Wednesday, August 29, 2007

More Vick - Genuine Confession?




I know I said I was tired of hearing about Michael Vick, but I am interested in the genuineness of a persons's public confession and in how the media cover the story. Lauren Green (left), religion correspondent for FOXNews, has a very well written analysis of Vick's confession. Read it here. She does not set out to trash the former quarterback - which is all too easy to do, at this point - but she does bring in some important facts about his professions of faith in the past and how those statements bear on his recent "finding Jesus." I am impressed at how well Lauren understands the issues involved. I recommend that you read her article.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I'm Sick of Michael Vick!


I think I've heard all I care to hear about erstwhile quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick. He has pled guilty to some pretty sick stuff and then claimed to have a major redefinition of life. Read about his apology here. I don't want to cast doubt on the sincerity of his apology; that is not for me to judge. However, I agree with Mike Straka of Fox News that this was a pretty quick turn around.


What bothers me about all this is what it says about Michael Vick and how much he values life. I'm not talking about human life, of course, but of animal life. I suspect we have all gone through the stage of pre-adolescence in which we take sadistic pleasure in the pain and death of something innocent. I've roasted my share of ants and grasshoppers with a magnifying glass, or blown up a few frogs with fire crackers - "Cigars, anyone?" I remember yelling as a few friends and I laughed our fool heads off and lit the fuse of an M-80 stuck in the mouth of some unfortunate amphibian. But eventually, we outgrow it, and come to realize that life - even seemingly valueless life like insects and animals - is to be treasured and celebrated, and taking out anger or sadistic pleasure on one of God's creatures is a reflection of our lack of respect for the Creator. A few years ago, when we were raising chickens, I found out how hard it is to intentionally put to death a living thing. I had to decapitate chickens, pluck them, gut them and get them in the 'fridge pretty quickly. It was not easy. It got to the point that, like the Native Americans of old, I whispered an apology to each chicken as I ended its life, assuring it that we are not killing simply for pleasure but to provide life-sustaining nutrition for my family. It is not pleasant to kill any of God's creatures. (Wait - I do take pleasure in crushing Palmetto bugs!)


When I worked for the juvenile court while I was in graduate school, I interacted with many kids with serious problems. It was characteristic of these kids that they had very little ability to empathize with other living things. If they wanted something you had, they took it; if they didn't like you, they beat you; if they wanted sex, they took it; if it made them feel good to hurt you, they did it. I was able to extrapolate the degree of a kid's moral development by watching how he treated other, innocent and/or helpless living things.


This brings me back to Michael Vick. I don't know him, but from my experience, this incident with the dogs tells me that there are probably some serious moral deficiencies in this man's life. I hope he can turn things around, for his sake and for the sake of other people in his life. But in any case, I'm sick of hearing about him. There are plenty of other things going on in the NFL. What about you?

Sunday, August 26, 2007

I'm Stunned and Confused!


I just finished watching on CNN the installment of "God's Warriors" that I had missed, the one on "God's Islamic Warriors." All I can say is that I am stunned and confused, and even a little upset. I don't feel this way because I feel threatened, although clearly Islamic militancy is a problem; I feel this way because everything I just saw goes 180 degrees against everything I believe about God.

First, I am stunned by just how little I understand - and I don't think I ever can understand - the mindset of a religion that exalts the taking of other people's lives in the name of God. I'm confused and disoriented. I realized, as I watched interview after interview with people so filled with anger and hatred, that I simply have no category for expressing my religious faith and hatred simultaneously. The two are mutally exclusive. As a Christian, I cannot hate.

Perhaps the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam spring from the lives and examples of their founders. At church, I am currently teaching through the New Testament book of 1 Peter. The apostle continuously points to the sacrifice of Jesus as our example for life. Last week I taught on 1 Peter 2:21-25. Peter addresses the slave and tells him to endure injustice and to continue doing good. Then, perhaps knowing that that is a very difficult teaching, he grounds this imperative in the willing sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The willing submission of Jesus to injustice is our example. The contrast between Jesus and Muhammad simply could not be more profound.
I was struck by the weeping Muslims do during that festival honoring the sacrifice of Imam Husein (not sure how to spell his name). As I saw those people crying so freely, I thought of the passion of Christ - and Amanpour even referred to the dramatic presentation of Husein's death as a "passion play" - but even here, Husein died in battle! His sacrifice was not Christ-like. It would be like us crying over the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Not quite the same as Good Friday, is it?

