{"id":18571,"date":"2025-07-15T17:34:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T21:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18571"},"modified":"2025-07-23T22:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T02:55:51","slug":"journal-of-the-week-73","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18571","title":{"rendered":"Journal of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>7\/19\/2025<\/strong> <strong>Saturday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bob led the Men's Fellowship, on Patience. I wasn't paying attention in the middle but I realized there's <strong>some great error Bob committed<\/strong> in the middle when he took the <strong>LOVE <\/strong>chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 and <strong>replace <\/strong>every word of \"<strong>Love<\/strong>\" with \"<strong>God<\/strong>\": God is kind, God is patience... Clyde was the one who later reflected on it and responded how he felt that was strange (I didn't even pick up on that, for some reason, because of one of the verses we read, I was looking into something else: That <strong>Ben Shapiro was wrong<\/strong> by having no problem with <strong>John MacArthur going to heaven<\/strong> <strong>according to Judaism<\/strong> because MacArthur, being not a Jew, <strong>did not violate the 7 Noahide laws<\/strong>: <strong>Do not deny God, Do not Blaspheme God<\/strong>, Do not Murder, Do not Engage in immoral sex, Do not Steal, Do not Eat flesh from a living animal, Establish legal system to uphold the above 6 laws. <strong>Because MacArthur would have broken the first 2 by calling Jesus God<\/strong>). The pastor and Phil went further in error saying that \"God is not self-seeking\" simply meant that the incarnate Son, Jesus, as a man, did not seek His own glory. They confused the divine and human natures, yet again. Even ChatGPT would agree with me. This is how it responded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Reformed Theology, what is wrong with substituting the word \"love\" with \"God\" in 1 Corinthians 13?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong>Reformed theology<\/strong>, substituting the word <strong>\u201clove\u201d<\/strong> with <strong>\u201cGod\u201d<\/strong> in <em>1 Corinthians 13<\/em> is generally <strong>theologically problematic<\/strong>, even if it might sound inspiring at first glance. Here's why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <strong>Category Confusion (God \u2260 Love Itself)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reformed theology insists that <strong>God is not reducible to any one attribute<\/strong> \u2014 even love.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While <strong>\"God is love\"<\/strong> (1 John 4:8) is true, the reverse, <strong>\"Love is God,\"<\/strong> is not. That would be <strong>idolatry<\/strong> \u2014 making <strong>love<\/strong> the ultimate reality instead of the <strong>personal, triune God<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p> Swapping \u201clove\u201d with \u201cGod\u201d in 1 Corinthians 13 risks reversing the biblical logic \u2014 putting human virtue in place of divine personhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To reverse the phrase is to turn an attribute into a deity \u2014 a textbook case of idolatry.<br>\u2014 <em>R.C. Sproul, \u201cEssential Truths of the Christian Faith\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGod\u2019s love must be understood in harmony with His holiness and justice. To abstract love from His other attributes is to make an idol.\u201d<br>\u2014 <em>Louis Berkhof, <em>Systematic Theology<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong>1 Corinthians 13 Describes Christian Virtue, Not God's Nature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The passage describes how <strong>Christians should love<\/strong> \u2014 it's <strong>ethical instruction<\/strong>, not a <strong>creed about God\u2019s essence<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cLove is patient, love is kind\u2026\u201d is <strong>not<\/strong> a list of God\u2019s attributes per se. It\u2019s how believers <strong>ought to reflect Christ<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>John Calvin, in his <em>Commentary on 1 Corinthians<\/em>, emphasizes that 1 Corinthians 13 shows <strong>what love looks like among people<\/strong>, not a description of <strong>God Himself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. <strong>It Diminishes God's Justice, Wrath, Holiness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>God\u2019s love is <strong>never separated<\/strong> from His <strong>justice<\/strong>, <strong>holiness<\/strong>, and <strong>truth<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By only focusing on attributes like \u201cnot irritable,\u201d \u201ckeeps no record of wrongs,\u201d etc., one might <strong>misrepresent God<\/strong> \u2014 as though He is never wrathful or never condemns sin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Reformed theology warns against a <strong>sentimentalized God<\/strong>, which often emerges when \u201clove\u201d becomes the lens through which <strong>all other divine attributes are filtered<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Reformed Theology Does Affirm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>God\u2019s love is <strong>real, covenantal, and sacrificial<\/strong> \u2014 chiefly displayed in <strong>Christ\u2019s substitutionary atonement<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 Corinthians 13 shows what <strong>Christ-like love<\/strong> looks like in the lives of <strong>regenerated believers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Believers are called to imitate this love \u2014 not to equate it with God's being.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>\u274c Wrong Idea<\/th><th>\u2705 Reformed Correction<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>\"Love is God\"<\/td><td>\"God is love\" \u2014 but He is also holy, just, sovereign<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1 Corinthians 13 describes God\u2019s nature<\/td><td>It describes the Christian ethic and fruit of the Spirit<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Love as a divine replacement<\/td><td>Love as a result of union with the triune God<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Reformed theology, saying <em>\u201cGod is love\u201d<\/em> means <strong>God defines love<\/strong>. Saying <em>\u201cLove is God\u201d<\/em> reverses the source and elevates <strong>a human (or emotional) concept of love<\/strong> above Scripture \u2014 making it <strong>a functional idol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John Frame<\/strong> \u2014 <em>The Doctrine of God<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Frame emphasizes that <strong>God\u2019s attributes are not independent parts<\/strong>. To replace \u201clove\u201d with \u201cGod\u201d in 1 Corinthians 13 implies God <em>is only love<\/em>, which denies His <strong>simplicity<\/strong> (that all His attributes are fully integrated).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kevin DeYoung \u2013 various blog posts on 1 Corinthians 13 and theology proper<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>DeYoung criticizes the use of 1 Corinthians 13 as a \u201cdefinition of God\u201d and reminds readers it's about how <strong>we<\/strong> should act.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He writes: \u201cPaul is talking about love as a Christian virtue, not about God's essence\u2026 To use 1 Corinthians 13 to describe God\u2019s being is misapplied sentimentality.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Although, DeYoung did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/blogs\/kevin-deyoung\/more-love-to-from-and-in-thee\/\">write an article<\/a> replacing \"love\" with \"Jesus\".<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary: What Reformed Theology Teaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Question<\/th><th>Reformed Response<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Is God love?<\/td><td>Yes \u2014 1 John 4:8 clearly teaches this.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Is love God?<\/td><td>No \u2014 that\u2019s theological inversion and leads to idolatry.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Can 1 Cor. 13 describe God?<\/td><td>It reflects God\u2019s character in some ways, but the <strong>context is Christian ethics<\/strong>, not God\u2019s essence.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Why not substitute \u201cGod\u201d for \u201clove\u201d in 1 Cor. 13?<\/td><td>It wrongly equates God\u2019s essence with one attribute and imposes an anthropocentric framework onto divine nature.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary: Why Reformed Theology Warns Against It<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Error<\/th><th>Why It\u2019s Problematic<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Reducing God to \u201clove\u201d<\/strong><\/td><td>Denies God's full nature (justice, holiness, wrath).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Imposing human ethics onto God<\/strong><\/td><td>Makes God submit to our view of virtue.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Eisegesis of 1 Corinthians 13<\/strong><\/td><td>It\u2019s not a doctrinal definition of God, but ethical guidance for Christians.