Life!

It’s alright, I’m still alive. Sorry for the three week absence. It’s a combination of having too much to do, being lazy and loving procrastination. So, how shall I get back into it? There is so much out there that is so rich. There are deep theological mysteries out there in the midst of a world falling apart and my cat was giving birth this morning. The well is deep. - Obviously, I’m going to write about my cat.

Now Autumn is a Flame Point Himalayan. Further, she is a Baby Face Flame Point Himalayan - sans pug face - or whatever the official name is for such a face. We mated her two months ago with a beast named Cinnamon Bear. Now you can’t possibly be more handsome that someone named Cinnamon Bear, right? Anyway, Autumn kept the tradition of the family alive in that she gave birth between the hours of 12 midnight and 6:00 a. m. Why be civilized? All day yesterday she was acting “funny”. We knew that she was ready, and so at 1:30 this a.m. she started having the first of five. Whatta gal! Her first time, and she knew exactly what to do.

Even though she was surprised by the first one, from that point on she knew to lick the membrane off of each baby, eat the after-birth, let them nurse, etc. etc. We were worried before this when we observed that for approximately 24 hrs she stopped eating. I now wonder if that was not God’s way of preparing her to eat all of that “stuff” that is so nourishing for her and for her kittens. Folks, the planet can’t evolve this instinct into an animal. This kind of “instinct” has got to be programmed into the genes. This is divine information. God blessed our family with LIFE this morning.

Thank God for life, and thank God for restored life.

Christianized or Rescued?

I will start teaching a class on The Eschatology of the Bible in the Light of Current Events soon. So, I thought that I would dust off an old book that was a classic on the subject several years ago, namely, Contemporary Options in Eschatology by Millard J. Erickson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994). I don’t think that it is still being published. In his section on “Background Views” he states this:

The kingdom that Jesus brought is different in nature from anything that preceded it. In this sense it had come once and for all. Its nature would not change with passing time. Its growth was one of degree, not kind. As man extended the kingdom to yet more and more areas of society, he would progressively Christianize society. This belief and hope were vividly illustrated in 1908 when a new religious journal was named the Christian Century. Behind this name lay the belief that the twentieth century would be the Christian century. The kingdom of God was here, or it would be shortly. It would be introduced progressively through the efforts of Christians, not through a cataclysmic event such as the second coming of Christ. The nature of the kingdom now is no different from what it will be at any time in the future. Some who hold this view of the kingdom emphasized God’s role in its achievement; others emphasized the role of human institutions and programs. (p. 5 - my emphasis)

I thought - while pondering this tension between the thought that we will Christianize our world culture by the sincere efforts of our community and the polar opposite thought that that same Christian community of ours will, instead, be in need of a cosmic rescuing - that this eschatological choice demands a far more sobering reflection than the majority of our community is currently engaged in. Our eschatological position should not be lightly formed. This should not be an academic exercise only. What if the current world community is gravitating towards an anti-Christian and godless mindset? It seems to me that the preponderance of vigor in the world community is thrusting towards violence and suppression of the Christian community, certainly not in a Christian-like healing of the world condition. I know that commitments to Christ are robust throughout the world. However, such revivals do not seem to be healing the nations and certainly are not turning the information flow of the secular community around from a worldly propaganda towards any kind of Christian light. If it turns out that we will be in need of “a second coming of Christ”, then two questions arise:

Will our faith withstand the events leading up to that coming, and does a “Christianizing” belief system tend to blunt preparedness for just such a series of events? It’s not a small matter is it? I will probably blog much concerning such matters in the future.

No Transitional Forms

Just in case that you were wondering, - I’m back - I haven’t evaporated away to somewhere unknown. Got back from my trip with the boys. We went fossil hunting near Delta, Utah (50 miles northwest - not too near, I guess). It was great fellowship, and we did find fossils, namely, trilobites. Creationists rightfully make a big deal that the fossil record gives no tangible evidence of transitional forms. Always when fossils are found, they are fully formed as a species. I was surprised at how struck I was at that fact when I first looked at those little fellows. These animals were fully formed, and in all of their intricacies and functional complexities were demanding intellectual reflection. The empirical data is on our side folks.

Along these lines, I was made aware of William Dembski’s new book Understanding Intelligent Design (Sean McDowell coauthor, Eugene: Harvest House) and was more than peaked in my interest when I learned that it was designed with the youth in mind. I have been wanting to probe in this area for more than two years now, but felt inadequate to the task. We need to be proactive in this area, and need to be methodical with our information. Our youth need to be armed. I’ll get back to you when I finish the book.

It was good to be in Utah; It’s good to be back. Let’s go to war.