Ah, BBS’s, I remember those. My first modem was, like, 1200 baud (I know, I know, some of you suffered at 300), and then I went up to 2400, then 19.2k, then 24k and finally (brace yourselves), 56k (though it was actually like 48k).

Anyhow. I fondly remember BBS games like Trade Wars 2002 and Solar Realms Elite. Anybody else geek out on those?

Back to our regularly scheduled theological yammering shortly…

So, for our more wired patrons, the BHT now has it’s own twitter account. This means that you can follow news postings to the BHT in “realtime” by adding the “boarshead” account to your twitter “following” list. Just another friendly service for those of you who live life at a faster pace than the hourly updates of most RSS readers can offer. ;)

Big thanks to PWinn for the lunchtime hacking he did on the Twitter Tools plugin to make it work for us. (If I keep getting ideas like this, he’ll never get any real work done.)

Common Craft presents Twitter in Plain English. I know a few BHT’ers play with the miniblogging service of Twitter. Those who don’t can watch the video and decide whether or not it’s a cool idea, or an indication of the where text messaging and the shrinking attention span of the Internet generation has brought us.

Jack and I have a new hobby. If you want to play, email me for details.

(It was his idea.)

Blogged with Flock

Michael, maybe it’s just that my cynicism is fed by my recent life events, but it occurs to me that when Jesus tells us, “I am with you always,” he doesn’t go on to say that it will make much of a difference.

Sharon: That’s probably how the OT writers saw it, because they were a culture competing in a polytheistic world. So if God turns out not to keep his promises, his people are shamed in the eyes of the people of other gods, who presumably have lived up to their promises.

Think of the differences between the OT culture and ours. In the OT, God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The implication (perhaps incorrect) is that there ARE other gods, and OURS comes first. Contrast that with more modern monotheistic formulations; just to make TR bloggers angry, we’ll use Islam: “There is one God, Allah, and Mohammed ishis prophet.” Not “Allah is the first of all the gods,” Allah is the only game in town.

In that sense, the God of Christianity can’t ‘hurt’ himself. His testimony about himself is either validated by his consistency with it, or he disappears. God either is God, or he is nothing. If he is nothing, his people turn out to be fools – but that’s no skin off Nothing’s back.

God isn’t “subject” to a moral standard. His morality is an aspect of his character. His morality is distinct from human morality, in that it isn’t a contingent morality. All human morality is contingent; humans need a standard outside themselves to judge themselves against. God’s isn’t like that.

The same applies to virtually any attribute we apply to God. God is love, but God’s love is not defined by its contingency. Human love is contingent; the bounds of human love are defined by boundaries that denote where love ends (and where its opposite, indifference, or its corruption, hatred begins.) God’s love is absolute. It’s not defined or limited by anything.

If God is ‘subject’ to anything, it’s the imposition of his own will. God is subject to his promises, not because there’s a penalty for his not keeping them, but rather he is ‘subject’ in the sense that his stated purpose in a situation implies limits. God’s stated purpose was to make Abraham the father of nations; he was thus ‘constrained’ to ultimately provide Abraham with offspring. If he had not done so, he would not be who he says he is.

Jack: Michael’s out of Valium. Please send more.

“Yah, mine ist bigger! Das ist why I haff more freulines!”

Now, bear in mind I’m not saying that Jesus sucks, but let’s remember, he’s Jesus. If he did suck, he would suck better than anyone. He’d be the Jesus of suck.

And remember, I’m not saying that Jesus sucks. Not at all. So don’t write me.

Joel, Revelation 14:11 pretty much describes my day. How was yours?

Jack: We are out of bourbon. Please send more.

Anonymous is correct is saying that Spencer has become irrelevant.

I don’t get it. If Michael is irrelevant, how come so much of the blogsphere spins for weeks whenever he breaks wind?

Also, is there really a serious debate about how God is “most” glorified? What’s next? Ants arguing about how an elephant can “most” crush them?

Dear lurker “Ralph”,

I could have responded to your email with an email, but I get the impression that you’re just baiting me, and I figure I can reinforce my point by posting it here on the BHT. Out of respect for your privacy, I’ve changed your name, and I’m not going to quote from your email directly. I hope you understand what I mean when I say that I would do the same for anyone who emailed me in response to a post here, and that it has nothing to do with your opinions.