I should also mention how stunned I am at the implication, perhaps unstated but still present, that somehow Amanpour's "Christian warriors" are on the same level as the jihadists. The comparison is simply laughable.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Blog Hopes


I found a piece of paper floating around the house that had written on it everything I want to be able to do in a blog. I'm going to jot down my notes here, then throw out the piece of paper. A "plus" sign says I can do it; a "minus" says, as far as I know, I don't have that ability now.


  • Post notes by multiple authors +

  • screen comments +

  • post documents, like .pdf files, syllabi, etc. and have them password protected -

  • control background, like pictures and fonts -

  • have archives +

  • classify posts +

  • link to other sites in sidebars +

  • have a "see more" option -

We came pretty close with blogger here, but we're not quite there. For now, though, this is teaching me the basics just fine, and it's free!

More Reviews of "God's Warriors"


More reviews of CNN's "God's Warriors." Brian Lowry of Variety TV writes:

That said, given the overheated rhetoric that characterizes the discourse surrounding the "war on terror," such contextual analysis is sorely needed -- highlighting the fear that prompts religious orthodoxies to lash out at modern society, while reminding us that no major religion is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry.

"...no major religion is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry." Of course, we could also say "no major ideology is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry," or "no major population group" or "no major region of the world" or "no major historical period" or ... you get the picture. Read his whole review here.

"All told, it's a welcome departure from cable news' baser instincts, where predators, missing women and kids, and celebrity foibles command centerstage on a daily basis, with scant time devoted to the expensive, theoretically ratings-deflating proposition of providing a wider window onto the world."
Here, here! Very true. If I hear any more about Lindsay Lohan's alcoholism, I'm going to vomit. I may have disagreements with Amanpour's presentation, but at least we had some intellectually stimulating television to watch.

Ted West of "The Naked Conservative" calls Amanpour a "female Michael Moore." Ouch.

Barry Garron of Yahoo!News asks questions Amanpour does not answer:

What Amanpour doesn't do -- and what needs to be done -- is to point out the contrasts among these groups [Jews, Muslims, Christians]. Do they all have the same strength within their religions? Do they receive support, tacit or otherwise, from governments? Do they plan to achieve their aims peacefully? Are they, in fact, God's warriors, or are they more like God's missionaries?

A good review, but I can't get a link to work. Ted West (above) links to it.

I think even disinterested secularists get the point. When comparing Jews, Muslims, and Christians, there are major, major differences, despite surface similarities.

God's Warriors Reviewed


Joe Carter, from Evangelical Outpost, reviewed God's Warriors for National Review Online (NRO). He makes some good points, especially about secularists fear of "theocracy." Read it here.

Friday, August 24, 2007

God's Warriors?


Last night concluded the final installment of Christiane Amanpour's series on CNN entitled "God's Warriors." Tuesday night she explored "God's Jewish Warriors," Wednesday night was "God's Muslim Warriors," and last night was "God's Christian Warriors." I watched the first and last episodes, but missed the middle one. Thankfully, there is an encore presentation starting Friday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug. 26, at 9 p.m. ET. (Check the CNN TV schedule.)


Unfortunately, despite Ms. Amanpour's seemingly best efforts, bias abounds. I wondered why she excluded "God's Hindu Warriors," for militant Hinduism is certainly on the rise. She also excluded "The Anti-God Warriors: Secularists;" that would have been an interesting expose. Aren't secularists on a crusade to rid the public square of all references to religion? Is the ACLU a docile, tame, organization? What about "The Economic Warriors: Communists." Both of these movements are also quite militant, or at least we could say they have their militant elements. I also noticed that only the "conservative" wings of these movements were considered warriors, as if being liberal disqualifies a person from being militant. But wouldn't Gene Robinson, the gay bishop in New England, be considered "militant," since he is taking the church in a radically different direction?


