If we do not perceive our wretchedness and poverty, we will never know how desirable is that remedy that Christ has brought to us.by John Calvin (1509-1564)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:24
And the Spirit & the bride say, come.... Reveaaltion 22:17
And the Spirit & the bride say, come...Revelation 22:17 - May We One Day Bow Down In The DUST At HIS FEET ...... {click on blog TITLE at top to refresh page}---QUESTION: ...when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? LUKE 18:8
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Puritan Corner - Our Wretchedness
If we do not perceive our wretchedness and poverty, we will never know how desirable is that remedy that Christ has brought to us.by John Calvin (1509-1564)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:24
Luther on Catholic Clergy Immorality
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be;
and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Luther could have written this today about the Clergy...I'll leave it to your imagination what Luther means by "forms against nature"..
"Moreover the pope has attempted to abolish Christ and to become his vicar. He occupies the throne of Christ on earth, would to God he occupied the devil's throne instead.
I forbear to speak of the grosser forms of sin, unchastity, murder, infidelity, covetousness, and the like, which are all practiced without shame or fear.
Unchastity has taken forms against nature, and has affected no station or condition more than the spiritual character of the clergy - shall I call it spiritual, since it is so fleshly and void of all simplicity?"
Martin Luther
and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Luther could have written this today about the Clergy...I'll leave it to your imagination what Luther means by "forms against nature"..
"Moreover the pope has attempted to abolish Christ and to become his vicar. He occupies the throne of Christ on earth, would to God he occupied the devil's throne instead.
I forbear to speak of the grosser forms of sin, unchastity, murder, infidelity, covetousness, and the like, which are all practiced without shame or fear.
Unchastity has taken forms against nature, and has affected no station or condition more than the spiritual character of the clergy - shall I call it spiritual, since it is so fleshly and void of all simplicity?"
Martin Luther
Zwingli on Rascals who Twist Scripture
"....in Ezekiel 12: “O you that are rebellious, I will say the word and will perform it.” And just after: “The word which I have spoken shall be done.” The whole teaching of the Gospel is a sure demonstration that what God has promised will certainly be performed.
Oh you rascals — you are not instructed or versed in the Gospel, and you pick out verses from it without regard to their context, and wrest them according to your own desire.
It is like breaking off a flower from its roots and trying to plant it in a garden. But that is not the way: you must plant it with roots and the soil in which it is embedded. And similarly we must leave the Word of God its own proper nature if its sense is to be the same to all of us. And those who err in this way we can easily vanquish by leading them back to the source, though they never come willingly.
Oh you rascals — you are not instructed or versed in the Gospel, and you pick out verses from it without regard to their context, and wrest them according to your own desire.
It is like breaking off a flower from its roots and trying to plant it in a garden. But that is not the way: you must plant it with roots and the soil in which it is embedded. And similarly we must leave the Word of God its own proper nature if its sense is to be the same to all of us. And those who err in this way we can easily vanquish by leading them back to the source, though they never come willingly.
Consider for yourselves;
truth is not necessarily with the majority."
Zwingli
Luther - Melanchthon
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
Matthew 24:14
"Luther was ardent and zealous, fearless and bold, in reproving sin and advocating the truth. He cared not for wicked men or devils; he knew that he had One with him mightier than they all.
Luther possessed zeal, courage, and boldness, and at times was in danger of going to extremes.
But God raised up Melanchthon, who was just the opposite in character, to aid Luther in carrying on the work of reformation.
Melanchthon was timid, fearful, cautious, and possessed great patience. The hearts of these men the Lord knit together; they were inseparable friends.
Luther was a great help to Melanchthon when in danger of being fearful and slow, and Melanchthon in turn was a great help to Luther when in danger of moving too fast.
Melanchthon's farseeing caution often averted trouble which would have come upon the cause had the work been left alone to Luther; and oft times the work would not have been pushed forward had it been left to Melanchthon alone."
Early Writings p.222 E.G.W.
Matthew 24:14
"Luther was ardent and zealous, fearless and bold, in reproving sin and advocating the truth. He cared not for wicked men or devils; he knew that he had One with him mightier than they all.
Luther possessed zeal, courage, and boldness, and at times was in danger of going to extremes.
But God raised up Melanchthon, who was just the opposite in character, to aid Luther in carrying on the work of reformation.
Melanchthon was timid, fearful, cautious, and possessed great patience. The hearts of these men the Lord knit together; they were inseparable friends.
Luther was a great help to Melanchthon when in danger of being fearful and slow, and Melanchthon in turn was a great help to Luther when in danger of moving too fast.
Melanchthon's farseeing caution often averted trouble which would have come upon the cause had the work been left alone to Luther; and oft times the work would not have been pushed forward had it been left to Melanchthon alone."
Early Writings p.222 E.G.W.
Zwingli Summarizes the Gospel
Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
Therefore, Christ is the only way to salvation for all those who have been, are, and will be."
