James Colton's Blog

Who draws the fabric of the dark
From naught and folds it to become
Invisible cathedrals strung
With galaxies in vaulted arcs?

Who orchestrates the silent dance
Of planets spun ���round alien stars
And plots dark paths for meteors
To plunge the fathomless expanse?

Who forges ghosts to roam the void
In cloaks of dust and turns tow���rd night
Their gazes���grasped in astral light���
To fear the wonders there deployed?

Who frames what nameless mysteries���
Unk...

The dreadful curtain, starless, spreads
Upon cold vale of dusty beds,
It claims and chains
Its silent sleepers.

What still, small breath disturbs the shroud���
Lays bare pale remnants ���neath the ground���
To brush the dust
From off the sleepers.

What dew of light through dark prevails���
As ratt���ling echoes fill the vale���
To stir and spur:
���Awake, O sleepers!���

Rent tremb���ling, darkness dies away
As shimm���ring figures glide tow���rd day,
The...

Definition of Free Will

Divine sovereignty and human free will come into conflict only under a certain definition of free will: that a person is able to choose one way or the other regardless of any determining factors.

While this is an intuitive���and therefore popular���definition, it does not accurately describe how people make decisions. Every choice one makes is always informed by their nature and circumstances.

Imagine a person who loves pizza, and hates lima beans. When prese...

Introduction

The problem of evil is one of the more serious challenges to the Christian faith. It claims that the nature of the Christian God is incompatible with the reality of evil in the world. The argument goes something like this:

God is omnipotent; he has the ability to prevent evil. God is omniscient; he knows about evil and how to prevent it. God is omnibenevolent; he wants to prevent evil. If God is all of these things, then he will prevent evil. Therefore, the...

I will not name the city or street. If the place described seems familiar, then heed my warning, or share my fate.

Although I have lived here for several years, it was only three weeks ago that I found myself on X Street for the first time. It is a dark-looking street, even by day, threading its way between and beneath more traveled thoroughfares, barely wide enough for the two lanes of traffic its painted surface advertises. It is a path only the locals know to take, and this only when speed...

Introduction

What is death? What becomes of us after we die? Many answers to these questions have been proposed throughout the ages, but the only authoritative words on the subject are those of God as revealed in the Bible. Therefore, this article will examine how the Bible describes death and what that means for those who die.

All scripture quotations are taken from the ESV.

Death as Separation

Generally speaking, physical death may be defined as the disintegration of a ...

Introduction

There is debate on whether or not human souls remain conscious after death. One side of the argument espouses a theory of soul sleep, which asserts that the souls of the dead fall into unconsciousness���or even cease to exist���until the resurrection. However, the arguments put forth in support of this position are dubious. This article will present the arguments for soul sleep, and show how they actually run counter to what the Bible teaches on the subject.

All scripture ...

Introduction

The Bible describes a place whither the souls of the dead are bound. This place may be called the pit, the grave, or simply Death. The Greek term used by Jesus and the apostles is Hades. However, most often this place is called Sheol.

All scripture quotations are taken from the ESV.

Sheol: the Common Fate of All the Dead

Many verses in the Old Testament indicate that Sheol is the common fate of all the dead, a place of silence and inactivity from which there ...

Master the Art of the Rapier

In his Academie de l���Esp��e, Dutch swordmaster G��rard Thibault d���Anvers recorded one of the most sophisticated fencing systems ever devised, blending elegant geometry with a precise, systematic approach to combat. Yet its complexity has often made it a daunting read for new students.

Thibault Rapier: A Systematic Guide to Thibault���s Academy of the Sword presents a structured introduction to Thibault���s fencing method, distilling Academie de l���Esp��e d...

Introduction

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, ���Son of man, can these bones live?��� And I answered, ���O Lord God, you know.��� Then he said to me, ���Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of...