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Violates divine simplicity<\/strong><\/td><td>Attributes of God are not isolated or ranked.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Jonathan Edwards<\/strong> (1703\u20131758)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cGod is love, but love is not God. Love is a perfection of God\u2019s nature, not a god to be worshiped.\u201d<\/strong><br>\u2014 Paraphrased from <em>Charity and Its Fruits<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I think Bob has a <strong>tendency to idolize Christian ethics<\/strong>. The last time he seemingly attempted to idolize <strong>humility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pastor also<strong> erred greatly<\/strong> around @30:00 when <strong>Phil rightly spoke that we must strive<\/strong> and never to be complacent, and the pastor attempted to correct him: \"<em>It's gotta be a different understanding of striving, though, because you're not gonna outdo the Pharisees.&nbsp;That's his point.&nbsp;Unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees,&nbsp;that's not him saying,&nbsp;try harder...<\/em>\" I would temper that by saying, it is try harder. Try harder to trust in Christ, to strive by <strong>laying your burdens down with Christ. To strive by giving all glory and credit to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This continues with the pastor: ...<em>That's him saying, <strong>you can't do it<\/strong>. So you do start at the level that you can't. But when we talk about striving, it goes hand in hand with loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is, it is <strong>essentially not doing it by your own power<\/strong>, but working through faith. So when we talk about striving, there's this thing of, I've gotta reach the goal. I've gotta make the mark. I've gotta show the judges. That's not what we're doing. What we're doing is actually putting more weight on God. We're actually <strong>letting go<\/strong> and putting more weight on God, and then <strong>his power pushes us to work<\/strong>. And if you're not in that frame of mind, then you're still thinking, I've gotta outdo the Pharisees. I've heard Bible teachers who come from a more Arminian mindset say the problem with the Pharisees was <strong>they weren't trying hard enough<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My comment would simply be: that has a tendency of a strawman argument (I really wonder if there are really so many such strawmen who traumatized the pastor before, as these folks, though exist, are really scarce in my view) which is the only condition that this argument is correct, as most Christians who works hard already laid their burden on Christ, so it's try harder, but without your own credit but God's. Not focusing on yourself, but on God. So there's no \"letting go\". <strong>It's active, not passive<\/strong>. Also, <strong>just because we tell people to strive, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">does not always have to mean<\/span> we meant \"try harder\" according to your own strength<\/strong>. To not see this is foolishness and hence low IQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/18\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Phoebus Cartel<\/strong> formed by <strong>light bulb<\/strong> companies (Philips, International General Electrics, Tokyo Eletric, Osram, AEI, etc.) around the world to <strong>restrict <\/strong>the light bulb <strong>life to be shorter<\/strong>, so they could sell more, as in the early 1900s, the light bulb sales were dropped because of longer lasting bulbs. This Cartel fines any manufacturers breaking their agreement. This restricted the bulbs to only last up to 1000 hours. Fortunately, this Cartel was disbanded in 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why did light bulb lifetimes get shorter?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/49NikeBCzWo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked <strong>ChatGPT <\/strong>about <strong>my site<\/strong>: What's https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal mainly about? And the response was quite interestingly good:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The <strong>Journal<\/strong> section on nycphantom.com is essentially the author\u2019s <strong>personal diary<\/strong>, not a formal blog or devotional. It features entries on:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em><strong>Theology &amp; Scripture reflections<\/strong> \u2014 deep dives into biblical teachings (e.g. Stephen Tong on Hebrews, Paul vs. James) <a href=\"https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18454&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><strong>Tech and science observations<\/strong> \u2014 posts