MzEllen Reads

Week of December 21, 2008

2008-12-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

12/21 - (Sunday)
Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

"Change Your Mind and Keep the Change" (Andreas) - introduction

Third Sunday of Advent:

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change

2008-12-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

Psa 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures evermore.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change (Steve Andreas and Connirae Andreas)

Introduction: One of the main points of the introduction is the role that words play in our lives: to "bookmark" our experiences.

Words recall what we have done and what we have seen. Words relay emotion.

But they are not experiences and they are not emotion.

The purpose of words is to help us form and communicate thoughts - both to ourselves and to others. From what I understand so far, the purpose of this book is to teach us to use words in order to "steer" our minds and "bookmark" information that will help us lead the life that we want.

Week of 12/15/2008

2008-12-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Memory Verse" Psa 16:11

Psa 1, 21, 26, 43, 44, 45, 84, 85, 87,

Rev. 21

Advent readings 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Week of December 7, 2008

2008-12-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

Advent days 8, 9, 10, 11

1 Chronicles, chapters 1 - 5...genealogies...

(Prayer of Jabez, Nimrod)

Psalm 21

Friday

2008-11-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

Luke 1:5-38;
Genesis 1 - 3

Violent Partners - Linda G. Mills (Intro)

2008-07-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Violent Partners, by Linda G. Mills

From the back of the book:
"In Violent Partners, Linda Mills continues to ask dangerous questions - about women's propensity to violence; about the murky powers stirring partnerships; about the ways in which the flaws and failures of the women's movement's response may have unintentionally sustained some of our collective risk. In addition, she bravely confronts her own complicity in the violence that helped shape her life: (Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, author of "Random Family")

Even the introduction is packed with information. Mills asks,

"(...)But has this enormous revolution in both public perception and public policy made America less violent? Are there fewer batterers than before? Are batterers learning to take responsibility for their behavior? Are women safer or more in control of their own lives?"

She begins to answer:

"(...)the ideology and rhetoric of the anti-domestic violence movement have become so rigid that they have created a new set of myths - or, at the very least, a new set of highly partial truths - that can be as pernicious as those we fought so hard to dispel years ago."

The book is about realities:

the popular perception of domestic violence (...)represents only a small fraction of the American couples struggling with violence today
Yesterday's victims often become tomorrow's criminals. Most researchers (...) now agree that child abuse if far more responsible for creating batterers than sexist attitudes and beliefs, and yet most batterer intervention programs fail to acknowledge this troubling legacy
Violence is dehumanizing not only for the victim for for ther perpetrator as well. When we treat the batterer as a pariah, we may be discouraging them from seeking help
Women frequently strike out - and not only in self-defense; in 24% of American marriages only the woman is abusive

Mills (in the introduction) makes it clear that she is not trying to demonize the movement, but rather expand it and adjust it to include the greater needs that have been covered up to this point (unintentionally, but unnoticed just the same)

"Save the Males" Chapter 1: "women good, men bad"

2008-07-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

This chapter opens with a quote:

"Males have become the portmanteau cause of evil behavior, and it's acceptable to downgrade males." - Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers University

Parker tells us her thoughts on the 1993 "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" (as if boys don't need to see a good work ethic on the job). It wasn't until after ten years of "agenda free parents" protesting that it became "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day."

What lessons had been learned in the meantime? That girls get more opportunities? Girls are more welcome into the work place? (I - Ellen - attempted to take my son to work on that day. Not only would he not be excused from school [girls were], I was told that I could not bring my son into the classroom for "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", while my co-workers could and did bring their daughter.)

Parker also presents a personal story from her son's middle school experience. A (female) teacher injected feminism into the classroom by using only feminine pronouns. It was never "he or she" or (as I tend to do, especially when writing) rotating "he" and "she".

"Miss Androny" (Parker's name for the teacher), rather than even using a plural "them" or "their" (although bad grammar, it is an attempt to gather both sexes under one umbrella) - Miss Androny simply omitted the boys.

One very honest day, Miss Androny brought in doughnuts...for the girls. When one of the boys asked why the boys didn't get doughnuts, this lovely example of equality said, "because I don't like boys."

Indeed.

