Moving

I have been wanting to start a second blog on technology issues that do not fit within the purpose of this blog. In doing that I have hoped to find a way of displaying the two blogs both separately (for those interested in only one or the other) and aggregated (for those interested in both). I have found blogging software that will do that (b2evolution), which I have installed on my own site.

Consequently, I am in the process of moving this blog to my own site, http://marshall-va.com/. On an ongoing basis Things that Matter can be found at http://marshall-va.com/blog/ttm.php, and everything will be at my new blog home page, http://marshall-va.com/blog/. I have copied existing posts to the new site (unfortunately, comments are not so readily transferred). I hope to meet you there soon!

In Sin and Guilt

In sin and guilt, I stood condemned
Before the throne. No hope remained,
For Justice came, unsheathed his sword,
Then to inflict my sin’s reward.
“Give him to me, without delay,
He now must die, his debt to pay.”

What Are We Accomplishing?

Yesterday, during the morning worship service, I learned of Said Musa, an Afghan man facing execution by his government. His “crime”? Apostasy—Musa converted from Islam to Christianity about eight years ago. You can learn more through the Christian Post and National Review (and if you have registered with Wall Street Journal Online, an article here), but basically, Musa was arrested in 2010 after being seen in a video of a Christian worship service in Afghanistan. Even in the face of death, he has refused to recant his faith.

In the National Review article, Paul Marshall makes a probing observation:

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Probably you have heard of—if not seen—the ongoing Jeopardy contest in which man once again faces a machine, this time an IBM computer named Watson. Much is being said about the match and its implications. But I was struck with something that I read in the computer trade press today:

Operating on a single CPU, it could take Watson 2 hours to answer a single question. A typical “Jeopardy” contestant can accomplish this feat in less than 3 seconds. For Watson to rival the speed of its human competitors in delivering a single, precise answer to a question requires custom algorithms, terabytes of storage and thousands of Power7 computing cores working in a massively parallel system. (eWeek)

Massive it is! The photographs of Watson are striking. All to match the power of a single human brain.

When I read this, a verse of Scripture came immediately to mind. Addressing the Lord, David writes

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14)

Let’s chew on that.

See in Yonder Manger Low

See! in yonder manger low,
Born for us on earth below,
See! the Lamb of God appears,
Promised from eternal years.

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted

I heard and sang this hymn of Thomas Kelly for the first time last Sunday. It is fitting for Passion Week as we consider the death of our Savior.

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ‘tis He, ‘tis He!
‘Tis the long-expected prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
By His Son, God now has spoken
Tis the true and faithful Word.

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

This hymn, translated from the German Grosser Gott, comes from the venerable Te Deum. I regret that I learned it only recently. It should be better known.

Holy God, we praise thy Name;
   Lord of all, we bow before thee!
All on earth thy scepter claim,
   all in heaven above adore thee;
Infinite thy vast domain,
   everlasting is thy reign.

Personal God

As part of my requirements for this seminary term, I am reading Douglas Moo’s commentary on Romans. Today, in his discussion of Romans 5:10, I ran across the following with regard to our reconciliation with God:

The language of reconciliation is seldom used in other religions because the relationship between human beings and the deity is not conceived there in the personal categories for which the language is appropriate. (p.311)

This caught my attention, and as I began to ponder it, I immediately thought of God walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

This points to a couple of the important things that distinguishes our God from other gods: He is a personal God, and He is interested in fellowship with the persons that He has created. His interest in us is so great that when the fellowship was broken because of our sin, then even though we were ungodly and helpless, He sent Jesus Christ to die in our place that we might be justified and reconciled to God.

Who is like unto our God?

I hope that you have a blessed Lord’s Day.

How Not to Make Law

Progressively more information is coming out about the climate bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Whatever you think of the underlying issues, this is not the way to set wise, appropriate policy. Paul Greenberg has written a humorous, yet serious, critique of the process, which he begins this way:

Here’s how to get a dubious bill into law, or at least past the U.S. House of Representatives, which of late has deserved to be called the lower chamber:

First, make the bill long. Very long. So long no one may actually read it, supporters or opponents. Introduce a 310-page horse-choker of an amendment at 3 in the morning on the day of the roll-call vote. So it can’t be examined too closely or too long. Only after the bill passes may its true costs emerge. To cite an old proverb I just made up: Pass in haste, repent at leisure.

You can read the entire article here. Read it! Then contact your representative and senators and petition for the redress of grievances.