Aside from the obligatory reference at the beginning to rabid killers of abortionists (who speak for no sizeable block of Christendom), Amanpour essentially spent her time on "God's Christian Warriors" examining various conservative religious groups who were attempting to motivate a voting block. I kept thinking, "All this is legal! Why is she focusing on an example of 'democracy in action'?" I thought it was quite unfair to draw a moral equvalency between, on the one hand, Jewish settlers in occupied territories who violate both Israeli and international law, and Islamic jihadists who are training to wage war on all infidels, and, on the other hand, conservative evangelical Christians who are working very hard to accomplish their political/cultural goals within the American political system. One thing should have been very clear: given her definition of "warriors," among Christians, THERE ARE NONE. Hmmm....
What do my readers think?

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Doubt: A Severe Mercy?


Today I read an interesting article in Time magazine online about a new book about the secret life of spiritual doubt in the life of Mother Teresa. The book is called Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday). The book contains letters Mother Teresa wrote over several decades to her confessors and spiritual advisors in which she admits to deep, almost paralyzing spiritual darkness. Fascinating. I haven't read the book, so I'm not endorsing it, but the article paints an endearing portrait of someone in deep spiritual pain.


The author of the article discusses possible causes. Was it because God isn't really there? (so the atheists claim) or was it because of some inability of Teresa to receive love? Or, was it a "severe mercy," something Teresa needed to keep her humble or to enable her to more closely understand Christ's sacrifice? The article is worth reading, and I think we should discuss the topic of doubt. Have you had doubts? Have you sensed that God was distant? Are there possible benefits that doubt can bring into our lives?

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Andrew's First Day of School


The little scholar! Our little guy went off to school today for the very first time. Up till now, he has been homeschooled, so this is a new experience. Heritage Christian Academy may never be the same!

Student's Bill of Rights

I saw this list of Student Rights at David Black's blog and thought perhaps students might like to see it.


Students have the right to:

1. expect interesting and intrinsically significant lectures

2. have profs who are personable and caring

3. be treated with respect and genuine Christian love

4. get out of class on time

5. have their work graded by their profs and not graders

Sorry, this is a tough one. With 150 Freshman in OT Survey and 75 Sophmores in Hermeneutics, this is impossible. If I did this, we would lose the other nine!

6. have ready access to their profs for advice and counsel (open door policy)

7. have their emails answered within a reasonable time (48 hour rule)

8. be graded on a strict scale and not on the curve

9. have their graded work returned to them in a timely fashion

10. be shown how to think and not just what to think

I hope my classes at CIU demonstrate a majority of these rights. Let's have a great semester together!

Monday, August 20, 2007

God as "Allah:" An Anonymous Response

I received a response to my post about Christians calling God "Allah," but for certain reasons, this person did not want his/her name attached to it. So, I post it as by "Anonymous." Food for thought:

To the matter of concern: should Christians call God 'Allah'? Another way of looking at it is: should Christians call God 'God'? 'God' is not a biblical word, but of Germanic derivation from 'Gott'. It was adopted and adapted as the term for Christianity's deity as the gospel spread through northern Europe and westward. Just as 1st century Christians accepted 'Theos' and 'Kurios' as designations for the Hebrew God and infused it with new meaning, so did Christians with the word 'Gott' and eventually 'God'.

There were Christians in the Middle East using 'Allah' for their deity before Europeans/Westerners ever heard the gospel. Thus, your statement: "for Christians to begin calling God "allah" would be misleading and would actually confuse the important differences between the two faiths" is problematic. 'Allah' is just as acceptable a term for the Creator as 'God'. What matters is the meaning attached to these words and the lingua franca where people live. Obviously, Arab believers' use of 'Allah' in the Middle East would carry the roughly meaning as our use of the term 'God' in the USA, but the Muslims concept of 'Allah' would be different. However, any informed Christian could use 'Theos', 'Gott', 'God', or 'Deus' (which is Portuguese), and be rightly referring to the true and holy One.

