Chart - The Jewish Calendar and Day Structure

Here is a chart I made up of the Jewish Calendar and Day structure ( for Bible study purposes or whatever purposes) . The info was sourced from Nelson's Book of Bible Maps and Charts. Feel free to share or download - hope its put to good use 

The Avengers and Deity (spoiler alert)

A quick thought for you:  Remember that scene near the end of the movie where Loki demands that the Hulk stop and bow down to him because he is a god? Then the hulk proceeds to beat the living daylights out of Loki and utters something like “puny god”. 

There’s a great lesson for us here. I am personally quite tired of hearing about the deifying of ourselves … or of any human.  Some talk about it in terms of us “evolving” into gods, some in terms of meditation where we find our “inner” god, still others talk about being one with nature or the universe and thus fulfilling their godhead.   I think sometimes we need a “hulk” like beat down for our own humility.

Humans are not gods. You are not a god.  As Captain America says in the movie ( and what I believe as well) “There is only one God ma’am and I doubt he dresses like that (referring to Thor)”.  That’s cute – I like it.  But it is a serious truth.  God is sovereign, supreme and supernatural. He is far above us and the Bible teaches us that we are not worthy of Him. HOWEVER – God somehow finds in us, as His rebellious creation,  an intrinsic value and incomprehensible worth – worth dying for. And He did that by entering into full humanity - all the while retaining His full deity - in the person of Jesus Christ. 

 So it may be sad that “we are unworthy but full of worth”. It is only by understanding this background of rebelliousness we all share (you know – human nature), that we can truly understand the deep love God has for us and the great plans He has for us and to better us. 

And, admittedly , I need to work on understanding God’s  thoughts of worth towards me.

I’ll leave you with a few Bible verses:

"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.... They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

Romans 1:22,25

Not to mention Ezekiel 28....

Eze 28:1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
Eze 28:2 "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,' Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god 
Eze 28:3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
Eze 28:4 With your wisdom and your understanding You have gained riches for yourself, And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
Eze 28:5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),"
Eze 28:6 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
Eze 28:7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, The most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor.
Eze 28:8 They shall throw you down into the Pit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas.
Eze 28:9 "Will you still say before him who slays you, 'I am a god'? But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you.

Sherlock Holmes : Theist? (What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is)

I’ve finally been able to watch a bit of the BBC’s acclaimed series “Sherlock” and from what I’ve seen it seems to be as brilliant as the critics say. There is one thing that I find puzzling though. From what I have seen it is apparent that the writers of the show have presumed that if one transported the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes into the 21st century he would, without question, be an atheist. 

And I wonder why they presume this. Is it because of the character’s perceived emotionally bankrupt personality? If that is so then it is an insult to atheists. Is it because of Sherlock’s mastery of logic and precise scientific method? If that is true then it is an insult to theists ( who happen to make up some of the brightest minds in the world today).

It certainly cannot be an idea arrived upon by reading the original books. I’ve read nearly all of them and it is clear that the original Sherlock Holmes was a theist. Perhaps it may be argued that he was only a theist in the original works because of the time and place in which Conan Doyle wrote these ground-breaking books. However I highly doubt that as well as Conan Doyle uses that very mastery of logic in his protagonist to venerate the Creator. The best example of this may be found in The Naval Treaty in which Dr. Watson narrates:


"...the authorities are excellent on amassing facts, though they do not always use them to advantage. What a lovely thing a rose is!"  

He walked past the couch to the open window, and held up the drooping stalk of a moss rose, looking down at the dainty blend of crimson and green. It was a new phase of his character to me, for I have never before seen him show any keen interest in natural objects.

"There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion," said he, leaning with his back against the shutters.  "It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in flowers . 

All other things, our own powers our desires, our food, are really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its colour are an embellishment of life , not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers." 

from The Naval Treaty by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Pleiades, Orion and the Book of Job

"Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

Job 38: 31-32

The Book of Job is perhaps the oldest book of the Bible and a literary masterpiece,  landing in many lists of the best literature of all time ( eg. The Guardian, World Library etc..) 

The actual writing of the book has been placed anywhere from 2100-1900 B.C. to somewhere between the 6th and 4th century B.C. However the Solomonic era  ( 14^th - 10^th century B.C.) seems to be the best fit as it is written in the style of the Hebrew poetic or “Wisdom” literature.

 However the time frame in which the events unfolded is undoubtedly in the patriarchal era ( 2100-1900 B.C., the time of Abraham). Jewish oral tradition is renowned for its accuracy and it would be from this that the author would have heard the story and put it into writing. *

The passage from Job that I would like to reflect upon in this little post is, as read above, chapter 38, verses 31 and 32. 

The constellations of Pleiades and Orion are mentioned much in ancient texts throughout the world. There is, however, in the Book of Job something a little deeper, something we only now in modern times fully understand.

To quote directly from former aerospace engineer, Warren Henderson:

We now understand what God was sharing with Job. Within the Taurus constellation is a tight grouping of stars in gravitational lock; they are called “Pleiades”.  Although many stars are in this cluster (about 440 light years away), only seven are discernible with the naked eye on a clear night.; sometimes these are referred to as “the seven sisters”.

