Half-Days: God's Gift to the Teacher

Currently Hearing: Peregrine by The Appleseed Cast
Currently Reading: Deuteronomy
Currently Thinking: I Want to Wash My Sheets by The Sanitary Side of Me
Currently Knowing: Once I Wash Them, I Won't Want to Put Them Back On My Bed by the Lazy Side of Me


Well...
I was talking with someone today about free will, God's Sovereignty, predestination, and all that jazz...
I have a few things to say about it:
1.) It was great to talk about it with someone I love
2.) It was great to be open and honest without demeaning one another
3.) It was great to discuss and work on articulating my views by looking at contrary arguments/lines of thought
4.) It made me think of something...

Basically, the person I was discussing this idea with said something that really made me consider something - because, like most things about my faith (and I think this is the case for most people in general), I had just sort of accepted their position for most of my life without much critical thought or study (both biblical and extrabiblical in nature)...

Let's think about this concept - and I sincerely want help and/or comments on this idea...
Before one of my Bible classes was to discuss the idea of sin, I had 60-something 11th grade students write me a brief essay on whether or not humans can choose God on their own, or if God chooses us...
Roughly half of the kids said that God chooses us, and the other half said that we had free will to either choose or reject salvation...
Several of the students that claimed the free will argument made comments that sound something like this:
God gave us free will to choose on our own because He loves us and wouldn't force us to love Him.
In a similar vein, the person I was discussing these ideas with made the comment - Would you want to marry a bride that didn't choose to love you?

My question is, where does this idea/common argument for the role of human volition in God's salvific work come from? Does it have any Scriptural merit? It is a great and very comforting sort of idea sometimes saying that we have such freedom, but it really made me think about the importance of having an incredibly Scripturally-grounded theology...

I want everything I believe about my faith to be carefully weighed against Scripture, and if something that even is more appealing to me seems to contradict what I find to be true from a sound reading of the Word of God, I have to understand that I cannot merely choose to accept something that is easier for me to swallow...

So, what do you guys think?
Does God let us choose whether or not to be saved so He gets the cream of the crop?
Does the idea of predestination seem like a contradiction to your idea of God?
Does election seem unfair?
Do you think most Christians responsibly study and think about the things they believe and why they believe them?
Feel free to weigh in on anything that seems relevant to the discussion...
I would love to see some new comments...

One Member of the Body,
Brandon

A Friendly Reminder

Currently Hearing: Blank-Wave Arcade by the Faint
Currently Wishing: I Lived in a Fun Town by The Part of Me That Wants to Walk Around and Enjoy the Weather
Currently Aware of: The Fact That I Need to Do Laundry by The Blatant Need of Clean Clothes in My Life
Currently Fearing: The Possibility of a Hernia by The Isolated Pain in My Lower Abdominal Region When I Press It

Sometimes we just need a little nudge back in the right direction...

"Direct Orders" by Anis Mojgani

Don't Break Contract...

Currently Hearing: I'll Believe in Anything by Wolf Parade
Currently Reading: Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards
Currently Drinking: Coffee out of a Boring Mug by the Cafeteria
Currently Wishing: There was a Hayride Tonight by My Sentimental Mind

Today is a melancholy day...
Nothing really happened to me to make me feel like it was going to be a quasi-crappy day - in fact, when I got to school, everything felt like it was going to be a good day...
However, that quickly changed out of the blue...
Everyone sort of seems to be walking around like zombies today...
So, I guess my brain and emotions figured they should feel the same way...
Last class, my kids were asking me what was wrong, and when I took prayer requests, one of the prayer requests was for me...
Haha...
I guess I am not acting that chipper today...

I kind of had a realization that I constantly think about only a handful of things...
Like, there are only 2 or 3 BIG ideas that consume my thoughts at a time, and I tend to devote my time and attention to them - I guess that is the curse of being an extreme person with an obsessive personality...

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have waves of extreme contemplation/introspection (normally related to God and spirituality), and when I hit these moments, I just sort of feel introverted and like I want to be alone...
I am sure that has a lot to do with my mood today (being coupled with Fall is a double whammy)...

Anyways, on a more upbeat note, there is a volleyball game after school today, which should be fun to watch, and I will probably feel better after I work out tonight...
So, I will ride that natural high for as long as I can...

