2. Christianity. The doctrine that individual salvation is achieved through a combination of human will and divine grace.

&nevermindtheworldweveknown
"Adrianne" by my good friends, Wonderful

A good friend of mine said that if he died, still unconvinced of Christ's position as humanity's savior, and was judged as a non-believer to be cast into hell, he would be ok with such a fate. Because to him, he wouldn't want to spend eternity with a being that damned some and accepted others based on their decision to choose the Christian story over others. On the other hand, he would delight in joining a God that loved all despite their faith shortcomings. It seems to me that my friend believes in a God of justice and love, as do I. The Bible says that all have been revealed to God's existence, or as Pascal says, we are born with a God-shaped hole. So do some simply have the aptitude or experiences to choose Christ and does God judge on such grounds? If so, what a cruddy God indeed. And I am certainly aware that Christ has been remarkably misrepresented through the ages, and to reject Christ because the experiential evidence is lacking--or worse, the evidence is harmful--seems quite reasonable.

According to Paul, a list of things that cannot separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus:
- death nor life
- angels nor demons
- present nor the future
- nor any powers
- neither height nor depth
- nor anything else in all creation

That's quite a list... have fun stormin' the castle.

&this
"Sister"

I felt something leading worship this week. It had been awhile, too long. It wasn't out of a specific revelation or lyric or what have you--I can't say why. The feeling faded, as elation tends to do, and then mere hours later I was back home, curled on the floor railing against God for yet another glimpse and another cloud. I used to despise the cloud, but now I wonder if the one who occasionally lets light in is the one I hate most.

&pleasepickupthephone
"What Were the Chances"

Why is it that so many of us create art, and yet have such timidity naming ourselves artists or creative?

I attended an artist's potluck at Mars Hill Grad. School, and as expected, we went around the room to introduce ourselves and explain what had brought us out. At least a handful confessed that they were not artists but liked to dabble in this or that. I believe it came from a heart of genuine humility as well as social pressure which compelled them to submit to those of us with bona fide "talent." Oddly, I found myself mildly offended at the gesture, but then proceeded to stammer as my turn to say the "a"-word came around: [hemming and hawing] Ohhh, I'm not really an "artist." (And what are those damn quotes doing there anyway? We don't have an alternative definition to artist lurking out there do we? Well... perhaps.) I suppose the term "artist" is generally defined as someone who is professionally compensated by their "creative" output (more quotes). Ok, so they are Artists, capital "A"; dabblers, dilettantes and the billion others who have yet to formally subject their "creative" work to the marketplace get the lowercase. It is pronounced the same though, I might add.

So:
- a roomful of third graders are asked: "who is creative?", [twenty-five little hands shoot to the sky]
- a roomful of adults are asked: "who is creative?", [crickets]

&thisisfunnyforareason
"Marty"