Just as the Bible states, these stars are bound together; they cannot pull apart from one another. However, the constellation, Orion is composed of stars throughout our galaxy , and we know that the Milky Way is expanding. As the years roll by, Orion’s belt is literally letting out a notch.

The answer to God’s question to Job was that only God can arrange and control the constellations in such a way that He binds some stars together and loosens others.

Astronomy today defines Pleiades as an “Open Star Cluster”.

Wikipedia notes:  “They (Open Star Clusters) have long been known to be a physically related group of stars rather than any chance alignment. The Reverend John Michell calculated in 1767 that the probability of a chance alignment of so many bright stars was only 1 in 500,000, and so correctly surmised that the Pleiades and many other clusters of stars must be physically related.^[10] When studies were first made of the stars' proper motions, it was found that they are all moving in the same direction across the sky, at the same rate, further demonstrating that they were related.”

While Open Star Clusters are expected to eventually lose gravitational lock, the largest estimates of Pleiades say it is 75 – 150 million years old and will not disperse any of its stars for another  250 million years in the future.

As for the Belt of Orion, it is known as an “asterism” consisting of three stars – Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.  

Again referencing Wikipedia we learn that an asterism is :  “a pattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky. It may form part of an official constellation, or be composed of stars from more than one. Like constellations, asterisms are in most cases composed of stars which, while they are visible in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth.”

Although  primarily a poetic book looking at God and the suffering of man, the Book of Job also comments on many scientific phenomena that have held true to this day. Just one more reason why I love and treasure the Bible.

**Of course Christians believe the Book of Job ( and all other books of the Bible) to be more than just great literature. We believe it to be the very Word of God to humankind and, despite how far-fetched this may seem to the secular person, there is actually a significant amount of objective data that lends credibility to the Bible - including scientific ( especially archaeology) and fulfilled historic prophecy and manuscript evidence. There are many good books on this topic if ever one finds oneself curious ( see The Case for Christ by Lee Stroebel, The Bible: Myth or Divine Truth by Warren Henderson and the writings of Dr. Craig Blomberg, Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Bruce Metzger for example…)

For an example of how the Bible penetrates the heart in a more subjective but just as powerful a way you may want to read this article on the great theologian and  WW2 hero Dietrich Bonheoffer here .

Defining Moments In Canadian History: Sir Robert Laird Borden ( In Honour of Canada Day)

It’s been said that if America is a country brought about by revolution, then Canada is a country brought about by evolution.

And that’s not a bad thing. Perhaps we do not have quite the flair or make quite a splash as our neighbours but we, as a country, are stalwart and steadfast,  hardworking and hearty. Not prone to violence but unwaveringly brave when called upon.

I was often taught that Canadian history was a terribly boring affair, however I have come to believe that the only thing boring about Canadian history is the way it has been portrayed - or perhaps, received. The real stuff is exciting and dramatic and epic. There are many stories of courage and sacrifice, innovation and excellence,  and, every once in a while, a Canadian insisting that we be recognized as such.

One such a Canadian was our eighth prime minister, and the face on our $100 bills,  Sir Robert Laird Borden. He was a conservative Anglican born in Grande Pre, Nova scotia in 1854 and he guided our country through a massive turning point in our history -  “the Great War.”

 “Canada entered the war a colony, she emerged from it close to an independent state” Historian Arthur Lower

“It is a myth that Canadians won their independence without bloodshed. Certainly, there political independence was won at great cost in the crucible of World War 1” Will Ferguson

Borden and Winston Churchill - 1912

Borden, like any other man, had his faults and made his mistakes (there was the Conscription Crisis and , of course, the “temporary” Income Tax), however it was his unrelenting push for Canadian equality with other countries that helped shape who we are today.  It is worth noting that Borden was also responsible for women’s suffrage in Canada.

In 1917 Borden took the lead for all of Britain’s Dominions when he drafted “Resolution IX”  insisting that all dominions receive full recognition as “autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth”.  After this resolution was passed, at some consternation to Britain, Jan Smuts, The South African minister of defence said to Borden “You and I have transformed the structure of the British Empire.”

Furthermore, after the Great War and Canada’s proportionally immense contribution, Borden refused to let Britain sign the Treaty of Versailles on Canada’s behalf but took his own pen to it in a symbolic but historically altering fashion.

“It can hardly be expected that we shall put 400,000 or 500,000 men in the field and willingly accept the position of having no more voice and receiving no more consideration that if we were toy automata” Robert Borden

When the Americans resisted the Canadians and Australian having their own seat on the newly formed League of Nations, it was the British PM who pointed out that each country had lost more men than the U.S.A.  and from a much smaller population.

Nearly 620,000 Canadians served in World War 1 and over 66,000 died in it – another 172,000 or more were wounded. The latter group included my great grandfather who suffered the effects of mustard gas for the duration of his life and his brother who lost a limb at Vimy Ridge.

Robert Borden, just one of our citizens who have made this country a great one!  Happy Canada day!

