David W. Swanson

Pastor and Author

links: keller, test, o.t. violence, reality of sex

This has been an emotionally tiring day. I’ll spare you the details, but I’m worn out. I just strolled around Lake Ellyn (always therapeutic) while watching the full moon slowly being covered up with clouds that are supposed to bring us snow sometime tonight and tomorrow. That walk combined with the following links are enough to send me to bed with a smile.

  • I mentioned Tim Keller’s book, The Reason for God, a couple of weeks ago. Steve McCoy links to a talk on YouTube Keller recently gave at Google. Good stuff… especially the Q & A at the end of the talk.
  • Take 30 seconds to watch this awareness test. Did you see it the first time? I didn’t.
  • Greg Boyd is beginning series on his blog about how to understand the violence of the Old Testament. It will be interesting to see where he goes. The worst episodes happened when the Israelites enter the promised land. As they approached certain cities, the Israelites were commanded — by God –– to slaughter men, women, children and even the animals! Yahweh is aiming at complete genocide of the Canaanite people. Could anything be more antithetical to what we learn about God in Jesus Christ? Honestly (we’ve got to be honest here, even if it hurts) doesn’t this depiction of God look more like the God of Osama Bin Laden than the Father of Jesus Christ?
  • Professor Stackhouse has another very thoughtful post, The Reality of Sex. But we’re deeply conflicted about sex, too. At one and the same time, our society repeats to us the contradiction that sex is no big deal and that sex is the most important thing in the world. Sex is recreational and sex is required. Sex is just another activity to round out a pleasant Saturday and sex is something without which you become pathetic and finally insane.

David Swanson

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3 responses to “links: keller, test, o.t. violence, reality of sex”

  1. Larry Eisner Avatar
    Larry Eisner

    Awareness Test: Brilliant. And like you and everyone else, I “rewound” it to make sure he was really there the first time… and of course, he was… 🙂

    Good point there. Excellent video. (Wish I made it!)

    And as far as the Greg Boyd thing… I’ve OFTEN wondered about that.

    I always wondered if somehow (although it’s all-too-clear, really) mankind somehow misunderstood God in O.T. times. I mean, it’s really really really hard to reconcile a lot of that violence (even the flood or say, Sodom) with the God we know and can relate to in Jesus. Yes, of course, God is love AND justice. Yet, eye for an eye somehow isn’t valid anymore? I understand that Jesus was the new covenant, and that like any new thing, it makes the old obsolete. But why such a drastic difference? Again, things like this don’t shake the foundations of my faith or anything (it used to, but not now), but it’s still one of those mysteries of our faith.

    And I don’t know if it’s one of the mysteries we’re supposed to work out, or chalk it up to “he’s God and if I could explain it, then he’s not God” or one of those kinds of things…

    Reply
  2. Maggie Avatar
    Maggie

    Wowsers, I totally didn’t see the bear. That’s a little scary – what else am I missing everyday!

    Reply
  3. BC Avatar
    BC

    Ok – it took me 3 views to pass the awareness test! Just to make sure I wasn’t a total numbskull I had my 5 year watch the video. Fortunately he didn’t pass either. So at least my 5-year old isn’t any more aware than I am. Hmmm – or maybe he got a bad set of awareness genes from me.

    Reply

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