Sunday, October 31, 2010

This Day in History: Martin Luther Nailed His 95-Theses On The Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany

THUS SETTING INTO MOTION THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION ON 10/31/1517

IN 1517 A DOMINICAN friar named Johann Tetzel was selling indulgences near Wittenberg, Germany to raise money for constructing St. Peter's in Rome. According to Tetzel, those who purchased an indulgence would receive remission of purgatory. Indulgences could also be purchased on behalf of dead relatives and friends. The punch line of Tetzel's sermon was, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."

These sales of indulgences by the Catholic Church infuriated Luther, the professor of biblical studies at the University of Wittenberg, and he decided to hold a disputation with other faculty members on the subject.

Luther knew from his own repentance and conversion that paying an indulgence could not achieve forgiveness of sins. Shortly before posting the Ninety-five Theses, Luther began studying the Greek New Testament and his studies persuaded him that the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, meant a change of heart, not merely a performance of outward works, as Catholic theologians of his day defined it.

Luther wrote the Ninety-five Theses in Latin, intending them to be discussed by scholars, not circulated by the general populace. But as Luther himself acknowledged, in a fortnight they flew all over Germany. Translated into German and sold as far away as Rome, the Ninety-five Theses became much more than a university exercise.

For the next two decades, Luther watched the Reformation grow. Many regions in Germany accepted the Evangelical doctrines that Luther and other Reformers discovered from the Scriptures he had translated into German. Luther lived to see a second generation of evangelicals sing the hymns he had written, read his German translation of the Bible, and learn his catechism from their early childhood.

Through his life he preached and taught God's promise of redemption to the repentant sinner, rather than through the works-based "indulgence" program of the Catholic Church.


----from The One Year Christian History, Michael and Sharon Rusten

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Weekend Watering Hole/Happy Hour

I'M NOT THERE NOW AND DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE cause it's already freezing cold and starting to snow. But this is a wonderful photo of a couple of characters having a late afternoon drink at one of their favorite watering Holes taken by the Jackson's most famous 99 year-old photo-journalist, the indomitable Elizabeth McCabe.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Christian's Responsibility In Producing, Consuming

WORK IS PERMEATED with purpose; it is intended to serve God, benefit humankind, and make nature subservient to the moral program of creation.... Therefore we apply our whole being—heart and mind, as well as hand—to the daily job. As God’s fellow workers, we reflect God’s creative activity on Monday no less than on Sunday…. To consider work a channel of divine creation, by which the creature serves God and humanity, carries certain consequences for one’s attitude toward labor. The Christian becomes morally obligated to withhold producing, and even purchasing (since money is simply the conversion of his work into tender) culturally worthless, let alone harmful, items.

— Carl Henry, Aspects of Christian Social Ethics

Source

Lon Solomon: The Exclusivity of Christ for Salvation

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Travel Day

HT @ GOSPEL COALITION: 1 TIMOTHY 1:4 & BLOGGING AFTER MORE THAN TWO WEEKS ON THE EAST COAST, AM ABOUT TO TAKE one of my favorite drives in all America. The Rockies and west are spectacular and dramatic, but for my money, nothing compares to the softly beautiful Shenandoah Valley and East Tennessee, especially at this time of year, as colors start to turn.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sunday: Inspiring Story Behind the Miners' Jesus T-Shirts

FROM THE GOSPEL COALITION comes part of the rest of the story. A number of the miners came to faith in Jesus Christ during their long ordeal trapped underground. Will it last? Was it real? Only time will tell. I pray so.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

True Woman Manifesto


TRUE WOMANHOOD IS MADE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. It is all about women who base their lives and actions on the Word of God. Simple but not always easy and only possible through the outworking of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

True Woman Manifesto

Will The Real Iranian First Lady, Mrs. Ahmadinejad, Please Stand Up?

THE HUFFPO has the answer. Hint, it's the obvious choice. This photo, taken a luncheon yesterday in Lebanon where the Ahmadinejads visited last week, speaks volumes. No further commentary needed.

