becoming

April 4-6, 2013

Our conference title is drawn from the words of Jesus to his disciples, “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles” (Matt. 10:18). The 2013 Wheaton Theology Conference explores the biblical and theological contours of the complex relationship between Christian faith and political authority. The conference seeks to deepen the church’s understanding of the political implications of the Gospel that proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Special attention will be given to the competing claims of homage, obedience, loyalty and sacrifice.

Speakers include William Cavanaugh, Tim Gombis, David Gushee, George Kalantzis, Peter Leithart, Mark Noll, Scot McKnight, Stanley Hauerwas and others!

[link]

I still use powerpoint weekly on mac osx. For a long time, whenever I tried to create pdf handouts using the grayscale or black and white mode  (Print–>Print What–>Handouts, Output –> Grayscale / Black and White), a few of the texts in various slides will appear missing and/or not color-formatted correctly. This has been very frustrating for me and the only work-around was to change the color of those texts manually.

Apparently, there is an easy fix. Download and install the Grayscale Toolbar for Microsoft PowerPoint (Free) , a macro toolbar will show up like this:

Use this instead of the print setting. The macro will temporarily setup all objects to grayscale before sending it to the printer. You should have no problem printing your handout, and at the same time saved tons of black ink/toner from your slides background!

(link: agentjim.com)

Okay, when you have a new flagship product coming out, firing your president in charge of that division is undoubtedly the worse thing you can ever imagine doing. And when I thought that was unbelievable, I came across this major Speech Recognition breakthrough news. Take a look at the video below. I think it is just as unbelievable that the presentation can be made THIS boring with a news and research that incredible:

Oh Microsoft, what are you doing?

[link: youtube]

As you might have read, Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, will be our next Archbishop of Canterbury.

While digging a bit on him, I found an interview he did with Nicky Gumble last year, in which he said:

If we preach the Gospel, if we make it straightforward and simple, make it easy for people to find Christ, don’t put barriers in the way, churches will grow. And the point about growing churches is that as people are converted and are transformed by the grace of God, that grace overflows into the world around them, and will transform the world around us.

And, my goodness, we need it.

Well said indeed!

For who are not familiar with Os Guinness, he was born in China in World War II where both his parents and grandparents were medical missionaries – his grandfather having had the privilege of treating the Empress Dowager, the Last Emperor and the Imperial family. A survivor of the terrible Henan famine of 1943, in which five million died in three months, including his two brothers, Os was a witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949 and the beginning of the reign of terror under Mao Tse Tung. He was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford. (HT: osguinness.com)

So to me, yes, he knows Evil.

In chapter 1, Jesus and Israel, Lohfink attempts to bridge the connection between the first 2 petitions of the Lord’s prayer, with the re-gathering Israel:

What is really meant by the prayer, now so strange to us, that God sanctify his name? Once again the answer is given in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 36. There it is said that the name of God has been desecrated by the dispersal of Israel among the nations. As a result of this, all the nations say: “So this is the people of God! This Yahweh must be a miserable God, if he is unable to preserve his own people from the loss of their land!” (cf. Ezek. 36:20).

Quoting from Ezek. 36:22-24, he continues:

The text clearly shows that God himself will sanctify his name. He will sanctify it by gathering Israel in the last days from all over the world, renewing it, and making it again into a holy people.

… “Sanctify your name” — this means, in other words, nothing other than “Gather and renew your people! Let it become anew the true people of God!” Jesus was obviously convinced that this eschatological gathering of the people by God had already begun now, just as the coming of the kindgom was now taking place. And Jesus was convinced that the gathering of the people and the coming of the kindgom were occurring through him. For when Jesus acted, God acted. Precisely this was Jesus’ mystery.

Lohfink further concludes (with reference to Matt 10:6) that Jesus did not envision a mission to the Gentiles. How then do the Gentiles achieve salvation? Not “become believers as a result of missionary activity; rather, the fascination emitted by the people of God draws them close.” To Lohfink, this explains why Jesus “turned so automatically to Israel alone” because “Jesus had to work in Israel, for only if the light of the reign of God shone in God’s people would it be possible for the nations to undertake the eschatological pilgrimage.” (19)

Knowing that Matt 11.8:11-12 was originally functioned as a threat directed again Israel, Lohfink draws the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14:16-24 to further describe the crisis of Israel and her failure. The Twelve functions “not only a sign promising salvation, but also a sign of judgement. At the last judgement they will testify against Israel if Israel does not repent.” (22)

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At this point, it is not clear as to what Israel should repent from? Lohfink seems to hint that Israel rejection of Jesus re-gathering of God’s people was indeed the issue. In light of this, are we to assume the death of Jesus simply as “God’s plan (to regather) went wrong”? Was Jesus’ mission a re-gathering of the Twelve to be light of the world through His death and resurrection, or were they just tragic consequences with which the Son of God perceived as one possible outcome? If the Jewish people had more or less rejected His call, how much of what He had called could still be considered as a regathering of Israel? Was it re-gathering, or re-constituting?

And to ask a hypothetical question — if Israel were to accept Jesus’ call, would the cross still be necessary?

If today is a reminder to you that there exists a reality beyond what our naked eyes can see, then I am all for it.

If today is an encouragement to use our imagination and creativity to express that good and evil both exist, then I am all for it.

But if today is about who turns out to be the scariest, the most cruel, looks the most gruesome…

If today is just another excuse to party and get wasted till dawn,

If today is about confusing your kids to do things that you have been telling them not to do for the rest of the year, namely, to get as much candies from strangers,

Then thanks,
But no thanks.

A most delightful interview with Anthony Thiselton. If you are interested in New Testament Hermeneutics, watch it!