And later this week, I'll be answering the question "What is the meaning of life?". Not really, it actually seems that I have more questions than answers. Of course, you do have to ask questions before you can get any answers, so I suppose I'm making progress. For a couple of weeks in our group Bible study, we started discussing "the will of God" or, more specifically, the different "wills" of God. The study we were using, written by my sister-in-law's father, a pastor, proposed the idea that God doesn't have a specific "perfect" will for individuals other than to follow his moral will and his sovereign will. It turned out that I'd been pondering such a concept in my own head for a while, and it makes a lot of sense. For a good explanation, go read Vexation #17: Are You in God's Will?. It's a very solid Biblical explanation of this idea.

Something else I've been pondering lately is Calvinism. This is due in part to the fact that Genia and I have been attending a Presbyterian church since we moved to Chattanooga. I am attracted to many of the aspects of the Reformed worldview -- see RazorMouth for excellent articles from a Reformed perspective on culture, politics, education, and of course, theology. However, I still have questions and issues with election, which is at the heart of the Reformed theology and worldview. Basically, Calvinism teaches that God specifically elected certain people from all nations for salvation, and that he specifically elected others for damnation. That's a tough pill at first glance, isn't it? I still haven't been convinced one way or the other, but I continue to look into it. One interesting Reformed concept is that God is "God-centered" instead of being "man-centered." This concept is best e!
xplained and promoted by John Piper's Desiring God Ministries. A weblog I frequently read called Truth Becomes Lies has an interesting post entitled "God's Glorious Conspiracy of Self-Exaltation" discussing this concept as well.

One final link, added at the last minute: Desiring God Ministries also has an interesting article discussing their concept of Christian Hedonism, and why they think being a Christian Hedonist is the way to live. Check it out, it's an interesting read.