Vincent Farino Choice

I have been discussing a book with one of my friends called The Naked Gospel. This book makes claims that there are thoughts or ideas that Christians have come to believe only because that is what they have heard many times, and that it is not actually in the Bible. I thought that was interesting that there are certain things that I personally have believed in my faith without actually basing it on the Bible. I would hear things from different friends, family, and Pastors and just assume that what they have said was in the Bible, but in some cases it was not. There was also another interesting point that this man makes and that is that the New Covenant that Jesus makes does not actually happen until his death. This means that all of the Gospels word's and teachings are not included in that New Covenant because Christ has not died yet. I will have to do more research on this subject, but I thought that it was an interesting thought.

Mere Christianity- Elissa Wilcox

"Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel as though we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have." (Mere Christianity, pp. 41-42). I love this because I feel like Jesus talked about this, and that he wasn't the king that the disciples but he was a king. The fact that no one would have guessed that Christianity would have taken off the way it did and that it seems to be something that man could not have made up makes it more believable.

Outside Reading, Crazy Love - Melissa Marazzi

I was reading the through the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Chan takes a very proactive approach to the Christian faith, proclaiming that we must be bold. He made a really interesting point in the book that struck me fiercely as I read it. He asked the reader to ponder going to Heaven and experiencing everything you hoped it could be. All your friends were there, people you loved, there was no pain or sadness, you were completely filled and satisfied to the full extent and thoroughly happy. But Jesus wasn’t there. Would you still want to go there? I think this is a powerful question that really strikes the heart of a Christian and gets them to think about what is more important to them: getting to Heaven or being with Jesus? The obvious and easy answer would be to say that of course a true believer would not want to be there if Jesus wasn’t. But this can also be seen in real life, day-to-day. It is hard to live day in and day out, being constantly tried and tested by the Spirit, but Jesus is hear with us. The one that would most likely chose the Heaven without Jesus would be the one who cannot take the trials of life for the sake of his Savior. But in the end, being connected with Jesus, I think is clearly the better of the two, regardless where it takes you.

Outside Reading, A Timbered Choir - Melissa Marazzi

I have been reading on and off a book of poetry by Wendell Berry called a Timbered Choir. Berry is a lover of nature and that certainly comes out in his poetry – aside from the fact that he is also a farmer. His poems reflect much on nature around him and his reactions to them. A was reading one of his poems from 1981 in the book simply labeled IX. In this poem he sings his praises to a forest that he finds such beauty in. The interesting thing is though is that he mentions it is beautiful because man has neglected it, man has disregarded in and left it be. Berry describes how man’s progress seems only to stifle, not only ourselves, but the world around us. In our desire for development, we seem to be poisoning things on the way, Berry writes. I think this is unique perspective and I have to agree with Berry when he says that we must see the forest as “fellow presences,” our neighbor in this Earth, not “raw sources.” We must learn to appreciate the nature around us and not simply use it to further our development when it is not so necessary. Berry also refers to the forest as “blessed.” I think it is important for us to be able to appreciate the blessedness of the nature around us and not pervert God’s gifts for the sake development, and using it to make paper for a book about why He does not exist. It is “here with us” as Bery writes and we should enjoy it as such.

Outside Reading - Melissa Marazzi

A. W. Tozer was a writer from the 50s and very a humble man. He never owned a car but preferred to use public transportation – this is simply a side note I found interesting about his life. He was a great author of many books, one of my favorites being the Pursuit of God. In his book, he talks about the necessity to be in continuous pursuit of God, as the title suggests. He writes, “faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze at the heart of the Triune God.” I love the way he describes faith here because it implies a continual work that must be done. Faith is an unusual thing in that when it is present we are unaware of it, but when it is not we are fully conscious of our need for it. Tozer writes about this in his book and compares faith to the eye: constantly occupied with object of focus and never able to see itself. I love this description of faith because it reminds of of the humility that is needed to posses it; it is purely on the grace of God to grant a man more faith. It is also purely dependent on our own willingness to steer away from logic and towards God’s direction.

Outside Reading - Melissa Marazzi

I was reading through the book of Hebrews, specifically Hebrews 4, and came upon a common theme in the chapter. The author emphasized the necessity for rest and I wondered what about rest is so essential. Other than the obvious benefits of rest – giving your body a break, to regain energy, for sleep, etc – I wondered what was so imperative. I realized then how Godly a thing it would be to do. God rested on the seventh day when He created the world. If God rests, then it makes sense for Hid children to. Also, it is a humbling thing to do, to rest. There is always work to be done. But the real challenge sometimes is to take a much needed break when you there are things to accomplish, when there is always something on your To-Do list that you have yet to finish. These things are important, yes, but so is giving the mind a break. I believe Go calls us to rest so that we do not spend ourselves seeking after work all the time. We can be so easily tempted to do more out of greed and the desire to have as much as we can get; it is harder to take a break.

Outside Reading, The Four Loves - Melissa Marazzi

In Lewis’ the Four Loves, he describes each of the different kinds of types of “loves” that man experiences. He speaks on affection, friendship, eros, and charity. In each of these he describes their unique and curious natures. It is especially interesting when he describes eros because of its seemingly un-human characteristics – it drives man to be what he usually is immersed in: selfishness. The thing that I thought was rather interesting was how each of these loves required the presence or fellowship of another. We are uniquely social creatures and God places in us a need to express ourselves to others, through these many different types of loves. It would be quite disastrous to ourselves to be completely isolated from one another. He says in the book, “We are born helpless. As soon as we are fully conscious we discover loneliness. We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves.” His last point is really interesting, that we must be union with others to really know ourselves. This is certainly true in the sense that we gather much of our perception of ourselves from others; we are able to convince ourselves of things so easily, with out someone there to keep us grounded, we may all be raging with conceit.