if it is God's will

it is downright scary to actually submit to God's will, to actually practice what we preach. but that is what we are called to do.

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." - Psalm 84:10-12 (NIV)

if it is God's will. better still, if and only if it is God's will.

by faith

We boast of being so practical a people that we want to have a surer thing than faith. But did not Paul say that the promise was by FAITH that it might be SURE (Romans 4:16)?

- Streams in the Desert, June 14

10 days until the end of summer term

1 non-spiritual pilgrimage to st james' park.
2 weekends away.
1 london church crawl.
2 more papers and i'm done.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

*****

if all goes well, i'll be back in singapore at 6.05am on sun 29 jun. just in time for church!

calvinism vs catholicism

*to sulynn*

this is the end

to be sure, i am neither a calvinist nor a catholic. for that matter, i am neither a baptist (even though i go to baptist churches in both singapore and york) nor a methodist (even though i went to acps/acsi/acjc for 10 years). i am first and foremost a christian, in Christ.

having said that, i think that the catholic position on predestination and free will is closer to the truth than the calvinist position on predestination and free will. predestination refers to God's infallible foreknowledge of our free will, not God's predetermination of our free will (this is a contradiction in itself). to this end, predestination is descriptive, not prescriptive.

*****

the capacity to be saved is by grace. God determines whether or not we can be saved - we do not have free will with respect to whether or not we can be saved.

the choice to be saved is by faith. God does not determine whether or not we are saved - we have free will with respect to whether or not we are saved.

london church crawl

all souls church, langham place (9.30am to 11am)

it was my second time at all souls and i thoroughly enjoyed the service, as before. the 30 piece orchestra was a nice touch. hugh palmer preached on discernment in christian liberty, unpacking 1 corinthians 8 (food sacrificed to idols). knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

1 corinthians is a rather instructive letter which warrants careful study. virtually every chapter is relevant to us, even (especially!) in this day and age.

christchurch london (4pm to 6pm)

it was my first time at a newfrontiers church and i wasn't quite sure what to expect. the service was definitely charismatic, and possibly Charismatic. regardless, i think that denominational differences can and should be accommodated when and where possible - which actually isn't saying much. the point is that all denominations are equally imperfect.

holy trinity brompton (7pm to 8.30pm)

holy trinity was a bit of both all souls and christchurch - think tim hughes leading worship in an anglican church. clearly a very solid church, though i personally found myself more at home in all souls.

random fact: the alpha course started here.

*****

it is important to bear in mind not to date the church, but if you ever happen to be in london on a sunday, why not visit a few churches in the area (hillsong also has a 12.45pm service)?

more on philosophy and theology

this builds on philosophy and theology, on philosophy and theology, faith and reason and systematic theology.

philosophy and theology share a symbiotic relationship, like the government and ntuc.

philosophy (the discipline) sharpens theology by unpacking certain misconceptions. for example, the law of noncontradiction states that 'one cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time' (aristotle). this helps us to understand that 'to suppose God to have contrary wills towards the same object, is a contradiction; but it is not so, to suppose Him to have contrary wills about different objects' (edwards); one will in two senses.

at the same time, theology refines philosophy (individual worldviews) by separating the wheat from the chaff/the wheat from the weeds. given a theistic worldview and an atheistic worldview, it is clear which of them is true, or at least closer to being true. creation vs evolution, realism vs anti-realism, tripartism (man exists in body, soul and spirit; in the image of a triune God) vs monism/dualism...

it's true, it's true

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."" - John 8:31-32 (NIV)

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" - John 14:6 (NIV)

"Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."" - John 18:37 (NIV)

it would be hard to choose between philosophical truth and theological truth. fortunately, they are the same thing.

link: philosophy and theology (25 nov 07)