Providence In The Life Of Steve Hays

"those who honor Me I will honor" (1 Samuel 2:30)

God's providence is the subject of the title of Steve's memoir and a recurring theme within it. I won't repeat everything he says about the topic there. But I want to supplement the memoir with a discussion of providence in Steve's life in contexts the memoir doesn't discuss much, especially his work at Triablogue and the events surrounding the end of his life.

Whether we consider something providential will depend on a lot of background factors that we've discussed in other contexts and that I won't get into here (the existence of God, the characteristics of God, the evidence for Christianity, etc.). And different aspects of providence are going to be evident and evidenced to different degrees. I'm not suggesting that all of what I'll discuss below is of equal significance.

I'll start with some examples of providence related to Steve's life as a whole. I'll then conclude with the events surrounding his death.

Steve Hays (1959-2020)

We just learned that Steve Hays has passed away in a hospice. He had cancer and heart disease. Both conditions were initially treatable, but he declined treatment. He was content to let go and die a natural death. What he lived by, he died by. He was preceded in death by both his parents.

He wrote a memoir titled A Backward Providence. An original edition was written many years ago, but he updated it shortly before his death.

All that Steve provided for an obituary was most of what's in the first paragraph above. But a lot more can and ought to be said. This post will remain at the top of the screen for the next three days, then normal posting will resume. Anybody on the Triablogue staff who wants to start another thread about Steve at that point or later is free to do so. Thank you.

Bell, Book, and Candle updated

Patrick Chan and I have updated the bibliography for this post:

https://triablogue.blogspot.com/2009/02/bell-book-candle.html

In addition, he fixed the dead links on the old post.

Atheism and its discontents

I recently got into a debate with a former evangelical Christian turned atheist. Here are some bits and pieces from my replies I thought might be helpful to some. Apologies if there's still a lot of filler or fodder in here as I wasn't necessarily all that discriminating in what I left in or took out. Also sorry I don't have the time to better organize this (e.g. topically). It's mostly just a quick copy and paste job in chronological order. And keep in mind I'm not a biblical scholar, theologian, or philosopher so I'm open to correction.

Kubo and the Two Strings review

(Spoilers contained below.)

I recently watched Kubo and the Two Strings. It's a beautifully rendered stop-motion animated feature film. It looks, sounds, and even "feels" exquisitely crafted. The voice acting is superb as well. Regina Spektor's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was a pitch perfect way to close out the film. Overall I loved the movie.

Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God

Free (pdf): Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God by Vern Poythress.

Also, Poythress' The Lordship of Christ: Serving Our Savior All of the Time, in All of Life, with All of Our Heart is currently $2.99 on Kindle.

Gun control for dummies

Happy new year!

Should nothing of our efforts stand
No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house
In vain its builders strive

To you who boast tomorrow’s gain
Tell me what is your life
A mist that vanishes at dawn
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign will ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

His kingdom come
His will be done
On earth as is above
Who is himself our daily bread
Praise him the Lord of love

Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign will ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

When on the day the great I Am
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain
Is making all things new.

Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall ere his people be
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign will ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

HT: Justin Taylor.

Armed defense

"John Piper, Guns, and Civic Responsibility" by Steven Wedgeworth.

"Why I Disagree with John Piper on Christians and Concealed Weapons" by Bob Thune.

A model Christian-Muslim discussion

Prof. James Anderson recommends a debate or discussion (or two) between Dr. James White and Imam Muhammad Musri: "A Model Christian-Muslim Discussion".

Help Chris see Christmas

More info here.

The Daily Wire has an article on Chris Dunn titled "Texas Hospital Seeks To End Life-Support For Lucid Patient".

The fine-tuning of the universe

Four kinds of Christmas

Take the quiz.

Separation of church and state

Robert George interviews Ted Cruz

I'm not posting this to recommend Cruz for prez, per se, as much as to highlight an intelligent conversation between two public intellectuals over Constitutional, civil liberties, bioethics, same-sex marriage, and other issues most pertinent to Americans:

Shadow of Oz

Casey Luskin offers a sneak peek into Shadow of Oz: Theistic Evolution and the Absent God by Wayne Rossiter.

Evaluating the claims of scientists

"Evaluating the Claims of Scientists" by Vern Poythress.

"Ban Democrats from owning guns"?

Denying the Signature 6

"Denying the Signature: More on Substance Dualism" by Stephen Meyer.

Denying the Signature 5

"Denying the Signature: Of Minds and Causes" by Stephen Meyer.