07 October 2005

Taking a break

closed

My agenda for the next ten days is absolutely packed, and with an important deadline looming, I can't afford any distractions. Lord willing, PyroManiac will be back sometime within the next two weeks. Have your frozen ground-beef tubes ready.

11 October 2005
PS:

Happy birthday from the deserted backstreets of Pyromaniac

Phil's signature

194 comments:

  1. Hey! You just can't go away like that! Come back!

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  2. Nooooo! PyroWithdrawl...it's beginning already.

    Ten whole days?!?! I may have to contemplate taking up other, more savory, addictions.

    Besides, who will take care of Darwin Betta Fish?

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  3. Phil,

    Thank you for the thoughtful reply on the other thread. Much to chew on and consider there while you are gone, enjoy the next two weeks.

    Brad

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  4. Phil Johnson won’t blog for 2 weeks? Yeah right! I’ve got $50 that says he will. Any takers?

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  5. Wow. Even Letterman doesn't take 2 weeks off. Maybe you could feature a "best of" blog or something.

    I hope you'll at least do something on Monday - those are my favorites.

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  6. Yeah Chris, I would like to see something like those old Little House shows where they do all of those flash backs and stuff.
    I would love to see a collection from the archives of Phil as a young Blogger.

    Jonathan, I am a pastor with 9 children so I don't have $50 but I would bet some old copies of some of Schuller's books. Do you think that Phil would keep from posting just to get his hands on them?

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  7. 2 Weeks... great! I guess I'll start up my morning devotions in the Word again... until Phil gets back.

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  8. Jonathan if I wasn't almost certain I would lose I would take you up on that.

    That last time he told us he wouldn't blog for a few days he produced the Biblezine blog.

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  9. Boy after ten days Phil had better produce one great blog post on his return.

    I am looking forward to it.

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  10. In Phil's absence, I think he should invite some guest bloggers to blog in his place.

    But it is Phil's blog...

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  11. I thought about taking 10 days off. But my blog is too important.

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  12. So what are we supposed to do in the mean time?

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  13. Well Joe... we could always do what we did before we all read Phil every day...

    Now what was that again? I forgot..

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  14. Man! Is it the 21st yet? I keep checking back just to see if Phil isn't yanking our chains about being "closed"...sick, I know.

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  15. Phil,
    I find your blog so inspiring ... although maybe not in the right way. Oh, and in church today ... my pastor dropped your name ... apparently he took a class from you some years ago. Now get back to work!

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  16. See what you did Jonathan, you challenged him and now he's going to stay away for the next two weeks on principle.

    I know what will get him back...

    I heard the reason Phil isn't posting right now is that he's been attending an Emergent church, and is so smitten with the movement he's decided to leave everything behind to join up. Tell everyone you know.

    Once he gets wind of this, Phil will be back. Trust me)

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  17. You could always pop over to my place and read my interview with CJ Mahaney about his new book on humility- surely an essential read for all bloggers!I

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  18. Holy Moses, this guy gets a billion posts just for saying, "I'm not here right now". He didn't even ask anyone to leave a message!

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  19. lol! MacArthurfan... I'm loving the name. If you were to ask Dr. Halstead of TMC this questions (my old NT prof), he would probably answer your first question (in reference to the "we") something like this: the sins we experience are the residual effects of our sin nature, which is--of course--no longer in us. I could list Scriptures, but I'm sure others will post. I just wanted to throw that thought in there for you to think about. It's not that we have a sin nature necessarily, but that we still have sin. We are not yet in a glorified state... we are not yet to perfection. We are perfect in God's eyes because He sees Christ when He looks at us; in reality (or from our vantage point), we are still in the process of sanctification and are still being renewed day by day. It seems sort of paradoxical. Main idea being this: sin nature is gone... but the sin that came as a result of that sin nature is still alive and well. The sin we experience now does not flow from our new nature, but our old one. Hope that thought helps. If not... well, sorry. ; )

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  20. MacA fan:

    This is taken from the Expositor's Bible Commentary:
    1 John 1:8
    8 The second denial is against the false assertion that a Christian has no sin. The opponents probably did not claim that they had never committed wrong (sinful acts), but they denied that the sin principle (hamartian echein, "to have sin") had lasting power over them or even had a presence in them. It is not surprising that Gnostics, whether Christian or otherwise, should have denied sin. No human being, ancient or modern, wishes to understand his existence under that rubric.
    The Gnostic rationalization, though ingenious, was not unique. Some, according to Dodd's reconstruction, held that

    Christians have been given a new nature superior to that of other men.... Christians are already sinless beings; or if not all Christians, at least those who have attained to superior enlightenment. They have no further need for moral striving they are already perfect.... if the enlightened do things which in other men would be counted sinful, they are not sinners. Their mystical communion with God in itself removes them from the category of sinful men" Johannine Epistles, pp. 21-22).

