So first order of business... how bout them Cats? In case you haven't heard, or don't care, or whatever, the UK Wildcat Football team is 4-0 this season. They beat UofL, ranked 12 at the time, and Andre Woodson has since then become the record holder for most passes w/out an interception, and is fast becoming a Heisman candidate. Now I'm not one to put all my unfounded hopes into a team that has repeatedly let me down season after season (who am I kidding? I'm die-hard blue!) but considering if UK can get past FAU this next weekend, then they get to play at #12 South Carlina, then #2 LSU, and #4 FLorida before they get a 'break' with an unranked team. (On down the road they also have to play at #15 Georgia.) If... just if... can you even imagine???
Second order of business... so me and Melissa watched Season One of Heroes this past week. Now I did not see any of it before, because by the time I noticed it I had already made up my mind to wait until I could watch it from the beginning. And of course I knew we would own it, so it was just a matter of showing patience. Well, it was well worth it. I cannot think of a better series on tv. It really takes all that I love from the classic superhero cartoons such as X-Men, Spiderman, Superman a bit, etc, along with some elements from anime, and brings them together with a great story. So on Season Premiere Eve (since next week is all the season premieres), I wish everyone Happy Premieres and Peace on Earth.
Thirdly, and this is a bit of frustrating news, because well, living in Canada is frustrating. After 10 weeks of a trash strike (we're up to 7 bags of trash, and lots of gnats and fruit flies) the unions are willing to give their concerns to a mediator to present to the city. Seems to me that they could have done this before they even went on strike. There's just something about a union that can hold a city hostage just to get stuff that actually hurts the city in the long run.
Oh, and get this... me and Melissa went to a new All You Can Eat Sushi this morning after church. Took 20 minutes to get there instead of the hour to get to the other one in Metrotown. Well the quality wasn't exactly the best (Metrotown is better), but that's not really the reason I'm doing a quick little blog about it. On the way back, as we're getting ready to get off the bus, I stand up and just as I turn to start towards the exit (the bus wasn't stopped yet, so I was still holding onto the bar), the busdriver slams on his brakes. Lo and behold there was an idiot in a wheelchair that decides to just jaywalk out in the middle of the street in front of not one, but two buses. Both had to slam on their brakes, and if I hadn't been holding on, I would have been thrown to the front of the bus and probably really hurt. If that moron had used his motorized wheelchair up a single block, or just waited until it was clear, then it would not have happened. Back in KY, you would have gotten a plaque for running over a moron in that situation. But here in BC, the pedestrian always have the right-of-way, and there's no such thing as 'jaywalking'. As much as I hate to sound like a broken record, screw Vancouver.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
John 1:16 ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν καὶ χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος·
We were translating this verse today in Greek class, well to be more precise, Dr. Clemens translated it as we were about ready to head out the door. The Greek roughly translates into something like this:
I can say this because (a very rough understanding of 'ὅτι') out of his fullness we all received grace in place of grace.
Now several English translations tend to translate the last phrase ('χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος') as something like 'grace upon grace' intending the connotation of grace that comes out of other grace. So it is understood as a increased quantity. There are two other ways of understanding the phrase though. The first is temporal, in that there was a time of one type of grace, and now that time has stopped and a second time of grace has been brought about. The second deals with different expressions of grace. Dr. Clemens suggested that if we look on a few verses we will see the comparison of Moses and Jesus, so that this might best be understood as contrasted types of grace- one obtained from keeping the Law and the other though faith.
Now being a New Perspectivist on such matters, I personally don't think that Judaism was theoretically about keeping the Law to obtain salvation. Arguments might be given to Jews who did live under the misunderstanding of 'works righteousness', but the theory behind Judaism is election. God elects His people based upon His grace for a specific purpose. Keeping the Law was the way that Jews simply stayed in the community that God set up from the beginning.
With this understanding of how grace worked in concordance with the Law, and understanding that John is notorious for double meanings, then I think there Dr. Clemens is right about how to understand this verse, he just doesn't know it. ;) There was a time when grace was given based upon God's election, that is God's choice. Now there is a new time when grace is instead based upon a person's individual faith- faith in Jesus' name. John 1:12 supports this by saying that he (Jesus) 'gave authority to them to become children of God' and there is no reason to understand v 13 in a Dortian Reformed way if we also keep in mind Jesus' argument to Nicodemus in chapter 3.
So where am I going in this? Despite proving the Calvinists wrong (which is always an agenda I must confess), how wonderful to think that our reception of grace is actually dependent upon our own decision. It actually isn't based upon God's decision anymore to give grace to an elect people, because what was done on the cross fulfilled the need for an election. He accomplished what the elect were called to do, and so if we believe in his name, we will be received as children of God and be given grace! Maybe its just the pork-loving Gentile in me, but that just really touches me to think that God does want us to choose Him instead of the other way around.
