Atheist writer says Africa needs Christianity

Matthew Parris writer for the Times says :

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset

read more here

HT: Martin Downes at Against Heresies

 

Technorati tags: Gospel, Missionay, Africa, Christianity, Athiest

Merry Christmas

The Birth of Christ

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
(John 1:1-3 ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14 ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14 ESV)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
(Luke 1:26-37 ESV)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
(Matthew 1:18-25 ESV)

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Readings:  Deut. 18:15-19; Psalm 111; Phil. 4:4-7; John 1:19-28 or Luke 1:39-56

 

In the variant reading of the gospel reading we have the Magnificat of Mary:

And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
 ”For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
 ”For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
 ”And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
 ”He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
 ”He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
 ”He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
 ”He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,
 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55 NASB)

Through all the Sunday readings there has been the theme of rejoicing because God is coming.  In this canticle of Mary she recounts the blessings that God has bestowed upon Israel and His faithfulness toward his chosen people.  Paul echos the same sentiment when he writes:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4 ESV)

Consider this Mary was pregnant and unmarried and Joesph her betrothed was considering divorcing her, yet despite all this her attitude was one of rejoicing for what God was going to do.   Paul also in chains yet still having an attitude of rejoicing in the Lord despite his cicumstance looking toward what God had done and what he would do.  So also are we to look to that great hope, the great hope, Christ’s Return.  

Preaching the Gospel

I saw this first at the Contemporary Calvinist and it reminded me of a friend of mine.

Now let me clarify he isn’t an atheist just the opposite he is a Christian.  God used this man, Bruce, to mentor me when I as young ignorant milk feeding believer who needed to become a disciple.

Bruce took me in hand, taught me the importance of consistent daily scripture reading memorization, and prayer.  He also taught and showed me what evangelism is meant to be.  One of the things he would always tell me is that if we as Christians truly believed the gospel and the implications of it we would be on our knees pleading with people to trust Christ and be saved.

This was made especially evident on what had to be one of the most tragic times in Bruce’s life: the death of his son.  At the tender age of ten God took Bruce’s son home, it was devastating loss for Bruce and his family.  Yet in it God’s gospel was preached.  At the funeral Bruce related his son’s love for Christ and not only that but the desire that young man to see others trust in Christ.  This was a testimony to Bruce and his wife raising their children to love the Lord.

I remember clearly Bruce standing in front of a packed church sharing the gospel to all.  Bruce demonstrated to me right there what a true love for the gospel is and what it means to desire for people to become reconciled to God through Christ.

Suggested reading:

How Can I Know God?

Ultimate Questions

For Fred at Hip and Thigh

Fred Butler over at Hip and Thigh posted some pictures of the weather conditions in his area complaining about it looking too much like Christmas.

Well Fred just for you my front yard:

The pine tree in the front

My mailbox

Top of the fire hydrant

Gort Klaatu barada nicto

Dan Phillips was kind enough to sacrifice his time and money and went to see the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. 

You can read that here warning major spoilage

Now I have to be honest I’m not a big classic movie re-make fan.  I have rarely seen any remake that has stuck to the original director’s vision.  So it shouldn’t surprise you that I am a big fan of the original movie.  A co-worker says that I like it because I saw the original when it came out. Which is nonsense I was born years after the initial release.

Well surprise surprise Kenneth Chan of the Christian Post has compared the remake of the movie to the time of Noah and the reason why God would kill all of humanity except for eight people.  You can read that here warning I’m not responsible for any nausea caused by this.

Providentially Dan Phillips has once again stepped up to the bat and has responded to what Kenneth Chan has written.  You can find that here.

Seriously Dan deserves a medal so give him a thank you for standing against not only bad movie remakes but bad “Christianizing” of bad movie remakes.

ht: DJP

Third Sunday in Advent

Readings:  Isa 40:1-8 (9-11); Psalm 85; 1 Cor. 4:1-5; Matt. 11:2-10 (11)

The first reading of the third Sunday in Advent was used by Handel in his great work the Messiah.  I have always loved this piece as God’s announcement of the end of the great war of man against God is now over.  But not only that but all the iniquities of man against God has been pardoned twice over. They are fully paid not by man but by God.

So we see here God’s great work of reconcilliation made manifest in God’s son Jesus!  So rejoice! The war is over!

Merry Tossmas 2008

Happy Tossmas 2008

HT: DJP

I take up the gauntlet

Fred Butler has posted a geek challenge that I must respond to.
This is Fred’s: A lego robot that solves Rubic’s cube

However I counter with Star Trek geek:  Build your own Blu-ray Phaser.

A Christmas Carol

My children know that I am particularly fond of certain shows during this season.

One in particular is Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol.

In 1971 Chuck Jones of the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck fame along with Richard Williams
took Charles Dickens’ story and animated it.  When I saw it I was amazed at the animation
style, which if I am not mistaken was taken from the original drawings in Dickens’ story.
It also stayed true to the original story.  Ultimately it won an Academy Award for best animation in 1973.

Here it is in four parts.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4