Lamentations and Haiti
January 21, 2010
Friday, January 29, First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, will host the annual Mid-South Men’s Rally. This year’s speaker will be Dr. Michael A. Milton, president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Milton has posted an essay in which he applies the form and theology of the Old Testament book of Lamentations to the devastation of Haiti. Take the the time to read it.
Here’s an excerpt:
The earthquake that hit Haiti last about 30 seconds. And in that time hundreds of thousands of souls left this planet. But even as I write, even more, all over the world, will suddenly pass from this world into the presence of the Creator. Are we ready to go? For the brevity of life is ever before us, beckoning, calling, crying that we turn to the Lord while there is time. Jesus also calls for us to repent, to examine ourselves and to turn to Him. For God will punish unrepentant sin.
Again, it is not a time to point fingers in judgment at people Haiti. It is not time to think we can explain it all. That is not only unbiblical but inhumane and just plain dumb. But it is a time to pray for them, and to weep for them, but also to realize again the brevity of life and that I will soon stand before God myself. It is a time to recall that every horror here reminds us of the horror of being separated forever from God. It is a time for me to turn again to God and repent.
Mission to North America disaster response in Haiti
January 16, 2010
You can find out what you can do to assist MNA with disaster relief efforts in Haiti following this week’s massive earthquake by clicking here.
Cream of blog 12.18.09
December 18, 2009
The Sweet Dropper has been silent about 10 days, as a trip to Belize has hindered my blogging. Here are a few blog entries worth your time.
- Gene Edward Veith comments on findings of The Pew Forum, which reports that Americans are becoming increasingly syncretistic in their religious views and practices.
- Tim Keller on how to deal with criticism, and how John Newton has helped him respond in godly ways.
- Justin Taylor with resources on helping men gain victories in the battle against lust.
- CCEF has posted Tim Lane’s pamphlet Family Feuds: How to Respond–great teaching and equipping for Christmas family gatherings and the conflicts that go with them.
Hypersocialized
November 11, 2009
Great article by Dr. Albert Mohler on “The Hypersocialized Generation”–those for whom Twittering and Facebook updating and texting are as familiar and essential as breathing. Parents of teens especially need to read this.
Bearing shame and scoffing rude
November 4, 2009
In Saudi Arabia these days a criminal can be crucified, though the practice differs from the Roman version. From Saudi court upholds child rapist crucifixion ruling:
A Saudi court of cassation upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert, newspapers reported on Tuesday. The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old, Okaz newspaper said. . . . In Saudi Arabia, crucifixion means tying the body of the convict to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after beheading.
Human rights activists quibble over the punishment for this particularly horrible crime. I suspect that beheading the criminal before crucifying him was seen, historically, as a merciful gesture. But the shame of crucifixion–displaying the malefactor for all to see–is undeniable.
This contemporary crucifixion preserves at least part of the significance of what our Lord Jesus went through: how heinous it was for Jesus to bear and take away the sin of the world, including child rapes! How repulsive the spectacle. How shameful, that he be lifted up, convicted and condemned, humiliated and killed.
Nietzsche and the death-of-God theologians, the new atheists who accuse God of immorality and child-abuse, those who mock and blaspheme God today, have nothing on what God already did of and to himself to redeem us.
“Bearing shame and scoffing rude/ in my place condemned he stood /sealed my pardon with his blood / Hallelujah! What a Savior!” (Philip Bliss, 1875).
The English Inquisition
October 27, 2009
“Well, I wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition!”
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”
Mrs. Pauline Howe of Norwich, England did not expect the English Inquisition either. But they came after she had written a complaint to her local city council about their issuing a permit to a gay group to hold a rally. In return, she received a letter warning her she might be guilty of a hate crime and that the matter had been passed to police. Two officers later turned up at the home of the 67-year-old grandmother and pastor’s wife, and the officers entered her home and lectured her about her choice of words before telling her she would not be prosecuted. The enforcers of tolerance will not tolerate such writing, and the commandos of diversity will not allow divergent viewpoints.
If you didn’t recognize the Spanish Inquisition quote above, you really need some remedial education, which I am glad to provide below:
As a bonus, here is a photo of me “on trial” at the Museum of the Inquisition in Lima, Peru, in January, 2007.
With the will to do or die
October 27, 2009
I have no Iowa State University connections or allegiances (I don’t even particularly care for their uniforms). I have no axe to grind against Nebraska (they beat my Mississippi State Bulldogs 31-7 in the 1980 Sun Bowl and it wasn’t even that close. I’m over that…really.). I have posted the video below just to share with you the delight of the locker room celebration. The Cyclones, perennial cellar-dwellers of the Big 12, defeated Nebraska last Saturday in Lincoln–the first ISU win there since 1977. Bottled water is a poor substitute for champagne, but these guys don’t seem to care.
Sustainable, edible pets
October 22, 2009
When they came for the SUV-owners, I remained silent. I did not own an SUV. When they came for the flat-screen-TV-owners, I said nothing. I don’t watch much TV; rather, I play with my pets. Then…
Then…Victoria University (New Zealand) professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, publish Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living. The Vales argue that pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits. By assessing the carbon emissions created by popular pets (taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them), they have turned eco-righteousness up a notch or two. Read about in New Zealand’s The Dominion Post:
“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.
“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.
They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle’s eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog’s.
They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.
MNA short-term & disaster relief newsletter
October 19, 2009
The short-term & disaster relief work of the PCA’s Mission to North America has published a ministry update available here.
Disaster relief and church planting on the Gulf Coast
August 12, 2009
The Rev. Curt Moore of Lagniappe Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi has been named Mission to North America’s Disaster Response Specialist for the Gulf Coast Region. This past spring Lagniappe Church made a transition out of relief work and is now focused solely on development as a church plant and as a ministering presence in the community. Much confusion about this still exists. Every couple of weeks someone comments to me about “Lagniappe shutting down.” This is not the case. Please read this excerpt from Curt Moore’s latest newsletter, courtesy of MNA:
After hosting more than 17,000 volunteers since hurricane Katrina, Lagniappe Church has moved from relief to development. According to Pastor Jean Larroux, “Lagniappe embarks on exciting transition….Over 20 new homes….over 400 rebuilds/rehabs….more sheds than we could count….and nearly 17,000 volunteers- God has done wonderful things in Bay St. Louis. God is doing something else wonderful now! I As I have told hundreds of volunteer teams, ‘Lagniappe is NOT a construction company, we ARE a church.’ That truth has never been more evident.” You would think that after participating in relief work for almost four years Curt would be ready to move on like an evacuee away from the path of an approaching storm, however that’s not the case. These years of service have provided Curt with a renewed desire to move toward the brokenness and need of individuals with the love of Christ. “The Church has become relevant for many non-believers,” says Curt. “When the declaration of the love of God is wed with the demonstration of that same love it is a powerful apologetic. Many people have come to know Christ as a result of their experience with suffering and loss. It provides an incredible bridge for the Gospel. I look forward to serving in a region with such profound need and opportunity.”
On a related note, MNA Disaster Relief offers summer internships on the Gulf Coast. You college students out there, think about this.
