God Vs. Satan! Who Will Win? (Hint: God)

Have you ever encountered Christians who have a dualistic mindset? This idea shaped a recent Bible study I had and I found it rather irksome. This Bible study was on the topic of defining and recognizing evil. Naturally, I spoke of sin being evil. Evil is the breaking of God's Law and like a good presbyterian, I proceeded to quote the Westminster Catechism. However, this was the not the answer that the leader was looking for. I found this incredibly odd, but I kept listening to see where the discussion would lead.

To my surprise, (I guess it's rather naive of me), the leader was looking for demonic or evil presence. She spoke of being non-christian as being under Satan's control and that he is the source of evil. Somehow the human heart never came up... This was getting weirder and weirder for me. Not that demons are new, I certainly know about them. They are the reason I believe in ghosts. My theory is that ghosts are demons and non-christians have simply mislabeled them. However, I digress.

My point is, that I found it odd that she would choose to discuss demonic presence over the actual evil that proceeds from our hearts and that we struggle with on a daily basis. Now my curiosity was peeked so I listened as she related an experience she had where she believes she experienced the presence of "true evil." I don't doubt that she had this experience. However, the discussion continued with her bringing up a book called "The Day the Devil Came Calling." Apparently it's about a young girl who was saved from a wiccan coven and was possessed by a number of demons. This girl came to accept to Christ and yet was somehow still possessed. The book attempts to explain this with layers of someone surrendering to Christ and others still under the demonic sway.

Now this, this was something I couldn't stand by and listen to. Immediately I posed the question, "So is a collection of demons more powerful than the Holy Spirit?" She thought for a moment and hesitantly said "technically, no". That's where it should have ended. That is the end of the story. However, she chose to go on and attempt to defend what she was saying. Frankly, I don't understand how she could believe that this girl had genuinely chosen Christ and still was under the control of demonic forces. Demons cannot stand before the power of the Holy Spirit working in someone's heart. One cannot serve two masters. Christ himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. One person suggested that God had given the devil permission for a special act such as in Job 1. I was happy to hear this sound biblical answer. Not to say that it is true, but it at least has some biblical basis. Another option I suggested was a ploy by the demons to pretend the girl had accepted Christ. I believe this is the actual event (if the book is even true) because a scenario where she genuinely accepted Christ and was still possessed is an impossibility. The bottomline was that in that situation, Dualism was bleeding from every sentence. I was dumbfounded at the prevailing denial of total depravity that is manifesting itself in this believe that Satan is the source of evil and not the human heart. This was fascinating for me to think over and I hope you will mull it over too. Remember that Satan is not as powerful as many give him credit for. Remember that man's heart is desperately wicked above all things. Remember to check everything against Scripture!

God Bless,

Matt

P.S. A few days ago, at a gas station, I saw a girl who looked EXACTLY like Nicki Minaj. Same pink hair, same hairstyle, and same ethnicity. Just weird.

Amazon Reviews Spark Debate!

As I was shopping for books online, I ran across the book "Eugenics and Other Evils" by G.K. Chesterton. Naturally, I scrolled down and read the reviews for the book. A very interesting review soon popped out at me. This reviewer was calling the book a typical example of how people against eugenics think and he then goes on to spell out his own arguments for eugenics. Reading through the review and seeing what this man had to say disturbed me very much. However, I was delighted to see ten comments. It appears that someone is standing up for orthodoxy. The reviewer had apparently respond to the objections multiple times. As I read his last post which was exceedingly long, I finally realized where he main flaw was. This reviewer simply did not understand the concept of sin. According to the reviewer,"Morality is seeing what needs to be done for the long-term benefit and viability of humanity towards the higher destiny in us against here-and-now selfish pursuits. In other words, truth over animal passions." They begin to explain a statement they made earlier which is "The only true evil is ignorance." by saying that, "To find out who is good and who is evil, all you need to do is find out who is not primarily motivated by truth -- because truth is life." I agree with this. However, they also fail to understand the true nature of truth. God's Word or His revelation is nowhere mentioned as the source of truth. Instead, "30 years of thinking hard and seeing other view points" is laid out as this man's source of truth. However, to critique his entire philosophy would take a book, which, clearly, G.K. Chesterton has written. Click this link to go take a look at the discussion surrounding this post: http://www.amazon.com/review/R30IY6FNWWDVL7/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1587420023&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=#wasThisHelpful

Always be discerning and look to God's Word as THE source of truth!

