chris cobb

First, you will never be a candidate for a PhD. PhD students require a prodigious memory, as such students are required to completely master a field of knowledge. This means, at least in the religious world, that if someone should speak a name like, like, [I seem to be having a hard time remembering a current name in Old Testament studies], umm, Pete Enns, the successful candidate should be able to automatically rattle off Dr. Enn's view of Normative vs Descriptive, Continuity versus discontinuity, the center of the Old Testament studies, the titles of his ten latest books, and the meaning of the "rock that followed them" in 1 Corinthians 10. If you have a bad memory, you need not apply.

Second, all your friends are new friends. Does not matter how long you've known 'em. They're all new. Now, some people might number this among the blessings, but not if you are one of those who tends to be a little shy. Can you imagine, as a pastor, how intimidating it is to sit down to a completely new Board every month? Or, just think of how bad it is for pastoral/congregational relationships when your entire church is filled with visitors every week, and none of the regulars showed up. At least, you are not sure if they did. Some, in the church-growth movement, might be impressed by a church full of first-timers. Except that each week, they all expect you to know their name.

Let's not even consider what this means with respect to wife and children. A bad memory definitely is not in the blessing category here. And I am not just talking about remembering (or actually, forgetting) birthdays and anniversaries. Let's move on to the blessings.

The primary blessing can be summed up by saying that every experience is a new one. For instance, every time someone tells a joke, for you, it is the first time you have heard it. This is a lot of fun, especially with really good jokes. Or better yet, if you know one really good joke, you always have a new joke to tell all your new friends.

Or how about this. If you have some author you really enjoy (I am partial to Louis L'Amour), every time you read one of his books, its as good as it was the first time. In fact, you think it is the first time. This means a small shelf of novels can provide immense pleasure for the rest of your life. You might on rare occasion have a small deja-vu experience as you read, but not enough to be troubling (and not enough to ruin the plot). You may begin to wonder, however, how all your new books got so dog-eared before you've had a chance to read them.

Every time you see a movie, its the first time, no matter how many times you have seen it before. This can really result in a savings of rental fees (just purchase a few favorites), though the kids might begin to say something like, "Oh dad, do we have to watch this again?"

Here is another. People can say insulting things to you, but you don't remember them beyond the initial sting. Actually, if folks catch on, they can use the same insult next week and won't have to trouble themselves to think of a new one. This makes both them and you happy.

Oh, here's another: you never make the same mistake twice. Its always the first time.

I actually had quite a few more things to add to the blessings category, but I forgot them. Or, at least, I think I did.

Before we leave this topic, we probably ought to consider the negative side of this situation...

Posted by chcobb at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is an interesting article here  in the New York Times, about an individual who earned a PhD from the University of Rhode Island in geosciences. His dissertation invoked standard evolutionary views of paleontology, the geologic column, and the geologic time scale. He successfully defended his dissertation before a committee composed of philosophically committed evolutionists.

There are some now saying that the school should not have granted the degree. Why? Because Dr. Marcus Ross happens to be a 'young earth' creationist, who believes the Bible, including the biblical account of creation. In other words, though he can successfully navigate the Darwinian world at the doctoral level, he is not a 'true scientist' because he is not committed to the Received Truth of Darwinism.

There is a method behind the madness that so obviously turns academic freedom upon its head. Many leading opponents of the current Intelligent Design movement have staked significant portions of their argument against ID on the notion that "no credible scientist" supports ID. This is, of course, silly. Many, and increasing numbers, of intellectually honest academics are making a case that there are some fundamental flaws in significant portions of Darwinism, and are embracing ID as a necessary concept to explain life as we see it.

The attempt to restrict advanced degrees to True Believers is an effort at damage control by those who are religiously invested in Darwinism. Dr. Michael Denton, a molecular biologist at the University of Otago, New Zealand, describes this investment in his book, Evolution, a Theory in Crisis. In a chapter entitled "The Priority of the Paradigm" Denton speaks about why for many scientists, Darwinian evolution must be true. It is not a logical necessity, but an emotional one: the paradigm, not the science, demands it. Will we see a new academic Inquisition now, in which advanced degrees in the sciences are now withheld from all those who refuse to subscribe to a doctrinaire old-earth atheism?

Posted by chcobb at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tomorrow, the two best teams in the NFL will face off against one another to attempt to earn the championship title. It will be a great contest between two great teams. Whatever else we can be sure of, we know that the game will not end in a tie. The Chicago Bears will return home victorious, or the Indianapolis Colts will return to their fair city the best in the league.

Competition runs in the blood of mankind. Sometimes it is harmless, sometimes lethal. Sometimes we observe it in athletes, and other times we observe it in armies. Some may fancy themselves above competition, but no one is truly exempt. Even in the most sophisticated, cultured settings, you still have the violin section competing for first chair. When a manager moves on, the employees that remain vie for the spot. Academicians struggle for greater popular acclaim, or greater popularity with the students, or greater esteem from their colleagues.

There is another, more significant contest going on. It is a clash of kingdoms: the kingdom of God against the kingdoms of this world. It is a struggle for the hearts and souls of men. Only one Kingdom will emerge victorious, and it won't even be close. On the plane of spiritual realities, it was never a real contest. One day we will understand this.

But to our present perspective, it is a real and deadly contest. Our chief enemy is our own deceitful heart. No force short of God Himself can ultimately transform the human heart. We are determined idolaters. We will run our own lives. Add an 'i' to that word 'run', and it reads this way: we will ruin our own lives.

We must have control. Whether you wish to discuss eating disorders, disobedient children, or depression, the lust to control our world is lurking in the background. Like Gollum in The Return of the King, we will teeter on the precipice of Mount Doom, and fall into the abyss, if only we can have our own way. Never mind that the joy of being a little god lasts but a short while, never mind that it will consume us, never mind that we can not even really control ourselves, much less our spouse, children, coworkers, or even the weather. We demonstrate this insistence upon personal autonomy through our rebellion against God; through our sins against His Law and His righteousness. The clash of kingdoms I was referring to is really our own; it is a contest for sovereignty in our own hearts: our own personal kingdom pitted against the Kingdom of God.

William Henley expressed his desire openly, honestly, in his poem, Invictus. The final stanza says it plainly:

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Paul Anka's song, My Way, immortalized by Frank Sinatra, says precisely the same thing. The final stanza says,

For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught.

To say the things, he truly feels,

And not the words, of one who kneels.

The record shows, I took the blows ---

And did it my way!

Oh, Satan is a foe, to be sure. Yes, he is real, and yes, he is personal. And yes, he can possess, oppress, and deceive. But Satan is not omnipresent, nor omniscient. He is not deity. He is, like us, a creature, albeit far more powerful. And the keys to our hearts are not in his hands. No, the problem is ultimately in us.

In some ways, the contest is between the love and kindness of God, and mankind's determination for self-determination. Into the Colosseum of this great contest steps Jesus Christ. He is fully God: He is deity. He is fully man: He is like us, yet without sin. He obeys God to the extreme, and so we crucify Him, unable to abide by such an One that lives so openly and completely for God. Living for God among the kingdoms of this world makes Him unwelcome, an alien and an enemy, and so we pause from the task of destroying one another just long enough to destroy Him by hanging Him upon a Cross. We did it our way.

And after the fact, we find that His death was actually a death blow to the kingdoms of this world, a death blow to sin, a death blow to death itself. Death could not hold Him: He was raised the third day. We find that from eternity past He had been designated as the Sin-Bearer, the Passover Lamb, the One who would be wounded for our transgressions. The price of our rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven was exacted from Heaven's own Crown Prince. It was always part of the plan.

And now, the power of God to transform our rebellious hearts is available through the good news about Jesus Christ. He broke the chains of sin, broke the chains of death, and offers to us an eternal life of joyful servitude to a loving, gracious heavenly Father. He offers us all this if we will only repent of our self-idolatry and crown Jesus Lord in our hearts, and believe in the Gospel: that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised the third day according to the Scriptures.

The war is over. Please, lay down your weapons. Unconditionally surrender to Jesus Christ. Accept a complete and total pardon, and eternal life. It was never a real contest - you never really had the power to be your own god. You were deceived by Satan, and by your own heart.

There is but one other alternative. You don't want to go there. It has been created for those who insist on being their own gods, for those who insist on carrying the competition to a conclusion that is inevitable and eternal. If you would be a god, then He will leave you in all of your mighty power to create your own eternity, just as soon as you escape His. Why not start now, and use your mighty power to stop the power of death? Reverse the power of aging. Reverse the flow of time. Ok, ok, let's try something simple: use your mighty power heal your own personal relationships. Do it your way. That should be easy enough.

What? Do you find this difficult? Perhaps impossible?

I repeat. The war is over. Please, lay down your weapons. Unconditionally surrender to Jesus Christ. Accept a complete and total pardon, and eternal life. It was never a real contest - you never really had the power to be your own god.

Posted by chcobb at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)