Walk the Line is out Today!

It is finally out on DVD. Reviewed here.

More Argument From Desire

More from Peter Kreeft
1. Every natural, innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire.
2. But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy.
3. Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures, which can satisfy this desire.
4. This something is what people call "God" and "life with God forever."

...Now there are differences between these two kinds of desires. We do not, for example, for the most part, recognize corresponding states of deprivation for the second, the artificial, desires, as we do for the first. There is no word like "Ozlessness" parallel to "sleeplessness." But more importantly, the natural desires come from within, from our nature, while the artificial ones come from without, from society, advertising or fiction. This second difference is the reason for a third difference: the natural desires are found in all of us, but the artificial ones vary from person to person.
The existence of the artificial desires does not necessarily mean that the desired objects exist. Some do; some don't. Sports cars do; Oz does not. But the existence of natural desires does, in every discoverable case, mean that the objects desired exist. No one has ever found one case of an innate desire for a nonexistent object.

What jobs do Americans want to do?

Anybody remember The Time Machine? Basically, a lower class of citizens (Morlocks) have been subjugated so long that they are no longer seen as human (in fact they devolved). As Americans get snootier about the jobs they take, are we setting ourselves up for such a dichotomy? Do we see Latinos as our Morlocks, doing the jobs we no longer want? Doing jobs that they are expendable on (like the Chinese and Irish on the railroad)? I’m not a Marxist, but maybe there is some validity in being disturbed by class and race differences.

Gay Bishop in rehab

The commentary is obvious. The result of the worship of created things (sex, alcohol) above the Creator. May our prayer be that this man someday find the Creator more pleasurable than homosexuality and alcohol.

Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ’s Work, Not Muhammad’s

Piper updates. First today was his surgery and as far as we know it went well.

Then there is this from his fresh words on his web site. The worlds religions really are so VERY different. Most who say they are all the same have not really looked into the matter earnestly.

"That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25)."
-Piper

Narnia available for pre-order.

The 2-disk collectors edition.

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them." -C.H. Spurgeon

So much of the shallowness of the current evangelical movement could be addressed by listening to Spurgeon's warning. Fluff will only draw people in temporarily. When their soles are not fed they are no better off then when they walked in the door. They may even be worse off.

Equally deplorable?

So the Vatican says here that one, the government should have censored the cartoon that has started the recent riots, and that the cartoon and the riots are EQUALLY DEPLORABLE. I am speechless... which I guess would be ok with them since they don't seem to mind having authoritarianism silence free speech.

Quote:
"3. However, it must be said immediately that the offenses caused by an individual or an organ of the press cannot be imputed to the public institutions of the corresponding country, whose authorities might and should intervene eventually according to the principles of national legislation. Therefore, violent actions of protest are equally deplorable. Reaction in the face of offense cannot fail the true spirit of all religion. Real or verbal intolerance, no matter where it comes from, as action or reaction, is always a serious threat to peace."

The Transfiguration of Harold Maines

No review. I just know the DVD is now available. An old friend of mine, and an independent film maker, Jared W. Johnson's "The Transfiguration of Harold Maines".

The Argument From Desire

Probably my favorite argument for the existence of God would have to be the argument from desire. While facts about design, morality and intellect are useful, we all really want a God who will speak to our soul's desires. As Lewis put it in his essay "The Weight of Glory";

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis

Peter Kreeft does a good job making the argument in brief here.

Chesterton Quote of the Day

"My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is Thursday." - New York Times Magazine, 2/11/23