Monday, November 16, 2009

Today’s Gleanings 11/16/09

Does a word or phrase exists to describe the effect of instantly recognizing what someone proposes as being true, but knowing you never would have thought of it yourself. Déjà true, perhaps?

I felt this way after reading this essay from Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen. He describes how orthodox (little “o”) Christian belief grows over time. His premise is that ultimate truth never changes, but our understanding of it does. As God reveals truth to his people and the church wrestles with its implications, the church’s understanding grows over time.

Here’s an example:

“God gave man revelation in a progressive fashion. This is often referred to as “progressive revelation.” This simply means that when Adam and Eve were in the Garden, God did not give them a completed Scripture. For example, Abraham did not know as much as Moses about redemption. He had some basic components, but very few details. The same can be said of David. While he knew more than both Abraham and Moses, he did not know as much as Isaiah, and so on.”

He includes some nice charts that helps the reader visualize what he’s describing. Great food for thought.

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The New York Times notes that only 42 days remain in this first decade of the 21st century, and we really should have a name for it, as in the manner of the Roaring Twenties. I’m still fretting over how to pronounce the “00’s”. The oughts? The double zero’s? No sooner will we have taken care of that and we’ll have to worry over what to call the “10’s”. I have a serious need to know this for future sermon illustrations. How will I say, “Back in the “00’s”, an event took place which perfectly demonstrates the truth of this passage?.”

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