by Bret Capranica | Oct 30, 2006 | Presidential History
You can do it to: Between Two Worlds: The Closest Thing to Spending an Hour with the President
by Bret Capranica | Oct 28, 2006 | Culture, Humor
So far, no one’s going to hell. Literally. Who on earth would pay $1 million for hell? – Yahoo! News
by Bret Capranica | Oct 28, 2006 | Biblical Studies, Pauline Theology
From Schreiner – ch 2: Proclaiming a Magnificent God “Magnifying God in Christ was the animating principle of Paul’s life and the foundational principle of his theology” (37). “. . . Paul’s primary aim was not to leave an epistolary legacy in which subsequent generations would marvel at his theological system. He was a missionary who wrote letters to churches in order to sustain his converts in their newfound faith” (38). “When Paul reflects on his calling as a missionary, he invariably attributes it to God’s grace and mercy” (40). “. . . he also emphasizes his untiring effort and work as an apostle. . . . He labors as a wrestler, runner and boxer (Col 1:28-2:3; 1 Cor 9:24-27) to bring all to completion in Christ and in Christian maturity. Concerted discipline and painful exertion characterize his ministry. The apostolic ministry is not one of serenity in the sense that the nitty-gritty nature of everyday life is transcended” (41). “The remarkable change of course [Paul’s conversion and call] is ascribed to God himself; his induction into the ministry was due to God’s ‘good pleasure’ (eudokesen), God’s ‘separating’ (aphorisas), God’s ‘calling’ (kalesas) and God’s ‘revealing’ (apokalypsai, Gal 1:15-16). In other words, the radical change in Paul’s allegiance can only be attributed to God himself” (44). “As Paul reflects on his past, he says the he was ‘formerly in Judaism’ (Gal 1:13). The word formerly (pote) surely implies that he is no longer part of Judaism. Indeed, it is telling that the term Judaism (Gal 1:13-14) is used twice to depict Paul’s allegiance before his calling. He never uses this...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 27, 2006 | Personal
I live just at the base of the mountains where the Esperanza fires continue to rage. The blaze began on the opposite side of the mountain from where we are located, but both last night and tonight, we can clearly see the flames. I can walk outside my house and see a bright and blazing trail winding down the mountain toward our neck of the woods. So far, we have heard no warnings about our area and I don’t think the fire will threaten us due to the San Jacinto river bed that separates us from the hills. However, we continue to be covered with ash and breathe in smoke from the fires. We could breathe a bit easier this evening – much better than yesterday and this morning. Please pray for the men fighting this fire and the many who live up on the Mountain. A dad of one of the families in our church is a fire fighter struggling with this latest blaze which has claimed almost 40,000 acres so far. The pictures were taken yesterday. Believe it or not, no clouds in the sky – the haze is the smoke and ash blanketing the...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 27, 2006 | Biblical Studies, Pauline Theology
Today I began reading through Dr. Thom Schreiner‘s book, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (PAGGC). I recently purchased it to look through as I preach through the book of Romans. I had the privilege to sit under Dr. Schreiner’s tutelage for one day during a doctoral seminar at Southern Seminary and I have attended the church he pastors, on two occasions. I plan to read about thirty minutes a day in PAGGC and as a means of capturing quotes and insight, I may post a bit from the book here at THE CAPRANICA. Chapter One: The Centrality of God in Christ in Paul’s Theology. The goal in writing a Pauline theology is to unearth Paul’s worldview and to present it to contemporaries. . . . to rightly estimate what is most important in his thinking and to set forth the inner connections between the various themes. Dr. Schreiner seeks to unearth and expose the center of Paul’s thought, which he admits is a dangerous employment because it could leave someone with the idea that only one element is central and the remainder of a person’s contributions become less and less central as the emanate outwardly from that center. It may be better then to think of the center of Paul’s thought like the foundation of which a house is built. “God is not only the foundation of the house; he and his Son, Jesus the Messiah, are the means by which the house is built. They are the architects, the contractors and the workers who build the house” (20). Perhaps we can say that...