“Ralph,” I get literally thousands of emails each day. Some of them are from people who read the BHT. Others are related to more personal matters. There are apparently a large number of people concerned with the size of my genitalia and the firmness of my erection. There are many women who email me with offers of friendship, a casual encounter, marriage, offers of photographs of themselves in various states of undress, and descriptions of their private activities. Apparently, I have a substantial following in Nigeria, many of whom, hearing rumors of my financial situation, have graciously offered to assist me by allowing me to make certain bank transactions for them at a small profit.

And then there’s you, “Ralph.” You write me to register the opinion that my faith in Christ is indistinguishable from a child’s belief in fairy tales.

Help me out here, “Ralph.” Why do you read the BHT? I mean, it’s clear from your email that you hold the faith of those who participate here in utter contempt, and that you see Jesus as a purely mythological creature. You’re not going to be happy with much of what you read here on the BHT. At best, our theological discussion will seem like a sort of metaphysical circle-jerk to someone like you. (That’s not a veiled insult, by the way. It seems like that to me too at times.)

There are many other blogs on the Internet, “Ralph.” You could Google for “atheist blog” and find some of them. Or, you could just get some friends together, light some candles, read aloud from the latest “Savage Love” over at the Onion’s AV Club, and, um, discuss theology.

Please, “Ralph,” get a life. For your sake, and the sake of other people around you. Shower occasionally, get dressed, walk out of your parents’ basement, and breath fresh air. Who knows? You might actually find something more fulfilling in life than sending me insulting email. Which, by the way, is now officially a dead end for you; I’ve added your address to my blacklist, and won’t be reading anything more from you. I hope you’ll return the favor.

I am on vacation in upstate New York with my children. I’m about as close to Bill as I can get without attending a deacon’s meeting at his church. Yes, Bill, I do plan to call. I’d send you email, but on dial-up that’s a losing proposition.

Among other things, this we marked my 46th birthday. I wrote down something I thought I should post here.

For all my life, I believed that the message of the gospel was this: God loves us so much that he will let us go our own way, walk away from his will, and make a mess out of our lives, and when we hit the bottom and have no place else to turn, he will come to us and bring us back to himself. And all of that is true, all of that is in the gospel that Jesus proclaimed to us.

But now I realize that the gospel is something far more mysterious, something far more disturbing, something far more difficult to accept, because the message of the gospel is also this: God loves us so much that he will let us try to walk in his ways, let us do the right things and be the right people, and our lives will still end up a mess. And when we reach the place where we realize just how useless our efforts to be righteous and pure and good are, and how God has absolutely no use for them, he will come to us and bring us back to himself.

I am convinced that God is as weary of our efforts to be fine, upstanding, moral people as we (if we are honest with ourselves) are. And I’ve reached a place where I’m no longer willing to make those efforts any longer. I’m tired of trying to do what God has already done for me. I’m tired of moving toward Someone I can never reach, especially when he is already standing right next to me all the time.

ECNMag has an interview with Steve Wozniak (the real design brain behind the beginning of Apple) about his new interest in energy efficient housing. I don’t generally get into the whole green vs. consumer debate, but I like his approach. Instead of getting all over people’s case about using too many resources, he is, like a good engineer should be, all about efficiency of design. By using the right materials, and the right techniques, and good design principles on the front end, things (houses in this case) can be made that don’t use as many resources as what we currently have.

As geeks and engineers go, I look at Woz in relation to computer design the way I look at NT Wright about theology. In other words – he is da MAN.

Joel, you might like this.

Michael: ecto. Worth every penny. Get it, and stop hating your blogging software.

MOD: I have it. It inserts lines into posts.

I think it’s absolutely astounding that anyone can say “viable Iraqi democracy” and not put “JN” after it.

I’m off for vacation today at some point, which probably means that Bill will get a garbled phone message or two when I make an effort to meet up with him. Bill, if you’ll have an evening free, we could meet in Postdam or Canton. Drop me an email or call me on my cell.