In 1989 Carol Gilligan prepared a study that appeared to prove that girls were ill equipped to enter into the workplace. Later, Christina Hoff Sommers wrote that the "sample" that Gilligan based her research on was a small sample of girls who happened to attend an elite boarding school. Perhaps it wasn't the gender that ill-prepared them. Perhaps it was the coddling that results from being treated like an "elite".

Parker also touches on ADD in this chapter. One little acknowledge factor in the ADD "epidemic" is that little boys do not hear as well as little girls. So we take a bunch of boys, put them in a classroom when they'd like to be outside playing...in a room full of distractions and where they can't hear as well as the person sitting next to them. What do we have? well...ADD of course.

"girl-i-fying" curriculum is an issue. In the attempt to enject women into history, we may have forgotten to teach...history.

When seniors at the top 50 universities in the country were asked to name America's victorious general at Yorktown, only 34% named George Washington. Could the fact that Washington gets only 10% of the space in textbooks that he received thirty years ago be a factor?

One textbook offers fewer than 50 lines of text about Washington, compared with 213 about Marilyn Monroe.

yes...avoid stereotypes...but also offer material for boys and girls. If biographies of male leaders and inventors are rejected in favor of female adventurers, when a dead movie star gets more space than the first president of the United States...something is wrong.

I am only halfway through this chapter (the problems in the academin world)...the next segment gets into the legal world. And for men, the legal system is a very, very scary place.

"Save the Males" - Kathleen Parker - prologue

2008-07-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

(in case you cannot read the subtitle):

why men matter

why women should care

Parker is an "unusual suspect" to write such a book; her past makes her unlikely alley with the men of this world. But the men in her life matter to her and she can see that there is a war against men.

In the process of fashioning a more female-friendly world, we've created a culture that is hostile toward males, contemptuous of masculinity, and cynical about the delightful differences that make men irresistible, especially when something goes bump in the night. In popular culture, rare is the man portrayed as wise, strong, and noble...(prologue)

Parker makes the point (I'm still in the prologue) that in less female-friendly parts of the world, men really are to blame for most of the misery - and they like to share. What we (in the more "civilized" climes) view as the "gender war" would seem like a cake-walk to some of the women in countries that are "incubating the next generation of Islamic jihadists".

Men (baffled by the feminists rage against their sex) respond not by being more responsive, but by backing away from the increasingly unfair sex.

Why save the males? Parker (and I) have two answers. Because we love our sons...Because we love our daughters.

Popular wisdom teaches that nature abhors a vacuum. So do children, and so do families. In fatherless, male-bashing America, we might figure something needs tweaking.

"Save the Males"

2008-07-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Even the prologue has some interesting quotes.

Stay tuned...

From Forgiven to Forgiving - Jay E. Adams - Chapter One

2008-04-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1: What is Forgiveness?

Jay Adams calls “apologizing” the world’s unsatisfactory substitute for forgiveness.

“uh…sorry”…”that’s ok.” That is apology and it’s not the real thing.

There is another question that parallels “what is forgiveness”.

What does forgiveness DO?

What makes “forgiveness”, “forgiveness”?

Is it a feeling? No - Scripture says nothing about “feeling” forgiving. Scripture tells us to forgive.

Eph.4:32 tells us, “…forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

The “as” gives us a model. Strong’s gives the definition

1)according as
…a)just as, even as
…b)in proportion as, in the degree that
2)since, seeing that, agreeably to the fact that
3)when, after that

What does Scripture tell us about God’s forgiveness of us? Does He simply sit in heaven and “emote”? No, He gives us a promise.

Isa 43:25 “I, I am he who blots outyour transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

Jer 31:34b For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

If forgiveness were merely a “feeling”, we could not rely on this promise.

If forgiveness were merely “forgetting”, it would not be a purposeful relinquishing of the debt. I can “forget” my keys. But the Almighty Creator of the universe cannot forget anything. It is a commitment to not recall, not bring it to remembrance, not to bring it up, remind, mention or record the offense.

If I make that promise to forgive - to not bring it up again - and I do, that is breaking a promise. I went through a really rough time with my daughter a couple of years ago. That which was done is no longer between us - and the repentance/forgiveness process works.

We went through this book. I DID bring it up again and my daughter (as my sister in Christ) reminded me of the promise. I had my own repenting to do. The process works.

Forgiveness is a promise.

From Forgiven to Forgiving - Jay E. Adams

2008-04-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on MzEllen.com on March 18, 2006

I’ve been pondering forgiveness and restoration (because of the possibility of running into a person that I’d rather not deal with.)

