Saviour of The World - Da Vinci’s Painting - SOLD

Today, Nov 15/17, just hours ago in New York, Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi,' (Saviour of the World), the artist's portrait of Jesus Christ painted in 1505; was sold for $450.3 million at Christie's, the world record amount for art sold at auction; to an undisclosed buyer. Salvator himself remains freely available.

A Word to the World - A Tiny Compendium

A Word to the World: Nothing is more deleterious to human relations than humans themselves. Nothing damages human spirits more than does human heartlessness. Nothing ruins relationships more than does frivolous human speech. Nothing imperils human survival more than humanity's own cold-hearted egocentricity. Nothing has killed more humans than humans themselves.

A Word to the World: We global humans are exquisitely intelligent and diverse creatures but appallingly we have such ingenuous parochial worldviews that we cannot grasp that we are ONE remarkable, intelligent human genus of biped being, each of whom deserves identical respect and compassion.

MASS MEDIA INFO AND MISINFO

Ed Stetzer, in writing a CHRISTIANITY TODAY article yesterday, August 29, 2017 entitled, ‘Some People hate Joel Osteen More Than They Love Truth,' cautions Christians against hating Joel Osteen so much that they misrepresent his Lakewood church decision not to use the immense facility in Houston to shelter people affected by the ongoing flooding. Apparently the church itself is in a flood zone. My purpose here is to reference Stetzer’s advice about handling real and fake news.

THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE

Motivated by a personal need to assess local churches in the Fraser Valley in this year 2017, I have hit upon a poem I composed in 2015. It speaks to the priority relationship that all of God’s people must understand that they have together in this changing world culture that so easily consumes our spiritual fealty. 

THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE

A malaise in today's church, disabling

Faintness, mood swings, low resistance

The condition warrants her attention,

She disregards the diagnosis.

I told you there was something wrong.

The bride lives in an aberrant world,

Enticements streaming to disrupt her

Faithfulness is on the line.

From what's known to what is not

Analogy speaks to her of marriage

She has been violating vows

And he says softly "I'm your husband."

The resource ignored far too often,

God's Spirit resident within her

Can make her all that she should be

The noble bride he came to save.

© Ron Unruh, July 3, 2015

Definition of New Birth

This morning a friend wrote on Facebook and I replied.

Jim Duval

3 hrs · 

This morning I read this in the notes of a study Bible by a Reformed pastor, "New birth is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the believer." I think there is something wrong with the wording here. Does anyone else? If so, wherein lies the difficulty?

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Dan Tolly I find that any time a man [any man] attempts to 'explain' or 'say in other words' what Scripture says, he is going to falter in his explanation. I can appreciate the attempt to explain how God brings about salvation, but the choice of words does not necessarily clarify the matter.

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Ron Unruh Your question challenged me. Here are my initial thoughts. I don't believe the definition is wrong. It is an inadequate definition of the term 'new birth.' It doesn't say enough. Mention of 'an act of God' is appropriate in that when Jesus spoke about being 'born again,' he was attributing new birth to God. It is God's doing. Fine. In John 3:3-5 he said, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." When Nicodemus expressed his confusion with the words, "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." The inadequacy of the definition for me concerns that of which the act is supposed to consist. Granting eternal life to a believer is an insufficient description of 'new birth.' Eternal life is a result, a consequential benefit, to a person who has undergone the act of God that Jesus describes as a spiritual rebirth, an experience of being born again, a birth from above and which according to Peter is not derived from corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever" (1 Peter 1:22-23). New birth is the regenerative act of God by which a change so profound occurs that it requires other descriptors such as being translated from darkness to light, and dying to sin and living to righteousness. 

I would prefer to say, "New birth is that regenerative act of God whereby a believer in Christ is spiritually reborn as God's child to live a holy life eternally."

CYNICISM IS OUR SOCIETAL CURRENCY

Cynicism is our societal currency. It's harmful to democracy but it is our default social coinage. It is injurious to relationships but it our learned security.
Hope was the preferred currency until we ruined it. Any institution that you name has lost people's trust and confidence, government, law enforcement, banks, corporations, organized religions, education, and even the press. In fact, news sources are the propagators of cynicism. Networks are predisposed to an interpretation. Objectivity is obscured by bias. Comedy, talk shows, celebrities and film augment cynical attitudes. Saddest of all, we have become less trusting of one another. 

Too often politicians have failed to keep promises and have catered to special interests. Law enforcement has broken law and failed to keep streets safe. Banks have screwed customers' futures with easy credit. Corporations have expanded the space between wealthy and middle class. Religions have displayed repeated hypocrisies. 

As the institutions fail us, our immediate worlds are filled with truth-starved, connection-starved, hope-starved people.

CAN WE TEACH MORALITY TO A ROBOT ?

Here is an issue. He is Gunter the Robot. Humanity has invented AI, Artificial Intelligence, so now, how can we teach rules of morality and ethics to artificial intelligence? Are humans agreed upon those values across national, cultural and religious lines? No? What can we then teach him? Watch this 5 min. movie to get you thinking. Gunter swears, but then, who decides that, since Gunter assimilates all of human history and practice to create his own algorithm.

https://youtu.be/-S8a70KXZlI
GUNTER THE ROBOT MOVIE