Wednesday, December 30, 2009

William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All


I just finished reading William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All by Janet and Geoff Benge, and found this to be an excellent account of the life of William Penn and his work in establishing the Pennsylvania colonies. Penn had a remarkable life, filled with religious persecution, conflicts with his father, the English courts, and numerous struggles over establishing the Pennsylvania colonies, or "the holy experiment", as he referred to it.

The book chronicles Penn's life through his childhood in England, and describes how Penn, at a young age, was affected by hearing an influential Quaker minister speak. Penn himself becomes a Quaker during his lifetime, and experiences firsthand the harsh religious persecution that the Anglican government of England imposed (including unfair convictions, trials and imprisonments.)

Later Penn is given a providentially amazing opportunity to establish the Pennsylvania colonies, and his aim was to establish this land as one of liberty, fairness, and religious freedom. It's a remarkable story and can be a real page-turner during some of the momentous times of Penn's life.

However, William Penn's life wasn't without its troubles. Beyond just the religious persecution that Penn experienced as a Quaker, his family also saw the loss of a number of their own children and, potentially most devastating, was the account of Penn's oldest son who (perhaps from having his father absent so much due to persecution or working on Pennsylvania) turned in much different direction of alcohol addiction and gambling. In fact, the book doesn't go much further into what happened to Penn's son, but this serves as a tragic indicator that Penn, for all his remarkable contributions should have also keep his focus on shepherding his own family with the same level of dedication.

The life of William Penn was an amazing one, and his strong stand for religious freedom, both in England and in the Pennsylvania colonies, serve as an excellent example of a man faithful to God in his life efforts.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Permanence View of Marriage

Voddie preached a message not long ago on the Permanence view of marriage. Its a fascinating and challenging view that a marriage vow should never be broken under any circumstance, even unfaithfulness. Voddie lays out in detail from scripture the reasoning for this viewpoint. Personally I think this could be difficult, especially in mind of abusive relationships, etc, but at the root of this its all about a solid commitment to the covenant of marriage, even when the partner breaks it. Here's the link:



And in a strange semi-related note, here's a link to a song by Frehley's Comet that I posted in my music blog, with lyrics that curiously (ironically) remind me of the permanence view:

You will never hear me say the words
Never feel the pain that hurts
Never hear me say Its over now

Not sure that Ace Frehley or Todd Howarth had the permanence view in mind when they wrote the song, but it does fit in an odd sort of way.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Alliance for Church & Family Reformation | Excellent Resource for Family Ministry and Integrated Worship

The Alliance for Church & Family Reformation site offers some excellent resources, including audio sermons and links, related to the subject of family integrated worship. Per the site description:

The Alliance for Church and Family Reformation was born out of a need to help the greater Christian community understand and apply the biblical principles of family discipleship and age-integrated church and to strategically promote both family and church reformation.

Additionally, Grace Family Baptist offers a number of excellent messages by Voddie Baucham.