At this present hour, I'm still writing my defense of Calvinism in my Bloop journal.  I'm not sure if I'll finish before I go to bed, but I've pretty much covered all of the major points.  I'm so exhausted...today.  Work was light for once and we actually got to take a full hour for lunch.  I even had time to stop by the Post Office to run a few errands.  If only it could be this way every day at work..

There is no part of us which God is reluctant to look at. He is not embarrassed by us. There are bits of us that look - and are - deathly, but God is in the resurrection business. God is the only person...were you so wicked, but 'why did you spend so much time making yourself (and others) unhappy?' One of the less noticed consequences of the Incarnation is that God knows what it feels like to be me.

Here's a passage from the scifi series Babylon 5 which I found particularly apt: Former narn ambassador G'kar, suddenly a reluctant holy figure as a result of his new book, is taking questions from fellow...of his hand spits out, "Truth is... a river." The questioner enthusiastically replies, "And what is God?" "God is... the mouth of the river," G'Karr concedes. All go away pleasantly astonished

...of Calvinism with the same sharp stroke of their pens.  I won't name anyone in particular.  They know who they are.  When I've discussed Arminianism, I've always accurately represented that school of theology.  I've never said that true Arminians hold to semi-Pelagianism or anything like that.  Yet what these folks on Bloop have done with Calvinism I would never do to Arminianism, even as I disagree...

"Chad's breakfast is a perfect representation of the trinity." "What?!" "No look. This glass of milk represents the Father: pure, white, the colors of holiness. The glass of orange juice is the Son:...the trinity. This cheerio is like the oneness of God while the beverages are the distinct persons within the one nature." "And the banana?" "That represents humanity... full of potassium.

Not a Loltheorist as such - not captioned - not really funny.... but perhaps still enjoyable. From left to right: Socrates, Peter Kreeft, N T Wright, C S Lewis, Bruce Flemming, John Dickson...McGrath, Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin. Enjoy. And caption if you like. I had this caricature composed by Andrew Kepple of http://kepple.illemonati.com/ On a theological theme;  

...salad?  Why did I say that to Sophie?  And on and on and on. Overall I come away from this week with three things: A profound new respect for and vision of my friends as wonderful, nurturing individuals. A renewed interest in theology, a topic I have stayed away from for almost 20 years now. Increased awareness of myself, my moods, and some of my self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.

...philosophical thought.† I've just been reading Cyprian Smith's The Way of Paradox , which answers some of these problems, and which I got an awful lot out of. It's not a work of academic theology, being directly addressed to people who are seeking to deepen their spiritual life, but it is clearly written by someone with a scholarly mind who has reflected deeply both on Eckhart in his original...

Today is Reformation Sunday which is the last Sunday in the month of October which falls either on or before Reformation Day on the 31st.  Every year our church does something special for Reformation Sunday...happened that we read Psalm 91 this Sunday before singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."  Very providential and fitting indeed.   "The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid." --Martin Luther

125 billion. That's the ball park estimate Hubble gives us for the number of galaxies in the universe. The actual number is probably much higher. German supercomputers put the number of galaxies over 500... those are my uplifting theological musings. I don't necessarily believe the universe is set up this way, but I thought it was an interesting thought experiment. And this post is just very very me