thoughts out !oud

Person-in-da-hood: How pro-choicers have moved the goal posts

Mathew — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:02:18 +0000

When medical science (most notably, that of DNA strings) decisively and unequivocally demonstrated that, right from the very point of conception, a human life is created, pro-choicers had to abort their more traditional arguments. It is interesting to read in his book, Practical Ethics, that ethicist, animal rights activist and pro-abortionist Peter Singer declared that the conservative pro-life position on the subject of abortion came up trumps. It is no longer an argument about potency - that the fertilised egg had the potential to become a human being - it was proven that from the instant human sperm penetrates a human egg that nothing other than a human being is produced. In his book, Mr Singer admits that pro-lifers have the upper hand - to abort a child at… Continue reading Person-in-da-hood: How pro-choicers have moved the goal posts

Jesus ain’t no happy hippy in a dress

Mathew — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:32:04 +0000

Sometimes ( ... okay, a lot, I think!) Christians need to be reminded that Jesus is no tree-hugging, free-loving wimp, that he's no happy hippy in a dress that our metrosexual societies and luke-warm churches make him out to be. Jesus has come, not to just redeem with the fire (Luke 12:49) that it is the Gospel, but to also (be the occasion to) divide, setting son against father, daughter against mother, family against family (Luke 12:51-53). In the end, a great and just war will be waged, with Jesus acting as Commander-in-chief, getting up to his elbows in the blood of the enemies of God: I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and… Continue reading Jesus ain't no happy hippy in a dress

The only Jesus they knew

Mathew — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:55:10 +0000

Christians can be a reprehensible lot; they can be the self-refuting testimony of an otherwise marvelous and positive influential Christianity. And I don't excuse myself from among them, only to try to be aware of my own shortcomings and to be open and honest with them and then to deal with them. I have no doubt that Jesus looks at the state of the wider church today and weeps over its lack of cohesion, strength and unity. Church is Satan's favourite playground (he attends more religiously than anyone) - and he knows all the rules, better than the vast majority of Christians, and his pawns are those in church who hold prominent positions of office. Not only does he have pawns in his ranks, but also some of… Continue reading The only Jesus they knew

“Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man”

Mathew — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:52:06 +0000

Jesus was very much a master provoker - the stories he often told were well engineered to whack you up-side the head. His parables not only carried with them profound truths, some of them would have made some great stand-up comedy (plank in your eye, anyone?) while others just sought to directly stir the religiosity and prejudices of men. As a pioneer panning for gold would often find, the parables of Jesus sift through our lives to reveal the worthless stones that clutter, weigh down and mar our souls. By way of example, the Gospel of Luke records Jesus' story of a Pharisee and a Tax Collector who were at the Temple to pray (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisee rattled off a litany of reasons why he was better than a… Continue reading "Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man"

When have you simply just trusted in God?

Mathew — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:40:44 +0000

This post of mine is nothing overly profound. But I read a post over at Dead Theologians that discusses the topic of fakeness - the ability to be someone in one instance, but then be able change your spots in another circumstance. In his post he mentions waiting nervously for the guest speaker who was running late and had not contacted the church that he was running late. Not knowing whether or not the guest speaker was going to turn up, and not having a backup plan in case things go pear shaped, is quite a pickle to be in. I've been in that situation a couple of times, which is what I'll share here, and I believe it be one of those moments when… Continue reading When have you simply just trusted in God?

Quote: Denying God Imprisons Man

Mathew — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:17:54 +0000

Whoever strikes against God strikes down himself. The atheist denying God degrades himself. The atheist exalting himself above God sinks below the level of animate and inanimate beings. Liberation from God is enslavement in creatures. Absolute humanism is the sure road to absolute despotism. Denial of God as truth begets the imprisonment of man in the self-imposed darkness of his own myths. Vincent Miceli (priest, theologian and philosopher), The Gods of Atheism, 1971… Continue reading Quote: Denying God Imprisons Man

Poem: Touches in the dark hours

Mathew — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:26:41 +0000

touches in the dark hours

what's desired the most we deserve the least -- that's biblical, that is --

to be left to hurt is worse than being left to die -- or is it there being no hope for atonement? or redemption? no soft touches in the dark hours when your spirit has no words to speak because they're empty and so there's a guttural yelp a vacuumed cry for help followed by the mind burst that the worst is yet to bear its teeth expectation can be equally painful

trickery is at work in these dark hours thoughts jump over balcony railings to fall lazily into foul language in a foul world rushing upwards with greetings of a sudden kind so much for civilities

but we have no Superman nor Spider-man nor least of all good ol' Captain America just a man -- weeping offering the soft touches that we need in these dark hours he's been through them too

Your love is like a beetroot stain

Mathew — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:20:03 +0000

There are many grand, romantic, humorous and satirical quotes on the topic of love that anyone could find nowadays. It seems that we toss the word ‘love’ around quite freely – perhaps we have even diluted it to an extent – so that it becomes just something that is so abstract as to be almost meaningless or at least devalued. We say things like ‘I love Nutella’, or ‘I love my cat.’ What we really mean, of course, is simply that we really like the object of our ‘love’. Yet scripturally, love means something much, much stronger than for what we give it credit. Truly, there is no greater love, as the Lord Jesus says, than to give up one’s life for another. CS Lewis wrote… Continue reading Your love is like a beetroot stain

Quote: to love is to be open to hurt

Mathew — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:22:05 +0000

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (1960)… Continue reading Quote: to love is to be open to hurt

Thoughts out !oud and the middle eastern Oud

Mathew — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:13:24 +0000

I have felt that I need to blog an apology to the many, many enthusiasts who are scouring the internet for information about the Middle Eastern instrument, the Oud (a guitar-like instrument, pronounced ud, I believe), and who are ending up at my blog: Thoughts out !oud. Monitoring the free blogging stats tool for my blog I have noticed with interest that my blog is ranking reasonably well in searches for the Oud, turning up in search strings such as: Oud, Oud for sale, Ouds for sale Sydney, thinking out oud, Oud built, stand for Oud, out Oud, Oud Cartoons, playing the Oud, all about the Oud, Oud poetry, etc. It became obvious to me that, so far as Google and other search engines are concerned, Thoughts out… Continue reading Thoughts out !oud and the middle eastern Oud