educating eric

Is this a secular form of spiritual counseling? Hmmm... http://www.7cupsoftea.com/about/faq.php

In order to understand parable of the good Samaritan, we need to think of modern day non-religious or non-Christian people in the Samaritan's place. Instead of Samaritan, we would say something like Taliban member. What concerns me is that the "good Christian answer" would be that such a person was not the ones were justified. That we would be forced to say, "No, Jesus, those people who did good thing for the poor injured person were still in the wrong, and those who passed by him were in the right as long as they believed in You." Any time you have a theology that would have to insist that Jesus was incorrect, you have a problem. I think I'm going to have to ponder that passage in context a little bit more...

This black-hat SEO tactic is too good not to out; the first time it popped into my Inbox I ignored it, but the second time...? Well, here you go: Saturday 18th of May 2013 10:20:05 AM Larson Eric Dear Larson Eric: We have learned that unauthorized individual(s) secured a link promoting our website [their redacted site].com on one or more of your web properties. The links were placed purely for SEO purposes, with the intention of manipulating search rankings, something that we do not approve. The presence of these links is harmful to our site's good standing with search engines, and unfortunately, retaining them may also be potentially harmful to your own website's reputation. We would ask that you please remove any links on your site that link to [their redacted site].com So far as we are aware, there are (or have been) links at these URLs: http://[my redacted site].com/tag/ padded-adjustable-piano-bench/ feed We would greatly appreciate your help with r...

Over the years, some folks have criticized me for using the word "conforming" instead of "transforming" in this site. They usually point to Romans 12; see http://teachingwhatisgood.com/conformed-vs-transformed/ for a typical summary. But Romans 8 (verse 29) very clearly uses the word "conforming," albeit in the context of God being the Master of the work of conforming us to Christ. See http://bible.cc/romans/8-29.htm So, which is right — Romans 8, or Romans 12? Yes, I've set up a false dichotomy here… but it proves the point. There's nothing "more Biblical" about saying we're "being transformed" over saying we're "being conformed," unless I've missed something that I need clarification on? (And none of it has anything to do with the fact that the conforming.me domain was available while transforming.me wasn't…)

Found some really old notes on a Mark Driscoll talk from four years ago. Probably from http://marshill.com/media/trial/temptation-from-worldliness … Notes on Mark Driscoll, Feb 16, 2009. "Temptation from Worldliness" Worldly is elevating culture over scripture. There are two ways to do this: to be traditional, or to be progressive. Some people think that worldliness is acting like it's 2009; it can also be acting like it's 1950. We are to live in this culture to bring people to Jesus; we are not to take our identity or worship according to this culture. Some people believe that all we need to do is to go back to the 1950s, and that's worldliness -- suits, organs, avoiding Song of Songs. That is 1950s traditional worldliness, trying to take the world of the 1950s and impose it on people. "Our goal is not to go back to the 1950s or forward to 2010, but to go to Jesus."

At 39:20 in this message from Grace Community Church, the pastor says that God looked out, saw mankind's heart, and decided to send His Son to rescue us. Which sounds poetic, but is an interpretation of 1st Peter 1:20 that I've never heard before: 1 Peter 1:18-20 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (NIV) So,when did God "make the choice" to save mankind? Granted that He exists outside of time so the question of "when" is an odd one, I think that "before the creation of the world" is more theologically sound than "after observing our behavior"...? Listen to this link, then come back here to comment: http://gracechurchmn.org/wp-conten...

With Easter right around the corner, I had a lot of thoughts running through my head at this morning's " Social Media Shepherds " gathering. That group, which is “an ecumenical group that hosts monthly events focused on empowering churches, ministries and individuals in their use of social media,” always reminds me that “church” is an awkwardly complicated thing to describe. Why? Well… Do I really want to invite friends and neighbors to an unfamiliar Easter services in an intimidating building with awkwardly formal songs and performances that serve to introduce a 30+ minute speech that may or may not successfully convey to them that the God of the Universe wants to reconcile Himself to them, personally? Maybe. Maybe that’s exactly what they need. Maybe. But, as I said this morning, what I’d really like to do is invite them into the conversations that we have around our tables in our Sunday morning “Adult Bible Fellowship,” or show them the way I and my friends email ...