Is Becoming a Christian Committing Intellectual Suicide? (A message by Mark Dever)

Is Becoming a Christian Committing Intellectual Suicide? (A message by Mark Dever)

Beautiful Video showing God's beautiful creation to a song of Jesus' redemption

Video of God's incredible creation. The fish eagle scene is magnificent. The song is Misty Edwards song 'arms wide open' about Jesus' redemption of us. I'm not going to lie though, the bit with the lion is a bit strange.

Being Missional on Halloween

Post from Justin Taylor's excellent Blog.

Being Missional on Halloween

David Mathis asks some good questions.

Jeff Vanderstelt offers some good suggestions.

Both pieces are worth reading.

One quote (from David’s piece);

What if we saw October 31 not merely as an occasion for asking self-oriented questions about our participation (whether we should or shouldn’t dress the kids up or carve pumpkins), but for pursuing others-oriented acts of love? What if we capitalized on the opportunity to take a step forward in an ongoing process of witnessing to our neighbors, co-workers, and extended families about who Jesus is and what he accomplished at Calvary for the wicked like us?

What if we resolved not to join the darkness by keeping our porch lights off? What if we didn’t deadbolt our doors, but handed out the best treats in the neighborhood as a faint echo of the kind of grace our Father extends to us sinners?

Video: Attenuation - a visual parable of our life separated from the Life of God

'Attenuation captures a delicate still life of plants drying up and fading with a painterly eye' which reminds me of the way all people are wilting separated from the life of God in our sin. One day we will get to see the process go into reverse when Jesus appears to bring salvation for those who trust Him.


Attenuation from kveten on Vimeo.

Optical Illusion: Stare at this picture and then close your eyes and a picture appears

This is a pretty amusing optical illusion. Concentrate on the four dots in the middle of the picture for about 30 seconds. Then close your eyes, or look up toward the ceiling or a blank wall. Within seconds you will see an image. Continue looking at the image.

Video: Iceland's Midnight sunsets (timelapse)

God, creative, creator of the beautiful. We were made in His image.

Video: Earth seen from the International Space Station

Video: Artful Israel roadtrip video

Redemption & Worldview at the Movies: Watching Films Discerningly

From Justin Taylor's excellent blog. Read the original post here.

A quote from the article in answer to the question how to be discerning: By recognizing that the story of a character is a dramatic argument for a worldview. As the hero transforms his thinking about the world through his experience, so we see what the filmmakers are trying to persuade us about how we view the world.

Redemption and Worldview at the Movies

From an interview with screenwriter and movie critic Brian Godawa about his bookHollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment:

IVP: Describe the various types of moviegoers. What are the dangers of each?

Brian Godawa: Moviegoers seem to fall into three different categories of cultural diets: gluttons, anorexics and balanced dieters.

Cultural gluttons are those who watch too many movies without discretion;cultural anorexics are those who watch no movies because of exaggerated scruples; and culturally balanced dieters are those who discriminate with a healthy balance between what they watch and don’t watch. Although balance is the preferred ideal, many of us tend to drift into either one of the extremes.

The purpose of Hollywood Worldviews is to give individuals the critical tools to discern the good and bad values and worldviews in movies in order to interact redemptively with their culture.

IVP: Offer one example of a “redemptive” movie. Where do we find the redemption in that particular movie?

Godawa: All movies are about redemption in one way or another. In simple terms, redemption is simply the recovery of what is lost. All worldviews believe in redemption . . . But not all redemption is good. There are some similarities in values between the different worldviews that make most movies a mixture of good and bad redemption.

For example, the 2001 Oscar winning “A Beautiful Mind,” is a good example of romantic redemption. The hero, John Nash, is so absorbed in finding his significance in scientific achievement and trying to understand the world in terms of mathematical formulas, that he loses touch with humanity. Nash is redeemed by realizing that “only in the mysterious equation of love are there logical reasons that can be found.” He discerns the difference between the real and the unreal in his life by turning to his heart, not his mind. This is textbook romanticism; the elevation of human intuition and emotions.

From a Christian worldview, there is both good and bad to this proposition. The Bible affirms that heartless intellectualism is spiritually barren and that the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; therefore, equally incapable of discovering ultimate truth without the aid of Revelation. True human balance, wisdom and knowledge is found in being a person of heart and mind, with both in subjection to the Creator.

IVP: How can we begin to be more discerning in the movies we watch?