Hence, the matter worthy of debate is not linguistical but lexical, that is, having to do with the meaing of these words.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Can Christians Call God "Allah?"


Recently, a Catholic bishop in the Netherlands suggested that Christians call God "Allah" in order to increase understanding with Muslims. For the article at Fox News, read here.
What is at stake here? Is the term "allah" interchangeable with the word "god?" I think there is a variety of factors to consider. Some are linguistic, some are cultural, some are theological, some are missiological.
In terms of Semitic languages, "allah" is cognate with the Hebrew words "el" (= "god") and "eloah" (= "god"). It is not cognate with the Hebrew personal name for God, "Yahweh," nor is it, of course, cognate with the English word "god."
Culturally, the term "allah" is, in my opinion, very close to a technical term, or proper name, for "the god of Islam," similar to "Yahweh" for ancient Hebrews. However, early Christians used the term "theos" for the Hebrew "elohim," even though "theos" carried many non-Jewish and non-Christian theological elements.
Theologically, I think it is inaccurate to say the Muslim concept of God is equivalent to the Christian concept of God; therefore, for Christians to begin calling God "allah" would be misleading and would actually confuse the important differences between the two faiths. Muslim reaction to the suggestion here in the US appears to be positive. I suppose Christians and Jews living in Islamic countries would welcome the idea that Muslims begin to call God "El," or "God." It would help legitimize their own concepts of God as a minority group. I suspect this is why Islamic response is positive.
Missiologically, I've heard that some converts to Christianity in Muslim countries use the term "allah" for their deity, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder if Muslim clerics in those countries are happy with that? Since I am not a missiologist, I am unfamiliar with the literature and the debates, but I suspect there is room for this kind of linguistic/theological substitution, if done carefully. But here in the "West," it seems to me that the suggestion concedes too much.
What say my readers?

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Anti-Evangelical Bigotry

Acton Institute (http://blog.acton.org/) (following an article in World Magazine) notes the anti-evangelical bigotry of many college professors. Read the whole thing, and be warned. Here's a quote:
"The analysis was conducted by Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. In the survey of 1,262 faculty members across 712 public colleges and universities, Evangelical Christians scored the highest unfavorable rating from faculty with a 53 percent, while Mormons placed second with 33 percent. Jews scored the lowest unfavorable score with 3 percent."

CIU Faculty Meeting 2007


The last two days have been our annual beginning-of-the-year faculty meetings here at CIU. I'm pleased to say that this year I found the whole thing rather positive. We have a new president, who has some new and fresh ideas, and some new faculty as well. All in all, I think 2007-2008 is going to be a good school year for CIU. I can't wait for the enthusiasm to catch on among the current students. Returning students are beginning to arrive, and they are most welcome. I pray we all can look to our savior Christ Jesus and expect a year of productivity and growth.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!



Here they are! The "Three Amigos" as they depart the safety of home and hearth for the trackless jungle of Ben Lippen. Today is the first day of the new school year at BL, and the first day of school EVER for Matthew and Amy. It is a new day for the Crutchfield family.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Jews and Torah

[WARNING: long post!]

I've been thinking about the relationship between Torah and the Jew. What is the Jewish person's responsibility to Torah today? I've been corresponding with some other inquirers about the subject, and below are my thoughts. I hope I have expressed myself with civility, mutual respect, and by an eagerness to think clearly about difficult issues.

The topic actually raises several questions.
1) What is the perspective of Jesus/NT writers on Torah?
2) Should a Jewish non-follower of Jesus (from here on, JNFJ) keep Torah?
3) Should a Jewish follower of Jesus (JFJ) keep Torah?
4) Should a Gentile follower of Jesus (GFJ) keep Torah?
5) Should a Gentile non-follower of Jesus (GNFJ) keep Torah?
By “should,” I mean “Does G-d require…” By the way, out of respect for Jewish readers, I will try to avoid writing out the full name of the deity, but this is not my habit; please forgive me if I err.

