Love Wins

Order the book that everyone is talking about.  Agree or disagree, we need to reflect on these issues.

Love Wins: : A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived By Rob Bell / HarperOne "God doesn't change, but times do, and Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, believes new times call for us to remain open and flexible, living with passion and conviction. An advocate of a postmodern approach to faith, Bell is vulnerable about his own struggles with doubt,"---Christianity Today. 224 pages, hardcover. HarperOne.

American Politics and Christians

I am connected with quite a few Americans over the Internet.  Many of these are evangelical Christians.  One of the things that I have noticed is a strong dislike for their president, Barack Obama.  I am not talking about disagreements with policies (which is completely appropriate) but a very emotional reaction against the man.  To read their statements, the main focus of evangelical Christians should be to remove Obama.  The posts I read are very insulting to the man, sharing every piece of gossip and looking for every piece of dirt against the man.  Although they would likely deny it, their words point more toward hatred than to respect.

Of course my American friends could say that as a Canadian I do not know what I am talking about.  I do not have to live under his administration.  Nor have Canadian evangelicals become as involved in politics.  Fair enough.

However, I would ask my American friends how their non-Christian friends and family when they see evangelicals getting nasty toward their president.  Again, I want to say that is completely appropriate to disagree and even work against specific policies.  But that can be done in a respectful way that does not attempt to drag the name of an important leader through the mud.


“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
(Romans 13:1–7 NIV)

What is Complaining?

I am preparing for giving up complaining for Lent.  But my question is: what is complaining?  If someone steps outside and says "It is cold out today," is that complaining?  Or would one have to say "I hate how cold it is"?  Is simply describing a state (of being cold, tired, sore, etc.) complaining?  Or would one have to be seeking sympathy/pity or expressing frustration for it to be complaining?  I am not seeking the farthest limits of what I am allowed to do.  Rather, preparing for this I have come to realize that I am not always sure when I am complaining.  What do you think?

Mission Trip

I am very excited for my wife Amanda who will be going on a mission trip this summer.  Here is some information:

August 5-17th 2011
The Czech Republic is Europe's and possibly the world's most atheistic country, in part owing to their Communist past, and in part owing to their position as an emerging and prosperous nation. Ministry in Czech republic is based on provision of English language training in various ways. Teaching English has been shown as an amazing tool that the Lord allows us to use in order to get closer to the Czech people and to share Gospel with them. May we use this amazing opportunity to serve just by speaking our native language!  
 
We will be working at Bethel House of Christian Help in Litomerice, Czech Republic.  http://www.bethel.cz/en/
 
Donations can be made to CBM, our project number is S3365 with "Amanda Bedard" specified somewhere on the cheque or donation.  The total cost is $2,700/person.


Please consider supporting Amanda, for sure through prayer and hopefully financially as well.  Thanks!

Letters to the Seven Churches

If you are ever interested in the letters to the seven churches from Revelation 2-3, one of the best resources I have encountered is William Barclay's study of them.  Helpful research on the cities and the cultural background.  A great resource.

Letters to the Seven Churches By William Barclay / Westminster John Knox Press

Lent 2011

Lent for this year will begin on March 9, 2011.  A few years ago Amanda and I started giving up things for Lent.  We do not do this out of obligation but because we choose to.  It is always a challenge to figure out what to give up.  There are so many times I can give up coffee and chocolate (at least as far as I am concerned).  This year I have decided to go with my hardest one yet.  I am going to attempt to give up complaining.  I will try not to complain about being tired, hungry, about the weather, politicians, I will not even complain about hard it is not to complain.  In a strange sort of way I am looking forward to it and I am already trying to work toward it.  What are you giving up for Lent?

Gifted Hands

This coming Saturday (February 26, 2011), First Baptist Church Meaford is hosting a movie day.  We will be watching the movie Gifted Hands, starring Cuba Gooding Jr.  It is the inspirational story of Ben Carson.  If you are in the Meaford area, come and join us at 2:00 pm on Feb. 26.

Blonde's Year in Review

January 
Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.  

February  
Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels.....
Helllloooo!!!.......bottles won't fit in printer!!!

March
Got  really excited.....finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months.....
Box said ' 2-4 years!'  

April  
Trapped on escalator for hours ....  
Power went out!!!