Besides me, are there any other Tavern members or lurkers who use Second Life? I’ve been thinking about opening a VR BHT.

Let he who is without unrepentant sin cast the first stone.

(At Bob. Not at me. I bruise easily.)

Is the gospel the announcement of the crucified and risen Jesus’ lordship? Or is it the mechanics of how one gets saved?

The announcement of the crucified and risen Christ is the ‘mechanics’ of how one gets saved.

Michael: “God, your wife and your kids wanted me to tell you that you’re an idiot.”

His problems mentally could be caused by that fact that he is so confused theologically.

Dear Watchbloggers,

In the past 15 months, I have been falsely accused of assault, had my marriage disintegrate, had my children separated from me against my will, had county sheriffs pull me out of a prayer meeting to serve papers on me, spent a month and a half homeless, and watched helplessly as my children went through enormous mental anguish as a result of this. My health has deteriorated, my teeth are worn out from grinding them. I am averaging 2-3 hours of sleep per night. I no longer can, in good conscience, participate in the worship services at my church, as the (lay) leadership of the church have refused to take any action on my behalf. I have spent massive amounts of my income fighting legal battles, lived on less than a 10th of my income, and I now have to deal with one child’s full-blown depression, in addition to my own.

Tomorrow, when I wake up (if I get to sleep at all), I am ordered to appear in court to hear explanations as to why I should give up most of my material possessions, and to be sternly admonished by the presiding officials that I am not working hard enough to obtain a divorce that I do not wish to have. When that’s over, hopefully, I will have enough time left in the day to make an appearance at my job, which I am in danger of losing because of the distractions of my personal life.

You’re damn straight if you guessed that as a result of this experience, I’m theologically confused, but there’s one aspect of God’s character that I’m perfectly clear about: He has absolutely no tolerance for sanctimonious, judgmental, self-righteous bullshit of the sort quoted above. I’m sure I speak for Michael and others here as well as myself when I respectfully admonish you, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to read the Gospels and the book of Job, and (doubtlessly infused afresh with the Spirit of truth from that experience) please shut the f**k up.

Michael said, Is this kind of conversation normal in a Christian marriage?

I’ve got a question too: How come nobody told me I was allowed to do this sort of thing when I was married?

I made a simple comment comparing the desensitizing effect of depictions of violence with the similar effect of pornography, and all sorts of mischief sprang up erect to demand attention. With my schedule, it’s hard to keep abreast of the intercourse of ideas and viewpoints here on the Tavern, but it’s fascinating to see how we can beat around the bush on this. It seems to me that in our impotence, we’ve failed to penetrate to the heart of the issue.

Sex is a part of the created order. Violence is a result of man’s sinfulness. The Fall corrupts sex, but it gives birth to violence. Even the most twisted, perverse examples of human sexual behavior have a basis (however remote) in God’s original design for mankind; that simply cannot be said for violent behavior, no matter how much the specific circumstances justify them.

Shea, not to pick particularly on you, but I’m curious: if we shoot the model first, can we take her clothes off and paint her?

Shea: Thanks for that. I guess it’s time to come out and say that I’ve converted.

More »« Less

A 6-dimensional time-like spinorial theory of space-time is proposed by Pitt mathematician George Sparling (physicists: you’re on notice).

The three spaces (“normal” space-time and two twistor spaces) comprise a harmonious trinitarian combination. Sparling hints that Newton’s interpretive grid (his commitment to unitarianism) made it impossible for Newton to conceive a triune structure to the universe. Ironically, the spinorial theory is based on Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, which concerns the conception of gravity, the force that Newton “discovered.”

“Actually, in the area of philosophy, I am in opposition to string theory,” he said. “It is a top down theory: dream up something that works in some high dimension and then try to finagle some way of reducing to fit in with the lower-dimensional theory.

Can I get an “Amen” somebody? I’ve never been enamored of string theory (except as a mildly interesting work of fiction in the romance-fantasy genre). Also, I am encouraged by the conclusion of the article, which describes Sparling’s collaboration with philosophers in exploring these ideas. That, my friends, is heaven.

Carry on.

