Blaise Pascal lived thirty-nine years of the seventeenth century, and was perpetually sick. From childhood he was in pain every day, but along the way he invented one of the first calculating machines, the very first public transportation system, probability theory, decision theory, and much of the mathematics of risk managemetn, and provided the existence of the vacuum - all of which set the stage for quantum physics the insurance industry, management science racing forms the computer, Powerball lotteries, Las Vegas. the vacuum pump, the concept of outer space, ,the jet engine the internal combustion engine, the atomic bomb mass media. and on and on.
Source : James A Connor, Pascal's Wager : The Man Who Played Dice With God. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Babies in 2007
From the New York Times:
"More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than in any other year in American history, according to preliminary data reported Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics."
That's encouraging.
"28 percent of white babies were born to unmarried mothers in 2007, compared with 51 percent of Hispanic babies and 72 percent of black babies."
That's distressing.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19birth.html?em=&pagewanted=print
"More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than in any other year in American history, according to preliminary data reported Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics."
That's encouraging.
"28 percent of white babies were born to unmarried mothers in 2007, compared with 51 percent of Hispanic babies and 72 percent of black babies."
That's distressing.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19birth.html?em=&pagewanted=print
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Male Violence
As I crossed a street this evening a young man in his late teens, out of the blue, pointed at me using his fingers to mimic a gun, and said ‘bang.’
His gesture was, of course, rude, but I spent the rest of my walk pondering why someone would carry out such an anti-social and impolite activity. Really, who pretends to shoot strangers crossing the street, I thought to myself?
It was a busy street, and I wondered if I was selected at random, or targeted. I was well dressed, so perhaps he was expressing a social angst against ‘the establishment’. Perhaps I looked at him wrongly. Perhaps he is mentally ill. Perhaps he was high or drunk. Perhaps he didn’t like my coat. Perhaps he perceived me to be weak and relished the power of intimidation.
Ironically, one of the library books I was carrying at the time is called ‘The Beast Within: Why Men Are Violent.’ The author, a Canadian criminology professor, makes an interesting argument. He suggests that theories which posit that men are more violent then women because boys are socialized to be aggressive ignores an important reality. History.
“Male violence has been a hallmark of all human cultures,” he writes. “Throughout history, the perpetrators of the most vile and savage crimes always have been and still are almost exclusively male.”
Source.
Neil Boyd. The Beast Within : Why Men are Violent. Vancouver. Greystone Books, 2000.
His gesture was, of course, rude, but I spent the rest of my walk pondering why someone would carry out such an anti-social and impolite activity. Really, who pretends to shoot strangers crossing the street, I thought to myself?
It was a busy street, and I wondered if I was selected at random, or targeted. I was well dressed, so perhaps he was expressing a social angst against ‘the establishment’. Perhaps I looked at him wrongly. Perhaps he is mentally ill. Perhaps he was high or drunk. Perhaps he didn’t like my coat. Perhaps he perceived me to be weak and relished the power of intimidation.
Ironically, one of the library books I was carrying at the time is called ‘The Beast Within: Why Men Are Violent.’ The author, a Canadian criminology professor, makes an interesting argument. He suggests that theories which posit that men are more violent then women because boys are socialized to be aggressive ignores an important reality. History.
“Male violence has been a hallmark of all human cultures,” he writes. “Throughout history, the perpetrators of the most vile and savage crimes always have been and still are almost exclusively male.”
Source.
Neil Boyd. The Beast Within : Why Men are Violent. Vancouver. Greystone Books, 2000.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Calvin on Office of Mediator
The work to be performed by the Mediator was of no common description: being to restore us to the divine favour, so as to make us, instead of sons of men, sons of God; instead of heirs of hell, heirs of a heavenly kingdom. Who could do this unless the Son of God should also become the Son of man, and so receive what is ours as to transfer to us what is His, making that which is His by nature to become ours by grace? Relying on this earnest, we trust that we are the sons of God, because the natural Son of God assumed to Himself a body of our body, flesh of our flesh, bones of our bones, that He might become with us; He declined not to take what was peculiar to us that He might in turn extend to us what was peculiarly His own and thus might be in common with us both Son of God and Son of Man.
Hence that holy brotherhood which He commends with His own lips, when He says, “I ascend to my Father, and your Father to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). In this way, we have a sure inheritance in the heavenly kingdom, because the only Son of God, to whom it entirely belonged has adopted us as His brethren; and if brethren, then partners with Him in the inheritance (Romans 8:17).
