We recently had a discussion in class regarding sanctification. Drawing three distinctions between Natural Theology (we have the power in Christ to do the good now and are made perfect through our works), Reformed theology (we are hopeless sinners, but we can limpingly progress toward our final destination in the power of the Holy Spirit, and should make some effort to that effect, though perfection is only an eschatalogical category) and Evangelical theology (we're only counted righteous when God looks at Christ---the imitation of Christ takes sort of a backseat to spreading the gospel---and perfection or improvement is only an eternal reality). I'm sure these lines get blurred because people are hardly uniform in their beliefs, but we tried to differentiate them to focus on their difference.

Then I came across this quotation from Calvin.

“But no one in this earthly prison of the body has sufficient strength to press on with due eagerness, and weakness so weighs down the greater number that, with wavering and limping and even creeping along the ground, they move at a feeble rate. Let each one of us, then, proceed according to the measure of his puny capacity and set out upon the journey we have begun. No one shall set out so inauspiciously as not daily to make some headway, though it be slight. Therefore, let us not cease so to act that we may make some unceasing progress in the way of the Lord. And let us not despair at the slightness of our success; for even though attainment may not correspond to desire, when today outstrips yesterday the effort is not lost. Only let us look toward our mark with sincere simplicity and aspire to our goal; not fondly flattering ourselves, nor excusing our own evil deeds, but with continuous effort striving toward this end: that we may surpass ourselves in goodness until we attain to goodness itself. It is this, indeed, which through the whole course of life we seek and follow. But we shall attain it only when we have cast off the weakness of the body, and are received into full fellowship with him.”

- John Calvin [1509-1564]
Institutes of the Christian Religion, McNeill and Battles, eds., p. 689

I'm curious to hear from some of the natural theologians out there as to whether they would agree with these distinctions or not, and I'd also like to know how they would characterize the process of sanctification.

Until this morning I had no idea that "wintry mix" was an actual category of weather. I thought the phrase was just a catch-all for rain mixed with snow. I suppose in some sense that is true, that it really does practically function as a catch-all for the nightly news, but when I stepped out this morning and noticed that what I thought was rain was actually really tiny bits of ice (not hail, not snow, not sleet, not slush) I realized that maybe I was standing in "wintry mix". Oh the joys of all the new east coast experiences.....

Here's what Wikipedia has to say: "Wintry showers is a somewhat informal meteorological term, used primarily in the United Kingdom, to refer to various mixtures of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. Professional meteorologists tend to shy away from using the term under any circumstances, but radio and television weather reporters use it regularly, the same way wintry mix is used in the United States. Though no "official" criteria exist for the term, it is not used when any accumulation of snow on the ground takes place. It is often used when the temperature of the ground surface is above 0°C, preventing accumulation from occurring even if the air temperature is marginally below 0°C; but even then the falling precipitation must generally be something other than consisting exclusively of snow."

I just watched a really interesting movie on Slavoj Žižek, a Slovenian philosopher/sociologist operating with a sort of Marxist/Lacanian method. While perhaps ultimately frustrating, his work seems to serve as an helpful analysis of why we philosophize, ie. what it means for us to say such-and-such. I won't attempt to define him anymore broadly than that in a blog post, but suffice it to say, he's quite interesting and you should check out Zizek! the movie. There's also a helpful write up in Books & Culture if you want an introduction from a Christian perspective to his work. Here is a quote from that review that I liked:

"For this "fighting atheist" it is not, of course, so much the truth of what Christians believe but the world-altering power of the Christian imagination that attracts him. What Zizek sees is precisely what the comfortable Western Church might be most in need of recovering: an appreciation for the explosive nature of the Christian Gospel and how it calls forth an alternative or counter way of life to the standard operating procedures of the world." -----Ashley Woodiwiss

"It was always assumed that the classics were a good line of work for me because I had a decent voice and the right nose. But anybody who comes from an essentially cynical European society is going to be bewitched by the sheer enthusiasm of the New World. And in America, the articulate use of language is often regarded with suspicion. Especially in the West. Look at the president. He could talk like an educated New Englander if he chose to. Instead, he holds his hands like a man who swings an ax. Bush understands, very astutely, that many of the people who are going to vote for him would regard him less highly if he knew how to put words together. He would no longer be one of them. In Europe, the tradition is one of oratory. But in America, a man's man is never spendthrift with words....this, of course, is much more appealing in the movies than it is in politics."

-----Daniel Day Lewis, from his interview in this week's NYT Magazine

I don't know if you've been following the latest kerfuffle over Antony Flew's recent conversion to Aristotelean Deism or not, but you might want to check out Mark Oppenheimer's Article in last Sunday's NYT Magazine. Then, after reading that, you can bip-on-over to Victor Reppert's blog to see Varghese's Letter to the Editor of the NYT in response. You can also read more at Richard Carrier's blog

It appears there's a tug of war going on over this poor old atheist who changed his mind, or lost it. It all seems very sad to me.