Zwingli
40 Days to Commit Sin
.....and the innocent and righteous slay thou not:
for I will not justify the wicked.
Exodus 23:7
"Thomas Harding (born about 1470 died at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, May 1532).
In 1532, Thomas Harding, who with his wife, had been accused of heresy, was brought before the bishop of Lincoln, and condemned for denying the real presence in the Sacrament.
He was then chained to a stake, erected for the purpose, at Chesham in the Pell, near Botely; and when they had set fire to the fagots, one of the spectators dashed out his brains with a billet.
The priests told the people that whoever brought fagots to burn heretics would have an indulgence to commit sins for forty days."
Foxe'sBookOfMartyrs
for I will not justify the wicked.
Exodus 23:7
"Thomas Harding (born about 1470 died at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, May 1532).
In 1532, Thomas Harding, who with his wife, had been accused of heresy, was brought before the bishop of Lincoln, and condemned for denying the real presence in the Sacrament.
He was then chained to a stake, erected for the purpose, at Chesham in the Pell, near Botely; and when they had set fire to the fagots, one of the spectators dashed out his brains with a billet.
The priests told the people that whoever brought fagots to burn heretics would have an indulgence to commit sins for forty days."
Foxe'sBookOfMartyrs
Calvin's 4 Rules of Prayer
Calvin's 4 Rules of Prayer
...ask in faith, nothing wavering. James 1:6
1. The first rule is a heartfelt sense of reverence.
2. The second rule is a heartfelt sense of need and repentance.
3. The third rule is a heartfelt sense of humility and trust in God.
4. The final rule is to have a heartfelt sense of confident hope.
Book Review: Reformation Theology: A Systematic Summary
(short) Book Review: a book that may be of some interest...
(Review by Amazon)
"In Reformation Theology, Matthew Barrett has brought together a
team of expert theologians and historians writing on key doctrines taught and defended by the Reformers centuries ago. With contributions from Michael Horton, Gerald Bray, Michael Reeves, Carl Trueman, Robert Kolb, and many others, this volume stands as a manifesto for the church, exhorting Christians to learn from our spiritual forebears and hold fast to sound doctrine rooted in the Bible and passed on from generation to generation."
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
Daniel 11:33
(Review by Amazon)
Reformation Theology: A Systematic Summary
by Matthew Barrett
784 pages Publisher: Crossway
"In Reformation Theology, Matthew Barrett has brought together a
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
Daniel 11:33
Wycliffe: The Friars of Sodom
See....in light of today's revelations that have been rocking the Vatican this year---The thing that
hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
"Friars also be foully envenomed with ghostly sin of Sodom, and so be more cursed than the bodily Sodomites that were suddenly dead by hard vengeance of God..."
John Wycliffe (1330-1384)
"Friars also be foully envenomed with ghostly sin of Sodom, and so be more cursed than the bodily Sodomites that were suddenly dead by hard vengeance of God..."
John Wycliffe (1330-1384)
Tyndale's Classic Retort
And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. Isaiah 61:5
"We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's.”
To which Tyndale passionately responded:
“I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"
William Tyndale
"We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's.”
To which Tyndale passionately responded:
“I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"
William Tyndale
Wycliffe on the Law of God
"The highest service to which a man may obtain on earth is to preach the law of God."
John Wycliffe
Tyndale's Last Words
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them,
and to purge, and to make them white,
even to the time of the end:
Daniel 11:35
"William Tyndale’s final words before the chain around his neck
strangled him to death were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.”
That dying prayer was answered two years after Tyndale’s death, when King Henry VIII ordered that the Bible of Miles Coverdale was to be used in every parish in the land. The Coverdale Bible was largely based on Tyndale’s work."
LM
and to purge, and to make them white,
even to the time of the end:
Daniel 11:35
"William Tyndale’s final words before the chain around his neck
That dying prayer was answered two years after Tyndale’s death, when King Henry VIII ordered that the Bible of Miles Coverdale was to be used in every parish in the land. The Coverdale Bible was largely based on Tyndale’s work."
LM
Halloween was a Money Scam?
So part of Halloween was for the Catholic Church to make money?...I mean, who do you "pay" for prayers?...the church...
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Ephesians 4:14
"It should not surprise us, because Hallowmans was the feast which the early Church took over most completely from the great pagan, Celtic feast of Samhain which celebrated the end of summer and the harvest, together with the start of winter and the New Year.
The Celts believed that, on the eve of the festival (our own Hallowe'en), the dead returned to walk the earth for a night and a day and with them came the spirits of evil, at their most potent. Fires blazed on every hilltop to purify the land, defeat the evil ones and encourage the wasting sun to revive.
The force and vigor of the ancient beliefs overrode all newer ones and these practices survived the advent of Christianity, in barely translated form at first, and only very gradually died out. The evil spirits became witches, and the bonfires burned them in effigy.
A great number of divining rituals and games, often involving apples, nuts and fire, persisted; apples and nuts were the last-harvested fruits. Even the old herbal ale: survived as mulled ale or punch with roasted apples floating in it.