May
Tried to make Kool-Aid.....wrong instructions....
8 cups of water won't fit into those little packets!!!  

June
Tried to go water skiing.......
Couldn't find a lake with a slope.   

July
Lost breast stroke swimming competition.....
Learned later that the other swimmers cheated- they used their arms!!!

August
Got locked out of my car in rain storm.....
Darn car filled up with water because convertible top was open.

September   
The capital of California is 'C'.....isn't it???   

October
Hate M & M's....They are so hard to peel.  

November   
Baked Thanksgiving turkey for 4 1/2 days  ... 
Instructions said bake 1 hour per pound and I weigh 108!!  

December 
Couldn't call 911.
'Duh'.....there's no 'eleven' button on the stupid phone!!! 

Canadians vs. Americans

As I travel and meet Americans, I enjoy comparing our knowledge of each other's countries.  I often ask my new American friends to name even on Canadian Prime Minister.  Most often they cannot, although on our most recent trip we did meet an American who knew the name of our current Prime Minister.  I would like to put out a challenge.  I will do my best to name as many American Presidents as I can.  In return, I would like my American friends, without looking it up in a book or on the Internet, to name as many Canadian Prime Ministers as they can.  My Canadian friends can add to my list (again without cheating).  I know that I cannot do near all of them, but here I go:

Barack Obama
George Bush
Bill Clinton
George Bush
Ronald Reagan
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
John F. Kennedy
F. D. Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Abraham Lincoln
John Adams
John Q. Adams
George Washington

A Great Anniversary

Today is Amanda and my eleventh anniversary.  This past week we went on a short cruise.  We flew to Miami and then boarded the Carnival Imagination and sailed to Cozumel, Mexico.  After a day on the beach, we went to Key West, Florida.  It was a nice relaxing cruise.  We arrived in Toronto last night and had our anniversary dinner.  Today we drove back to Meaford, but first of all stooped by to see Abby.  Abby is doing great and we had a nice visit.  Thanks Amanda for a great anniversary and I look forward to many more.  Love you!

If God, Why Evil?

This was a great book that I highly recommend.

If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think about the Question By Norman L. Geisler / Bethany House Why does God allow evil to exist? Good question, says Geisler. Addressing metaphysical, moral, and physical complexities, he surveys evil's nature, origin, persistence, and purpose; offers a biblical discussion of why a loving God allows some people to experience hell; and shares personal stories of believers who found real-life solutions to the conundrum of pain and suffering. 176 pages, softcover from Bethany.

Happy Anniversary!

Since I don't know how much Internet access I will have, and I know I won't have the time on our cruise, I wanted to take a moment now to mention it will be Amanda and my eleventh anniversary on February 19.  There has been so much that has taken place since that February at Central Gospel Temple in St. Catharines eleven years ago.  There have been some pretty challenging times and some great times full of laughter.  For all of it, I am thankful to have Amanda at my side.  She is a fantastic wife and mother and most of all, my best friend!  Happy anniversary Amanda, love you with everything!

Critiques of Metaxas' Bonhoeffer

There have been some sharp critiques of Eric Metaxas' Bonhoeffer.  A good example is the review by Richard Weikart, that you can read here.  Since I gave a positive review of the book in Hope's Reason: A Journal of Apologetics, I thought I should address this.  First of all, I think that Weikart and other critics make some very good points.  I hope that Metaxas takes some of these criticisms into account if he ever does a revision of his book.  However, I still hold on to my positive assessment of the book and will continue to recommend it.  How can I do this?  I never took this book as a scholarly treatment of the theology and philosophy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  I took it as a work that is meant to capture the imagination and interest of Christians, especially evangelicals, with regard to the life of Bonhoeffer.  To this end, Metaxas is extremely successful, something that the more scholarly treatments have failed to do.  My hope is that people will read Metaxas' book and the interest that is sparked will lead them to read more scholarly books and even more importantly on the actual works of Bonhoeffer.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer may not have been an evangelical Christian, but his thought and life is more than worthy of our time, study and respect.

Article on 1 Corinthians 13

Last summer, I taught a course on 1 Corinthians at Tyndale University College.  There were some very good papers that were sent in.  A suggested to a couple of students that they submit them as journal articles.  One of the students, Pius Hau, just had his paper published in the American Journal of Biblical Theology.  You can read his paper on 1 Corinthians 13 here, just in time for Valentine's Day.  Congratulations Pius!

