GroshLink

I recently came across a list of philosophers whom John Frame (Professor of Systematic Theology & Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary - Orlando) considers the most significant. Looks good, but I have a few to add to my future reading list to give a proper evaluation.  And I'm not sure if I'll get to all of them in this lifetime, unless one or more of my girls major in philosophy.  Now that would be quite enjoyable.  Maybe I should start encouraging them with adding some pieces by these authors to their Book-it! list ;-) 

It is done and worthy to blog about. ... when I have the time ;-)  Thank-you, couldn't have stood in the 'lines' on my own. -- Tom

I can't believe I did it.  -- Carl (Theresa's Dad)

Carl and I took it to the road at 4 am to arrive at a rather long line outside Circuit City in Lancaster, which doubled in size by the store opening at 5 am (and was just as long outside when we left, I guess due to the fire code capacity limit of the store).  Thank-you to Lancaster Evangelical Free Church for the free hot chocolate while we waited in cold, but not difficult weather (no snow, rain, wind, etc). 

It's been way too long since I posted any updates about our family life and some of you are getting antsy. There is nothing remarkable going on, but here are the mundane highlights :) Hayley continues to be her delightful, happy-go-lucky self. She's always been our t.v. fiend, and more often than not, when all other responsibilities are done she can be found in the basement watching some Animal Planet on the sly. At least, she thinks she's on the sly. But mom usually knows what everybody in the house is doing at all times. She likes horses, American Girl Dolls, and Disney tween shows (heaven help us!) but she's never been obsessed with anything and would be delighted just to play a game with someone.

Some friends ask me what faculty book discussion groups take time to consider. If you've been following Groshlink you know that C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters takes center stage at PSU-Harrisburg's C.S. Lewis Seminar. Letters to a Skeptic by Greg Boyd and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity are their previous readings.

At Carnegie Mellon, they're in The Reason For God by Tim Keller.  This group has existed for a number of years.  Over the past year they've read Polkinghorne's Quantum Physics & Theology, Stephen Williams' The Shadow of the AntiChrist, Gregory R. Peterson's Minding God: Theology and the Cognitive Sciences).  But I received an email that this week the faculty are discussing The End of Art, an excellent piece.

As you approach the Big Turkey Day (whether the bird or Tofu) reflect upon We should still count our blessings, a helpful op-ed written by a brother in Christ. Below's the conclusion:

on Thanksgiving Day, regardless of economic uncertainty or governmental mismanagement, as a nation we ought to check the condition of our collective heart. It'd be healthy to stop worrying over Wall Street fluctuations and the financial resources we no longer have. We should express serious gratitude for faith, freedom, family and friends; we ought to count our blessings, articulate contentment for all that we have, and personify a favorite motto of mine: Taking all the variables into consideration, life is marvelous.

P.S.  Our family has been keeping a Thanksgiving Cup, a cup which is already overflowing with little folded squares of paper giving testimony to what we're thankful for. ... we'll read them and give God praise on Thanksgiving Day.

Found this helpful piece a little late last year, so I thought I'd commend it to you a few days in advance, so you can prepare

Giving Thanks: 13 creative ways to encourage gratefulness this Thanksgiving

Hayley and I were excited to see that we had just discussed Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place about a week before Thanksgiving last year (see number 5)

I came across Merry Tossmas in an on-line discussion group, it led me to check out Citizen Link for the first time.  Not bad.  But when it comes to what I'll highlight in Practicing a Christ-Centered Christmas 2.0, Advent Conspiracy trumps Merry Tossmas.  Compare the two videos and let me know your thoughts. ... 

On Tuesday night, the kitchen was packed with after-school, pre-dinner action.  Ellen & Hayley worked on homework.  Eden explored cabinets and refrigerator magnets.  Theresa cooked while Tom washed/dried dishes.  AND Lily told us the most important things in the world, if only we could discern them!  What a joy to hear Lily begin to warm up her vocal chords.  Looking forward to years of conversation.

Please join me in prayer:

1. Pray for InterVarsity's undergrad ministry to continue to boldly proclaim Jesus the Christ as the Way, the Truth, and Light in the midst of the various opportunities provided by Carnegie Mellon's Spiritual Development Month, click here for details.

