Ramblings along the narrow way

A definite feeling of deja vu this evening. I’ve spent most of the past few Friday evenings explaining that justification before God is by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Imagine my dismay when I touched on the ten commandments this evening and, when I asked why the ten commandment exist, I got the response that if we tried our best to keep them, we’d go to heaven…. :crazy:

Well, I’ve started looking for a property to purchase. I’ve never done this before, so it’s all a bit new to me. I’ve talked with a lender about a mortgage, found out how much I can borrow and I had a look around some flats last night.

Afterwards, I discussed the ins and outs of the property markets with many friends and have a much better idea about what I’m doing.

I’ve come to the conclusion this could be long and protracted, and possibly slightly stressful. I’ve also decided that houses converted into multiple flats is not for me, purpose built flats – either small blocks or maisonettes – are the way to go.

Fortunately, I spent this evening away from the property market, with a violin lesson and a few frames of snooker. I revisited a piece I’d learnt a while ago, the theme to Star Wars, and was pleasantly surprised at how well I played it – ok, the fourth note of the opening took a little time to accomplish, but the rest was all good. I guess I must be improving, at least something good has happened today. 🙂

As Christians, we are all at different stages in our Christian life. In his first letter, John addresses Christians in all the stages.

Even the youngest child of God is forgiven on account of Jesus Christ. There is no further qualification than faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. These children are also encouraged to know God as their Father, for this is their right and their joy.

After each referral to the children, the youngest Christians, John then moves to the oldest Christians, those who know the Father and his word. They are those who know the Creator, to one who is from the beginning and are acknowledged for their knowledge.

Finally John refers to those who are young, but strong in the faith. They are reminded not to rely on their own strength, but that their strength is found in Christ through his word, that they might overcome the evil one.

Of course, this only applies to those who have put their faith in Christ and have become children of God.

Learnt some interesting facts about the book The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown this morning at a talk given at Feltham Evangelical Church. Whilst the book itself is a work of fiction, it does tread the line between fact and fiction in the minds of many. It doesn’t help that the book is prefaced with the following

all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

With such a preface, many people will have trouble separating out the fact from the fiction, especially as it uses the names of many non-fictional organisations and documents, with a very fictional twist to them.

This fine line between fact and fiction causes many Christians (and non-Christians) to wonder how much of it is true, especially as the book blatantly questions the Christian view of Jesus Christ as God and Saviour, both fully God and fully man, and also attacks the authorship and validity of the Bible. Instead, it puts forward an age-old heretical Gnostic view of the world, where Jesus is merely a man and that the gnostic writings are more truthful than the New Testament. It becomes even more significant when you realise that if this gnostic view is correct, Christianity as we know it is false.

Initially this might seem to be an interesting challenge, but on inspection, the “facts” the book is based on are very fictional indeed. All of the gnostic writings quoted in the book, which form the very basis of the main plot of the book, are written long after the New Testament was written, yet alone the time of Christ and are almost certainly not what they claim to be. Whilst the New Testament can be shown to be written by eyewitnesses to the events they claim to document, the gnostic writings – the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene are written so long afterwards, they cannot be what they claim to be, they cannot be eyewitness accounts.

With this linchpin gone, the claim of being based on facts disappears and the whole book can only be really seen as a complete work of fiction, without any basis in fact at all. This is not to say the Da Vinci Code is not a gripping read, many people who’ve read it have thoroughly enjoyed it as a work of fiction. If anything though, once you scratch the surface of its factual basis, you realise how reliable and factual the Bible is compared with other books, both factual and fictional, in this world.

For the curious, there’s an interesting article on Wikipedia about the ‘facts’ of the Da Vinci Code. A more indepth analysis can be found at ‘the truth about Da Vinci‘.

Well, today was the warmest day so far this year! A rather pleasant (when outdoors) 26 degrees celsius. Rather unpleasant indoors without airconditioning though….

Ah well, after surviving a day of scorchio (the Fast Show – thanks Andy), I went along to the polling station to do my civic duty. The only qualm I would have is that some of the candidates on the ballot paper I’d never heard of! The major parties had all stuck bumpf through my letterbox, but some of the others hadn’t made a peep. How do they expect to win votes if the voters have no idea who they are and what they stand for? Tip for next time – give yourself a fighting chance, inform the voters who you are before they vote!

Went down to Salisbury with some friends to meet up with more friends and wander around the city and the surrounding area. We started off in Great Wishford, and went into Salisbury for lunch and a tour of Salisbury Cathedral. I must admit, I’ve never been there but I’d heard so much about the cathedral. Angie was an intermittent guide, although despite her roots, I think she might’ve learnt as much as me about the cathedral. As cathedrals go, it lived up to the hype in my opinion – it was imposing yet graceful, although the warning signs for loose stones didn’t do it any favours. Of course, it’s effectiveness as a pointer to the God to whom its builders dedicated it, is hard to quantify, but I hope that all those who visit it will be caused to consider God.

We spent the afternoon at Moors Valley Park, with me mostly taking photos of my friends attempting the various contraptions dotted around the park!

The evening was spent at Andy’s in Salisbury eating food, playing games and generally catching up with old friends and making new ones.

On the way home, I even managed to get some photos of Stonehenge by dusk. 🙂

A cool day!