Moreover, it was especially necessary for this cause also that He would was to be our Redeemer should be truly God and man. It was His to swallow up death: who but Life could do so? It was His to conquer sin: who could do so save Righteousness itself? It was His to put to flight the powers of the air and the world: who could do so but the mighty power superior to both? But who possesses life and righteousness, and the dominion and government of heaven, but God alone? Therefore God, in His infinite mercy, having determined to redeem us, because Himself our Redeemer in the person of His only begotten Son.
Another principal part of our reconciliation with God was, that man, who had lost Himself by His disobedience, should by way of remedy, oppose to it obedience, satisfy the justice of God, and pay the penalty of sin. Therefore, our Lord came forth very man, adopted the person of Adam, and assumed His name, that He might in His stead obey the Father; that He might present our flesh as the price of satisfaction to the just judgment of God and in the same flesh pay the penalty which we had incurred. Finally, since as God only He could not suffer and as man only could not overcome death He united the human nature with the divine, that He might subject the weakness of the one of death as an expiation for sin and by the power of the other, maintaining a struggle with death, might gain us the victory.
A common nature is the pledge of our union with the Son of God; that, clothed with our flesh, He warred to death with sin that He might be our triumphant conqueror; that the flesh which He received of us He offered in sacrifice, in order that by making expiation He might wipe away our guilt, and appease the just anger of His Father. (Book Second, Chapter 12 Sections 2-3)
Source : John Calvin, Institute of the Christian Religion, Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008, p. 298-299.
Hence that holy brotherhood which He commends with His own lips, when He says, “I ascend to my Father, and your Father to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). In this way, we have a sure inheritance in the heavenly kingdom, because the only Son of God, to whom it entirely belonged has adopted us as His brethren; and if brethren, then partners with Him in the inheritance (Romans 8:17).
Moreover, it was especially necessary for this cause also that He would was to be our Redeemer should be truly God and man. It was His to swallow up death: who but Life could do so? It was His to conquer sin: who could do so save Righteousness itself? It was His to put to flight the powers of the air and the world: who could do so but the mighty power superior to both? But who possesses life and righteousness, and the dominion and government of heaven, but God alone? Therefore God, in His infinite mercy, having determined to redeem us, because Himself our Redeemer in the person of His only begotten Son.
Another principal part of our reconciliation with God was, that man, who had lost Himself by His disobedience, should by way of remedy, oppose to it obedience, satisfy the justice of God, and pay the penalty of sin. Therefore, our Lord came forth very man, adopted the person of Adam, and assumed His name, that He might in His stead obey the Father; that He might present our flesh as the price of satisfaction to the just judgment of God and in the same flesh pay the penalty which we had incurred. Finally, since as God only He could not suffer and as man only could not overcome death He united the human nature with the divine, that He might subject the weakness of the one of death as an expiation for sin and by the power of the other, maintaining a struggle with death, might gain us the victory.
A common nature is the pledge of our union with the Son of God; that, clothed with our flesh, He warred to death with sin that He might be our triumphant conqueror; that the flesh which He received of us He offered in sacrifice, in order that by making expiation He might wipe away our guilt, and appease the just anger of His Father. (Book Second, Chapter 12 Sections 2-3)
Source : John Calvin, Institute of the Christian Religion, Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008, p. 298-299.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The New Calvinism
Time Magazine has selected 'The New Calvinism' as among the 10 ideas changing the world right now. It's a great article, and I especially love the lede: "If you really want to follow the development of conservative Christianity, track its musical hits. In the early 1900s you might have heard "The Old Rugged Cross," a celebration of the atonement. By the 1980s you could have shared the Jesus-is-my-buddy intimacy of "Shine, Jesus, Shine." And today, more and more top songs feature a God who is very big, while we are...well, hark the David Crowder Band: "I am full of earth/ You are heaven's worth/ I am stained with dirt/ Prone to depravity."
Awesome.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884760,00.html
Awesome.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884760,00.html
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Evangelical Anglicanism : 'Practical Calvinism'
The theological root of Anglican Evangelicalism can be summarized as moderate Calvinism. This can be seen in the appeal to the Protestantism of the Thirty-Nine Articles, in the theological discussions of the Eclectic Society and expressed today in modern Anglican Evangelical scholarship. It brings together the continued Reformed or Puritan traditions alongside the insights of the Revival with the renewed spiritual heart, which chimes with the historic foundations of the Anglican tradition. The centrality of the cross, with the death of Christ understood as both substitutionary and as penal, has been a key defining feature of Evangelicalism.
