July 30, 2008

Keller on the Trinity

I'm currently preparing for a lecture this Friday at Kings Training College on the topic of the Trinity (I understand; you're trying to suppress the jealousy), and have found Keller's The Reason for God to be particularly helpful, particular his chapter titled 'The Dance of God'.

Many writers on this topic become confusing and difficult to grasp. Keller's writing is logical and practical. Here's a snippet:

Christianity, alone among the world faiths, teaches that God is triune. The doctrine of the Trinity is that God is one being who exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity means that God is, in essence, relational...

If there is no God, then everything in and about us is the product of blind impersonal forces. The experience of love may feel significant, but evolutionary naturalists tell us that it is merely a biochemical state in the brain.

But what if there is a God? Does love fare any better? It depends on who you think God is. If God is unipersonal, then until God created other beings there was no love, since love is something that one person has for another. This means that a unipersonal God was power, sovereignty, and greatness from all eternity, but not love...

However, if God is triune, then loving relationships in community are the "great fountain... at the center of reality."... In the Christian conception, God really has love as his essence...

Ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. That is what the universe, God, history, and life is all about. If you favor money, power, and accomplishment over human relationships, you will dash yourself on the rocks of reality...

You will never get a sense of self by...making everything revolve around your needs and interests. Unless you are willing to experience the loss of options and the individual limitation that comes from being in committed relationships, you will remain out of touch with your own nature and the nature of things.

Needless to say, the whole chapter is a brilliant yet easily understood explanation of the Trinity.

July 29, 2008

Zacharias on Prayer

Ravi Zacharias was the 2008 Honorary Chairman of America's National Day of Prayer. Below is an excerpt of his keynote address at The Cannon House in Washington, on May 1, 2008. Typical of Zacharias, the address is thorough, insightful and loaded with excellent quotes and illustrations.

"...I’ve spoken to our troops in Doha Qatar and at Ramstein prayed with our wounded. In many of the bases I have been, at the end of each meeting there’s a line up of some of the finest young men and women in the world, armed with some of the finest weaponry, asking if you’ll just put your hand on their shoulder and pray for them. They want that power that is greater than what the military might alone can bring.

The famed John Chrysostom, writing in the 400s, said this,

“The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, subdued evil instincts, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by the clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings."

To view the entire speech, click here

On Absolute Claims

You can't say, "All claim about religions are historically conditioned except the one I am making right now." If you insist that no one can determine which beliefs are right and wrong, why should we believe what you are saying? The reality is that we all make truth-claims of some sort and it is very hard to weigh them responsibly, but we have no alternative but to try to do so.

From the Leap of Doubt: Chapter 1 - There Can't Be Just One True Religion

July 28, 2008

Keller & the Reason for God

I've just finished reading Timothy Keller's The Reason for God. Keller pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhatten, which has nearly 6,000 regular attendees, mostly young adults of ranging ethnicities.

In summary, the book is written in two parts, with each part consisting of seven chapters.

In Part One, Keller puts forward his case that skepticism is actually based on a set of beliefs...

"But even as believers should learn to look for reasons behind their faith, skeptics must learn to look for a type of faith hidden within their reasoning. All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs. You cannot doubt Belief A except from the position of faith in Belief B... Every doubt, therefore, is based on a leap of faith."

The first half of the book reviews the seven biggest objection and doubts about Christianity, the second half examines the reasons underlying Christian beliefs. The key points are outlined below:

Part One: The Leap of Doubt
1. There Can't Be Just One True Religion
2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
3. Christianity is a Straitjacket
4. The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
6. Science Has Disproved Christianity
7. You Can't Take the Bible Literally

Part Two: The Reasons for Faith
1. The Clues of God
2. The Knowledge of God
3. The Problem of Sin
4. Religion and the Gospel
5. The True Story of the Cross
6. The Reality of the Resurrection
7. The Dance of God

Over the next week I will post some excerpts that I found particularly brilliant. I encourage any thinking Christian to grab a copy for yourself, particularly for any young person embarking upon university studies.

Attributes of Great Employees cont.

Titus 2:9-10
"Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."


1. Great employees understand servanthood and subjection

2. Great employees understand the heart of their master

3. Great employees create a good atmosphere

4. Great employees understand that all things matter

5. Great employees understand unified leadership
"...not answering back..."

There are few things more frustrating than hearing an employee gripe about their boss in earshot (or directly to) their customers. Instantly your trust in the product and company management is diminished and the service experience soured.

The Greek word used for 'answering back' is antilegō, meaning 'to speak against, contradict, to declare oneself against'. If an organisation's own employees are against it, on what grounds should I place faith in the organisation?

Great employees recognise that every person within the organisation is a leader in the eyes of outsiders.

6. Great employees commit themselves to faithfulness
"...showing all good fidelity"

Faithfulness is a most attractive characteristic. Even the person with least natural ability can become a valuable team member if they commit to faithfulness.

It's interesting that Paul notes that our fidelity ought to be 'good', meaning 'useful, pleasant, joyful, happy, excellent and honourable'. To faithfully check in to work with a bad attitude and negative vibe is no blessing to any employer. Fidelity is only beneficial when flavoured with joy, excellence and honour.

