Top Posts
- Mabel
- "The Romantic Solution" from Earnest Becker's "The Denial of Death"
- Jane Eyre quote used in Tim Keller Sermon
- About
- Jonathan Haidt's "Harm"free questions
- YouTube and Podcasts
- John Suk preaching from the Lion King
- Assessing Christendom
- Do Atheists "Evolve" Their Communal Ideas More Quickly than Religious People? Is that a good thing?
- John Walton Interview in CT
Category Cloud
Blog note book review book writing CRC Culture commentary Daily Links and Notes Devotional Reflection How to become a Christian Institutional Church Link Compilations Links Missional On the way to Sunday's sermon Pastoral Identity philosophical reflection Quotations Saved Blog Comments Saved CRCVoices Posts Sermon Illustrations Sermon Outline Sermon Recordings Tech tools theological the self Tweets Uncategorized Understanding the Bible Video Wisdom YouTube Comments to RememberTag Cloud
- Abortion
- Acts
- Advent
- Advent 2014
- age of decay
- age to come
- Benedict Option
- book of Leviticus
- Calvin College
- Charles Taylor
- Christianity
- Christmas
- City Church San Francisco
- Confessional conversation
- CS Lewis
- David Brooks
- Donald Trump
- Douthat
- Dreher
- Esther
- Exodus
- faith
- Genesis
- hell
- Inspire2017
- James
- Jesus
- John Suk
- Jonathan Haidt
- Jordan Peterson
- Katy Perry
- Keller
- Kierkegaard
- King David
- King Saul
- Lent
- Leviticus
- Meme of the week
- Moses
- NT Wright
- Palm Sunday
- Pentecost
- Peter Enns
- Peter Kreeft
- Pope Francis
- Progressive Liberationism
- raising of lazarus
- RCA
- reflected self
- relational polarity
- Religion
- resurrection
- Rob Bell
- Rod Dreher
- Ryan Bell
- Skye Jethani
- SSM
- Steve Jobs
- Synod2015
- Synod2016
- the book of exodus
- The Book of Judges
- The book of Kings
- The book of Leviticus
- The Book of Luke
- the book of Numbers
- The Book of Samuel
- the Gospel of John
- The Gospel of Matthew
- The Road to Character
- the self book
- The Ten Commandments
- Tim Keller
- Tom Holland
- transgender
Twitter Feed
Tweets by paulvanderklay
SPACT Final Report First Impressions
SPACT
The Strategic Planning and Adaptive Change Team has completed their work and has offered their final report. If you’ve never heard of this initiative don’t feel bad. The website is a better place to start than the final report and the Frequently Asked Questions page is quite helpful. This is pretty deep insider Christian Reformed Church denominational stuff.
Numbing
When I first looked at it it looked like a jumble. I needed to slow down and do some work to figure out how it speaks before I could figure out what it was and what it was trying to say. As with most documents of this genre it is filled with jargon and buzzwords that are going around in church consulting circles. That’s not a sin, it just locates the document in terms of genre and intended audience. To me this document isn’t intended to communicate much to “folks in the pews”. It reads mostly like a working document for the denominational bureaucracy and the Board of Trustees.
13 Key Ministry Challenges in Four Headings Continue reading
Malala Tells Children to Stand up for their Rights
Malala Yousafzai said Friday she is honored to share the 95th Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi.
“We should all consider each other as human beings, and we should respect each other,” said Malala, who was in chemistry class when she found out about the award. “It is my message to children all around the world that they should stand up for their rights.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited the two “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”
- How other Pakistanis feel about Malala: The Daily Beast
- another post
- Al Jazeera on a girl’s family hit by a drone attack
But where does Nabila fit into this picture? If extrajudicial killings, drone strikes and torture are in fact all part of a just-cause associated with the liberation of the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, where is the sympathy or even simple recognition for the devastation this war has caused to countless little girls such as her? The answer is clear: The only people to be recognized for their suffering in this conflict are those who fall victim to the enemy. Malala for her struggles was to be made the face of the American war effort – against her own will if necessary – while innumerable little girls such as Nabila will continue to be terrorized and murdered as part of this war without end. There will be no celebrity appearances or awards ceremonies for Nabila. At her testimony almost no one even bothered to attend.
