Whether Jew or Gentile

So Kludge and I have been responding to each other via the comments for Whoa!, check 'em out if you wanna catch up, and I want to raise his question for the general public. Does God deal differently with the Jews than with the Gentiles? My initial response is to say 'no way' but I have to give is some consideration.

The first consideration is this - What do we mean by God dealing differently? It is true that God has dealt differently with the Jews than with the Gentiles. But how has God dealt differently?

And the second - Does how God deals with Jews apply directly to their salvation? In other words is something different required of the Jews than the Gentiles for salvation?

So let me know what you guys are thinking and we'll see how big of a fire this one starts!

Whoa!

So a few eyebrows were raised with my latest post. That was fun. I'm thankful to all of those who participated. Good thoughts and comments by most of you. Some interesting questions were raised. In fact only one real question the authority of Paul. Which brings me to a preview of what I want to blog about next. Have you guys heard about the view that puts Paul at odds with the rest of the New Testament? Not that Paul was false but that he was the only one preaching the true gospel and that the rest of the writers were confused about the gospel?

The general idea is this: James, Peter, and John were always trying to insert Judaism into Christianity. Their epistles are regarded as to Jewish. What do you guys know and think about this? Let me know what you guys think and we'll see if we can get another small fire started!

Legalism V. Liberalism: Sisters Separated at Birth?

Ok so I've been giving this some thought while at work. I have enjoyed the comments that people have left and they have helped shape what I am about to say. These thoughts are not the final word (obviously not to all of you but I also mean in my own thoughts). So here is what I'm thinking...

What I am struck by is this, legalism and liberalism are actually closely related. They are like estranged sisters who refuse to talk to one another. Let me show the similarity.

First the legalist - they believe that God meant for His law to be obeyed and they feel that the way to be spiritual is to obey all of God's commands. God rewards those who obey. They cite many verse such as, "The Lord loves obedience rather than sacrifice" and you've heard the rest. Anyone who does not follow God's law as they see it is not a 'good' Christian. Hence a works based system.

Next the liberal - they believe that Jesus came to be an example to the world. Jesus' objective was to enact social change through disrupting the status quo (thanks for the quote Ando). We are to follow Jesus' example in order to be His disciples. The point is not whether or not Jesus walked on the water but that He fed people and healed the sick (they would question the miraculous nature but applaud the goodness of Jesus' work). So we should continue His good work by taking care of the needed, etc. Also a works based system!

I think we all know the differences between a legalist and liberal. We may find ourselves interacting with legalists because they would believe much the same way as we do about the Scripture, Jesus, miracles, etc. We would not want to associate with the liberal because they deny much of what we believe about these things. However, I'm shocked to think that legalists maybe so closely related to liberals. Could they both really be works based systems? Tell me what you guys think.

Some Theology

Ok so I've been on a fun kick for the past 5+ blogs and will now dive into some theology. I'm not going to write anything too long right now but want to pose a few questions. First, what is legalism? I've been trying to come up with a concise yet precise definition. I want to know what you guys think. Second, what is liberalism (as it relates to theology)? Again I think I know but I want to compare it with what I hear. You know group think is good! So to my four friends who read this blog please let me know how you would answer these two questions. I'm going to post a blog in the future trying to answer them. Peasce ouut!

Swinging Good Time

Last night a few of us went over to my friend's parent's house. Once there we were taught a few dance moves. It was lots of fun. I'm not sure what was more fun learning or, watching all the couples argue about how the other wasn't doing something right or, having dress shoes on with shorts (yes totally Bob Wiley style) or, kicking peoples feet with said shoes or, seriously cutting a rug or, writing a blog about it.

Ok so to start out with we learned the six basic steps of the swing. We also learned the quarter turn, or was it the half turn. Anyway we did that for a while then we went on to the foxtrot. The foxtrot uses the box step. The Mrs and I have learned this step before so we enjoyed it. We danced around and had fun. We burned some fat and got sweaty and danced the evening away. Sound romantic? It was - so attention to all husbands, if you want to have a good time with your wife, take her out and get some swing lessons!

movie nite was great...but where's the movie

Ok so I went down to the town of Ross to watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Well as it turns out the city of Ross didn't reprogram the sprinklers so 20 minutes into the movie (after hearing them go off behind and around us but not having reached us yet) we were told that they were going to call it a night. Sigh... Ok so it doesn't matter that the weather was perfect for a movie under the stars. And no big deal that I was totally excited to see Marcus Brody say, "No water, fish make love in it", and that I'm not sure if my wife has seen the movie before, and, and, and, and! And nothin'! I'm ticked! I don't think the city of Ross cares that I'm ticked so I'll use pansy language they understand. So to the town of Ross, I'm very disappointed in you.

The great part was spending time with the mrs. (aka my old lady). We hung out and ate sweetes that she made. I was really wanting some coffee but there were no coffee shops in Ross. We stopped at this resturaunt to ask if they knew where a coffee shop was. They were closed but when they told us there was no coffee shop open the guy made us americanos. It was totally awesome. So we had fun on the drive, fun hanging out, and fun getting coffee. The night wasn't a total waste without the movie...I would say it was a wash.

What the Blog?

Ok maybe I'm not getting it...I mean this whole blogging thing. I've been on a few of my friends blogs and they simply write about their lives. Is this what a blog is for? And I don't mean that as a sarcastic question but I am really asking. Well I have a story or two to tell but I'm not sure I'm ready to make them public knowledge. I say that because having a story and not telling it drives J Crew crazy! So perhaps tomorrow I will start telling a few stories of my own and see what kind of responses they get, if any. So be prepared tomorrow for some serious story tellin'.

Classic Books

Ok so I've decided to read some classic lit. I went out today and purchased four new books (thank you Career group for the gift card!). I plan on reading them and in due time writing a little review. So, I leave you now with the list in the approximate order in which I plan to read them. Let me know your thoughts if you have read any of them.

1 - The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

2 - We The Living, Ayn Rand

3 - Lord of he Flies, William Golding

4 - Watership Down, Richard Adams

Movie Nite

Now I'm not sure how many of you like to do this, but this Friday or Saturday (I can't remember) night down in San Anselmo they will be showing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I think a few of us are planning on going to Petaluma for dinner at La Azteca (I'm trying to hook up my friend with a waitress down there, I won't say who my friend is, but his name starts with A and ends with lden).

Now because I don't think these get read very much everyone who reads this will probably get a call to go. This is a fun way to spend the evening with your wife (or girlfriend) hey it's cheap too.

Ok so the words out - who's with me? Ok over there I see that hand. Who else...

RJ-77

Wiffle Ball

My wife and I went to Cottonwood this weekend to visit friends from seminary. It was a great weekend of fun and relaxation. Our friends were so kind to have us up and show us a good time. We went to a baseball diamond and hit about 30 pitches each. It was great. But the best time was learning how to play wiffle ball.

I know it sounds weak sauce, but truly it isn't. Now when I say wiffle ball I don't mean those lame plastic balls with a dozen holes all over it. I'm talking about the offical wiffle ball. Solid on one side with slots on the other. Go to www.wiffle.com to see the original. Anyway this game is super fun. You can throw some wicked pitches with the ball. It is so funny to throw the ball and the batter ducks only to have it curve in and be a strike. So those of you who want to have a relaxing summer baseball game without the running but lots of action, get yourself a wiffle ball set and - play ball!