7. Great employees see the greater purpose
"...that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."

The doctrines of Christianity are made attractive or abhorrent according to the way we conduct ourselves at work. Despite what we may believe, the Christian faith is not beautified by our sharp and savvy Sunday services. In Paul's opinion, the doctrines of God and salvation are adorned, or embellished with honour, by the way we conduct ourselves in the day to day matters of life.

The most attractive advertisement for Christianity is it's pragmatic demonstration in our workplaces by our work habits.

July 26, 2008

On Faith and Feelings

“The life of faith is not only totally different from, but also diametrically opposite to a life of feeling. He who lives by sensation can follow God’s will or seek the things above purely at the time of excitement; should this blissful feeling cease, every activity terminates. Not so with one who walks by faith. Faith is anchored in the One whom he believes rather than in the one who exercises the believing, that is, himself. Faith looks not at what happens to him but at Him whom he believes.”

- Watchman Nee from his book “The Spiritual Man”

July 18, 2008

Preaching and Preparation

Martin Niemoller, heroic Christian leader and war prisoner in Nazi Germany, told of a young German minister who said that instead of study, he trusted the Spirit for his sermons.

An older colleague commented: "As for me, the Holy Ghost never spoke to me in the pulpit. Yes, I remember, he did speak to me once. When I was going down the pulpit steps after a poor sort of sermon, the Holy Ghost spoke to me. He said only three words, and what he said was, 'Heinrich, you are lazy!'" In other words, "the Holy Spirit has much more important work to do than to substitute for human indolence."

July 14, 2008

A Positive Outlook

Setting: Battle of the Bulge WWI
“For the first time in the history of this campaign we are surrounded on the East, West, North and South. We can now attack the enemy in all directions.”

- General Creighton William Abrams

July 13, 2008

Attributes of Great Employees

1. Great employees understand servanthood and subjection

2. Great employees understand the heart of their master
...obedient to their own masters...

Great employees and team members understand that no two 'masters' are the same. These people recognise that they are not on team to do a job, but to bring to fulfillment the dream of 'their own master'. They understand the unique likes and dreams of their master and shape their work accordingly.

Like Joseph, great employees understand that when interpreting dreams, there is no 'one size fits all' solution.

3. Great employees create a good atmosphere
...
to be well pleasing...

Some people carry a bad atmosphere. Crowded House were right when they sung 'everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you'! Great employees manage their feelings to ensure that they create and maintain a good atmosphere for other team members; this is particularly important for leaders; the King sets the culture of the Kingdom.

4. Great employees understand that all things matter
...to be well pleasing in all things...

It is the little things that speak most about any organisation. Yes, I understand that being polite and courteous to customers may not be in your position description, nor is ironing your shirt, doing your hair or having fresh breath! But all of these have a huge impact on a person's overal perception of the whole organisation.

Great employees understand that organisations become exceptional because they do all things well.
These people intuitively the right way to handle 'all things'.

July 2, 2008

7 Attributes of Great Employees

In Titus 2:9-10 we read Apostle Paul's idea of a great employee:

"Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."

From these verses we can identify 7 attributes of great employees. Today, number one:

1. Great employees understand servanthood and subjection
"Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters..."

Servanthood and subjection don't sound very enticing to the average worker. In fact, many employees believe that the way to enjoy work is to gravitate toward the opposite. However great employees understand that the quickest way to promotion and stewardship is to serve within their organisation, subjecting themselves to the vision and plan of their 'master'.

This is the example of Christ has left us. God the Father had the plan; God the Son had the task. Philippians 2:7 says of Jesus that He, 'made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant...'; that was Jesus' choice. Philippians 2:9 continues, 'Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name...'; that was God the Father's choice.

Because of Jesus' choice to serve and subject Himself, God made the choice to exalt and esteem Him, thus providing us a pattern for the master/servant relationship; should we deviate from this pattern?

> More attributes over the next few days

Ultimate Frisbee

I met an interesting uni student a few weeks ago, the son of a couple at Kings Noosa. When I asked what he did for fun he quickly introduced me to Ultimate Frisbee, which ensued a fascinating conversation!

Turns out that he was in Brazil last December, representing Australia at the International Ultimate Frisbee Championships! I was in the presence of one of our nation's greats and I didn't even know it!

I also learned that there is a tinge of arrogance in the sport's title. It's called 'ultimate' frisbee simply because they believe that it's the ultimate sport. Imagine if every sport adopted this motto: ultimate darts, ultimate bowls, ultimate fencing, ultimate lacrosse. Anyway, I admire their confidence.

He told me that I had to check the sport out for myself via YouTube. It actually looks cool and the athleticism, vertical leap and marking is reminiscent of AFL , thereby making it cool. Check out the video and ignore the cheesy music.

July 1, 2008

Inspiration from Latimer

I'm currently reading (and really enjoying) The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. In the book he tells of the martyrdom of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, who were burned at the stake in Oxford in 1555 for their Protestant convictions.

Hugh Latimer was a Religious reformer, preacher and Bishop of Worcester during the 16th century. His story caught my attention as my nephew's middle name is Latimer, named after this man.

In his final moments and as the flames leapt up, Latimer is quoted as having calmly said to Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out."

Inspirational.