Just like in February, I count 49 BBC blogs as having been updated in the month of March. Statistically, for The Matthew Never Knew, March was the best blogging month since September with over 2,400 unique visits and over 4,500 hits. Wednesday I will be deleting more BBC blogs that haven't been updated in over a year. Here are the nominations for best posts of March:
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Top 10 UR Verses
Here are the verses I find most often used by those who believe in Universal Reconciliation (the belief that eventually everyone will 'make heaven'
1. God is love (1 John 4:8)
They argue that a God who IS love could never allow for 'eternal torment'
2. God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3b-4)
They argue that God ultimately gets what He wants
3. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col 1:19-20)
They argue that all means all
4. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
See above
5. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. (John 12:32)
See above
6. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
Whole means whole
7. That we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
(1 Timothy 4:10)
All means all
8. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
Direct correspondance. All humans are sinners via Adam, so all humans are saved via Jesus
9. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
How could God be considered 'greater' if only a few find the gate?
10. Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God (Romans 14:11)
Every means every
How would you respond to their usage of these verses?
1. God is love (1 John 4:8)
They argue that a God who IS love could never allow for 'eternal torment'
2. God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3b-4)
They argue that God ultimately gets what He wants
3. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col 1:19-20)
They argue that all means all
4. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
See above
5. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. (John 12:32)
See above
6. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
Whole means whole
7. That we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
(1 Timothy 4:10)
All means all
8. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
Direct correspondance. All humans are sinners via Adam, so all humans are saved via Jesus
9. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
How could God be considered 'greater' if only a few find the gate?
10. Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God (Romans 14:11)
Every means every
How would you respond to their usage of these verses?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
PC: The Sermon
Chapter 4: The Sermon
Viola points out that 'the sermon' is central to protestant worship services, but has no root in Scripture. It's not that Jesus and the Apostles didn't preach, it's that "there is a world of difference b/w the Spirit-inspired preaching and teaching described in the Bible and the contemporary sermon." In short, Viola rejects the Greco-Roman based contemporary sermon (routine, regulated, passive, prepared) in favor of biblical preaching (sporadic, informal, participative, spontaneous).
Reaction:
I have no problem with Viola's quest to make sermons more participative. But I do feel compelled to question many of Viola's premises in this chapter. First, he claims that many of the 'early church fathers' were recent pagan converts AND that this tainted their remarks. His argument seems to be that we can't take the writings of the early church as representative of the thinking of the early church. Well, there is certainly some truth to this premise, but it is also very convenient for Viola. It allows him to dismiss what evidence we have of the early church and fill the void with his 'house church' mindset. Second, I disagree with Viola's seeming assumption that a prepared sermon and a Spirit-led sermon are in contrast. Can't the Holy Spirit help us prepare and cultivate a message? Third, Viola continues his previous pattern of equating EXTRA-Biblical practices with UN-Biblical passages, except in this case the practice actually is quite Biblical! He ends with what I think is the most ridiculous question so far in the book: "How can a man preach a sermon on being faithful to the Word of God while he is preaching a sermon?" I reply, 'Quite easily!'
BONUS: ALL MY SERMONS
Viola points out that 'the sermon' is central to protestant worship services, but has no root in Scripture. It's not that Jesus and the Apostles didn't preach, it's that "there is a world of difference b/w the Spirit-inspired preaching and teaching described in the Bible and the contemporary sermon." In short, Viola rejects the Greco-Roman based contemporary sermon (routine, regulated, passive, prepared) in favor of biblical preaching (sporadic, informal, participative, spontaneous).
Reaction:
I have no problem with Viola's quest to make sermons more participative. But I do feel compelled to question many of Viola's premises in this chapter. First, he claims that many of the 'early church fathers' were recent pagan converts AND that this tainted their remarks. His argument seems to be that we can't take the writings of the early church as representative of the thinking of the early church. Well, there is certainly some truth to this premise, but it is also very convenient for Viola. It allows him to dismiss what evidence we have of the early church and fill the void with his 'house church' mindset. Second, I disagree with Viola's seeming assumption that a prepared sermon and a Spirit-led sermon are in contrast. Can't the Holy Spirit help us prepare and cultivate a message? Third, Viola continues his previous pattern of equating EXTRA-Biblical practices with UN-Biblical passages, except in this case the practice actually is quite Biblical! He ends with what I think is the most ridiculous question so far in the book: "How can a man preach a sermon on being faithful to the Word of God while he is preaching a sermon?" I reply, 'Quite easily!'
BONUS: ALL MY SERMONS
Friday, March 28, 2008
Megabus
Yesterday I was looking around for the cheapest way to travel to Washington DC. I stumbled upon megabus.com and was very impressed. Megabus has just added Buffalo as a 'stop' and that opens up a whole region of cheap vacations for me. Here's an example: I can go from Buffalo to NYC to DC to NYC and back to Buffalo. How much would this cost to do this June? $33.50! I think that's a great price. Megabus can take me to Toronto, NYC, Boston, Philly, DC, Atlantic City & Baltimore. Some of the tickets are as little as $1. The buses have internet access and movies. I am pretty sure I will be using Megabus this summer.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
PC: Order of Worship
Chapter 3: The Order of Worship
In this chapter, Viola traces the history of the order of worship from the Catholic mass through the Reformer's and Revivalists. He points out that an 'order OF worship' has no biblical basis and is not the same thing as order IN worship. He does a much better job in this chapter, in my opinion, of actually making an argument that the 'order of worship' often interferes with the headship of Jesus Christ in Christian gatherings. Essentially, "Protestant liturgy cripples the body of Christ. It turns it into one huge tongue (the pastor) and many little ears (the congregation)."
His points are that the 'order of worship'
1) Represses participation/silencing members
2) Strangles the headship of Jesus Christ
3) Makes gatherings boring and predictable
4) Encourages passivity and 'weekend worship'
Reaction: This was my favorite chapter so far. I agreed with most of what Viola was saying. I've long attempted to make our church gatherings less formal and more participatory. But, to be honest, I've largely succeeded in this despite Viola's claims that such is basically impossible within the institutional church.
In this chapter, Viola traces the history of the order of worship from the Catholic mass through the Reformer's and Revivalists. He points out that an 'order OF worship' has no biblical basis and is not the same thing as order IN worship. He does a much better job in this chapter, in my opinion, of actually making an argument that the 'order of worship' often interferes with the headship of Jesus Christ in Christian gatherings. Essentially, "Protestant liturgy cripples the body of Christ. It turns it into one huge tongue (the pastor) and many little ears (the congregation)."
His points are that the 'order of worship'
1) Represses participation/silencing members
2) Strangles the headship of Jesus Christ
3) Makes gatherings boring and predictable
4) Encourages passivity and 'weekend worship'
Reaction: This was my favorite chapter so far. I agreed with most of what Viola was saying. I've long attempted to make our church gatherings less formal and more participatory. But, to be honest, I've largely succeeded in this despite Viola's claims that such is basically impossible within the institutional church.
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