2009-02-21

JT has a good quote from Schaeffer on a supposed dichotomy between Reformation and Revival: "Reformation speaks of a restoration to pure doctrine, revival of a restoration in the Christian's life. Reformation speaks of a return to the teachings of Scripture, revival of a life brought into proper relationship to the Holy Spirit. The great moments in church history have come when these two restorations have occurred simultaneously. There cannot be true revival unless there has been reformation, and reformation is incomplete without revival." Reformation and Revival as Restoration

Piper discusses the idea of God's love being unconditional. Citing Powlison, he points to four ideas that the notion of 'unconditional' is colloquially trying to protect: that “Conditional love” is bad—unconditional is shorthand for the opposite of manipulation, demand, judgmentalism; that God’s love is patient; that true love is God’s gift, with the alternative being legalism; and God receives you just as you are. Powlison points out that these, while true, tend to obscure things as formulated. The reality is that unmerited grace is not strictly unconditional, for Christ lived and died to obtain our relation with God. The idea of unconditional love carries with it a lot of cultural baggage, e.g. tolerance. God's love is more than conditional, for it changes the one who He loves - there is something wrong with you and while 'unconditional' expresses the welcome of God, it connotes, 'you're ok as you are,' failing to express the point of Gods' welcoming. God doesn't love us just as we are, but rather despite how we are, and Christ fulfilled in Himself the conditions for God loving us. See here Is God's Love Unconditional- and here Is God's Love Unconditional-

Piper quotes Whitefield, and provides a Christ-exalting quote glorying in the sufficiency of Christ as our all-sufficient righteousness. Whitefield Exalts in Christ

Harris provides a quote from a pastor who, in his former years, had read I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and despite participation in church/bible studies for a year and a half apparently never had the doctrine of the cross and substitutionary atonement explained until he read it in this book. Both sad and encouraging. A Letter That Made My Day

White writes another post on the criticism from a poster on ETC. "in the final analysis, Dr. Wasserman seems to believe that I, the original writer of my own words on my blog, am not the final arbiter of the context and intention of those words! He has said, “I interpreted the statement within the context it was made (read my response), and that is what Christian recognized.” The fact is just the opposite: I determine my own context, and that context was plain and clear to anyone (and here’s the catch) who takes the time to honestly consider that context. But, it seems, that’s the problem: if you are not one of the leading textual critical scholars in the world, your context doesn’t matter. So, though I plainly was speaking about Ehrman’s leadership in shifting the paradigm of textual criticism away from the restoration of the original text of the NT toward an exegesis of the variants themselves, Wasserman seems to feel that he can take my words and transplant them into his own context." A Final Comment on the Wasserman ETC Blog Discussion [For those interested, I have provided a few comments on the ETC post, since I think that whether or not White painted with a broad brush that some felt offended by, White has been misrepresented and those involved are not willing to own up to it.]

Swan reposts a post on the propensity of modern Roman Catholic apologists to highlight the 'conversion story.' Here's an irony: "This apologetic use of the “conversion story” is directly borrowed from Protestantism. Being raised in an independent non-denominational church, I heard countless inspiring stories of the wayward sinner finding and choosing the love and grace of Christ. As a youth, I was always interested to hear how possibly my favorite rock star accepted Christ. These tales could be used as a “witnessing tool” to my non-Christian friends. “You see, person x converted, so should you.” With the current trend in Catholic apologetics, Joe Protestant became Catholic, so should you. As Evangelicals swam the Tiber, they brought their Evangelical methods with them to the shores of Rome. They brought their vocabulary and their communication skills." The use of this is really a rehashing of a 'theology of glory', examples of the achievement of the church and her glory rather than on the achievements of Christ. Roman Catholic Conversion Stories

Carrie provides a Romanist quotation on Mary that shows the idea in their conception that Mary is a kinder, gentler mediator than Christ. Catholic Quotes on Mary

MacArthur points out the decay in biblical ethical living - not only is postmodernism and modernism blurring things, and diminishing the authority or even acknowledgment of revelation, but Christians are turning to the world's ways of dealing with issues, like sociology and psychology, and adopting the world's views, with non-culpable labels like mistakes or addictions, rather than SIN. Their behaviour is virtually indistinguishable from the world. It is really only the heard transformed by the Gospel, the regenerate heart, that is willing and able to obey God's word. it is in the lives of sinners who have been transformed by the Gospel of grace, that a distinctly Christian ethic must be fleshed out. True Christianity is not external moralism. It must be a heart-work. Otherwise it is a superficial charade. "a heart that has been truly transformed by God will respond in love to His Son, Jesus Christ... it eagerly affirms and applies the Bible's moral instructions..." "If Christians are to live in keeping with who they are (as children of God), they must live according to the Word of God through the power of His Spirit. No other source of wisdom or moral insight will do. By definition, they are people of the Book—and not just on Sundays, but every day of the week." The Heart of True Ethics

Dan Wallace has some comments on the controversial cartoon of the shot monkey as a metaphor for the stimulus package. Read if you're interested in some thoughtful points on the pulse of America. New York Post’s Racist(-) Cartoon

The thirty thousand denomination myth is recycled again. Click here for details and a link to the refutation. Myths Die Hard in Rome

Here are some Edwards resolutions on pure speech - worth reading - in the context of discussions on the use of humour: e.g. "Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good...". Jonathan Edwards, James 3, and Humor by Ryan Townsend. Sinclair Ferguson provides 20 more. James' Resolutions on Speech by Ryan Townsend

Bayly has heavy criticism for the PCA church's efforts to 'reach out to the arts communities,' treating them as underdog victims who need a sanctuary. He says, "The conceit within a growing number of PCA churches that artists comprise a needy class deserving of church support is particularly galling when it's married with a claim to cultural relevance. These churches understand both Christ and culture? Really? Or is the person who thinks his church needs to support his city's artists actually just doing what the uncool kid in class always does when driven by bounderish desire--sucking-up to those at "the top of the snob pyramid," in this case, by building a church where arriviste aspirations masquerade as outreach? " Reaching out or sucking up-

DeYoung recommends a book that sounds excellent. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will. "The gist of the book is that too many of us spend too much time trying to divine God's will and too little time striving to obey the plain commands of Scripture... God's will is not a bullseye to hit, but a life to live." Just Do Something

Hays points to the irony of liberals criticizing abstinence-only programs on account of Bristol Palin - since apparently she went to public school! If 100% success is the liberal standard, then every program they've ever done is an abject failure. "The liberal contention is that, since some teenagers are going to do it anyway, then gov’t should teach them safe sex and provide them with free contraceptives. While we’re on the subject, I’d also note that some teenagers use digital cameras to photograph themselves having sex, then post these X-rated images on the internet. By liberal logic, since some teenagers are going to it anyway, gov’t should provide them with free sound stages to make commercial quality porn. That would teach them a marketable skill."  Public sex ed