David I. Rudel's Blog, page 5

Noah's Ark?

Interesting find in Turkey.

Man sentenced for murder of unborn

Evidently, at least in some instances, the killing of an unborn is considered murder.

Man sentenced to murder of unborn

Evidently, at least in some instances, the killing of an unborn is considered murder.

The Good News

On the discussion board for my book, someone asked the question "What is the gospel."

And at first I gave the answer representing what the gospel Jesus spread would have been: the idea that the time of the Kingdom was at hand to a people who had been yearning for it for centuries. By the way, I discuss this gospel in a youtube video here.

But then the person asked me "But what is the good news for me?" And that is an excellent question...what is the Good News today...I decided I'd give my answe...

The Conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount

I was asked by the church I attend to write a short study/meditation for the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. It was part of a larger, 14-week study the entire congregation had been doing.

Having just finished it, I wanted to post it here in case anyone is interested. Each day was supposed to have some specific reading, either from the Sermon on the Mount itself or from a separate passage relating to it. The guide was supposed to also offer opportunities for meditation, reflection, and r...

The mundane Holy Spirit

I wanted to give air to an idea that has captured my thoughts from time to time. Today people talk blithely of the Holy Spirit and ascribe to it this wonder and that duty, but there is a decided lack of appreciation for its effect on early Christianity.

We live in a faith tradition where the Holy Spirit is a commonplace article. We are familiar with it as one of the many gifts of God. What we don't take into account is that the people of God did not always have it. We read our New Testaments a...

The philosophy of Jesus

I am taking a screenwriting class in which each participant is invited to present one screenplay or idea for a screenplay. I wrote up an idea for an allegory of the Christian faith, and part of that allegory presents a teacher [Poima:] discussing what belief in their god [Diacyntanis:] means when it comes to making life decisions. It is essentially a representation of what it means to be "wise" in terms of Christianity, which is nothing more or less than answering the question "what does it mea...

Addendum to Grace Post

A long time ago, I posted a blog on the meaning of grace.

You can read the whole thing, but essentially it comes down to a discussion of "favor that is granted outside the bounds of contractual obligation." However, this does not mean it is necessarily "unmerited" or "uninstigated." In my book I give the example of Cornelius [among others:]. In the case of Paul, the point is that Christ's coming was not a blessing obtained (and hence exclusive to) the Jews based on their keeping the Mosaic reg...

Why was the forbidden fruit forbidden?

I've been attending a new church for a while, and I'm guardedly optimistic that this one could be as good of a match as I could ever hope to find. There was an orientation class of sorts to help new people know more about the church, and that 3-night class was held each of the past three Wednesdays.

In the second class, a woman asked the intriguing question as to why the tree in the Garden was forbidden in the first place. Why did God tell Eve not to eat from the tree?

This is a rather interest...

Zuke 'Em up for "Book of the Year"

Hi all,
As some of you may know, I also write chess books. I just wanted to post that a later edition of my very first chess book is being considered as a finalist for chesscafe.net's book of the year contest! (The winner is chosen by votes emailed in).

You can read the details here: http://www.chesscafe.com/Reviews/botyr2.htm

Now...if only people received my Christianity books as warmly as they received my chess ones...