The Advent Season is Upon Us
I'm still finishing my read the Bible in a year plan, but here are some readings for the season of Advent.
Advent Daily Readings, Year 2 (2003) (from the Christian Resource Institute)

Drop Everything and Go See The Gospel of John

We finally caught The Gospel of John at Baywalk in St. Petersburg, Florida. This movie is phenomenal. It's over 3 hours long, but it takes that long to go through the entire book of John. The movie is a visual and auditory experience!

My high points include:

• The Apostles running to tell others to come and follow Jesus - especially, for me, Nathaniel
  
• The story of Jesus healing the blind man - who was examined by the Temple authorities "Do you want to become his disciples too?"
  
• Jesus giving his disciples final instructions to love one another and keep my commands
  

Can't wait to see it again!

Homework's cutting into my movie time...

Out recently in the Tampa Bay Area
Luther
Gospel of John - We might try to catch this one on the weekend.

Maybe our Ecclesiastical History class will take a field trip to see The Passion next semester?

The Israelites Return

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord."
Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Psalm 122:1-2

The guys are back from Israel and this morning they shared their memories, pictures, and how the trip affected their spiritual lives. After you travel to Israel and walk in the steps of the Patriarchs, Jesus, and his apostles, you never read the scriptures in the same way. Every episode, every miracle and parable has a physical location and meaning.

Each "Israelite" selected a verse or section of the Bible to sum up some aspect of their trip. Here are selections that 3 of the men picked.

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering...But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds, we are healed." from Isaiah 53 prophesying the reason that Christ suffered.

"It is finished" - John 19:30 meaning the work of redemption was finished in Israel by Jesus

We worship a risen Lord. Praise God!

How did we get the New Testament?

Working on my 2nd paper for Ecclesiastical History 1. These three books are excellent sources for how the New Testament was written, collected, and canonized. The books by Patzia and Metzger provide scriptures and historical citations to support their work. They also include the different theories on authorship and inclusion in the canon. Good for the layperson or student.

Arthur G. Patzia
The Making of the New Testament: Origin, Collection, Text, and Canon Intervarsity Press, 1995
ISBN 0-8308-1859-6

Bruce Manning Metzger
The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, and Content
Abingdon Press, 1965

The Oxford Companion to the Bible
edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan
Oxford University Press, 1993
ISBN 0-19-504645-5

Midterms and Arguments for the Existence of God

Wrote out my midterm today. It's hard to keep the answers to just a page. Here's a section:

Aquinas’s First Argument
1. Aquinas observed that, in the world, things are in motion.
2. Each thing that moves is put into motion by something else.
An object cannot move unless it is first moved by a mover.
A thing cannot be a mover, unless another mover moves it first.
3. Things cannot be both a mover and the thing moved at the same time. In other words, a thing cannot move itself. Each thing must be put into motion by another thing, which moves before it.
4. There cannot be an infinite regress of movers. If there is no first mover, then nothing that follows can move.

Therefore, there must be one thing that is outside this chain of movers, functioning as the prime mover.
This prime mover is God.

Berkhof's Systematic Theology opens doors to conversation

I took Systematic Theology on the plane to Monterey. Met 1 passenger and 1 flight attendant who owned a copy.

A Blog is Born

I'm setting up this weblog tonight so that I can record thoughts, musings, scripture, etc.

Thanks to Bruce for helping me ftp this to my website!