The more significant pre-Christian practice of impersonating the dead and other spirits and by so doing protecting oneself and others from their spectral power also continued. Sometimes this was acted out by processions of young adults (later children) wearing or carrying grotesque masks and often headed by a youth carrying a horse's skull (as, for example, the Lair Bhan in co Cork, or the Hodening Horse in Cheshire).
They went from door to door or visited friends and neighbors, collecting money for food....Feast of All Souls immediately after All Hallows. The object of this feast, created by the early Church, was to remember the dead, and to seek alms to pay for prayers for those in Purgatory, to ease their way to Paradise – not back to earth......souls in Purgatory, so men still believed, were all allowed home for two days, although without their pagan familiars.
Candles were lit – and still are – on their graves and in the windows of houses to light them home."
HistoryToday
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Ephesians 4:14
"It should not surprise us, because Hallowmans was the feast which the early Church took over most completely from the great pagan, Celtic feast of Samhain which celebrated the end of summer and the harvest, together with the start of winter and the New Year.
The Celts believed that, on the eve of the festival (our own Hallowe'en), the dead returned to walk the earth for a night and a day and with them came the spirits of evil, at their most potent. Fires blazed on every hilltop to purify the land, defeat the evil ones and encourage the wasting sun to revive.
Ceremonial dancing,
noisy games and
harvest-end rituals
took place around these fires with drinking of the herbal ales for which the Celts were renowned.
The force and vigor of the ancient beliefs overrode all newer ones and these practices survived the advent of Christianity, in barely translated form at first, and only very gradually died out. The evil spirits became witches, and the bonfires burned them in effigy.
A great number of divining rituals and games, often involving apples, nuts and fire, persisted; apples and nuts were the last-harvested fruits. Even the old herbal ale: survived as mulled ale or punch with roasted apples floating in it.
The more significant pre-Christian practice of impersonating the dead and other spirits and by so doing protecting oneself and others from their spectral power also continued. Sometimes this was acted out by processions of young adults (later children) wearing or carrying grotesque masks and often headed by a youth carrying a horse's skull (as, for example, the Lair Bhan in co Cork, or the Hodening Horse in Cheshire).
They went from door to door or visited friends and neighbors, collecting money for food....Feast of All Souls immediately after All Hallows. The object of this feast, created by the early Church, was to remember the dead, and to seek alms to pay for prayers for those in Purgatory, to ease their way to Paradise – not back to earth......souls in Purgatory, so men still believed, were all allowed home for two days, although without their pagan familiars.
Candles were lit – and still are – on their graves and in the windows of houses to light them home."
HistoryToday
Pagan Roots in All Hallow's Eve Culinary Goodies?
Even some of the recipes for early Halloween had pagan roots, such as offering to pray for the dead or hidden charms.....hmmmm...interesting.
"Many recipes and traditions have come down for this evening, "All Hallows’ Eve" (now known as Halloween), such as
pancakes,
boxty bread and boxty pancakes,
barmbrack (Irish fruit bread with hidden charms),
colcannon (combination of cabbage and boiled potatoes).
This was also known as "Nutcrack Night" in England, where the family gathered around the hearth to enjoy cider and nuts and apples.
In England "soul cakes" are another traditional food. People would go begging for a "soul cake" and promise to pray for the donor's departed friends and family in exchange for the treat, an early version of today's "Trick or Treat."
LiturgicalYear
"Many recipes and traditions have come down for this evening, "All Hallows’ Eve" (now known as Halloween), such as pancakes,
boxty bread and boxty pancakes,
barmbrack (Irish fruit bread with hidden charms),
colcannon (combination of cabbage and boiled potatoes).
This was also known as "Nutcrack Night" in England, where the family gathered around the hearth to enjoy cider and nuts and apples.
In England "soul cakes" are another traditional food. People would go begging for a "soul cake" and promise to pray for the donor's departed friends and family in exchange for the treat, an early version of today's "Trick or Treat."
LiturgicalYear
Halloween & Spiritualism
There shall not be found among you anyone who ...practices divination or ...medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
"Halloween has always been the Festival of the Dead and was believed to be the best time to contact those who had passed over.
Today, spiritualists try to contact the departed by means of “spirit guides”—
American Indians,
Chinese men,
nuns,
priests ....
Witches tried to make contact through the god of Death himself. So when the bonfire had burned down, the priestess, in her new role as the god, held a skull between her hands, using it as a crystal-gazing ball. This was the kind of necromancy practiced centuries before the Fox Sisters, with their poltergeist tappings, started the modern craze for spiritualism."
LighthouseTrails
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
"Halloween has always been the Festival of the Dead and was believed to be the best time to contact those who had passed over.
Today, spiritualists try to contact the departed by means of “spirit guides”—
American Indians,
Chinese men,
nuns,
priests ....
