An eclectic group of individuals who have two things in common: faith in Jesus and a connection to St. John's College. Here we gather, across time and space, to carry on a dialogue.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
What is 'Goodness'?
Posted by Unknown at 3:39 PM
Greetings. I recently tried to define the list of 'virtues', if you will, which Peter encourages believers to posess in order to be fruitful in their knowledge of Christ.

Goodness was VERY hard for me, and that disturbed me. How is this virtue, which is arguably one of the earliest known by even children, so hard to set to words. I recognize it, but have a hard time articulating it. If anyone could help me by giving their insight about the nature of this problem, or preferrably DEFINING it themselves, I would be very appreciative.

In Christ,
Josh <{><
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  Comment by Blogger Dwight at 10:18 AM, September 07, 2006
Goodness is:

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!
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  Comment by Blogger Jared at 12:44 AM, September 16, 2006
It may help to note that Knowledge is the supplement to Goodness (Arete).
Maybe it has to do with motivation/desire, and so is supplied direction by Knowledge.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2006
overseas
Posted by Kristi at 1:28 AM
hey family in Christ!

just a quick hello ("privet!") from the russian speaking land of Belarus! I arrived last night in Minsk and things are good. Will be putting updates on my own blog as well.

look forward to staying in touch with the ongoing convos over here.
bye! ("paka!)
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  Comment by Blogger Dwight at 8:24 AM, August 23, 2006
So, we have all wanted to know...(and for some reason this had to wait until you were there) Does the "rus" in Belarus have anything to do with the "Rus" in Russia?
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  Comment by Blogger Jared at 11:00 PM, August 23, 2006
Kristi--
I'm 10% geek, but I couldn't figure out how to put comments on your blog (maybe because I went to it through the link on this page?) How can I comment on your blogs?
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  Comment by Blogger Kristi at 11:05 AM, August 26, 2006
to comment:
click on link below the post you want to comment on that says "# comments"

then click on the link below the post and below the header "# commentts" that is in russian - 2 words, first begins with Ot.. and second begins with kommehtapa..

make sense?

hope it helps
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Tuesday, August 22, 2006
tithing
Posted by Jared at 12:08 PM
I'm not sure why the gentile church has the practice of tithing.
God commanded the Jews to tithe, but it doesn't look like the Torah (including tithing laws) got passed on to the gentile churches (Acts 15). The gentile churches did much more than tithe--they were filled with the Spirit ofgenerosity, so they gave as there was need.
But now the churches I've been to tell me to tithe.
Did this Mosaic law return as a church custom at some point (to meet church needs when the church wasn't being generous)?
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  Comment by Blogger Dwight at 8:23 AM, August 23, 2006
Tithing is just a good "rule of thumb" and as with any rule/law, it works some of the time, and other times it causes problems.

I'm not sure why there is a rule beyond "Give as the spirit moves you."

The cynical side of me says that Churches that have to pay the rent and pastor's salary found that the Spirit didn't seem to move according to the monthly payments, but who knows?

•10% is good if you aren't receiving any other guidance... it can be tempting to not give if you don't hear anything.

•The Israelites also did the "give as the Spirit moves you" thing when they were offering the materials for the Tabernacle, so this isn't a New Thang. Every law is a minimum; although that kind of language is what got the Pharasees in trouble with Jesus, so forget I said that ;-)
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Thursday, August 17, 2006
Wineskins
Posted by Dwight at 10:48 PM
Matthew 9:16-17 have never really made sense to me. Particularly in context...

Matthew 9 NRSV
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  Comment by Blogger Jackson at 12:12 PM, August 18, 2006
I've got to admit that for the longest time I tried and tried to come up with an interpretation of that verse that both 1) makes sense and 2) has anything at all to do with the context. I'm still working at it.
do you think the Pharisees could be the old wineskins?

(Here's the same passage in Mark and Luke)
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  Comment by Blogger Dwight at 11:16 PM, August 20, 2006
The immediate context is John's disciples asking Jesus why His disciples don't fast. Jesus says the attendants don't fast while the bridgroom is with them but they will later when he is gone. No one sews unshrunk cloth as a patch on shrunk cloth. No one puts new wine in old wineskins.

It is that quick... no transitions or anything.
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  Comment by Blogger Kristi at 11:01 AM, August 26, 2006
old wineskin: the law
new wineskin: grace through jesus' blood.

no one wants the new wineskin, the new covenant. they want the old. they like it. hard to change. but... God send His son and it changes things. Jesus is not a patch to be sewn onto the old traditions and ways. you need a new life in him. etc.

so i think. but anyway, i'm away from my bible and can't elaborate more for now about the context.
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Friday, August 11, 2006
The Word
Posted by Nicholas at 9:46 PM








If anyone is interested in watching a really great spiritual film (that happens to be in a foreign tongue), then I couldn't more highly recommend the following film:Ordet (1955-Danish for the "The Word") dir. by Carl Th. Dreyer (In Danish with Eng. subtitles) - Story of a family struggling with being Christian. A father and three sons living on a farm near the Danish coast. The father is a widower and older believer just learning how to begin to pray. The eldest son is an atheist and married to a Christian woman about to give birth to their first child. The middle son has read too much Kierkegaard and thinks he is Jesus Christ, literally. The youngest is interested in marrying the daughter of the founder of a rival Christian sect down the road. All conflicts converge in the conclusion. A meditation on the Christian life, in all its complexity and simplicity. Not to be missed.



Another spiritual film which must be seen:

The Promise (1996- La Promesse, if you're looking for it on Netflix) is the best film that I have seen this summer. Written and directed by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, it was inspired by the conversation in "The Brothers Karamazov" concerning whether it is possible to be "guilty for all." A young white boy lives with his slumlord father on the Belgian-French border. His father sneaks illegal immigrants over the border from France to Belgium in order to extort money and labor from them. One day, a black immigrant from Sierra Leone dies unexpectedly, leaving his wife and newborn with serious debts. He asks this young boy to promise him to take care of his wife and child. The boy does. "The Promise" is about whether the boy keeps his promise to care for strangers whom his very own father is manipulating and abusing. Is blood thicker than the waters of righteousness?

If anyone sees either of these films, let me know what you think.

-Nick Garklavs

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  Comment by Blogger Dwight at 8:18 PM, August 14, 2006
I'm about Art Housed (i.e. any movie that has wheat on it's cover) out for the time being...

But I will put that on the front of the back burner :P
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  Comment by Blogger laura at 8:28 PM, August 14, 2006
Thanks for the tip, Nick. We are always on the lookout for good films (and have taken to Netflix, as we live a rather secluded life out here...)
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Sunday, August 06, 2006
Love Always Trusts
Posted by Jared at 12:12 AM
People keep making claims on me.
They'll pop a fact I'm not sure how to check,
and I dunno whether to hold it as true or ignore the statement.
I hear love always trusts.

So how do I love informants while keeping my facts straight?

Examples of people making claims:
~the media tells me Daily News
~pastors mention extrabiblical historical/cultural info in sermons
~Gedaliah's situation in Jer. 40:13-16
(Gedaliah trusted Ishmael wouldn't kill him.
Should Gedaliah have trusted Johanan over Ishmael?)
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  Comment by Blogger Sir Robert at 9:32 AM, August 09, 2006
You were probably going along in life just fine before that fact was told to you. If you can't check it, just take it for what it is (something someone told you) and move on. Don't repeat it as fact unless it is.
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  Comment by Blogger Jared at 2:54 PM, August 09, 2006
Huh. Thanks, Sir; it seems so clear and obvious now.
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