    Law (in loc.) has argued that the phrase hamartian echein pertains especially to the guiltiness of the sin. This would certainly pertain to the Gnostics since they evidently chose to accept no responsibility for moral action.
    Others may have argued, like some in Corinth, that sin was a matter of the flesh and had nothing to do with the spirit, or that since they possessed the spirit, they were beyond the categories of good and evil and therefore moral principles no longer applied to them.
    Whatever the shape of the argument, and regardless of whether it is an affirmation from the ancient world or a modern restatement, it remains true that whenever the principle of sin is denied as an ongoing reality, there follows a denial of responsibility for individual actions. Gossip, defiling of persons, hatred of the brethren, jealousy, and boasting become sanctioned as non-sins; walking in the light is denied; and the fellowship to which we are called is never permitted to exist.
    The implications of the denial of the sin principle are momentous. First, there is the matter of personal responsibility. Brooke (p. 18) points out that the fact that we have deceived ourselves "emphasizes the agent's responsibility for the mistake. The evidence is there; only willful blindness refuses to accept it." Bultmann (p. 21), commenting on the same phrase, says that "self-deception does not mean a simple mistake, but rather that misdirected self-identity which is not aware of its nothingness.
    Second, we recognize that the truth is simply not in us or with us. When the principle of sin is denied, truth as an inner principle of life cannot exist. The futility and irony of our predicament then becomes evident: In God's name, we make God's presence and power an impossibility.
    _____________________________

    Maybe that will give you a place to start.

    Big Chris
    Because I said so blog
    http://mrclm.blogspot.com

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  21. Adrian,
    Have you really sunk to trolling the dormant Pyro's comment area for readership ;-) ? Ohhh to be an uberblogger....

    Big Chris

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  22. Great stuff! I especially like that last line. Here's Leon Morris from the New Bible Commentary (a really excellent one volume jobby, if you're in the market for commentaries):

    1:8–9 The second error. 8 John puts the second error simply: if we claim to be without sin. More literally this is ‘if we say that we have no sin’, an unusual expression (found elsewhere Jn. 9:41; 15:22, 24; 19:11; the niv paraphrases). ‘To have sin’ means more than ‘to commit sin’; it refers to the inner principle of which sinful acts are the outward manifestation. Sin persists. Sin clings to the sinner. The positive statement is reinforced by a following negative, the truth is not in us (as also in the preceding and following statements). When we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves (we certainly deceive no-one else!), and the truth is not in us. Truth is viewed dynamically; it can take up its abode in people who love truth. But to say such a false thing as that we have no sin makes it impossible for truth to dwell in us. Modern fallacies claim that sin is a disease or a weakness, something due to heredity or environment, necessity or the like; people come to regard sin as their fate, not their fault. Such people deceive themselves. 9 In contrast we may confess our sins. The plural is significant: we confess specific sins, not simply that we sin. And because God is faithful and just (cf. Dt. 32:4; Mi. 7:18–20; Rom. 3:25) he forgives. He can be thoroughly relied upon. Nothing is said as to the way in which he will purify us from all unrighteousness, but v 7 is still in mind. It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses. Nothing else can remove our stains.

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  23. John MacArthur should blog as Phil's sub! Wouldn't that be a hoot!

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  24. MacArthur's sermon tonight was simply amazing... it was on regeneration and John chapter 3 (in relation to evangelism). He taught many things from John 3 that, frankly, I had never thought of. I recommend tonight's sermon audio (10/9/05 is the date for the sermon) to everyone. Come on, MacArthur... where are you??? ; )

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  25. I wonder if macarthur would sign my corpse before I'm committed to the ground. I think it'd speed my delivery to the pearlies, and if not I'm sure it'd at least impress an apostle or two!

    I LOVE YOU JOHN!!!!

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  26. macarthurfan - have you ever heard of the notes in the MacArthur Study Bible - or you could get John's tapes when he preached back through 1 John in about 2002. Bound to deal with those issues in detail.

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  27. he is really not coming back for 2 weeks is he??

    while I like a fool keep coming back every day to see if he has dropped even a hint of being on his blog.

    withdrawal hurts.......

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  28. Is it possible to get the MacArthur study notes without the bible part? I find that pesky bible can get in the way of the great notes!

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  29. In the libronix software version of the MSB the notes are standalone.

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  30. Thanks Warren... I was really joking (apparently poorly) in an attempt to be inflamatory and keep the comments coming.

    Lets keep this going and see if we can get more comments than when Phil is actually here.

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  31. Yikes! Do you all realize that most of you are in violation of Pyrocode

    RULE #3 “On-topic comments only. If you have other stuff to say to me, send me an e-mail.”

    By law, you are only allowed to speak of: (1) Phil’s “agenda”; (2) “the next ten days”; (3) what Phil can and cannot “afford”; (4) the Lord’s will; and (5) “frozen ground-beef tubes.”

    Break this rule and you may be banished from Pyromaniaville forever. See

    RULE #5 “Break my rules three times and I'll automatically delete any further comments I see from you.”

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  32. Marc... MacArthur's 1 volume commentary on the whole Bible, The MacArthur Bible Commentaryis really the notes from the study Bible with a few additional maps, charts, graphs and addendum's (that Phil probably wrote anyway) thrown in there to make it REALLY big. Hope that helps!