I’m a follower of Jay E. Adams and “From Forgiven to Forgiving” is a book that I turn to often. I not sure that I fully agree:

I agree that (in theory) Adams is right. But it can be difficult to implement - especially in - especially in a business or online world, or in a church community where church discipline is not practiced. I’ve also got a couple of thoughts that Adams does not (if I remember) fully address.

There is a difference between “holding a grudge” and “withholding forgiveness”.

Holding a grudge is about your own emotions and refusing to move on. Bitterness and anger are “red flags” that you are holding a grudge. Grudges have nothing to do with “relationship” or “forgiveness”. It’s about the human desire to hold something over another person - for the sake of spite.

In the face of a repentant offender, to hold a grudge is a serious sin (and one of the sins that should make us doubt our salvation.)

Holding a grudge is easy and very human.

Withholding forgiveness is something different. Withholding forgiveness is about forgiveness and restoration. If you don’t have glorifying God through forgiveness and restoration as the goal, you’re not withholding forgiveness, you’re holding a grudge.

The Bible says, “…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

This is where many people disagree with Adams, believing rather that we are to forgiven whether or not the offender has indicated any repentance or willingness to not repeat the offense.) Adams makes a case that God is our example in forgiveness. As God forgives us, we forgive others.

In our repentance, we have the ability to bring others to repentance. When we are reconciled to God, we can bring others to reconciliation with God (us).

How do we become reconciled to God?

I’m also very torn myself. Being reformed, when are my sins forgiven? When is the slate wiped clean? Is it when I use the words “I’m sorry”? Or was it before the foundations of the earth were laid, when God chose me in Christ? And how do I model that?

If I have a particular sin that I struggle with “being sorry for”, does God forgive that sin? If I want God to forgive all of my sins, whether or not I can be truly sorry, does God expect me to forgive the offenses of others, whether or not they are truly sorry?

(This is where I have an addition to Adams.) I believe there is also a place for withholding restoration (but perhaps not full restoration) if the safety, peace or welfare of a person or group is at risk. I’m not thinking one-time offenses or “little things” - the multitudes of offenses that love should cover. I’m thinking about either repeated “big” offenses (behavior that doesn’t appear to indicate “repentance”) or offenses that have such a high probability of offense that full restoration simply does not keep the safety and peace of others in mind. In cases like these, accountability (hand in hand with a commitment by the offender) is vital.

Withholding forgiveness is a set of behaviors aimed at causing the offender to know in their heart that they have hurt others and to cause them to “be truly sorry” and to make a commitment to turn from that behavior.

Withholding forgiveness is aimed always at reconciliation.

Withholding forgiveness always excludes bitterness. (You might also exclude anger, if you can. There is a place for righteous anger, but when confronting an offense in hopes of reconciliation, many times anger is best left behind.)

I believe that you can take this to the secular, although there cannot be full resoration to a “fellowship” that was never there. At best, you can reconcile to the status that you had before the offense.

This is Biblical. There are specific steps.

- you confront the person privately (I believe that if the offense was committed against a group of people or as part of a conversation, this can vary. If you immediately - within the same conversation - state the offense, this is perhaps the best way to take care of it immediately. Most reasonable people will see that they have offended and “take it back”. End of story.)

- if the person does not listen - take two or three witnesses. (this is way harder on line.) With this small group of people, there are (hopefully) objective witnesses that will hear both sides, examine what was said and encourage both sides to reconciliation.

- if they still do not listen, take it to the group (or in a secular setting, to the group that both parties are a member of)

- if they still do not listen, forgiveness and restoration cannot (or should not) take place.

None of this is aimed at “punishing” the offender or perpetually holding them at arm’s length. It is aimed at bringing the offender back into the relationship that you had before the offense - or perhaps a deeper relationship.

When I have practiced this - it works.

It is not easy and it is not about me.

Heart of a Servant Leader - C. John Miller

2008-04-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Started 4/07/2008

Publisher Review: The pastoral letters serve as models of compassionate leadership. Jack Miller taught that a Christian leader should be the chief servant, and that right attitudes come only from a heart changed by an encounter with God. Miller leads his reader into a deeper understanding of the gospel and a life of humility, faith, and prayer.

