Hey, it’s a pretty picture

From wilds leadership

Yes.

Gotta love the school boys.

Credo

I haven’t had much exposure in my life to creeds. So as I listened to this electronic mass from the fantastic Adom9, I decided to look up the lyrics to the latin and the English translation. I find it so gorgeous. And the best thing is that Catholics get to recite this every mass!

Credo in unum Deum,
Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem caeli et terrae,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium,
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum,
Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Deum verum de Deo vero.
Genitum, non factum,
consubstantialem Patri:
Per quem omnia facta sunt,
qui propter nos homines,
Et propter nostram salutem
descendit de caelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis:
sub Pontio Pilato
passus et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die,
secundum Scripturas.
Et ascendit in caelum:
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum Gloria
judicare vivos et mortuos:
Cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in spiritum sanctum,
Dominum, et vivificantem:
Qui ex Patre, Filioque procedit.
Qui cum Patre et Filio
simul adoratur, et conglorificatur:
Qui locutus est per Prophetas.
Et unam sanctam catholicam
et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma
in remissionem peccatorum.
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum.
Et vitam venturi saeculi.
Amen.

*lyrics from here

Distortation or Fabrication

I read this this morning and thought of how similar it was to Kyle’s post yeseterday.

“Before Paul will even come to a report of his specific prayers, he establishes what is after all the appropriate context for all Christian prayer, reflection and exhortation: the worship and adoration of the God who has lavished his love upon us.
Who is this God, then? Why is he to be worshiped and adored in his way?
Paul’s answer, which he never gets tired of repeating and which we should never take for granted as we hear it, is that the true God, who deserves and should receive our glad worship, is the father of the Lord Jesus, the king, the Messiah. He is not the same as the gods and goddesses of the pagan world. He isn’t just a divine force, a vague influence or energy loosely known as ‘the sacred.’ He is the God who made the world, and who has now made himself known in and through Jesus. As far as Paul is concerned, any picture of God which doesn’t now have Jesus in the middle of it is a distortation or a downright fabrication. “

- “Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters” by Tom Wright

Speaking of fabrications, Kim Fabricus just does not stop with his insightful and erudite posting in Ten propositions on being human. Here are some snapshots:

“Gifts of God to the world, we live like we are God’s gift to the world. We act like we are self-caused, self-made, independent, indispensable, as though our non-existence were inconceivable. We act, in other words, like God. And in acting like God we act against God. We sin.”

“To be human is to be self-contradictory. Sin is a surd, or, as Barth said, an impossible possibility. That is why we cannot fit sin into any system: it is inherently inexplicable, irrational – it doesn’t compute. To be human is also to be self-contradictory in the sense that in acting against God, we act against ourselves: we are self-destructive – we are always pushing our delete key.”

(I’ll be pleased if anyone can tell me what distortion I’ve included in this post, since I made the fabrication fairly clear).

Thankfulness

From wilds leadership

Haven’t been posting very much lately, but I figured I’d tell you guys some things I’m thankful for (that is, if anyone still reads this…)

1) My health – I have been through numerous bouts with my health, and I am thankful for the long run I’ve had out of the hospital. Praise God for the ability to enjoy life, and don’t take your health for granted.

2) My family – They sacrifice much for me, and I don’t show the appreciation as much as I should.

3) My friends – You guys make life a lot more interesting

4) Bloggers – All of you guys are fantastic. Some of you do what I hope to do when I get older, and others just constantly show me differences in Christians and views in Christianity. It is a horizon-broadening experience being on the blogsphere, and I enjoy it. Thank you for your consistent, informational, witty and passionate posting. Hopefully I’ll get to meet some of you guys in person!

5) Books – Need I say more?

A nice surprise

After a long and tiring day, I checked my myspace (yes, the great evil) messages and foudn that a member of one of my favorite bands had left me a note. Happy days!

In other news, yearbook has been an increasingly present and enjoyable hobby/burden. It has its pros and cons, like all else in life. I’m hoping to get in on Saturday with the other editor and get some serious work and editing done. We can only hope.

Since I am the copy editor my biggest project is the opening copy. I have nearly completed it, but I’m having problems. I have two strands that I like, but I can’t find how to join them and make the paper seem like one beautiful whole. Keep that in your prayers if you can.

Hope you’re all well. God bless and take care!

Why bother blogging…

when people like Scot McKnight do an amazing job of it and make it look amazing? I, however, trudge along. Well, I think the people who read this like me. I hope.

By the way, my life will soon be sucked away by that which is known as Myspace. Thanks a lot, friends!

I just proofread my hyperlinks – check out this spam.

I want to go to Asbury

Ben Witheringon has been on fire these past few days, so I recommend you go read at least the three latest posts.

And you should read this too: “‘If you read about the life of Isaac (or any other OT person, really), you don’t read anything like ‘and at age 9, Isaac asked YHWH into his heart.’”

Pictures, and lots of them.

I took a ton of pictures at my trip, so I’m going to be posting plenty of those lately. Here are a few to whet your appetite!

Leadership?

I’m writing this entry from a car somewhere in South Carolina, I think. I just left a leadership conference at the Wilds in North Carolina around 6:30 today. I enjoyed my time there much more than I enjoy the regular summer camp; much more free time and fewer people. Kids from a school not too far from mine also went up there and I got to know some of the as well. My friend put it humorously: “We came up to North Carolina to meet people who live in our city.” Or something like that. Oh well.

 Before we arrived at the Wilds, we made a quick stop at Bob Jones University (I can hear some of you gasping already). It was my third time there, and I spent some time in their bookstore, which really isn’t half-bad. I got myself Craig Blomberg’s Jesus and the Gospels. It’s supposed to be an introductory level textbook to gospel studies. I’m excited about learning more about the various forms of criticisms.

I have a silly amount of homework to do. I really should get to it. I really should.

Anyway, for those of you who regularly read my blog but haven’t in a while ’cause I haven’t a) posted in a while or b) posted anything of worth – repent!

God bless and expect some more posting.