W/re:to question #1, it seems to me that we see two important strands of thinking about Torah in Jesus/NT. First, there is recognition of the divine source of Torah, that Torah is a blessing, and is fundamentally good. I suspect most of us know the references, so I won’t bother listing them. (And in this category I would also put all the positive comments about Torah in the Old Testament, like all of Psalm 119, etc.) Second, there is a complaint against Torah that it is ineffective in achieving what it requires, and that, in some sense, its effect on humans is negative. Torah, though just, is somehow inherently weak.

How could Torah be a negative thing? Torah could become a negative if 1) it is over-valued or 2) misused. By overvalued I mean this: if Torah were to become more important in and of itself than the relationship to G-d which it was intended to improve, then the net effect has been negative. The relationship with G-d, which was in need of some kind of repair, continues to be in a state of disrepair, only for different reasons. The proper role of Torah was to teach and instruct G-d’s people in how to live as a “peculiar people.” By way of analogy, if a gift I give to my child becomes more important than that child’s relationship to me as his/her father, then the gift has become a problem. The gift, though well-intended, is counter-productive.

By “misused,” I mean this: if Torah were to be used for some reason other than that for which it was intended, again the net effect could very well be negative. In other words, if Torah, though once given as an expression of G-d’s grace to his people, became instead a slavish means of achieving status with G-d, or of proving one’s piety to others, then Torah has had a negative effect on people.

I think when Jesus/NT writers speak disparagingly of Torah, they do so with these issues in mind. They do not condemn Torah for being the “record of the cultural biases of an ancient people,” as one scholar once put it, or of being wrong, or evil; rather, they condemn those who in one way or another misuse Torah. Jesus condemns his fellow religious Jews for valuing human interpretations of Torah more than Torah itself (and I see this same tendency, in Christian circles, to value human traditions over Scripture all the time), or for their hypocrisy in Torah observance (again, I see this all the time in Christian circles). [Incidentally, every charge Jesus levies against his fellow religious Jews can be paralleled in other rabbinic literature of the day, within a century or so. In other words, we should not read, say, Matthew 23 as an anti-Semitic screed. The problems in the Judaism of Jesus’ day were recognized by others.] Jesus was in a long line of prophetic voices calling G-d’s people back to authentic Torah observance. [What separated Jesus from the prophets, in my opinion, is that his call to radical Torah observance included, and in fact, began with, a radical commitment to him as a person, and then involved a recognition that with the announcement of the Kingdom of G-d, some changes were about to take place in the structure and demands of the covenant between G-d and those who fear him. Many of the NT writers spend lots of time trying to argue that these changes were to be expected and were in fact implicit in the nature of what was known to them by that time as the “Old Covenant.”]

Paul condemns his fellow religious Jews for using Torah as a means of power by keeping Gentile fearers of G-d from genuine acceptance into G-d’s covenant community. He also acknowledges, in his letter to the Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus in Rome, that Torah, although good and holy, is weak, because of human nature’s inability to follow it and because Torah provides no means of helping humans follow it. The message of Messiah Jesus, accompanied as it is by the giving of “the Holy Spirit,” does several things. First, it clarifies the role of Torah in G-d’s universal plan, namely, Torah was not meant as a be-all-end-all but a “tutor” and a “pointer.” By this, I think Paul means that Torah taught the Hebrew nation basic principles of relationship with G-d and pointed forward, in a variety of ways, to the promised messiah, which Paul identifies as Jesus. Secondly, this “New Covenant” comes with a means of helping believers to obey the legitimate moral demands of Torah (i.e., the New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit helps the follower of Jesus to stop doing what is sinful and to do what is holy). We may disagree with Paul that this is in fact the case, but we should not charge him at this point with rejecting Torah. Torah, says Paul, can only demand; it can’t empower, but the Gospel both demands AND empowers, and in that sense, it is superior to Torah.

So, I hope these comments are helpful w/re:to question #1 above.

