Alex Chediak – Alex Chediak has a pretty new web site (AlexChediak.com). I should know because I made it. Alex, who authored (edited?) 5 Paths To The Love Of Your Life (my review) is anticipating the imminent release of his second book, this one co-authored with his wife. It is titled With One Voice and should be available within a week or two. Why not root around Alex’s site and, if you feel so moved, order his new book? I haven’t read it yet, but it promises to be a good one. Rumor has it that I will receive a copy of it shortly.
Mormons – Wouldn’t you know it. This is the last day of one of the busiest weeks I can recall and the Mormons chose today to come a-calling. I never turn down an opportunity to tangle with Mormon’s (always two young, well-dressed, white men) or Jehovah’s Witnesses (usually older, recent immigrant minorities) when they come to the door. I don’t invite them in, but will always engage in some discussion through the doorway. This year, Elder MacNiel and Elder Hunter wanted to help me live a more fulfilled life. Genuinely nice kids, my heart aches to see them spreading such awful, godless beliefs in this neighborhood. I was glad to see that every address on their list had an “X” through it, suggesting that they had not been able to convince anyone to do invite them for a return visit. By the end of our visit, I noted that Elder MacNeil had drawn a circle around my address.
My strategy, which I had to think up on the spot since I was not expecting this visit, was to convince them that their works-based salvation is inconsistent with Scripture. I got them to agree that Scripture confirms that we are spiritually dead and that dead men cannot in any way reach out to God. I got them to agree that the passages in Scripture affirming our spiritual state and our need for a Savior are not some of those passages that were apparently corrupted, necessitating the “Book of Mormon.” What they could not see was the logical inconsistency of dead men beginning to do good works and pleasing a holy God. They admitted that they were baffled by how this could happen and promised, as they always do, to study it and pray about it. They said they would come back, but if I had a dime for every time a Mormon has failed on that promise, I could, well, buy a newspaper anyways. They left me with a nice little card asking “What is the purpose of life?” I already know the answer to that one.
To my shame I have to say that I know very little about the best strategies for evangelizing Mormons. It is entirely possible that my strategy was not a very good one, though I trust that, by God’s grace, He may see fit to stir their hearts to see His glory. If anyone wants to give me some tips in this regard, please feel free.
Spam – My site is experience a brutal, ongoing, concerted spam attack. I have had thousands and thousands of spams hit the site. The majority of these comments, most of them dealing with all manner of perversion, have been safely filtered. Quite a few have still gotten through. So if you happen to see strange comments, please bear with me. I am doing the best I can. I will attempt to integrate some new countermeasures this weekend. It is a constant battle to stay one step ahead of these horrible purveyors of perversion.
Weekend – And just like that, the weekend is just about upon us. My plans involve reading, hanging out with the family, changing my brake pads and sharing lunch tomorrow with some good friends. It sounds to me like we’ve got the makings of a pretty good weekend here!