God Bless,

Stanley

Lazy Saturday

Yeah, today is a lazy saturday. So far, it's gone well in comparison to it's beginning. I woke up this morning in complete disorientation with a million disconnected phrases running through my head. Ever experience that? It's... interesting. Fried eggs and toast, made by me, made for a most delicious beginning to my day. I then proceeded to flop down in front of the TV until about 10. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy, but it IS Saturday. There is a Halloween party I'm going to tonight so I had to spent the morning getting my costume together. As I write this, I have just finished getting it together after a brief visit to the Spirit and am microwaving lunch. Don't you wish you were me? :P anyways, have an awesome Saturday. btw, I am super impatient for my books to arrive. I've got The Good Old Days- They Were Terrible!, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Biblical Theology by Geerhardus Vos, and Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton coming in the mail. Why can't they come faster! Curse you eternally snail mail...

God Bless,

Stanley

P.S. Have an awesome Saturday and if you're going to a party, cool, and if you're not, then I know how you feel and I feel your pain.

Edgar the Murse! and a brief discussion of Save the Cat

You know the app "Angry Birds" correct? Yes, it's that silly little game with the round birds. Apps have come into their own as a technology in our modern world. Today I had an epiphany for very morbid, yet hilariously fun app! It's called, "Edgar Murse!" In this app you play as a murse (male nurse) named Edgar. You work in a hospital and you have to administer shots, medicine, food, and relocate patients. Slowly you work your way up the ladder to doctor and then heart surgeon!

Place tourniquet here!

Prime skin.

Insert needle here!

Be sure to click (a) when the needle is full!

Oops! You have drained the patient of their blood! The patient has died. YOU'VE BEEN FIRED. wop wop wooop.

lol Look at how fun that would be! I would totally buy that app! Would you?

Have you heard of the concept of Save the Cat? Save the Cat is a screenwriting technique. It is an idea put into words in this particular form by Blake Snyder. This is his book, Save the Cat. http://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312074083&sr=1-1

Anyways, it comes down to this single idea. There must be a motivation or reason to root for the hero. This comes in an action that the hero does. The fact that it is a visible action, on screen, is key. The hero must do something like saving a cat. The action need not physically be saving a cat, however the action must betray an underlying care for others or create a sense of pity for the character. Characters that have dimension to them and that engage the audience are ones that stick with you and that create good stories. Save the cat is effective at producing characters like this. Watch for this in all the movies you watch. I guarantee that you WILL be astounded at how frequently it occurs and how effective it is. My friend Josiah also recently introduced me to the technique of Kill the Dog. This technique is used to establish villains as opposed to heroes. An action must be performed by the villain that makes us hate him and root for the hero. In a way, you could replace Save the Cat with Kill the Dog. Even if we don't root for the hero to begin with, if we see how evil the villain is, we will naturally root for the hero. A lot of interesting psychology going on here...

Those are just a couple of my thoughts. I always have cool thoughts throughout the day and think, "That's perfect for my blog!" Then I sit down to type and my mind just empties. This is what I happen to catch before it goes down the drain. Hope you enjoyed it!

God Bless,

Stanley

P.S. On the way home from school I saw a Samuel L. Jackson clone driving an SUV!

Rushdoony Signature? Level UP.

Excuse me while I geek out.

Today I received a signed copy of Rousas J. Rushdoony's book "Foundation of Social Orders." Could this be the most awesome thing this month? Maybe longer? Well that 1st edition copy of Elmer Gantry was pretty cool... HOWEVER! I believe this MAY top that. This copy happens to be hardcover and a first edition copy as well. I've been waiting for it and it finally arrived! We've been working through this book in Bible class this year. The book is about the creeds of the church and I have to say, it's fascinating. I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

Next, I received a letter from University of Miami today! I spent 7 years of my life in Florida and I really love that state. Going back and spending college there would be nice, however, I don't see it happening. I've got other plans for now. Plans that happen to be much more realistic. However, it's super encouraging to see that they would send me a letter addressed to me. Certainly made me happy.

On an even lighter note, my aunt and uncle sent me 5 bucks in the mail. They're so awesome! Love them a lot. Gotta email them a thank you note...

Song I've been addicted to recently:

The Guns of Brixton by The Clash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxechIyaWaE

and here's a cover of it by Dropkick Murphy's. It's awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqpGvclSduc

God Bless,

Stanley

P.S. I'll have some deeper food for thought tomorrow. Promise.

Halloween? Quick, We Must Distract Them..

Have you ever heard of Reformation Day? You might not have. If you ran in the reformed/presbyterian circles that I do, it would probably be a big deal for you. However, I am not such a fan. Don't get me wrong, the Protestant Reformation was one of the most important events in earth's history, but it's the holiday that bugs me. Reformation Day was made as an excuse to not celebrate Halloween! Now, as a child, Halloween nights dressing up and trick-or-treating are very fond memories that I will cherish my whole life. Yes, Halloween has some aspects to it that are certainly not godly, however, Halloween is still a fun holiday that families can enjoy together. Dressing up is fun, hanging out with friends, staying up late, and who doesn't love candy? I mean seriously. That stuff is good. But I digress. My point is that Christians have made up Reformation Day to combat Halloween. I would like to point out that the reason Martin Luther's nailing of the 95 Theses on the 31st of October is significant is BECAUSE of All Hallow's Eve aka Halloween. In short, I feel that Christians have reacted to Halloween inappropriately. Halloween can still be enjoyed in a godly manner and Christians have failed to realize this. The Reformation is definitely an important event, but I feel that the actual holiday has become almost a bandaid to remedy the holiday season of October. I make one final assertion; Christians can love Halloween too!

