tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35103462024-03-14T03:03:36.704-04:00Blogcorner preacherJohn Luke's itinerant preachingsJack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.comBlogger561125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-29182519983249593082007-07-30T09:58:00.000-04:002007-07-30T09:59:59.651-04:00Changing VenueThis blog is now published at Wordpress. You will be automatically directed there after a few seconds, or you may click http://johnluke.wordpress.com.Thanks for dropping by.Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-89916144240417698272007-07-29T14:50:00.000-04:002007-07-29T14:53:49.848-04:00"chemical in essence""The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems" is the title of a report from the National Research Council, and, as written up in today's WaPo Outlook section, in a lively article by Joel Achenbach, we are told this grim truth about life as we know it:"It is chemical in essence," the report says of life, a statement that is both bland and mind-boggling. Life, you'd think, would be more than Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-18480072723912368502007-07-27T07:12:00.000-04:002007-07-26T21:19:29.522-04:00Big LoveHave you seen the HBO original series, "Big Love?" If not, you're missing something. This is likely the show that Mormons, most especially Mormons running for national office, would prefer to disappear down the memory hole.The show's premise? An ostensibly normal and successful businessman, Bill Henrickson (played superbly by Bill Paxton), attempts to balance his polygamous life with the Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-31805360501465555692007-07-26T11:03:00.000-04:002007-07-26T11:58:33.150-04:00Pio XIIOne of the most difficult subjects for any Christian, or any Jew for that matter, is the role of the Roman Catholic Church during the Holocaust. After the deed was done, after six million were killed, one may find a full spectrum of belief as to what the Church, and the pope during that time, Pius XII, did, and did not do.Nothing brings out the apologists for the Church so much as a new, Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-75298360204347997312007-07-24T15:57:00.000-04:002007-07-24T16:22:22.414-04:00narcissismOne of the diseases afflicting the Christian church generally is alive and well in the Roman Church. The target is the hymnal, Glory and Praise, which is raked over the coals in this posting at Mere Comments. Here's the litany of complaint:-- the neutering of old masculine language about mankind and even God-- the heedless fouling up of the old poetry, to update a "thou" and a "thee"-- the Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-8059151846986043262007-07-23T09:07:00.000-04:002007-07-22T21:09:09.871-04:00Hope for IslamThere is an essay in Sunday's Washington Post Outlook section that gives some hope for a better, more tolerant future for Islam. It is "Losing My Jihadism" by Mansour al-Nogaidan, a Saudi native.The essence of his charge to his co-religionists? Reinterpret the Koran; learn to live in peace with others. From the essay:Muslims are too rigid in our adherence to old, literal interpretations of theJack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-65884565703271518732007-07-22T09:53:00.000-04:002007-07-22T11:16:06.727-04:00a right to be wrongRod Dreher has written an essay which should be read by anyone who is offended by Pope Benedict's statement earlier this month (MSNBC story here). That statement reaffirmed ancient Roman Catholic teaching: that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true and complete Christian church.Dreher's central thesis? It's far better for denominations to make forthright truth claims while still Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-83062724889818276892007-07-20T11:40:00.000-04:002007-07-20T12:31:26.299-04:00"atheistic theology posing as science"The best man running for president? Got to be Senator Sam Brownback, a man who lives his Christian faith in the public square, without apology. Part of this has included going into the lion's den of the secular-humanist media and explaining his stance on evolution in an op-ed in the New York Times. Evolution, which, somewhat akin now to global warming, is treated as an article of faith by the Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-78657263925539106692007-07-19T13:15:00.001-04:002007-07-19T13:29:50.412-04:00The glory of GodThe object in the photo, taken by the Hubble orbiting telescope, is the Sombrero Galaxy.This is a rather large object, and it's a bit of a haul from Earth. The basics from the Hubble website:The Sombrero lies at the southern edge of the rich Virgo cluster of galaxies and is one of the most massive objects in that group, equivalent to 800 billion suns. The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-23979676028776458712007-07-18T17:34:00.000-04:002007-07-18T17:49:05.501-04:00Orthodox study "Bible"I am a big fan of study bibles; they're a necessary complement to anyone who wishes to delve into Scripture. My personal favorite is the Reformation Study Bible, edited by R.C. Sproul. This study bible uses the English Standard Version, which has become my favorite word-for-word translation.Not that the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, using the NIV thought-for-thought translation and Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-40182259624141123832007-07-17T20:10:00.000-04:002007-07-17T20:25:14.034-04:00ConformitySomething that we must keep in mind whenever someone suggests doing something to make our church services more "relevant" or "youth-oriented." Or whatever seems to be the flavor of the month.It's very simple: there are eternal truths. There is one very large eternal Truth, with a capital "T" -- Jesus Christ is Lord, and he has overcome the world (John 16:33). He has overcome the world, so Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-85325777290533167072007-07-16T16:40:00.001-04:002007-07-16T17:19:09.180-04:00Necessary and sufficient"Necessary and sufficient" is the usual standard of proof for an hypothesis. What about the hypothesis that religion is a good thing? Well, this is a little tougher, as any proof depends on faith: belief in things that simply can't be proven.However, I make the case that the Jewish and Christian religions are, at their core, good. They are better than good. They ennoble us. Here is my Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-89742627262474015282007-07-15T17:25:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:18:40.318-04:00A little C.S. Lewis"Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." -- C.S. Lewis, Mere