Ray Fowler .org

I found these quotes after preaching on the Third Commandment last week. If I had found them earlier, I might have used them!

• I heard someone say: “You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.” The corollary is: “You never learn to pray until your kids learn to drive!” Swearing and praying are the two most common ways to use God’s name.
• Turning to her daddy, seven-year-old Susie asked, “Why doesn’t Tommy talk?” “He can’t,” replied her father. “Babies as small as he is never talk.” “Oh yes, they do,” Susie reassured him. “At Sunday church last week our teacher told us that Job cursed the day he was born!”

From: Christians.org

I have been following Darrell Bock’s posts on the book, The Jesus Puzzle, by Earl Doherty. Doherty argues in his book that Jesus never really existed as an historical person. Dr. Bock, who is Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, responds to Doherty’s points one at a time.

This set of posts provides a great resource for those interested in learning more about the historicity of Jesus. You will also find some lively interchange between Bock and his commenters in the comments section on each post.

• Point 1: Jesus of Nazareth and the Gospel Story
• Point 2: The Josephus Citation about Jesus
  The Debated Josephus Text – Antiquities 18.63-64
• Point 3: Paul and the Epistles
• Point 4: The Roots of Resurrection
• Point 5: The Ancient Greco-Roman Dualism of Platonism
• Point 6: Mystery Religions and Christianity
• Point 7: Paul, the Intermediary Son, Wisdom and Logos
• Point 8: Gospel Roots
• Point 9: The Nature of the Gospels — Midrash?
• Point 10: “Q”
• Point 11: The Early Christian Movement
• Point 12: The Human Jesus

Bock closes out his series with these words:

What we have seen in our look at all twelve of these points is how problematic they are. There is little of credible historical judgment here that says Jesus never existed. The origin Doherty posits cannot explain the documentary evidence we possess or the form of the earliest Christianity to which that evidence gives witness. There is no puzzle put together in this book; only pieces unrelated to the real Jesus or the emergence of what became Christianity.

I am grateful to Biblical scholars like Darrell Bock who take the time not only to make valuable information like this accessible on their blogs but also to interact with their commenters in such a gracious manner.

From Breitbart.com:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prayed at the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ on Wednesday, promoting religion in the quest for Middle East peace during intense diplomacy.

“Being here at the birthplace of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has been a very special and moving experience,” said the top US diplomat, a devout Christian whose father and grandfather were Presbyterian ministers.

HT: SmartChristian.com

Talk about a sermon illustration – check out Pastor Lee Cummings’ amazing prop for his message series I Love the Eighties at Resurrection Life Church in Richland, Michigan.

(Video length: 0:44)

All I could think was, “Wow! And here I thought it was pretty cool this past summer when we added a graphic to the slides on my message series.”

So, what do you think of props in church? Helpful? Distracting? Gimmicky? Depends on the church’s culture?

HT: iThinkCafe

Here are two fascinating flash video maps from the Maps of War website. The first map shows how the geography of religion has evolved over the centuries. Pay special attention to Christianity’s explosive growth that began with the rise of modern missions in the 1700-1800’s.

                                            History of Religion

                      (5000 years of religious history in 90 seconds)

The second map traces the major empires of the world showing who has controlled the Middle East over the course of world events.

                              Imperial History of the Middle East

                      (5000 years of imperial history in 90 seconds)

HT: World on the Web

Related post: Map of the World’s Religions

CBN has posted an informative article on the new Ten Commandments Movie with lots of input from Cindy Bond, the producer of the film. Here are some excerpts from the article.

Promenade Pictures chose the Ten Commandments as their first offering because it is one of the most famous and epic stories in the Bible. It is different from The Prince of Egypt because it tells the whole story from Moses as a baby to when the Hebrews go into the Promised Land.

The Ten Commandments is not dark and heavy; it is a kid-friendly movie and more scripturally accurate and unique. It has big production values. Some of the celebrity voices they have are Christian Slater (Moses), Alfred Molina (Ramses), Elliott Gould (God), and Ben Kingsley (Narrator).

The Moses that is portrayed in The Ten Commandments is an ordinary man – relatable – relevant today. This story shows how God can use you, how He loves you, and how God can set you free from bondages. It’s a story of humility and our humanity, and it’s a pride buster. God talked to Moses because he was the humblest man on earth. The Bible is used as the foundation for the film. Moms love this version of The Ten Commandments. It’s 88 minutes and it moves . . .

Cindy wants to spark interest and introduce Bible stories to the younger generation who may not have heard the stories and renew interest in those who do know the stories. She wants to energize people to pick up the Bible and reread the story – these are true hero journeys . . .