Witches tried to make contact through the god of Death himself. So when the bonfire had burned down, the priestess, in her new role as the god, held a skull between her hands, using it as a crystal-gazing ball. This was the kind of necromancy practiced centuries before the Fox Sisters, with their poltergeist tappings, started the modern craze for spiritualism."
LighthouseTrails
Unholy Evening
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy;
and between unclean and clean.
Leviticus 10:10
"It is well known that the term "Halloween" associated with this date is a contraction of "Hallowed Evening," so-called because in the early medieval church, it was the evening for the vigil before "All Saints Day" on November 1, when all the designated "saints" of the church were especially to be remembered and honored.
Especially prevalent among the Druids, this belief merged in many ways with the practices of ancient witchcraft, which also involved spirits, wide use of bonfires, and many questionable activities on that evening.
In modern American popular usage, Halloween customs have evolved into "ghostly" parties, artificially "haunted" houses, and a childish protection racket ("trick or treat"). The "holy evening" is now at least "unholy" -- not necessarily wicked but certainly not God-honoring.
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing" (II Corinthians 6:17)."
HMM
and between unclean and clean.
Leviticus 10:10
"It is well known that the term "Halloween" associated with this date is a contraction of "Hallowed Evening," so-called because in the early medieval church, it was the evening for the vigil before "All Saints Day" on November 1, when all the designated "saints" of the church were especially to be remembered and honored.
Especially prevalent among the Druids, this belief merged in many ways with the practices of ancient witchcraft, which also involved spirits, wide use of bonfires, and many questionable activities on that evening.
In modern American popular usage, Halloween customs have evolved into "ghostly" parties, artificially "haunted" houses, and a childish protection racket ("trick or treat"). The "holy evening" is now at least "unholy" -- not necessarily wicked but certainly not God-honoring.
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing" (II Corinthians 6:17)."
HMM
IN the News - to the Priests committing Suicide
A Message to Catholic Priests...IF you are caught up in the Catholic Abuse Controversy, and are Guilty, Don't do like Fumery & Sebe.....Yes you did TERRIBLE things and Must pay in this life (Prison time) but don't forfeit the next life....If God could forgive the evil King Manasseh who made the city run with the blood of the saints...then...Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
"A French priest committed suicide after being accused of sexual misconduct, according to European news reports — the second to do so in a month.
Pierre-Yves Fumery, 38, was found Saturday after hanging himself at his residence in the town of Gien, the BBC and Agence France-Presse reported.
Last month, another 38-year-old priest, Jean-Baptiste Sebe, killed himself in the northern French town of Rouen after being accused by a mother that her adult daughter had been a victim of “indecent behavior and sexual assault,” according to AFP.
Prosecutor Loic Abrial told the AFP that Fumery was questioned about sexual assault allegations involving a child under the age of 15 last week.
Jacques Blaquart, the bishop of Orléans, whose diocese includes Gien, said it was a “moment of suffering and a tragic ordeal,” according to AFP." WP
Creation Moment 10/31/2018 - Zwingli on God's Creative Power
Ulrich Zwingli
PSALM 114: Psalm of the Exodus
Psalm 114:
"A highly poetic description of the Exodus, this psalm emphasizes both God’s power displayed and His provision supplied.
When Israel went out of Egypt, vs.1
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? vs.5
When Israel went out of Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
vs.1
"A highly poetic description of the Exodus, this psalm emphasizes both God’s power displayed and His provision supplied.
I. God Inhabits Israel (114:1-2).
II. God Intimidates Nature (114:3-6).
III. God Invites Trembling (114:7-8).
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord,.. vs.7
There is no sea, no Jordan, so deep, so broad, but, when God's time is come, it shall be divided and driven back."
The mountains skipped like rams,
and the little hills like lambs.
vs.4
BooksOfTheBible
Touching His Garments & Walking with Him
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him,
and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Acts 17:27
"Never feel that Christ is far away.
He is always near.
His loving presence surrounds you.
Seek Him as One who desires to be found of you.
---He desires you not only to touch His garments,
---but to walk with Him in constant communion."
Ministry of Healing p.85, E.G.W.
and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Acts 17:27
"Never feel that Christ is far away.
He is always near.
His loving presence surrounds you.
Seek Him as One who desires to be found of you.
---He desires you not only to touch His garments,
---but to walk with Him in constant communion."
Ministry of Healing p.85, E.G.W.
What the Waldensians, Lollards & Czech Brethren had in Common
"Waldensians, the Lollards and the Czech Brethren.
These movements differed in various ways, but they had significant similarities.
--Each of them reacted against a church which through wealth,
privilege and power had moved far from the teachings of Jesus and the dynamic simplicity of the early Christians.
--Each of them emphasized preaching from a Bible in the language of the people.
--Each of them owed its strength to the dedicated involvement of laymen and laywomen.
--And despite the fact that in every case the church responded by Inquisition and burning, each of these movements survived into the sixteenth century to encounter the Reformation."
CT
These movements differed in various ways, but they had significant similarities.
