getting closer to Christ

Today Slawomir Oder (the head of the Vatican committee investigating whether Pope John Paul II was a saint) and Saverio Gaeta (journalist for the Catholic weekly Christian family) published the book, "Why he is a Saint: the True Story of John Paul II."  The book reveals Pope John Paul II whipped himself to bring himself closer to Christ, but not to the point of inflicting bodily injury to himself.

What are your thoughts about Christians who self-flagellate, i.e. whip themselves with a belt for the purpose of bringing themselves closer to Christ?  Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke 9:23-24, that "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

What did Christ mean when he said that his followers must take up a cross daily?  Do Christians take up a cross figuratively when they fast; renounce sinful pleasures; donate money to charity; or face persecution by their friends who question the validity of the Christian faith?  Certainly Christ did not approve of hedonism, but to what extent should Christians engage in self-sacrifice to atone for their sins?

Many Protestants argue that Christians have already been saved by Grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16), but does this mean that Grace eliminates the need for atonement by Christians to repent for their sins?  I believe that we are saved by a combination of faith and good works.  If Christians truly have Grace through their faith in Christ, then they should want to obey the commandments and repent for their sins.  In James 2:24, it is written that "a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."  Christ also says in Matthew 19:17 that "if you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

well

Last night, I was speaking to my grandmother. For those of you that have not met her, she just recently turned 86, and thus is at the age when most of her friends have passed away.
She was telling me a story about how she was sitting in her Sunday school, listening to the teacher, when suddenly the teacher died while he was teaching the lesson.
When I heard this I was in shock, and didn't really know what to say. My grandmother, however, calmly explained that she thought this was the best possible way to go-he was living in accordance with the Lord's will for his life. Of course, most of us are not going to be lucky enough to go in such a fortuitous moment. But at least we can keep on trying to live our lives in such a way that we would not be ashamed to expire at any moment.

Raising Awareness

Since we've had a retreat and numerous discussions centered on social justice I thought that this article about Dubai would be an interesting read.

The article is slightly long, but I do really think it is a worthwhile read.

through a fair voting process, we see that winslet has outranked all kates in beauty.

Beckinsale: 2
Hudson: 0
Winslet: 3
Mary Kate Olsen: 1

The Great Kate-Bate

*disclaimer - the following is not (too) spiritual*

Mirror mirror on the wall
who's the best kate of em all? (Beckinsale, Hudson, Winslet)


I'll get us started

Beckinsale: 1
Hudson: 0
Winslet: 0

Not sure if this is the type of thing we'll be blogging on, but...

I randomly flipped to Habakkuk 3 this morning and found this passage to be very beautifully written-I think the NIV translates the Hebrew poetry into English quite well:

17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

About Us

Welcome to the BYOB Group.  We are a non-denominational bible study group comprised of young adults from diverse Christian backgrounds, including both Protestant and Catholic disciplines.  The purpose of this blog is to encourage the development of a godly lifestyle, Christian values, and caring community as we strive to apply the teachings of the Bible to our daily lives and to ethical issues in contemporary American society.  As intellectuals, we will also promote the use of this blog to expound on Christian theological debates and their relevance to modern culture on a global level.