Daily Post #107

Why I Could Never Be a Mormon: One online article reports: “Though coffee has been popular around the world for centuries, it doesn’t always mix well with religion, as is the case with Mormonism, now called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). As part of church doctrine, Mormons have been historically prohibited from drinking coffee or tea. Modern-day members of the LDS are allowed to drink herbal teas and hot chocolate, and recently, church authorities lifted the ban on caffeinated drinks like soda.” Yep, I would probably fail at that religion before I even started. I might even drink coffee while someone attempted to “evangelize” me into Mormonism. On a more serious note, there are major theological issues with Mormonism from a biblical viewpoint, and being a Mormon is not the same thing as being a Christian—far from it.

Treebeard on Saruman in The Twin Towers: Talking with Pippin and Merry, Treebeard provides a keen assessment of modern man when describing Saruman: “He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment.”

Christian Spirituality: A holistic, healthy, and biblically-grounded faith acknowledges the importance of the physical body for worship, sanctification, etc. Do we not take communion? Do we not join together in physical places to worship with others? Do we not share physical food in community with one another? Matter and the physical body plays an integral role in the Christian life. We are not just souls that happen to have a body; we are embodied souls.

Important Distinction in Philosophy—Objectivity and Subjectivity: IEP states the following about objectivity and subjectivity: The terms “objectivity” and “subjectivity,” in their modern usage, generally relate to a perceiving subject (normally a person) and a perceived or unperceived object. The object is something that presumably exists independent of the subject’s perception of it. In other words, the object would be there, as it is, even if no subject perceived it. Hence, objectivity is typically associated with ideas such as reality, truth and reliability . . . . “Objective knowledge” can simply refer to knowledge of an objective reality. Subjective knowledge would then be knowledge of any subjective reality. There are, however, other uses of the terminology related to objectivity. Many philosophers use the term “subjective knowledge” to refer only to knowledge of one’s own subjective states. Such knowledge is distinguished from one’s knowledge of another individual’s subjective states and from knowledge of objective reality, which would both be objective knowledge under the present definitions. Your knowledge of another person’s subjective states can be called objective knowledge since it is presumably part of the world that is ‘object’ for you, just as you and your subjective states are part of the world that is “object” for the other person.

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Daily Post #106

A Proverb About Peace: Right now, I am starting each morning by reading one chapter in Proverbs. Like I have done with the book of Psalms for years, I read it slowly and thoughtfully. When done, I make a mark and then start the next morning with the next one. I would like more wisdom. I came across this verse in my reading and I stopped in my tracks. I want to live from peace, not for peace. Here is the proverb:

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Prov. 14:30)

The Writing Process: If you are writing and have not given permission to at least one other person to tear what you write to pieces, then you are not yet ready to write. You have a choice: let someone that you trust give you honest feedback (encouragement and criticism) in private or publish your not-best-version for the public. If you want to be a good writer, you need thick skin. Humility suggests: Of course you need other people to help you be and do your best, and this includes writing.

Two Short Books That I Am Enjoying and Highly Recommend (you can click on the image to be directed to the book):

Funny Prayer: Let’s be honest: Christians can sound a bit funny at times, even in prayer! If I had a dollar for every time I have heard the prayer below prayed, I would be a rich man. Also, I wonder what it says about us that I have probably heard this “protection prayer” prayed more than almost any other prayer. Does this reveal our priorities? Do we just want to be safe all of the time? Do we just want to be protected so that we can continue to live our lives that are more American than Gospel-oriented? While I do want to be safe and protected—along with my family and others—may we pray Gospel prayers that ultimately ask the Lord to send us, position us, use us, and whatever else for his glory.

Daily Post #105

God and Efficiency: I was not going to write a daily post today until I read the quote below. This alone made me want to post just so that I can share it. Will you read it, reread it, and then post is somewhere so that you don’t forget it? I am going back through Kapic’s book You’re Only Human and making detailed notes in preparation for writing a book review (deadline in four days!). Kapic writes:

God’s highest value is not efficiency, especially considered in any simple or mechanistic sense—it is love. He is more interested in beauty than speed of process; he is more concerned to lift our gaze, to provoke song, to stimulate our imaginations than he is to just get things done. God is not wasteful or negligent, but purposeful and wise, patient and intentional as he works.

Is that not powerful? God’s doesn’t care most about efficiency. He is not a product of the West. This reminds me of one of the most profound statements that I have ever read by anyone. Pastor and Theologian A.W. Tozer wrote: