The Bionic Man?

With all my surgeries the last few years, including three this year so far, a few of my friends such as Bobby Buff, Richard X, and Dallas N, and others perhaps, have called me "The Bionic Man". These clips are my response! I have to admit that my health problems and surgeries have had me down mentally many times, and there are still some things bothering me that I would like to have dealt with. However, God has been good in the healing provided so far. I realize from a Christian perspective that this is a fallen world (Genesis 3), and that I will suffer and die like everyone else. There is no room for arrogance on my part, since as a human being I can neither significantly heal my spirit or body. The resurrection described in 1 Corinthians 15 is my only ultimate hope from these annoying sufferings, as a perfected immortal spiritual body is provided. I did have life threatening sleep apnea, but that has been approximately 70% cured this year. Other than that I have some annoying problems, but I understand that many people in this world suffer with greater health problems than I do.

Timeline of Christianity

York Minster Cathedral

Used by permission from http://www.religionfacts.com

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/timeline.htm

c. 4 BC Birth of Jesus
c. 26 AD John the Baptist begins ministry
c. 27 AD Jesus begins ministry
c. 30 AD Crucifixion of Jesus
c. 35 Conversion of Paul
c. 44 Martyrdom of James
c. 46-48 Paul's first missionary journey
c. 49 Council of Jerusalem
c. 50-52 Paul's second missionary journey
c. 51-52 First and Second Thessalonians written
c. 53-57 Paul's third missionary journey
c. 57 Letter to the Romans written
c. 59-62 Paul imprisoned in Rome
c. 60 Andrew martyred by crucifixion in Achaia (Greece).
c. 66-67 Second Timothy written
c. 68 Martyrdom of Paul
70 Fall of Jerusalem
c. 90-95 John exiled on island of Patmos
c. 95 Book of Revelation written
c. 96 Clement of Rome's Letter to the Corinthians written
c. 120 Didache written
202 Christians persecuted under Septimus Severus
211 Christians tolerated under Emperor Antoninus Caracalla
222 Christians favored Emperor Alexander Severus
230 Origen's On First Principles
235 Christians persecuted under Emperor Maximin the Thracian
238 Christians tolerated under Emperor Gordian III
244 Christians favored under Emperor Philip the Arabian
251 Cyprian's Unity of the Catholic Church
254 Death of Origen
303 Diocletian orders burning of Christian books and churches
312 Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity
313 Edict of Milan establishes official toleration of Christianity
325 Council of Nicea
336 Death of Constantine
354 Birth of Augustine
367 Athanasius lists all 27 books of NT
379 Basil the Great dies
380 Christianity made official religion of Roman Empire
381 Council of Constantinople
386 Augustine converts to Christianity
389 Gregory of Nazianzus dies
395 Gregory of Nyssa diesc.
400 Jerome's Vulgate (translation of the Greek Bible into Latin)
407 John Chrysostom dies
411 Council of Carthage condemns Donatists
417 Pope Innocent I condemns Pelagianism
420 Death of Jerome430 Death of Augustine
431 Council of Ephesus
451 Council of Chalcedon
787 Second Council of Nicea
950 Olga of Russia converts to Christianity
1054 Great Schism between East and West
1093 Anselm becomes Archbishop of Canterbury
1095 Council of Clermont: Pope Urban II proclaims First Crusade
1098 Crusaders take Antioch from Turks
1099 Crusaders recapture Jerusalem from Turks
1122 Concordat of Worms1141 Peter Abelard condemned
1144 Fall of Edessa (crusader state)
1187 Fall of Jerusalem to Turks
1215 Fourth Lateran Council1309 "Babylonian Captivity" (until 1377)
1337 Hundred Years' War (until 1453)
1378 Great Western Schism (until 1423)
1409 Council of Pisa1413-14 Lollard rebellion
1415 Council of Constance. Martyrdom of Jan Hus.
1420 Crusade against Hussites
1431 Joan of Arc martyred
1431-49 Council of Basel
1438-45 Council of Ferrara-Florence
1453 Fall of Constantinople to Turks
1478 Spanish Inquisition founded by Ferdinand and Isabella
1483 Birth of Martin Luther
1492 Expulsion of Jews from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella
1505 Luther becomes a monk
1517 Luther posts 95 Theses
1521 Luther excommunicated
1530 Augsburg Confession
1534 Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy
1536 Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion
1541 Colloquy of Regensburg
1555 Peace of Augsburg
1559 Elizabeth I's Act of Uniformity
1590 Michelangelo completes the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
1609 Baptist Church founded by John Smyth
1611 King James (Authorized) Version of the Bible produced
1729 Beginnings of Methodism, led by John Wesley
1738 John Wesley feels his "heart strangely warmed" during a reading of Luther's preface to Romans on Aldersgate Street in London
1775 American Wars of Independence begin
1783 America wins independence from Britain
1793 Louis XVI executed
1797 Second Awakening begins
1798 Pope Pius VI is prisoner of France
1799 Schleiermacher writes Speeches
1801 Cane Ridge Revival
1804 Napoleon becomes emperor
1807 Hegel writes Phenomenology of the Spirit
1808 French occupy Rome
1810 Mexico wins independence
1812-14 British-American War
1814 Reorganization of the Jesuits
1816 American Bible Society established
1822 Schleiermacher writes Christian Faith
1826 American Society for the Promotion of Temperance founded
1830 Joseph Smith produces Book of Mormon
1834 Spanish Inquisition officially abolished
1838 Abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean
1841 David Livingstone to Africa
1845 Methodists and Baptists split over the issue of slavery
1846 Pope Pius IX (until 1878)
1854 Dogma of Immaculate Conception of Mary
1859 Darwin publishes Origin of the Species
1861-65 American Civil War
1861 Presbyterians divide over the issue of slavery
1869 First Vatican Council1870 Dogma of Papal Infallibility
1872 Moody begins preaching
1875 Mary Baker Eddy writes Science and Health
1882 Neitzsche declares "God is dead"
1895 Five Fundamentals
1900 Freud's Interpretation of Dreams
1906 Azusa Street revival
1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T
1910 World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh
1914 Assemblies of God founded
1914-18 World War I
1917 Russian Revolution
1919 Prohibition passed into law
1925 Scopes "Monkey" trial
1932 Barth's Church Dogmatics
1939 Hitler invades Poland and sparks WWII
1945 Nag Hammadi Library discovered in Egypt; US drops atomic bombs on Japan
1947 India wins independence from U.K.
1948 World Council of Churches founded
1950 Papal encyclical Humani generis
1956 First issue of Christianity Today
1960 Birth control pill approved by FDA
1961 First human in space; Papal encyclical Mater et Magistra
1962-65 Second Vatican Council
1963 MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech
1968 Papal encyclical Humanae vitae
1969 First man on the moon
1971 Intel introduces the microprocessor
1973 Roe vs. Wade
1987-88 Televangelist scandals
1989 First woman ordained in an apostolic-succession church (the Protestant Episcopal church). Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1997 Birth of the internet

Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries (Zondervan, 1996).
Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Prince Press, 1999).
Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity, Vol. I: to A.D. 1500 (4th ed., Prince Press, 2000).
Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service, 2004

Questionnaire Assistance

Fire Lake, BC 

I am Russ Murray, a PhD candidate at the University of Wales, although I am working by distance learning and live in the Greater Vancouver area. My dissertation topic is the problem of evil, and this is a continuation and progression of my MPhil. I have tentatively completed PhD chapters on Free Will Theodicy with Augustine, and Alvin C. Plantinga, Sovereignty Theodicy with John S. Feinberg (and yours truly), Soul-Making Theodicy with John Hick, and Practical/Empirical Theology and Theodicy from Dutch Roman Catholics. 

My questionnaire will be based on these approaches to the problem of evil and a few feminism questions which my original advisor wanted included. I am working on a questionnaire and once it is accepted by a new advisor I will be looking for people from local churches to assist me by filling out the questionnaire, but I am also willing to send the form out via the internet. If you are attending a Christian church and desire to fill out a questionnaire for me when I have it ready, please let me know, by leaving a comment here, or by emailing me at: rnmwales@shaw.ca The survey results are anonymous and completely confidential. Although I am looking for assistance from people attending Christian churches, I will have 'other' listed as a denominational option. I can email a copy of the completed questionnaire results upon request to a person who has participated in the survey. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated as I will probably need a sample in the hundreds. 

Thanks Russ

Should Islam be beyond criticism?

I do not claim to be an expert on Islam, I have studied Christian Theology and Biblical Studies for 15 years, in particular the problem of evil, free will and determinism, please see my philosophical theology blog, thekingpin68 under links. I have taken a few courses that deal with Islam,and am aware that there are some key differences between Christianity and Islam.

A brief comparison between the two religions from by Garry K. Brantley.

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/225

From a Christian perspective, and from an Islamic one, there is plenty of disagreement on key issues. I would state that clearly that although both religions are monotheistic, the same God is not being worshipped. If God is triune, yet one is substance and nature as in Christianity, then Islam which denies the trinity has a different concept of God, and a different God. Brantley (1996: 1). Matthew 28:19 demonstrates that God is triune in his call to make disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Acts 5:3-4 the Holy Spirit as God is described as being lied to. If Christ is God, then he is more than a prophet as with Islam, and Islam worships a different God. Brantley (1996: 1). In Hebrews 1:3, Christ is explained as the exact representation of God's nature who upholds all things by the word of his power.

Contrary to Islam, if Christ did atone for sins and was resurrected, then to deny this would be to deny God's key work within humanity, and would indicate that within Islam a different God is worshipped. Brantley (1996: 1). Christ is stated to have died for sins in Hebrews 10:12, and is documented as being resurrected in Matthew 28, Luke 24, Mark 16, John 20-21, and Acts 1.

The Pope by quoting Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, was pointing out a difference between Christianity and Islam, at least radical Islam on the matter of promoting their religion by violence. Sadly, Christianity has been promoted through violence in the past, including through the Roman Catholic Church and some Reformers, but this approach was not a New Testament teaching. In John 18:36, Jesus stated that his Kingdom was not of this world, and that was why his servants were not fighting with authorities. As well, Christians in the New Testament era were known for being martyrs by the hands of the Roman Empire and were not attempting to overthrow their rulers. The BBC quoted the Pope as follows:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5347876.stm

"Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The emperor's words were, he said: 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'"

Since some within Islam believe in exporting their religion by the sword, Christians, adherents of other religions, and secularists alike have the right to criticize people within Islam, or any other philosophical movement that believes in spreading ideals through force and the murder of opponents. I discussed religious tolerance on thekingpin68 in my article here

http://thekingpin68.blogspot.com/2006/09/religion-ethics-and-blogging.html

Tolerance is defined by J.E. Wood Junior, as the indulgence of belief or conduct other than one’s own. This would include respect for the opinions and practices of others when they are in conflict with one’s own. Wood (1996: 1098). This tolerance in no way means that all religious philosophies must be viewed as true, rather people are respected for holding a religious view even if views are considered false by others on several points.

These radical Islamic groups are intolerant of any world-view that opposes their own and for this reason Christians, adherents of other religious, and secularists should unite in criticism, and unfortunately if needed, support military actions by Western governments against Islamic states and terrorist groups that are intolerant of views that oppose their own and wish to bring death to their chosen enemies. The Pope was correct in originally mentioning this criticism of Islam, or at least those within Islam that believe in the use of spreading the faith by the sword, I realize that not all in Islam agree with the concept of using force to spread the faith. As a Christian, I respect the right of Islam to exist in this present age, yet disagree with key central tenants of Islamic theology. I can agree with those of other philosophical views that radical Islam is a danger to tolerance and democracy in our present age and join in criticism of radical Islam and any philosophical movement that believes in murdering opponents. Clearly Islam should not be beyond criticism despite the protests and sometimes violent actions of some of its adherents.

BRANTLEY, GARRY K. (1996) 'Christianity and Islam: Points of Tension', Apologetics Press, Montgomery, Alabama, http://www.apologeticspress.org.

WOOD J.E. JUNIOR. (1996) ‘Tolerance’ in Walter A. Elwell (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.