Is Chris Tilling the Devil?

Sure, I had to defend him this morning- but as I even then suspected, it wouldn’t be long before Chris would retreat back into the smarmy darkness with which he is so acquainted. His ‘quote of the day‘ is just that retreat. I don’t know who this Zisicoleslaw guy is, but he evidently never heard that God is incomparable and that, therefore, it is immensely inappropriate to say that just because someone is a member of the church that ‘he exists as God himself exists’. What heretical filth. God is wholly other. I call on Chris to repent… as a brother. Repent, sinner!

It’s Greed and Speculation Driving Oil Prices

Oil went up again today because a Sheik in Saudi Arabia lost a horse and because a soldier in Iraq decided to nap while on duty. These horrific scenarios caused traders and speculators to go nearly insane with worry and even though gas in the ground at stations around the United States had already been purchased, armies of men with numbers in hand went up poles to adjust the price at the pump to reflect the fearmongering of the speculative.

Oh, and a Nigerian skipped lunch and a Scotsman said he would strike if bananas weren’t forthcoming at a North Sea oil platform.

It’s really that ridiculous. May God have mercy on the Oil industry when it’s no longer needed: a day which can’t come soon enough.

Should You Marry or Not? What Does Paul Say About it?

A new forthcoming volume may be of interest to you if you have ever asked those questions (or been asked them). Eisenbrauns has it.

Ehe und Ehelosigkeit bei Paulus: Eine Auslegung zu 1.Korinther 6,12-7,40 is described thusly

Die vorliegende Erklärung zu 1. Korinther 7,1–40 wendet sich einem Abschnitt des Neuen Testaments zu, dessen Auswirkungen im Lauf der Kirchengeschichte bis in unsere Tage von großer Tragweite sind. Und mit seinen Ausführungen zur Ehe und Ehelosigkeit ist dieser Abschnitt wieder ein Brennpunkt von allgemeinem Interesse geworden. Denn die Frage, wie es um die gegenseitige Beziehung von Mann und Frau stehe, ist heute drängender denn je, und eindeutige Lösungen liegen nicht auf dem Tisch. Es ist das Ziel dieser Untersuchung, möglichst unvoreingenommen nach der Bedeutung der Aussagen des Paulus zu fragen, um zu erfahren, was den Leserinnen und Lesern entgegentritt. Die Untersuchung folgt hierin der reformierten Auslegungstradition, die bei jedem Thema die Stimme der Bibel zu vernehmen sucht.

Awesome! Frankly the issue arrives for the Pastoral bunch a lot- so this should be of great usefulness (per my rule that books be useful more than once).

I Like This Bishop Very Much

Ethics Daily tells the tale of a British Bishop who has banned a sports song from Church on grounds that it is not “to the glory of God.”

The hymn, ['Jerusalem'] composed during World War I, has drawn the fire of a number of religious leaders for the military tenor of its lyrics, which speak of arrows, spears, bows of burning gold and chariots of fire. The latest is the Very Rev. Colin Slee, dean of London’s Southwark Cathedral, who has ordered the ditching of “Jerusalem,” with its poetry by William Blake and music by Sir Hubert Parry. In a statement to journalists, Southwark Cathedral said the dean, who has the final say on what material is used in its liturgy, “does not believe (the hymn) is to the glory of God and it is therefore not used” in most of its services.Although “God Save the Queen” is Britain’s official national anthem, “Jerusalem” has been taken to the hearts of sports fans and is particularly popular each April 23, St. George’s Day, in honor of England’s own patron saint.

Nice to see Anglicans ditching filth from the service. Well done, Bishop. Now please come to the States and tell Churches to stop using the idiotic, mind numbing, filth so commonly enjoyed by the theologically and spiritually void.

In Defense of Chris Tilling

This guy has written some really mindless dreck about Chris. First, he writes anonymously, which means he’s a spineless coward. Second, he doesn’t even spell the name of Chris’s blog right so there can’t be too much working upstairs. And third, he simply, obviously, is devoid of any sense of humor or ability to read things with any finesse or wit.

It doth annoy me greatly when a genuinely good, decent, and profoundly deeply Christian man like Chris is accused of demeaning or defaming Christ and Christianity. I’d like to challenge the slathering dolt who did so to tell us 1) who he his; 2) what he does for a living; 3) his training and expertise; and 4) why he thinks he can insult one of my friends and get away with it? Fess up, thou Purgatory Bound miscreant.

[n.b.- this is the only time I'll say something nice about Tilling. But some things need addressing].