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Framing Life

Praise God from whom all blessings flow | Praise Him, all creatures here below | Praise Him above, ye Heavenly host | Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

ACNA Turns 10

Happy Birthday, ACNA! https://world.wng.org/2019/07/true_grit ...
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Humanity and Impermanence

Besides the references to grass as literal food for animals, the Scriptures use grass also as simile for human finitude and impermanence. For example: 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, (Ps. 103:15-17 ESV) The Scriptures remi...
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Atonement and Propitiation

Day of Atonement Let us briefly review the procedure followed on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). The high priest (Aaron) takes one bull and two goats from the people. And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. (Lev. 16:5 ESV) The bull is a sin offering for himself and his house. It enables him to draw near to God to do the remaining tasks, which would be impossible to do without first atoning for h...
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What is Israel?

Written in 2010. We will consider two passages in Romans which shed light on the question. Romans 9:6-8 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Rom. 9:6-8 ES...
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Tax Brackets

I think it's time to replace tax brackets with a continuous sliding scale. Under the current scheme, a difference of a dollar can change one's tax rate by 5-10% which seems unfair and invites abuse. I don't know if other countries differ in this regard. From my Guestbook 2019-06-01, a reader writes: — That's not how tax brackets work. the increased tax rate only applies to the portion of income in that bracket, e.g., if I make $9,526, I'm taxed 10% on 9,525, and 12% on the $1 in the higher b...
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What is Right?

Originally written in 1992. The paragraphs on science were added just now. How do you decide what is right and what is wrong? How does anyone decide this? Individuals and societies have answered this by appeals to conscience, to universal ideals, to traditional morality, and to religion. Let's briefly consider these. Conscience Many people will claim that what is morally correct is that which is consistent with an inner sense of right and wrong, usually called the conscience. While the cons...
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Knowledge as Belief

Originally written in 2006. It has been said that knowledge is justified true belief. Here I want to argue briefly that the primary component in the acquisition of knowledge, i.e., learning, is belief based on trust. Learning occurs when one believes what another, presumably authoritative or trustworthy, person or source of information is presenting. Learning by its very nature involves acceptance of knowledge heretofore not present in the subject. It involves acceptance of knowledge without ...
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Domains of Authority

It is undeniable that the paradox or tension of God's sovereignty vs man's free will has consumed much thought and discussion throughout the ages. It should be noted first that nowhere in the Bible that I am aware of does it say that man's will is 'free'. The Bible treats man's will as real with real consequences, but the word 'free' is loaded and introduces extraneous considerations. Consider the creation narrative in Genesis. God gives man [male and female] authority over the rest of creation...
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Canon Fodder

Canon Fodder is the name of Michael Kruger's blog. He is president of Reformed Seminary Charlotte and is a fine, conservative scholar in issues relating to the Canon and early Church. https://www.michaeljkruger.com/ Ten excellent articles: https://www.michaeljkruger.com/the-complete-series-ten-basic-facts-about-the-nt-canon-that-every-christian-should-memorize/ But there are many others on this site. ...
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Forbidden Planet

I wrote this back in 1999 and still mostly agree with the (brief) analysis and conclusions given at the end. But see a few comments appended after the review. "Forbidden Planet", released in 1956, is a well-done science fiction movie which succeeds at entertaining us, piquing our scientific and technological curiosity, and in addressing fundamental philosophical questions. It stars Leslie Nielsen (in a serious role) as Commander Adams, the commander of a starship assigned to look for survivor...
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Public Debt

The tax bill passed in 2017 reduced tax rates and increased standard deductions for many. Some claim that the primary benefits went to the wealthy, and that moderate-income taxpayers saw little or no reduction in their tax bills. I can't claim to know enough to address this. As well, the economy has seen many favorable positive statistics that are possibly attributable to the effects of the tax bill. Finally, it also seems to be the case that government tax revenues are at record high levels. Y...
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Sources of Authority

It has been a point of surprise for me that Catholic thought and theology seem to rely so heavily on Greek philosophy and metaphysics. A recent article in First Things [November 2018, reference below] lamented the lack of awareness and knowledge of Greek thought in Catholic circles. Aquinas incorporated Aristotelian thought into Catholic thought and thinking in his time, with lasting effect; one can see in Thomistic thought similar inclusions/amalgamations of thinking. So why is this, I ask as ...
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China Persecutes the Uyghurs

The scale and thoroughness of Chinese actions is stunning. Here are a couple of links to recent articles. Makes for gripping reading. https://www.wired.com/story/inside-chinas-massive-surveillance-operation/ https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/09/asia/xinjiang-china-kazakhstan-detention-intl/index.html Good article arguing for a consistent and pragmatic US policy on religious freedom: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2019/05/diplomacy-and-persecution-in-china ...
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Ghost Ship Trial Begins

This trial began today Tuesday April 30 at Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland. I use a few online sources down there for information (but there are many I don't know about). https://abc7news.com/east-bay/ https://www.sfchronicle.com/ https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/ The trial is expected to conclude in mid-July, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out. ...
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Notes for a Student

This was written on the occasion of my daughter's admission to graduate school at a major state university. The terms 'liberal' and 'left' are not interchangeable. 'Liberal' is an old-school term denoting a school of thought on one end of the political spectrum, with 'conservative' on the other end. In this old framework, you could say what you thought and so could the other guy. You could disagree vehemently, but you could also "agree to disagree". The Left, however, does not tolerate disse...
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