Phil Johnson recalls the fear-mongering and panic around the Y2K bug - and how this attitude was not only wrong, unwarranted, and based on misinformation, but even if things really were bad, it was completely out of line with Christ's exhortations concerning worry. The fear-mongers in Grace Church have never once returned to apologize or admit their wrong. Apocalypse Then
Manata points out that LFW posits that in any situation, one could have chosen otherwise, given the exact same conditions: "some have argued that libertarian free will doesn't afford us enough control to render a libertarian free agent morally responsible. Thus it would look like one of the main objections to compatibilism, viz., compatibalistically free agents cannot be held morally responsible for their actions, is actually shown to be a bigger problem for libertarianism." Arminianism supposes that people are totally depraved but that 'universal prevenient grace' makes everyone not totally depraved. They can do good and evil. Now, a hypothetical person in this universe without UPG must have LFW or most of their objections to Calvinism are null. Now if this person does evil, he must be responsible in the Arminian scheme. Given the exact same circumstances, this person might just as easily choose not to do evil - it's vague whether there is actually responsibility here. God judges motives too. So a person must be free not to have sinful motives, desires, or inclinations. This person must be free to form sinful desires or not. But if she had no sinful thoughts, desires, motives, inclinations, etc., how could she plausibly be totally depraved? (self-contradictory scheme). Yet this person inherited a sinful nature from Adam and IS responsible. Most Arminian objections to calvinism are void. Bad Intentions
Hays shows that it’s striking how many people think the charge of hypocrisy is a serious objection to a particular practice. While it may be a serious objection to the character of the hypocrite, it’s not a serious objection to the character of the practice. He responds with various points to the utter nonsense spewed by those angry over the passing of Proposition 8, who are saying that Christians are hypocrites to object to sodomy when they have a high divorce rate. Evangelical leaders and pastors aren't pushing for looser divorce laws, and often don't have a lot of clout. It isn't necessarily a bad thing for the majority to overrule the minority. If pedophiles were in the majority they would legalize kiddy porn and abolish the age of consent. So it's good that this minority doesn't have its say. "To a liberal, anything that’s unfair is also unjust. But that’s a false equation." The virtues of being unfair
New atheist Sam Harris thinks that "if there were no conceivable change in the world that could get a person to question his ... beliefs, this would prove that his beliefs were not predicated upon his taking any state of the world into account." Manata counters by pointing to belief in the law of non-contradiction (which itself is presupposed in the statement), belief in self-existence, and belief in that very statement as counters. The new atheism isn't exactly an intellectual heavyweight. The Self-Stultifier
Hays comments on the flak the blogosphere gets for 'tone:' "A duel is like a referred journal. By contrast, the blogosphere is more often like one of those fistfights that got started in the saloon, usually over a woman, and spilled out into the muddy streets. Lots of broken bottles, shattered windows, and splintered furniture—with the piano player ducking for cover. All teddibly uncouth and undignified." "there’s something refreshing about the blogosphere. It may frequently put us in touch with an ugly reality, but at least we know what we’re dealing with. We may not always like what we see behind the mask, but the mask is just a pretty illusion" Duel or free-for-all-
Romanist apologists continue to perpetuate the 30000+ denomination myth. Swan points to resources for those interested in the bankruptcy of this oft-repeated claim. The Catholic Myth of 33,000 Protestant Denominations is Alive and Well
For those who would like to support AOMIN, here's a link to the wishlist for the ministry. An Update on Ministry Resources. That was fast Thank You, Thank You. But the wish list is still there.
Piper points out that in the New Testament times, swords are for killing - and that's it. And so when Paul calls the Word the sword of the Spirit, he means something - that it is for putting to death the deeds of the body. It is for killing. Be killing sin or it will be killing you. That's what the Bible is for. Swords Are for Killing
Carl Trueman comments that while Playboy is in financial trouble, it is in this dire scenario because its content has become so mainstream, and it cannot compete with the much more hardcore content freely available to anyone with an internet connection. "I'd always assumed that learning that a magazine like Playboy was in financial difficulties would be an answer to prayer and a source of rejoicing. Given what it says about society, however, I am perhaps more inclined to mourning and lamentation at this point." (there's also some interesting comments about how isex was often more public out of social necessity in pre-modern cultures - e.g. a third party would witness the wedding night of a public figure to ensure things were done decently and properly, etc) http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2009/01/playboys-in-trouble-but-its-no.php
Challies gives a rather basic summary of why he doesn't think that love must have the freedom to sin to be genuine (e.g. we will not be able to sin in heaven). A Word about Free Will
Manata responds briefly to Roger Olson's claim that the Calvinist conception of God is too far from anything that resembles what a moral human would do. "According to Olsen, God doesn't ordain sins, but "every human act, including sin, is impossible without God's cooperation" (121). God is not a "spectator" (121). "God ... cooperates with the creature in sinning" (122). Of course God can cooperate in a sin "without being tainted" (122)." Manata asks, would a highly moral person permit a holocaust? Rape? etc? if he had the power to stop it? Would he cooperate? He then asks if a highly moral person would heal a person to allow that person to fully exercise his free will even knowing that said person would use his healed body to commit great evil against someone else. Simply put, "It simply shows that we can't claim God is immoral for doing p just because a lot of humans think p is evil," ceteris paribus. "The Arminian just isn't going to win the problem of evil argument against the Calvinist. I suggest they give it up. This entails that I am suggesting they give up their number one argument against Calvinism." Arminians give up intellectual credible by self-excepting themselves from their own critiques. Partners in Crime
Mohler writes how Charles Blow affirms that the Bible teaches the exclusivity of Christ and that the Christian church has defined the Gospel in these terms. Nevertheless, he celebrates the fact that the doctrine is being abandoned by so many -- as many as 70% of all Americans. The first cause that Blow gives appears to express what millions of Americans (including many, no doubt, who consider themselves evangelicals) believe -- that the American way is the way to heaven. But, people who "expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven" will find no biblical support for this expectation. Another cause for this abandonment of the exclusivity of Christ is chalked up to a low view of Scripture. And the most significant is that people are just ignoring the doctrine for 'goodness sake' - In other words, "good" people don't believe that other people are going to hell. Theology is transforming into etiquette. "Those who believe that the gospel of Christ is just a variant of "the American way" will find that the Bible presents a very different Gospel." If Jesus really is the way to heaven, etiquette isn't actually a pressing issue. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3051
Lisa Robinson has a worthwhile post. After explaining how she slowly came out of the word-faith movement, in which she did ferociously study Scripture, but didn't see the truth, and how a friend led her out to expository study, etc., she says, "I have noticed an alarming trend in my blogging travels, conversations with other Christians and general observations regarding church happenings. People in general want something more, they know about Christ and maybe even profess Him as Lord. They want to know God and to experience Him in their lives. They are taught to read the Bible and do as it says. There are many popular voices for them to listen to help them in their Christian journey. Go into any bookstore and there will be a plethora of resources to utilize. Naturally, I think the ones produced by the name brand will get the bill. But I wonder how much these are carefully considered as being sufficiently accurate compared to what Scripture is saying or are the sermons, resources and teachings automatically received simply because it rings of Christian truth?" She blames it on a theology of indifference. A Theology of Indifference
Patton offers two clarifications of judgment of other Christians: 1) we are not to judge self-righteously, in that we make judgments born of a view ourselves as having some intrinsic righteousness. 2) we are not to judge opinions (cf. Romans 14:1), what Patton calls "gray matters." Two Ways Judging People is Condemned in Scripture
JT writes, "The number of abortions performed in the US since 1973 is approach 50 million. An easy number to read, and a hard one to comprehend." Number of Abortions Since 1973
Yale has made Edwards' blank Bible available! Edwards's Blank Bible- Online
Here's a whole bunch of recommended readings for writing style. Recommended Reading on the Writer's Craft
JT recommends "Brian Croft's short, practical, biblical book: Visit the Sick: Ministering God's Grace in Times of Illness," Ministering God's Grace in Times of Illness
JT has great appreciation, but some unease, with Edwards' resolutions. Basically, from Sinclair Ferguson, "there is no doubt that introspection dominates over divine provision." The implication is that it seems somehow a little ?Christless? [I would comment that it would do people well to seek to understand Edwards' complex views on assurance before faulting his piety - Edwards would be the sort, who, when someone would say, how do I know that I am saved, or how can I be sure, to "seek the Lord." And understanding his view on seeking bears this out. It is noteworthy that Gerstner once jokingly commented to Perry Miller, "if you listened to Edwards, you wouldn't think anyone is a Christian!" Perhaps it is precisely Edwards' regard for holiness that we need, and it should be noted that Edwards was a grace-saturated man, even in his young years, and he recognized his inability to keep these resolutions: e.g. "Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.", "Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,- what sin I have committed,-and wherein I have denied myself;-also at the end of every week, month and year." "Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God."). That, and one may count words all he wishes, but Christ was at the heart of Edwards' thinking: "Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or not; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of.") - the PREFACE to these resolutions says, "BEING SENSIBLE THAT I AM UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT GOD' S HELP, I DO HUMBLY ENTREAT HIM BY HIS GRACE TO ENABLE ME TO KEEP THESE RESOLUTIONS, SO FAR AS THEY ARE AGREEABLE TO HIS WILL, FOR CHRIST' S SAKE."] Edwards's Resolutions
Nifty: 3D Renderings of the Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus' Time
JT: "On January 2 Peter Williams faced off with Bart Ehrman on the UK's Premiere Christian Radio program, Unbelievable, debating the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts. You can listen to the whole program online. (Denny Burk has more links: You can sign-up for the podcast or download the mp3.)" Williams vs. Ehrman on the Reliability of the NT Manuscripts
Harris points to a John Stott quote: ""Much that we take for granted in a civilized society is based upon the assumption of human sin. Nearly all legislation has grown up because human beings cannot be trusted to settle their own disputes with justice and without self-interest. A promise is not enough; we need a contract. Doors are not enough; we have to lock and bolt them. The payment of fares is not enough; tickets have to be issued, inspected and collected. Law and order are not enough; we need the police to enforce them. All this is due to man's sin. We cannot trust each other. We need protection against one another. It is a terrible indictment of human nature." - John Stott, Basic Christianity
Phillips: "Man oh man, this review of Ehrman's God's Problem makes me think my commentary (like, oh, I dunno... this one?) is pretty tame stuff. Not a wasted word, not a bullet misses its target." Oh, dude — now that's a scathing book review (of Bart Ehrman). The review is indeed intense. Here's some samples: "There are no new insights or discoveries here. All of this is common knowledge to anyone who has taken a few Bible classes in any first-rate, state-funded, secular department of religion." "Ehrman proves the dictum that old fundamentalists never die; they just exchange fundamentals and continue in their unimaginative, closed-minded rigidity and simplicity. It's just too confusing to imagine that God's alleged omnipotence might be something other than what we think of as omnipotence or that God's love might be other than what we conceive of as love." "Ehrman appears to have a low tolerance for intellectual ambiguity of any sort." "Without much argument, he assumes that suffering is the whole point of the Bible. It seems not to occur to him that one reason not every part of the Bible is preoccupied with suffering and the few biblical discussions about suffering are unsatisfying is that unlike us, biblical people may have had more to think about than themselves. Perhaps they were unconvinced that the question of suffering is the only question worth asking. Possibly they were able to begin and end a discussion of something so perplexing without beginning and ending with themselves." "he once again shows an inability to appreciate the richness of a complex literary work. Imagination is not one of Ehrman's strong suits." "I find it amazing that after the bloodiest century on record there is someone still arguing that humanity just might be able to get organized and straighten out what God almighty has messed up. This book seems an awful lot of fuss to reach so banal a destination." http://www.christiancentury.org/article_print.lasso?id=6046
Forthcoming commentaries! My eye is on Carson and Galatians. :-) Forthcoming NT Commentaries
Ortlund is thankful that 1. The gospel is being rediscovered and rejoiced over and ransacked in a fresh way, 2. The rising generation, now in their 20s and 30s, are both theologically-minded and emotionally-intense toward the Lord., 3. The age of parachurch usurpation seems to be ending, and the rightful, biblical dignity and authority of the church are being re-asserted, 4. The Bible is the focus of renewed fascination and serious study. Concerned about, 1. Too many churches remain uninvolved in and even unaware of the new things God is doing, 2. A tsunami of sin has been slamming us for years now, especially through the internet and increasingly filthy "entertainment.", 3. Even in churches and movements that God is blessing, still, prayer can appear to be perfunctory at times., 4. My generation and above has most of the money. What are we doing with it? http://christisdeeperstill.blogspot.com/2008/12/going-into-2009.html
Ten good questions from Don Whitney: "1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? 2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? 3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year? 4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it? 5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year? 6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church? 7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year? 8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year? 9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year? 10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?" Read on for 21 more. http://www.biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html
JT: Here's a summary of some helpful tips for meditating on Scripture. A few sets of good questions (e.g. Philippian questions), changing emphasis, and even mind-mapping. Meditating on God's Word
JT: Here's a host of papers on the social cost of porn. The Social Costs of Pornography
Thabiti writes his thoughts on culture: "1. The Scripture pushes the church and Christians away from adopting human culture and tradition. ... As far as high culture (philosophy) and religious culture, the Scripture pushes us away from those things to something different. 2. The Scripture "backgrounds" human culture inside the church in favor of greater unity in Christ." He asks: Is not Christ in some sense creating a distinctive culture within the church? What is the alternative to being pushed away from fallen cultural ways of being and backgrounding cultural heritages inside the church? Cultural Mandate- by Thabiti Anyabwile
McKinley's church has mercy ministries (e.g. ESL to Latinos) but these are for the sake of the Gospel. "So it seems foolish to think that we can preach the gospel through a megaphone from our isolated towers and have people hear us. But it also seems foolish to think that anything but the gospel can bring about real, lasting transformation." Vis-a-vis culture qua culture by Michael Mckinley
Here's a great post on how to pray for your pastor. Praying for Your Pastor by lduncan
Michael Bird posts this hilarious little work: Tom Wright reads Humpty Dumpty
Interesting post, where Bird basically argues that Christian scribes 'spruced up' the Testimonium Flavianum, which probably had a Messianic reference (but it could have been pejorative). Josephus, Jesus, and Messiah
It was only a matter of time. There's a new OT 'gay' translation now. Bible Controversies
Bock continues on the Newsweek article. He points out that the Anchor Bible dictionary is wrong, in that it incorrectly says the Bible doesn't speak about female homosexuality (Romans 1). On the article's treatment of Leviticus, "To treat the core case as being rooted in Leviticus ignores what Genesis says about God’s design of humans, a point already made about the complementary relationship between men and women who were made in God’s image, not to mention the reaction in the Bible to circumstances in Sodom, which was not a mere throwaway narrative but is seen as a picture of how severely people rebel against God." "The Elliot quotation, given as a means of arguing for the “violent” interpretation of Romans 1 and not about the act, ignores completely the descriptions in the text that show the act is in view. Paul is not merely tough on homosexuality; he rejects the practice itself, not merely the excesses the progressives declare are the point because the act itself is unnatural and an assault on the design of God." "Only by the kind of distortion this article engages in can we then come to the conclusion the article offers for justice and inclusion, including an openness to gay marriage. The resurrection of the slavery argument, the Levitical penalty of death for adultery, and shelter for anti-Semites as examples that allow us to dismiss the Bible’s moral judgment on this topic ignore one basic fact. Unlike these other areas where counter-tone texts exist that show that these were not absolute practices, there are no counter-tone texts when it comes to homosexuality." http://blog.bible.org/bock/node/444
Hays has a good post on interpreting literature with respect to its background. "The biographical background doesn’t exclude the literary background. Both considerations may be equally salient. But I do think some interpreters are trained to focus on words rather than events—especially at the level of one individual life. They themselves inhabit a literary universe. A world of books and cross-references. It’s easy to lose sight of the real time, real space dimension of an author as we tune our ears to make out literary parallels. To think in terms of language rather than the reality which those linguistic structures represent. Sometimes we need to leave the library and go outside." And the sea was no more
Here's a video by a Dr. Morey on Religulous. Dr. Morey on Religulous
Here's a summary on the prominence of gender and human sexuality issues over 2008. Gender and Human Sexuality a Major News Presence in 2008
Genderblog: Here's a criticism of much modern clothing, which is more in depth than a simple "it's revealing." "The clothes that our children wear do not merely cover the nakedness of their flesh; they shape and reflect the contours of our children's souls. What I encourage my child to wear is a statement not merely of fashion but of theology and axiology-and this link between our theology and our wardrobes is not a recent phenomenon." Clothing and the Character of the Child, Part I
"We at CBMW simply believe that one of the best ways this gospel submission can be seen is in the unique way God has commanded men and women to relate to each other. “Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Men and women submit to one another in a way that is not interchangeable. No more interchangeable than the way Christ and the Church submit to one-another." How Righteousness Produces Thanksgiving at Year’s End, 2008
Spurgeon on Christmas: "Feast, Christians, feast; you have a right to feast. Go to the house of feasting to-morrow, celebrate your Saviour's birth; do not be ashamed to be glad; you have a right to be happy." Spurgeon on Christmas
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