Southern Seminary has a new PhD program in Biblical Spirituality. “The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will introduce in January what is believed to be the first doctor of philosophy degree in spirituality offered at a Protestant institution in the United States.” New PhD Program in Biblical Spirituality in the News
Swan produces a review of Uwe Siemon-Netto’s book, The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and Modern Myths, written by a member of the Department of Anthropology at the U of C. She writes, ‘those who were primarily responsible for the Holocaust and generally for the brutality on the Eastern Front of World War II were men who had not only left Christianity but were intent on destroying the entire Judeo-Christian tradition because it was unGerman.' and ‘Far from confirming a line from Luther to Hitler, Siemon-Netto shows the role that Lutheranism played in the resistance against the Hitler regime.’ (e.g. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Carl Goerdeler). She concludes, “For anyone who wants to understand the relevance of Luther’s two realms belief in recent history, The Fabricated Luther deserves a place on your shelf. Indeed, I know of no other book that combines so naturally and effectively theology and Realpolitik, without politicizing the former or sacralizing the latter.” The Fabricated Luther- Refuting Nazi Connections and Modern Myths. See here for Swan’s examination of unnecessary exaggeration by Romanists of Luther’s sins in his treatments of the Jews at points. Finding Contexts in Peter F. Wiener's Martin Luther- Hitler's Spiritual Ancestor
Swan points to a “Reformed-Catholic” dialogue on the Eucharist. He makes the point, “Of course, all that goes by the name "Reformed" isn't necessarily so, some of the larger bodies of the "Reformed" are liberal enough to give away the store.” Reformed-Catholic Dialogue Presents Papers on Eucharist
Swan points to various quotes from Roman Catholics on purgatory. From John Paul II: "In Sacred Scripture, we can grasp certain elements that help us to understand the meaning of [purgatory], even if it is not formally described. They express the belief that we cannot approach God without undergoing some kind of purification." Swan translates: We have a theological concept without explicit proof, so any verse that sounds remotely close enough to that concept weighs in as affirmative Biblical evidence. There are several more, including those to the effect of a contradiction between the Pope and another Romanist leader, the wiggle room in the doctrine, the freedom to speculate in each generation (so the doctrine is different), etc. Translating Purgatory
Hays provides a quote that says, “In investigating memory-beliefs, there are certain points which must be borne in mind. In the first place, everything constituting a memory-belief is happening now, not in that past time to which the belief is said to refer. It is not logically necessary to the existence of a memory-belief that the event remembered should have occurred…” This is often used to ridicule the YEC argument for apparent age. i) While they claim it shows the absurdity of apparent age,absurdity is context dependent, as there can be scenarios where there is reason to doubt the veridicality of memories (e.g. hypnosis). ii). Ironically,evolutionary psychology is a prescription for skepticism regarding the external world. Hays provides several Dawkins’ quotes illustrating this. No, Virginia, the world is fake
Carolyn Mahaney gives some advice for mother’s so that they keep their priorities in order – they need to structure their lives to do that which is most important first, not as a legalistic thing, but to protect that which is a priority. e.g. Don’t check e-mail until after everything is done. First Things First
Janelle of Girltalk gives three points of advice for the mothering mission: i) Search out the Scriptures for understanding on parenting. ii) Search out those in the church who have done this before. iii) Search out good books on the matter. Proverbs 29:17: “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.” Search!
Kristin of Girltalk suggests that mothers hold fast to this promise and find strength in it: Galatians 6:9 says: "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." She also lists these posts: 1. Preach the gospel to yourself (pt. one and two) 2. Prize your husband (pt. one and two) 3. Parent all the time (pt. one, two and three) 4. Pay attention (pt. one, two and three) 5. Pursue help in parenting. Strength For a Weary Mom
While most men find it easy to lead their families in trivial things like watching movies, an understanding that a father must care for and lead his family spiritually is dropped in many homes. Intentional manhood means leading our family to fulfill their purpose: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Family worship is the idea of a dad leading his family in daily or weekly concentrated focus on the Lord. It often includes singing, prayer, and Scripture reading. This post provides a number of quotes from great Christians of the past on the importance of this. Intentional Manhood, Part VI- Family Worship
Swan points to the irony that Catholic apologists often let us know how crucial it is to have an infallible magisterium and church Tradition in order to interpret the Bible correctly, but that they often comment on the Scriptures. Swan points to the example of Tim Staples, who tries to argue from Romans 8:35-39 that Christians aren’t separated from each other by death so they can pray to dead saints. Yet this passage is about God’s faithfulness in our suffering, and vs. 34 shows it is Christ who intercedes for us. We Have Apostolic Tradition - The Unofficial Catholic Apologist Commentary #3
White points out that Romanist apologists simply refuse to deal with one documentable historical fact: “Augustine taught that the body of Jesus Christ is present in heaven, and that it is not present on earth! Do what you will about anything else, interpret any other statement as you will, the fact is Augustine did not blush to speak of the church as lacking the physical body of Jesus.” “Augustine (354-430): The head of the Church is enthroned in heaven, from where he rules and guides his body; and though the body is still debarred from the vision of him, it is linked to him by charity. John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., ed., The Works of Saint Augustine, Part 3, Vol. 17, trans. Maria Boulding, O.S.B., Expositions of the Psalms, Psalms 51-72, Psalm 56.1 (Hyde Park: New City Press, 2001), p. 104.” More Anonymous Madridisms