2. as campus ministries develop and invite students to an alternative activity to the December 5, TBA film (i.e., code for the 1x term pornographic film shown on campus). Note: a previous post on the TBA film can be found at CMU Pornography Conversation Continues.

We rejoice in your prayers for last week’s campus visits:  

• On Tuesday, Tom followed up with some connections at PSU - Hershey Medical Center’s Christian Medical Society. He was particularly encouraged by his reconnection with the student president, lengthy conversations with 3 graduate students, and learning about a monthly Doubt Night outreach hosted by a physician.
• On Wednesday, toward the end of the first Johns Hopkins University gathering of Christian graduate students & faculty, a Hubble Space Telescope researcher confessed how little astrophysicists discuss God. He asked to meet again. Another faculty received a consensus when he suggested monthly gatherings. The graduate students present were excited about the opportunity for further conversation and the possible emergence of a mentoring community.  Pray for follow-up to the Veritas Forum which took place on Wednesday and Thursday.
• On Saturday, Tom connected with a number of faculty through an American Scientific Affiliation Conference on Science & Faith at Eastern University.
  •  
    • On Monday: Loyola College, MD, to take the next step in forming a faculty ministry.
    • On Tuesday: PSU - Hershey Medical Center’s Christian Medical Society
    • On Wednesday: PSU - Harrisburg for the C.S. Lewis Seminar's discussion of Screwtape Letters
    • On Thursday: PSU - Harrisburg for the newly established undergrad fellowship which Tom helped catalyze.

In the coming week pray for insight & direction for the below campus visits:

If you're unfamiliar with Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon's (associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) research and writing on homosexuality, I would encourage you to check out What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?  This 28 minute on-line video post is part of a series of materials available through Pure Passion.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Please take a moment to pray for the family/friends of Victoria, a young woman of God from our local congregation who passed away with acute leukemia on Wednesday evening. As you may remember I presented on the question of Is God listening? in relationship to our first child's passing and I pass along the link to these reflections (and an excerpt below) for your benefit as you pray for the family/friends of Victoria (and others) when life sucks, i.e., the fallen-ness and/or brokenness of creation is in our face. In Christ, Tom

Serrin M. Foster presents "The Feminist Case Against Abortion"
Wednesday, November 19, 8:00pm
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
McConomy Auditorium, University Center

If you haven't already read today's NY Times piece Sharing Their Demons on the Web, I'd encourage you to prayerfully do such. The article reminded me of the importance of making wise choices of time, emtional investment, storytelling, etc. as we participate in various web communities which can become their own realities inhabited by numerous identities (as sometimes we are different in how we express ourselves on-line versus what we would say face-to-face to a person we know). Pray for the Light of Christ to dispel darkness not only on the web, but also in the very hearts and minds of those who navigate the web ... such as those writing and reading posts as the one on the screen at this very time ;-) 

Following Christ 08 (FC08) is just over a month away. Theresa and I serve on the conference's prayer team and invite you to join us in prayer over the course of the next several weeks, during the conference itself, and through follow-up.  Today our prayer focus will be on ...

Brain Moss, the worship leader for the conference

Thank-you to Miller for these challenging words.  I'll share them with my upcoming adult elective, when we explore C.S. Lewis' insights in following Christ as contained in Screwtape Letters:

temptations come and go...but when they're entertained too long, they anesthetize the brain, all thinking is put on hold, and a rush of emotions take charge...

My current adult elective Practicing a Christ-centered Christmas will wrap-up on Sunday, November 30 with the beginning of Advent.  Over the past several days I've been considering my next adult elective and below is the draft description:

The Advent of a New Year
Take time out from the busy Christmas season to reflect upon the Incarnation of Christ as illuminated by selections from the writings of C.S. Lewis.  After Christmas we'll explore coming to Christ and some of the challenges of the daily walk with Christ as portrayed by C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters.

Many people at our local congregation point out how well Eden's getting around, that's as I chase her down the hall, around the gym, or through the sanctuary.  How good and true it is!  And what a joy for our friends in the 'da Burgh, including many from Allegheny Center C&MA to see the healing in her life for which they have been praying since shortly after her birth.  

