Memorable Quotes from “The Last Kiss”
Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the intriguing (though otherwise somewhat risque) film “The Last Kiss” starring Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson, and Casey Affleck.
Stephen: Stop talking about love. Every asshole in the world says he loves somebody. It means nothing. It still doesn’t mean anything. What you feel only matters to you. It’s what you do to the people you say you love, that’s what matters. It’s the only thing that counts.
Secondly, the following conversation between Stephen and Michael’s is so simple yet life-altering:
Michael: I’m in love with your daughter Stephen, Maybe that doesn’t mean anything you but I’m standing here. You are her father, I am looking you in the eyes and I’m telling you I will do anything in the world to get your daughter back.
Stephen: Really?
Michael: Really.
Stephen: Anything?
Michael: I’ll do anything.
Stephen: People say that, they don’t mean it.
Michael: But I mean it!
Stephen: Well it’s very simple… do whatever it takes.
Michael: It’s that simple?
Stephen: Yes… you can’t fail if you don’t give up.
What do you think? Is love and fogiveness really that simple?
What He Must Be… If He Wants to Marry My Daughter
What He Must Be: …If He Wants to Marry My Daughter
ISBN-10: 1581349300
ISBN-13: 9781581349306
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 224
Expected: Feb 28, 2009
All parents want their daughters to marry godly young men. But which qualities, specifically, should they be looking for?
What will you say when that certain young man sits down in your living room, sweaty-palmed and tongue-tied, and asks your permission to marry your daughter? What criteria should he meet before the two of them join together for life? What He Must Be… If He Wants to Marry My Daughter outlines ten qualities parents should look for in a son-in-law, including trustworthiness, a willingness to lead his family, an understanding of his wife’s role, and various spiritual leadership qualities.
Author Voddie Baucham follows up on his popular book Family Driven Faith with this compelling apologetic of biblical manhood. By studying the principles outlined in his book, parents who want their daughter to marry a godly man—as well as those who want their sons to become godly men—will be well equipped to help their children look for and develop these God-honoring qualities.
Should You Pass on Bad Reports? (Tim Keller and David Powlison)
Should You Pass on Bad Reports?
by Tim Keller & David Powlison
One obvious genius of the internet is that it’s “viral.” Information explodes to the whole world. The old neighborhood grapevine and the postal service seem like ox-carts in a speed-of-light universe. (Do twenty-somethings even know what those antiquities once were? In the old days, people had to talk to each other or stick a stamp on an envelope.) Instantaneous transmission produces some wonderfully good things. Truth, like joy, is infectious. A great idea feeds into a million inboxes. But it also produces some disastrous evils. Lies, rumors, and disinformation travel just as far and just as fast.
So what should you do when you hear “bad reports” about a person or church or ministry? We want to offer a few thoughts on how to remain constructive. To paraphrase Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome words come out of your computer, but only what is constructive, in order to meet the need of the moment, that what you communicate will give grace to everyone who ever reads it.” That Greek word translated “unwholesome” is sapros. It means something that is inedible, either devoid of nutritional value or rotten and even poisonous. It applies to thorny briars or to fish or fruit that’s gone bad. At best, it’s of no benefit to anyone. At worst, it’s sickening and destructive. Consider three things in how to stay constructive.
What Does James Say about Passing Along Bad Reports? (more…)
What It Means to be a Human Being
God is very funny sometimes.
I came across the following last night, while reading for my Systematic Theology II class:
To be a human being is to be directed towards one’s fellowmen. Again we go back to Genesis 1. Note the juxtaposition, in verse 27, of “in the image of God he created him” and “male and female he created them.” More than sexual differentiation is involved here, since this is found also in animals, and the Bible does not say that animals have been created in the image of God. What is being said in this verse is that the human person is not an isolated being who is complete in himself or herself, but that he or she is a being who needs the fellowship of others, who is not complete apart from others.
