0 – Page 2 of 3 – Fraglen Inkwell Diaries

The Stone Pavement

Progress and tradition, how do we steadily move forward on the planet without it becoming a trainwreck in twisted metal, crushed bodies, scattered limbs, and billowing smoke? When, and if in some considered opinions, God made humans in “our” image- male and female to be fruitful and multiply – to cover the earth and build families through the generations, how is it we somehow find ourselves down the pike not even knowing which bathroom door to open in order to relieve ourselves? It seems the time has come to manifest in our destiny as to what we truly believe and get on with the task at hand.

Many people sense something is going on. Maybe some can’t put their finger on it, but very assuredly are sniffing the wind trying to grab onto a solid framework of coherent thinking. Why not start with Holy Week and Easter? Is Jesus the Messiah? Did the resurrection occur? Has Jesus of Nazareth proven himself to be the Christ by rising from the dead on the third day? In I Corinthians Paul said if Jesus did not rise from the dead Christians are to be pitied more than all.

Non – believers balk at the assertion of Jesus coming back to life. To these it has to be a cruel hoax, a serious April fools’ joke, a fairy tale, or a vicious lie. It is a no way no how not reasonable can’t prove it kind of thing. This deduction produces haters in non civil societies with potential for persecution and death to Christians. However, in polite society where 80% of pastors educated with doctorates, much less religious leaders of other traditions, do not believe in the Resurrection, this discussion can be relegated to the bottom rung of anti-intellectualism and dismissed and disregarded at best. At worst, it can begin with scoffing, move towards marginalization, and progress to violence towards believers as tolerance erodes and diminishes the basis of civil society.

Then why even have the conversation if it is so disruptive and impolitic? Who remotely is interested in what Jesus said? Why attend church once a year on Easter Sunday to give a wink and a nod to tradition? It seems rather bothersome. What are lay persons supposed to figure out and believe? Who should “we the people” follow? To whom does the average Joe and Jill decide to entrust their lives and families? Who is the fool? Both cannot be right.

Most, not all, of the religious experts and teachers of the Law are the very ones who had Jesus crucified. So it seems fitting that most, not all, of the religious experts and teachers of the Law in this day and age still do not believe Jesus is the Messiah and he rose from the dead. Although, Eugene O’Neill wrote “Lazarus Laughed.” Maybe Lazarus has some insight into this topic. Someone please dial the 1 800 number. With all this progress and with all this tradition what has changed in this regard? Apparently not much. Same old. Except…

Now we, as humans, seem to be moving on passed the idea of owing anything to Jesus of Nazareth who called himself God and was crucified for blasphemy having said it out loud for others to overhear and take note. Humankind is the new breed creator making machines in our own imagine and families in our own likeness. Replicants, androids, clones, and multiplicity of our shining selves are making a hard and fast run on civilization. Anything goes and the possiblities are endless. Pandora’s box has the top blown off to Kingdom come…hey wait a minute… what Kingdom? what come? Anyway, it appears super heroes are the saviour du jour at this point in time.

What to believe – that is the question. When Jesus was buried his disciples’ entire world of understanding was upended beyond their capacity to comprehend. What exactly happened on the third day? What is each individual’s comprehension and conclusion to their Christology? Do you ever wonder what Wonder Woman wonders? Do you believe you can outrun Blade Runner? John Locke wrote ” An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” published in 1689. Are we any closer to understanding our humanity in point and purpose?

The celestial ball has been tossed. We have been initiated into the scrum and invited to make a decision. There will be neither a tie nor overtime. There will be winners and losers.

Our time is at hand.

Game on.

walley

a rich storehouse

April 13, 2017 jakin7

Knowledge is a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate.

A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Desperate Times

April 12, 2017 jakin7

You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us;
you have been angry—now restore us!

You have shaken the land and torn it open;
mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

You have shown your people desperate times;
you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

Psalm 60:1-3

Of Wolves and Sheep

April 11, 2017 jakin7

Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 22:26

Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law. Zephaniah 3:4

These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. Jude 12a

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20: 29-30

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-16a

They were guilty of levity, trifling with the weightiest matters. There was no gravity or steadfastness in their life or teaching. They were treacherous because they were unfaithful to Him whom they claimed to represent, rather encouraging the people in their apostasy from the Lord. By their unholy deeds they profaned the sanctuary; they made the sacred profane. They did violence to the Law by distorting its plain intent and meaning when they were teaching the people.
Charles L. Feinberg (1909-1995) from The Minor Prophets

The Decline and Fall of Rome

April 10, 2017 jakin7

The historian Gibbon concluded that there were five reasons for
the decline and fall of Rome. Gibbon was not a Christian, but here
is why he says Rome fell:

1.) The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home,
which is the basis of human society.

2.) Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for
free bread and circuses for the populace.

3.) The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral.

4.) The building of great armaments when the great enemy was
within; the decay of individual responsibility.

5.) The decay of religion, fading into mere form, losing touch with
life, losing power to guide the people.
From Thru The Bible Vol III on Zephaniah by Vernon McGee (1904-1988)

“…He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with His sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord – with the first of them and with the last – I am he.” Isaiah 41: 2b-4

Cinderella

March 26, 2017 jakin7

The Cinderella of the church of today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with the pearls of intellectualism, nor glamorous with the silks of philosophy; neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel! Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994)

His Way

February 28, 2017 jakin7

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.

Nahum 1: 3b

This Voice Within

February 5, 2017 jakin7

“Affliction is able to drown out every earthly voice…
but the voice of eternity within a man it cannot drown.
When by the aid of affliction all irrelevant voices are
brought to silence, it can be heard, this voice within.”

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

seriously…in the face

February 4, 2017 jakin7

“Everyone who is seriously interested in
the pursuit of science becomes convinced
that a spirit is manifest in the laws of
the Universe – a spirit vastly superior
to that of man, and one in the face of
which we with our modest powers must
feel humble.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Bent On Violence

January 6, 2017 jakin7

Habakkuk 1:5-11

“Look at the nations and watch — and be
utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your
days that you would not believe, even if
you were told.

I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth to seize
dwelling places not their own.
They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;
they all come bent on violence.

Their hordes advance like a desert wind and
gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
they build earthen ramps and
capture them.
Then they sweep past like the wind and go on —
guilty men, whose own strength is
their god.”

Isaiah 5:25-30a
He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,
he whistles for those at the ends of
the earth.
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
Not one of them grows tired or
stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt is loosened at the waist,
not a sandal thong is broken.
Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a
whirlwind.
Their roar is like that of the lion,
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize their prey
and carry it off with no one to
rescue.