in this discussion is really, doing what needs to be done.  Doing what is possible.  Doing now instead of later.  I don't have time to go through another career transition.  I don't have time not to.  I don't have time to go back to college.  I don't have time not to.  Whatever you do, do it well.  Dream well.  Plan well.  Do.  And do it well.  I'm not sure if I'm going to transition my career or what that will look like, but if I do it, I will seek to do it well.  Commitment.  But also, not being afraid to simply try something.  Everything does not need to succeed.  I will probably fail, but I will fail well too!  That will be a good teacher.  Failure always is.  Failing to do, is not really failure, so that teacher doesn't count.  That lesson is regret.  It's not the same thing I'm talking about, so let's move on.  My primary motivation (dream, not plan) is to work from home.  Before I plan or do something to realize those plans, I will do somethings that I should have started doing a long time ago: write and make music.  Last year I got voice lessons after 14 years of remembering the old lessons and working through the things I needed to work through in order to grow in my abilities.  I had recently reached a plateau and a need for novice musicians opened up so I decided to answer the call.  I decided.  I never really did answer the call.  I dreamed, but planned in the very next instant.  Doing came with 5 lessons.  And then was followed by a jamming session with a band during their practice and an impromptu singing with the music team at church.  One or two or three more times singing in the music team and then others came who fit well in that space so the need for novice musicians is filled.  I am happy to be displaced.  There are other things that I do at church and cannot do everything nor do I desire to do everything so it's okay.  I still want to be a part of the music team and will figure out how to incorporate when I can and when someone else is holding onto my children (lol)!  But I have a bigger dream than even that one which is to develop religious music.  What's awesome (sarcasm) is that I don't know how to play any other instrument but my voice and I don't know music theory.  My experience with theory and other instruments is not non-existent, to be fair, but it's minimal.  I have a piano.  There is no reason that I cannot put in 100 hours this year.  That will give me a step towards my dreams.  It seems like a good plan.  But now comes the hard part, putting in the 100 hours, the doing.  We'll see.  Hopefully I will do it.  Hopefully I will do the same with writing.  You will know about the writing for sure because I have no better place to hold myself accountable than this long neglected blog.  And if, perchance I keep up with the writing, you will know if I keep up with the music because I need some kind of fodder to write on.  The rule is to write for an hour which sounds impossible and also sounds like it's not enough time all at once.  For now, I will write just to keep my thoughts leaving my mind and heading towards a medium that some writers use.  So that was to say that I will probably provide updates to my progress in general to keep the digital ink flowing.  Running out of steam here, I really need to shift gears and think about all of the things that I also need to be doing.  Repairing the washer machine.  My dream of being handy will come to fruition as mountains of clothes loom and clothes get washed because of the generosity of donated time sharing someone else' machine, water, and electricity.  So, it seems that doing will happen in this sphere out of sheer need.  Other projects include getting rid of useless junk.  I am tempted to hang on to it because of the advice to never give away what could be sold, but the virtue here is the greater need to de-clutter than to teach my family how to be entrepreneurs.  We will find another way to inculcate those themes, just not with the useless junk, for now.  House wiring needs updating.  Garage needs to be cleaned/cleaned out.  Debris/refuse needs to be delivered to the dump.  Also, mental breaks need to be taken from writing to smile at the children. :)  They are my pride and joy!  What wonders does this new year hold for me and those entrusted in my care?  I have dreams.  Dream with me.  I am hatching plans.  Hatch plans of your own.  Now, what will I do?  Hmm, what will you do?

Answering Questions on an Application to a Non-Profit

1. I was brought up in a Christian home, expressing belief in Jesus Christ at 5 years old. I was baptized when I was about 12 years old. I experienced a change in my relationship to Christ when I was 17 years old and consider that the point of my conversion. Having been brought up in a legalistic church/family, I was pretty aware of my particular weaknesses and bore the guilt and shame of them for many years. My wife and I had a falling out several years back and God sent his servants into our life to keep us on the straight and narrow. It took several more years of me toughing it out before I released us both through forgiveness. For the last 22 months I have experienced the grace of God in a way I could only speculate about before. God healed me. God healed my marriage. God has further saved me from my weaknesses in a sanctifying sense; the battles are won daily by his grace.

