“I think it might be demonstrated that almost every heresy that has afflicted the church through the years has arisen from believing about God things that are not true, or from overemphasizing certain true things so as to obscure other things equally true. To magnify any attribute to the exclusion of another is to head straight for one of the dismal swamps of theology; and yet we are all constantly tempted to do just that.
For instance, the Bible teaches that God is love; some have interpreted this in such a way as virtually to deny that He is just, which the Bible also teaches. Others press the Biblical doctrine of God’s goodness so far that it is made to contradict His holiness. Or they make His compassion cancel out His truth. Still others understand that sovereignty of God in a way that destroys or at least greatly diminishes His goodness and love.
We can hold a correct view of truth only by daring to believe everything God has said about Himself. It is a grave responsibility that a man takes upon himself when he seeks to edit out of God’s self-revelation such features as he in his ignorance deems objectionable. Blindness in part must surely fall upon any of us presumptuous enough to attempt such a thing. And it is wholly uncalled for. We need not fear to let the truth stand as it is written. There is no conflict among the divine attributes. God’s being is unitary. He cannot divide Himself and act at a given time from one of His attributes while the rest remain inactive. All that God is must accord with all that God does. Justice must be present in mercy, and love in judgement. And so will all the divine attributes.“
~ A. W. Tozer
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Anson Rainey (11 January, 1930 - 19 February, 2011)
"I have just been informed that Professor Anson Rainey passed away today, after a blessedly short battle with pancreal cancer. Details about the funeral arrangements are not yet available.
Barukh Dayan Emet.
Yigal
Dr. Yigal Levin
May he rest in peace."
It all happened so suddenly...
Sometime toward the middle of January he went into the hospital because he had intestinal discomfort, turns out the doctors diagnosed him with cancer of the pancreas. Anson Rainey passed away early yesterday afternoon. The funeral will be held at the cemetery in Barkan at 12 pm today (Sunday, Feb. 20)
A biography can be viewed at his Tel Aviv University webpage.
May his memory be a blessing!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine's day musings
No Valentines day parades. No unexpected cupid-ized, naked baby pictures. In Jerusalem its a foreign holiday; enough to post up a greeting or two, but nothing to write home about... I got a candy bar and a hologram; a letter and an email. These are simple and sweet ways that affection is conveyed from one person to another. Its meaningful and good. The whole holiday motion triggered a chain of responses in me that I am trying to process... I hope its worth sharing.
As it turns out that this holiday sweeps the western world off its feet because it... love's well? with exemplar style? hosting unequivocal love savvy? Hmmm... I mean no disrespect, after all I am a part of that lineage and I am very thankful for it, but seriously... There seems to be some kind of elaborate disconnect, no? I mean, it is not as if we don't feel deeply connected with people. It is not as if those connections are not authentic. It just seems that along with our short attention spans comes a pathetic kind of resolve. How is it that our statistics prove that our stereotypical Hollywood fantasies turn romance into nightmares? This is sad. The stat on divorce and its blemish on the western world is a characterizing statement for us, is it not? It seems to me that it is now part of our narrative. So many of our loved ones have been exposed to it, caught up in it, and part of it in some way or another. It runs deep. Perhaps this is indicative of our own working definitions. Perhaps commitment or the old definition of it has lost its appeal: too many complications, too many heart breaks, too many crimes, too many mothers with unmotivated husbands, too many husbands with self-centered wives, too much egotism, too much cruelty. Perhaps, the tragic results of commitments made-and-broken seem worse than commitments unmade lobbing us into a catch 22 that burns on both edges. If my judgments ring true with anyone, it seems we have found ourselves in a desperate condition. Do we dare admit it: admit that we do not have a clue what love is.
Recite your favorite love song and tell me that it provides a profound alternative to the present and living definition expressed in our own context. 9 out of 10 songs rage against a machine toe-tapping to another tripped up excuse to sleep around. Its shameful. Really really shameful. Perhaps I am angst ridden, but these observations are justifiable...That is what is so blasted scary about our own prospective futures, committing and hoping your partner commits just the same.
