Did Jesus Have a Wife?

Al Mohler analyzes the new papyrus discovery by Karen King of Harvard Divinity School.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/09/20/the-gospel-of-jesuss-wife-when-sensationalism-masquerades-as-scholarship/

Spending the Night Together Behind a Locked Door!

"You’re both going to experience something in a couple weeks—and you know what I’m talking about. After the wedding, you’ll check in at the hotel, maybe even feeling a little naughty. After all, the two of you are going to spend the entire night together. In bed! Behind a locked door!"

Kevin Leman, Sheet Music

The Pure in Heart Shall See God

Reading material from my Sermon on the Mount class. This is from Charles Quarles' commentary on "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

“Will see God” looks forward to that time when Jesus’ disciples will behold God in all of His glory and majesty. The words are not to be interpreted figuratively or mystically as if they referred to special insight into God’s person and nature or to a visionary experience. Nor should the promise be reduced to a sentimental level as if it referred to seeing God in the kindnesses of others. Although the early disciples saw God incarnate in the person of Jesus especially in events like the transfiguration, this promise like most of the others accompanying the Beatitudes anticipates eschatological fulfillment. In the new earth and the new heavens Jesus’ disciples will literally see God. 

OT figures longed for this great privilege. Moses came closest to experiencing it when he was placed in the cleft of the rock and allowed to behold the aftereffects of God’s radiance. However, even Moses was warned, “No one can see my face and live.” God’s presence is surrounded by unapproachable light (1 Tim 6: 16), a glory so great that sinners who attempt to look at it are destroyed by it. The new Moses promised His followers what even the old Moses could not experience. When believers are resurrected and glorified and every trace of sin is removed from them, they will have unhindered fellowship with God even to the extent of seeing Him. Those who “seek the face of the God of Jacob” (Ps 24: 6) will see Him at last.

Charles L. Quarles, Sermon On The Mount: Restoring Christ's Message to the Modern Church 

Life is Cheap in Norway: C.S. Lewis on the Sentence of Anders Breivik

John Piper has a helpful article dealing with Norway's sentence of a man who killed 77 people to only 21 years in prison.

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/life-is-cheap-in-norway-c-s-lewis-on-the-sentence-of-anders-breivik

Indie Music: Stuff White People Like

"If you want to understand white people, you need to understand indie music. As mentioned before, white people hate anything that’s “mainstream” and are desperate to find things that are more genuine, unique, and reflective of their experiences. Fortunately, they have independent music.

A white person’s iPod (formerly CD collection) is not merely an assemblage of music that they enjoy. It is what defines them as a person. They are always on the lookout for the latest hot band that no one has heard of, so that one day they can hit it just right and be into a band before it is featured in an Apple commercial. To a white person, being a fan of a band before it gets popular is one of the most important things they can do with their life. They can hold it over their friends forever! 

 

...WARNING: Indie music is perhaps the most dangerous subject you can discuss with white people. One false move and you will lose their respect and admiration forever. Here are some general rules:

• Bands that have had their songs in an Apple ad are still marginally acceptable.
• Bands that have had their songs in ads for other companies are not acceptable.
• If you mention a band you like and the other person has heard of it, you lose. They own you. It is essential that you like the most obscure music possible.

Remember, popular artists can turn unpopular in a heartbeat (Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, the Strokes), so you would be best to stick to the following statements: “I love Arcade Fire” “I still think the Montreal scene is the best in the world” “I would die without Stereogum or Fluxblog”*1; and “Joanna Newsom is maybe the most original artist today.”

Christian Lander, Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions 

Stuff White People Like: Religions Their Parents Don't Belong To

"White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. This usually means that they will believe in any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus. The most popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah, and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Islam, but that’s much rarer, since you have to make real sacrifices and actually go to a mosque.

For the most part, white people prefer religions that produce artifacts and furniture that fit into their home or wardrobe. They are also particularly drawn to religions that do not require a lot of commitment or donations. When a white person tells you “I’m a Buddhist/Hindu/Kabbalahist,” the best thing to do is ask how they arrived at their religious decision. The story will likely involve a trip to Thailand or a college class on religion."

--Christian Lander,  Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions 

Gandhi, Nazis, and Bad Advice

"Recall Gandhi's rather distressing counsel to Jews of the Holocaust: they should commit suicide rather than resist Nazi tyranny. Regardless of the moral fiber that supported Gandhi's pacifist convictions, the proper moral response to the Jews--indeed, to any oppressed people--is that of a wise man uttered three millennia ago:

If you faint in the day of adversity,

your strength is small.

Rescue those who are being taken away to death;

hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man according to his work?

(Proverbs 24:10-12 ESV)"

-J. Daryl Charles and Timothy Demy