“It is a saying of Luther: ‘The sea of God’s mercies should swallow up all our particular afflictions.’ Name any affliction that is upon you: there is a sea of mercy to swallow it up. If you pour a pailful of water on the floor of your house, it makes a great show, but if you throw it into the sea, there is not sign of it. So, afflictions considered in themselves, we think are very great, but let them be considered with the sea of God’s mercies we enjoy, and then they are not so much, they are nothing in comparison.”

~The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs

“God delivers in the course of the story. He is our help and shield, but this is not a static reality. . . He will be the same in the future as He has been in the past– which is to say, faithful. . . We wait patiently– but note that we cannot wait patiently without robust praise for God’s character as evidenced in the gifts of creation and providence.”

~”Psalm 33″, Doug Wilson

HT: Lydia Smith

Oh! the wise invention of the teacher who contrived that while we were singing we should at the same time learn something useful; by this means, too, the teachings are in a certain way impressed more deeply on our minds. Even a forceful lesson does not always endure, but what enters the mind with joy and pleasure somehow becomes more firmly impressed upon it. What, in fact, can you not learn from the pslams? Can you not learn the grandeur of courage? the exactness of justice? The nobility of self-control? the perfection of prudence? A manner of penance? The measure of patience? And whatever other good things you might mention? Therin is perfect theology, a prediction of the coming of Christ in the flesh, a threat of judgment, a hope of resurrection, a fear of punishment, promises of glory, and unveiling of mysteries; all thins, as if in some great public treasury, are stored up in the Book of Pslams.

-St. Basil, Exegetic Homilies

If one were to order all mankind to choose the best set of rules in the world, each group would, after due consideration, choose its own customs; each group regards its own as being by far the best.

– Herodotus, bk. III

The God who always is does not have any other beginning; he is his own origin and the cause of his own substantiation, nor can any other thing be imagined to exist that stands on its own.

Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians

In Scripture all creation, the theater of God’s glory, is mined for the description of the knowledge of God.

-Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, III, 95

The world cannot be atheistically conceived since in that case it could not be the work of God but would have to be the creation of an anti-god.

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, II, 57.

Time obliterates the inventions of the imagination, but confirms the judgements of nature.

-Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, I, 42

The perfection of learning is to know God in such a way that, though you realize he is not unknowable, yet you know him as indescribable.

-Hilary of Poitiers, De trinitate

We are speaking of God. Is it any wonder if you do not comprehend? For if you comprehend, it is not God you comprehend. Let it be a pious confession of ignorance rather than a rash profession of knowledge. To attain some slight knowledge of God is a great blessing; to comprehend him, however, is totally impossible.

– St. Augustine, Lectures on the Gospel of John

Fellow Students of great things at New Saint Andrews College,

Greetings!

• If you click HERE, you will see pictures.

If by some error you are not therein pictured, please tell me, for you may not have had your picture taken, or if you did, perhaps it got lost in cyberspace.

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

Fellow (robe bearing) Sophomores,

Greetings!

In case you didn’t have pen and paper at Convocation, here are our assigments:

• Theology: 1st 5 chapters of “From Post-Industrial to Post-modern Society. Due Thursday, the whole book is due Friday.
• History: Herodotus: Introduction and Book I. Pay close attention to the interactions between Croesus, Solon, and Cyrus. And follow notes in the back of the book. Due Thursday.
• Music: Complete Ch. 3 of the Chautman workbook. Read ch’s. 1-9 of Copelands’ book. Listen to part I of the Messiah. Due Monday. (And show up to Choir Wend.)
• Latin: Read The Victory According to Mark, pg. 9-47. Traslate Mark 1. Due Thurs.

Voila!

See you all in class!

The Silent Refutation of Every Lie

Those who stir up strife in towns, churches, cities, or nations are trying to create a situation when everyone will get to a point of desperation, and then try to resolve the problem with some kind of dramatic action. That dramatic action is sudden, forceful, fascinating, and its effects are very potent . . . and temporary.

This is why mobs function the way they do. This is how lynching occurs. This is how Marxism envisaged the growth of the revolution. This is why many churches split. This is why Internet blog wars start. Those who foment discord have a deep faith in the power of chaos to rejuvenate itself, and so they try to plunge the societies of which they are a part (whether small societies or large does not matter) into chaos, so that the chaos can perform its transforming magic. This is why discontent souls always stir up trouble. They do not see trouble as trouble, they see trouble as the penultimate stage just before salvation.

But it is a pseudo-salvation. It is a lie. When this kind of person succeeds in stirring up a sacrificial crisis, he gets the mob, or the crowd, or the presbytery, or the congregation, as the case may be, whipped up into a sacrificial crisis and ready for a dramatic solution to all the trouble. And this is where paganism always produces the scapegoat, a delight to all men.

What is the Christian response to this? There is only one possible response. There is only one way out of this kind of thing, only one way to resist it. This is to preach Christ and Him crucified. The only answer to petty sacrifices is the ultimate sacrifice. The only answer to blaming others is to lift up the one who took at the blame on Himself. The only answer to those who would deliver violence from men is to preach the one who received violence from wicked men. He did not open His mouth, and because of this, He, the Lord Jesus, has refuted the world and all its lies.

