Do you use Google Reader as your RSS feed reader? You should because not only is it fantastic online, but a humdinger offline. It took me a while to figure how to access the reader through my browser (Firefox) once offline, but now that I know I wanted to pass it along. I had been trying to get to it by going to reader.google.com; the correct URL is google.com/reader. It makes all the difference. Thanks, Google!

For more info about using Google Reader offline, see this page.

A hospital technician in New Jersey has been charged with sexually abusing the corpse of a 92 year-old woman. The hospital issued this statement after firing the man: “This heinous crime is a travesty. We are horrified and saddened for the family of the patient…and are completely empathetic and sympathetic to them.” He’ll get 10 years in prison for desecrating human remains.

Since this is a travesty, horrifying and saddening for family and all involved, how much more should we be saddened and horrified by the heinous crime of desecrating the human startings of an unborn baby?

And you thought your digital camera rocked. Try on Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” in 16 billion pixels for size. Yahoo News has more:

MILAN, Italy – Can’t get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece “The Last Supper?” As of Saturday, all you need is an Internet connection. Officials put online an image of the “Last Supper” at 16 billion pixels — 1,600 times stronger than the images taken with the typical 10 million pixel digital camera.

The high resolution will allow experts to examine details of the 15th century wall painting that they otherwise could not — including traces of drawings Leonardo put down before painting.

The high-resolution allows viewers to look at details as though they were inches from the art work, in contrast to regular photographs, which become grainy as you zoom in, said curator Alberto Artioli.

“You can see how Leonardo made the cups transparent, something you can’t ordinarily see,” said Artioli. “You can also note the state of degradation the painting is in.”

Besides allowing experts and art-lovers to study the masterpiece from home, Artioli said the project provides an historical document of how the painting appears in 2007, which will be valuable to future generations of art historians.

Although there appeared to be problems with the Web site late Saturday, it was accessible earlier in day.

The work, in Milan’s Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was restored in a painstaking effort that wrapped up in 1999 — a project aimed at reversing half a millennium of damage to the famed artwork. Leonard painted the “Last Supper” dry, so the painting did not cleave to the surface in the fresco style, meaning it is more delicate and subject to wear.

“Over the years it has been subjected to bombardments; it was used as a stall by Napoleon,” Artioli said. The restoration removed 500 years of dirt while also removing previous restoration works that masked Leonardo’s own work.

Even those who get to Milan have a hard time gaining admission to see the “Last Supper.” Visits have been made more difficult by measures to protect it. Twenty-five visitors are admitted every 15 minutes to see the painting for a total of about 320,000 visitors a year. Visitors must pass through a filtration system to help reduce the work’s exposure to dust and pollutants.

“The demand is three or four times higher, but we can’t accommodate it because of efforts to preserve the painting,” Artioli said.

Now you can enjoy a mellifluous a capella twinkle in the background as you browse this prandial painting.

Hey Drew,

Thanks for that thorough reply. I’ve been reading it through and trying to absorb it. What you say is worth thinking about.

Another thing that intrigues me is, why are some churches lively and some lifeless. If they are both inspired by the same God shouldn’t they be more similar. Oh’ and some of the lively ones, you know, you see them on TV, always seem to be asking for money. Should they be doing that? I’ve heard that some of these Christians, the leaders mostly, have beautiful houses, expensive cars and at least one has her own personal jet. Is this right? Can you be a Christian and still be super wealthy? Doesn’t Jesus have something to say about that?

Jack

Jack,

You are exactly right: some churches are absolutely rocking while some are absolutely “rocked” into lethargy. If both of these types of churches are made up of regenerate believer’s (those in whom the Spirit of God has worked to bring into a saving, right relationship with God) and both are “inspired by the same God” as you say, why then the varied degrees of alacrity? I can think of numerous reasons:

1. Sin in the believer’s life. Sin breaks fellowship with God. Have you ever been in a fight with your girlfriend, or wife? You know that having that little spat damages your relationship and you don’t feel “in love” as much as you did before you got in the fight. Sin damages relationships whether they’re human-human or divine-human. But we can know that God is faithful. He cannot deny himself.
2. Differing personalities of the believers. Remember: the church is people, not an edifice. Visit an African church then visit a West Virginian Baptist church. People are different. Revelation shows people from all tribes tongues and nations worshiping around the throne God. This shows that inspite of differences of personality, people from all walks of life, all ethnicities will find God so absolutely satisfying. I hate to use the word “inspite” because it seems to imply that diversity is actually something that causes harm or is negative, but can and will be overcome. I think this is an incorrect view of the diversity of life. Diversity rather shows how all-satisfying and perfect God is; that a diverse body of believer’s find in Jesus there all in all. That’s amazing.
3. Differing convictions. There’s a sermon series by David Doran, who teaches and preaches up in Detroit, that I keep coming back to when I think why believer’s can be so different considering we’ve got the same Bible and the same Spirit. Dr. Doran gives several reasons why believer’s convictions are different (which I believe can similarly account for differing churches). I’ve elaborated on them:
   1. Differing knowledge of the scriptures. Knowing that genres of music aren’t inherently evil in themselves, affects your opinion of it. You can only apply scripture to the extent that you’re familiar with it. That is a reason, therefore, to read your Bible!
   2. Differing submission to the scriptures. It’s a fact that Christian’s submit to the mandates of scripture to varying degrees. Just because someone knows what God demands does not mean they will obey!
   3. Not all have the same experiences and backgrounds. Our consciouses have been formed differently in different contexts that forms how we think about right and wrong.
   4. Not all have the same personality as we talked about above which means that we each have differing weaknesses and temptations. Your propensities for fulfilling the lusts of your flesh might be different than mine.