Sources: Canadian History For Dummies ( Will Ferguson), Wikipedia.com , 

“ ‘There , but for the grace of God, go I.’ : The History and Meaning of the Phrase”

Recently, I have been thoroughly enjoying “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” by Arthur Conan Doyle.  This book contains the first 12 stories of Doyle’s great, yet flawed, detective ever to be published.

As I was finishing up one of the stories, “ The Boscombe Valley Mystery” , I was surprised and pleased to read this passage of Holmes dialogue with Watson - just after a bittersweet case had been solved and one of it’s main characters had left the room:

“God help us!” said Holmes after a long silence. “Why does fate play such tricks with poor helpless worms? I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter’s words, and say, “There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes”.

I, probably like you, have heard this phrase before. For me it was always been in regards to a story regarding the great 19^th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon. Although there are variations and I have not been able to verify if this story did indeed happen, it goes something like this:

“Mr. Spurgeon and a friend were walking down the street when they came upon a drunken homeless man prostrated on the street. After Charles’ companion makes a snide remark about the poor soul, Charles quickly rebukes him and with tears running down his face says “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

The meaning of the phrase here being that even a preacher of Spurgeon’s status is prone to the same sins and poor decisions of the drunken man, if it were not for God’s grace guiding and aiding him.  It was an ackowedgement of humility, compassion and utter dependence on God.

As I sunk in to do a little research on the phrase I found that, according to Rev. James F. Rigney, the “Baxter” referred to in Arthur Conan Doyle’s book is Richard Baxter, a 17^th century puritan author.

Richard Baxter was born in 1615 in England. Wikipedia notes:

“Because of his father’s gambling habit and inherited debts, and his mother’s poor health, Richard lived with his maternal grandparents for the first ten years of his life. When his father was converted through “the bare reading of the Scriptures in private,” Richard returned to his parental home, and later acknowledged that God used his father’s serious talks about God and eternity as “the Instrument of my first Convictions, and Approbation of a Holy Life” (Reliquiae Baxterianae, 1:2-4).”

Although I myself could not find a specific instance of Richard Baxter saying this, it is most likely he did as the phrase was already known by that time and Conan Doyle, writing over a century ago,  was likely aware of the specifics.

The first reference to this iconic phrase though was in regards to an English Protestant Reformer and martyr named John Bradford.

Bradford in prison with bishops from “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”

Bradford was born in Manchester in 1510. He later became a Protestant Bishop under Edward VI but was soon to be persecuted by the following monarch – the Roman Catholic, Mary Tudor.

For no crime besides his faith, he was sealed in the infamous Tower of London along with fellow Anglican,  Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and reformer Hugh Latimer. There he continued studying the Bible and writing and, as Wikipedia states:

“At some time during his imprisonment it is said that Bradford witnessed a group of prisoners being led to their execution and remarked, "There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford." The phrase has survived in common parlance in its variant, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

But now back to Spurgeon for a moment. Although the little story I told earlier could not be verified, Spurgeon did utter this phrase or something very much akin to it.  We read it out of his  personal diary:

“Fair Day. – Spoke to Mr. R. How can a child of God go there? “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Forgive him Lord, for so forgetting his high calling! I too should be there, but for the grace of God.  I have the seeds of all evil in my own heart; pride is yet my darling sin, I cannot shake it off. Awake, O my Lord, against the mighty, for I shall die by his hand if Thou do not help me. And lead me on to triumph! Leave me , ye vain thought!  I have nothing but what I received; it is the Lord’s goodness that I even have my reason.    (from  ‘Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers’By Lewis A. Drummond)”

So what does the phrase mean for us today?

In Bradford’s case, it seemed he was saying that he was thankful for one more day alive on this earth – even if it was in the Tower of London. That is not to say that when his time for execution came that he thought God’s grace to be gone. It is clear that He understood the day would most likely come and , if I may speculate a little, knew that God’s grace would be sufficient for even that terrible death of burning at the stake.

This notion is reinforced as we read Thomas Fuller’s comments on Bradford’s martyrdom. He wrote that he endured the flame  "as a fresh gale of wind in a hot summer's day, confirming by his death the truth of that doctrine he had so diligently and powerfully preached during his life."

Sherlock Holmes and Charles Spurgeon seemed to have something a little more internal in mind, reflecting on their own broken natures and tendencies to do evil ( Sherlock was a cocaine addict you may remember).

We often find it hard to think of ourselves as having a sin nature – a bent towards ill behaviour of some sort. Although sometimes I think we are keenly aware of it. To recite Spurgeon again, “I have the seeds of all evil in my own heart; pride is yet my darling sin, I cannot shake it off. Awake, O my Lord, against the mighty, for I shall die by his hand if Thou do not help me. And lead me on to triumph!”

In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul, a man who knew well the evil tendencies of human nature, wrote this:

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. …. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.    Romans 7:18-24

It is, I believe, when we are most keenly aware of these dark seeds, of the complete inability of our own “flesh” to perform good always -  that we are most honest and most humble and most thankful and most open to God.

And that is the most valuable thing we can learn from this age old phrase.

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 “A man must completely despair of himself in order to become fit to obtain the grace of Christ.” -Martin Luther (1483-1546)

“When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are (then) candidates for God's generous grace.” -Erwin W. Lutzer