Comments for Phil's Mind Map

Comment on Salvation as an emotional experience (thinking out loud) by Philip D

Philip D — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:26:15 +0000

I agree that salvation isn’t limited to a single event, however I think there is a definite single point in time that marks its beginning, even if you’re not entirely aware of it when it happens. If that isn’t instantaneous, you would have a bunch of people running around who were “kind of” saved. It sounds almost like the theology behind purgatory.

Comment on Salvation as an emotional experience (thinking out loud) by Erik

Erik — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:58:23 +0000

This depends how you define salvation. If you define it as a single event (i.e. before moment, person is NOT saved and after moment, person IS saved) then there’s a few ways to look at it.

Unfortunately, I think this view of salvation is erroneous.

When balancing all the Scriptures have to say about it, I think we see that salvation is not instantaneous. It is a WAY – a series of encounters with Jesus. Thus, I am not content to define it by any single moment of emotion or intellectual consent. Rather, it is a whole being transformation that takes the shape of a process in our human experience.

Not a very popular position if you’re an evangelical, but the only one I find that satisfies the Scriptures.

Comment on Best of the Web For December 14, 2008 by johnbon

johnbon — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:20:49 +0000

The car tent would be great unless a parking attendant tried to ticket it or they saw you setting it up… Interesting idea none the less…

Comment on GTD Tip #1 – Make your weekly review enjoyable by Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:56:49 +0000

Good points, thanks for the reminder – My Weekly Reviews are always up and down for me. It feels nice when done knowing where everything stands and what the plan is but it is very difficult for me to make it happen. I like the declutter idea and the reminder – still keeps it out of your head but not in your face.

-Stephen

Comment on Prove All Things by DT

DT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:01:13 +0000

Amen.
And glad you’ve posted. It’s been so long, I’ve taken you off my blogroll! Don’t worry, I put you back.

Comment on Noteworthy KJVO conversion stories by Doug Wilcox

Doug Wilcox — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:29:08 +0000

What a fascinating collection of stories. I particularly agree with the idea that the Internet (and other online or offline computerized tools) have made us more accountable as believers than perhaps in any other age. Online, I can carefully search for scholarly (and unscholarly) opinions. Offline, tools such as eSword make researching the Word tremendously fast. My own story regarding KJV-onlyism is partly related via the links below. Essentially, though, I "fell under" the influence of a Greek scholar friend whose mantra is "Context! Context!" Learning to read the Word the right way and The “Which Bible?” Tract—Facets of “KJV-Onlyism” Examined How to Ruin Your Life by Misunderstanding the Will of God / Anatomy of a Train Wreck I very much enjoyed reading your site. Thanks!

Comment on Another freaky, must see YouTube video by Philip D

Philip D — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:59:58 +0000

Yes, it’s full of interesting metaphors. And the work is so well done–I had a lot of trouble figuring out what was “real” and what was digital. It also shows where we’re going with on-line video… It used to be YouTube only had amateur 3 frame-per-second stop motion video and low quality home videos of people taking shots to the groin on the golf course, but more and more talented artists are starting to appear.

Comment on Another freaky, must see YouTube video by Erik

Erik — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:05:56 +0000

Speaks well of our culture’s desire to attain the media’s depiction of perfection, doesn’t it.

Comment on Is Heaven All There Really Is? by Erik

Erik — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:46:13 +0000

I believe that Jesus does not place us on earth to get to heaven. We are called to bring a little heaven to earth, to reconnect people with the Spirit of a living God and living Savior so we truly can live “life more abundantly” as Jesus himself put it.

The message of “it’s all about heaven” is rooted in a medieval Christianity where daily life was mundane and yet dangerous. When life was filled with corruption, empty labor for another man, and death from plagues no one could understand, why wouldn’t you long for a next life?

But that was not Jesus’ message at all. He speaks repeatedly about love, about forgiveness, about righteousness – these are not things of the next life but things for this life, this age.

People need Jesus – not as a ticket to the happily ever after – but as the key to living lives connected with God as we were created to live.

Comment on Wall-E: It’s not about the message! by Doug

Doug — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:15:06 +0000

Wall-E was one of our favorite films this summer. I can’t say I liked it better than The Dark Knight, but I check Amazon regularly for a preorder date on the Blu-Ray.

I was blown away by the visual details, especially on the starship.