Random Question

Has anyone seen the movies Left Behind or read the books by Tim LaHaye?
I understand that the eschatology theologybehind these books is premillennial dispensationalism.
And as a good reformed theologian, I do not necessarily agree with everything according to premillennial dispensationalism.


But I was thinking about an aspect that is not really researched or thought about much, due to the fact that the debate has so many other great aspects and debatable points. And the debate is refuted even before this question can even be asked.

The Question:
Why do the bodies of the Christians who are raptured disappear? In the Left Behind Movie the rapture of the saints living and dead occurs. The Christians living just disappear all that is left is their clothing. Do the followers of premillennial dispensationalism think that the living raptured Christian bodies (the bodies themselves will just disappear?) I tend to think that rather what could happen if premillennial dispensationalism were true (which is unlikely) is that the actual phyiscal human bodies themselves would stay on earth while the souls of the Christian are raptured....

I mean yeah their possesion like clothing will stay behind on earth but will not also the bodies, the temporary menas of earthly humanly living, a bodily gift from God also be "left behind?" I tend to think that the human bodies would stay on earth dead, albiet no pain would occur in this rapturing death but i don't think that human bodies would go to Heaven, where our souls will go and get new bodies....but I am just hinking out loud...

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Yeah I know it is a little morbid and leads to more questions but something interesting to think about. (LOL)

Finally I saw this shirt....Are you serious?

HomeWord Devotional worth reading

Salvation in the Present Tense
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

Dearest friends, you were always so careful to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.—Philippians 2:12 NLT

While swimming in the ocean, a strong riptide current caught a boy off guard and he began to flounder. A man swimming nearby risked his own life to save the boy. The man brought the boy to shore and the boy shouted, “Thank you for saving my life!” The man replied, “That’s okay, son. Just make sure that your life was worth saving.”

This story reminds me that when we experience salvation in Christ, we are not saved just so that we receive the gift of experiencing heaven one day, but we are saved to make a difference for Jesus here and now! Our new life in Christ is not just “fire insurance,” but rather a gift we are given today – each and everyday – to be lived as our “thank you” for what God has done in our lives. Salvation is not only a future hope, but a present reality that should make a difference in how we live.

It has been well said that we are “saved to serve!” The Scriptures challenge us to make the most of every opportunity God gives us – following in the footsteps of our Master, Jesus, who was the ultimate example of living a life of service – freely giving His life away – so others could know of God’s love.

Today, don’t waste a moment of God’s gift of salvation! In gratitude, give yourself away to others so they might also know of God’s love!

Second life finding way into first life

Has anyone ever played with the real life simulator "Second Life?" It is very interesting. In fact, I actually enjoyed messing around on Second Life when I was a student at Ohio University.

O.U. has an actual Second Life campus that looks very similar to the actual physical campus. One of my good friends introduced me to O.U.'s Second Life campus. He is a real PR and Communications geek. But it is good stuff.

Anyways, my friend and I are not the only ones who have experienced this "second life." In fact, a recent study reports that Second Life is a trend and it is catching on. The article from CPYU also gives som great advice to parents. Check out the links.

body with a soul or a soul with a body?

Its a question I've been wrestling with a little, mostly just wracking my mind with, (not wrestling too much because i don't understand it enough to wrestle with it) this is because I don't understand all of the theories or references as much as I would like.


I keep thinking rationally that we are souls with bodies...then I ask more questions like, what about our personality, who we are, - are these things carried along in our souls, or are they just naturally a part of our souls originally? Or are they temporary? I tend to think that in going to Heaven our personalities will not be abolished, yet it is clear we are getting new bodies.

The Bible is not as clear as we would always like about these types of issues. Yet we can rest assured that (A.) God has told us everything he wants us to know about Heaven in the Bible and (B.) when we get to Heaven we will not be confused, it will all make sense and be natural. God is in control!

Other questions and theories got me thinking that maybe we don't "go" to Heaven...maybe Heaven comes to earth, in form of "New Earth?"

Other questions like , will we recognize our friends and family? come to mind.

When I have tough questions, the best source for me is always the Bible, while others draw conclusions that sound technical and nice - the Bible inspired:
" But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

" All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

" So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. "

( 1Corinthians 15:35-44, NIV)

Rejecting Truth

It is immoral to reject truth when it is offered to you.
It is just alike any other sin.
It leads to more sin.
One must close off part of his/her self in order to to reject truth.
One calcifies their own heart when you deny the life of goodness and truth that God offers.

