James's Weblog

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. (Proverbs 17:24 )

I find myself having this thought over and over again.

Popular evangelical Christianity is frequently confused as to how to identify / seek / encourage / authenticate the genuine work of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks to Neil Robbie for pointing me to this one.

How do you come up with a policy for a church on paedocommunion that allows for:

• difference of opinion on the issue, and

• clarity on how responsibility and government are apportioned between church and family?

Well, Neil pointed me to the policy adopted by Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birming ham, Alabama. Very helpful indeed.

Sacerdotalism is not a view that the sacraments do something. Rather it is

“the belief that grace is imparted in a mechanical or magical fashion through the instrumentality of the sacraments. In other words, the sacraments dispense grace ex opere operato, the way a hot iron burns.” (Page 85)

We deceive ourselves if we think we can do without the sacraments altogether.

The Sulotco has had 24 hours to rest now, so time to do a bit of cupping.

It’s easy to worry too much about doing cupping “properly”. At its heart, cupping offers a method of preparing and trying coffee that allows someone to explore the flavours and components of a particular bean as fully as possible. Cupping is about maximalism in coffee exploration.

Well, the Sulotco is here. Here they are:

— Jonah sent to Nineveh (1:1-2)
—— Jonah goes to sea – boards a ship (1:3)
——— Jonah in the belly of the ship; the sailors cry to their gods (1:4-6)
———— Jonah tells the sailors that he worships the one true God (1:7-10)
———— The sailors worship the one true God (1:11-16)
——— Jonah in the belly of the fish; Jonah cries to his God (1:17-2:9)
—— Jonah back on land (2:10)
— Jonah sent to Nineveh (3:1)

Corroborates my suspicion that Jonah’s ministry to the sailors is very important to these chapters

I need to find an Indonesian coffee I like.

Indonesian coffee, to generalise, can handle a much darker roast than many other origins. The result is a caffeine-rich, dark-roasted, full-bodied coffee – nice to have from time to time for variety’s sake.

I’m delighted to see James Cary’s post showing what a consistent Calvinist he is.

How do we react when we meet those who hold Arminian views? (Or, indeed, are clearly Christians yet oppose the doctrines we subscribe to in any of a thousand ways).

Is it

• Some Christians have managed to escape what God wants them to believe, so we get frustrated at the mixed nature of the church

Or

One of the reasons why I’m enjoying this book is because there are lots of things that I’ve been thinking for some time but struggling to synthesise. What Doug Wilson does is do the drawing together that I had been struggling to do, so that there are lots of moments along the lines of “Ah! That category you’ve just introduced helps make sense of those 6 things…”

On we go.

What is a covenant?

“Covenants among men are solemn bonds, sovereignly administered, with attendant blessings and curses.” (Page 63)

And this seems to me to be a crucial step in the argument…