Still Crazy - A Blogiversary

I've been blogging now for 7 years. Hard to believe. My first entry was June 20, 2006. Since then I've logged more than 2600 entries. Doing the math, it's more than one a day. Over that time, I've examined a host of topics and foisted off a bunch of opinions. As it turns out, I've repeated myself ... a lot. So, after 7 years, where do I stand?

I believe in the Trinity. I believe it is the orthodox position. I don't believe that, once it has been presented in its full-orbed biblical position, it can be denied by genuine Christians. Obviously, then, I believe it to be both orthodox and very biblical. And to those who would argue that Constantine made this whole thing up and it never would have been, I would say that's not factual.

I believe in the Sovereignty of God. Not just the sovereignty, but the Sovereignty of God. Absolute. Uniquely so. Audaciously so. Biblically so. I believe that God allows human free will, but only in the lowercase sense. That is, He allows humans the freedom to make choices without coercion within the bounds of His Ultimate Will. (Note: I do not believe He always allows them to make choices without coercion. I suspect that neither do you.) I believe that God works all things after the counsel of His will because, well, that's what the Bible says. I understand that this version of the Sovereignty of God might put Him in jeopardy. "Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?" (Rom 9:19). But God doesn't seem to mind at all. For instance, He claims for Himself that He creates calamity (Isa 45:7). Paul's response to the objection is "Who are you, O Man, to answer back to God?" (Rom 9:20). I believe that God's Sovereignty extends even to human suffering (and spent a great deal of time explaining it). I believe that Scripture and its resultant orthodoxy demands it.

In these 7 years I've tackled some of the more difficult Scriptures. What does the Bible say about slavery? Probably not what you might have seen on the Internet. What does the Bible say about sex slaves? Not what the skeptic suggests. Are we supposed to shave (or not shave) our hair a particular way? I think not. And, seriously, did God actually command Israel to kill all those poor, innocent people? You'll have to read that one. I've taken on several of the hard sayings. I tried to offer some relief to worried parents who have been told to "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" ... and they have departed from it. I questioned the meaning of "Avoid the appearance of evil." What did Jesus mean when He told us to "turn the other cheek"? I took on two popular ones with one about "Judge not" and the other on "God so loved the world". What did Jesus mean when He said these things? By far the most popular one I ever examined (the most popular by visits in all my posts) was the meaning of "Sell all your possessions." (Written back in October of 2006, there are comments there as recent as December of 2012.)

My view on other topics, of course, are even better documented. I am a fanatic on the topic of marriage. Not even talking about "same-sex marriage". (This might come as a shock to some, but they tell me I have 76 entries on marriage and only 53 on "same-sex marriage". Some might have thought otherwise.) I have addressed the arguments and morality of homosexuality including one "interesting" entry where I boldly declare "Homosexuality is NOT a Sin." (Yeah, you'd better read that one before jumping to too many conclusions.) All important topics. And, given all the writing, reading, study, and work, I haven't changed my position. I think that biblical marriage looks different than most people think it does, that "same-sex marriage" is a new definition without warrant, and that the Bible clearly holds homosexual behavior to be a sin. Anyone surprised?

There are quite a few entries on the topic of Reformed Theology. What is that? It begins with the Sovereignty of God, works its way through the sinfulness of Man, and ends up with the poorly named concept of "Calvinism" (a name I dislike). I had fun in St. John, the Calvinist tracing the principles of Reformed Theology just through the Gospel of John. I made the case for predestination, and then not 1, not 2, but 3 entries on predestination and 2 more on DOUBLE predestination. And that's only a few out of the 95 posts on the topic.

I certainly touched on the topic of politics ... probably too much. (I don't believe politics is the answer.) But there were just times that I felt like I had to say something.

Most of my writing is unclassified, however, so you'd have to meander through to find out what I said. For a long time The History of the Choir was my top entry. (Still can't figure out why.) I followed that with a 5-part series on God's instructions, "I will be regarded as holy", a topic on Worship. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Conclusion) And I followed that with a series on "The Heart of Worship" (What is Worship?, Obedience in Worship, The Worship Service, The Aim of Worship, Conclusion). Yes, I like worship. I even did a 26-part series on hymns. I discussed biblical manhood both for fathers and for husbands. I believe there is a biblical difference between the genders and it is to our detriment that we have tried to change that fact. I believe that wives (see here, here, here, and here, for examples) have different roles than husbands (see here, here, here, and here, for instance) and men have different roles than women in the church. I believe the Bible favors patriarchy over egalitarianism. You can imagine these have made me very popular, especially with the ladies. Or not. Oh, yes, I believe all sorts of unpopular things. And, of course, I am unwavering in my opposition to abortion even if I support capital punishment.

Above all, I believe that God is God and we are not. I believe that the Bible is the inspired ("God-breathed") Word of God, a light unto my path, a divine book providing direction and guidance, the sole authority in matters of faith and practice. That is, I really think highly of God, and I really think highly of His Word. These two primary points guide my conclusions and form my opinions. When I find my views contradict God and/or His Word, I am forced to change my opinion (as opposed to my view of God or His Word). Here I stand. I can do no other. So help me God.