God Bless!

P.S. Happy Halloween!

Toast

The sound of a knife scraping butter onto toast is probably one of my favorite noises. I really don't know why.

ABC's of Evil Overlords

The ABC's of Evil Overlords

A for anger. That which you feel against the world.

B for blaster. That which you carry upon your person at all times.

C for catastrophe. The inevitable product of all your evil schemes

D for ducts. Those which the hero crawls through and foils your evil plan at the last second.

E for evil. Your very essence.

F for failure. The best adjective for your plans.

G for gargantuan. The size of your robots.

H for hell. That which you wish to make the world into.

I for invincible. What you strive for and have yet to attain.

J for jail cell. That which the hero always manages to escape from.

K for kill. Something you always forget to do to the hero.

L for lair. That which the hero always manages to find or you stupidly take him straight to.

M for minions. Those that do your bidding (albeit incompetently)

N for Naivety. Something you must preserve in the hero rather than allowing him to learn under a much older and wiser mentor.

O for obvious. That which your plans generally are.

P for partner. The comedic relief that always manages to save the hero in the end.

Q for queen. Something that will become your overlord.

R for ransom. Something profitable that you always fail to exploit.

S for self-destruct. That button that you really ought not put on your machines...

T for total annihilation. That which is music to your ears.

U for undead. That which generally make very bad and mindless minions.

V for van. That which is very helpful at surveillance when unmarked.

W for win. Something you have yet to do...

X for -X. That which is a good suffix to add a sense of doom.

Y for yappy. That which you believe best describes the hero's faithful canine sidekick.

Z for zero. The number of your plans that have succeeded.

They're a little hit and miss, I know. I hope you enjoyed the few good ones though. Credit to my friend Josiah for the idea and for more evil Overlord fun, enjoy this: http://www.bertc.com/subfour/truth/overlord.htm

God Bless!

Why Do We Encourage Crusaders? (Plus, thoughts on Covenants)

Volleyball games. An integral part of the fall sports season. I was at a volleyball game today and the opposing team was called "the Crusaders." Sure, it's a common name for Christian school sport teams in fact, I attended an elementary school with the same mascot. A question soon manifested itself in my mind upon further reflection. My question was, why would Christians voluntarily label themselves as crusaders?

When you think of crusaders, what do you think of? I think of many things. These things tend to be along the lines of murder, war, racism, rape, genocide, and religious fanaticism. Lovely, huh? Atheists and agnostics often use the crusaders as an example to decry religion. Why are Christians not trying to distance themselves from the crusades? The crusades were the product of a grotesque twisting of scripture and cannot be allowed to represent the views of Christians. I know that Christians do not agree with or condone what the crusaders did, then why do we continue to label ourselves and associate with the crusaders? It genuinely puzzles me. It is probably a product of failing to think things through, but it's just so widespread that I don't know what to think of it.

Today in the shower, I was considering the list of all the different covenants that we see in Scripture. There is the Adamic (or covenant of works), the Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic the Davidic, and the Covenant of Grace. However, it seems to me that these are all just amendments rather than separate covenants. We've created different covenants that are really just progressive revelation of the one before.

Beginning with the Adamic, we see that man falls into original sin through this covenant (setting the stage for God's story of redemption) but God preaches the proto-Gospel at the breaking of the covenant. It is then elaborated upon by the Noahic covenant. After Noah and his family exit the ark, God promises to preserve the earth. (Importantly, it also establishes capital punishment and man's ability to eat meat. :D) This is significant because it shows God's interest in the world. His desire to preserve a people and make an ongoing investment in this world is demonstrated. The Abrahamic covenant is very important because it establishes, in greater detail, God's plan to redeem his people. Abraham's descendants will be more numerous than the stars and through him the world would be blessed. Next, the Mosaic covenant fleshes out his people's guidelines as well as the basic moral code (Ten Commandments). Then the Davidic covenant describes to us in greater detail the Messiah's coming, namely, his being the son of David. Of course, the Covenant of Grace is a fulfillment of all the covenants that came before. As I write this it sounds less and less profound. Really, it's quite simple. It appears to me that it is all progressive revelation. That is, amendments to the ones before it that reveals God's story further each time.

I hope you somehow found this interesting. Hope you have a good day and God bless!

Stanley

P.S. I have a really stupid joke for you. What happened to the cannibal who showed up late to the feast?......... stumped? He got THE COLD SHOULDER! (insert comedy drum here)