2008-12-14

Jon Bloom gives a striking narrative of Joseph learning from Mary that she was pregnant. He concludes from the story that Joseph, being a just man, in the integrity of his heart, made the wrong decision - but God in His mercy intervened. This is instructive for us. Joseph's Painful Decision

Roman Catholic schools are aiming to encourage the religious practices of Muslims, A Natural Progression, and the Romanist church supports the construction of mosques. Not Something One Would Have Seen in Calvin's Geneva

Turretinfan responds to various arguments that try to equate Peter with the Rock rather than the confession with the rock, and he argues that there is indeed a better way to express that in Greek. The Non-Identity of Peter and the Rock

Here's a post by Greg Gilbert arguing that, contrary to an Orthodox Jewish rabbi's interpretation, Jesus' command to love your enemies is not limited to simple personal offenses - but extends to even those who persecute. What is shocking is that God forgives any of us, as this Rabbi should know. Also, there is a distinction between personal vengeance and state justice. Hate Your Enemy- by Greg Gilbert

CotW: This article discusses which animals fall within the created kind of cattle. Note that hybridization is used to determine which animals are part of a created kind. http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/6113/

"Without meaning, there can be no tragedy. That’s the Christian paradox. If you eliminate meaning, you eliminate tragedy, and if you eliminate God, you eliminate meaning. Without God, nothing is meaningful—whether life or death, happiness or sadness. Tragedy makes life harder to bear, but a meaningless life is truly unbearable." When love is stronger than death

McGrath points to evidence showing the confusion over the doctrine of justification in the pre-tridentian Roman Catholic church .There was one Gospel for 1500 years in both the East and West, and it was not Protestant in any

Tony Payne thinks that in the seven thesis John Piper feels he's called to preach upon, the Lordship of Christ is lacking in them. "Is Piper's message so centred on God and his glory (and our enjoyment of God in his self-glorification) that Jesus has become a mechanism by which this takes place, rather than the central focus of the message? Where does the centrality of the Lordship of Christ fit into Piper's proclamation?" What’s our message-

Mounce comments on the pun in 1 Timothy 1:8, and how translation philosophies affect the communication of the pun. Play on Words (Monday with Mounce 16) by Bill Mounce

Turretinfan gives a brief discussion of varieties of Calvinism. Some may find it useful. Real Varieties of Calvinism