Promenade Pictures is now working on Noah’s Ark: The New Beginning and David and Goliath – 12 movies in all – and wants to make more in The Epic Stories of the Bible series, beyond twelve. Promenade Pictures has put their company in God’s hands and are making high quality, entertaining movies with good seed . . . They are a live action and animation company. Some other movies in the works are “Gideon’s Gift” based on Karen Kingsbury novel and also a movie about Salvation Army founder William Booth.

The company worked really hard under the radar to build a slate of projects. CEO Frank Yablans didn’t want any press releases until they had a good slate of projects. It took them three years to do The Ten Commandments, and they are halfway through production on Noah’s Ark, which is slated to release early 2009 . . .

Cindy was saved when she was seven at a Billy Graham Crusade. She was raised in a Christian home by her grandparents. In college, she majored in business and drama . . .

Cindy says Hollywood is a challenging place to be – it challenges your values because it is very carnal and worldly. There were many times when she was offered projects that went against her values, but she would pass on them. She has loved the Lord since she was a young child and has tried to follow His will in order to make the right choices for her life.

The Ten Commandments opens in theaters this Friday, October 19. I would love to take my kids to see this film and support it. Unfortunately, it is playing in limited release. I called some local theaters here in Massachusetts this afternoon and none of them have it scheduled for Friday. If it is playing in your area and you get to see it, please report back here with your comments!

Related posts:

• Click here for the movie trailer.
• Some Christian Endorsements of the New Ten Commandments Movie
• The Ten Commandments by Promenade Pictures opens October 19, 2007 on 700 screens in cities where faith-based movies do best. Click here for listings of where the movie is showing. If it is not showing in your area, call your local theater managers and ask them to show it.

If you are taking chemistry (like my son is), then you may find the Dynamic Periodic Table of Elements interesting. It is an interactive table with many helpful features.

HT: Evangelical Outpost

Yesterday’s message in The Ten Commandments for Today series was on the third commandment. The message was called Do Not Misuse God’s Name, taken from Exodus 20:7.

Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (NIV)

The main idea of the message was that we should treat God’s name with the utmost reverence and respect. Here is the outline of the message:

A. What’s in a name?

1. A name signifies one’s character.
2. A name signifies one’s reputation.
3. A name signifies one’s authority.

B. The commandment: “Do not misuse God’s name.”

1. What does it mean to misuse God’s name?

         ● any empty, frivolous or insincere use of God’s name

2. How do we misuse God’s name?

         ● We can misuse God’s name with our words.
               – blasphemy
               – irreverence
               – cursing
               – profanity

         ● We can misuse God’s name with our actions.
               – hypocrisy
               – an ungodly lifestyle
               – using God’s name for our own ends
               – praying for our own benefit
               – praying but not believing

         ● We can misuse God’s name with our vows.
               – idle vows
               – rash vows
               – false vows
               – broken vows

C. The consequences: God’s judgment.

1. God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
2. Thank God for forgiveness through Jesus Christ!

D. Positive application: “Hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9)

1. We should praise God’s name (Psalm 100:4)
2. We should walk in God’s name (Micah 4:5)
3. We should honor God with titles of respect (Lord; Master; Savior)
4. We should spread the honor of his name everywhere (Is 26:8)
5. We should treat holy things with honor (Leviticus 22:1-2)
6. We should bear his name unashamedly (Acts 9:15-16)

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.

Dave Walker shows the two paths you can take if you want to become a famous blogger. (HT: Blogging Expertise)

L.L. Barkat explores how the blogosphere is transforming the way Christians connect. “In this new body-of-Christ scenario, anyone can spend a morning as an evangelist, or encourage someone who’s grieving, or enlist a prayer warrior, or infiltrate a group of wise and friendly grandmas.” (HT: Goodword)

Paul Edwards questions the appropriateness of ranking the 100 largest churches in America. “Can you imagine any of the inspired writers of the New Testament ranking the church at Ephesus above the church at Philippi, and Philippi above the church at Thessalonica based solely on how many people were showing up each week?”

Ben Witherington talks to his son about Halo 3 and its use in church youth group settings. “Should we play them at all in church? The truth is, we’ve all been playing racing, sporting, fighting, shooting games around youth groups for some time now. No less than table tennis, air hockey, gymnasium activities.” (David Witherington)

ESPN highlights NFL quarterback Jon Kitna’s Christian faith and influence on the Detroit Lions. “He is part of a team prayer group on Friday afternoons and hosts a Bible study for teammates and their wives at his home on Monday nights. Since he signed a four-year, $11.5 million deal in March 2006, about 20 Lions have given their lives to Christ.” (HT: Provocative Church)

Christianity Today documents the ups and downs of Fox Faith Films’ first year of business. “It’s been one year since 20th Century Fox became the first major Hollywood studio to launch a line of movies aimed specifically at a Christian audience. Since its debut last fall, Fox Faith has had hit-and-miss results, with poor box office numbers offset by strong video sales and rentals.” (HT: Think Christian)

Al Mohler reminds us not to take books and libraries for granted. “For most of the Christian centuries, books have been the possessions of the privileged few. All this changed with the Gutenberg revolution and the invention of movable type, but the mass availability of the book required other economic transformations as well. The mass availability of books and other printed materials is a fairly recent development, but we take it for granted.”

