Predestination

Predestination

Romans 8:30
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:4-5
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will

Ephesians 1:9-11
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will

Psalm 33:10-12
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

2 Timothy 1:9
[God,] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Isaiah 6:8-10 (John 12:40 quotes this passage)
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed."

John 12:37-40
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."

Philippians 2:13
 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Total Depravity

Ecclesiastes 7:29
Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes."

I have not come across a better proof text; this one is not very clear-cut.

Biblical Inerrancy

In case you need proof of it now.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Attitudes matter

Disclaimer: This post may contain blanket statements not suitable for literalists.
If I have a good attitude, my algebra takes less than an hour. If I don't, then it can take 3-4 hours (Yeah, I know, it's bad).

Sometimes I will do all of the easy problems, and then the hard ones, because it feels like I am making good progress, and my attitude improves. If I get stuck on a hard problem toward the beginning, then it feels like I am making no progress. When my good attitude decreases, so does my motivation to work.

Some people, after making a mistake/something bad happens to them, they get depressed. Then their motivation to live drops proportionately to their attitude toward life, and they kill themselves. :(

If someone strives to be cheerful all the time, then their bread sometimes lands butter-side-up, they see the light at the end of the tunnel, and their attitude toward life is better. They also don't end up committing suicide as quick.

A cheerful attitude is absorbed slowly, but a bad attitude is quite contagious.
Spread the cheer; be happy. :D

Sundown - Sundown Day

Bible Passages:
Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31
Nehemiah 13:19
Psalms 55:17
Matthew 27:45-46,57


This could be the most controversial blog post that I will write for years.


I believe a day begins at sundown. The reason this matters is because: what is usually considered a Saturday night, is actually part of the Sabbath. These views are all in accordance to the aforementioned passages of the Bible.


Some believe that a day is from 6 PM - 6 PM. According to the following sources, the Jewish calendar was timed so that the 12th hour was right at sundown.

"Sunset marks the start of the 12 night hours, whereas sunrise marks the start of the 12 day hours. This means that night hours may be longer or shorter than day hours, depending on the season.

A Jewish-calendar day does not begin at midnight, but at either sunset or when three medium-sized stars should be visible, depending on the religious circumstance." (From http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-jewish.html)

(See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar#Day)

The Bible does not tell us that a day beginnings at midnight, and it never implies a change.

If you have argument for or against this, I would love to hear them in the comments, in an email, or in person. Thanks!

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property is the philosophy that thoughts, ideas, sounds, sights, etc. are owned by the person who first conceived/made them. Intellectual property is non-physical  including, but is not limited to: musical, literary, and artistic works, discoveries, inventions, and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
The aforementioned intangible objects are protected under copyrights, trademarks, patents, and more.


Infringements on copyrights, etc. is often, and incorrectly, considered stealing, partially due to propaganda spread by video marketing companies, like this video:

The Christian's (and the movie's) main argument against "piracy" that it "is stealing". If I go to wal-mart, take a CD and run out with out paying I am stealing the CD. If I go onto the internet and torrent the data from the CD, then I am not taking a tangible object, therefore, I am not stealing it. If I paint a picture, and someone takes it from my house, he's stealing. Imagine he saw the painted picture, and he takes a photograph of it, and then prints it. By doing so, he is not stealing, unless he previously signed a contract that says that "I, the undersigned will not photograph, scan, create, or distribute any digital representation of the beautimous painting." Since no one who is buying a painting, ever, to the best of my knowledge, signs a contract like the one above, it belongs exclusively to the them.


The Christian's second argument is sometimes "A worker is worthy of his wages." Just because I paint a picture that is, to my perspective, very beautimous, does not mean that I am entitled to someone's buying it. If someone does buy it though, it belongs to them. Imagine that I buy a car. After the deal is made, the money transfer is complete, and I am about to climb into the car, the bold dealer says "By using, driving, or touching this car, you agree to the End User License Agreement, which is: No taking photographs of this vehicle, and you may not ever let any person, except for yourself, drive this vehicle." I would be aghast at his audacity, defy his command, and start arguing that the car is now solely, only, and exclusively mine, belonging to none other but me, and that "My logic is undeniable".


And if you are and atheist or the like, then I don't see why you would have any conscience issues doing anything, because you have no reason for performing morality, except the government's laws and social peer pressure.


But I am not saying to go and "pirate 'Cars'", or "download some TobyMac". I am stating the belief that intellectual property is bogus, and "pirating" is not wrong. It is great to support a good cause, but don't buy things like "Human" (Song), "Gunsmoke"(Old TV Show), "Pirates of the Caribbean 2"(Movie), and "Star Wars"(Movies/Books/Ebooks). Buy things like "Hoodwinked"(Movie), and "Lecrae"(Artist).


I regret to announce — this is The End. I am going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell.

Music

Music. We are surrounded by it; MP3 Players, Radios, Bands, Silence. Music played at public places is usually pagan except around Christmas time. The first time you hear anything about music is, I believe, Genesis 4:21. The people at my orthodontist's office were playing the most horrendous screeching-singing music that I've heard for a long time.

I mainly listen to Christian (and instrumental) music. But I don't really care much for, Casting Crowns, even though what they say is (mostly) great. I personally like Christian Hip Hop (CHH) like 116 Clique, Lecrae, Flame, etc.

Casting Crowns and Lecrae are both Christian, but have different styles. They both reference the same faults/needs of today's culture. For example: environmentalism.
Casting Crowns in While You were Sleeping says "United States of America ... save[s] the trees and kill[s] the children..."
Lecrae in Blow your High says "... worshiping a tree instead of worshiping the King..."
I like the style of rap, but I like rock too, some other styles are cool too.

Music can be something people listen to way too much, or not the right kind. It shapes how you feel as you listen, and maybe for long periods of time; sort of how certain lighting makes a movie creepy, and if you watch too many creepy movies it does not help how you act.

If I listen to Relient K, Sanctus Real, Switchfoot, Skillet, and the like, for about 0.75 hours or more, I start getting a bit depressed, dreary, and quite sick of it. If I listen to one style for 1.5 hours or more I get really sick of it.

I think the music you hear might change you more than you'd think.