Happy Reformation Day!

Here's another blog post that I want to share with my fellow Christian blog readers.  This one was written by Gene Veith, who writes a blog called "Cranach--the Blog of Veith":

http://www.geneveith.com/2012/10/31/reforming-the-church/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+geneveith+%28Cranach%3A+The+Blog+of+Veith%29

REFORMING THE CHURCH

Today is Reformation Day, the 495th anniversary of Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences. Some people have been criticizing Lutherans and others who celebrate this day. Why should we celebrate the shattering of the universal church?

First of all, the posting of the theses did not shatter the universal church. Luther was reforming the church, and it needed reforming. Financial corruption (the sale of church offices, the indulgence and relic trade, profiting from Christians terrified of purgatory), sexual immorality (popes with illegitimate children whom they named bishops, brothels for priests, the notion that fornication is better than marriage for clergy under vows of celibacy), and political power (popes with armies waging war against other countries, popes claiming temporal power over lawful earthly authorities). Even worse, the gospel of Christ was obscured in favor of an elaborate system of salvation by works. To be sure, the medieval church taught Christ’s atonement on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins, but in practice that was relegated to baptism only. After baptism, Christians had to atone for their own sins in a complex penitential system, requiring the confession of each sin, works of penance, and even after absolution the punishment of those sins after death in purgatory (unless an indulgence was purchased or rewarded).

That the church needed reforming because of these practices is proven in part by the Council of Trent, which addressed the most blatant financial and moral faults, while keeping the penitential system, though also encouraging personal piety (another fruit of the Reformation over against what had become a mechanistic approach to religion).

The splitting of Christianity came when the Roman church excommunicated Luther for his stance on indulgences, even though it would later grant most of his points.

Reforming the church, though, is something to celebrate and something to keep working on. I would argue that the same issues that sparked the Reformation are still problems in today’s church, including protestant and Lutheran congregations: financial corruption (the prosperity gospel, religious scams), sexual immorality (scandals among pastors and church leaders; the pornography plague), political power (the new social gospel of both the right and the left). And now, as then, we see the Gospel consigned just to first becoming a Christian, so that many people think of Christ’s atonement as applying to conversion, but feeling themselves now as being under the Law. They have lost the sense of God’s grace and forgiveness as a continuing reality, available through the Word and Sacraments as the constant life force for the Christian life.

So we still need Reformation Day and we still need the message of the Reformation.

12 More Days?

Regarding the upcoming presidential election, all of you fellow Christians might enjoy reading the following short article by Michael Horton, which he posted on his White Horse Inn blog.  http://networkedblogs.com/DVKDC 

PROMISES, PROMISES

Political candidates these days summon our confidence by promises they make about the future. We wonder whether we can believe them. Or we jump on one bandwagon or another as if it could actually fulfill our deepest hopes and dreams—and drive away our deepest fears.

But when Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock, I have overcome the world,” he is actually announcing an accomplishment of his agenda. The saints in the old covenant had to wait for the promises to be realized, but we stand on this side of victory. His representative life of obedience fulfilled the law; his death delivered us from the curse; his resurrection brought justification and inaugurated the new creation.

Down to the last word, John gives all glory to “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom…” (Rev 1:6). He records the words of Jesus Christ: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev 1:8). “When I saw him,” John reports, “I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’” (vv 17-18).

With this confidence as our ultimate anchor, we can be wildly optimistic about Christ’s future for us without being seduced by the false promises, ideologies, and idols of our age—and the illusion that somehow our cultural and political labors are building or restoring Christ’s kingdom. Rearranging the order of our loves, this good news frees us to exercise responsible vocations—including citizenship—without idealism or, it’s flip-side, cynicism. We can cast our votes while casting our fears on our risen and returning King. We can even promote our candidates (outside the church!), with restored sanity. United to Christ, we should be the most responsible and the least fearful people at the polls on November 6, 2012, because our King already achieved his landslide victory in Jerusalem during Passover, AD 33.

A Walk on the Beach

Dave and I are home now from our trip to the beach.  Still at the beach on Friday morning, we woke up to rain--the first rain around 102 days.  The whole state of Washington had been under a burn ban, but that ban is lifted now.

We like to camp at Washington State Parks during the off-season.  Not only are the parks less crowded, but we can use Dave's Senior Off-Season Pass and camp for $6/night.  Each season we have to pay $50 to buy the pass.   Unfortunately, this great deal is only available for Washington residents. 

On Wednesday, while Dave made a quick trip back to Vancouver, I went for a walk on the beach.  The weather was beautiful and there was no wind. 

Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park is accessible from each of the three sections of the campground.  Here's a picture of the access from Sites 1-60, which is the full-hookup section where we like to stay.

The picture makes it look like the path to the beach was blocked, but it was open and it was an easy walk to the beach.  Here's a shot looking back toward the camping loop containing sites 11-20.  This is a busy loop because everyone walks through this loop in order to get to the beach.  This loop also gets the most wind since it's closest to the ocean. 

The sign at the top of the picture warns that dogs must be on a leash and that hazardous swimming conditions are present.  And, oh yes, no gathering of wood is allowed on the beach.

There was plenty of driftwood along the edge of the beach.  Below are a few pictures of some of the structures that people had built from some of the driftwood. 

I saw this piece of flotsam and couldn't quite imagine what the original boat had looked like.  I also couldn't tell if these remains came from the Japan tsunami or from a local boat.

Top of the flotsam:

Back of the flotsam:

Cape Disappointment has two lighthouses, Cape D Lighthouse, which has black stripes and is pictured at the top of my blog, and North Head Lighthouse, which has a red roof and no stripes, and is visible from Benson Beach.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is accessible by taking a 2-mile hike, but North Head Lighthouse has a road and parking lot and also has two rental vacation houses.

Did you know that according to Norse mythology, the first humans, Ask and Embla, were formed out of two pieces of driftwood, an ash and an elm?

THE END

Cape Disappointment State Park

Our first night at Cape Disappointment State Park was very relaxing.  Lulled by the sound of the ocean waves, I enjoyed a good night's sleep.  At home I have been on edge ever since our motorhome was broken into, but it's so peaceful and quiet here at the state park that I am finally able to relax.

Dave wrote in his blog about a new cell phone signal extender antenna which we are trying out.  It works!  The signal is still weak and the internet connection through our smartphones is still slow, but at least it's a signal.  No more trips to the library or McDonald's to use their internet. 

Dave and I went for a walk in town (Long Beach, WA) and had lunch at our favorite spot, Hungry Harbor Inn.  Many of the stores are only open on the weekend during the fall and winter.  Even our trip to town was relaxing! 

The driftwood at the park's Waikiki Beach was present as always. 

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

As Dave mentioned in his blog, we were able to add an extra day onto our stay here.  We'll have to change sites, but we'll still be in our favorite loop.  On Friday we'll move to Elochoman Marina RV Park located in the small town of Cathlamet where Dave will be observing and videoing the varsity football game Friday night. 

Site #7

This site, like many of the sites in this park, is spacious and would be a fun place for children to play.

The new cell booster antenna--believe it or not, it folds up small enough to store.