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  33. Thanks everyone for the info the MacArthur Bible Notes stuff. I really didn't want info though... I was joking... you know, like tthe Bible was getting in the way of the commentary, like the commentary was better than the bible... oh never mind.

    Apparently, any humor I attempt in the future will have to be in the form of a Comic Book Cover.

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  34. sheesh with all the hype about pyro being gone only ten days you'd think they discontinued chocolate ice cream or the dodgers won the world series...it just doesn't happen.

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  35. LOL.. after a few days of doing other stuff, I thought I'd pop in and see what's what. 42 COMMENTS? That's comedy. Now I'm no longer coming back to see if Phil's updated, I'm coming back to see how many comments he can accumulate in his absence.

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  36. I'm offended! Phil's tone in this post crossed the line. Does he only think of us as distractions?
    You want a distraction? I'll show you a distraction! Give me your phone number Phil.

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  37. Enjoy your break!!!!! you deserve it. I will looking forward to your return but until then I will have to read from my library.

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  38. Marc, just wanted to let you know that I saw your comment as a joke and actually thought it was funny. My comments were intended as a joke as well, but I have a feeling that there's some kind brother who's mailed me a box of sharpies and MacArthur's phone number . . .

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  39. I'm fine wil Phil taking time away from here to actually live his life becasue I'm sure his return post will be spectacular...or else he may have a riot on his hands.

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  40. What's That?? NEW MATERIAL????????

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

    ....ummm

    is that all?

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  41. Is it just me or is Phil giving The DataRat a run for the best polemically Reformed cartoonery?

    :-)

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  42. I wasn't going to comment, but I'm NOT kidding when I say that I think I have Pyrowithdrawal...every time I log on I go check just in case he was joking about the time out.
    Although the birthday thing is a sign of life...
    Good for you Phil, I'll pray you get a whole lot done.

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  43. Oh, I finally got it. Pecadillo is your son!

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  44. With this flurry of comments on Phil's absence, I am now convinced that there is such a thing as the emergent church. It is just not what guys like D.A. Carson wrote about.

    I believe it should be called the Emergent PyroChurch!

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  45. This is just another inane comment about nothing with absolutely no point. And it's all because Phil is gone.

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  46. More importantly, this proves the point that a blogger could go AWOL and the conversation would keep going and going and going and going...

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  47. Only if he has a pedantic readership like Phil...

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  48. I wasn't going to make a comment, but everyone else is, and I don't want to be left out...

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  49. 58 Infinity, no reverses!

    This reminds me of the time that Capt. Kirk, William Shatner spoofed a trekkie convention and told the audience to "GET A LIFE!"

    I'll bet most of you collected comic books, were on the chess club, and played D & D back in the day...before you moved out of your parents basement at the age of 35.

    I tell you this because I care. Get outside for some fresh air before Phil comes back and you have to begin another Pyro vigil.

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  50. C'mon Jeremy. Waves detract from the purity of the game.

    :-)

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  51. can we stay on topic please!?!

    I believe we were discussing whether Pteradactyls where actually on Noah's ark, or simply hovered above it most of the time, landing on the roof only occasionally to rest.

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  52. PyroManiac, we miss you. Nine more days and counting...hurry home.

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  53. I am afraid that if we start a wave (the Mexican variety, I assume), the blondes are going to drown!

    Did I say that?!

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  54. 63

    the last number of my bike chain lock in the 3rd grade......

    now where did I put my keys?

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  55. I've been reading this blog since it started in June and this is the first time you have been away so long, I think. Hmmm, are you trying to hint to us that Pecadillo's birthday is around the corner?
    Phil, I enjoy your blog. The pictures and comics are awesome.(plus the contents too, ha! ha!)

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  56. More importantly than the pteradactyls, my mother-in-law and I got on a discussion as to whether there were fish on the ark or not. The Bible doesn't say...

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  57. Wow Phil,
    You get more comments when you write nothing...

    I think you have found the ingredients to a successful blog :-)

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  58. More importantly than the pteradactyls, my mother-in-law...

    There's a joke in there somewhere, I think.

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  59. Doug,

    Of course there where fish on the ark... that's what the Pteradactyls ate. The real question among scholars is: did the flying dinos eat the fish during their brief moments of rest on top of the ark, or did Noah and his sons toss the fish into the air while the pteradactyls swooped down and grabbed 'em while flying.
    A topic worth researching, I think.

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  60. One things for sure, there were waves around the ark.

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  61. This is obviously some kind of cyber-congregation. Where is the pastor and deacons and what is the doctrinal statement?

    I'm #70.

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  62. Hey, the last time people started posting numbers, Phil declared it off-topic. Then he deleted a ton of posts and messed up the count.

    So what's "on-topic" for this thread? Pecadillo's birthday? Speculation about what Phil is up to during this sudden closure? Where'd he go, anyway?

    I think we need some clarity here, or someone's gonna get in trouble when Phil gets back.

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  63. The topic of this post appears to be a non-topic. Therefore the only topics that are on topic are those that are off topic. Of course then, being on topic, they are then a non topic. Since a non topic cannot be on topic, it must be off topic and therefor on topic and the whole vicious cycle begins again.

