Reading from Kierkegaard

Old age is the final change... Is that all of the story? Has all been heard that may be said about being a man, and mans temporal life? ...Yes, when late autumn comes, even the flower can speak the wisdom of the years and say with truthfulness, "All has its time, there is 'a time to be born and a time to die'; there is a time to jest lightheartedly in the spring breeze, and a time to break under the autumn storm; there is a time to burst forth into blossom, beside the running water, beloved by the stream and a time to whither and be forgotten." ..."Is there, then, nothing more to tell?" then it will answer you, "no, when the flower is dead, the story is over." ..."God made all things beautiful in his time; also he hath set eternity within man's heart" (Ecc 3:11) ...The wisdom of the years is confusing. Only the wisdom of eternity is edifying. P 35, 36

Soren Kierkegaard. trans. Douglas V. Steere. Purity of Heart. New York: Harper and Row. 1948

Heretical Goldfish

Well, we bought two goldfish yesterday, their technically called comets, but they look the same to me. We've decided to name them Arius and Pelagius. If you didn't know, we've named them after two major heresies of the first few hundred years of Christianity: Peligianism and Arianism. Pelagius taught that people were born free from sin and then later decided to sin. Arianism denied the divinity of Christ. I thing we should get some fighting fish called Alexander and Augustine :P
~Christopher J. 

Just War???

Today I read on this thing on the 'Wittenberg Door,' where some guy had posted an email recommending to Bush that he bring the USA to war against Iran in defense of Israel? it was completely retarded I thought. I can't believe that someone would use Christianity as an excuse to go to war. There was another group of people who did this about a thousand years ago: they were crusaders. I can't believe some people believe what they do and then turn around recommending war of all things. I am really embarressed of my Christian friends sometime. I'm fairly certian there is no theological justification for war, at least I haven't come across any.
~Christopher J.

Manual Labour

Well today I managed to pull off two hours wage for the work of one hour. Of course I had permission for this little bit of self-bonusing. I spent the better part of the morning that should be spent in bed moving these cabinets for the library with Mr. Wicks, Daniel and David. These cabinets weren't so bad, but by the time we got to the third one it was a bit of trouble. I bet it weighed about as much as me (170) and it was a real pain because we had to carry them down these random stairs that head into the steam tunnels from access in the library. Well anyway, my hands are all red and a little sore right now. They aren't as callosed as they were at the beginning of the school year so they aren't as tough as they were. I should probably get into rock climbing or something before my 170 ibs turns from muscle into fat.
It's days like this that I wonder if I'm in the wrong department, I love doing physical work way more then writing papers and stuff, but I can't handle the people I have to work with because they have no brains but they do have a lot of character. There are those who do manual labour with a lot of character, then there are those who don't with out a whole lot a of character but a lot of brain... there must be a middle ground somewhere.
~Christopher J. 

The Real Reason I'm Behind

Well, if any of my professors are curious as to the real reason I have done little to know homework this reading break it's because Natalie and I have been out having fun. Thursday night my brother came over and yesterday morning he left so we were having fun trying to entertain him all weekend. Then that morning we took him to the airport we went to Banff with Jamie and his girlfriend. We we were joking that we were the chaperones for their little trip. We went to the Banff Hot Springs, and two National parks, which were quite lovely. I'm fairly certian that Natalie and I should move to the mountians or somewhere close where ever we end up living afer graduation this year. We went to a Greek Restraunt for lunch and then for dinner we went to the Olive Garden. Jamie paid for the Greek Restraunt, it was quite lovely. In the words of my wife 'that man is so nice, it kills me' :) Well I best be getting my homework done now before school comes to an end.
~Christopher J. 

Wedding Photos, hurray!

Well our wedding photo's came yesterday, I've seen them three times now. It's quite pleasing to see all these things we had never seen before, or noticed before. Such as my sister-in-law looking slightly disturbed on the far left... We're very happy to finally see our photo's there wasn't any decent photo's of all the groomsmen altogether, but when we did them with me and them individually it worked well. Well I need to get ready for work.
~Christopher J. 

A Sermon and Skating

Today we went to church and then we had some friends over after that. After they left we went skating and I almost took out a few kids, but it was ok because I didn't hit anyone, or knock over anyone, it was a good time. I always liked skating. I like to think that skating was how Natalie and I first got to know each other.
I can't quite remember the sermon today, but it had something to do with ministering to the kids in three hills. I heard something though that really frustrated me. This guy says, 'it's not a theological... it's practical,' it really annoys me when people think that theology and doctrine are impractical. It's really the most retarded thing. It's like saying that government is impractical, or that we should have anarchy opposed to rules or regulation. Why people even call themselves Christian, but call doctrine something of the past, or a modernist ideal that is irrelavant in a post-modern culture.
Anyway, this is my eye, cool huh? Natalie helped me take it.
~Christopher J. 

Spiritual Theology

Martin Luther emphasized a theology of the cross concerning general Christian disposition. In his day he had to deal with folks of today like Benny Hinn, who saw miracles as ways of somehow proving the truth. Today that is true also. Well I was reading this book by Simon Chan called Spiritual Theology, I just had to do the reading even though I was supposed to skip it and get ready for the next class. Chan summarizes the problem of sin nicely borrowing from the seven deadly sins, identifying it essentially as being the case of pride. I think this is very much true since one person in our class said that it comes from a distorted view of self. Naturally from this distorted view of self then flows, the sin is in the self-dilusion of our own importance. Well Chan sets this up very nicely and then summarizes concerning sin and humanity quoting Augustine he closes 'when anyone has realized that he himself is nothing, and from himself he has no help, the wepons within him are broken, the war is over.' I'm not setting up an epistemic arguement for Kiekegaard's 'leap-of-faith,' I'm trying to say that when I sin it's usually because my own view is distorted. All sin is ultimately selfish, and in ignorance it is a distorted view. I see myself in Chan's book wanting to hear a resounding 'amen' but it's difficult for me really to say that openly because no one finds glory in waving their own dirty laundry around. Chan points out that in various cultures we disquise pride with ideas of 'honor' and 'rights' but really Christianity is about grace, and laying down rights. This is ultimately the glory we should seek out as Christians, and the spiritual value we should find in the doctrine of the kenosis. I'm glad for Chan's book because he values Christian theology and sees its wider application for the Christian life.