This is a real question I encountered in an online group this week. Most of the social media theologians that responded were on the same page but one guy that disagreed with the general consensus disagreed a lot. We went back and forth citing verses and discussing the nature of Jesus during the incarnation and what that meant in terms of his “being God.”
Continue reading
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? There are over 31,000 verses of text in the Bible and apparently they can all be etched onto a necklace bobble. I’m going to ignore Christians call it a miracle; let’s pretend we didn’t see that. The entire Bible can be etched onto a tiny necklace, which leads me to ask, why? If you cannot possibly read it, what’s the point of printing it? There’s an old riddle about a tree falling in the forest that asks if no hears it, did it really make a sound? The answer depends on your definition of sound. Unless you have a scanning electron microscope, you will not be reading that necklace. It becomes nothing more than a good luck charm. You could claim you are keeping the Word close to your heart, but again it cannot actually be read and that’s the way to keep the Word in your heart and mind. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And this item says nothing more than “Look what I have.”
Continue reading
Can we talk about this? Not 2 Cor. 5:7, that’s great. That is the whole verse, not just a snippet, and then some commentary has been added. I want to talk about all the verses and quotes I see online these days with the word AMEN! tacked on at the end. The last sentence of this quote, “If GOD has been good to you.” is not even a complete sentence. They used to ask for you to type or reply Amen but lately it has just incorporated into the post. There are several issues here. One, I refuse to share that because the grammar is wrong. I posted something a week or two ago and didn’t realize it said “us” in the quote where it should have said “is” until it was too late. Secondly, If I say something you agree with and you say Amen, that’s one thing. But I am not going to Amen myself. In the case of the image I could easily have cropped the bottom off but sometimes cropping the Amen would ruin the picture. So my third gripe is I sometimes keep scrolling because the Amen ruins the pic that would otherwise have saved for Happy Monday or share on Facebook myself.
Continue reading
Google Maps will soon change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Google’s policy regarding geographic features is to list them as they are recognized by official federal sources. Mount McKinley was renamed Denali during Obama’s second term and Google relabeled it as such. The label will now change again to reflect current federal policy. On US versions of Google Maps, the label Gulf of America will appear. On international versions of Maps both names will appear since, outside of the United States, the name is in dispute.
Continue reading
Even if you can’t see the stereogram that makes some beautiful coffee bean wallpaper. There is an image there and this one’s pretty easy. In my experience, I can almost never see these on my phone. I’m an old guy and still begin each day on my laptop.
Continue reading
When Toby Mac says “Pray for California” it’s not a slant against anyone else in the country that needs prayer. He is not endorsing Hollywood and saying he couldn’t care less about Appalachia. There is an ongoing natural disaster, people are hurting, several have died, and he asked his followers on social media to pray. I donated to relief efforts going to NC and know people that traveled there with church groups to deliver food and supplies. But now California is on fire and I can pray for them, too. It’s not just celebrities with million dollar homes; there are some hard working people that have lost everything. I have visited family in Modesto, California, and attended a Primitive Baptist Church the Sunday morning I was there. They sang old hymns, read the KJV, the men wore ties and coats and the women wore dresses. It was a lot like the Baptist churches I grew up in in the South. Even if, even if, the fires are an act of God’s judgement it is not our place to judge but to pray for those affected by tragedy, share the gospel, and offer food, clothing and shelter as we are able. The comment above reminds me of this:
I prefer apples to oranges.
Oh, I get it, you hate oranges. You didn’t even mention bananas or pineapples. DO SOME RESEARCH!
Plainville, 1949 – I just learned that a film was made in 1949 showing people and places in Plainville, GA. It’s on YouTube, and the video quality is absolutely terrible, but wow. The screen grab above is the back of Unity Baptist Church, where I have been the pastor since 2014. Additions were later made to each side, including a Sunday School wing that doubled the interior square footage of the building, and the outside was bricked up in 1955. The bell tower still looks just like it always has so I am beyond certain that I can identify this building. Here is a link to the video starting at the 1 min 30 min mark for those really interested.
Continue reading
According to the Bible? Cats are not mentioned in the Bible. Which is kind of weird if you think about how much time the Hebrews spent in Egypt before the Exodus. They lived there 400 years so they not only knew about cats but the Egyptians worshiped them (as well as other animals and the Nile River). The Egyptian pyramids were the first social media; lots of cat pics and people writing on walls, communicating not in words but emojis. Dogs are mentioned in the Bible but never in a good way. The dogs came and licked the sores of Job; Jesus called the Syrophoenician woman a dog in Mark’s Gospel. No mention of cats.
Continue reading
On the left is a meme that has been circulating since at least 2020, possibly longer. It’s not really a plate but is meant to be an appetizer serving tray. On the right is literally my Christmas dinner from earlier this week. There were enough of these trays that every family member could have done the same but a few people, such as our daughter, chose not to. I realize the ham extends beyond its borders but I initially folded it in half only to have it spring back open. Still, what a remarkable time to be alive. In unrelated news I have gained 8 lbs just in the month of December. I hate vacation. Don’t hear me wrong, I love Christmas and all Christmas things, I just hate vacation. And I have another full week of it to go. What do people do that don’t sit in their house and eat all day? On the days it doesn’t rain it’s cold outside; I’m not going out there.
Continue readingIf it’s been a minute since the last Happy Monday post, this week notwithstanding, then it’s been a few minutes since the last Satur-deja Vu. I started last night to organize and got overwhelmed so this one almost didn’t happen either. Deep breath, I’ve got all day, here we go. Nice and easy.
Let’s start with Calhoun High School’s State Championship win this week. Calhoun has made it to the big game 10 times in the last 20 years but there has been something of a drought in recent years.
Continue reading
The Master's Table 