This point is made even more vividly in Genesis 2, which describes the creation of Eve: “the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’ ” (v.18). The Hebrew expression rendered “a helper suitable for him” is ezer kenego. Neged (the word translated “suitable for him”) means “corresponding to” or “answering to.” Literally, therefore, the expression means “a helper answering to him.” The words imply that woman complements man, supplements him, completes him, is strong where he may be weak, supplies his deficiencies and fills his needs. Man is therefore incomplete without woman. This holds for the woman as wellas for the man. Woman, too, is incomplete without the man; man supplements woman, complements her, fills her needs, is strong where she is weak.
Hoekema, Anthony A. Created in God’s Image. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994. (76-77)
Hoekema goes on to clarify that marriage reveals and illustrates more fully than any other human institution the polarity and inter-dependence of the man-woman relationship, whilst reiterating that it does not do so in an exclusive sense. For even the ideal man Jesus never married and there will be no marriage in the life to come.
Nevertheless, it is interesting… ironic even, to read this in one of my theology textbooks. What God is saying is clear as mud 
One Way, Many Paths: Different People, Different Styles
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
-John 14:6
In this long-overdue concluding post on the 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life (ed. Alex Chediak, Th1nk Books, 2005), I want to draw our attention to some things that we can easily overlook while trying to decipher which “path” to take on this journey towards a life-long earthly companion.
At various times in our lives, things may not turn out the way we originally planned and more often than not we may be disappointed in God for that. In those times, we must trust in the LORD that He has sovereignly ordained every step in this earthly pilgrimage towards heaven, and have faith that everything we go through is for our good and for His glory. As His redeemed children, we can be assured that as we endure and persevere in these times of testing, we will be refined by the Holy Spirit’s fire and we will be all the more ready for Christ Jesus’ glorious return. After all He is the only Way, the only Truth and the Only Life — regardless of which path we may decide to take.
That being said, let us look back on the “five paths” that I have already reviewed:
- Path 1 (Lauren F. Winner): The Countercultural Path
- Path 2 (Douglas Wilson): The Courtship Path
- Path 3 (Rick Holland): The Guided Path
- Path 4 (Jonathan Lindvall): The Betrothal Path
- Part 5 (Jeramy & Jerusha Clark): The Purposeful Path
Common Ground
While each of the 5 paths may do dating or courtship differently, there are many areas of agreement between them (as noted in the concluding chapter). Each method places a priority on the role of families and social groups in the relationships of singles and couples. Each method is marriage minded and does not take lightly the importance of preparing for that covenant. Each method strives to be biblical and God-honoring, forsaking all worldly ideas of what a relationship should look like. With all these areas of agreement, how then is any good Christian supposed to discern which path to take? (more…)
Carnival Ride
My long Christmas holiday is about to come to an end. I got back late Sunday afternoon from my home church’s English Ministry Retreat — which was quite eventful. I have lots more to say about it, but for now I will be nice by just saying that the preaching could have been better.
I am looking forward to getting back to Southern; I will be hopping on a Greyhound bus Thursday night for a long ride back to Louisville, Kentucky. It’s been a restful break, with a lot of time spent catching up on House and a lot of time going through a long exegetical book on biblical worship theology. I’ve still got a bit more reading to finish before I head back, but I thought I’d do a bit of reflection on things I’ve learned this holiday before writing more.
I am a slow reader.
Boy, do I read slow! I tend to underline and write notes in the margins of books I read for seminary, and so, it slows me down. I’ve been trying to read more quickly, following some reading tips from fellow SBTS student Trevin Wax — but still, I have a long way to go before I catch up to a better reading speed. I know I will only gain more reading speed with experience, so 2008 will be spent reading, reading, and reading (and of course, writing & blogging). I am very tempted to join the 2008 Purtian Paperback reading challenge, but with my course load and reading through the Bible in the year, I am not sure how well I can balance my time yet. All I plan to do is read more and read faster. While absorbing the material I read is very important to me, I know I must stop reading word-for-word like a child and be reading blocks at a time whilst absorbing sufficient knowledge. (more…)
