3000 meter Relay

We have been watching the Olympics off and on this week and saw what I considered an unusual race. It is called 3,000 meters relay. It takes place on the short track and reminds me of roller derby but on skates. No offense intended to either sport(?). I did a quick check and actually found a picture to add to this post, there weren't many though. Interesting way to change team members.

Embracing grace -5- Holistic Gospel

One of the fundamental "words" or concepts in this book is "holistic." In his opinion and mine (for that matter) our lives cannot be divided up in secular and sacred. I believe God is still involved in the day-to-day events of this world and in my/your life. The gospel, therefore concerns all aspects of our life, society and the whole world. McKnight says:

"We confess that the gospel is the work of God to restore us in the context of a community to God and to others and the world. We need to pause once again to notice how big this claim is: it is something God does for us and to us, and the long term direction of God's embrace, so we are claiming, will benefit the whole world. Somehow, we are suggesting, we are to be a "blessing" to the world."

From this standpoint Embracing grace begins to resolve three fundamental questions: the problem of suffering, the problem of sin, and the problem of systemic evil. In the following chapters McKnight goes into more explanation of these points.
These five posts should give you a good taste of this book, so this will my last post on Embracing Grace. I have enjoying reading it, and recommend it.

Embracing grace 4 - Cracked Eikons

We are Eikons created in the image of God, but we have sinned and therefore become cracked Eikons. This leads into McKnight's discussion on sin, which the following is just a highlight.
The traditional definition of sin is "any failure to perform the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature." McKnight says this is true, but thinks it is too limiting. It makes sin simply breaking the law of God and doesn't deal with relationships. He says, "The 'genius' of sin is that it is first and foremost about one's relationship to God and others. Sin is a relational issue and as such transcends the legal issue." A couple of more statements are; (1) sin is clearly the breaking of a law, but more deeply it is a violation of loving God or others, (2)it is anything that breaks union with God or communion with others, anything that is unloving, and anything that wants to establish any of these breaks of union as an earthly system.
Broading the meaning of sin helps explain to me why sin can reak such havoc and it is so difficult to correct or make amends.

Wind vs Bird

This morning on the way to work I saw am excellent example of why we talk about the wind in Wyoming so much. As I was holding the steering wheel at a 45 degree angle to stay on the road, a large black bird was trying to fly across the highway with very little success.
He was in front of me down the road aways,so I must have watched him for several minutes. His problem was he flying directly into the wind. He was flapping his wings for-all-he-was-worth and gaining only a few feet in distance and then he would glide and lose most of what he had gained. He also tried tacking into the wind without any better success. I was thinking, "Give it up bird and try later." I love it in Wyoming :>)

Embracing Grace - 3 Eikons of God

For Scot the gospel begins at the Bible's beginning, Gen 1:1. The apex of God's creation is Adam and Eve. The Bible says they were made in the image of God and McKnight will used the Greek term Eikon (image) for humans throughout his book. As Eikons of God we have been given two gifts; freedom and relationships with others. Freedom in the form of choice to do or not do what God says. Secondly God made more than one person, so people would learn to love one another. We are individuals who are inherently like God and like one another so we can love God and love others, and we are to do all this in the place where God puts us - right here on earth. Scot closes out this chapter with the warning that individualism is a real problem in the western world, as it interferes with our relating to one another as God wants.

Embracing Grace 2 Proclaimed and Performed

Embracing grace is a gospel that is both proclaimed and performed. The answer to the question,"Where did Jesus spend most of his time?" shows the importance of living the gospel. This generation wants an authentic gospel, not a pollyanish one that claims belief will all of a sudden solve all our problems and make the world shine its happy face on us. McKnight says a local church always performs the gospel it proclaims, because its performance is its proclamation. The sure indicator of the gospel in a local community is how those Christians live.

I have been reading a very interesting book, "Embracing Grace - A Gospel for All of Us" by Scot Mcknight. I thought I would review it as I read it, so others could decide if they would like to read it, assuming I am a good book reviewer. The verdict is still out on that case. Scot begins by asking for your definition of the gospel. It is amazing how many different definitions there are concerning a concept so basic to Christianity. His definition is, "The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and communion with others, in the context of a community, for the good of others and the world." This appears to be broader than the "death, burial, and resurrection" I was taught, but when I examine the ramifications of DBR I don't think it is so different. He calls his definition the gospel of embracing grace, a gospel for all of us. Embracing grace is a flow of grace that can be described as-
God embraces you and me and
God embraces others and
God embraces the whole created order.
Then:
You and I embrace God back and
We embrace others and
We embrace the entire created order.
That's the introduction.

Tiny facts on XL

As I was going over all the hype for XL, I noticed one of the Steelers by name of Brett Keisel who plays defense. He is from Greybull WY, which is a small town about 50 miles from Powell. I remember him because he played basketball against our son Cody in high school. He was good then. It is nice to see an almost hometown guy make good.

Pittsburgh is one of the teams I follow, so it would be good if they won. How can you not like Bettis? He is a real deal player. He goes out and just does his job, without the controversy. The more like him the NFL has, the better