"We the people"...who worship the one true God...

So as I was sitting in my Public Administration class today my professor brought up a very interesting point. He was talking about the Federalist papers which were written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. They are a collection of articles written by the three men in order to drum up support for the Constitution. The interesting thing comes in the statement which my professor made as to the style of writing that these authors used. He mentioned that many of the papers are written with the same type of style as many of the books of the Bible.

The papers are written in such a way that the authors did not know exactly what was going to happen if the new Constitution was ratified. They made the best guesses as to what the situation was going to be. While we know significantly more about the situation of God there is still things that we will not be able to understand until Jesus returns then we shall know exactly what the meaning of everything written is.

But all in all it was interesting that the framers of the Constitution would even write in a way like the Bible. It sure seems to offer a lot of proof that they did intend that the government could be involved with the affairs of the government, but they did not want the government to control their church.

Narnia: Salvation in Disguise

So I just finished reading the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Granted I am quite behind the times being as I never read this novel as a kid. I have read somewhere that it is great to be able to read it as a kid, someone around my age, and then once you get older. At least I can get 2 out of the 3 God willing. But anyways I had always heard that the books were grounded with a lot of theology about Christ and God but I never realized how much there actually was. Recently I have begun reading a lot of C.S. Lewis books and am intrigued by everyone that I pick up. This book was by no means a let down in fact I think it was one of the best that I have read so far. I've had the series for awhile but have never really started it except for half of the Magician's Nephew. To be able to read stuff for the movie coming out I figured I should read the Wardrobe. If you haven't read this book it should definitely be towards the top of your list. You won't be disappointed.

On another note there is a CD being released by quite a few CCM artists on Tuesday the 27th. The songs were inspired by the movie and from what I have heard it will be a worthwhile listen.

An Enjoyable Book

I started to read the Case for Christ this week. This is the first time that I have read it and from what I have already read it is a very impressive book. While there was never any doubt in my mind that the Scriptures were correct this book sure does start to show some less important "real world evidence" that things do seem to check out. The thing that fascinates me most about this book is the fact that it attempts to tackle the questions that skeptics often associate with the Christian faith. These facts that we know can be a very important tool to reaching out to those who want to "see" before they believe. Of course this is part of human nature and it is apparent even in cases where Jesus was right there such as when Thomas doubted his friends about the risen Christ. At any rate this book is giving me some cool topics that I can talk about with other people without getting into any realy theological debates. Hopefully, if I can break some things down I will be posting about some of the things I find interesting in the book.

New Look

I have been looking for a bit to find a new look for the page. I think I got something that I pretty much like except for the stars next to the items but i can live with that. Hopefully the new look will give me a spark to write some new stuff.

My First Bible Study

Here is the information that I used for my first Bible study that I led tonight.

Law and Gospel

Thesis 1

The doctrinal contents of the entire Holy Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, are made up of two different doctrines differing fundamentally from each other, viz., the Law and the Gospel.

What kind of ideas come to mind when you hear about the Law and the Gospel?

What is the purpose of each doctrine?



Law: teaches us what sin is (Romans 7:7)

Gospel: tells the good news that God provides for us freely (John 3:16)



Can anyone think of some examples of Law?



Can anyone think of some examples of Gospel?




Example of Law:

Mark 12:30-31
Ten Commandments

Example of Gospel:

Galatians 5
Romans 1:16
Col. 1:13-14

What is the common key for all of these passages?


The Gospel is what fulfills the law and gives it its full meaning according to Jesus. (Matt. 5:17-18)

Law is not the Old Testament and Gospel the New Testament parts of both doctrines can be found throughout the entire Bible. Jesus was in fact one of the greatest teachers of the Law. (Matthew 5-7 Sermon on the Mount)

What happens if we mix elements of the two doctrines?


Dividing the doctrines is a key fulcrum upon which Christianity degenerates into hollow moralism, as our faith becomes a de facto works-righteousness. Erroring in regards to the second Law/Gospel distinction makes a bunch of people who are living under Law; not only are they incredibly difficult to be around, but they often end up in a pit of despair because they can't keep the Law.

Why is it important to divide between the two doctrines?



Thinking a different way about things if we followed the Law perfectly what purpose would Jesus serve?



What is the main purpose of the doctrines together?


Further Info:

God's No and God's Yes- C.F.W. Walther

Wretched of the Earth- Ryan Tinetti
http://wretchedoftheearth.blogspot.com/2005/06/introduction-to-law-gospel.html

Luther's Small Catechism with explanation

A Good Talk

Last Thursday I was able to have a very good experience. I got to sit down with Rev. Dr. Wally Becker who is one of the admissions guys at Concordia St. Louis. I was able to run through some things pertaining to my looking into attending the seminary once I graduate from Central Michigan. He was able to offer some very encouraging points and is just a great guy to talk too. I guess this post is not really about anything other than the fact that it was pretty cool to be able to talk to one of the people who is the one of the starting points for attending the seminary. I got a lot of good information to look over too which always gives me something to do when I am bored. Hopefully, now that I have a schedule figured out a little better I can begin posting more often.