--Each of them reacted against a church which through wealth,
 |
| Massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol in 1545 |
--Each of them emphasized preaching from a Bible in the language of the people.
--Each of them owed its strength to the dedicated involvement of laymen and laywomen.
--And despite the fact that in every case the church responded by Inquisition and burning, each of these movements survived into the sixteenth century to encounter the Reformation."
CT
Laodicea: Antidote for OUR Wretchedness
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; ...Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Revelation 3:14,17
Our State of Wretchedness in Laodicea will Result in Death...
O wretched man that I am!
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:24
Unless we have the antidote-
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Revelation 3:18
Revelation 3:14,17
Our State of Wretchedness in Laodicea will Result in Death...
O wretched man that I am!
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:24
Unless we have the antidote-
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Revelation 3:18
IN the NEWS - Now on to Arkansas
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. Genesis 13:3
"Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock issued a
letter on Tuesday, October 23 explaining that after he released a list in early September of priests against whom there exist credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors, 26 more allegations have come to light."
THV11
"Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock issued a
letter on Tuesday, October 23 explaining that after he released a list in early September of priests against whom there exist credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors, 26 more allegations have come to light."
Take the BBC Evolution Test SERIES PAGE
Take the BBC Evolution Test SERIES PAGE
I the LORD have created it. Isaiah 45:8
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.1
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10222018-take-bbc.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.2
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10232018-take-bbc.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.3
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10242018-take-bbc.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.4
http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10252018-take-bbc.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.5
http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10252018-take-bbc_25.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.6
http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10272018-take-bbc.html
Take the BBC Evolution Test: pt.7
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/10/creation-moment-10282018-take-bbc.html
Creation Moment 10/30/2018 - The Whole Scheme of Nature
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31
“Nature is absurd,” jokes biologist Michael Denton, adapting a view expressed by physicist Richard Feynman in his book, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter.
In saying so, Denton means to highlight what often seems to be the absurdly fine-tuned fitness of the properties of light, water, fire, and more, that allow for our existence.
As he explains, the dual wave and particulate aspects of light, essential to our ability to see, and so much else, must all be just right to within insanely precise parameters. The whole scheme of nature isn’t absurd. It’s beautiful. Yet what we know about cosmic fine-tuning, what Denton has to teach us, would be hard to believe if it weren’t true." EN&V
“Nature is absurd,” jokes biologist Michael Denton, adapting a view expressed by physicist Richard Feynman in his book, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter.
In saying so, Denton means to highlight what often seems to be the absurdly fine-tuned fitness of the properties of light, water, fire, and more, that allow for our existence.
As he explains, the dual wave and particulate aspects of light, essential to our ability to see, and so much else, must all be just right to within insanely precise parameters. The whole scheme of nature isn’t absurd. It’s beautiful. Yet what we know about cosmic fine-tuning, what Denton has to teach us, would be hard to believe if it weren’t true." EN&V
Monday, October 29, 2018
The Rending of the Veil Simplified
"As Jesus died on Calvary, He cried, "It is finished," (John 19:30) and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom.
This was to show that the services of the earthly sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet with the priests in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices.
The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be offered by Himself in the heavenly sanctuary.
As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary."
Spiritual Gifts, E.G.W.
This was to show that the services of the earthly sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet with the priests in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices.
The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be offered by Himself in the heavenly sanctuary.
As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary."
Spiritual Gifts, E.G.W.
Papal Notes - Revelation would beg to differ
"Closing a month-long gathering of bishops in Rome, Pope
Francis on Saturday said the Catholic Church is under attack by the devil and urged bishops from around the world to defend the institution because “you don’t touch a mother.”
“Our mother, [the Church] is holy, but we the children are sinners,” he said. “Sinners, all of us. Let’s not forget this expression from the fathers [of the Church]: The Church is holy, the Mother is holy, with children who are sinners.”
“At this moment, [the devil] is accusing us very strongly,” the pope said. “And this accusation becomes persecution.”
“The Church is not dirty,” the pope said."
The Book of Revelation would beg to differ with Francis about whether the so-called "mother" is "dirty"....And the woman was
arrayed in purple and scarlet ... having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 17:4,5
“Our mother, [the Church] is holy, but we the children are sinners,” he said. “Sinners, all of us. Let’s not forget this expression from the fathers [of the Church]: The Church is holy, the Mother is holy, with children who are sinners.”
“At this moment, [the devil] is accusing us very strongly,” the pope said. “And this accusation becomes persecution.”
“The Church is not dirty,” the pope said."
The Book of Revelation would beg to differ with Francis about whether the so-called "mother" is "dirty"....And the woman was
Revelation 17:4,5
What did Luther & Calvin think of Islam?
"Luther wrote that the "two regimes, that of the Pope and that of the Turk, are antichrist."
Calvin in a sermon on Deuteronomy 18:15 maintained that Muhammad was one of "the two horns of antichrist."