    What this proves, I believe, is that Phil has become tired of the blogosphere and in his wrath has introduced this paradox to destroy the entire blogsophere as it collapses in on itself as the last shred of logic is removed from the system. Hopefully, the resulting Blog Bang that occurs when the blogosphere reaches a singularity will result in the creation of a New Blogosphere where there are no theological liberals or emergent types and we can all talk about good things.

    Sort of a topical paradise, as it were.

    Or maybe Phil is just busy.

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  64. Apparently the pteradactyls on the ark topic is too cutting edge. I must be the only one reading the scholarly journals and extrabiblical literature on this subject. Some time's its lonely when you're this smart.

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  65. I don't have anything to say. I just wanted to help contribute to Phil getting 100 comments without even posting anything for days.

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  66. Has anyone considered that Phil might be doing an experiment to see how addicted to his blog we have become?

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  67. I think I'll help contribute to this whole 100 comments thing too. I enjoy reading your blog (and the other hall-of-church-history stuff too).

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  68. lol Father of Eleven... funny man you are.

    Hey MacArthurfan, I am NOT speaking for Phil Johnson or anyone else, nor am I trying to sound like them. However, if I was married and had kids, and some crazy psychopathic woman burst into the house in hopes of hurting any of my family..........
    I'd knock the living daylights out of 'er, or worse! A man, biblically, has the responsibility to protect his family and to be the leader. I'd take the life of a woman before she took the life of my wife. But, that's just me. : )

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  69. This is sort of like hanging around after church and talking with each other, only it's not like that at all.

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  70. First Pyromaniac comment ever!!!

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  71. macarthurfan, if a woman were molesting my family, I would use whatever force was necessary to subdue her. If she survived the encounter, I would politely open the door for her as she was led away in handcuffs. I am, after all, a gentleman.

    84

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  72. that dog sniffing Pecadillo's birthday cake reminds me of a pteradactyl... have I given you my theory on them yet?

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  73. Phil,

    Just a thought. Can you not work through the night until you get your work finished and then start posting (say) 72 hours earlier than you intended? I hope this book project you're on is worth it. :-)

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  74. pteradactyls, schmeradactyls!

    You are completely off-topic as there is NO topic!

    89 - Almost there!

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  75. Well, it seems like we don't need Phil anymore! We can keep ourselves amused as long as it takes!

    How long does it take?

    90 - 10 to go!

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  76. William,

    I find amusing that you bring up the schmeradactyl. Those of who held to the beleif that there where indeed schmeradactyls on the ark as well were often ridiculed by the world of rational science...

    that is until the perfectly preserved body of a schmeradactyl was found encased in ice. Upon cutting it open they discovered a bit of gopher wood stuck in its esophogus. HA!

    Let science and rational thought give me an answer to that!!!

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  77. Personally, if a maniacal woman broke into our house and tried to harm my wife and kids, I would sick my pet pteradactyl on her.

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  78. There's a little proverb that comes to mind about idle hands, and I'm wondering: how does that apply to idle blogs?

    #94!

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  79. This is certainly not an idle blog, is it now?

    Talking about schmeradactyls Marc, I didn't know that there was anyone else in the scientific community who has actually studied them! Most would go for the pteradactyls, but I found that that area of science was already overcrowded. I naturally was fascinated by their sleeping patterns... zzzzzzzzzz

    Wha'? What?!

    95

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  80. idle? Sounds like you're afraid to refute my insurmountable pteradactyl/schmeradactyl scholarly evidence Rose. Stick to scientific debate and leave off these sad ad hominem attacks.

    Yes William, the characteristic ZZZZZZZZZZZ of the sleeping dactyl has fascinated me as well.

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  81. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  82. Does this mean that I am #100? Will I get my name and blog title in Phil's blog sometime?
    I have an interesting blog...about the study that I am currently conducting...about the alternative universe consisting of peradactiles (spelling is not my strong suit)...

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  83. I smell something fishy going on here...comments are disappearing...is there another blog that is sucking posts off of this one? When I was here an hour ago there were over 100 posts. Now as I read there are only 95...could phil's absence have created a blog hole? Could there be another explanation?
    For the record...I was the 100th post at one time (for a little while)
    I wish Phil were back...this is getting pathetic.

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  84. Hey! That cake disintigrated! Overnight! Reminds me of a cake I once made.

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  85. For the record, I believe the schmerodactyl was later proven by reliable scientific inquiry to be a pterodactyl with rheumatoid arthritis. Hence the deformed beak and gnarled claws that initially led researchers to assume it was the long-sought schmerodactyl, as described by the Greco-Roman historian Logos Libronix.

    However, there are some interesting references to the schmerodactyl in the Bible codes...

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  86. cake? what cake? according to my scientific knowledge, that is schmerodactyl scat on the sidewalk, proving my theory that there are still schmerodactyl's in contemporary society (young earth theory). they might be partial to sweets. umm..watch your shoulders at all times and be careful looking up.

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  87. It is the little touches like the missing cake and the sniffing dog that make this site worth coming back to time and again.