ChristianityJack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-6107451062386633992007-07-15T09:24:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:19:06.605-04:00"immoral teachings"It is amusing, in a sad sort of way, how committed atheists will trot out every chestnut in the long list of immoral acts done in the name of religion. But, like making a hobo's stew, everything, and I mean everything, gets thrown in the pot without regard to relevance to the task at hand.Case in point is one of the best of the atheist class, Christopher Hitchens, writing a response to a Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-81664806775464724722007-07-09T19:46:00.000-04:002007-07-09T20:09:03.675-04:00A step backwardsFirst, a disclaimer: I love Pope Benedict. As a fellow Christian, and as a learned theologian. But I'm afraid he has taken a giant step backwards for the Roman Church in re-authorizing the Tridentine Mass.What's wrong with Latin? Nothing, as a language, although it's got far too many verb forms... But why this fixation by so-called traditional Catholics on the Latin Mass? The usual answer, Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-52477964726981849472007-07-07T09:42:00.000-04:002007-07-07T16:02:06.778-04:00Legalism and eternityJust thinking about a book that probably doesn't get read much by most Christians: Leviticus. This is the "how to" manual for priests, of the tribe of Levi. Details, details; it's all in the details.Leviticus also, of course, contains much wisdom for how we should organize our societies and what is good in the eyes of the Lord, and what is not good. Or, in the text, an "abomination" unto the Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-21313459632958164662007-07-04T09:47:00.000-04:002007-07-04T16:54:42.390-04:00Let your words be fewThis is always good advice; advice that I sometimes don't heed. From the Preacher, as recorded in Ecclesiastes chapter 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heavenJack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-76332970713632769052007-07-01T10:15:00.001-04:002007-07-01T17:23:43.620-04:00"Allah, Allah"Ahh, the ever-present battle cry of those who wish us dead. This is what one of the Muslim terrorists was screaming as he was in the SUV that two terrorists attempted to ram into Glasgow airport.It appears they, and the plotters of the failed car bombs in London, are all Paki Muslims. All of which may lead apologists for terror to sell, like the rancid snake oil it is, the notion that Britain's Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-40396799425721513282007-06-29T21:20:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:21:11.575-04:00Well, guess we'll throw Jesus outI'm a Baptist; not the best Baptist, perhaps not even a good Baptist. But I do read my Scripture, and take to heart what I read. And have little regard for those who try to enforce their notions of Christian rectitude on the rest of us. A case in point is this attempt by the Missouri Baptist Convention to bring back Prohibition. Carrie Nation is tanned, rested, and ready... From ChristianityJack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-70635814647373858052007-06-28T12:43:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:21:32.165-04:00Rescue mePresident Bush, throwing good money after bad, has now pandered to the very people who only wish us to convert or die. In a speech before the Islamic Center in Washington, he promised to, among other things, appoint a superfluous envoy to the Jew- and Christian-hating Organization of the Islamic Conference.The envoy's purpose? To listen and learn. All about how there's really only a few hard Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-79729501430841472752007-06-27T19:09:00.001-04:002007-07-15T21:21:50.917-04:00ProtestantsIn the basic meaning of the word, of course. Christian Protestants, although initially protesting the abuses of the Roman Church, are nonetheless the very antithesis of Muslim protestants. Protestants, of the Christian persuasion, have free will and freedom of conscience at the very heart of our faith. We Baptists (and many others) call this religious liberty, and it is as foreign from Islam Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-355681630332185682007-06-25T13:59:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:22:24.155-04:00Idolatry in Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe image shows pilgrims on a trek up to "Apparition Hill" outside Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. What brings them, and why are they worshipping a statue of Mary?From a front page article in today's secularist Washington Post, the basics:People have been coming to this rocky slope since June 24, 1981, when six children said the Virgin Mary appeared to them here. The crowds have grown so Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-56492930567865206832007-06-24T21:01:00.001-04:002007-07-15T21:22:41.864-04:00"Have You Prayed for bin Laden Today?"One Brother Andrew is a piece of work, when he challenges Christians to forgive Muslim terrorists, for the stated reason "We forgive you Muslims because Jesus forgave us." This interesting take on forgiveness may be found at Christianity Today. Andrew appears to be one whose got dhimmitude down to a science. In English we might call this appeasement.Since Andrew invokes the name of our Savior Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-66785752795171479882007-06-23T10:55:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:22:59.394-04:00"reparations"Christian charity prevents me from writing the adjective that first came to mind when I read the following paragraph from, who else, an Episcopal priest:My prescription for a way out, I freely admit, is based on policy considerations, not necessarily a moral compass. My sense is that the best -- or rather, the least-damaging -- course would be to initiate a gradual pullout of U.S. forces, to be Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510346.post-331790340685574732007-06-22T13:59:00.000-04:002007-07-15T21:23:22.731-04:00a "Bonhoeffer moment"Jesuits are known as being protean, and conforming, chameleon-like, to whatever the current Roman Church hierarchy seems to expect. Or, of late, the opposite of what the Roman Church expects. Once called the Pope's Shock Troops, now, perhaps, they might be called the Popes Legal Beagles.Here in the United States, Jesuits may be expected to be on the left side of the political spectrum, still Jack Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17927497259786092172noreply@blogger.com0