I presume that we all do have some examples that test the current drama and re-run. And I'd like to think that whether or not they know it, true and enduring affection has a prevailing center pent up in one principle: reconciliation. A Dr. James Grier spoke at Cedarville University and suggested that reconciliation stands as a bulwark and breakwater against conflict. And don't misunderstand, his efforts were to place Christ at the center of our purview, such that reconciliation would be seen as impossible without Him in the life of church and in the life of marriage. Christ's meritorious life and death and resurrection mark the epicenter and its effects are seen in fragmented shadows and types all over: rain-fall, morning sunshine, sparrows singing, and lilies of the field; not least, relationships that enduring through terrible loss, and marriages that survive in-spite of sin. While I have seen very few marriages so motivated by their debt of gratitude for God and his electing grace and for the love of God expressed in Christ and his accomplishments, they are wildly attractive. They are attractive for their resolve and their ability to forgive quickly... They are wonderfully simplistic and virile... and so contra-normal... Would to God that our relationships would be revived, cast this kind of caricature and give a turn of face to the current melodrama of Valentine's day!
As it turns out that this holiday sweeps the western world off its feet because it... love's well? with exemplar style? hosting unequivocal love savvy? Hmmm... I mean no disrespect, after all I am a part of that lineage and I am very thankful for it, but seriously... There seems to be some kind of elaborate disconnect, no? I mean, it is not as if we don't feel deeply connected with people. It is not as if those connections are not authentic. It just seems that along with our short attention spans comes a pathetic kind of resolve. How is it that our statistics prove that our stereotypical Hollywood fantasies turn romance into nightmares? This is sad. The stat on divorce and its blemish on the western world is a characterizing statement for us, is it not? It seems to me that it is now part of our narrative. So many of our loved ones have been exposed to it, caught up in it, and part of it in some way or another. It runs deep. Perhaps this is indicative of our own working definitions. Perhaps commitment or the old definition of it has lost its appeal: too many complications, too many heart breaks, too many crimes, too many mothers with unmotivated husbands, too many husbands with self-centered wives, too much egotism, too much cruelty. Perhaps, the tragic results of commitments made-and-broken seem worse than commitments unmade lobbing us into a catch 22 that burns on both edges. If my judgments ring true with anyone, it seems we have found ourselves in a desperate condition. Do we dare admit it: admit that we do not have a clue what love is.
Recite your favorite love song and tell me that it provides a profound alternative to the present and living definition expressed in our own context. 9 out of 10 songs rage against a machine toe-tapping to another tripped up excuse to sleep around. Its shameful. Really really shameful. Perhaps I am angst ridden, but these observations are justifiable...That is what is so blasted scary about our own prospective futures, committing and hoping your partner commits just the same.
I presume that we all do have some examples that test the current drama and re-run. And I'd like to think that whether or not they know it, true and enduring affection has a prevailing center pent up in one principle: reconciliation. A Dr. James Grier spoke at Cedarville University and suggested that reconciliation stands as a bulwark and breakwater against conflict. And don't misunderstand, his efforts were to place Christ at the center of our purview, such that reconciliation would be seen as impossible without Him in the life of church and in the life of marriage. Christ's meritorious life and death and resurrection mark the epicenter and its effects are seen in fragmented shadows and types all over: rain-fall, morning sunshine, sparrows singing, and lilies of the field; not least, relationships that enduring through terrible loss, and marriages that survive in-spite of sin. While I have seen very few marriages so motivated by their debt of gratitude for God and his electing grace and for the love of God expressed in Christ and his accomplishments, they are wildly attractive. They are attractive for their resolve and their ability to forgive quickly... They are wonderfully simplistic and virile... and so contra-normal... Would to God that our relationships would be revived, cast this kind of caricature and give a turn of face to the current melodrama of Valentine's day!
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