One nineteenth-century Evangelical leader, Daniel Wilson, descried (Evangelical Anglicanism) as ‘practical Calvinism’. This meant the retention of the Calvinist stress on sin and depravity, and hence on the work of Christ upon the cross, but rather than a strict application of the benefits of the atonement only to the elect, stress on the sufficiency of the cross for all. This emphasis has been of significant importance for holding together the priority of evangelism alongside a Reformed doctrinal emphasis within Anglican Evangelicalism.
Source : Richard Turnbull, Anglican and Evangelical, New York : Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007, p. 93-94
One nineteenth-century Evangelical leader, Daniel Wilson, descried (Evangelical Anglicanism) as ‘practical Calvinism’. This meant the retention of the Calvinist stress on sin and depravity, and hence on the work of Christ upon the cross, but rather than a strict application of the benefits of the atonement only to the elect, stress on the sufficiency of the cross for all. This emphasis has been of significant importance for holding together the priority of evangelism alongside a Reformed doctrinal emphasis within Anglican Evangelicalism.
Source : Richard Turnbull, Anglican and Evangelical, New York : Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007, p. 93-94
Sunday, March 08, 2009
The New Moneyed Class
I am reading, with fascination, David Brooks’ semi-satirical, semi-social commentary on the new North American upper class; the well-educated and socially conscious. Brooks’s observations are fascinating and funny, but I wonder if this book will become an artefact of a short-lived era.
This book is 9 years old; and with the ongoing market corrections and economic turmoil, I wonder if this culture will, if not entirely disappear, morph into something completely different.
His description of how this well-educated, and up until recently, high-flying cohort handled money, perhaps provides insight into how we, in part, got to where we are today.
He writes, “As they became more affluent, money turned into a liquid. It flows into the bank account in a prodigious stream. And it flows out just as quickly. The earner is reduced to spectator status and is vaguely horrified by how quickly the money is flowing through. He or she may try to stem the outward flow in order to do more saving. But it’s hard to know where to erect the dam. The money just flows on its own. And after a while one’s ability to stay afloat through all the ebbs and flows becomes a sign of accomplishment in itself. The big money stream is another aptitude test. Far from being a source of corruption, money turns into a sign of mastery. It begins to seem deserved, natural.”
Source: David Brooks, Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 38
This book is 9 years old; and with the ongoing market corrections and economic turmoil, I wonder if this culture will, if not entirely disappear, morph into something completely different.
His description of how this well-educated, and up until recently, high-flying cohort handled money, perhaps provides insight into how we, in part, got to where we are today.
He writes, “As they became more affluent, money turned into a liquid. It flows into the bank account in a prodigious stream. And it flows out just as quickly. The earner is reduced to spectator status and is vaguely horrified by how quickly the money is flowing through. He or she may try to stem the outward flow in order to do more saving. But it’s hard to know where to erect the dam. The money just flows on its own. And after a while one’s ability to stay afloat through all the ebbs and flows becomes a sign of accomplishment in itself. The big money stream is another aptitude test. Far from being a source of corruption, money turns into a sign of mastery. It begins to seem deserved, natural.”
Source: David Brooks, Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 38
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Abraham Kuyper on Calling
Abraham Kuyper : 'My calling is high, my task is glorious. Above my bed hangs a crucifix, and when I look up there it is as if the Lord is asking me each night: 'What is your struggle next to my bitter cup?' His service is so exalting and glorious."
Source: Os Guinness, The Call, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003, p. 155.
Source: Os Guinness, The Call, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003, p. 155.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Church Covenant
I was formally welcomed into my new church as a member. The new members (all 8 of us) recited the Church Covenant with the rest of the congregation. It's beautiful.
As an organized group of Christian people, we enter into Covenant, one with another, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, grace and Godly living; to promote its Christian spirit by sustaining its worship, sacraments, discipline, doctrine and the maintenance of the Biblical norms and standards of conduct; to contribute to the support of the Ministry, to the expenses of the Church, and to serve, as our respective talents and circumstances permit, the mission of the Church, which Covenant is made in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
As an organized group of Christian people, we enter into Covenant, one with another, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, grace and Godly living; to promote its Christian spirit by sustaining its worship, sacraments, discipline, doctrine and the maintenance of the Biblical norms and standards of conduct; to contribute to the support of the Ministry, to the expenses of the Church, and to serve, as our respective talents and circumstances permit, the mission of the Church, which Covenant is made in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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