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  88. Hey guys, I heard that Phil was taking this time off because he's drying out at the Betty Ford clinic. Wow. No wonder his tone was gruff. He was high as a kite!
    Hopefully there will be a kinder, gentler fireman return instead of the mean, angry pyromaniac who left.
    :-D

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  89. I heard he was skulking around the religious bloggers' convention currently underway at Biola--playing elaborate practical jokes on the Emerging-types in attendance, and honing his computer hacking skills.

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  90. It is the little touches like the missing cake and the sniffing dog that make this site worth coming back to time and again.

    ...and Phil thought it was his writing.

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  91. even when he is gone his graphics make me ashamed to open my microsoft paint for use.......

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  92. Maybe we should build a golden calf.

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  93. Oh my...this is sad...everybody in limbo, continuing to commen@#$%.....NO, not me too....

    Play on Pied Piper...

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  94. I could continue on with my original topic but at this point it would feel like i'm just beating a dead...

    umm...

    pteradactyl.


    P.S. I am such a loser...

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  95. The picture changed...there is no dog...what is coming next?

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  96. Based on my understanding of Moorhead vs. Father of 11, I think this is on topic.

    Phil said he was going to be gone, so I believed him. I didn't realize that ALL OF YOU were all going to hang around anyway. That's just weird guys. It's like hanging out at someone's house after they leave for work. :-D

    um...How many days left? Has someone built one of those countdown websites yet?

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  97. OK Phil-phileos (Greek: Lovers of Phil)How you do think Phil will make his comeback on 21st October?

    A/ Nice little appreciation speech of all our undying love for him and his blog.

    B/ Just modestly breeze in as if he had never been away and start slapping the compromisers around again.

    C/ Send in a note saying that he needs a few more days and asking us all to be even more patient.

    D/ Just won't turn up at all on the 21st. I notice the note he left on the door says he should be back "about" the 21st which means he might be later or earlier. (A bit like the glass being half empty or half full. Are you an optimist or a pessimist?)

    So think about it Phil-Phileos. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

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  98. You lot still here? *chuckles*

    Phil is going to come back and berate us all soundly for not redeeming the time.

    And quite right too.

    oo, my word verification is UziNazja. Maybe that's a new Uber-self-defense-sausage...

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  99. Well, there are TV stars and there are movie stars. Is Pyro the first blogo star? Maybe he can get his star on that sidewalk next to Carson. Carson tucked the country in at night and Pyro gets us up in the morning.

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  100. Observation:

    The previous post, being timely relevant and thought provoking( I speak of the Thursday 6 October 2005 post) receives 60 or so comments.

    Current post, being little more than an out of office message, receives 100+ comments.

    It seems our commenting itself is a sad commentary on our commenting.

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  101. On the other hand, the previous post, being timely, relevant and thought provoking, incurred a record-high level of snark and rancor from a certain segment of commenters who evidently think of themselves as more genteel and better-educated than those who normally comment here.

    I for one prefer the less genteel humor and light-heartedness of the current comment thread over the ill-natured, catty, condescending conceit a few guys were posting in the previous comment thread.

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  102. I am disappointed guys/gals. I come back after a few days and there are only 114 comments. You should be ashamed. How is Phil going to know we love him. This things should at least hit 200. I know we can do it, but there are only a few days left.

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  103. You know Phil better really have something good to say when he gets back.

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  104. "rev James" or whatever your name is.....identity theft is illegal. And that's in the constitution.

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  105. I guess candinsierras young earth pteradactyl theory is true because, apparently, they are still with us today.

    I'm going to have to readjust my whole theological construct to allow for this discovery.

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  106. Yeah, OK. All I can say is that this next book of MacArthurs better top the best sellers list and help countless people, cause we're suffering. Doesn't he love us anymore?

    =(

    P.S.-Clearly the pterodactyls on the ark ate tubes of frozen beef.

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  107. People,
    Every two days or so the picture changes. Now there is a hatted man checking out the dog scat.

    Obviously Pyro is having as much fun with this time as we are.

    Hurry back Pyro!

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  108. The picture has changed every day. Yesterday there was a pterodactyl flying by.

    And that mound of crumbs in the treet seems to be what's left of the birthday cake after the dog ate it.

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  109. Hey! This really isnt fair! I dont get over 100 comments on posts on my blog even when I AM posting!

    Look, I am a friend of pyromaniac, and I know he likes my blog, so pop over and read ME whilst he's away or maybe challies, or any of the other god bloggers.........

    Incidently I disagreed with his interpretation of Galatians 2 in my sermon today!

    www.adrian.warnock.info

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  110. Adrian,

    I went to your blog and downloaded your sermon from Galations. I have 2 bones to pick with you:

    1. You obviously speak american, so why he foreign accent?

    2. You failed to mention the main exigetical point of the passage:
    Pterodactyls are NOT under the law... HELLO!!!

    And you want us to read your blog instead of this one!! Please.

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  111. I just couldn't handle the 124 - it's untidy.

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  112. I was trying to decipher where Adrian departed from Phil in the interpretation of that text and thanks to Marc, now I know!

