The Order of Salvation

The Attributes of God

Both are beautiful (particularly the first one) and easy to read & understand. They aren’t comprehensive, of course, but are definitely more accessible than, say, John Murray’s Redemption: Accomplished & Applied. The recommended resources at the bottom of each graph will point you in the direction of more complete teaching on each subject.

It is astounding to me that any nation would have a military empire so widespread (over 900 bases in 130 countries), and that it is considered a patriotic heresy to suggest that this might be a leading cause of our budgetary woes (not to mention blowback from those who may not appreciate foreign troops on their soil). But it is for more than just economic/political reasons that I find these statistics startling.

The 11th chapter of Daniel describes what were then future events. The latter half of that chapter likely refers primarily to Antiochus Epiphanes (“Ephiphanes” means “God Manifest”, which is what Antiochus IV called himself), but is also thought by many scholars to foreshadow the eventual “man of lawlessness” described in 2 Thessalonians 2. Listen to this description of this leader who exalts himself above God:

He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. (Daniel 11:37-39)

Please understand that I am not saying that any particular individual is “the Antichrist”, or that Daniel’s prophecy is referring to America or any other modern nation. What I am pointing out is that when this “man of lawlessness” comes, it appears that he will be noted for his worship of military power and might, and will spend exorbitant amounts of money to support this strength.

Why is this important? Because whether or not this passage is referring to events that will happen in our lifetime (or that have happened in the past), one thing we can be sure of is that these things are representative of the “spirit of antichrist” which is “now in the world already” (1 John 4:3). Many American Christians view our military expansion and intervention abroad as something which contributes to our security, and enthusiastically support candidates (both Republican and Democrat) whose aim is to maintain and grow our empire at any cost. Remarkably, many of these same Christians believe that they could never be deceived by a leader whose goals are anti-Christ.

Our hunger for the perception of honor which accompanies our many fortresses (and the ability our military power gives us to rule over many) ought to give us pause. The fact that we are willing to go so deeply into debt to fund our empire (dividing the land for a price, anyone?) ought to horrify us.

May we all look forward to the day when the LORD “shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

Photo Credit

I haven’t done a links post in several months, but this week I’ve read quite a few articles that I have really enjoyed. I hope you find them as thought-provoking as I have!

5 Thoughts on the South Carolina Newtslide — Keen observations from Douglas Wilson about the results of last week’s South Carolina primary. Though Gingrich is mentioned in the post’s title, Wilson writes about all four candidates.

Ron Paul: The 21st Century Goldwater — This article from World magazine has a very interesting take on Congressman Paul, drawing comparisons with Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1964 candidacy. The similarity is not so much in their policies (though there are definitely some substantial areas in which they agree), but in their potential legacy. At the time, Goldwater’s views were against the mainstream of GOP thinking, and he was trounced in the election. However, a young, dynamic Republican leader named Ronald Reagan took Goldwater’s message of conservative principles and convinced the American people to believe. With the level of support Paul is receiving from young voters, might there be someone coming along who can take the “Revolution” to the next level?

Newt Gingrich, The Man Who Knows Too Much — Michael Gerson’s recent editorial in the Washington Post highlights the dangers of supporting a candidate with “no history of prudence”. What I found most interesting was the depiction of Gingrich as an excellent diagnostician who comes up short when it comes to prescription. Bonus points for a G.K. Chesterton reference in the headline! (Apologies if the WaPo asks you to sign in to access this article… I didn’t have to earlier this week, but it’s asking for it now for some reason).

What the Debates Say About America — Kevin DeYoung normally stays out of politics on his blog, but I appreciate his thoughts on the topic of the debates. Best line:  ”The debates are American Idol for people who sing worse, dress more respectably, and spend equal time on their hair.” Also, the P.S. at the end is pretty funny… it’s obvious KDY has spent enough time in the blogosphere to know what usually happens to comment threads on political posts!

Also, in case you missed it, I’d like to give yet another recommendation to an excellent article by Voddie Baucham that I mentioned last week: Why Ron Paul?

I’ve nearly finished the book Future Men by Douglas Wilson. It is a helpful book on raising sons, and I have really enjoyed it.

This morning I’d like to share a quote from the book, where Pastor Wilson is discussing the importance of cultivating discernment in boys and young men with regard to the type of music, movies, and art they choose to consume. In this instance, the same could be said for daughters as well:

Of course production in pop culture can frequently be quite demanding but the consumption of it rarely is. Take a series of examples in several different areas. The music of Bach is of course demanding to perform, but it also makes demands on the listener. This is why the undisciplined mind avoids such music; it invites thought, contemplation, discipline, lots of icky things. More than one rock guitarist is an impressive virtuoso, but the fingerboard display makes no real demands on the hearer, other than a willingness to be blown over. The listener to classical music is impressively engaged; the devotee of such rock music is left, with a ringing in his ears, right where he started.

P.S. – The picture at the top is Pastor Wilson, who is obviously not opposed to playing the guitar!

