Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Book of Common Prayer



Concepts:
- Covenant
- Marriage as a symbol of Christ in the Church
- Marriage is a gift from God
- "Till death do us part"
- Love

Tyndale, William. “The Book of Common Prayer.” Greenville: BJU Press.2003. 140-142. Print.

Monday, September 27, 2010

More Mosaic

ImageChef Word Mosaic - ImageChef.com 

More,Thomas. “A Dialogue Concerning Heresies and Matters of Religion.” Greenville: BJU Press. 2003. 129-131. Print. 

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

For the Order of the Nurse

     The extreme nurse works with care, is efficient, and shows diligence. A good RN properly assists patients, is devoted and supportive to patients and fellow workers, and who is patient and shows respect, even when working with patients who are uncooperative and rude. The superb caretaker is expected and called to be willing to sacrifice time and effort in order to help others. All that hard work and labor, at the end of the day, is worth it. To work unto the glory of the Lord is reward enough, but to know that such hard work also benefits others provides means for perseverance.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ballad

There was a little tricycle,
A painted vibrant red,
It dreamed of life in the big top;
Was in storage instead.

There were the days when it road high-
Now just a memory
Because the little Danny Boy
Had passed the age of three.

But this big dream did never die,
Not even as years passed.
For he knew he would have that hope
One day fulfilled at last.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Screwtape Analysis (final draft)

        People are continuously in a spiritual battle for their souls. There are multiple fiendish tactics used by the devil for his gain in this battle, particularly the subtle ones. For these tactics work very well. At the end of one of his letters, Screwtape states this by saying, “Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,” (Lewis, 61). The Screwtape Letters demonstrates the many subtle, small things that the devil uses to deceive humans down the “road to Hell.”

        Throughout the entire book, Screwtape encourages Wormwood to tempt his “Patient” with little things. “Keep in close touch with our colleague Glubose who is in charge of the mother, and build up between you in that house a good settled habit of mutual annoyance; daily pinpricks” (Lewis, 11). There are many sins that humans consider to be “small.” And because they are considered to be “small”, it is easy to forget the fact that they are actual sins, which is a very dangerous mistake. In chapter twelve, Screwtape reveals a point which is constantly brought up in his numerous letters. “You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing” (Lewis, 60).
        “Small sins” build up. They can quickly take on a snowball effect without a person noticing that they even had an effect at all. Flippancy is a good example of this. “If prolonged, the habit of Flippancy builds up around a man the finest armour-plating against the Enemy that I know, and it is quite free from the dangers inherent in the other sources of laughter” (Lewis, 56). Bad habits, daily pinpricks, little “moods,” all of these things can hinder spiritual walks. The subtle temptations are usually the ones that humans fail to see as temptations, which lead many people down a path of obliviousness that can do everything but help when it comes to this spiritual war. Sometimes, by the time people actually notice the full extent to which these “small sins” are affecting them, it can be too late.
        The use of “casual” sins in deception will cause humans to forget their need of God; it can also grow in them a feeling of dread when it comes to thinking about God. “A few weeks ago you had to tempt him to unreality and inattention in his prayers: but now you will find him opening his arms to you and almost begging you to distract his purpose and benumb his heart. He will want his prayers to be unreal, for he will dread nothing so much as effective contact with the Enemy. His aim will be to let sleeping worms lie” (Lewis, 59). Without acknowledgement of sins there can be no repentance. This destroys relationships for Christians.
        Screwtape clearly knows what he is talking about when he tells Wormwood of the use of subtle temptations in deception. This information should open the eyes of a Christian, particularly the no “signposts.” Christians are called to see the road signs in life and point them out to others and should be driven to do so even more by reading this book.

Works Cited
Lewis, Clive S. The Screwtape Letters. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Print.