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  113. This is too funny, I can’t believe you people are still commenting on this thread. [Tommy Chong font]Phil? No man, Phil’s not here man[/Tommy Chong font]

    Adrian – I’ve been blogging for 16 months, and I don’t think I’ve had 100 comments combined, on all my entries! :-)

    By the way, the man with the broom in today’s pic? I’m not 100% on this, but I’m pretty sure that’s actually Tim Challies.

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  114. Okay...I think we're in the home-stretch of this break!

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  115. Hey....
    Do ya'll remember reading Phil's blog about waiting in the Doctor's waiting room, and then being tranferred to the examination room and more waiting.... and more waiting.... and more waiting... and discussion about Duke the bully receptionist?
    Isn't it hypocritical of Phil to do the same to us? He didn't even leave us any magazine to read twice!
    Maybe he ought to recompense us by sending us some of MacArthur's books to read... or something.
    I just hope he doesn't send Duke!

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  116. Do you think once he comes back, people will have to wean themselves off commenting on this thread?
    Or will it remain forever refered to as the 'schmerydactyl thread, when things just got a wee bit out of hand'...

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  117. Isn't that Pecadillo with the broom? It's hard to tell with the hat.

    Carla, your Tommy Chong font is pretty funny. My fonts are all pretty dull. :-D

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  118. probably, Phil is surreptitiously checking up on his blog and laughing his head off over the fact that he can generate conversation with minimal effort on his part.

    whether or not anything of substance is actually being said, however, is another story....

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  119. wordsmith says:
    whether or not anything of substance is actually being said, however, is another story....

    I don't have the gift of prophecy wordsmith, but I'm guessing the next time your witnessing to someone and they object to Chritianity because of the whole pterodactyl on the ark thing... you'll be gladly acknowledging the "substance" of these comments.

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  120. Substance, subsistence... who can keep up?

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  121. OK, it's like a reflex now; log on - check e-mail - check out the tally at Pyromaniac - feed children...

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  122. I wonder if Phil leaves us to ourselves long enough we will degenerate into some kind of blogosphere verion of "Lord of The Flies"? If that happens, I have two questions though:

    1. Which of us is Piggy?

    2. How do you gang kill someone with spears through the internet?

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  123. Newsflash:

    Schmerydactyls seen devouring the Flying Spagetti Monster.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

    The Pastafarian god is dead.

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  124. LOL!!!! Marc, you are funny! Lord of the flies!
    Look at what the Pyromaniac has done!

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  125. I think Phil was convicted cuz he was so mean on his blog. His wife brought it to his attention and he decided to take a break, repent, and go to FIDO'S Good Thoughts blog and get some niceness back. Either that, or he is practicing hula dancing over at Saddleback Church. That should bring back a sense of God's presence don't you all think? Being Phil, he couldn't completely stay away, so the pictures change from day to day. Like Zacharias, John's father, Phil will be mute, "until the day that these things take place." So do not be afraid. God is not done with Phil yet.

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  126. I heard he had a setback in his addiction to illegal substances, and will now be away for at least another month.
    In a related story, Marc blogs from the nuthouse.

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  127. Jeremy (Doxo),

    Thanks for the nut house comment. I receive it humbly in the spirit of the obvious concerned love you meant to imply.

    My fear is that at some point in time I am going to have this outstanding relevant, biblical response to some post and when I put it up there people will just laugh and go "oh yeah, the pterodactyl guy".

    I hope you can see through all that to my sensitive, informed, pastoral side. Hold on a sec, I have to get a kleenex, I'm tearing up a bit... okay I'm back. Where was I?

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  128. there once was a blogger named Phil,
    who left on a journey for real,
    so long was he gone, that his followers went on,
    commented to death, without taking a breath,
    and lit up a pyre of their own.

    I wonder if his face will glow when he comes back? Anybody got any gold......

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  129. I am afraid that if my congregation were to check in on this blog they would see that I really only do work on Sundays and Wednesday nights.

    Phillip, you have way too much time on your hands...great limerick

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  130. It may be time to start publishing some new 7-11 material!

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  131. What are we going to do with the frozen ground beef tubes?

    #151

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  132. oeoeo! waw waw waa! oeoeo waw waw waw waaa!

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  133. I really am sorry that we got off the subject of understanding the historical context of pteradactyls in relation to the interpretive problems of the documentary hypothesis.

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  134. Doug, it's interesting that you bring up the documentary hypothesis. Competent scholars have long speculated that the "P" in JDEP refers not to "Priest," but to "Pterodactyl." Some have reacted against this speculation, refusing to belief that the final redaction of Holy Writ was the work of extinct flying reptiles.

    The question remains, however, as to whether or not the hypothesis should be JDEPS. After all, one cannot so easily dismiss the contribution of the schmerodactyls.

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  135. The fact that I am 155 shows that my arguments against fundies are true.

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  136. Friend did you know the word reverend means awesome?
    Do you consider yourself to be awesome?

    Awesome James Jackson.

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  137. I thought it meant "terrible". Once I heard a radio Bible teacher asking why would anyone take on the title that means "terrible"? But I am sure James Jackson has the best intentions, right James? (maybe it could be said that it has a different cultural meaning besides the literal meaning.)

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  138. I checked this comment section at 8:00am and there was 150 comments. It is now 7:17 pm and there are only 157 comments. How are we going to get to 200 hundred comments with only 7 a day. Come on guys we can do better than that.

    In the meantime come check out Fide-O.blogspot.com. We are not important enough to be able to take 10 days off. I apologize for the blogplug, maybe.

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  139. Hey Jonathan, does that picture thing Phil has been doing count as blogging. If not then I take checks, cash, or money orders. I may even take a credit card if you get in a bind.

    It was $50 dollars right?

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  140. It appears that things have gotten out of hand here. In order to maintain some level of order and decency, I suggest the implementation of The Blog Yellow Flag Penalty System. It may get ugly, but remember, it is for the greater good.

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  141. I'm afraid I have to desist on the whole ptera/schmera dactyl comments. I've been contacted by a leading creation scientist, Dr. Ptero, and have been accused of stealing his pet theory. In deference to a fellow scholar I agreed to remain silent on this topic. Sorry all...

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  142. Hey guys,
    Yes, Phil's "the man", but I don't mind being a scab-blogger while the 'Pro' is withholding. Come on over to: (http://dogpreacher.blogspot.com/)

    Always theological, usually controversial...

    The DOGpreacher

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  143. Any bets on who or what will be inside the PyroManiac seal currently obscured by the painter? Will it be Phil himself? Or a new-improved Phil? Will he appear as himself, or in disguise? Or will he have a guest appearing?
    And did we ever figure out the identity of the painter?

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  144. bhedr,

    yeah, I think I am pretty awsome. Awsomer than you anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  145. Mataikhan: I hope I don't ruin what Phil has in mind, but I think the seal being painted in the photo made an early appearance on one of Phil's favorite blogs.

    #165? We're slowing down.

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  146. [/blatent attempt to get to Post #170]
    Marc: Isn't the Schmeradactyl one of the higher classifications in the The TTLB Blogosphere Ecosystem?
    [/blatent attempt to get to Post #170]

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  147. may I simply state that 226k hits is amazing!

    Yea, I thought I'd state that. I aspire to have as many hits. But only in my dreams.

    Weee

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  148. This is madness......
    We could at least have a debate about the correct interpretation of Gal 2 or someting whilst he's gone....

    www.adrian.warnock.info

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  149. So, Rocky is returning to the ring one last time. Could it be that Phil has been in secret training all this time???

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  150. Adrian,
    Challies said you English guys think we're rude and boorish. Is that true?
    If so, is this comment an example of rudeness and boorishness?
    Can you teach me how to tell if someone is rude and boorish?
    Just wondering....
    :-)

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  151. This is kind of like "Open Line Friday" ... only it's Wednesday ... and there are no call screeners.

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  152. Do you think the comments will reach 200 by the time Phil comes back?

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  153. I wonder if when Phil comes back he renames himself the "Pteramaniac". He would have to come up with new graphic ideas though.

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  154. Adrian just used the word "whilst" without flinching.

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  155. Since nothing's offtopic:
    The good thing about UBL being in Costco is at least the FBI would have irrefutable id by asking for his card. Although with the earthquake and all he's more likely by now to be at Lowe's or Home Depot.

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  156. Have you ever had a conversation with someone on a cell phone only to find out that they were cut off, like 5 minutes ago, ...whilst you continued to speak to them?

    Do you think that Phil got tired of us and is on another blog somewhere else ...whilst we continue talking?

    How humiliating would that be to find out that we have been pouring out our heart and... nothing?

    Paul; I tried ...but I flinched.

    Is it just me or are these word verification things getting longer?

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  157. Joe - at Joe's Jottings is upset that he can't get this many comments, come to think of is so am I, send me some traffic, please

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  158. I saw Phil comment on a blog yesterday.

    http://scogginsnoggin.blogspot.com/

    So we know he is not dead ... unless that was an impostor ... does he read his comments or just other people's posts?

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  159. Whoa...I hadn't come over here since Phil announced that he was closing up for a spell. Really, there is life beyond the Pyro blog. Some of you need lives!
    ;-)

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  160. Life beyond Pyro? Come over to our side, my friend. Join the pterodactyls. Real living is feeling your leathery wings strain against the wind currents, or something like that.

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  161. bhedr,

    I hope that didn't come off too harsh. I stand by the comments though.

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  162. Does anybody here actually believe there IS a Phil Johnson? We cannot see him or touch him or hear him. We can only surmise him.
    Should we take him by faith?

    (Is my commenting here "counter" productive?)

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  163. Look. This has gotten out of hand. The blogospherometer has registered an imbalance in the blogosphere. In order to restore balance, it will be imperative that each of you mosey on over to http://scogginsnoggin.blogspot.com and leave a comment. It does not have to be anything of significance (not that you were thinking of posting anything of significance anyway), just a brief "hello" will suffice.

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  164. Man I can't believe all this shameless begging for blog visits. Its pathetic.

    Over at PURGATORIO, even though we are widely regarded to be one of the best, and most important blogs to surface in the last 2 months, we would never stoop to such pandering.

    I'm literally sick to my stomach.

