While I’m in the process of reading through 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life (ed. Alex Chediak. Th1nk Books, 2005), I thought it might be helpful for me to share the summary from the end of each section.

The five paths are explained by some of the top representatives of each viewpoint, and they each provide a solid description of what their paths entails theologically and practically.

From the editor’s introduction, it is that their is no one right way of doing relationships, but hopefully we all can appreciate the strengths of each methodology. And by the Spirit’s empowering discernment, may we find our own niche and personal dating style from all the biblical principles described.

Chapter/Path 1 (Lauren F. Winner):

The Countercultural Path

Definition

Countercultural dating maintains that the real issue is not to determine a correct dating method but instead to live entire lives — including dating relationships — in obedience and devotion to Christ. Countercultural dating is chaste, it is communal, and it is oriented towards marriage.

Distinctives

• When considering how and when to date, the most important thing to remember is that Christians are called to love first God and then their neighbor. All dating (and every relationship, in fact) should be centered around that command
• Christians are called to avoid conforming to the world. Sensitizing themselves to contemporary trends will help them avoid turning the focus of dating from Christ and to themselves.
• While dating should be oriented toward marriage, breaking up or even dating for the sake of dating isn’t necessarily improper. All things considered (especially age), dating implies marriage but doesn’t necessarily end in marriage.
• A person’s Christian community can and should play a significant role in deciding whom to date and eventually marry.
• Although chastity is an unavoidable call in Christian relationships, it is more than line drawing; instead, it should turn a person from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. Kissing can be an appropriate way of expressing sexuality without being sexually immoral.

Key Verses

• Mark 10:29-31
• John 7:7; Romans 12:2; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 2:15 (countercultural)
• Hebrews 13:4

Lauren, however, is quick to point out that one must read Scripture not as a collection of key verse that can be isolated from one another but as a large, beautiful coherent story that reveals truth as much through the whole as through the component parts.

Key Benefits

• Dating can be a godly way to not only meet the love of your life but also learn to love as Christ loves — which includes being hurt, a common symptom of love.
• Dating builds character and can help you make smart decisions about your future mate as you learn to balance romantic love and practical love.
• It’s fun! Dating, no matter your age, is an enjoyable way to spend time with another person.
• When you date and even are infatuated, you are able to distinguish a unique love that can be selfless; it can give you a glimpse of what it would be like to love your neighbor all the time.

Potential Problems

• There’s a thin line between having fun and getting to know each other and diving too deeply into premature physical or emotional intimacy. Walking that line can be a difficult exercise.
• Depending on your age, stage in life, or call by God, dating may not be appropriate for you.
• In the flurry of falling in love, you could loose the ability to make good decisions or lose sight of your goals. Whether it be through family, church, or godly friends, be sure you allow your community to play a role in your relationships to keep you accountable and available to Christ’s body.

Personal Reflections

Read the rest of this entry »

The more I read literature from Emergent “pastors”, the more I scratch my head — because I simply cannot understand what they mean and cannot figure out the point of what they are saying! It is like a veil is being pulled over my eyes, blinding me from comprehending what Scripture has actually said; I equate it to going back in history to a time where gnosticism and paganism has veiled Christ’s disciples from seeing His truth.

Thus, I find it necessary to post the following quote concerning spirituality and sexuality, from Doug Pagitt in Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, Chapter 4: The Emerging Church and Embodied Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), page 140:

“The question of humanity is inexorably linked to sexuality and gender. Issues of sexuality can be among the most complex and convoluted we need to deal with. It seems to me that the theology of our history does not deal sufficiently with the issues of our day. I do not mean this as critique of past times, but as an acknowledgment that our times are different. I do not mean that we are a more or less sexual culture, but one that knows more about the genetic, social, and cultural issues surrounding sexuality and gender than any previous culture.

Christianity will be impotent to lead a conversation on sexuality and gender if we do not boldly integrate our current understanding of humanity with our theology. This will require us to not only draw new conclusions about sexuality, but will force us to consider new ways of being sexual. For sexuality is not separate from our spirituality. If we have a theology formed in a worldview that sees sexuality as sin, our means, intentions, and explanations of sexuality will be affected. We must engage our entire humanity in our spirituality; this includes our sexuality.”

Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill Church - Seattle, WA), concerning the underlined quote responds at the SEBTS Convergent Conference with this stark but direct comment:

“I don’t know about you, I’ve been in ministry a while, I think we’ve tried all of it! I don’t think there’s anything new. I don’t know about your counseling load, I can’t possibly conceive of another way to have sex that someone hasn’t already tried!“

Ahhh :@ Amen, Mark, Amen Further, it is appears that Pagitt actually misunderstands the Bible’s theology about the kind of sexuality that’s formed by a Christian worldview. Scripture does not see all sexuality as sin, but simply any sexuality that is outside of God’s ordained use — for biblically, it is only within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman that any sexual behavior is biblically acceptable. Let us be clear where God’s Word has been clear: all homosexual sexual behavior is sin; all heterosexual sexual behavior outside of marriage is sin; all sexual lust is sin (Genesis 18-19; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Matthew 5:28,15:19-20; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Hebrews 13:4).