2. The Bible is God-breathed and contains everything we need to know about God and how to have a right relationship with him. Jesus Christ is the messiah to the Jews first and the Gentiles by ingrafting. He is the Son of God and God the Son. He is fully God and fully man. He is my Lord and Savior. God raised him from the dead. His words will judge the world of sin in the last day. In his first coming, he came to save the world and not to condemn it.

3. I attend St. Charles Anglican Church in Poulsbo, WA. I am involved on a weekly basis with my church: co-organize a Sunday small group, teach Sunday School once a month, Acolyte once a month, meet up with an accountability group once a week, I am in the process of starting a small group fellowship in Bremerton which by God's grace will result in a church plant, and have just been elected to a three-year term to serve my parish as part of the Vestry.

…blame it on the alcohol.

with a few more a-a-a-a-a-a's in there, hence goes the song.

I Co 10:23

Good point AmericanAfrican. "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial…" that does not mean that "everything" is permissible. "What!? but it says!!!" ok, this is why ppl were not allowed to read the bible for a very long time (sarcasm).

The point is not to overturn everything that has been scripturally established up to this point some 4000 yrs after "in the beginning." the point is to cover what has not been specifically ruled on…that is "everything [else]."

IF IT HAS NOT BEEN FORBIDDEN, IT IS PERMITTED.

ok, i'll stop yelling now. the "baptists" somehow turn scripture on its head and end up with something more like: 'if it is not permitted, it is forbidden.' this is wrong. they are manipulating scripture for good intentions (and yeah…uh…nvm;). but they are wrong to do so.

ok so, we can drink! woohoo, party at my place tonite!! now now, let's not get carried away. indulging is not expressly forbidden, but indulging to excess is forbidden.

but that is not an answer either. what is excess? this is why i say we have little ground to judge, w/o obvious destructive behavior. don't judge me and i will not judge you. how abt we leave it there.

NO?! not good enough huh? so here we go:

since i've written my june first post i've seen: alcohol makes ppl stupid, they make poor decisions, they are more prone to suggestion, the relationships kindled over drinking are very strong, bonds are formed that may not have formed or have been able to be formed otherwise…

now having said that, let me say that it's not the alcohol. IT doesn't make ppl stupid. alcohol speeds things up socially. self-destructive personalities may achieve 'success' sooner by imbibing. in my experience far too many ppl have self destructive habits…

a word abt relationships: if the ppl you're drinking with are ppl you already wanted to be friends with then great. you'll probably become friends faster. but if you don't know them, not really, if you don't know if you can trust them; then why in [someone important]'s name would you make yourself vulnerable?? rant. done.

i have tested my limits and found them. now i can drink and make merry, extremely merry, and not get "wasted." but again, who defines wasted? i think that it's a personal definition honestly. how do i feel the next day? can i do my job? take care of my boys? how do i treat ppl when i have "drunk"?

to conclude: it is permitted. warning: it is strong drink and must be handled accordingly.

Prov 31:4-7 & I Tim 3:3,8 & Tit 2:3

the lower on the totem pole = the more appropriate it is to indulge and make merry. the higher you go, it becomes less appropriate. misuse can bring someone low, really low. i have seen it. but for those who are already low, hey go for it. sadly, that is all some have to live for, why deny them that bit of earthly comfort? also note Prov 31:6,7. not only does scripture NOT forbid alcohol at this juncture, BUT it orders it to be given to a select special group of ppl: those who NEED it most…

once my thot…now my writ.

but to be explicitly or abundantly clear:

"At what point do you actually believe the consumption of alcohol is sinning?" ~J

b4
you have sinned before you even started when your intentions are sinful. this may not make sense at first. think abt it tho. when you want to do something you know is wrong, but won't 'let yourself' you can drink and poof! your inhibitions are gone…also if you know that you're prone to sinning when drunk (swd;) but drink anyways…strike one.

during
you go along with suggestions you normally wouldn't have, but that doesn't absolve you of wrong doing. you fight. all manner of sin can take place swd…strike two.

afterparty
you have a hangover that prevents you from completing your responsibilities. you wake up in a strangers house. ppl usually don't even remember what happens while they're sinning while wasted (sww)…but who ppl really are comes out. you default to your baseline programming sww.

drunk=merry
wasted=sin…strike three.

but bigger than the BAC a person has is their attitude/heart/intentions. these are the real sources of the SIN…

Where is the wisdom in that?

Is it wise for a young Christian to be attempting to tackle the most difficult book in the Bible to exegete? Does the fact that it is so mysterious have any strange attraction? Of course it does. So what does one do when you get this 'end-times bug?' You read a good book, that's what I did. A book that clears the apocalyptic haze not muddies the water...that is what is needed. With no knowledge of the Greek language, without establishing the interpretive hermeneutics, without consulting the works of the respected authorities; where does one intend to go?

Update: This is especially true for those intending to working as a minister of the Gospel...First things first:
1. Survey the broad themes; become a student, learn.
2. Study in greater detail; become a scholar, find out what others have learned.
3. Research the minutiae; become an expert, understand its grave implications.
Explain, Interpret, Exegete. There is a [super-]natural order to things...follow it.

Who are your SC Legislators?

Find out here: http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe.

Results for 29445-9614:

U.S. Senators
Senior - U.S. Senator Lindsey O. Graham
Junior - U.S. Senator Jim W. DeMint

U.S. House District 1 - U.S. Representative Henry E. Brown, Jr.

Your South Carolina State Senator is SC Senate District 37 - Senator Lawrence "Larry" K. Grooms

Your South Carolina State Representative is SC House District 117 - Representative Thomas "Tom" M. Dantzler

Now I can figure out who to vote for in the State races...Too bad I don't have any SC Constitution Party Candidates running in my districts. There a few of them:

Declared Candidates for the 2008 Elections:

South Carolina - Constitution Party of South Carolina

Candidate: Frank Waggoner Office Sought: U.S. Congress - District 5 Ballot Status: Ballot Access Secured Residence: , SC

Candidate: Polly Nicolay Office Sought: State Senate - District 1 Ballot Status: Ballot Access Secured Residence: , SC

Candidate: John Langville Office Sought: State Senate - District 7 Ballot Status: Ballot Access Secured Residence: , SC

Candidate: Patricia. Matthews Office Sought: State House - District 104 Ballot Status: Ballot Access Secured Residence: , SC

Candidate: Matt Jarfi Office Sought: Horry County Council District 6 Ballot Status: Ballot Access Secured Residence: , SC

Update: Links fixed!

Vote No for those who voted Yes

Find your Representative in the roll call for the vote on the bailout...er, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

My SC Rep Brown is down. Whoever the Democrat running against him may get my vote...

"Nobody really wanted to do this" and yet they did. They didn't want to vote against "their conscience," so they ignored the voters who put them in office. Pardon me!? Honorable Sir/Madam, I am your conscience. You are answerable to me, not Wall Street bankers. But I guess I have no sway with you because I don't pander to you. But I thought you worked for me...

If you (reader) want to make a difference, know that we are in the fight for the long haul.

1. Educate yourself (Google: campaign for liberty, restore the republic, ludvig von mises institute, austrian economics, Christian economics, gary north, ludvig von mises, frederick hayek, carl menger, murray rothbard, laissez faire, austrian theory of the trade cycle, rousas john rushdoony, david chilton, greg bahnsen, ron paul, constitution party, howard phillips, etc.)