In conclusion, I would point you toRomans 14 where this very kind of thing comes up, differing convictions.

Also, consider this equation (!= is “not equal”): Holy Spirit + Bible + Sinful People in Sinful World != Same Convictions. Who drops the proverbial ball? Where is the malfunction? It’s us, isn’t it! Sin affects everything we do unfortunately; the goal then of the Christian is to be continually filled with the Spirit, the opposite of living in sin.

Money
Can you be a Christian and still be super wealthy? Doesn’t Jesus have something to say about that?
You’re right on, Jack. Jesus did have a lot to say about money. I can think of several passages in the New Testament where money is talked about (there are many more):

1. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). No one can serve two masters. You’ll love one and hate the other. Money makes a poor master anyways. Here Jesus shows that serving money as a master is contrary. You can see that serving money makes money an idol. Because money will never satisfy we should not seek it as if it were God. It’s not unimportant that in the very next verse after Jesus says that one cannot serve God and money, he says “therefore do not be anxious about your life… But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” because God knows exactly what we need.
2. Luke 8:3 records that several ladies supported Jesus out of their own pockets! “He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna…and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.” Money is necessary for subsisting and cannot evil in itself. It’s what we do with it and what place we allow it to have in our lives. I think we can agree that helping to finance Jesus’ ministry is a noble endeavor and a very good use of money.
3. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Matthew 22:21). Pay your taxes.

What principles can we take away from this? Well, it’s fair to say that you can be a Christian and super-wealthy; but I would hope that that Christian is constantly looking to be a blessing to others with that money (to whom much is given, much is required) and that that Christian doesn’t allow his money to become his security instead of trusting in God. Furthermore, we should seek God for God, not because of any blessing that we think we might get from him. God doesn’t promise that when we come to him everything will be great and we’ll have lots of money and big houses and “our best life now.” We are promised rather persecution, misunderstanding and a faithful God who knows what we need. God is enough. We should look to him as such not as a self-replenishing piggy bank that we can shake at any whim and get some cash. I would be cautious of any preacher who lives a lavish lifestyle and promises that you can have one, too, so that you will give him more money.James 3:1 says that “not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” That should scare all in ministry, especially those who are money-mongers.

Let us look how we can use what God has given us for his glory which never fades, instead of our own.

Did you know you can become a “Lord” in Scotland for only £29.99? Cheap lordship.

If everything in creation has been created for a purpose by God, then it is a gross error to be angry (“sass”) creatures. Hearing some pesky birds squawking rambunctiously in the trees overhead after work produced the following peeved response, “Shut up, birds!” Afterwards, I felt like I had overstepped my imago boundaries and shown my clear lack of understanding of God’s creation. (Suppressing the truth?) Is their squawking the way in which they bring glory to God? For they have been created with purpose in the divine mind. Should I silence them?

Drew: Hey guys, nice to meet you.

David: You’re a slacker, Drew.

Jacob: What he said.

I didn’t post a weekly review for last week because we were on Fall break, which isn’t to imply that I did no learning during this week off, but that it was a week off! Today I’ve got a bunch of miscellanies for you since I had something due in each of my four classes this week, exam or paper or otherwise. Garn.

• Evangelical Textual Criticism has quickly become one of my most read blogs since hearing an interview with two contributors, Simon Gathercole (Cambridge) and Peter Williams (Aberdeen), on the new perspective of Paul. It’s a team blog so there are regular updates by a multifarious group of scholars. “A forum for people with knowledge of the Bible in its original languages to discuss its manuscripts and textual history from the perspective of historic evangelical theology.”
• Lots of freely downloadable Christian hip hop can be found at the Sphere of Hip Hop. You’ll definitely want to hear how “Jesus did walk with the ladies.” Intrigued?
• We’ve booked our flights to go back to England over Christmas. I have a mental list of things to try to remember to do: get a peak at Codex Sinaiticus, visit Bunhill to see the graves of Johns Owen, Bunyan and Gill and Isaac Watts…(Can you say supererogatory acts?), and my list is still growing. Of course spending time with the extremely jovial and congenial Hayes family is top priority. =)
• I took two semesterin of German in college and now it’s time to shift into Retention Phase. Thank you, http://ergebung.wordpress.com, a theological German blog. Klingt mir gut!
• That’s it. I’ve got a paper to write.

Being at Whole Foods on a Sunday morning in Durham, North Carolina (home of Duke University), is to be in one of the most densely educated [paronomasia] areas in America, possibly the world.

Look no further than1 Corinthians 15:19 for proof that you should never read a Bible verse:

If in this life we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Oh, no! What did Paul say? How are we supposed to make sense of this? Read the verse in context and especially the following verse, v. 20:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Never read just a Bible verse for a text out of context becomes a pretext.