Some Differences between First-Century Slavery and Modern Slavery – Justin Taylor

Some Differences between First-Century Slavery and Modern Slavery – Justin Taylor

Thoughts on Negativity

1. My pastor has convinced me that I need to be more positive. Not in a "New-Agey" kind of way, of course; nor in a "Pollyanna" kind of way. Rather, in my opinions and polemics especially, I tend to be forceful in what I'm against; the result being that people are less willing to receive what I have to say. I agree with him, though I admit that in practice it is much more difficult than it sounds. 
2. In a similar vein, I came across an online news article from this past April entitled, "Strange but True: Emotion Expressed as Negativity is Bane of Blogosphere". How true. Even as I survey my recent posts, it sounds very much like I'm angry all the time. Many bloggers, myself included, use blogging as an outlet to "vent" a lot of negative thoughts about various things. How many of the comment threads in cyberspace become lengthy only because people are arguing? I myself need to learn when argument is necessary and/or constructive, versus it being done to satisfy a sinful need to feel superior, without the parties involved ever attempting or desiring to understand the other side of the issue. Read the section entitled "INTJ Personal Growth" in the My Personality section of my blog for more of my personal challenges on this issue. 
3. I received a comment recently, after leading worship one Sunday and using what some people considered an overabundance of songs in minor keys (I used two). It is interesting how minor modes are often associated entirely with negativity - indeed, I myself tend to think that only songs of lament and anger should be in minor keys. Yet, the minor key provides melodies that can be haunting, gripping and very memorable, without necessarily being coupled with "negative" lyrics. Ancient Jewish culture, for example, used minor modes extensively for all sorts of lyrics expressing all manner of emotions. It would be an interesting experiment to couple "happy" lyrics with a gripping minor melody. 
4. In a recent post, I used the word "hate". As my pastor pointed out, "them's fightin' woyds!" An interesting debate - is the word "hate" un-Christian? "Hate" is a strong word, to be sure, but it expresses a strong emotion. It is negative, yes, but is it excessive? So, to rephrase the question, is negativity appropriate, and if so, in what measure? Who decides how much negativity is too much? 

I'll try to post some "positive" thoughts soon, to balance out the fightin' words that have characterized recent posts. 

Phil Johnson is a Funny Man...

Taken from the "Pyromaniacs" blog

First Sermon

True Worship.MP3

"True Worship: Part 1"

Preached at Vegreville Alliance Church on Sunday, June 20th, 2010.

Four Spiritual Laws vs. The Gospel

Dr. Charles Woodbridge expresses his concern with one of the most common evangelistic tools used in Evangelicalism: The Four Spiritual Laws.

Quite simply, I hate the Four Spiritual Laws. They are a perversion of the gospel. I appreciate Dr. Woodbridge's dissent with Campus Crusade on this issue. It seems that the biblebelievers.net website are also avid King-James-Only people, so I don't advocate everything on the site, just this article in particular. 

Four Spiritual Laws vs. The Gospel

RefTagger Rocks!

I just added RefTagger to my blog: that cool gadget that allows you to have scrollover bible references on your site.

So, all I have to do is type out a Bible reference like this: John 3:16, and RefTagger adds the scrollover box for me.

How sweet is that?

Questions I'm Asking Myself Right Now

Why are people so threatened by clear thinking? I try to simply, clarify, define the problem so that a solution can be reached. But it's those very things which everyone else wants to resist. If not clarity, what then? What alternative is there? How can any fruit come from a discussion if there is no clarity and precision? Clarity is necessary, but everyone seems to find it offensive.

Why does no-one else think properly? They repeat themselves, double back on themselves, forget the point of what they're trying to say. They don't have the ability to edit out those things they want to say that don't relate to the point - they don't go from point A to B, without making points C, D, E and F along the way - a very messy way of thinking. Not linear, not logical, not clear; over-complicated, verbose and repetitive.

Is there any person I can be honest with without them getting offended? I'm not convinced. If people can't handle my thoughts, how can they handle my feelings? Am I not then alone?

Will anyone understand?

Puritan Fellowship: Sarcasm is Biblical - Kevin Williams

Puritan Fellowship: Sarcasm is Biblical - Kevin Williams