Next, let me make a few comments about question #3 above, because my answer will, I think, begin to answer question #2.

#3: Should a JFJ keep Torah? To answer this question, we need to make some observations. First, assuming everything I said above is true (and I hope it is!), obviously no Jewish person should keep Torah for any of the wrong reasons. Second, in light of the covenant changes brought about by the ministry of Messiah Jesus, covenant requirements have changed.

At this point in our discussion, I have to introduce a thorny problem. Some theologians have tried to draw distinctions within Torah itself, the most common of which is the distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial laws. The problem is that individual laws that are moral, or civil or ceremonial in nature are often intermingled with and appear right next to laws of different kinds with no hint that they are of a different category. Theologians have attempted to argue that the civil law applied only to the nation of Israel (and therefore no longer applies); the ceremonial law applied only before the supreme sacrifice of G-d’s ultimate Passover lamb, the messiah (and therefore no longer applies); the moral law is a reflection of G-d’s nature and therefore applies eternally to all people. I concede that these categories are too neat and are difficult to demonstrate, but I agree that there are “more important laws” and “less important laws.” Jesus accused his fellow religious Jews of neglecting “the weightier matters of the Law” (see Matthew 23:23 – “But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness”).

So, the question “Should a JFJ keep Torah?” is complicated. I certainly do not believe that such a person would need to observe sacrifice laws, since that is a practical impossibility, but also for the theological reason I mentioned above. As a whole, or to put it differently, as a system, or as a covenant, I think Torah, according to Jesus/NT writers, has outlived its purpose. What I mean is that the role Torah had in the history of G-d accomplishing world-wide redemption, namely, teaching the Hebrews about G-d and pointing to his messiah, is complete. G-d’s people survived as a distinct culture and messiah has come. Of course, I would continue to affirm the necessity of, for lack of a better term, the “moral law,” i.e., lying, adultery, killing, etc. These the NT writers also affirm. I am certainly NOT saying that Torah is worthless; not only is it the inspired Word of G-d, it is one of the great moral documents of human history, and in that sense, it is always worth reading, consulting and teaching, but, it must, in my opinion, be read and applied in its theological context and in its context in salvation history. In terms of much of its specific teaching and individual laws, Torah is beautiful and is eternal in its application; in terms of a system, or a covenant, however, Torah has an expiration date.

So, if a JFJ asked me if I thought he or she should observe Torah, I would attempt to have a long conversation with that person, discussing these issues. If that person still wanted to keep Torah, I would have no problem, except when it comes to table fellowship. How would a JFJ deal with this issue when eating with Gentiles, which they would surely have to do from time to time? I’m not familiar enough with congregations of JFJ to know how they handle that issue, but it would seem wrong, at least to me, if their keeping of Torah kept GFJ from enjoying table fellowship with them. I would put the observance of Torah for a JFJ in the same category as family or national traditions, i.e., something we should do, for a variety of reasons, but not something we must do, or we would be sinning against G-d. In fact, I would encourage JFJ, even GFJ, to celebrate the feasts of Ancient Israel because they are very useful for teaching children, creating family memories, and remembering the heritage of the Jewish people, but I would hesitate to say that a JFJ sins if he or she fails to observe a feast.

[Note: I like so much the idea of bar/bat mitzvahs that my wife and I chose to use this template with our children. When each one turns 13 (not 12), we have a family ceremony during a special meal. We’ve written out a complete liturgy, and at the end of this meal, I, as father and head “rabbi” (complete with Jewish prayer shawl), charge the child to take upon him/herself the yoke of Torah as taught by our chief rabbi, Jesus. This yoke is the two most important laws, to love G-d with all one’s heart and love one’s neighbor as oneself. These bar/bat mitzvahs have become very meaningful to my family. We have also celebrated Passover meals as well. This is what I mean.]