Here is a quote to jumpstart you brains - I read it in a Jewish rabbi's response to a letter written to him by an evangelical Christian...
Tell me what you think...
I don't even know what I think about it - well, at least not totally...
When I weigh in all the ideas about God's Sovereignty, it definitely makes me look at it from a totally different angle than I did a month ago when I wrote it down on a Post-It note and stuck it on my desk...

"The state of the world must prove that the Messiah has come; not a tract."
- Rabbi Richman

Yes, there is pain...
Yes, there is suffering...
Yes, there is extreme evil...
However, when we say that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, is it wrong to say that God is guiding history in such a way that ultimately brings glory to God's name?
Look at Scripture:

Psalm 135:6
Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

I can't deny that - if I do, I have elevated creation above the Creator, the clay above the Potter.

"Almighty God and Merciful Father, we praise you for your everlasting happiness in the fellowship of the Trinity; that you are an infinitely exuberant God; satisfied with the panorama of your own perfections reflected in the radiance of your Son. And we praise you that you are free and sovereign in your own self-sufficiency and cannot be bribed or coerced because of some deficiency or craving in your heart. We praise you that your plan and counsel is governed not by our will but by your good pleasure."
- John Piper

Go Ahead and Love Me

Currently Reading: The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink and Korean through English by Sang-Oak Lee
Currently Hearing: At Home with Owen by Owen
Currently Thinking: I Need a Korean Teacher by My Own Finitude and Difficulty in Grasping Korean Grammatical Concepts
Currently Hoping: That I Remember My Dreams When I Awake by My Alarm Clock

My good friends in M83 have a delightful saying: Saturdays=Youth
Well, I have adopted my own new catch phrase: Sweatpants=Comfort

There is just something so great about sweats...
Is it the elastic? the feeling of a band of cloth stretched around your ankle? the reminder of what my Dad looked like when he used to take me to school?
No, it is something else...
For some reason, sweatpants are equated with a certain time of year, and even a certain feeling in my soul...
When I put on sweatpants, I think about laying around at my friends' houses, sleeping in, drinking coffee, and feeling like life is perfect...
Now, before you tell me that I sound like a girl, just think about it...
It could be that sweatpants are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg...
Perhaps maybe it is more about how Fall feels...
Something about this time of year - the change of seasons, the drop in temperature, the wearing of layers - makes me just feel different...

I guess sweatpants just do that to some people...

What are your "sweatpants?"

Go Go Gadget, Genius!

Currently Hearing: White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
Currently Pondering: The Sovereignty of God As It Is Related To His Character by My Brain, Searching For Answers
Currently Not Wanting To: Put Away My Laundry by The Folded Shirts, Socks, and Sundry Items On My Bed

Well, I guess blogging is about honesty, right?
So, here goes...
Nobody worry, I am not confessing a drug addiction or my dabbling in dark arts of wizardry (I don't even like Harry Potter - there is no way I could be a witch)...
It is much less non-threatening than that, and has a lot less to do with my salvation...
However, it does have to do with my view of God (surprise, surprise - the constant struggle for clarity and search for truth that is my life)...

Basically, I am having a hard time with the idea of God's Sovereignty and Predestination...
It all began when I was reading through the book of Romans...
I would never want to just take something form the Scripture without a proper understanding of the true intention of the author and all of those elements that go into the responsible reading of biblical texts...
But, I have been thinking more and more frequently about the Knowledge of God and God's Sovereignty over all things...

First of all, I think most of us would say and agree, "if God was not Sovereign, what the heck kind of God am I serving?"

It is just growing increasingly difficult to truly just say God is in control of everything, except the stuff that seems too mean for God to have control over (i.e., salvation) without knowing how I truly feel about this subject...
This is another one of those moments where I feel like I am starting from the ground up with my faith and am still like a "baby" Christian...