Godawa: By recognizing that the story of a character is a dramatic argument for a worldview. As the hero transforms his thinking about the world through his experience, so we see what the filmmakers are trying to persuade us about how we view the world.

When watching a movie, ask yourself,

• “What is the character flaw of the hero at the beginning?”
• “What makes him change his mind in the story about the way he sees the world?”
• “What does he learn about the way life ought or ought not be lived?”
• “What is different about the way he sees the world at the end from the way he sees it at the beginning?”

These and other questions help us to discern the viewpoint being communicated through story, and enables us to be more appreciative of the good in a movie, while remaining objectively interactive with the bad.

Redemption & Worldview at the Movies: Watching Films Discerningly

Redemption and Worldview at the Movies

From an interview with screenwriter and movie critic Brian Godawa about his bookHollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment:

IVP: Describe the various types of moviegoers. What are the dangers of each?

Brian Godawa: Moviegoers seem to fall into three different categories of cultural diets: gluttons, anorexics and balanced dieters.

Cultural gluttons are those who watch too many movies without discretion;cultural anorexics are those who watch no movies because of exaggerated scruples; and culturally balanced dieters are those who discriminate with a healthy balance between what they watch and don’t watch. Although balance is the preferred ideal, many of us tend to drift into either one of the extremes.

The purpose of Hollywood Worldviews is to give individuals the critical tools to discern the good and bad values and worldviews in movies in order to interact redemptively with their culture.

IVP: Offer one example of a “redemptive” movie. Where do we find the redemption in that particular movie?

Godawa: All movies are about redemption in one way or another. In simple terms, redemption is simply the recovery of what is lost. All worldviews believe in redemption . . . But not all redemption is good. There are some similarities in values between the different worldviews that make most movies a mixture of good and bad redemption.

For example, the 2001 Oscar winning “A Beautiful Mind,” is a good example of romantic redemption. The hero, John Nash, is so absorbed in finding his significance in scientific achievement and trying to understand the world in terms of mathematical formulas, that he loses touch with humanity. Nash is redeemed by realizing that “only in the mysterious equation of love are there logical reasons that can be found.” He discerns the difference between the real and the unreal in his life by turning to his heart, not his mind. This is textbook romanticism; the elevation of human intuition and emotions.

From a Christian worldview, there is both good and bad to this proposition. The Bible affirms that heartless intellectualism is spiritually barren and that the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; therefore, equally incapable of discovering ultimate truth without the aid of Revelation. True human balance, wisdom and knowledge is found in being a person of heart and mind, with both in subjection to the Creator.

IVP: How can we begin to be more discerning in the movies we watch?

Godawa: By recognizing that the story of a character is a dramatic argument for a worldview. As the hero transforms his thinking about the world through his experience, so we see what the filmmakers are trying to persuade us about how we view the world.

When watching a movie, ask yourself,

• “What is the character flaw of the hero at the beginning?”
• “What makes him change his mind in the story about the way he sees the world?”
• “What does he learn about the way life ought or ought not be lived?”
• “What is different about the way he sees the world at the end from the way he sees it at the beginning?”

These and other questions help us to discern the viewpoint being communicated through story, and enables us to be more appreciative of the good in a movie, while remaining objectively interactive with the bad.

3D pictures of monuments in England (you need the red/blue glasses to see them)

These pictures are really fun. I found that I needed to pick one part of the image and really look at it until it became 3D then the rest of the picture looked 3D. It doesn't happen immediately so give it a bit of time.

UK in 3D: Pictures from England

Do not adjust your monitor. You're looking at 3D photographs by Jason Hawkes of sites around the UK. You'll need some 3D glasses, and fortunately, they're easy to make yourself. Jason shares some tips for shooting from a helicopter, as well as making images in 3D: "I normally fly in a Eurocopter AS355 which is a five seater machine. I sit in the back wearing a harness and we usually take off the doors before flight. I shoot on Nikon D3X and D3S using lenses from 14mm up to 300mm. (3D) Rigs on helicopters are a nightmare, especially as I might use three different types of helicopters in a week. In the end I found with a little trial and error its just as easy to shoot with a single camera as long as you get the timings spot on. Once you have the images you just use some standard Anaglyph software to integrate the shots and you end up with these stereoscopic images. When viewed with chromatically opposite lenses you perceive the images as having three dimensions." --Lane Turner (18 photos total)