WOW! I’ve been gone camping with the fam for a few days. I come back to check out things at my favorite bar and the place miraculously transformed from your basic pub to a top-notch drinking establishment. I FEEL UNDER-DRESSED! I quickly glanced over the list of patrons, fearing that I had been deleted in the process of ugrading. Thankfully, I find that I’m still allowed. However, I’m thinkin I better watch my P’s and Q’s. At a place like this, one has too much to drink, starts talkin too loud, and the next thing he knows he’s gettin the boot!

Michael, it looks sweet.

We interrupt this discussion of eschatology to bring you Windows using podcast listeners a little tip that will save you some time.

I don’t know why it took me so long to notice this, but if you look at the menu, under Play, you will find a sub-menu called Play Speed. Selecting fast (as opposed to normal or slow) plays back the file in a way that sounds like the dead space is being stripped out. In a way, it sounds like the fast talking legal disclaimers at the end of commercials.

It’s not helpful when listening to music, but if you are listening to sermons and speeches, it cuts time time almost in half.

As for eschatology, I don’t really have a dog in that fight, other than to say that Jesus will return bodily, and that we will be raised from the dead to be with Him in the new heavens and earth.

Still, the more I look at dispensationalism, especially the variety that has a pre-mill, pre-trib rapture associated with it, the more creepy it is. I’m ok with historic pre-mill. I’m ok with a-mill. I don’t know that much yet about post-mill. Partial preterism is appealing, but full preterism just doesn’t work. I avoid these discussions whenever possible, because they often devolve into fruitless debates. And that’s all I have to say about that. 8-)

> Calvinism: a report from the philosophical front.

It is a good post and there are some very good comments in the thread, particularly those of George Hunsinger.

I had two reactions. More »« Less

Michael: I am interested in reading the story about protestants converting to EO, but the link isn’t working for me.

Kent: I share your categorical dismay. If you are submitting to the uncategorical categorization, then I will follow you into the categoriless abyss.

BUT I’M GOING DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I realize I’m probably way behind all you wiz kids in here, but I recently upgraded to the latest, greatest Internet Explorer, and I must say I’m diggin the New Tab feature. Pretty sweet.

Now for a shameful confession. I got the Leader’s Edition of Logos Bible Software and I can’t get the hang of it. I’m missing the simplicity of my PC Bible Study. I know…I’m pathetic.

I’d like to ask a question of the experienced iPod owners.  How big of a deal is the storage size of the iPod?  I’m the kind of guy that’s going to keep and use the critter until it gets obsoleted and I’d rather pay and extra $100 now and get the 30g unit if I’m really going to use it…at the same time money’s tight and it would be nice to spend only $150 on the 2g unit.

I currently use iTunes and have about 18g of music and podcasts…but I don’t see myself using a whole lot of that everyday and at this point in time don’t care about the video capabilities so a Nano should be fine.  I guess that what I’m really asking is how easy it is to flex the content…how easy is it to swap stuff back and forth to the iPod?

Jason, one time when I was a kid I helped my mom cut up a bunch of jalapeno peppers and then went to the bathroom without washing my hands first. Need I say more?

You are a mean, mean person and need to repent. ;-)

Weather BTW: We got our first frost yesterday morning and the leaves are changing…it was sort of a dry summer so the colors probably won’t be terribly strident but I love Fall more than any other season. Crisp clear air and a cozy home to go to – pure heaven.

New nano and shuffle and an iPod Video price reduction…the only reason I’m not ordering one is that I’m saving for my MacBook.

Soon and very soon we are going to buy a Mac.

I can’t stand ‘Bible Software’, and if I were old enough to have grown up reading scrolls I’d probably hate books too.  Am I alone in my opinion that it’s not really reading when you’re looking at a book on a computer screen?  I have a bunch of eBooks on my PPC that I’d love to read…I just hate holding the thing in my hand for such a long time and pushing that stupid little lever whenever I want the next page…

All of that said you’ll never get me to part with my Nikon D70, my Epson R200 and Photoshop Elements (the real version is like way over my head).

BTW, Christopher’s (you insufferable geek!) most recent post is a case in point for staying as far away from Linux as the internet allows.