My heart breaks as Emergent cult leaders, like Doug Pagitt and friends, make Scripture out to be unclear and non-authoritative, when the Bible is explicitly and authoritatively clear about those ways of being sexual that are acceptable to God. Any new questions that may arise out of today’s postmodern contexts must find their answers in Scripture and nowhere else. We certainly need a theology that can not only answer questions produced in this world, but one that that is equipped to generate proper questions — a Christian theology, not a man-centered sex-crazed pagan theology.

And the questions generated by our Christian theology should not ever be, “Has God really said..?”

As seen in the current issue (print edition) of the Towers newspaper.

I ran across an old box of letters
While I was bagging up some clothes for Goodwill
You know I had to laugh that the same old struggles
That plagued me then are plaguing me still
I know the road is long from the ground to glory
But a boy can hope he’s getting some place
But you see, I’m running from the very clothes I’m wearing
And dressed like this I’m fit for the chase

No, there is none righteous
Not one who understands
There is none who seek God
No not one, no not one

I am thankful that I’m incapable
Of doing any good on my own

‘Cause we’re all stillborn and dead in our transgressions
We’re shackled up to the sin we hold so dear
So what part can I play in the work of redemption
I can’t refuse, I cannot add a thing

‘Cause I am just like Lazarus and I can hear your voice
I stand and rub my eyes and walk to You
Because I have no choice

I am thankful that I’m incapable
Of doing any good on my own
I’m so thankful that I’m incapable
Of doing any good on my own

It’s by grace I have been saved
Through faith that’s not my own
It is the gift of God and not by works
Lest anyone should boast

(Lyrics from the song “Thankful” by Caedmon’s Call, on the album 40 Acres, 1999)

If I you have only known me for two months, you probably do not know that I am quite the sensitive, passionate, emo kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. Thankfully (and fortunately) things have been very far from “dramatic” here for me here at Southern, which is quite the complete opposite of what I experienced back in my undergrad at Ryerson University in Toronto. I am glad I am done and done with that stage of life, even though it is hard to remember and impossible to forget

I have always been interested in understanding people and figuring out why they do what they do. I have a B.A. in Geographic Analysis, but in my undergrad I actually took a lot of elective courses from my school’s Psychology department — almost enough to have a minor in Psychology. Other than the introductory Perspectives in Psychology, I also took Abnormal Psychology, Psychology of Sports, Environmental Psychology, Understanding Society (Sociology) and my favorite, Psychology of Human Sexuality.

Even these days, I still pay extra-attention to people’s body language and eye contact, continually trying to decipher if their body language matches their speech, and if not, what they’re body language is really saying. I hope this character trait would be of some sort of benefit to ministry. I think it’s just the way I am wired, that I can be a very expressive person and subsequently, am very interested in what lies beneath human behavior. And if you really knew me, then you’d know that I am most intrigued by the behavior between significant others.

I love watching UFC, the Argos when they’re good, and the Leafs before they started sucking badly. However, I also have almost every novel by Nicholas Sparks (a novelist from North Carolina who is a professing Catholic). He is the author of the novels behind those really badly filmed tear-jerky chick-flick movies “A Walk To Remember” and “The Notebook“. I read both those books in their first edition paperbacks long, long, long before any movie studio even remotely considered making any Nicholas Sparks books into movies. (The work done on the movie version of “A Walk To Remember” left out a huge part of the Christian facet that was present in the novel; the movie version of “The Notebook” was better but still over-sexed to Hollywood standards and was not even close to being as powerful of a story as the book, imho. Fortunately, the movie version of “Message In A Bottle” came pretty close to the substance of the novel and didn’t tone down the maturity of the story or characters.)

I currently am only missing “Dear John” from my collection, which is about a relationship that surrounds the events of 9/11; I’m holding off from reading that one cause the added 9/11 emphasis makes it an extra-heavy leisurely read.

However, Nicholas Spark’s latest release arrived in the mail the other day, and it looks to be a new tale about love found and lost, and the choices we hope we’ll never have to make. I hope to start reading this one soon for leisure, once I finish True Believer:

The Choice

by Nicholas Sparks

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life— boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies—he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style.

That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him . . . and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn’t help.

Despite himself, Travis can’t stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, THE CHOICE ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

If you have never read a Nicholas Sparks book, I highly recommend it! You’ll certainly feel refreshed afterwards, I can almost guarantee it

A friend and worship leader at the University of Toronto has started a new Facebook group for the 1-hr weekly worship gathering he is starting in downtown Toronto. What piqued my interest was the group & gathering’s name, as well as the heart behind my friend’s vision for this:

Worship Revival

Description:

This is a group for passionate worshippers of the triune God who believe it is time to take a stand with our faith and to be unashamed and uninhibited in giving God all the praise and glory out in the open.

The vision for this group is threefold.

First, it is to make a bold statement for our God on our campuses by committing to declaring our faith in Him through consistent open, public worship, regardless of weather conditions or other inhibiting factors.

Second, it is to unite our fellow brothers and sisters on campus, regardless of fellowship, denomination…etc.

Third, by inviting the Holy Spirit to work through us on this campus, seekers or non-Christians can be drawn to this community of believers, who can then connect with them and guide them in their search for truth and purpose.

All people, both Christian and non-Christian, are welcome to join with us in this time of prayer and worship as they pass by.

The ultimate vision of this movement is to bring about campus revival across many campuses worldwide, have Christians unite on campus, non-believers come to know Christ and be saved, and eventually, have worship revival daily, over many time slots (24/7 idea), and covering all major areas on our campuses.

(From My Wishlist)