Monday, April 24, 2006

Thinx 39: At my funeral

At my funeral I want a few songs played. Admittedly, I won't be around to see that it happens. I may well die anonymously, remembered only by God. Nevertheless, these are the songs I would like people to hear:

  • '2 Corinthians 5:17', from "G.T. and the Halo Express #5 -- Made to be a V.I.P.", © 1990 King Communications.
  • 'Passing Through', from "Jesus Rocks the World" by Colin Buchanan, © 2004 Wanaaring Road Music Pty Ltd
  • 'Jesus draw me ever nearer (may this journey)', from "New Irish Hymns" by Margaret Becker, Maire Brennan and Joanne Hogg, © 2001 Kingsway Music.

  • If the original can't be found for the '2 Corinthians 5:17', at least have a really good pianist play the bridge, and let the supporting band forget that they're at a funeral; in other words, belt it out!

    So am I expecting to die in the near future? No. From time to time, when the black dog's around, I get to asking God to kill me. But generally, life is good. Okay, there are some issues which remain unresolved, and these are like large stones in the stream bed. Thus life is a complicated swirl of current and counter-current, abrasion and turbidity, air-pocket and whirlpool.

    So far God has ignored my occasional pleas for death. I expect he will continue to ignore them until his purpose for me has been fulfilled. By then I will likely have given up asking and will more likely beg not to have to die. Given what awaits me in eternity, I expect God will ignore that plea also.

    © Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

    Sunday, April 09, 2006

    Thinx 38: Rightly handling the word of truth?

    we refuse to ... tamper with God's word
    -- 2 Corinthians 4:2b RSV
    But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully;
    -- 2 Corinthians 4:2b WEB
    Everytime we attempt to harmonise Science with the Bible, it is always the Bible that ends up getting tampered with and adulterated, not that of the naturalist / materialist / humanist. It's the Word of God that gets the scissors and glue treatment, not the textbooks on anthropology, geology, biology and astronomy. Stop talking about harmonising Science with the Bible when you actually mean the opposite: harmonising the Bible with Science!

    As the years roll on, Science 'discovers' what God has been telling us since the beginning. For instance the Bible tells us that every colour of skin is descended from Eve. And now the Human Genome Project agrees. Is this a once in a million? You wish!

    What is Science anyway, and what does it mean to be 'scientific'?