Posted in Daily Links and Notes
Leave a comment
Mike Rowe’s Advice to NOT Follow Your Passions
Like all bad advice, “Follow Your Passion” is routinely dispensed as though it’s wisdom were both incontrovertible and equally applicable to all. It’s not. Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you won’t suck at it. And just because you’re determined to improve doesn’t mean that you will. Does that mean you shouldn’t pursue a thing you’re passionate about?” Of course not. The question is, for how long, and to what end?
When it comes to earning a living and being a productive member of society – I don’t think people should limit their options to those vocations they feel passionate towards. I met a lot of people on Dirty Jobs who really loved their work. But very few of them dreamed of having the career they ultimately chose. I remember a very successful septic tank cleaner who told me his secret of success. “I looked around to see where everyone else was headed, and then I went the opposite way,” he said. “Then I got good at my work. Then I found a way to love it. Then I got rich.”
Posted in Daily Links and Notes
Leave a comment
The Disturbing Witness of Voluntary Christian Suffering
Right to Die
On CNN Brittany Maynard wrote a piece about her choice to die at 29 by her own hand because of her incurable brain cancer.
I saw this story being posted by different friends on Facebook. My atheist friends were using the story along the lines of Brittany herself, as a validating story promoting the practice legal in Oregon where a doctor can prescribe a patient sufficient medication to end their own life.
The rationale behind such laws and practice seems obvious and for many its goodness is self-evident
- Reducing suffering is a good thing.
- If death is inevitable and the path to it is disabling suffering why not shorten the trip for mercy’s sake!
- Human life is about choice. Choice creates dignity. To choose to die is therefore more dignified than waiting for “nature” or “your body” to devolve and die on someone or something else’s timing. (Note our ideas of the good of “nature” are fairly inconsistent. Sometimes “natures way is best”, in this case “dignity” is a person choosing, not allowing “nature” to take its course.)
This is summed up on the Brittany Fund site
Death with dignity is an option every person deserves, to reduce suffering at the end of life and die in comfort and control, with dignity.
Pro-Life Christians
Many of my Christian friends who posted the piece oppose doctor assisted suicide. This too came as no surprise to me. This is a well trodden culture war battlefield where both sides feel they have the good and the right in their side. Many Christians assert that we have no right to time our own deaths and that we should let God and/or “nature” take its course.
One post that is being passed along by Christians to counter the CNN post is by a woman named Kara Tippetts who too is dying of cancer that has gone from her breast to her brain. She wrote an open letter to Brittany Maynard telling her own story.
A God Who Uses People’s Suffering Continue reading
Posted in On the way to Sunday's sermon
Tagged Brittany Maynard, ebola, Kara Tippetts, lepers, leprosy, Leviticus, The book of Leviticus
4 Comments
Julian the Apostate’s Letter trying to prop up Hellenistic Religion
The Hellenic religion does not yet prosper as I desire, and it is the fault of those who profess it; for the worship of the gods is on a splendid and magnificent scale, surpassing every prayer and every hope. May Adrasteia 2 pardon my words, for indeed no one, a little while ago, would have ventured even to pray for a change of such a sort or so complete within so short a time. Why, then, do we think that this is enough, why do we not observe that it is their benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism?1 I believe that we ought really and truly to practise every one of these virtues.2 And it is not enough for you alone to practise them, but so must all the priests in Galatia, without exception. Either shame or persuade them into righteousness or else remove them from their priestly office, if they do not, together with their wives, children and servants, attend the worship of the gods but allow their servants or sons or wives to show impiety towards the gods and honour atheism more than piety. In the second place, admonish them that no priest may enter a theatre or drink in a tavern or control any craft or trade that is base and not respectable. Honour those who obey you, but those who disobey, expel from office. In every city establish frequent hostels in order that strangers may profit by our benevolence; I do not mean for our own people only, but for others also who are in need of money. I have but now made a plan by which you may be well provided for this; for I have given directions that 30,000 modii of corn shall be assigned every year for the whole of Galatia, and 60,000 pints 3 of wine. I order that one-fifth of this be used for the poor who serve the priests, and the remainder be distributed by us to strangers and beggars. For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.1
Posted in Quotations
Leave a comment