Luther noted that Christ warned about false prophets coming from the desert (Matthew 24: 24,26) and this included Muhammad.
Calvin wrote that "the sect of Mohammad was like a raging
overflow, which in its violence tore away about half of the church."
Luther observed from 1 John 2: 18:22 and 4:1:3, "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist he denies the Father and the Son." 1 John 2: 22, that the Mohammadans deny both the Fatherhood of God and the Deity of Christ hence they are liars."
RefSA
Calvin in a sermon on Deuteronomy 18:15 maintained that Muhammad was one of "the two horns of antichrist."
Luther noted that Christ warned about false prophets coming from the desert (Matthew 24: 24,26) and this included Muhammad.
Calvin wrote that "the sect of Mohammad was like a raging
Luther observed from 1 John 2: 18:22 and 4:1:3, "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist he denies the Father and the Son." 1 John 2: 22, that the Mohammadans deny both the Fatherhood of God and the Deity of Christ hence they are liars."
RefSA
Book Review: Martin Bucer: A Reformer and His Times
(short) Book Review: a book that may be of some interest...
(Review by Amazon)
"Greschat's seminal work is the first biography of the important Protestant reformer to be written in over seventy years. Now translated into English, this work--"the most comprehensive account of Bucer's place within the context of the history of the Reformation" (The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation)--transcends normal biographies by providing information in relation to the social and political context of the sixteenth century. Lucid in style and mature in scholarship, Greschat's Martin Bucer is a splendid contribution to Reformation studies."
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Daniel 11:35
(Review by Amazon)
Martin Bucer: A Reformer and His Times
by Martin Greschat
354 pages Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
"Greschat's seminal work is the first biography of the important Protestant reformer to be written in over seventy years. Now translated into English, this work--"the most comprehensive account of Bucer's place within the context of the history of the Reformation" (The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation)--transcends normal biographies by providing information in relation to the social and political context of the sixteenth century. Lucid in style and mature in scholarship, Greschat's Martin Bucer is a splendid contribution to Reformation studies."And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Daniel 11:35
IN the NEWS - More from the Bay Area
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Genesis 13:13
"Two survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic clergy announced a lawsuit in San Francisco today in federal court against the Vatican alleging the
church has done nothing to by current and past popes to stop sexual abuse of children.
Kathy Stonebraker said she was sexually abused by Father Stephen Kiesle at St. Joseph parish in Pinole in the early 1970’s. Stonebraker was around 11 years old and recalled the abuse during Saturday catechisms. She said one time she was taken into a confession booth by Kiesle.
“He would shut the door and push his body up against me and take his pants down,” she said.
Jim Keenan from St. Paul, Minnesota is another survivor named in the suit who said he was abused by a priest as a child. He was later offered a settlement by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Their lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday. It accuses the Vatican, a sovereign nation officially known as the Holy See, of violating customary international human rights law, including
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
FOXktvu
Genesis 13:13
"Two survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic clergy announced a lawsuit in San Francisco today in federal court against the Vatican alleging the
Kathy Stonebraker said she was sexually abused by Father Stephen Kiesle at St. Joseph parish in Pinole in the early 1970’s. Stonebraker was around 11 years old and recalled the abuse during Saturday catechisms. She said one time she was taken into a confession booth by Kiesle.
“He would shut the door and push his body up against me and take his pants down,” she said.
Jim Keenan from St. Paul, Minnesota is another survivor named in the suit who said he was abused by a priest as a child. He was later offered a settlement by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Their lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday. It accuses the Vatican, a sovereign nation officially known as the Holy See, of violating customary international human rights law, including
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
FOXktvu
Creation Moment 10/29/2018 - One Little Problem
The north and the south thou hast created them: Psalm 89:12
"A leading cosmologist’s account of the current big bang theory makes no sense unless the hearer is already committed to believing it.
In an old B.C. cartoon, Johnny Hart pictured Peter showing B.C. the new telephone he invented. As it hangs on a tree, Peter tells about all the wonderful opportunities it opens up for long-distance communication. Impressed and hopeful, B.C. says, “Great. Let’s call somebody.” Peter responds, “We can’t. I only made one.” Now imagine other problems with Peter’s phone: telephone lines haven’t been invented yet, there is no theory of electromagnetism, no audio-to-electromagnetic conversion device, no infrastructure for switching, and no switchboard operators. The phone just hangs on the tree, useless.
This is the feeling one gets when reading an account of current big bang cosmology by Paul Sutter in New Scientist. Sutter is an astrophysicist at Ohio State University, and a popularizer of astronomy for radio, tours and magazines. He begins with his typical dramatic flair, glamorizing the big bang theory like Peter’s telephone:
cartoon and imagine B.C. complaining to Peter about all the missing infrastructure to make a telephone work. Suppose Peter responds, “Well, we can just imagine these being solved by an imaginary model. I call it Poof Theory.” [We call it the Poof Spoof in the Darwin Dictionary.] This is Sutter’s miracle: an appeal to “inflation” (i.e., poof) to make the problems go away. More on that momentarily.