Praise God for Eden's careening without fear (maybe she'll be a running back as the bumps and bruises don't seem to bother her much at all), dancing, loud singing, and straight-up personality.  She continues to push her limits, e.g., last night she took a spill on the sanctuary stage while practicing with the 3-4 year old choir.  But no crying she makes, unlike when I dropped her off at choir. 

Pray for our family, as this coming Sunday morning will be packed morning with Eden singing in the choir, Lily Joy being dedicated to the Lord, a little reception for extended family after the baby dedication, and my facilitation of an adult elective session on How one processes the portrayal of Christmas in popular film.

Here's a link to what I shared as part of an Election Day Panel at InterVarsity's Undergraduate Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University. Lots of material here, but I would love to receive your feedback particularly on my developing thoughts regarding whether government would be necessary if there was not a fall.

Would government exist even without the brokenness caused by Adam and Eve’s choice of willful disobedience? Now this is controversial, but my answer is Yes. Why? Government provides structure for the creative and healthy interaction of the various spheres of the Creation, e.g., creation care (remember naming of the animals in Genesis 2:19), marriage, family, school, business, guilds, arts parties (way to go Sheila!). But without the fall? As we live in the reality of the fall, it is difficult to envision how this would look except to say that God would rule over the structures as they serve Him to the blessing of all of creation. In addition, no use of force to suppress evil in the process of culture formation would not be necessary, except in restraining or resisting external evil influences/beings. So I’m asserting that government is not optional, even in the Garden of Eden at the beginning and the end of time. The various Utopian visions, both within and outside of the Church, fail to take into account the deep brokenness caused by the fall and the presence of evil across the layers of being, identity, and reality. My development of this perspective has been encouraged by The Basic Ideas of Calvinism (H. Henry Meeter, revised by Paul A. Marshall. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1990, pp. 77-90) and C.S. Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy, referred to some as The Space Trilogy. This requires more thought. ...

Join me as I begin this day with a prayer from the 1792 Presidential Election.

A PRAYER FOR CIVIL AUTHORITIES

We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the people of the United States as we prepare to choose the next President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion, by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy, and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank-you to Miller for passing along this prayer, which is attributed to Bishop John Carroll, the first Bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States.

In a recent communication from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, I came upon audio files by The Reformation Society of Pittsburgh on The Puritan's View of the Pulpit and The Pilgrim's Progress. I'm placing these presentations on my to listen list. Hope to squeeze them into my travels.

These talks are timely because on Saturday I had an extended conversation w/a grad student who shared with me J.I. Packer's thoughts on the elements of good Puritan preaching.  I've asked for the link to which he was referring, I believe it was an audio file.  BTW, here's a link to Packer's Why We Need the Puritans (from A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life). He concludes:

1.  As we mentioned in Ticket to Ride, the weekend was gorgeous, enabling us to play in Schenley Park in between open houses of hospitality.

2.  We reconnected with a brothers and sisters in Christ from Allegheny Center C&MA and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in significant ways, including lengthy times of reflection such as ...

3.  A small group discussion with Tom Sine, author of InterVarsity Press' new release The New Conspirators, notes coming in a future post.  Pray for the opportunity to extend our conversation through some form of campus outreach when Sine returns to 'da Burgh in the spring. 

4.  A safe trip home, missing an accident on the turnpike by a few minutes.  Although we sat in traffic for 45 minutes, the kids were satisfied by watching Felicity followed by Mr. Rogers. How? you might ask.  Via a car dvd player donated for our family ministry trips to 'da Burgh and beyond, i.e., Cedar Campus for the annual Faculty Camp.

What a day with friends in 'da Burgh!  The weather was beautiful as our family visited Parkview Avenue, Schenley Park, and friends from the InterVarsity crew. ... all building toward pizza, snacks, and Ticket to Ride.   Yeah!  Thank-you so much for your hospitality and reminder of how our friendships in Christ never end.  Ready for day 2 which includes an evening w/Tom Sine, author of the recently published IVP book The New Conspirators.