Now, I understand the difference in foreknowledge/omniscience and predestination (maybe)...
And, in my mind, I can bring up the point that God can know what is going to happen without causing it to happen (I guess)...
However, when I read Scriptures lately, I see instances of a God that has total control over things, like a God that "hardens Pharaoh's heart" time and time again in order to bring glory to Godself...
I would even like to believe that perhaps God began this cycle of hardening the ruler of Egypt's heart after much cruel treatment that was bestowed upon the Israelites based on the Pharaoh's own volition out of a sense of paranoia and fear (Exodus 1:7-14) - but, wait until what I quote from Romans in a little bit!

I am not saying I think God is full of Hatred, Anger, and Wrath...
Rather, I would fully ascribe Perfect Goodness to God...
I guess what I am struggling with is the whole concept of Free Will vs. Predestination...
Maybe both of these things can occur to some level or degree...
I have a thousand thoughts and stuff swimming around in my head right now...
And, of course, a proper definition of terms is always extremely important in any instance like this...
I am quite confident that I don't even have a solid understanding of the various levels of predestination, seeing as it was never really a part of my theological training...
I have naturally winced at the idea of predestination my whole life, seeing as it was opposed to the major theological stance of those that trained me, and like so many other things in my faith, I have had some huge questions when I seriously begin to evaluate my position on the theological premise for myself...

Look at Romans, though:
"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden" (9:14-18 NIV).

I guess I do know this - God gets what God wants, somehow and some way...
I don't know what that really entails, and how it all pans out...
I really need some help, and am going to do some mad research about this topic...

Growing In the Love and Knowledge of Our Savior (Hopefully),
Brandon

Have You Ever Been All Messed Up?

Currently Reading: Love God With All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by J.P. Moreland
Currently Hearing: Neon Golden by The Notwist
Currently Loving: Sitting in My Underwear by Having My Own Room

Well, I am reading this great book that a friend of mine recommended to me...
It is making me want to go back to school like crazy...
Moreland is articulating so many of the things that I believe as a Christian...

In the first few chapters of his book, the author is saying so much about how important it is that Christians do the hard task of disciplined study as responsible believers in a God with Perfect Knowledge and Reason...
He briefly takes the reader through the dismal spiral that Christians have sped downwards into - and reminds individuals how vital it is to be able to responsibly articulate one's faith to those looking from the outside of the Christian faith in...

Before you become afraid that he might be neglecting the personal devotion that is necessary in the live of a follower of Christ, let me soothe your nerves by letting you know that Moreland back almost every point he has made thus far with sound biblical hermeneutics and application, making the claim that he would never take passages out of context and merely proof-text them to persuade the reader and has made several references like such: "... our intellectual development must be balanced with devotion to growth in other aspects of our human selves" (53).

From my limited encounter with this book, I have gathered that Moreland is a man that has thoughtfully reasoned and has a carefully articulated faith, and I am proud to know that there are Christians like this...
Let's keep the dream alive and strive to know what we believe, so that we may aid in the discipleship of our lives and the lives of others with informed integrity...

Read this book!

T.G.I.T.

Currently Reading: Exodus
Currently Hearing: Background Music by American Nightmare
Currently Wishing: I Could Breakdance by People That Wear Track Outfits and Have Strong Limbs

Well, as the title suggests...
Thank God It's Thursday (not "Today God Is Third" - contrary to popular belief)
Tomorrow is some holiday about how heaven opened up a long time ago and a Korean king came down to rule the people...
Pretty sweet...
I don't know his name, but I am glad God sent him to this country so I could have a day off of work...

Tonight, I plan on sitting by a lake and having a killer bonfire...
I have been giddy all week to sit by the warm flames in the cold weather...
Nothing can beat that...
Literally...

Anyways...
Next week is the school's Fall Festival, which is basically an event that Student Council puts on for the kids...
I think it should be pretty fun - we are having a schoolwide pajama party, a basketball tournament (which I hope to garner a trophy from), a talent show, and student club booths...
The club I sponsor, which the kids decided to call "Hip Hop for Respect" is going to have a booth...
One of the kids is a sick at beatboxing, so he is going to be basically showing off, and I am sure the other kids are just going to dress up as thugged out as possible, which will be absolutely hilarious...
The kids told me that I will be able to perform with them at the festival in the Spring...
I think it might be my life's crowning achievement...

Anyways, T.G.I.T.
Pray that I don't set myself on fire tonight...

The Kingdom Is In Us,
Brandon