Christmas 2006 in pix

My seriouser thoughts about Christmas are up at Pyromaniacs. Less weightily:

Christmas is a big deal around the Phillips house. I won't inflict too many pix on you... but here are a few.

First, I don't cook many things, but I do take pride in what I cook. One such is my annual Christmas eve pizza. Here is an aerial view of the pizza, before baking:


Here is a view of its sub-creator, with the pizza at an angle. You'll note that my cooking usually lays waste to the kitchen; my wife's a very good sport about that.


The pizza is actually a bit lop-sided, and that for a reason.


There are those in the assemblage who do not appropriately embrace God's good gift of olives and mushrooms. Hence, one-half of the pizza is made with, one-half without. Kind of like how Charismatics see the church.

And here is the finished product.


My, it was tasty. Valerie makes the crust, I do the rest. Green peppers, red peppers, mozzarella, Colby-Jack (the cheese is in three layers), mushrooms, olives, ham, chicken, pepperoni, salami, ground beef, ground sausage, powdered garlic.

As to Christmas day, much fun was had, far too much food was eaten, and I got the 'way totally cool Ultimate Collector's Edition of Forbidden Planet.

Hagrid found the proceedings... soothing.

"Open the present... NOW!!!"

My thoughts on Santa Claus are well-known...but (as a non-recovering 24 addict), I have to admit: this is hysterical:

Hold on to your seats

I'm going to make the leap to the new Blogger. Template may be -- well, who knows -- until stabilized.

UPDATE: the migration locked my blog for something like six hours. So my first bit of advice: start it just before you go to bed.

UPDATE II: I notice now there is an annoying prompt when the Comments are displayed, dourly warning that "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items." I know from other blogs that have Gone Over that this will be a constant annoyance. I found the fix for that here. Now, that site (and my Dell's security system) warns that this reduces your pc's security. I relay that warning to you. Here are the steps, if you (like most of the world) use some form of IE:

1. In your web browser go to Tools.
2. Select Internet Options from the drop down menu.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Click on the Web content zone you use to access the Site.
5. Click Custom level.
6. Scroll down to find the heading Miscellaneous.
7. Find the sub-heading Display Mixed Content.
8. Click Enable.
9. Click OK.
10. In response to ‘Are you sure you want to change the security settings for this zone?’ click Yes.
11. Click OK to close the Internet Options box.

Denominational (or otherwise) inquiry

Thank God, this blog is blessed with a wide spectrum of readers, including a number of pastors.

Riddle me this: you specifically who are, not necessarily in this order, (a) Calvinistic, yea, unto all five of the points, and (b) baptistic, and (c) dispensational — have you been able to find a denominational home? If so, how has that gone, for you?

Or have you had to strike out on your own? How has that gone? Have you made any associations?

Or are you in a denomination, but you just have to shut up about, or downplay, some of your convictions?

I'm very interested to hear from pastors, but anyone and everyone is welcome to join in. Tell your story.

George W. Bush: dead wrong about this, and unfortunately, it's important

You know President George W. Bush, don't you? Black transsexual peglegged guy, parrot on his shoulder, antennae cosmetically attached to his skull? Buddhist? Richard Simmons impersonator? Married to a little Filipino woman who doesn't speak a word of English?

What's that you say? The George Bush you know of is nothing like that?

Well, nevermind. We're all basically talking about the same George Bush, aren't we? We just have different routes of getting to him.

At last that seems to be the President's "reasoning," when he says

"I think [Moslems and Christians] do [worship the same God]. We have different routes of getting to the Almighty. ..But I want you to understand, I want your listeners to understand, I don't get to get decide who goes to heaven. The Almighty God decides who goes to heaven and I am on my personal walk."

So this God is a monad and a Trinity, and did and didn't become incarnate through the virgin, Mary, and did and didn't die on the cross as a substitute for His people's sins, and does and doesn't save through faith alone and by grace alone, and is and isn't known through the Bible alone....

Dizzy yet?

Now, it's time for the necessary disclaimers. It's an ABC News story, and the interviewer is Charles Gibson. So maybe not a word of it is true. But Bush has said the same thing before.

He also tries to explain in this same interview that the terrorists are motivated by a false religion, and it isn't a religious war. Hm.

He's in a tough spot. My advice would be... well, of course first it would be to get the heck out of his liberal Methodist church, and go somewhere where he'll be taught the Word. Then it'd be to evangelize his wife and daughters, apparently.

But then it'd probably be to answer questions by saying he wasn't elected Theologian of the United States, but President.

