These Infinite Spaces

Baptise those babies!

2009-12-02T07:11:00.001+11:00

Congratulations!

2009-12-02T07:03:00.001+11:00

Congrats to HH, also soon to be a dad...

Acts 29 Oz

2009-12-01T18:36:00.001+11:00

Ben writes a very constructive review of their first Boot Camp on the Sola Panel. This review has already been widely linked, and will strongly influence how Acts 29 are perceived in SydAng land...

Congratulations!

2009-12-01T06:57:00.001+11:00

Congrats to Luke & Amy, expecting their first child. Well done guys!

Dating the Gospels II

2009-11-29T18:58:00.002+11:00

I mentioned below the dates of the earliest manuscript fragments of the gospels. But what about the earliest complete copies? These are contained in the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus, both dated to around 350AD. This means that these copies come 200+ years after the original documents, but in manuscript terms this is considered very good. For comparison, the earliest complete manuscript we have for Caesar's Gallic Wars was created over 1000 years after the original, and other ancient documents have similar time spans.

How to live longer

2009-11-29T17:30:00.004+11:00

Nathan linked to this very interesting list. In summary, to maximise your lifespan, you should -

1. Drive the biggest car you can afford

2. Never drive a quad ATV

3. Never cycle or jog on public roads

4. Never pilot a plane or helicopter (unless you are a professional)

5. Flee from any group of intoxicated males

6. Never throw accelerant on a fire or grill

7. Never dive into water

8. Never climb onto your house roof

9. If over 65, never move house

10. Never get into a car or car boot at gunpoint

11. End any professional/personal relationship that exhausts you emotionally

12. Never play the lottery

The Liberal Trainwreck

2009-11-28T06:18:00.003+11:00

This has been pretty interesting to watch. It seems pretty likely that Hockey will be taking up the reigns in a few days/weeks. Despite his theological confusion, I like him and think he will be a good leader. Turnbull will not stick around on the backbench, he will be gone before the next election. If the coalition go to the electorate on an anti-ETS platform, they may well get some traction. My gut feeling is that most Australians want to reduce emissions, but they are unwilling to endure any real pain to achieve that. Energy costs are already soaring in NSW - very few people will be willing to cop an extra $1100+ year for the privilege of an ETS.

Oh, and I really liked this comment from Cory Bernardi (Liberal senator) on what the Libs should stand for -

"We are a party of smaller government, lower taxation, supporting families and free enterprise...any loss of support for conservative parties [around the world] has been driven by a lack of implementation of conservative principles."

Exactly right - that's why the Republicans have been toasted in the US - because the neo-cons were big-government, spend-like-a-drunken-sailor types...

When to do good

2009-11-25T05:44:00.000+11:00

My latest piece on SA

Tick Tick Tick

2009-11-25T05:12:00.001+11:00

Turbull appears to be living on borrowed time

Ropes Crossing Church Supporters Evening

2009-11-23T21:22:00.001+11:00

You are invited to

Ropes Crossing Church Supporters Evening

Saturday 28th November 7:30pm for 8:00pm

at St Marys Anglican Church -Small Hall

Corner Magdalene St & Great Western Highway, St Marys

RSVP 26th November to

office AT stmarysanglican DOT info

More information at:

http://www.ropescrossingchurch.anglican.asn.au/

Climate Change Consensus

2009-11-23T07:02:00.001+11:00

People sometimes speak about the remarkable scientific consensus in the area of anthropogenic climate change. These documents may shed some light on the consensus. (h/t Gordo)

Dating the Gospels

2009-11-22T17:16:00.002+11:00

When were the gospels written? This is an important question when it comes to assessing the historicity of the documents. The earlier the date, the more confidence we may have in the information recorded. This whole area has been pretty contentious for a long time, although even the conservative and the radical agree to dates within a few decades of each other now. Not that big a difference, really.

How do we determine when the gospels were written? Well, they all record the death of Jesus, which occurred around 30AD - so obviously they were written after that date. At the other end of the scale, our earliest complete copies of the gospels are several hundred years after this, but we have fragments of each of the gospels that are much earlier. Our earliest fragment of Matthew is Papyrus 104, which is dated to around 150AD. For Mark it is Papyrus 45, dated to around 250AD. Our earliest fragment of Luke is Papyrus 75, dated from around 175AD. And our earliest fragment of John is Papyrus 52, dated as early as 117AD.

To summarise, the manuscript evidence alone gives us the following "latest dates" for the gospels -

Matthew - 150AD

Mark - 250AD

Luke - 175AD

John - 117AD

But there is more to consider, which I'll share in another post.

The Gospels & History

2009-11-22T08:51:00.001+11:00

A generation ago, the historicity of the gospels was a hot topic with skeptics. Apologists like Josh McDowell wrote popular books on the subject, which sold like hot cakes. Then post-modernism took a grip, and no-one really cared very much about historicity anymore. But I've seen some recent indications that this is changing, and that the historicity question is becoming a live topic once again. Christians really need to be across this stuff again. The great difference to a generation ago is that now we have the internet, and heaps of the source material is now online. Interesting times ahead...

NT Papyri

2009-11-22T07:32:00.001+11:00

Wiki has a comprehensive list of New Testament papyri.

A safe God for politicians

2009-11-21T13:59:00.001+11:00

Only just read this piece by Phillip Jensen in the Herald. It is excellent.

An Education

2009-11-21T07:23:00.001+11:00

Took the girl to see this last night. Very well crafted film, and (for once) a solid moral message as well...

Very hot

2009-11-21T06:54:00.001+11:00

No aircon at my place, means I'm not sleeping too good

100 free audio books you should have read by now

2009-11-19T07:01:00.001+11:00

Click here - "free", "audio" and "book" are three of my favourite words. (ht: Dan)

Teenage boys and getting things done

2009-11-19T06:42:00.001+11:00

I enjoyed this article from Sam de Brito. Absolutely spot on description of my 16yo son...

Birthday has been good

2009-11-18T22:35:00.001+11:00

Many thanks for everyone who sent a message - I appreciate it!

New Martial Art

2009-11-16T20:28:00.001+11:00

I was doing boxing much of this year with my son, but that went out the window when I changed jobs. Now that I've settled into my new work, I decided to check out a local Kung Fu place in Annandale, Kung-Fu Republic. I did a class this evening and I enjoyed it, so I've signed up.

iPod Nano

2009-11-15T07:24:00.001+11:00

The girl bought me an iPod Nano for my birthday. It's a gorgeous piece of design, really excellent...

The UFC is coming to Sydney!

2009-11-14T07:31:00.001+11:00

February 2010 at the Acer Arena. I'd love to go, though I suspect tickets might be a bit too pricey...

The Geneva Push

2009-11-11T23:10:00.001+11:00

They've just launched their website. V. Nice.

Wave

2009-11-11T22:43:00.001+11:00

It's kinda cool, but maybe not the "revolution" people were talking about...