Dr. Kim Riddlebarger on Eschatology

For anyone who has grown up with the dispensational end times teaching in a church or been significantly influenced by the doctrines of the Rapture, 7-year Tribulation, and Millennial Kingdom, there is a great series that you should hear in response to these doctrines by Dr. Kim Riddlebarger. He is a Reformed scholar and presents a very different and persuasive way in contrast to the dispensational view in interpreting prophetic passages in the Scriptures, though it's not really that different in the historical sense. I found them very helpful. Here they are:

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/267070709H2S2.mp3 (On the Rapture)

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/270071009H2S2.mp3 (On the Tribulation)

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/271071309H2S2.mp3 (On the Millennial Kingdom)

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/272071409H2S2.mp3 (On Israel)

The Eclipse of Biblical Manhood

As I promised, here's the first post on a gender-related resource, and it's for men! It's from the radio show of Dr. Mohler, president of Southern Seminary. Anyone who knows me knows I like his work, and honestly, I've listened to about 150 different broadcasts of his, and this is my favorite show. Let me know what your favorite part of the broadcast is. I'll share mine later.

http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/totl/2009/AMP_04_13_2009.mp3

P.S. The first 10 minutes or so are news items of the day and can be skipped over. And also, ladies are welcome to listen as well and post their feedback.

Movie watch

I finally got to see the movie Up (in 3-D) yesterday, the new Pixar film. It was pretty entertaining. They know how to make a basic coherent story every time that's both funny and to some degree heartfelt. It's no wonder they usually are the leader above the other movies that fall under the same genre. You may want to wait until it comes out on DVD though since the price (for me at least) was $13 (including the 3-D glasses).

That's not all I wanted to post on though. Anyone who follows movies even a little bit will notice that there are a lot more computer genereated and cartoon movies out now than before. The previews I saw before the movie were all under that category. Why mention that? Because usually, this kind of movie is not held to as high a standard as a movie with real people making choices that (hopefully) have good or bad results according to what they choose. "But," someone will say, "those themes can be present in cartoons too." Fair enough. But it's doubtful that the standard is held as high as moveis with physical human beings in it. Take the Little Mermaid for example. How many people remember that as a part of the film, she defied her father and left her home and it was not looked down upon, but exalted. If a teenage girl in a typical film was so dissatisfied with living at home that she ran away to find some place that she really wanted to be, would it be looked at in the same way as Ariel? Arguably, there are more permissible things that we allow for cartoons and computer animated films than other pictures.

With that said, I thought it would be good to turn to the worldview of the movie Up. I won't ruin any major parts of the story, but it is safe to say that pretty much every Pixar movie (along with most/all popular animated ones) don't mention any sort of higher power at all. Part of the reason I think is because of what is mentioned above. Now I know that these kinds of movies are fictional. But that doesn't mean they have to leave that element out. No one could easily say that the Narnia books leave out a sovereign ruler, or a substitutionary sacrifice for evildoers, or that what you do really matters.

This is where the worldview comes in. Though I could not claim that I know the exact worldview that the movie represents (though some that come to mind are moralism, materialism, and naturalism), the way I would phrase the movie's message is, "Make the most of this life as you can." But then that just begs the question. Why? Why make the most of this life? Why go to great lengths at all to do something epic in this world, or even small things that will contribute to society? Why not just eat and drink and make merry, since tomorrow you die?

The only way to answer that question in an intellectually honest way is to have the Lord in the story, if not literally, than (very carefully I would say) in a creative way. What other reason could you give that would truly motivate someone? In the short-term, a good feeling could be a reason, or more money, or whatever other worldly motive you could think of. But after this life, none of it would matter. It would all be meaningless. But if God's glory is the motive, then it has an infinitely deep meaning.

Picture from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc.

A Prayer Of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Gender Confusion and Modern Controversies

All of us are familiar with the gender-neutral agenda that the culture pushes (though it's certainly not limited to America). But can it be linked with things like abortion and homosexuality, two of the biggest controversies we face in our time? With homosexuality it's not difficult to see how what is normally associated with natural attraction and desire for intimacy/commitment with the opposite gender is traded for something that is replacing it with the same gender. With abortion, arguably the main reason that women seek abortions is that they don't want their life to be encumbered by a child at the time of their pregnancy, usually for the sake of wanting to have a "brighter future," "choosing" things like prioritizing a career, wanting to finish college, move up on the corporate ladder, or any number of things that they view as more important than raising a child. Certainly there is more that should have been prevented on her part before the pregnancy occurred, but the issue here is that it is so ingrained for a woman to look out for herself in the financial sense that she views her role as independent and as the provider for herself instead of having a depended mindset on someone who will commit to her in holy marriage.

The Bible has such clearly defined roles for men and women that it's a wonder sometimes to me that churches simply don't emphasize what they are. Would abortion be as much of an issue if churches in America taught that marriage is something that young men/women should be moving towards (at least the majority of people) instead of looking at it like it's optional? Would aboirtion be as big of an issue if men were taught to be the provider of their household and women to be keepers at home, as opposed to not intruding on people's personal goals of being self-sufficient (another thing the culture teaches)? I would say no. Too often men are caught off guard by the weight of responsibility in terms of leading and being the one who is depended on in so many ways, and women do not hear about the importance of what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman and the joys that come with it (far more than they will ever get in prioritizing a career). Now this does serve more as a preventitive model. Obviously there are many people in a situation that does not fully lend itself to this pattern (e.g. an abandoned spouse left to raise her kids, which is really the man's atrocity in this case). I'll try to post on that in the future. But it's still high time that we as Christians lived out our roles as male and female.

This topic has been on my mind so much that it seems good to at least post on it more frequently, and specifically to link articles that deal with this topic of gender roles. Obviously, the end goal is not to merely point out the cultural flaws, but to glorify God and follow His plan for our lives. Nothing can bring more satisfaction or fulfillment. But we need to help each other out in this. We need to embrace what God has revealed to us as what is best. The end result will be transformed families, being good stewards of what the Lord has gifted us with, and being a brighter light to the world that is quickly crumbling around us.

Image from http://www.lofitribe.com/

Copyright 2006-2009 Shawn Anthony. All rights are reserved.

Debbie Maken on Singleness

Recently, my brother has been showing me a few things from Debbie Maken, a writer and wife who wrote the book, "Getting Serious About Getting Married." She offers a lot of encouraging and challenging words on the subject, and is worth hearing out for any singles in their 20s and 30s who think about marriage regularly. Here is an interview with her on Premier TV sharing good principles on this subject (though it is directed toward women, but men can definitely learn from it too):

http://player26.narrowstep.tv/nsp.aspx?player=Premier2&void=48451

Cheap books!

Canon Press, which puts out books by Douglas Wilson and Peter Leithart (to name just a couple guys), has a bunch of books on sale for $1-$3 a piece until May 8. Check it out!
http://www.canonpress.org/shop/