Sutter confesses that big bang cosmology has a serious light-distance problem of its own, just like creationists point out when critics of Biblical creation attack their light-distance problem (e.g., CMI).
Like Peter, Sutter has set the stage to introduce his Poof Theory, called inflation. Committing the
best-in-field fallacy, and raising the perhapsimaybecouldness index to astronomical levels, he announces,
Nothing like a Poof Spoof (i.e., a miracle) to make your telephone work. What Sutter fails to consider, though, is the Guth Goof, which we define as a solution that is worse than the problem it was invented to solve. Guth thought that inflation would solve the flatness problem, the lumpiness problem (the universe’s incredible smoothness), and the horizon problem (the light-distance problem) in one swell poof. Each of these problems are basically fine-tuning problems.
For inflation to work, however, it would require even greater fine-tuning at the beginning. The initial conditions for an inflating universe – even for believers in big bang cosmology – would have to be immensely, incredibly, unimaginably exact, or else the miracle would not occur. And once inflation started, there would be no way to stop it. We wouldn’t even have stars to look at, they would be so far apart."
CEH
"A leading cosmologist’s account of the current big bang theory makes no sense unless the hearer is already committed to believing it.
In an old B.C. cartoon, Johnny Hart pictured Peter showing B.C. the new telephone he invented. As it hangs on a tree, Peter tells about all the wonderful opportunities it opens up for long-distance communication. Impressed and hopeful, B.C. says, “Great. Let’s call somebody.” Peter responds, “We can’t. I only made one.” Now imagine other problems with Peter’s phone: telephone lines haven’t been invented yet, there is no theory of electromagnetism, no audio-to-electromagnetic conversion device, no infrastructure for switching, and no switchboard operators. The phone just hangs on the tree, useless.
This is the feeling one gets when reading an account of current big bang cosmology by Paul Sutter in New Scientist. Sutter is an astrophysicist at Ohio State University, and a popularizer of astronomy for radio, tours and magazines. He begins with his typical dramatic flair, glamorizing the big bang theory like Peter’s telephone:
The Big Bang model is our most successful explanation for the history of the universe that we live in, and it’s ridiculously easy to encapsulate its core framework in a single, T-shirtable sentence: A long time ago, our universe was a lot smaller. From this simple statement flows major testable predictions that have been verified by decades of observation. The expansion rate of the universe. The cosmic microwave background. The production of the lightest elements. The differences between near and far galaxies. All the juicy lines of evidence that makes cosmology a science.Maybe you have been in a situation where someone makes a presentation, talks up his project or widget, gets everybody excited, then says, “There’s just one little problem….” He proceeds to mention a difficulty that is fatal to the project, undermining all the prior hype. That’s what Sutter does next:
But there are some issues. The “vanilla” Big Bang model, without any other additions or amendments, can’t explain all the observations.The extent of Sutter’s “one little problem” will become evident shortly. For now, go back to the
Sutter confesses that big bang cosmology has a serious light-distance problem of its own, just like creationists point out when critics of Biblical creation attack their light-distance problem (e.g., CMI).
That light comes to us from distant reaches of the cosmos, so distant that it’s now inaccessible to us. And different sections of that background light are inaccessible to each other. In the wonderful jargon of physics, regions of the cosmic microwave background are not causally connected. In other words, for one chunk of the limits of our observable universe to communicate with another chunk in the past 13.8 billion years, they would have had to send signals faster than the speed of light.Sutter also mentions the flatness problem:
Which would be no big deal at all if the cosmic microwave background wasn’t almost perfectly smooth. The infant universe had the same temperature to one part in a million. How did everyone get so well-coordinated when changes in one area didn’t have enough time to affect others?
But there’s no reason for our universe to be flat. At large scales it could’ve had any old curvature it wanted. Our cosmos could’ve been shaped like a giant, multidimensional beach ball, or a horse-riding saddle. But, no, it picked flat. And not just a little bit flat. For us to measure no curvature to a precision of a few percent in the present-day universe, the young cosmos must’ve been flat to one part in a million.And the monopole problem: magnetic monopoles should be ubiquitous, according to standard big bang cosmology, but have never been detected.
Like Peter, Sutter has set the stage to introduce his Poof Theory, called inflation. Committing the
 |
| Guth |
The best solution we have to these conundrums is a process called inflation. The idea was first proposed — and coined! — by physicist Alan Guth in 1980 when he suggested that the same exotic process that flooded the universe with magnetic monopoles could have sent the cosmos into a period of staggeringly rapid expansion.
Nothing like a Poof Spoof (i.e., a miracle) to make your telephone work. What Sutter fails to consider, though, is the Guth Goof, which we define as a solution that is worse than the problem it was invented to solve. Guth thought that inflation would solve the flatness problem, the lumpiness problem (the universe’s incredible smoothness), and the horizon problem (the light-distance problem) in one swell poof. Each of these problems are basically fine-tuning problems.
