Flat Earth Axioms 15

15. Three things to beware of

• Demonisation
• Conspiracy theories
• Blanket condemnation

(This is the last in this series of 15)

Flat Earth Axioms 14

14. Journalists love a story

Flat Earth Axioms 13

13. Zeal proves nothing

Flat Earth Axioms 12

12. Trying to prove something from wrong motives is likely to lead to trouble

Flat Earth Axioms 11

11. There is money to be made from exploiting people's ignorance and curiosity but it takes shamelessness and some skill.

Stating the obvious

Doing things is the way to get things done.

Regeneration Supernatural

 

"... new birth does not come about by natural causes or the operations of nature but by God’s immediate power. He alone has the capacity to do it. Further, it is supernatural in the sense of being beyond man’s mutilated and depraved condition by nature ... Regeneration is possible only by a supernatural work of God."

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, pp 34, 35

 

Flat Earth Axioms 10

10. It's not very hard to cast some doubt
On any particular fact.

Flat Earth Axioms 09

9. To believe in something you cannot prove
Should not be thought of as wrong
But to give a reason why you believe
Is a thing for which you should long

Flat Earth Axioms 08

8. Many people believe many things
They don't know how to prove.

Flat Earth Axioms 07

7. Ignorance of even the most basic facts
Is common and widespread
And everywhere found.

Flat Earth Axiom 06

6. There's no proof you can conceive
To convince a man
Who refuses to believe.

Flat Earth Axiom 05

5. The fact a statement appears in a published book proves nothing.

Flat Earth Axioms 04

4. Debating sceptics is rarely wise

Flat Earth Axioms 03

3. Don't answer a fool or like him you'll be,
Answer a fool or conceited he'll be.
(Proverbs 26 verses 4 and 5.)
But how can I at the answer arrive
As to which of these verses here applies?
It's a thing on which it's hard to be wise.

Flat Earth Axioms 02

2. Not all who say they take the Bible literally
A help in the Kingdom of Christ will be.

Flat Earth Axioms 01

I recently read Christine Garwoods's interesting Flat Earth The history of an infamous idea. I made a number of observations from reading it. This is the first

1. In the end
An apparent friend
Can turn out to be
An enemy.

Regeneration Radical

"We speak of a radical change because it goes to a person’s very core and renews him deep within. No more profound or far-reaching change can be known than that which brings about new birth. ... It is not a make-over. It is not like a change of clothing or even plastic surgery. Rather, you become a new person."

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 34

"'e takes a good part in this"

One of my memories of growing up is hearing my mum and dad arguing over the name of an actress or more rarely an actor as they watched some old film on TV. (I notice a whole list here and here). The other thing I remember my dad saying a lot was "'e [or she] takes a good part in this". The phrase is used I notice but is not very common. I'm not sure what it conveys - mediocre acting on the part of the one cited, a high off screen profile or a knowingness on the part of the spotter.

Regeneration Instantaneous

"We cannot always be sure exactly when regeneration has taken place. It is clearly not a gradual thing, however. It is something sudden and instantaneous. The very way the Bible describes new birth suggests this. ... Some resist the idea. Opposition often grows out of misunderstanding. To understand regeneration correctly we must keep it distinct in our minds from what leads up to it and what follows. However near to it or far from it a man may be, he is either born again or not born again. The idea of a gradual or progressive regeneration would mean that one could be half-regenerate, half-unregenerate; in a twilight zone, partly in the kingdom, partly outside it; not dead and not alive either; neither new creation nor old. Such an idea runs contrary to the Bible’s teaching."

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, pp 31, 32

Regeneration - secret but inconcealable

On regeneration - "The change is secret and inward yet not something that can remain concealed."

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 26

Regeneration and Justification

"Justification brings about a legal or forensic change noted in the courts of heaven. Regeneration brings about a real, inward change here on earth."

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 25

Birth and New birth miraculous

"We will never completely understand how God can make a spiritually dead person a new creation or how he can remove his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh. There is something impenetrable here. We hardly understand the miracle of birth, let alone that of new birth! "

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 24

You daft boy

You daft boy. I think this was my dad's favourite rebuke, certainly his mildest. He would also use "Yer daft 'ap'orth". I find myself using the former more and more with my own boys. To call someone daft is usually a mild complaint. Like the word silly its etymology suggests a movement from a positive to a negative meaning. Silly once meant holy and daft once meant meek. It is not difficult to see how such shifts take place.

10 Rules on how to read a book

1. Remove distractions as far as you can (windows, food, the phones, etc)

2. Maintain silence as best you can (find a library if you need to)

3. Make sure there is enough light (use glasses if necessary)

4. Get the book flat and the right distance from your eyes

5. Sit comfortably, making sure you are warm but not too warm

6. Give yourself a target (number of pages, a chapter or a set period of time)

7. Aim to get from the end of one line to the start of the next with minimum eye movement (when reading on a kindle choose the narrowest setting for text)

8. Concentrate

9. Underline or make notes

10. Take a breather after a set time

Starting again

It's always difficult to begin again,
To get up once more after falling is a pain.
What good is progress when you lose all that gain?
Success if blown will adversely drain the brain.

(Written after losing a lot of weight and then putting a lot of it back on again over Christmas but it has wider applications)

Collection or Offering?

I generally prefer to say collection rather than offering, though both are biblical terms. My deacon and treasurer Mike de Jong says that the offering is what the people give and the collection is what the officers collect.