And as to this mealy-mouthed "it isn't for me to say" garbage, I've expressed my thoughts HERE.

Bottom-line: respected public figures don't always have to answer every question. But if they do answer, they should get it right. Especially big ones, like this.

New Years' pre-resolution

Other things being equal:

When any blogger uses the word "impact" as a verb, not referring to a tooth or a colon, I will comment "Eww."

I started with Challies. It won't matter in this particular case, because his monitor doesn't display anything I write, at any site.

But, by golly, I'll know.



Then, when I've succeeded in putting and end to this baneful practice, I'll have to think of something to do about people who chew gum.

In church, for starters.

Oy!

A fair-handed caution on C. S. Lewis

Anyone who knows me much knows I love C. S. Lewis. I read a Narnia book as a very young pagan, and read some of Mere Christianity shortly before my conversion. Lewis' now-popularized Lord/Liar/Lunatic argument was very troubling to me as a young cultist, and the Holy Spirit used that towards my conversion to Christ.

I've read Narnia to my kids, quoted Lewis in many connections in my sermons, writings, here and at Pyro. His Screwtape Letters have done me a lot of good (particularly Letter 8).

Lewis is wonderfully articulate. When he says something well, it can't be topped. You can just quote, nod, marvel, and wish you had half his eloquence.

But I've never had any illusions about the fact that Lewis was doctrinally problematic at best. He has to be read with a lot of discernment. Lewis was wobbly or just plain wrong on some very important issues (inspiration of the Bible and atonement being two of them).

Views of Lewis have ranged from nutty rejection as a witch (seriously) to unquestioning acceptance and citation as a theological authority. Which he's not.

All that to say this: Gary E. Gilley has written about the best brief and even-handed assessment of Lewis I've ever seen (h-t Old Truth). I commend it to you.

Ooooh

Whaddaya think?

Two Blogger-type questions

First, the less pathetic: Blogger is inviting me to Beta. But they warn that there is no turning back! Irreversibles always scare me. Has anyone made the leap? Should I? Why, why not?

Second, the more pathetic: Challies once slammed anyone who used Blogger templates instead of searching Google and using another. Now, Challies evidently isn't able to see anything I write, so it's nothing to me personally; but still, it smarts. I use a template.

Any blog-savvy individual want to walk me through changing, so I can be cooler, like the Big Dogs?

Interesting

Gizmo giveaway.

If I win, I'll let you know.

Christmas: just another pagan holiday

Not.

Not.

Not.

[Update on the very thorough article by Hampton Keathley]

Here is the real meaning of Christmas: To Tell the Truth, Virginia.

Christmas. It's an opportunity (Colossians 3:5-6).

Use it.

"Either Mr. Romney was faking it then, or he’s faking it now"

In The Two Faces of Mitt Romney, Steve Kornacki makes the same exact point I made about Romney, but with more specifics.

Dropping "Squish" Hewitt from the roster

I just realized that Hugh "Squish" Hewitt is no longer a daily-must-see haunt of mine; he's barely even an occasional visit. So I'm dropping him from my very selective list in the sidebar.

I do listen to his show, but Christianly, I continue to hear that there seemingly is no doctrinal accommodation he won't make, and no Biblical truth-hill on which he's willing even to suffer a disdainful look, let alone death. Yet Hewitt still wants to keep making money off of evangelicals, selling books to them as if an authority, while himself modeling (as far as I can see) no evangelical distinction that might bring him social discomfort.

Also, Hugh continues to gear up to shove Romney down our throats, and doesn't seem too bothered by the prospects of pro-deather Rudy Giuliani, or the very worrisome John McMeMeMe.

For more specifics, check out past posts here and here.

So Hugh's gone. Who should replace him on my short list? I'll ponder.

No idea how that happened

If I'm reconstructing right, I guess a should-have-been-DRAFT post was up for much of the day. The title had to have baffled anyone who saw it, and for that I abjectly apologize.

When I get ideas for either blog, I will jot down the title, as much content as I can do quickly, and then save it in Draft mode. This allows me to work on it offline. Then I can develop it later, when I either have more time, or have thought it through better. Sometimes I end up throwing it out altogether.

That was one of those ideas I want to ponder. If it marinates and goes where I'm thinking, it will end up at Pyromaniacs, Lord willing. Then I hope it will make perfect sense.

Until then, I utterly apologize for the misfire. I really don't know how it happened, and am sorry it took me so long to spot. If it caused any further consternation to anyone, feel free to email me.

Wilhelm!

You may never have noticed this before.



Now you'll never not notice it!