Having said all that, should a JNFJ keep Torah (question #2 above)? It depends who you ask! If you ask an orthodox Jew, the answer would probably be, “Yes, of course!” If you asked a liberal Jew, the answer would probably be, “It’s up to each individual.” If you asked a secular Jew, the answer would probably be, “No, why live like that?” If you asked me, as a follower of Jesus, I would attempt to say the things I said above about the changes in application of Torah due to the ministry of Messiah Jesus and the inauguration of the New Covenant. Hopefully, that person would see the significance of the work of Messiah and would become a member of the New Covenant community, in which case, their perspective on Torah would change.

Questions #4 and #5 can only be answered after we have drawn some conclusions about the nature of Torah. Is there universally applicable teaching in the Torah? Does G-d wish for all humans (created in His image) to follow Torah? In my opinion, it was never G-d’s intention for all of humanity to keep all of Torah; rather, it was his intention for Israel as a nation to spread among the nations an awareness of G-d, to live as a peculiar people in the context of pagan cultures, and to watch for the coming of Messiah, to whom their Torah (and Prophets and Writings) pointed. In the context of the New Covenant, those aspects with continuing application to people today, Jew or Gentile, follower of Jesus or not, would be sorted out.

Some might say that we Christians must still be waiting for the New Covenant, because it says in Jeremiah 31:34: “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the L-RD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest…” And clearly that cannot be said. I would suggest that Jeremiah 31:34 is a figurative way of saying that, in the New Covenant, knowledge of G-d will be widespread and immediate (i.e., without a priest). I think this is true of the New Covenant community; even children can know G-d and we can all read Scripture and enjoy fellowship with G-d apart from the intervention of a priest. Jesus, Paul and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews all affirm that the Church is the New Covenant community.

Thanks for reading; I look forward to your comments.

A Summary of NT Arguments against Torah:
-Torah can only demand, and therefore, only condemns; it never empowers.
-Because it never empowers, it is weak, compared to Gospel, which demands AND empowers.
-Torah, as a system or covenant, had a temporary, limited purpose anyway.
-Moreover, nobody can really keep it.
-Ironically, Torah, as a system, leads to human boasting.
-Finally, faith precedes Torah in Scripture.

Gruelling Weekend

The Crutchfield family is at a point where we need three vehicles. Last week we were searching the used car market for something affordable and practical for our growing family, when out of nowhere my parents got involved. Since my mother's last knee operation, she has not been driving much, so they offered to sell us her Buick Century. This is GREAT, but since the new school year begins this week, we had a difficult situation on hand. The jist, however, is that Diane and I spent our weekend driving up to the Cleveland area, picking up a car, and turning right around and driving back yesterday. It was a gruelling drive.

However, the trip was not without some excitement. I booked us a room in Amish country for Saturday night. We stayed at the Millersburg Hotel in downtown (if you can call it that) Millersburg. The beds were a bit squishy, but we really did have a nice time, and the food at the hotel restaurant was wonderful. I even got to watch the Browns beat the KC Chiefs in their first preseason game. We walked around town, enjoying the cool temperatures (it's amazing how cool 85 degrees feels after a week of 100+ temperatures!). The real adventure, though, was getting lost Sunday morning in the thick fog of Amish country as we tried to drive to Medina, Ohio. We made it, but it took us two hours instead of one.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long in Medina. The trip back home was l-o-n-g, but now we have three cars. Deborah is eager - perhaps a bit TOO eager - to get trained on the Buick so she can take control of the latest Crutchfield family shuttlecraft. Ben Lippen Schools start tomorrow, so our lives are about to get really busy.

Friday, August 10, 2007

What I Hope to Write

Since I am new to this blogging thing, I want to begin with some ideas of things I hope to write about over the next few weeks and months. Ya'll need to please be patient with me as I learn how all this works. Here are some ideas I hope to cover soon:
-Beginning a new school year (especially for you freshmen)
-Succeeding in OT Survey
-Some thoughts on the dangers of pornography
-Reflections on my summer
-Thoughts about all the new things happening at CIU

-Since I am reading _The Dangerous Book for Boys_, I thought to myself, "What would a book called _The Dangerous Book for Christians_ look like?" Perhaps I will begin a series of posts exploring some ideas.