Category Bound Will

Reactionary Augustinian Evangelicalism

Time to read OR re-read:

The City of God, v. I & v. II by Saint Augustine (for our fearless leaders(???));

Confessions by Saint Augustine (for sinners who think there is no way out);

The Teacher by Saint Augustine (for those who think they are ‘Educators’);

On Free Choice of the Will by Saint Augustine (for those who think they are in charge); and of course

The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther (I, along with Dr. Jim Nestingen suggest the Packer & Johnston edition)

Be Well

SDG

A good day begins with…….

Along with Burt Shavitz, I am of the humble conviction that a good day is when I do not have anywhere to go and no one shows up at the gate.  Additionally, there are things that add to the blessings of each day.  So, where to begin?

After Vigils and Lauds, then………

It should be noted that these are baked in a cast iron skillet.

They are made in the ‘old way.’

Oven at 450 degree F…then

In a bowl put two cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of soda, and a tablespoon of baking powder.  Mix in a quarter cup of lard (yes, LARD), then a cup of buttermilk.  Once it is all mixed into a mass, place it in a well seasoned skillet or pan and spread it around somewhat even.  Used a cup or cutter in the center, then a knife for the division of the biscuits.

Place the skillet with dough in the pre-heated oven for 15 – 20 minutes, but usually until the tops are golden brown.  Your ready for breakfast.

Be well.

SDG

Free Range….

As the poor masses wait in lines of traffic, I am confronted with free ranging herbivores just out the front window………

And so it goes……….

May you be blessed with your own free range.

SDG

Who do you serve?

In the Old Testament we are admonished by Joshua when he states clearly:

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Of course following Joshua has always been difficult.  Joshua was under the law and could only ascribe to the law.

Until………..

“If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour.”

So, as a gentle reminder to those who can:

“… go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

I have recently been reminded of how much ‘faith’ most people put in Princes and Principalities.  When I go down river, it seems everyone I hear is on one side of a dichotomy or the other.  It appears that they have never considered that there might be another option, a ‘third thing’ so to speak (more on this ‘third thing’ later).  For now and only as a reminder to the remnant:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

SDG

Broken by the church

If your church is giving you grief, watch this….

Isaiah Rising

Michelangelo,_profeti,_Isaiah_01

 

The time for lamenting has come to an end.  Take up the Gospel and follow……

Guide to government…..

Jesus_wept

“The coercive apparatus is the state, whose sole raison d’être is to protect its subjects, individually from each other, and collectively from external foes. It is true that a few German would-be philosophers of this venal age wish to distort the state into an institution for the spread of morality, education, and edifying instruction. But such a view contains, lurking in the background, the Jesuitical aim of doing away with personal freedom and individual development, and of making men mere wheels in a huge Chinese governmental and religious machine. And this is the road that once led to Inquisitions, to Autos-da-fé, and religious wars. Frederick the Great showed that he at least never wished to tread it, when he said: “In my land every one shall care for his own salvation, as he himself thinks best.” Nevertheless, we still see everywhere (with the more apparent than real exception of North America) that the state undertakes to provide for the metaphysical needs of its members. The governments appear to have adopted as their guiding principle the tenet of Quintus Curtius: Nulla res efficacius multitudinem regit, quam superstitio: alioquin impotens, saeva, mutabilis; ubi vana religione capta est, melius vatibus, quam ducibus suis paret.” (There is no more efficient instrument in ruling the masses than superstition. Without this they have no self-control; they are brutish; they are changeable; but once they are caught by some vain form of religion, they lend a more willing ear to its soothsayers than to their own leaders).  – Schopenhauer; The Basis of Morality.  (Bold is my own).
 
SDG

Random links that are on the narrow road….

Jesus_wept

The Gospel is always trouble and causes RageQuit!

Failure mode is an engineering term, but it is the standard by which american ‘churches’ operates.

 

Re-Reading

Augustine_Lateran

I have been re-reading to be fortified for the world to come.  Soon there will be more to say.  For now…

SDG

St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

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Merciful Lord, we beseech Thee to cast the bright beams of Thy light upon Thy Church; that it, being instructed by the doctrines of Thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may attain to the light of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigheth with Thee and the Holy Ghost; ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

SDG