2. Stay away from D.C./get involved locally ("All politics is local.").

3. Educate/catechize/indoctrinate your children in the same, thereby perpetuating the growing ranks of freedom lovers (who will do the same, and on and on and on).

Senate roll call vote on the bailout bill.

Senate roll call vote on the bailout amendment.

Update: Gary North's post that inspired my call to arms: A Civics Lesson for Very Slow Learners: American Voters

Let us lay wait & other conspiracies...

Psalm 35:20 "For [they that hate me without a cause] speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land."

I am not a conspiracy theorist. In my mind their is no point theorizing about what the Bible forbids us to think about (Eph. 5:12). Especially when I already know that there are those that "devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land."

Title: Let us lay wait...


2 Chronicles 24:21 "So they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD."

2 Chronicles 24:25 "And when they were departed from [Joash], (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. 26 Now these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess."

2 Chronicles 25:27 "From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there."

Psalm 83:3 "They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. 4 They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more." 5 For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:"

Righteous leadership

2 Chronicles 20:32 [Jehoshaphat] walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD. 33 The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

This was an indictment against Jehoshaphat; he did good but he failed in other areas. He did not tear down the "pagan shrines" (NLT) and the people did not change their hearts towards God. It is interesting to note that the latter was part of the indictment of Jehoshaphat's reign. No; government cannot save you, but how much influence can the government have on the hearts of a people?

2 Chronicles 27:2 [Jotham] did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly.

There again another mention of the king's shortcoming(s) followed closely by the ethics of the nation.

2 Chronicles 28:19 For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD.

How is it that sin is so easily propagated? Why do we say that you cannot force a nation to be Christian but we see all throughout history the forcing of nations to anti-God religion...Ahaz forced Judah/Israel to worship the gods of the Assyrians...But God is faithful in that He retains His remnant.

New Home Business!

Maybe.

I just purchased covenanthearts.com. (Next task: read a lot.)

I plan on moving this blog to that site if I can; probably to something like covenanthearts.com/blog. It'll be powered by WordPress.org I think. It may be built with Weebly, or Google Sites but everything has to be compatible...So, we'll see.

Soon I hope to start selling some of my favorite books and my favorite publishers' books. Publishers will include Institute for Christian Economics, Dominion Press, and Christian Liberty Press (CLP). CLP offers a distributorship program making this possible. We will also sell a few books put out by No Greater Joy Ministries on child training and marriage. This will also be made possible by a similar program. American Vision also sells materials wholesale.

In the long run I hope to be able to start a Christian Daycare in the Charleston area with the namesake of the newly acquired domain.

Update (9/7/08): I don't think the book-selling is going to happen. Honestly, it will be a lot of time spent for little reward. Frankly I need to redeem the time and this is not the way to do it right now. I still hope to do this thing though. And I will still keep the site because I do want to name a Christian Daycare ministry/local Christian educational ministry by the same name.

Sin is Ethical not Metaphysical

I first heard this phrase used by an open theist that I am acquainted with (Jesse Morrell). I did not understand what he meant by it.

This is interesting to note since this phrase, I believe, was coined by Cornelius Van Til, a premier Calvinist philosopher and theologian and Professor of Apologetics at Princeton Theological Seminary then Westminster Theological Seminary.

As I was listening to an Apologetics course taught by John Frame (you can download it for free) I heard him use this phrase/similar phrase(?). I looked it up online and found that Frame cites Van Til.

On another site I found that Frame attributed this phrase as a paraphrase of Herman Bavinck ("...the source is Bavinck..."), another Calvinist theologian/philosopher. I believe that I have discovered the volume in which Bavinck expounds this; his Reformed Dogmatics: Volume 3 Sin and Salvation in Christ.

Update: Bavinck is difficult to read but well worth the money spent and I've barely put a dent in the book.

Interesting Read [Updated...And Beyond]

Apparently there has been an issue that I was sorely unaware of...Check out http://mrsbinoculars.com/to get up to speed (see Little Geneva the non-existent antithesis).