The concept of God punishing the children for the sin of the fathers is troublesome to many people. If you would like to learn more about this, I encourage you to look at last week’s message called The Sins of the Fathers, taken from Exodus 20:5. You can also find a quick outline of the message at Sunday Morning SoundBytes – 9/30/2007.

Here are some quotes from the message:

“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:5)

“Sin is hereditary. Sin gets passed down from one generation to the next. That is a weight most of us would rather not bear. But we will not overcome this burden by ignoring or denying it. We must face the terrible truth of generational sin in order to deal with it, so that we may indeed break the cycle of sin for ourselves and for our children who follow.” (RF)

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

“The law of the harvest says that you will reap what you sow. The law of the generational harvest says that others will also reap what you sow, especially your children and grandchildren, your family and immediate descendants.” (RF)

“The curse of the Lord righteously rests not only on the person of an impious man, but also on the whole of his family.” (John Calvin)

“Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

“When Adam and Eve fell into sin, the whole human race fell into sin. The most precious, sweetest-looking innocent baby has a sinful nature just waiting to break out. Sin is a congenital disease which within a few years of birth presents itself in every human being born on the planet.” (RF)

“The collective consequences of a father’s sin . . . does not eliminate the personal responsibility of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.” (Jochem Douma)

“There are two ways that God punishes for sin. There is what we might call active or direct punishment, where God punishes a person directly for the sins he has committed. And then there is punishment by consequence, where God allows the person to suffer the natural consequences for his sin.” (RF)

“The sanction of the second commandment can never be used as an excuse by children who argue that they are suffering judgment for what their fathers did. On the other hand, the sanction does contain a serious warning to fathers: Consider the destruction your sin can cause, not only in your life, but also in the life of your family!” (Jochem Douma)

“Who can avoid the sins of the fathers?
But you go ahead kid
It’s your turn to walk on water
Do your best to undo the sins of the fathers
Go ahead kid
It’s your turn to walk on water.”
(Terry Taylor; Daniel Amos; Songs of the Heart)

“Remind me of this, Lord, with every decision:
Generations will reap what I sow.
I can pass down a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know,
To those I will never know.”
(Sara Groves; Conversations)

“Every new generation has the capacity in Christ to break the cycle of generational sin. We read in Philippians 4:13 – ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ Colossians 1:13 tells us that God ‘has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.’ There is hope in Jesus Christ to overcome any and all sin in our lives, and to break the chains that bind us. Praise God!” (RF)

I saw this morning that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. But never mind the Nobel Prize. Check out the 2007 Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded last Thursday night, October 4, at the 17th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre. Here are some of my favorites from the list.

• Physics: L. Mahadevan of Harvard University, USA, and Enrique Cerda Villablanca of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, for studying how sheets become wrinkled.
• Biology: Prof. Dr. Johanna E.M.H. van Bronswijk of Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, for doing a census of all the mites, insects, spiders, pseudoscorpions, crustaceans, bacteria, algae, ferns and fungi with whom we share our beds each night.
• Literature: Glenda Browne of Blaxland, Blue Mountains, Australia, for her study of the word “the” — and of the many ways it causes problems for anyone who tries to put things into alphabetical order.
• Nutrition: Brian Wansink of Cornell University, for exploring the seemingly boundless appetites of human beings, by feeding them with a self-refilling, bottomless bowl of soup.
• Economics: Kuo Cheng Hsieh, of Taichung, Taiwan, for patenting a device, in the year 2001, that catches bank robbers by dropping a net over them.

Related Link: List of 2007 Nobel Prize Winners

New hi-def player. There is a new player in the Hi-Definition format wars. New Medium Enterprises (“NME”) introduced the HD VMD player to America early last month as an alternative format to HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Keeps going and going . . . The Energizer bunny had better watch out. The new betavoltaic continuous power battery can go for 30 years without a single recharge. “Betavoltaic power cells are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.” The batteries do not produce any radioactive or hazardous waste.

Ducks and drakes. Russell “Rock Bottom” Byars recently broke the world record for skipping stones. Byars’ stone traveled 250 feet and skipped 51 times beating the old world record of 40. Before declaring him a record-holder, Guinness World Records experts analyzed film of Byars’ toss, checking the concentric circles in the water by each skip. Here’s the video: