2008-11-19

Turk reminds us not to look forward to the day when the golden church returns, but to look forward to the return of Christ, and join with the church now. Indeed, hiding in your fortress is the problem. "the assembly on Sunday is not the end of Christian life but in fact the beginning of Christian life." http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/11/is-that-start-or-end.html

Swan points out that Tim Staples, Romanist apologist, contradicts himself in mere minutes, saying on the one hand that its ok to take other meanings from a text infallibly defined by the church as long as you don't contradict it, and Catholics are free to do private interpretation. Staples says "There is a lot of freedom with regard to the interpretation of Scripture." Then Staples claims, "For 1500 years, the Church always understood that nobody has the authority... just as Saint Peter tells us...of private interpretation.... to think that you or I can run around and interpret the Bible however we want and start our own church and that sorta thing that we see in Protestantism... that is completely alien to the Christian Church for the first 1500 years of the Christian era..." http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=2974

White writes about the hopeless scenario in which Muslim apologists find themselves, and the double standards that arise. The liberal scholarship is not applied to the Qur'an, although they are happy to apply it to the NT. Why? Because the Qur'an affirms the NT, but contradicts it. "there is a fundamental flaw in Islamic theology and history, and the modern Islamic apologist is forced to live within the parameters of that error. Specifically, his sacred text is ignorant of the contents of the Old and New Testaments (relying, it seems clear, upon an oral recitation of stories therefrom rather than from the text itself) while at the same time claiming consistency with them!" The Muslim apologist has to adopt naturalistic scholarship and assumptions to get around the veracity of the NT, but these same assumptions undercut the Qur'an. http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=2978

Challies gives some decent advice on when to confront a brother over some offence. First, examine yourself - then do it again. Then consider the importance of the matter. Ask, is this a one-off thing, or is this coming from a sinful pattern? Is this a preference? etc. Be sensitive to the circumstances of the person's life, particularly those that might have contributed to the offence. It can be good to quietly seek trusted council (be careful of gossip). http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/challies/XhEt/~3/458431166/overlooking-an-offense.php

Bethlehem Baptist's oldest member turns 100 years old shortly. She seems like a remarkable woman. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2008/3417_Happy_100th_Birthday_Irene_Peterson/

Prince Charles - the postmodern prince - wants to change the king's title from 'defender of the faith' - that is, defender of a specific faith (first Catholic, then Anglican) - to 'defender of faith.' "The original title, Defender of the Faith, was granted to King Henry VIII in 1521. Pope Leo X was impressed by King Henry's defense of the Catholic faith against the Lutheran threat, granting him the title as a reward." They would later retain the title with reference to the Anglican faith ... "Nevertheless, far beyond the green and pleasant land of Britain, this news also tells us a great deal about how so many people understand faith. They see it as a substance or stance without any necessary object or referent. In this view, it all comes down to mere faith, and faith in faith -- and faith in any faith." http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2761

In light of the PR disaster that is Dawkins et. al. some atheists are trying to repair the image, and they want to promote a 'positive atheism' that is known for what it does rather than what it denies. Atheism is currently political suicide in the USA. Mohler adds, "Atheists may attempt to create rituals, ceremonies, and practices that mimic Christian traditions, but this serves only to point to the infinite emptiness at the heart of the atheist worldview." http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2768

Mohler points to a study that shows that today's high school kids think much more highly of their ability to succeed at work, family, etc. than their parents did. Secular observers are concerned that they have been praised too much as kids and are set up for massive disappointment. It's impossible for everyone to be above average. Worse yet, it indicates that kids who bask in the glory of unmerited praise, who just deserve to pass without earning it, are ill-equipped for the real world. [This just goes to show the massive sense of entitlement of today's youth, who demand respect, but have done nothing to earn it]. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2773

Solapanel: Based on the parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep for the 1, this post suggests that perhaps pastors should be evangelistically focused - including towards their own flocks, especially nominal Christians. Referring to Baxter: "For Baxter, the way to bring true reformation to England was to convert England. He exhorted his readers, writing “We must labour, in a special manner, for the conversion of the unconverted [as] ... the first and great thing we must drive at ...”. And so each reformed pastor has the obligation to “call after the impenitent and ply this great work of converting souls, whatever else you leave undone”." http://solapanel.org/article/a_truly_reformed_pastor/#When:22:00:00Z

SolaPanel: Mark Thompson is struck by the fact that the Puritans shut down the theatres during their time of influence in England. "The theatres weren't opened again until the Puritans fell from power and Charles II ushered in a new era of sensuality." Now, its easy to just write them off. This post asks, what is the place of entertainment, and suggests that we need a theology of entertainment (not the content, but entertainment itself). Is entertainment going to be a fixture of the new heavens and earth? http://solapanel.org/article/a_christian_view_of_entertainment/#When:22:00:00Z

SolaPanel: The mistake that was made in Job was that Job's friends didn't speak to God what is right. "Job treats God as someone with whom he has a relationship (albeit a scary relationship sometimes); his friends treat God as a theological debate. ... Rather than being just a book about the problem of evil, Job contains a sharp and scary message for would-be theologians. These people actually infuriate God with their endless discussions if they are not men and women of prayer (Job 42:7)." http://solapanel.org/article/job_and_prayer/#When:22:00:00Z

Carl Trueman is sick of talking about culture. For those who care to move beyond a post-modern obsession with culture rather than essence, this might be worth a read. http://blog.9marks.org/2008/11/carl-trueman-is.html

Triablogue: If you're looking for some rational, balanced thoughts and method about the Iraq war that isn't just a rehashing of the same illogical thinking put forward by many on this topic, give this a read: http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2008/11/penultimate-thoughts-on-iraq-war.html

The beginning of the end of the English language. http://www.founders.org/blog/2008/11/whatever-happened-to-english-language.html

Susan Hunt says: "Women’s ministry is not about women’s rights or about women’s feats, it’s about expressing our love for Jesus and His church – his body." She presents five principles for women in ministry: the principle of ecclesiastical submission, the principle of compassion, the principle of community, the principle of gender-specific discipleship, the principle of maturity. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/genderblog/~3/457865446/Susan-Hunt-Casts-Vision-for-Women-s-Ministry

Hilarious! http://bibchr.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-th-am-i-going-to-have-to-ban.html

Carolyn Mahaney describes how, above all, she wishes that she had trusted God more in parenting - and looked to Christ instead of worry. http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/2008/11/what-i-wish-id.html

Whatever parenting practices you implement, parent from faith in God. http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/2008/11/the-successful.html

JT: Here's a link to a petition against the Freedom of Choice Act and a description of what this act entails. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BetweenTwoWorlds/~3/458531623/fight-foca.html

Turretinfan links to an article about a young woman who explored Catholicism, and he goes through the host (no pun intended) of bad reasons for rejecting the Roman Catholic religion. Indeed, she misses the real horrible reason to reject it. Turretinfan then asks - could this be your child? http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2008/11/evangelical-parents-could-this-be-your.html

Politicians should not be theologians http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/the-latest-post/2008/11/19/why-politicians-shouldnt-be-theologians-and-other-interestin.html. And Oops just doesn't seem to say it. Click here: Bonfire built by students caused Montecito fire, sheriff says - Los Angeles Times

Here are two stories that serve to illustrate the fundamental differences between men and women. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BaylyblogOutOfOurMindsToo/~3/457345215/blindingly-obvious-think-act-relate-differently.html

This is a quick comment on the book Four Views on the Atonement. "the Christus Victor view (defended by Greg Boyd), the kaleidoscopic view (Joel Green), the healing view (Bruce Reichenbach), and the penal substitutionary view (Tom Schreiner)." Naturally, the former three all criticize penal substitution on the same grounds - "God is love, the argument goes, and he does not need to be paid off or placated. The cross is about God saving humanity from evil powers (Boyd), the effects of sin (Reichenbach), or a combination of both (Green). But it’s not about humanity being saved from God’s vengeance or wrath. After all, God is the Savior!" This post then reminds us that God does indeed save us from himself. http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=867

After answering some objections to the study of theology, Bob Kauflin gives several reasons why the study of theology is necessary for musicians, including the fact that every Christian is already a theologian (and you're either a good one or a bad one), the fact that God primarily reveals Himself through words, not music, and that theology will make you a better musician: Theology teaches us what music is meant to do, that worship is more than music, and that Jesus is better than music. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogs/worshipmatters/~3/457563690/

Phillips gives some thoughts on the definition of the GOP (hey, as long as you say you're Republican) and how that is NOT how Christianity is to be defined. http://bibchr.blogspot.com/2008/11/defining-christians-and-republicans.html