It seems insufficient to simply say that I “like” this article (“Why Ron Paul?”) by Voddie Baucham, which is why I’m highlighting it on my blog rather than posting it on Facebook. I have long been a fan of Dr. Baucham and Voddie Baucham Ministries, and am thankful for his work in the areas of cultural apologetics, family-driven ministry, and classical Christian education. His book Family Driven Faith is one of my favorites.

In his most recent post, Baucham has written one of the most balanced, logical, and well-articulated examinations of Ron Paul’s political platform from a Christian perspective that I’ve seen. It’s the sort of thing I’d love to have written myself, as it captures very well many of my own thoughts, right down to the fact that he’s not my “perfect candidate”, and there are some things about his positions (and Libertarianism in general) that make me a little uncomfortable. Still, as Baucham writes, “I want a man whose decisions are predictable because of a long track record of constitutional conservatism. I may not always agree with a man like that, but I will always know why he did what he did, and I can live with that.“

Baucham lists and expounds upon three reasons he has endorsed Dr. Paul:

1. Ron Paul is a Christian Conservative
2. Ron Paul is a Constitutional Conservative
3. Ron Paul is a Consistent Conservative

No matter what you think of Paul and his policies, I hope you’ll take the time to read this piece as you thoughtfully consider your voting options during this political season.

Why Ron Paul? by Voddie Baucham

Once again, life has intervened in my desire to post regularly to this blog, but I’m hoping to get back in the swing of things shortly. As was the case four years ago, I am likely to write some posts of a political nature as the 2012 presidential election draws nearer. As always with posts of a political nature, I ask for good-natured and civil comments from those who read this! Politics is divisive, but it is also a very important part of a Christian’s interaction with our world. That is, after all, the point of this blog.

This morning I watched last night’s GOP debate. It’s actually the first debate I’ve watched in its entirety during this campaign season. Having no television or Internet at home prevents me (blessedly) from watching them live, but I had some time this morning to devote to listening more intently. Here is the video if you’d like to watch as well:

I don’t want to comment too much at this point; I’ll just share some initial (and possibly superficial) responses.

The first think I’d like to point out is the behavior of the audience. I have been fortunate enough to attend several political debates, and I’m thankful to have never been part of a crowd with so little respect for the participants. Todd Graham, a collegiate debate coach, provides excellent analysis of the raucous crowd’s behavior, which I commend to you. The last paragraph in particular is a good warning:

My advice today is for the general viewing public at home. Simply keep in mind that the opinions of the live audience are not necessarily reflective of anything, including logic. And try to resist being influenced by overzealous fools watching the debate from the cheap seats. If this continues, we’re in danger of letting the loud few influence the silent many watching at home.

Read the full post here.

Now a few quick hits:

• He’s not my favorite candidate, but Newt Gingrich sure knows how to debate. He has the modern televised debate down to an art. He pauses at all the right moments for applause (which isn’t supposed to come but inevitably will), and consistently has the best sound-byte quotes of all the candidates. Best of the night? “99 weeks is an Associate’s Degree” and “Only the elites despise earning money”. Judging on debate performance alone, I have to give the win to Newt.
• Ron Paulis my favorite candidate, but this wasn’t his best debate. Granted, that convention center was a hostile environment for him, but I’ve heard him articulate many of his points much better than he did last night.
• Regardless of his policies, Rick Santorum drives me up a wall in debates. Everyone was interrupting and clamoring for more time at various points last night, but he was by far the worst. Act like you’ve been here before, Rick, and wipe that smug look off your face.
• Mitt Romney certainly seems like the guy to beat, and I thought he had a mixed performance. He’s about as slick as Bill Clinton when it comes to dancing around the issues, but it seems to work well for him. I thought he ended very strongly, with his comments on campaign finance reform. He also did very well in highlighting points of agreement between himself and the other candidates; people are looking for someone who can unite GOP voters, and Mitt probably won a lot of points on that front last night. My biggest question mark for him was his stance on military spending. America outspends the rest of the world combined  on military spending, and he thinks the problem is that our military is too small?
• I don’t have much to say about Rick Perry, other than that I can’t figure out why he’s still in the race.

Here is one last interesting post-debate video:

Granted, Twitter is never going to be a reliable standard of measure for debate performance (much like the “applause meter” mentioned in the Graham article above), but if you’re going to share the information in the guise of “We Report; You Decide”, then maybe just let the stats speak for themselves? This was more like “We Report, Roll Our Eyes, and Laugh in Utter Incomprehension at How So Many People Could Possibly Disagree With Us; You Decide”.

Nothing gets me in the Christmas mood like Baroque music! Everyone knows Handel’s Messiah, of course, but there are so many other great pieces of Baroque music that don’t get nearly enough play during the season. Here are a few of my favorites (all on period instruments, which is just cool):

J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

The opening chorus:

To see the oratorio in its entirety (approximately 2.5 hours), click here. You can also purchase the performance on DVD here.

Archangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto

Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2

Okay, so this isn’t Christmas music, but it’s a great excuse to post some INCREDIBLE baroque trumpet playing. I’ve played this piece on piccolo trumpet, and it’s tough. Imagine doing it all without valves!

Movement 1: Allegro Moderato

Movement 2: Andante — No trumpet, but that’s okay. He needs the rest, and it gives us a chance to check out the other three soloists, who are also no slouches.

Movement 3: Allegro assai — My favorite!

If you like what you see here, you can get the DVD of this group (the Freiburger Barockorchester) performing all of the Brandenburg Concerti in the hall where they were premiered in 1721 here.

BooksShouldBeFree.com

Classics galore! Enjoy!

One of the best ways parents can contribute to the musical education of their children is through exposure to excellent live performances. Of course, there is no substitute for being physically present at such performances, but for many families that is not always an option, due to the cost of concert tickets and/or living in a place with little access to professional performing ensembles. For this reason, I am a huge fan of concert DVD’s. I believe them to have significant educational benefits over CD’s. There’s so much to learn from watching musicians! Additionally, good video productions give you close-up views that aren’t accessible during a live performance, and some have educational materials built right in.

Here are just a few of my top recommendations (with links to where you can get them):

1. Sir Georg Solti: The Maestro— This is my very favorite set of DVD’s. It’s might sound expensive ($47.99) but you get four DVD’s in the set, and all are excellent. Most of the music in this set comes from the Romantic Period, which is just fine by me, since that’s when all the best trumpet parts were written!
2. The Keeping Score Series— For pure educational benefit, I don’t think you can beat this series from PBS. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony perform some of the greatest orchestral compositions in history, while also providing  details about the composer and the historical context and importance of the piece. Each DVD contains a live performance of the piece and a 1-hour documentary. You can watch the documentaries online for FREE here, but the concert is on the DVD only. My personal favorite is the DVD for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
3. The Herbert Von Karajan Legacy Series— Herbert Von Karajan was the long-time conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, and this video series is tremendous. It’s difficult to find videos of this quality at this price! The series includes works from every era of orchestral music, and is a great way to start building a library of good music for your kids to learn.
4. The BBC Proms— The “Proms” is the greatest classical music festival in the world. Each year, orchestras from all over the world travel to England to perform nightly concerts in a packed out stadium. The production and quality are top notch, and the DVD’s each contain the “best of” each year’s performances. You can also find many Proms performances on YouTube (including some great youth orchestras, which can be especially fun for children to watch!):
   
5. Bach Brandenburg Concerts / Freiberg Baroque Orchestra — I can pretty much guarantee that your kids have never seen a real Baroque orchestra, playing authentic Baroque-period instruments! This is the best group of it’s kind, performing a series of concertos that feature some amazing soloists.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be orchestral music to be great! Here is a smattering of DVD’s from other musical genres that may interest you.

1. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Live at the Quick — Bar none, this is the best DVD I own. The Flecktones provide a totally unique musical experience, taking instruments out of their traditional contexts and combining several genres of music into something totally new. Each of the musicians is absolutely virtuosic, and a ton of fun to watch!
   
2. Harry Connick Jr. – The New York Big Band Concert— Pianist Harry Connick has several DVD’s, and all are good, but this is my favorite. He’s a great showman, and his band is phenomenal. If you like jazz/big band music, this is one to watch!
3. Les Miserables— This is one of the best performances of one of the greatest musicals ever written.
4. Metallica S&M— You wouldn’t think a heavy metal band and a symphonic orchestra would have much in common, but this once-in-a-lifetime concert showed that great musicians can play anything! Not everyone is going to like Metallica, but unlike most metal groups, this band contains some incredible musicians. Here is one of the instrumental tracks from the album, written by Metallica and arranged for orchestra by Michael Tilson Thomas, performed by the San Francisco Symphony:
   
5. STOMP Live— This is a group of percussionists known for making musical instruments out of everyday objects. Your kids will love them, but I’ll warn you: After watching this, they will probably start banging on pots and pans and garbage lids!

I could go on and on, but this gives you a good start. Feel free to share other favorites you may have come across! Students at the School of Performing Arts can borrow these and other DVD’s from me if you like.

P.S. — YouTube can be a GREAT resource for finding live performances, but there are a whole lot more BAD performances than GOOD ones on there! I encourage our students to explore YouTube to find performances and performers they like, but also encourage them to have guidance from their instructors to point them toward the type of music they ought to be emulating. Two YouTube channels that consistently provide very good performance videos are carosaxone and OedipusTyrannus.

It’s also rare to find a complete performance. I’ll leave you with one excellent exception, a complete performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra:

Whether you decide to support Ron Paul or not, I hope you’ll take the time to watch this video, if for no other reason than it is a great history lesson. You’ll also find out why Ron Paul enjoys far more support from those serving in our military than any other candidate!

Related to this, you may also be interested to read this recent interview with Ron Paul about his stance toward Israel, something I’ve also written about previously.