    Marc

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  165. Marc,

    Shouldn't it be Pturgatorio?

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  166. By the way, if I was like the rest of you shameless people, I would put a link to my own little blogsite. However, I don't have any recent posts (I've been a little busy checking Phil's blog) and I have, to this point, said nothing about Pteradactyls.

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  167. I'm not going to put a link to my blog. I can do without all this pesky traffic. Besides, like Phil, I have all the 'yes men' I need.
    So what if I don't get 400 comments per post? It's not like I'm talking about anything important, anyway.
    You know just the unimportant stuff, like Justification, Calvinism, the Trinity,and hillbilly inbreeders, of whose number I apparently belong.

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  168. #192

    Matt: Here are three of images that Phil used over the course of "Taking a break."

    * The first one.
    * Another one.
    * The current one.

    That's all I could find. Now lets' get this on up to 200 comments. Just a few more to go!

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  169. shamelessly plugging towards 200 comments -

    click here for another Phil's blog:
    pastorway

    and click here to listen to some good sermons!
    TIME in the Word Ministries.

    ~pastorway :)

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  170. just a few more to push up over 200 before Phil returns!

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  171. I'm no yes man..

    I'm a 'No #1 Fan' *wild scary eyes*

    I too am not going to plug my blog - what's the point, I think most of my gracious commenters have come to visit after seeing my comments on here anyways..
    I recently posted a picture of a 'christian' book on the Tarot that appears to have been written by Phil.. so maybe he's away doing some readings...

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  172. Libbie,
    Speaking of readings, If anyone here lives in the Eastern half of Washington State you probably know how hard it is to find a good christian "Book" store. A store that actually sells books and not just "Gifts" is hard to find in Washington. Recently I was in Walla Walla and I discovered a store that has the most comprehensive christian book selection in all the state. The store is an independent "Christian Supply". If your ever in the neighborhood check it out. This is not a shameless plug for a book store. I am sincerely excited about its existence and I plan to make more trips to the little town of Walla Walla.

    Phil, Please come back.

    Weeping and Nashing of teeth!

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  173. Some of the people here are shameless in their attempts to gain readership of their own blogs! ...luring people over with talk of hillbilly inbreeding.... shameless!

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  174. the picture said he'd be back soon,
    though we all believed he'd jumped over the moon,
    time and time again we commented,
    and often went on and on lamenting,
    but if the truth were to be told
    we all need to get a life of our own!

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  175. Here's the scoop on Rev JJ

    http://christiansurvey.blogspot.com/2005/10/biography-of-reverend-james-jackson.html

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  176. CSB, you are a stupid fundamentalist. Here is the real story.

    http://postevangelicals.blogspot.com/2005/10/revelation-of-st-james.html

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  177. You bunch of shameless marketers!

    I am definitely not going to tell you where MY blog is at!

    PS. If you find my blog, feel free to leave behind your footprints!

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  178. I hope you all realise that I am a great prophet, and I tell you now that Phil will be back about tomorrow!

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  179. You people crack me up. BTW, Phil's been blogspotted.

    http://carla_rolfe.blogspot.com

    (I don't know how to hyperlink that, so if you REALLY want to know where he was spotted, you'll have to copy and paste).

    :-)

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  180. Anybody willing to tell us how to hyperlink in the comment section?

    Come on! Do something worthwhile for a change instead of yakking about the schmeradactyl, which by the way is a stunning animal to fly upon.

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  181. I wonder if this wasn't all part of Ph_l's plan? I wonder if He went under cover to expose the high reverend JJ?
    Which makes me wonder...
    How many other's aren't what they seem?
    Does it seem like a conspiracy to anyone else?
    Could there be...
    Pteradactyls watching us?

    Could the Emergent Church be working undercover to infiltrate Ph_l's blog and turn it to their dark purposes?

    Which of you are not what you seem?

    Which of you need to enter the confessional and get your hearts right?

    As the Reverend JJ always quotes from the Bible: "You're not paranoid if someone's following you." Proverbs 28:1

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  182. Carla and William -

    Hyperlinking is done using html tags. If I want to shamelessly plug my blog I would type this in:

    <a href="http://doulogos.blogspot.com">Click here!</a>

    Which will show up like this:

    Click here!

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  183. So, let me see if I have this linking thing correct. If I wanted to post a link to a site about pteradactyls, it would end up looking something like this?

    Pteradactyls

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  184. You guys are so advanced! I can't even make a word bold in one of my comments. It just keeps telling me my HTML can't be accepted because the tag is not closed! I don't get it. But I want to learn!

    Do you think we could get to 300 by tomorrow AM?

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  185. I knew that RevJJ is not Phil's style. Not only that but I'm pretty sure Phil was searious about being busy for ten days.

    Cheers

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  186. #214 :-)

    So now, this whole "taking a break" comments section has degenerated into comment spam? :-)

    But since everyone else is doing it...

    Seriously, though, I'm lookin' forward to the PyroManiac's return tomorrow (or thereabouts).

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  187. Phil's back!

    So rather than leave an unsightly 214 comments, I will add one more to round it off nicely 215 - everyone knows that short of ending with a zero, being divisible by five is best.

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