Adams writes that there are always problem people in the church – not schizmatics, but the stubborn, foolish, difficult, obstinate, slow, etc. There are numerous bad reactions. Some pastors just want them to leave, or want to avoid them. Or the pastor wants to give up. But God’s under-shepherds have never had it easy, and they must let Christ decide when to remove the lampstand. Look at the forbearance and patience of God with His people, and the apostles. Looking to Paul’s exhortation to even the common Christian in Thessalonians, how should pastors deal with the difficult? “Build them up.” “Counsel them.” “Encourage them.” “Support them” and “be patient with everyone.” “Come on now, discouraged, disheartened pastor: the church is a hospital for the spiritually sick, and you are a physician of the soul. What good would a physician be in a hospital of well people?” Ask for forgiveness for your discouragement and remember that you are a servant of God, serving Him by serving His people. Pastors and Problem People
Carl Sagan ripped off Antony Flew’s parable of the invisible garden with his invisible dragon in his garage. Hays points out that both assume that Christians believe in God despite the total absence of evidence, and they accuse the Christian faith of being unfalsifiable because nothing could even count as evidence against it. i) Sagan simply presupposes that there’s no evidence for God and imputes this to Christians, erecting a straw man. They begin with an atheistic assumption and impute it to Christians, and then say that the Christian is irrational for continuing to believe in God in spite of the atheistic assumption. ii) There’s a difference between inevidence and counterevidence. “Lack of evidence is not synonymous with evidence to the contrary.” So Sagan is using an argument from silence, which is only useful if an expected type of evidence were missing, which goes to the question of what types would be expected – but in the parable no physical test can verify the dragon. So Sagan’s parable is an illustration in lieu of an argument and its popularity demonstrates the irrationality of the average atheist. The dragon in my garage
CotW has an article with this summary: “Few ideas have done more harm to the human race in the last 120 years than those of Sir Francis Galton. He founded the evolutionary pseudo-science of eugenics. Today, ethnic cleansing, the use of abortion to eliminate ‘defective’ unborn babies, infanticide, euthanasia, and the harvesting of unborn babies for research purposes all have a common foundation in the survival-of-the-fittest theory of eugenics.” It discusses Galton, eugenics, and the damage to humanity. Galton was heavily influenced by Darwin, and was among the first to recognize the implications for mankind of Darwin’s theory of evolution. e.g. the poor were so because they were biologically inferior. “In Hereditary Genius (1869), Galton enlarged on all these ideas and proposed that a system of arranged marriages between men of distinction and women of wealth would eventually produce a gifted race.” The twentieth century saw multitudes of people sterilized because of this thinking. In the 21st century, abortion, infanticide, and euthenasia are the children of this thinking, employed to terminate the ‘unfit’. http://creation.com/eugenics-death-of-the-defenceless
MacDonald thinks that some people need to be a little more honest about what they really mean when they say “reaching the culture.” They either mean, i) reaching people very different from themselves; ii) reaching secular people who have no interest in God (he cautions here, saying ‘Do we see Jesus spending a lot of time targeting people with no time for God?’ and warns against trying to do this to bolster ones own faith or from the notion that the gospel is not universally relevant if it is not successful in every quadrant of society); or iii) they mean reaching cool people who make them feel cool. This quote is worth producing in full: “One of the most disturbing trends in the emergent church is the focus on ’style.’ Living in Wrigleyville, (Chicago) or Greenwich Village (New York) etc. is most assuredly ‘cool.’ And seeking to share Christ with the masses of immensely immoral 20 somethings that inhabit such regions is a worthy goal; but why is that target so popular? Almost everyone it seems wants access to the arts district in Austin Tx., or the uptown area of Atlanta. Who is this about really? When did style statements, and fashionable eye wear, and how I dress and how I act, and my toootally tasteful music preferences become such a key ingredient in reaching ‘the culture?’ Who is all this really about? Is it about lost broken people in these areas dying without Christ and without hope? Or is it about me choosing a place of ministry that advances my personal mission of self expression? I’m just asking . . .” Cultures don’t come to Christ, individuals do. http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=1466
Steve at ReformedBaptistFellowship points to three lousy ways of dealing with sinners. “It’s the truth that sets sinners free, so why would we even think of resorting to a lie or a partial truth?” i) The man-centred God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The wonderful plan might be a demonstration of God’s justice and wrath. ii) Jesus died for you. This misrepresents the purpose of the atonement, suggesting one for whom Christ died can be lost. Rather, “Jesus died for sinners” or even “God saves sinners” is a positive truth that can be proclaimed. iii) The ‘God-has-done-everything-He-can-but-now’ It’s up to you to accept Him. The last thing that a sinner needs is for his belief that he is free and autonomous to be reinforced. http://reformedbaptistfellowship.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/evangelize-or-fossilize-or-compromise-%e2%80%93-part-2/
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