The Angel of the North sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley , in Gateshead, England. (Jason Hawkes)

2

Stonehenge monument in the English county of Wiltshire. (Jason Hawkes) #

3

The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent, near Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Tenterdan. (Jason Hawkes) #

4

Stanway House near Stanway, Gloucestershire. (Jason Hawkes) #

5

Historic site Burrow Mump overlooking Southlake Moor in Burrowbridge in Taunton Deane, Somerset. (Jason Hawkes) #

6

Christ Church at the University of Oxford. (Jason Hawkes) #

7

The London Eye on the river Thames across from the Houses of Parliament. (Jason Hawkes) #

8

Nunney Castle in Nunney, Somerset dates to the 14th century. (Jason Hawkes) #

9

No Man's Land Fort off the coast of the Isle of Wight. (Jason Hawkes) #

10

Wells Cathedral, Church of England, in Wells, Somerset. (Jason Hawkes) #

11

The 2012 Olympic Stadium in London. (Jason Hawkes) #

12

Happisburgh Lighthouse in Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast is the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain. (Jason Hawkes) #

13

The chalk headland of Beachy Head near Eastbourne in East Sussex. (Jason Hawkes) #

14

Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. (Jason Hawkes) #

15

Horseshoe Bay on the Isle of Wight. (Jason Hawkes) #

16

Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. (Jason Hawkes) #

17

The Shard London Bridge tower in London. (Jason Hawkes) #

18

Lowther Castle of Westmorland, now part of Cumbria. (Jason Hawkes) #

Free audiobook: John Piper's Think (from Christianaudio.com)

John Piper's Think is this months free audio book from Christianaudio.com. Every month they give away a free unabridged audiobook.

You can download it here.

Audio: Why aren't my prayers always answered (message by John Piper)

Ed Stetzer has posted this link to a Piper sermon on why our prayers aren't always answered.

Why Aren't My Prayers Answered? (John Piper)

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Tuesday October 25, 2011   ~   2 Comments

Back in 1996 John Piper preached a message titled, Praying From The Fullness of The Word, in which he addresses the questions, "Why aren't my prayers being answered?" He says in part,

It says we may not be praying according to God's will; 1 John 5:14, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

Or it could be we have cherished sin that we will not let go from our lives; Psalm 66:18, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear."

It could be that we have man-centered and not God-centered motives; James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Or it may be that we do not believe that God will do it; Mark 11:24, "All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."

Or it could be that God wants you to persevere, and is testing your obedience to his command in Luke 18:1, "At all times [you] ought to pray and not to lose heart."

Or it might be that God is, in fact, doing far more every time you pray than you can imagine and is daily putting in place a part of the mosaic that will in good time be the full answer to your prayer (as in Daniel 10:2,12).

It's a great word for all to hear. You can listen to the whole thing at Desiring God.

Video on Missions (John Piper)

Very challenging video on World Missions.

Photographs from china

A selection of photographs from china from the Atlantic's blog page.

Biblical Worldview in 4 steps

How To Articulate a Christian Worldview in Four Easy Steps

One God. We worship one, personal, knowable, holy God. There are not two gods or ten gods or ten million gods, only one. He has always been and will always be. He is not a product of our mind or imagination. He really exists and we can know him because he has spoken to us in his word.

Two kinds of being. We are not gods. God is not found in the trees or the wind or in us. He created the universe and cares for all that he has made, but he is distinct from his creation. The story of the world is not about being released from the illusion of our existence or discovering the god within. The story is about God, the people he made, and how the creatures can learn to delight in, trust in, and obey their Creator.

Three persons. The one God exists eternally in three persons. The Father is God. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, is also God. And yet these three—equal in glory, rank, and power—are three persons. The doctrine of the Trinity helps explain how there can be true unity and diversity in our world. It also shows that our God is a relational God.

For us. Something happened in history that changed the world. The Son of God came into the world as a man, perfectly obeyed his Father, fulfilled Israel’s purpose, succeeded where Adam failed, and began the process of reversing the curse. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. He rose again from the dead on the third day. By faith in him our sins can be forgiven and we can be assured of living forever with God and one day being raised from the dead like Christ.

Obviously, this doesn’t say everything that needs to be said about the Bible or Christianity. But I find it to be a helpful way to get a handle on some of the most important distinctives of a Christian worldview. Feel free to steal it and use it for yourself. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4.