Becuase God is truth, those who reject truth are rejecting God.
Brannon Howse in "UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUTH" makes a good point: "Because God is truth, postmodernism is false because man did not create God. Postmodernism is the belief that truth is created by man and not discovered. How can man create God?"

He shows how rejecting truth leads to cultural decay and a failing nation.

Life is worth living

Living with questions
We all have questions. We all need answers. It is good though to have more questions than answers. Life is a journey. We learn something new everyday.

Living with answers
Knowing the truth will set us free. The truth, though, is not always easy to deal with. It takes time to wrestle with. Knowing the answer to question leads us to ask more questions. Sometimes we do not always like the truth, it can be harsh. But the truth, nevertheless, sets us free.

Living with God
Living with God, the Master of all things created, can be tough as well. It can be amazing also. We may think we know what is best or what is going to happen next in life, but only one Divine Being holds the truth and the future. He is the one we need to know to find truth and to be set free. He can truly fulfill us. None of our man made plans will ever fulfill the void only God can.

Life is a journey
Life is amazing. It can feel like a roller coaster ride. It can suck, but then it can also feel like you are on a mountain top. But I challenge you to see life asa journey...not from one extreme to another but see and remember the stuff in between. Remember the path that gets you where you are going. Remember your friends that helped you. Remeber the memories that forged you into the right direction and not just hte end results.


Life is a struggle
There will be times when we are struggling. There will be times of pain and suffering. Life is not eay. Even for the Christian, Jesus never said it would be easy. THere will be times when we need other and we need God to help us through.



Worth it all
In the end it is worth it all wiht Christ.

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Now playing: Michael W. Smith - Worth It All
via FoxyTunes

Life on Mars? Worth it?

Mars Phoenix Tweets: "We Have ICE!"

Ice on Mars? What do you think...
Will anyone willingly risk their lives to go over to Mars and try to live there?
Don't we have a lot more important issues to deal with here on Earth, even America, rather than worrying about Mars?

Just some thoughts....

Science and Truth: How Truth Works

Truth holds everything together.

Theology and Science are related and go hand in hand with each other, because they are both founded on truth, they are not opposites. Liberal and postmoderns who want to keep these things separated are not thinking straight. They are failing to understand how truth works. The reality is that these things can never be liberated from each other without ruining both institutions.

Why?
Becuase if you separate any of the physical sciences or theology (the religious science) away from truth then they will fall apart. They will no longer have their foundation. Nothing will make any sense.

God is a necessary element in order to show have all sciences (physical, metaphysical, social sciences, religious theology, or historical sciences- all of them!) and truth work.

Theology (the study of God) in really should be the mother to all other sciences. Becuase the more we understand God and how He created and set truth into motion, we see how all the other things work. Truth sets us free.

For all of those angrily thinking, "Don't put your religion and your God in science. All we need is science with an agenda!"

You make a great point, think a little a bit about what you are saying, the reality is that true science always does have (and has had) an agenda.

The only instance where there is science without an agenda is scientism....but
(A.) You are not going to find a true scientism believer because they are rare and it is not really rational. True scientism has been well-refuted recently.
Even Skeptic Dictionary says, "scientism is either false or meaningless."
(B.) people get into true scientism for their own agenda!

to be young again...

In the suburban area, that I live in there are a lot of young children. My next door neighbors have 6 (or maybe 7 - idk) kids. 5 of the 7 are under the age of six! They are a large family, and are always doing something fun together. I imagined how fun it would be to be one of the five kids. You would always have a friend, yet you would always have an enemy. You would always have someone to play games with, to fight with, to talk with...that would be cool.(and yeah, it always looks like an episode of rugrats!)

I remembered back to my days as a child. I remembered being real young. During the summers, my step-brother and step sister would make a long-term visit to my parent's home. Together there were 5 of us siblings. And at one point all of us siblings were all under the age of six. So we too had times and days were we would all do something fun together, run around, swim in the pool, play soccer together. Those were the days!

Being so young, naive, and innocent. We had absolutely no other cares in the world. We would simply play outside together and have fun. We were not weighted down by the tragedies of life.

We did not really know about hardships, death, or even stress. Those were some good times. I think back and sometimes wish I could be that way again today.