Apparently R.C. Sproul Jr. has been defrocked and there is plenty of muckraking taking place.

http://hushmoney.org/RC_Sproul_Jr-defrocking-docs.htm
http://rc-sproul-jr.blogspot.com/
http://rc-sproul-jr.netfirms.com/cnt_rc_sproul_jr_meditation.html

Apparently Vision Forum/Doug Phillips is being called to question.

http://ministrywatchman.com/

Apparently the CREC is too.

http://hushmoney.org/crec_commission_report.htm

The "Sproul" side of the story found here gets a lot of heat.

I had no clue that any of this was going on. I think that the charges made by people in the blogosphere are harsh and they are made because they aren't staring someone in the face as they make the accusations. Personally I have a hard time being dogmatic about third hand information and will relegate myself to the sidelines until things get clearer.

What I do not like is the tone of the anti-Sproul/Phillips/Wilson crowd. I have in the past myself been very critical of others and am now very critical of this pastime.

What I would like to see from the anti-Sproul/Phillips/Wilson crowd is fair and balanced reporting. There is no need in mixing opinion with fact when there is a need to disseminate information.

Here is where the muddy water becomes clearer. And check out their newer blog. They have several links to Vision Forum responses, the MrsBinoculars.com site, etc. So now I've come full circle.

Also see Kevin Swanson on the controversy.

Since this controversial matter continues (even now) to be controversial I have for the third time wandered through the wilderness to search for more answers. One of my reasons for remaining skeptical of Sproul's defrocking was that initially I actually thought it was a hoax. After several more hours though I began to realize that it had spread too far across the internet and would otherwise have to be an extremely elaborate hoax.

Thus according to my parsimonious reasoning (i.e. Occam's Razor) I concluded that it must have actually occurred and that without my knowledge. I was mystified. And in any case the burden of proof is always on the accusers (innocent until proven guilty). Thus I remained unconvinced.

Some might point to the well documented case against Mr. Sproul, but I could not simply accept even that at face value (I question almost everything, or do I?). I have some experience with logic and debate and have learned to question the legitimacy of a source. It is something that needs to be established before the discussion may continue.

Up till now I had not yet delved into answering the lingering questions of mine (Why not? Not enough time for one; I finished this post late at night and couldn't take any more of wading through the muckraking). Why does only hushmoney.org have all the documentation? Who are they? Why do they care? Well I answered those questions today and have tentatively concluded that the documentation they provide may be taken at face value.

Sources: Read Peter Kershaw's (runs hushmoney.org) statement on poohsthink.com (I have linked to google's cache of this page, so get it while it's hot.). And most importantly note that the RPCGA's website links to hushmoney.org (aka. Heal Our Land Ministries). This latter source establishes the credibility of hushmoney.org as a primary source and more than likely unbiased.

This answers one question but still leaves more: What is Doug Wilson/CREC's connection and why (i.e. what does it mean?)? Why do the critics of Sproul/Wilson appear to stand shoulder to shoulder with the critics of Doug Phillips?

If it was a simple scenario: "Sproul did bad stuff and is being punished" then I could say "Well I'm glad that's over with." But it gets more complicated than that. Apparently the CREC got involved and it didn't get access to the entire case file so was uninformed about the entirety matter. Does this mean that the CREC committed wrong doing and should be shunned? Should Sproul be shunned? Is he still trying to pass himself off as a Pastor? What does defrocking truly mean in all of its illustriousness?

Are the answers too difficult to discover? NO. But do I have the time to answer all of them? NO. So is it fair to accuse me of disservice to others? Keep in mind that I did not cast a judgment one way or the other. I had and still have too little information to make sense of the entire affair; I will not be happy, nor was I ever, in making sweeping judgments based on insufficient data.

If anyone is willing to answer my questions please do. But I do not take information simply asserted. Provide the links from unbiased sources (where possible). With more and more [true] information the muddy waters become clearer. Thanks for reading.