Miller gently challenges those called to serve as leaders to find their primary motivation in the glory of God alone.

Miller's letters provide counsel on:

Ministry issues

Overcoming sin

Spiritual warfare

Physical suffering

Learning to forgive

"Sola Scriptura!", edited by Don Kistler

2006-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

"Sola Scriptura! The Protestant Position on the Bible", edited by Don Kistler

I may not get caught up until the end of summer...

"He is There and He is Not Silent" by Francis A. Schaeffer

2006-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

"He is There and He is Not Silent" by Francis A. Schaeffer

"To Be Continued?" by Samuel E. Waldron

2006-02-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

"To Be Continued? Are the miraculous gifts for today?"

I am struggling (wrestling) with the whole cessationism thing. There's a lot I don't know about the way God chooses to work.

Over all, Waldron makes a good case for cessationism. I am convinced that the "miraculous gifts" are not for today. I did like the "cascade effect" that he used in knocking down the possibility for these gifts for today. It was very effective.

There are a few cases is this book where I don't quite agree with the logic.

For instance - the apostles imparted the miraculous gifts and there are no more apostles; therefore, there are no more miraculous gifts. But...the apostles also "imparted" the Holy Spirit and if you use the same logic, you have to conclude that He's not around today.

Another instance: "In spite of the fact that his [Paul's] list of gifts includes apostles and prophets and ranks them as the highest gift, he never encourages this gift to be sought. The clear implication is that the gift of being an Apostle of Christ is no longer being given by the time of the writing of this letter."

How does the fact that Paul doesn't encourage asking for one of the gifts on his list indicate that it no longer exists? How many of any of the gifts did Paul encourage asking for?

I still have some "personal" issues with the way that the Holy Spirit leads, but I'm not sitting around waiting for a burning bush.

"Keep In Step With the Spirit"

2006-02-13T17:05:00.000-08:00

"Keep in Step With the Spirit" by J.I.Packer

Description:J. I. Packer's Keep in Step with the Spirit focuses on the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now in its second edition, this book is not merely a theological study, but a rousing call to encourage believers to implement the Spirit's directives in their lives. Packer explains how to get the Spirit in focus and how to map the Spirit's path in life. He restates the Christ-centeredness of the Spirit's ministry, reaffirms the biblical call to holiness, and even-handily assesses the charismatic movement. Readers wanting to understand this movement, believers interested in the ministry of the Spirit, and fans of J. I. Packer's writings will appreciate this radical call to personal and corporate revival.

A Family Forever, by Brenda Coulter - REVIEW

2006-02-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

Christian Fiction, release date: February 28

Get it on Amazon.com

I read Brenda's blog daily and I saw her request for "reviewers" and got this book in exchange for reviewing it on my blog. The request was for a review on a weekday so I'm reviewing it tomorrow on my "real" blog.

I've said before that fiction is like "brain candy" when my mind wants to read something I don't have to think about and this book fit the bill. It's not deep and it was a very fast read (I'm a fast reader and I flew through this book in about 3 hours, non-stop) so it exactly fit what I was looking for last night. Yes, I'd recommend it.

The book is filled with Christian values; people fail and recognize their failings. Parts of it reached me deeply and I cried through some of it.

The only down-side is that everything gets wrapped up neatly at the end - life is messy.

"Covenant Theology" by Peter Golding

2006-02-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Full Title: Covenant Theology, the Key of Theology in Reformed Thought and Tradition"

Buy the book here.

Additional information:

The world has difficulty understanding where the church is coming from. There seems to be an inconsistency of message and a lack of confidence in the message she proclaims. So the Church is irrelevant to vast crowds of people - all of who need to hear its message.

How do we give out that message? God has given us his word, the Bible, as guidance and we can unlock it for our generation with the help of this book.

The lack of a consistent approach to the study of the Bible has reduced the level of understanding of God's revelation as a whole. The 'lazyology' that has resulted is a key ingredient in the development of disunity in the church. This lack of clarity has made the church 'off-message' to our society.

'But Covenant Theology sounds so difficult' you say!

Fortunately help is at hand. Peter Golding gently takes us on a trip through time and unfolds the Big Picture that is Covenantal Theology.

The Big Picture that gives you a vision of a Bigger God.

If your God is too small, or if your grasp of theology is shaky, then an understanding of Covenantal Theology will make your understanding clearer, your message deeper and the impact of the church's mission greater.