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Ex 20:8-11

The Pharisees considered the actions of Jesus and his disciples on the Sabbath to be in contravention of the fifth commandment. The problem was, they had missed the point of the Sabbath laws. We have been designed to work six days in the week, and rest on one, and so God had commanded as such. As such, the commandment was given for our benefit that we might enjoy life, rather than as a way of regulating us and making life dour. If we try and work seven days a week, our productivity is affected and in the long run we actually achieve less than we would in a six day working week.

Once we’ve established we need to rest, from our regular work, for one day a week, the rest of the commandment can be unpacked. We are to keep this one day holy, to remember the God who made us in six days. This is not to say we should become hermits for a day. If we can, we should meet with others to worship God, in fellowship.

Not only are we to remember God our creator, but also God our redeemer. This is the reason Christians observe the first day of the week, for it the day their Saviour rose from the dead. Through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, his death and resurrection, we can celebrate the grace of God.

Of course, Jesus demonstrated that it was perfectly within the commandment to feed oneself, as his disciples did, and heal others, for this law was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Indeed, in this passage, Jesus claims to be the Lord of the Sabbath, to be God himself. The Pharisees had no comeback. Jesus had answered their questions, and had gone way beyond their thoughts. May we never misunderstand the commandments, nor try to put God in a box.

After a day of minor frustration attempting to learn a new piece on the violin, amongst other things, I went down to Black Park with the usual suspects for an evening of sitting around, eating strawberries, surrounded by nature (mostly trees and grass), possibly kicking a football around, and finishing with a nice leisurely stroll. After dark, we convened at Sarah’s to continue chatting and playing games. After an unsuccessful game of Empire where I’d taken on the name of Sarah’s pet, I was a little more successful at Scrabble, with a very ego inflating ‘drowning’ using up all my letters and pretty much giving me the game. 🙂

It’s just occurred to me I’m rather dependent on Google… I have, and use quite heavily, a Google Mail account, Google helps me find things on my desktop, I have, and use, a Blogger account, Google Analytics helps me keep track of visitors to my web sites, the Google toolbar enhances my web browsing experience, if I need to find somewhere on earth Google Earth is where I click, if I’m trying to find a bargain Froogle is there for me and to top it all, Google helps me find things on the web. If Google were to go belly up, or become heavily influenced by a totalitarian state (as if! :crazy: ) I could be significantly inconvenienced. Maybe I should diversify? But then, to where would I turn? Who offers all these services, at no direct cost to me, with the same levels of performance and convenience?

Q: Which is the eighth commandment?
A: The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.

Q: What is required in the eighth commandment.
A: The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.

Q: What is forbidden in the eighth commandment?
A: The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour’s wealth or outward estate.

(Questions LXXIII, LXXIV and LXXV from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.)

You scored as Thomas Boston. You are Thomas Boston. You set a high value on evangelistic preaching and the Free Offer of the Gospel. Thomas Boston 80% James Orr 80% James Denney 70% John Knox 65% Thomas Chalmers 55% Which Scottish Theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

It would seem that people who misunderstand the Gospel and wrongly consider themselves to be Christians is nothing new, as John had to write a letter to the churches about it in the first century. Much like today, there were those who claimed to know Jesus Christ, without actually doing what he says, a faith which produced no action. John pulls no punches.

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 Jn 2:3,4

If we are truly Christians we will do what Jesus Christ commands, and in order to do that we will actively seek to know his commands, and so search his word. Of course this is not to say we can be saved from the punishment due for our sins through what we do, for John clearly says Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins earlier, but that when we are saved we will want to serve God, because we love him.

Part and parcel of loving God is love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 1 Jn 2:9,10

If we find we harbour hatred towards other Christians, or have a lack of desire to meet up with them, we have to consider if we’re truly walking in the light or not.

Of course, this is not to say we’ll be perfect, for our old sinful nature will continue to plague us and cause us to sin, but we have an advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ, who speaks to the Father in our defence.

After a week spent battling against a cold whilst carrying out as many normal everyday tasks as possible, it was nice to be able to spend this evening relaxing. Most of the usual suspects are up in Leicester for the Banner of Truth Youth conference, so three of us went along to the cinema to watch Ice Age 2. Whilst this film isn’t going to cause you to do much thinking, it was entertaining. As well as the main plot of the main characters journeying to safety, it came complete with slushy romantic sub-plot. Good clean fun.

Today was a good day to die….figuratively – on the Diplomacy board anyway! An, almost, all-day session with the usual suspects, plus a few new faces who were eager to learn the ways of Diplomacy.

It all started a little slowly for me as Turkey, with Russia (under David) and Austria-Hungary (the Sams) proving to be minor irritations in the Balkans. On the other side of the board, France (Beth and Susanna), England (Ally) and Germany (Sarah) were making mad dashes all over the place, and Italy (Dave) was dithering in the middle not really knowing what to do with itself.

After a few turns, Germany was carved up between the western powers and Sarah got her cross-stitch out. A little while later, Italy fell to the dominance of Ottoman rule, followed shortly after by Austria-Hungary.

Just as France started disintegrating under an English offensive, time caught up with us, and ten hours after starting, we called it a draw, with a Russian-Turkish front stretching from Sevastepol to Switzerland.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. Jn 20:1-18 (NIV)