Vision Forum links to Mrs. Binoculars, an endorsement (I presume). Mrs. Binoculars says that there is no connection between Phillips and Sproul (debacles, etc.).

Last Edited: Thu, Aug 28, 2008.

Looking for a Biblical Defense of the American War for Independence

The Puritan Board.

Calvinism in History, By Loraine Boettner (excerpt on puritanboard.com is from ch3)

Witherspoon of Paisley and Princeton, By John A. Mackay (an excerpt? published in Theology Today Vol 18, No. 1 - January 1962)

Church History: America once an Episcopalian nation, Article found on Free Republic orig. from The Daily Citizen)

The Church History article conflicts with the argument provided in the previous link (Witherspoon). Both use numbers or statistics to make their point.

Point: "The Presbyterian Church, moreover, was the principal Christian denomination in the America of that time, both during the Revolutionary War and in the years that immediately followed."

Counterpoint: "Statistically no group of Christians held a greater influence over the founding and initial direction of the United States of America than the Episcopal Church."

Found one of the articles after taking the bunny trail of Little Geneva's broken link. But here is the other missing article. Of course it only exists in the archives and I have saved the image so...

More info on the origins but not defense...I'm working on it. Wiki-pedia may have the answer...

Here is a good resource: Political Sermons of the American Founding Era. (2 vols.). In it can be found the political theories of colonial ministers.

Summary: While attempting some semblance of research, what I have found is a discussion of the socio-political origins of the "Presbyterian Parson's War." Or perhaps a psychology that provided a willingness to go to war due to the Calvinists' recent history: Cromwell, War of the Austrian Succession, religious persecutions, antithesis with the Church of England, etc. Thus the climate was one of libertarian ideals/classic liberalism.

Wikipedia mentions the Hebrew Scriptures as a possible source for a Biblical defense. The colonialists saw themselves as Israel rebelling under Pharaoh, etc. Or maybe that they were the divinely appointed tool being used by God.

I also found that there was the fear of losing their religious freedoms due to a soon to be had Bishop of the Church of England being installed in the colonies. Obviously this would have been someone under the influence of the king and as such would result in a diminishing of religious and political freedoms.

"After the Seven Years’ (French and Indian) War ended in 1763, Whitefield arrived in America for his sixth tour. On April 2, 1764, he held a private conversation in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with Samuel Langdon and other established ministers that alarmed Americans already worried about their liberty. Whitefield was quoted as saying: 'I can’t in conscience leave the town without acquainting you with a secret. My heart bleeds for America. O poor New England! There is a deep laid plot against your civil and religious liberties, and they will be lost. Your golden days are at an end. You have nothing but trouble before you. . . . Your liberties will be lost.' Whitefield outlined the secret plans (as he said) of the British Ministry to end colonial self-government and to establish the Anglican Church (William Gordon, The History of the Rise, Progress and Establishment of the United States . . . [2d ed., 3 vols. New York: Samuel Campbell, 1794], 1:102). This episode galvanized the clergy in their opposition to British policy, especially when the intelligence proved true and the 1765 Stamp Act was adopted." (Ellis Sandoz on George Whitefield's BRITAIN’S MERCIES, AND BRITAIN’S DUTIES)

Still inconclusive as to the "Why?". Too exhausted to continue. This will have to suffice for now.

Update (9/7/08): I think I am slowly beginning to understand...The Church of England was an imposition on the Puritans/Presbyterians in Britain and prevented them from worshiping God with clear consciences, thus their revolt and Oliver Cromwell and such. This sentiment carried over into the New World as they were seeking religious freedom on these shores. But with the threat of British consolidation of power (taxation is a form of control) they feared that they would lose their religious liberty. I suppose then that the War for American Independence was seen as a defensive war.

Would you not practice civil disobedience if your religious liberty was constrained? Civil disobedience comes in various degrees. And to the early American Presbyterians taking up arms to defend their right to live and worship how they pleased was important enough to them.