The Bible will come together as a cohesive 'whole'.

"Paedofaith" by Rich Lusk - REVIEW

2006-02-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

Full Title: "Paedofaith - A Primer on the Mystery of Infant Salvation and a Handbook for Covenant Parents"

This is an excellent book! I find myself continually recommending it, quoting from it and going back to reread parts of it. I even had to buy a second copy, after giving mine to my pastor.

"Paedofaith" did, however raise as many questions as it answered and it answered questions that I hadn't even thought of!

For Christian parents who lose a child, this book will bring great comfort - not just "God is a good God and He wouldn't send a child to hell" comfort. No, this book gives solid Biblical grounds for a conviction that the children of a Christian family are "children of the covenant."

Near the end of the book, Lusk writes about the implications of paedofaith in how we raise our children. As an Arminian, I spent my children's younger years trying to evangelize them - getting them to become Christians. After reading this book, I believe that I would raise my children to have an understanding that they are a part of the covenant.

Because of my past, there are still questions
- I recognize the Biblical basis on which to believe that a child in a covenant family who dies is in heaven.
- Lusk states that he is "happily agnostic" when it comes to children in families of unbelievers.
- There are families who lose children when the parents are not believers but then they turn to Christ. If God chose them before the foundation of the earth was laid, are their children treated as believers or unbelievers?
- what about if they die before they're born?

Book facts:
Back of the book:
At what point is it reasonable to suggest that a covenant child has faith?

When she can articulate the gospel? When he can explain the concept of justification? Only alter they have gone through an extended period where faith is tested and proven to be real faith? Or is the capacity for faith directly linked to a certain age or level of maturity?

The Scriptures indicates that we can be we can be confident that our children have Faith from the womb and that we can expect that faith to flower and bloom throughout their life by God's grace.

Cornelius Van Til wrote about his experience growing up in a Christian home-"Though there were no tropical showers of revivals, the relative humidity was always very high…I was 'conditioned' in the most thorough fashion. I could not help believing in God-in the God of Christianity-in the God of the Bible!"

What is the nature of such faith'? From where does it come and what do the Scriptures have to say about it? How can anyone say that an infant has the capacity for faith?

In this book, Rich Lusk answers these questions and more, giving hope to Christian parents that their little ones do indeed belong to Christ and have the capacity to trust Him.

Rich Lusk is the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the husband of Jenny and the father of four paedobelievers.

"When a Baby Dies" by Ronald Nash - REVIEW

2006-01-23T04:01:00.000-08:00

"Answers to Comfort Grieving Parents"
by Ronald Nash"

Very good book. I'm not sure I totally agree with all of his conclusions, but overall, very solid.

Written from a Reformed perspective, Nash begins with a story of grieving parents and continues with the struggle of faith by both the parents and the pastor who consoles them.

Nash presents different theologies about why we (generally) believe that all babies go to heaven, ranging from universalism to "that's just the way God is" and then offers a theology that is grounded in the Reformed faith that is comforting and assuring.

Back of the book:
“Is my baby with God now?”

What does the Bible say to such a question? What hope does it offer parents grieving the loss of a precious child?

The answers are merciful. However, the implications are not simple. Is God a Universalist? Is there salvation after death? What is the role of infant baptism? And what about the doctrine of depravity? If a baby is born into sin, then what? What happens to the unborn -- to the miscarried and the aborted?

For pastors looking for biblical grounds to offer comfort and assurance, and for parents seeking solace for their grief, When a Baby Dies offers insights that are rich in hope and grounded solidly in Scripture.

Ronald H. Nash (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is professor of philosophy and theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He is the author or editor of many books, including The Concept of God, Faith and Reason, Is Jesus the Only Savior? and Worldviews in Conflict.

"A Case for Amillennialsim - Understanding the End Times"

2006-01-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

By Kim Riddlebarger

I've read a "condensed" version on line and listened to Mr. Riddlebarger speak (mp3 sytle), but have never read the whole book. This was a Christmas present from my kids.

So...

The Bible, by God

2006-01-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

My goal is to read the entire Bible this year. I have my plan (see my main blog sidebar). Instead of starting at the beginning, the plan I'm using goes chronologically.

There are several plans here. It's not too late to catch up!

As of 2/5, I'm still on track.