2009-01-27

Hays responds to an individual who basically asserts a reading of the fall opposite to that of orthodoxy. Some points Hays makes: 1) Calvinism in general doesn’t say that God entered into a covenant of works with Adam. Rather, that’s the position of the Westminster Confession—along with many traditional Divines. But this is a controversial issue in 20C Reformed theology. 2) Don't confuse reward and merit - a filial duty, being obligatory, is not meritorious, yet reward may be given for compliance. But the reward is not earned. 3) Calvinism says that no one does good, not that they don't know good, and that by grace even the reprobate enjoy something of an innate sense of ethical discernment. 4) All that is needed for moral culpability in Adam is the single prohibition of not eating the fruit. 5) Knowing good and evil is most likely idiomatic for making yourself morally autonomous. 6) Adam and Eve were ashamed of God seeing them nude, foreshadowing the fear of divine retribution. The covenant of works

Open theism means that God can sin, since God incarnate or disincarnate is a libertarian free agent. According to open theism, God really did regret sending the flood. God makes many mistakes, of which this is one. Why freewill theism makes God the author of evil. Here's another example of Arminians failing to be consistent in their hermeneutic. Prominent Arminian Blogger Denies that Jesus is Human

Secularists can't help but personify nature - literal nonsense in their worldview. Evolution says absolutely nothing about moral and intellectual virtue, and humans being "adapted to fulfill a characteristic function" doesn't show how the horrid evil in our age is just an aberration. A life of intellectual and moral virtue

Hays commands on Genesis 6:6. He points out that the Bible uses a variety of anthropomorphic depictions of God. "Of course, a pagan—with his pantheon of corporeal or metamorphic gods—might take all of these theistic metaphors literally. However, the Bible also goes out of its way to contrast the true God with heathen divinities." This doesn't probe 6:6 is anthropomorphic but removes any necessary presumption that it is. Since God is an actor in historical narrative, in this genre (along with poetry) we would expect such the narrator to represent God similarly to human players. Certain human emotions are contingent or amplified on human limitations, and unless God shares these, limitations, his experience isn't the same. An anthropomorphic interpretation is tenable. Moreover, it is easier to explain anthropomorphic language for a transcendent God than transcendent language for a humanoid God. "I think the language is metaphorical. I think it’s designed to express God’s literal disapproval of sin in vivid terms which a human audience could relate to." Divine repentance

For some reason, Christians who support the democrats think that abortion is the only reason a Christian wouldn't vote for a democrat - because liberals are all for helping the oppressed and poor. " Hays argues that the Bible isn't sympathetic to those who are poor because they are sluggards, etc. Creating a social welfare system to prop up those who are poor because they made lousy lifestyle choices, such as laziness, drugs, out-of-wedlock sex, etc. isn't helpful - it creates a culture of dependence. And comparisons between fixing poverty and abortion aren't good. "Abortion is a direct act of homicide. There are fairly straightforward legal means of lowering the abortion rate. You use the same methods you use to crack down on homicide generally. You severely penalize it as a deterrent. There’s no straightforward means of reducing poverty where poverty is a result of an individual’s lifestyle choice." While these pro-dems attempt to play off the virtue of helping the poor, they really argue for what is borderline Marxism. Hays also warns against retreating into fatalism and hyper-calvinism politically. How can I call myself a Christian and vote for a Democrat-!

Engwer has a post on the relation of non-Christian miracle accounts to Christianity. 1) It was common for ancient sources to express skepticism of miracle accounts, such as stories about the gods. Pagans had a tendency to disbelieve the stories of miraculous accounts. Origen repeatedly contrasts the evidence for Christian claims with the lack of such evidence for pagan accounts. 2) One supernaturalist will oppose the claims of another. 3) A person gullible in one area doesn't mean that he's gullible in another. 4) Christians don't begin with the assumption that all other miracles are false, and allow for non-Christian accounts of the supernatural (e.g. demon-possession). 5) If God is the most powerful being in the universe, then we should look for the miracle worker who carries the biggest stick. 6) Engwer provides some documents to show that contemporaneous non-Christian accounts of miracles may not amount to that much. 6) The critics who draw these parallels don't know how to argue against the Christian accounts on their own merits, since those accounts hold up well by normal historical standards, so they try to dismiss the accounts by comparing them to other accounts that they assume would be rejected by Christians. Non-Christian Miracle Accounts In A Christian Worldview

If Christians don't participate in policy making, policy is set by unbelievers. If there are counter-terrorism lines you think shouldn't be crossed, then you need to participate in the debate: "What methods of interrogation are appropriate, and what methods are inappropriate? Are some methods appropriate in some situations, but inappropriate in other situations? Are some methods inappropriate regardless of the situation? What rights is a terrorist entitled to?" Hays points out that without the Bush administration to kick around, people have to be adults now and make some decisions. The Naked Public Square

Phil Johnson's mother has died, having won the battle against cancer and gone to the Lord. He "is realizing the bittersweet nature of death for the Christian, how it can be that the death of His own is precious in the Lord's eyes (Psalm 116:15), and yet death is the "last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26). He wrote, "In the midst of this experience, I understand perfectly how death can be such a terrible enemy, and yet at the same time be precious for believers."" What Phil is doing

Spurgeon on death: "Our common proverb that we use is just the expression of our thoughts, "We must live." But if we were wiser we should alter it and say, "We must die." Necessity for life there is not; life is a prolonged miracle. Necessity for death there certainly is, it is the end of all things. Oh that the living would lay it to heart!" Memento Mori

Spurgeon reminds us that death is inevitable, a fine fact in theory, but one that is truly impressed on the heart when we see it. Death is always acceptable to the Christian; we are not dragged into it like the rich man of Luke 12. He illustrates this with a parable, which concludes with a man saying to death personified: ""Ah, Death! I know thee, I have seen thee many a time. I have held communion with thee. Thou art my Master's servant, thou hast come to fetch me home. Go, tell my Master I am ready; whene'er he pleases, Death, I am ready to go with thee." The Christian's death is always to his gain, never to his loss, and always exactly when God wants it. A Christians death is honourable among the brothers. Death means to see the Lord, which is nothing less than bliss consumated. To Fetch Me Home

So many pastors, having their moment before an assembled group, blow it. Why? Because the definitional thing that they must do with their time is to preach the Word. Indeed, there may be those attending who have finally dragged themselves out. "It is literally a critical moment, a moment of crisis, of judgment. Angels attend! The Triune God is there! Endless ages will reverberate with the impact of what happens next. These people are accountable, you are accountable. All eyes are on you." So what do some do? They tell jokes, to make people like them. Others free-associate and chat. Still others tell stories. Yet others 'weave a blurry tapestry of vague, gauzy religious sentiments' that could be preached by any religion. Inoffensive. They all don't preach a 'thus says the LORD' message. What are these people even doing being pastors? Preach the Word. Carpe diem, preacherdude

Phillips points out that angels are interested in two things: He points out the Cherubim on the ark - who stare at the mercy seat (and reminds us to make much of what God makes much of). "Yahweh, and believers' blood-bought redemption. The turning away of Yahweh's wrath by means of blood atonement absorbs them fully, as they are depicted as frozen in rapt attention towards that spot." Out of everything they could look at - it is redemption, which they only know as spectators, that is the great mystery and object of fascination to them. "As we gather together, ostensibly in the name of Christ, what is it that occupies us, that draws us, that fascinates us? Is it the truths of redemption: its Author, its plan, its unfolding, its implications, its consummation, its celebration, its communication? Is it the Word that ALONE reveals these truths? Or is it games, pageantry, frippery, triviality, entertainment, froth, foam, and inanity?" Angels- fixed attention