All posts by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

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Soundtrack To My Life

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I was tagged by Mike to compile the soundtrack to my life. I was surprised by some of the song selections…I now tag James and Tammy.

The Rules:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

Here we go (according to my iTunes):

Opening Credits
Dave Matthews “All Along the Watchtower“

Waking Up
John Butler Trio “Betterman”

First Day of School
U2 “Beautiful Day“

Falling in Love
David Crowder Band “Sing Like the Saved“

Fight Song
Jeremy Camp “Wonderful Maker“

Breaking Up
Amanda Marshall “Trust Me (This is Love)“

Prom
John Mayer “In Repair“

Life
Bruce Springstein “We Shall Overcome”

Mental Breakdown
ABBA “Dancing Queen“

Driving
Chris Tomlin “Let God Arise“

Flashback
David Crowder Band “Come and Listen“

Getting Back Together
United Live “Consuming Fire“

Wedding
U2 “Love Comes Tumbling“

Birth of Child
Collective Soul “Energy“

Final Battle
U2 “Drowning Man“

Death Scene:
Amanda Marshal “Last Exit to Eden“

Funeral Song
Evanescences “Solitude“

End Credits
Barenaked Ladies “Maybe Your Right“

misc

Life: An Update

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It is “crunch time” for school these days and consequently I haven’t been keeping up with my blog. I have been writing at prolific pace and as a result there has been a shortage of extra words. So I thought I would go simple and give a short update on life and school (these days it is hard to distinguish between the two):

  1. Been working on a ton of papers for school. I think I have a total of about 70 pages due over the next three weeks.
  2. I put up our outdoor Christmas lights (Our house is bright!!! I am not sure if Al Gore will be happy with our electricity consumption or if we will confuse the planes coming to land at the Edmonton International Airport, but it looks good).
  3. I have been trying desperately to get through the stack of books I have for school. I forget what it was like to read by choice?
  4. I’ve watched a few average movies over the last few weeks.
  5. I am still in shock over the thought of loosing my weekly dose of “The Office” due to the writers strike. I am also depressed that they are talking about permanently canceling 24.
  6. I am thankful for my Laptop and the ability to work in various locations (my office, coffee shops, Devon’s A&W, etc), at least it provides some variety to my life. I feel like a school hermit as it is but it would be even worse if I had to do all my work in my office.

Although life is busy, I am so grateful for the opportunity to take this year and be in school full-time.

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Writers Strikes Back

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With my favorite TV shows on hiatus due to the writers’ strike I am in deep mourning – there is only one more episode of The Office and 24 has been put on hold.

It is sad but after watching this video made by The Office writers during their picketing (it is informative and quite funny), I understanding their point. I just hope the strike will be over soon because I am NOT going to watch reality TV…I’m NOT!!! Unless, of course, they bring back “Fear Factor” (just kidding).

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The Underside of Luther

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When one typically hears of Martin Luther they think of the great Reformer who brought the Church out of the corrupt clutches of the Medieval Catholic Church and led her into the modern era, promoting several doctrines. Luther is best know for promoting the theological conviction that salvation is by grace through faith alone. Although this is one of the “main stage” theological convictions of Luther, there are other less known “side stage” beliefs and convictions that have been largely ignored in recent years. Recently, I have been doing some research and study on Luther’s view of Supersessionism (the conviction that the Church has replaced Israel and is now the new “spiritual Israel” and that the Jewish people are now without a covenant and cursed because they have rejected the Messiah). Luther was not alone in this view (there is widespread unanimity on this theology conviction in Christendom from the early Church Fathers up to and beyond the time of Luther until WWII), however when you combine Luther Suppersessionism, and at times blatant Anti-Semitic writings, with his positive view on Autocratic government and mix it with the potency of his massive influence, it is apparent that it helped to create the fertile ground in Germany that eventually gave birth to Nazism.

I am not saying that Luther was a Nazi or that he would have supported Hitler, in fact I would assume otherwise, but his writings definitely influenced the Third Reich. In fact, Luther’s infamous tract: “On The Jews and Their Lies,” was quoted often by the Nazis and the original copy of this tract was proudly displayed at Nurenberg during Nazi party rallies.

My research has focused on the influences of the Church Fathers, who were largely Supersessionists, upon Luther and then Luther’s influence upon Christendom and eventually the Holocaust. I am also looking at the current typical Evangelical position which has grown after World War II that views God’s covenant as still binding with Israel. Interestingly, the common Evangelical expression God will bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse the Jews would have been unthinkable before the Holocaust in Christianity.

I am not making any theological claims but simply stating how culture, world events and societal beliefs have drastic and profound effects on our theology and conversely, how our theology can have profound, even horrendous, affects on society.

Luther is a fascinating man whose influence and affects are still felt today, some 500 years after his life.