Christians and War

A friend of mine sent me this link to a blog post on Christians and war.  The post is by Greg Boyd, someone I respect very much.  I do not want to respond point by point, nor do I want to get into the details of what is or what is not a just war.  But as someone who is in the process of joining the army reserves as a chaplain, the question of Christians in the army is very close to my heart.  I will give this complex issue only a relatively brief treatment.

One of the things that we need to do is acknowledge that warfare is treated and regulated in the Old Testament.  One might respond by saying, yes that was the Old Testament, but as Christians we follow the New Testament.  Actually, the Christian Bible contains both Testaments and we have to deal with both.  Yes there are changes in the way following God looks since the coming of Jesus.  But one must wonder if God saw fighting in war as inherently wrong, why does the Old Testament deal with war in the way it does?  One would have expected that even in the Old Testament it would be condemned.  Remember, the New Testament does not contradict the Old Testament, it intensifies and clarifies and fulfills it.

But did not Jesus say that we should love our enemies?  Of course he did.  However, the context of Jesus' commands are clearly when conflict takes place between two individuals.  If a person hurts you, you must respond with love rather than hatred.  Jesus does not seem to be dealing with the duties of a soldier in the military.  That is not to say that these teachings are irrelevant to the military.  If a soldier finds a wounded soldier from the other side, they should help.  If they two once opposing soldier should encounter after the war, they should respond in love rather than hatred.  A soldier should not do their duty fueled by hatred for the enemy but out of a desire to preserve freedom and to ultimately bring about peace.

After all this, I want to make one more thing clear.  I do not want to say that all Christians should be supportive of military action, nor am I saying that all Christians should be pacifistic.  There is not one Christian position.  On this issue, we must all follow our own conscience, while we respect those who disagree with us.

Beyond the Lighted Stage

One of the first rock bands I was ever a fan of was Rush.  It all started when my cousin brought Fly By Night over to my house one New Year's Eve.  One of the first records I ever bought was Moving Pictures. In fact one of the first concerts I went to was Rush, seeing them in Hamilton with opening act FM.  Throughout the years, I have been continually impressed with their music.  Few bands have the same depth of lyrics and extreme level of musical ability.  They remain one of my favorites.  I recently watched the documentary called Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.  I highly recommend it for any fan of Rush, to be reminded of their greatness.

Watch What You Wish For

As you may know, our son Logan is autistic and nonverbal.  Our prayer for him has always been that he be able to talk.  We were hoping for something like: "I love you mommy and daddy!"  This morning Halo, Logan and I went shopping at the grocery store.  As we approached the checkout, Logan stuck his head around the corner, looked at an old man and shouted: "STUPID!"  Whoops, not quite we were going for.

Jesus and the Synoptic Tradition

I will be teaching a course this summer on Jesus and the Synoptic Tradition at Tyndale University College. We will be focusing on the Gospel of Luke.  One of the fun things about preparing a course is choosing the text books.  These are the texts that I have chosen:

New International Biblical Commentary (NIBC), Luke By Craig A. Evans / Baker Academic Plenty of important questions vie for attention in contemporary Lucan scholarship. In this volume, Craig Evans not only demonstrates a firm grasp of them, but makes them comprehensible to laypeople. His clear writing and logical explanations lay open both difficult Lucan passages and scholarly arguments about them.

The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is By N.T. Wright / Inter-varsity Press A renewed and vigorous scholarly quest for the historical Jesus is underway. Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship and Christian ministry, Wright challenges us to roll up our sleeves and take seriously the study of the historical Jesus. The Challenge of Jesus poses the challenge of learning to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, while following Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.

Gospel Parallels, NRSV Edition By Burton Throckmorton / Thomas Nelson This book is a side-by-side comparison of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The parallel arrangement facilitates study of the first three Gospels, highlighting the similarities and differences in language and chronology. This completely revised edition, set in the NRSV, features a readable new type, cross-references, an updated critical apparatus, and a brief history of the transmission of the Greek New Testament. Now, instead of forcing the synoptic texts into an arbitrary timetable, this simple side-by-side alignment lets you do your own comparisons.