ranging from astrophotography and AI commentary to YouTube monetization and computer science musings <a href=\"https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18409&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><strong>Arts and culture<\/strong> \u2014 notes on classical music, visual art prints, hymns, and church-related events <a href=\"https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18409&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nycphantom.com+2nycphantom.com+2nycphantom.com+2<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>In summary:<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It reads like a daily journal where the author (Timothy Law, aka \u201ctimlyg\u201d) records his spiritual meditations, technical interests, creative pursuits, and personal reflections\u2014ranging across theology, astrophotography, programming, and church life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Let me know if you'd like a few specific entries highlighted or a deeper dive into any topic!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/17\/2025<\/strong> On <strong>Eugenics<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/science\/breakthrough-ivf-leads-eight-healthy-births?utm_source=tldrnewsletter\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/science\/breakthrough-ivf-leads-eight-healthy-births?utm_source=tldrnewsletter\">Scientists have finally tested<\/a> on a 3rd person (other than the two biological parents) DNA contribution to an embryo. This concept was only imagined in the movie Twins 1988 by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. This shouts \"blasphemy\" from fundamentalists. I could care less as far as parental biological heritage goes, because before the Creator's eyes, <strong>biological trait is not one to be idolized<\/strong>: Parental biological heritage is only <strong>as good as identity, not credit (which belongs solely to God)<\/strong>, which is the cause of the fundamentalists' outburst, <strong>fearing <\/strong>that their biological \"credit\" as <strong>parents <\/strong>has been <strong>hijacked by a 3rd person<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/16\/2025<\/strong> <strong>Paul's Justified vs. James' Justified. not the same thing<\/strong> ~ Stephen Tong.<br><strong>Paul's justified - No longer sinners before God (clothed with Christ's righteousness).<br>James' justified - Reflecting God's glory before men.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\uff03\u4fdd\u7f85\u8b1b\u7684\u300c\u7a31\u7fa9\u300d\uff0c\u8207\u96c5\u5404\u6709\u4f55\u4e0d\u540c\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c764\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u539f\u59cb\u5f71\u97f3\u56b4\u91cd\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\uff03\u4fdd\u7f85\u8b1b\u7684\u300c\u7a31\u7fa9\u300d\uff0c\u8207\u96c5\u5404\u6709\u4f55\u4e0d\u540c\u2753\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c764\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u539f\u59cb\u5f71\u97f3\u56b4\u91cd\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yt2505D4x-U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Tong on <strong>Perfected Perfection<\/strong>, though I have a feeling this clip wasn't quite complete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\uff03\u3008\u4f8661\u3009\u8aaa\u300c\u7aed\u529b\u9032\u5230\u5b8c\u5168\u7684\u5730\u6b65\u300d\uff0c\u6240\u4ee5\u5b8c\u5168\u9084\u6709\u53ef\u80fd\u66f4\u5b8c\u5168\u55ce\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c766\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u6c92\u6709\u5f71\u7247\uff0c\u800c\u5f9e\u9304\u97f3\u5e36\u8f49\u9304\uff1b\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\uff03\u3008\u4f866:1\u3009\u8aaa\u300c\u7aed\u529b\u9032\u5230\u5b8c\u5168\u7684\u5730\u6b65\u300d\uff0c\u6240\u4ee5\u5b8c\u5168\u9084\u6709\u53ef\u80fd\u66f4\u5b8c\u5168\u55ce\u2753\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c766\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u6c92\u6709\u5f71\u7247\uff0c\u800c\u5f9e\u9304\u97f3\u5e36\u8f49\u9304\uff1b\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eyVv_7Qot2Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\uff03\u300a\u8056\u7d93\u300b\u5982\u4f55\u8b1b\u660e\u4e0a\u5e1d\u7684\u6bbf\u66f4\u662f\u8b1b\u9053\u7684\u5730\u65b9\u2753\u70ba\u4f55\u6709\u9748\u6069\u904b\u52d5\u5ba3\u7a31\u4e0d\u9700\u8981\u8b1b\u9053\u5462\u2753\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c767\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u6c92\u6709\u5f71\u7247\uff0c\u800c\u5f9e\u9304\u97f3\u5e36\u8f49\u9304\uff1b\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fFBWZC2v9Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Tong on The House of God is <strong>House of Prayer vs. of Prophecy\/Teaching<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\uff03\u300a\u8056\u7d93\u300b\u5982\u4f55\u8b1b\u660e\u4e0a\u5e1d\u7684\u6bbf\u66f4\u662f\u8b1b\u9053\u7684\u5730\u65b9?