-Doug Wilson, July 2006

For those of you who missed Katie Saunders Irish Step recital, or want to see it again, you can now purchase a copy of the DVD online: www.foucachon.com/saunka

Free shipping to NSA students!

DVD includes interactive menus, dances divided by chapters, photo slideshow, and a snazzy DVD label designed by ZKpro.

Three dances are previewed on the order form, so take a peak. (Unless you have FireFox configured right, you will need Internet Explorer to see the videos).

There is nothing the matter with Americans except their ideals. The real American is all right; it is the ideal American who is all wrong.

– GK Chesterton

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.

– Alexis de Tocqueville

HT: Right Mind

Here are a bunch of videos I picked out from the past year at NSA for your enjoyment. I’m not allowed to post anything from Rhetoric (there were some really good ones…and I recorded the most in that class), But you’ll find some from every other class.
Note about downloading: because a lot of these are straight from my camera, they are not optimized for streaming. If you click on a link, it may seems that everything is frozen, but it’s not; it’s downloading, and some may take some time. If you want to make sure it’s downloading, then right-click, and “save as”.
I pity him who hath not broadband…

• Is this the place for an argument? – Christ Church Dinner Skit
• Music at Bucers
• A peak into Choir
• Il Fait Froid de Canard
• Game at Courtney’s
• Lewiston Rodeo (We are a wild bunch…)
• St. Andy’s Rugby!
• Numa Numa Dance (by a local – don’t miss this one!)
• Mikado
• A bit of Moscow in Winter – I took this during Christmas break to send to my parents who were in France, so that’s why we talk to them in the video at one point. There is also part of a Lordship Lecture at the end.

The next two kind of go together… they show a little of the intensity of study at NSA 🙂 (Warning: These videos are not intended for prospective students)

• Christine Studying Latin at Bucers
• Lydia Reading City of God

Some Singing:

• The Day is Past and Gone
• O ‘Twas a Joyful Sound to Hear
• Merkle at Midnight – (that’s not the name of a song, but it should be…)

Natural Philosophy:

• Roger eating a mouse
• Learning the bones of the body
• Inflating the lungs of a fetal pig
• more inflation
• Right before Euclid Class

Latin: I have a lot of videos from this class… but only a few for now.

• A bit of Class
• Philosophy of Strawberry
• Reading a Story
• and of course, all the Latin Skits
• And the audio of Ghiligans Island
• Greek Opera – (a peak into greek class)

That’s all folks!

I have uploaded a bunch of pictures from this last year, divided by term. I didn’t have time to carefully sort, and they are rather random. These are by no means all, so if you have a specific picture in mind you don’t see here, I probably have it somewhere. 🙂

• Jerusalem
• Nicea
• Chalcedon
• Westminster

Since I sorted this quickly, the Complaint Form may be of use. Girls, don’t hesitate to use it. If guys use it, I expect a 3 point, logical explanation of the complaint 😉

The Latin Skits are now available for download from a server near you!

• Fiddler on the Roof – starring Brad, Brad, Daniel, and Ryan.
• Gladiator – starring Eric and Daniel
• The Wizard of Oz – Starring Kathryn, Molly, Luke, and Scott
• A Musical – Starring Alexander and Ryan
• The Importance of Being Earnest – Starring Gretchen, Hannah, and Margaret
• Aladdin – Starring Kirby, Laura, Kathryn, and Brian.
• Napoleon Dynamite – Starring Naphtali (As Napoleon), Hilary, Rhiannon, and Brooke.
• Three Indians – Starring Emma, Rachel, Christine
• The Rappers – Starring Katie and Audrey
• Pride & Prejudice – Starring Lizzie and Leah.
• The Moon Dog Saints! – Starring Robby, Jason, Kelly, and Donny!

I took this video in widescreen, but windows movie maker (grr) didn’t keep the format.

Edible: Good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.
-Ambrose Bierce
The Devil’s Dictionary

All homes have places where discipline occurs. As I was growing up, it was the basement. When we were “sent to the basement,” this is where my father would admonish us, discipline us, pray with us afterwards, and graciously invite us to rejoin the fellowship of the family. In other homes, the place varies according to convenience—it may be one of the back bedrooms, or the bathroom. But I have never heard of a godly home where the point of discipline was the dining room, during the course of dinner. Sometimes during dinner a child has to be taken from the table for discipline, but no one that I know of brings a child to the table for discipline. We bring our children to the table for food.

Discipline is important. Confession of sin is important. Working through hard issues of sin and restitution is important. But this Table is the place for fellowship, kindness, laughter, and joy. So come, and receive the gracious nourishment offered.

Some might object to this as too casual. They might say that Jesus said that if your brother had something against you, leave your gift on the altar, and go, put it right. Yes, and we really should do this. But notice that He said we should not give in this condition, not that we should not receive in this condition. So stop tithing, stop putting your gifts in the offering box in the back until you have put things right with your brother (as far as it is possible with you). Let this be your reminder to get things right. Leave your gift envelope in Your Bible until you get things right. But churches rarely tell the saints to stop giving them money until the donor is back in fellowship

But this is a radical gospel message. Until you put things right, we will not stop offering the grace of God to you. But if you have the power to do so, and you do not put things right with your brother, then stop tithing. Stop bringing your offerings. God would rather have your obedience than your money. Is the obedience hard? Do you need strength to undertake it? That strength is here.

Douglas Wilson, May 2006