We were translating this verse today in Greek class, well to be more precise, Dr. Clemens translated it as we were about ready to head out the door. The Greek roughly translates into something like this:
I can say this because (a very rough understanding of 'ὅτι') out of his fullness we all received grace in place of grace.
Now several English translations tend to translate the last phrase ('χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος') as something like 'grace upon grace' intending the connotation of grace that comes out of other grace. So it is understood as a increased quantity. There are two other ways of understanding the phrase though. The first is temporal, in that there was a time of one type of grace, and now that time has stopped and a second time of grace has been brought about. The second deals with different expressions of grace. Dr. Clemens suggested that if we look on a few verses we will see the comparison of Moses and Jesus, so that this might best be understood as contrasted types of grace- one obtained from keeping the Law and the other though faith.
Now being a New Perspectivist on such matters, I personally don't think that Judaism was theoretically about keeping the Law to obtain salvation. Arguments might be given to Jews who did live under the misunderstanding of 'works righteousness', but the theory behind Judaism is election. God elects His people based upon His grace for a specific purpose. Keeping the Law was the way that Jews simply stayed in the community that God set up from the beginning.
With this understanding of how grace worked in concordance with the Law, and understanding that John is notorious for double meanings, then I think there Dr. Clemens is right about how to understand this verse, he just doesn't know it. ;) There was a time when grace was given based upon God's election, that is God's choice. Now there is a new time when grace is instead based upon a person's individual faith- faith in Jesus' name. John 1:12 supports this by saying that he (Jesus) 'gave authority to them to become children of God' and there is no reason to understand v 13 in a Dortian Reformed way if we also keep in mind Jesus' argument to Nicodemus in chapter 3.
So where am I going in this? Despite proving the Calvinists wrong (which is always an agenda I must confess), how wonderful to think that our reception of grace is actually dependent upon our own decision. It actually isn't based upon God's decision anymore to give grace to an elect people, because what was done on the cross fulfilled the need for an election. He accomplished what the elect were called to do, and so if we believe in his name, we will be received as children of God and be given grace! Maybe its just the pork-loving Gentile in me, but that just really touches me to think that God does want us to choose Him instead of the other way around.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Linky Link
How I wish I had more money for one of these.
This comes from the most awesome webcomic Looking for Group, and just makes me laugh inside.
In case everyone was wondering, the civil strike in Vancouver is still going full force. No trash picked up in over two months. No libraries to check books out of. No public arenas to actually help the economy.
San Diego is coming up in a few months. Gotta finish up summer classes, and start fall classes, but already I'm so excited about ScholarCon '07!
Today's awesome quote comes from Girl Genius... "Fools! I will destroy you all! Ask me how."
Totally randomness... me and Melissa beat Ar tonelico and Final Fantasy XII this past week. Surprisingly FF was a major let down while AT turned out to be a very decent storyline. We're actually missing FF Tactics, which is unforunate because it was a great game. If anyone wants to buy me a PS1 version, I'd be much appreciative. Or, a new PSP and the version FF Tactics: The War of the Lions which is released in Oct, which is the same thing, only updated.
Theological update... As usual I try my best to make up stuff as I see it. Besides my fusion of Lewdonian theology of hell and annihilationism (which I'm really enjoying trying to explain to people) I have come up with different terms for the age old Calvinist/Arminian debate. Since both actually only come out of the Reformed theological tradition it makes more sense to say "Dortian Reformed" and "Remonstrant Reformed" respectively. A great book (although only based upon summaries by others) as I see it is Olson's Arminian Theology. Of course I'm not Reformed so it doesn't really affect me, but it would seem to be a way to further Christian brotherhood and theological understanding.
This comes from the most awesome webcomic Looking for Group, and just makes me laugh inside.
In case everyone was wondering, the civil strike in Vancouver is still going full force. No trash picked up in over two months. No libraries to check books out of. No public arenas to actually help the economy.
San Diego is coming up in a few months. Gotta finish up summer classes, and start fall classes, but already I'm so excited about ScholarCon '07!
Today's awesome quote comes from Girl Genius... "Fools! I will destroy you all! Ask me how."
Totally randomness... me and Melissa beat Ar tonelico and Final Fantasy XII this past week. Surprisingly FF was a major let down while AT turned out to be a very decent storyline. We're actually missing FF Tactics, which is unforunate because it was a great game. If anyone wants to buy me a PS1 version, I'd be much appreciative. Or, a new PSP and the version FF Tactics: The War of the Lions which is released in Oct, which is the same thing, only updated.
Theological update... As usual I try my best to make up stuff as I see it. Besides my fusion of Lewdonian theology of hell and annihilationism (which I'm really enjoying trying to explain to people) I have come up with different terms for the age old Calvinist/Arminian debate. Since both actually only come out of the Reformed theological tradition it makes more sense to say "Dortian Reformed" and "Remonstrant Reformed" respectively. A great book (although only based upon summaries by others) as I see it is Olson's Arminian Theology. Of course I'm not Reformed so it doesn't really affect me, but it would seem to be a way to further Christian brotherhood and theological understanding.
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