\u70ba\u4f55\u6709\u9748\u6069\u904b\u52d5\u5ba3\u7a31\u4e0d\u9700\u8981\u8b1b\u9053\u5462?\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c767\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u6c92\u6709\u5f71\u7247\uff0c\u800c\u5f9e\u9304\u97f3\u5e36\u8f49\u9304\uff1b\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\uff03\u300a\u8056\u7d93\u300b\u5982\u4f55\u8b1b\u660e\u4e0a\u5e1d\u7684\u6bbf\u66f4\u662f\u8b1b\u9053\u7684\u5730\u65b9\u2753\u70ba\u4f55\u6709\u9748\u6069\u904b\u52d5\u5ba3\u7a31\u4e0d\u9700\u8981\u8b1b\u9053\u5462\u2753\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c767\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u6c92\u6709\u5f71\u7247\uff0c\u800c\u5f9e\u9304\u97f3\u5e36\u8f49\u9304\uff1b\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fFBWZC2v9Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/15\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Youtube and Meta (Facebook)<\/strong> finally have issues with those <strong>reposting <\/strong>others' contents with no originality at all. <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/07\/14\/following-youtube-meta-announces-crackdown-on-unoriginal-facebook-content\/?utm_source=tldrdesign\">Cracking down on unoriginality<\/a>. That's good, especially if this involves monetization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/14\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Hebrews 6:1, this is so important from Stephen Tong: Because Martin Luther's focus on <strong>Sola Gratia<\/strong>, the Lutherans 100 years later mistaken <strong>good works for granted<\/strong>, no holy life, worst than even gentiles. Tong spoke of a triumphant Christianity, which is our responsibility, no longer about Sola Gratia. <strong>If one still stuck at Sola Gratia, one is just a baby.<\/strong> Sola Gratia MUST produce good works!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\uff03\u597d\u884c\u70ba\u80fd\u8cb7\u6551\u6069\u55ce?\u5f97\u6551\u4ee5\u5f8c\u70ba\u4f55\u4e00\u5b9a\u8981\u6709\u597d\u884c\u70ba?\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c765\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u539f\u59cb\u5f71\u97f3\u56b4\u91cd\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\uff03\u597d\u884c\u70ba\u80fd\u8cb7\u6551\u6069\u55ce\u2753\u5f97\u6551\u4ee5\u5f8c\u70ba\u4f55\u4e00\u5b9a\u8981\u6709\u597d\u884c\u70ba\u2753\uff08\u5e0c\u4f2f\u4f86\u66f8\u8981\u7406\u554f\u7b54 \u7b2c765\u554f\uff09\uff08\u6b64\u8b1b\u539f\u59cb\u5f71\u97f3\u56b4\u91cd\u4e0d\u826f\uff0c\u8acb\u591a\u770b\u6587\u5b57\u5167\u5bb9\uff09\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1drsouX-kxY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7\/13\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today the missionary couple, <strong>Hillary of Ghana<\/strong>, visited our church and talked in our Sunday School. I asked him a day before (at Flaming Grill) and after the Sunday service on <strong>demonic possessions<\/strong>. Seems like he had quite an experience on it personally. Although, I sensed from his sharing that he was more into the strangeness of the possessions than the deliverance of it them. A typical Charismatics interest. Nevertheless, his dealings with those seem sound on the most part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also spoke to Frances, the new family I was able to talk to last week. I learned that they went from non-denominational (Charismatics?) to interested in Reformed after watching the documentary: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Gospel\">American Gospel<\/a> <\/strong>(2 movies <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/american-gospel-christ-alone_christ-crucified\/American+Gospel+-+Christ+Alone+(2018).mp4\">free on Archive<\/a>, totaling 5 hours). Hence they searched for Presbyterian church in the neighborhood and found us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>7\/19\/2025 Saturday Bob led the Men's Fellowship, on Patience. I wasn't paying attention in the middle but I realized there's some great error Bob committed in the middle when he took the LOVE chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 and replace &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=18571\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technical"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18571"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18671,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18571\/revisions\/18671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}