Café on the Rock

As another calendar year draws to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the year past, and one that lies ahead.

Merry Christmas to my readers, and all the rest of the world! Tomorrow we shall look back as the Light broke into the world to dispel the darkness. When He came into the world, the world did not know Him, and still does not. But He knows the world, for the world was made through Him.

We shall remember how the Word became flesh, so that the wisdom of the world could be made foolish, and the foolish things of the world could put to shame those who are wise.

We remember that on a starry night was born, in the city of David, a Saviour, the promised Messiah. He came to show why we are not righteous before God, and then He suffered, bled, died, and rose again so that we are able to stand in a right relationship with our Creator, Father God.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! To Him be all power, majesty, and glory!

This weekend I listened to an episode entitled "What is faith?" from the Say Hello to my Little Friend podcast which is presented by doctor Glenn Peoples and which I have gotten into over the last few months. The episode deals with definitions and requirements for faith, and I thought that it was very good. I also thought that some of the things which it touched upon could be related to my previous post on open-minded non-Christians who can find the idea of embracing Christianity a bit daunting.

I suppose that there are a couple of ways in which Christianity can be scary for an open-minded non-Christian. One is to go to a church and to watch people around you start making weird noises with quivering lips, and fall to the floor and bark like a dog. One probably has a good reason to be scared in such a situation. But that is not the kind of scary that I want to talk about in this post. The type of scary Christianity which I want to reflect on, is one which is a bit paradoxical. On the one hand, it seems almost incomprehensible to the faithful Christian. On the other hand, and perhaps without realising it, it is very familiar.

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul's dynasty comes to an end when he is judged for making an offering on behalf of the prophet Samuel. With one act, Saul looses favour with God—so much so that Samuel tells Saul that God will replace him with someone "after [God's] own heart". Had Saul obeyed, then today we might have spoken of the house of Saul as we speak of the house of David, for Samuel said that if Saul had obeyed, "the Lord would have established your kingdom on Israel forever".

William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith 2011 UK Tour drew to a close last week. It was interesting to follow, even if only superficially. With a buildup of months, Christian apologists rallied behind Craig, taunting Richard Dawkins, hoping to tease him out into the spotlight on stage and away from his desk, behind which he commands a slew of New Atheists.

The Law is like a lamp: it brings light so that we can discern from darkness. But we must spend our time working in the light, rather than being fixated on the lamp itself. I mean, how useless would that be! But those who believe they can earn the favour of God through deeds, do.

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I, and this website, are still alive! I missed my 1 September deadline for handing in my thesis, and the pressure is on. I also have a lot going on apart from work and studying.

Today my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. It was done without pomp1: just going out for family lunch while visiting relatives on the west coast. While I was driving out there yesterday, I thought about the implications and significance of this anniversary. My parents have had a rough time for most of those 40 years and are (in different ways) not where you would expect a couple to be after such a time.

• 1. Unlike another wedding ceremony which took place yesterday, but congratulations to them.