Comments for inklingz

Comment on In stillness lies victory by Rob Cortegiano

Rob Cortegiano — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:35:48 +0000

I like this one Steve. Just finished teaching the Protestant Reformation to my students. There is defintely some Reformed Calvinist in me. We used to sing “Power In The Blood” at mass when I was a Jesuit Novice.

Comment on All or nothing by Dan Bredbenner

Dan Bredbenner — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:31:03 +0000

We’ve hardly been in contact since high school, so it’s both exciting and encouraging to me to see how similar our convictions are now. You are absolutely right. Jesus was the most extraordinary figure in human history and a ho-hum response to Him can only be possible when he is not understood. As Tim Keller pointed out in a talk years ago, here was a man who made claims of divinity and then calmly stood and accepted worship (when 1st century Jews would have been among the least likely people of all time to worship a mortal person as divine). Any normal Jewish rabbi at that point would have been tearing his cloak if someone had tried to worship him, but Jesus acted like that was exactly the right thing to do and that all the bystanders were the ones who didn’t get it. That’s only one of many characteristics that make Jesus of Nazareth so polarizing. To those with eyes to see, it’s one of untold things that make him worth of our worship still.

Comment on An intimate moment with mary and joseph by Ty

Ty — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:45:19 +0000

Best Christmas story ever.

I still read that story my students. I remember hearing that story in the basement of Villa.

Comment on An intimate moment with mary and joseph by Garrett

Garrett — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:18:34 +0000

I love this story and still remember when you read it to us at a Christmas party. I have continued that tradition by reading it at Christmas parties with family and my Home Group!

Comment on God in a cave by rlhoffman

rlhoffman — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:41:42 +0000

Chesterton is not known for his clarity — his wordiness can often obscure the profound meaning he articulates. for instance, the last paragraph would require several readings for me to properly understand

however, his critique of popular critics drawing parallels between Christ and competing historical religious figures is spot on in my opinion. the prevailing law up to the time of Jesus of Nazareth was predicated on a master/slave paradigm, whereby law is constituted merely in terms of power — the victor, the master dictates law. in the incarnation of Christ (taking the form of a child and peasant) we have a reversal of values — law is predicated upon selflessness and service to others as demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus in his last 3 years prior to crucifixion

this paradigm shift is what sets the Christ story apart in my opinion, and can be credited w/ the last 2000 years of incremental, sociological evolution in the direction of equality and ultimately love for others as the foundation of law. I often struggle w/ the miraculous qualities ascribed to Jesus in the Gospels, however, i must concede that His imprint on history can be nothing short of miraculous itself.

despite the failures so often ascribed to Christendom — the imperial conquests of Rome, the splintering in the Reformation, contemporary evangelicals extremism, etc — any simple and honest reflection reveals how much the world has been transformed since Jesus of Nazareth emerged from his cave…