Trapped In The Hole With No Quick Escape

EXCEPT PERHAPS DOWN EVER FURTHER

SIXTY-NINE DAYS IN THE HOLE WILL BE like a nano-second compared to the decades it will take for us to recover from the decades-long economic follies of our central bankers, big government spenders and too easy credit with low/no interest.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The World Loves An Uplift

AMEN DAN: HOW FREE-MARKET CAPITALISM HELPED SAVE THE MINERS
MICHELLE MALKIN HAS MORE & HOW AMERICAN GREATNESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS RESCUE SUCCESSWHAT A MEDIA DARLING THIS HAS BEEN! From Day 1 of the deep mine explosion with 33 men trapped deeper and longer than any on record, it's captivated the fancy of ever one who loves drama, suspense and yearns for a happy ending. Remember, it comes on the heels of the BP deep well explosion/leak in the Gulf and the passage of ObamaCare.

So what's not to like here? The world needed to see these men adroitly extracted and lifted from the depths of the mine in an orange bullet after over two months. We needed it as much as we needed to see Jennifer Gray score a perfect 10 this week on Dancing With the Stars.

What amazed me this morning was not only the rescue, but how clean-shaven and unstraggly these men appeared coming out of the mine. They must have had all their shaving equipment tethered down before their grand lift. Amazing story with a happy ending---so far. God bless these men and their families and all the people involved with this inspiring rescue!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Waiting on the Lord: Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

LON SOLOMON AT MCLEAN BIBLE CHURCH discusses God's timing in our lives. Though we often impatiently want God to act sooner---in our timing, God is never late in His throughout history, working for His own glory and our greatest blessings. It is the hardest spiritual discipline of all because we are an impatient people.

Never was there a better example than waiting for God than the raising of Lazarus from the dead.Sure He could have healed him before he died which Lazarus's sisters wanted Jesus to do. But Jesus had a much more amazing plan.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Hanging Out

MEANWHILE: JERRY BROWN'S DESPERATION
THE GREAT LAWN, CENTRAL PARK

....JUST ADD A SIX MONTH OLD BABY GIRL, A 22-MONTH OLD LITTLE BOY INTO EVERYTHING, STREAMS OF SUNSHINE, cool weather and lots of love for the perfect recipe! What more could any of us ask for?

I'm there!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Green Supremiscists/Nazis Are Here

TARANTO: ENVIRONMENTALIST FANTASY OF VIOLENT TOTALITARIANISM

PERHAPS THE WORST PUBLIC ADVOCACY/PUBLIC RELATIONS STUNT-GONE-BAD---EVER. Couldn't happen to a more deserving extremist group than the radical fascists of the Global Warming/Climate Change/Carbon Footprint brigade in England.

Needless to say this stunt had to be pulled after massive public outrage. If the thought processes of the 'creative geniuses' behind this 'no pressure' video doesn't scare you silly, then I have to wonder if you're breathing. To say this promo for a greener way of life is ineffective would be the understatement of the decade.

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Social Network: Cultural Icon of Our Times

JOHN TAMNY @ FORBES: MYTHS OF CREATING A FACEBOOK BUSINESS SUCCESS
SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION
FEMINISTS ARE WHINING
PUNK, GENIUS, BILLIONAIRE, LOW BUDGET, The Social Network will earn Sony millions if not billions in profits for the greatly awaited movie on Mark Zuckerberg and the genius genesis of FACEBOOK. Whether you're on it or not---I'm not, this movie is an imporant cultural slice of life in our fallen, addicted, narcissistic post-modern culture. It's mixed fact with fiction but still rings true. It portrays the ever-increasing superficial, unreal, shallow ways we now connect as a society and increasingly mistake it for real.

I wouldn't miss it for anything and think it is very well done and well-cast. While some characters come across as less than savory, the movie captures the brilliant geek persona, lifestyle and crazed entrepreneural spirit that spawned the mega-success at Harvard called FACEBOOK and created billions in assets and value for founders, users, shareholders, along with several competing wannabes.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sunday, Fireproof



BEEN A LONG WEEK FOCUSED ON FIRST THINGS FIRST. And it's paid off, though not so much on my blog. Plan to be back later today to post a little more.