For inflation to work, however, it would require even greater fine-tuning at the beginning. The initial conditions for an inflating universe – even for believers in big bang cosmology – would have to be immensely, incredibly, unimaginably exact, or else the miracle would not occur. And once inflation started, there would be no way to stop it. We wouldn’t even have stars to look at, they would be so far apart."
CEH
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Luther on the Temptation of Christ
"But as to how temptation takes place and how it is overcome, is all very beautifully pictured to us here in Christ.
First, that he is led up into the wilderness, that is, he is left solitary and alone by God, angels and men, by all creatures. What kind of a temptation would it be, if we were not forsaken and stood not alone?
...the tempter came forward and attacked Christ with these very same cares of food for the body and with the unbelief in the goodness of God, and said: "If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread,"(Matt. 4:3) ..... eat now and drink from your faith, let us see how you will satisfy your hunger; yea, when you have stones for bread. What a fine Son of God you are!
Christ's second temptation is opposed to the first and is repugnant to common sense. Its substance is that the devil teaches us to tempt God; as he here calls to Christ to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple,...And this very appropriately follows the first temptation. For where the devil feels a heart trusts God in times of want and need, he soon ceases his temptation of bread and avarice and thinks: Wait, wilt thou be very spiritual and believing, I will assist you: He approaches and attacks on the other side, that we might believe where God has not commanded us to believe, nor wills that we should believe.
Christ's third temptation consists in temporal honor and power; as the words of the devil clearly teach, when Satan shows and offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him.
To this class those belong who fall from their faith for the sake of honor and power, that they may enjoy good days, or not believe further than their honor and power extend. Such are also the heretics who start sects and factions in matters of faith among Christians, that they may make a great parade before the world and soar aloft in their own honor.
Hence one may place this third temptation on the right, and the first on the left side.
--The first is the temptation of misfortune, by which man is stirred to anger, impatience and unbelief;
--the third and last, the temptation of prosperity, by which man is enticed to lust, honor, joy, and whatever is high.
--The second or middle temptation is spiritual and deals with the blind tricks and errors that mislead reason from faith."
Martin Luther
First, that he is led up into the wilderness, that is, he is left solitary and alone by God, angels and men, by all creatures. What kind of a temptation would it be, if we were not forsaken and stood not alone?
...the tempter came forward and attacked Christ with these very same cares of food for the body and with the unbelief in the goodness of God, and said: "If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread,"(Matt. 4:3) ..... eat now and drink from your faith, let us see how you will satisfy your hunger; yea, when you have stones for bread. What a fine Son of God you are!
Christ's second temptation is opposed to the first and is repugnant to common sense. Its substance is that the devil teaches us to tempt God; as he here calls to Christ to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple,...And this very appropriately follows the first temptation. For where the devil feels a heart trusts God in times of want and need, he soon ceases his temptation of bread and avarice and thinks: Wait, wilt thou be very spiritual and believing, I will assist you: He approaches and attacks on the other side, that we might believe where God has not commanded us to believe, nor wills that we should believe.
Christ's third temptation consists in temporal honor and power; as the words of the devil clearly teach, when Satan shows and offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him.
To this class those belong who fall from their faith for the sake of honor and power, that they may enjoy good days, or not believe further than their honor and power extend. Such are also the heretics who start sects and factions in matters of faith among Christians, that they may make a great parade before the world and soar aloft in their own honor.
Hence one may place this third temptation on the right, and the first on the left side.
 |
| Luther's Desk |
--The first is the temptation of misfortune, by which man is stirred to anger, impatience and unbelief;
--the third and last, the temptation of prosperity, by which man is enticed to lust, honor, joy, and whatever is high.
--The second or middle temptation is spiritual and deals with the blind tricks and errors that mislead reason from faith."
Martin Luther
Calvin on the Temptation of Christ
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Matthew 4:1
"There were two reasons why Christ withdrew into the wilderness.
--The first was, that, after a fast of forty days, he might come forth as a new man, or rather a heavenly man, to the discharge of his
office.
--The next was, that he might be tried by temptation and undergo an apprenticeship, before he undertook an office so arduous, and so elevated.
*In the same way Moses, when God was about to employ him as his agent in publishing his law, was carried into Mount Sinai, withdrawn from the view of the people, and admitted, as it were, into a heavenly sanctuary."
John Calvin
Matthew 4:1
"There were two reasons why Christ withdrew into the wilderness.
--The first was, that, after a fast of forty days, he might come forth as a new man, or rather a heavenly man, to the discharge of his
--The next was, that he might be tried by temptation and undergo an apprenticeship, before he undertook an office so arduous, and so elevated.
*In the same way Moses, when God was about to employ him as his agent in publishing his law, was carried into Mount Sinai, withdrawn from the view of the people, and admitted, as it were, into a heavenly sanctuary."
John Calvin
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