2009-06-24

Phillips points to a resource with guitar chords for hymns. (See THIS). Guitar chords for hymns

Ascol reports that Mohler’s motion for a Great Commission task force in the SBC (for bringing a report/recommendations to the SBC concerning how the SBC can work for faithfully and effectively together in fulfilling the Great Commission). (Rancorous opposition came from a pastor who blamed Calvinism as the problem in the SBC.) Ascol has some other comments. Of note, he says that the message the the IMB has encountered financial shortfall (receiving just 2.6% of the 16 billion collect by SBC churches last year) seems to be rallying Southern Baptists to renew a commitment to getting the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world. The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Vote Passed

Here’s another report on the convention noted in the previous post from a pastor at 9Marks. Seven Reflections from the SBC by Aaron Menikoff

Turk notes that Paul doesn’t tell Titus that elders must read out loud and expound from the Bible, but that they will "hold firm" to the trustworthy word as it was taught to him. Paul is telling Titus to find men who are informed about the word (not those particularly informative about the word). i.e. men who listened to the word’s teaching and are made better for it. The ‘blameless’ is a product of this, and so is him being a disciple, and therefore being able to disciple and discipline others. He’s one who’s cleaved to and listening to the word, standing against the world, and can therefore tell others things they don’t know. This is a man who delights in God’s testimonies, and meditates on them day and night. Planted by

Zondervan has some comments from someone on Joshua. My question - Why is it that people are ‘uncomfortable’ with the slaughter of the Canaanites at God’s command? Have they no concept of the holiness of God, and the horror and perversity of sin? Shouldn’t the real ‘uncomfortable’ feeling be, why didn’t we die too?? Now, About all that Killing...by Robert L. Hubbard Jr

From Engwer: The full, professional video of William Lane Craig's recent debate with Richard Carrier, on the topic of Jesus' resurrection, is now available to view for free online. Links On The Resurrection

MacArthur notes the command to examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5) and the reality that there is a kind of empty profession (James 2:17-26), and enumerates some criteria that neither proves nor disproves that faith is genuine: i) Visible morality – it didn’t help the Pharisees. a man can be loyal to everyone except God; He can do all sorts of good things but have no love for God. ii) Intellectual knowledge – merely understanding the truth cognitively, while necessary, is insufficient. iii) Religious involvement – there are those who practice an outward form of godliness, but deny its power. iv) Active ministry – Judas was one of the twelve, and a public preacher (see also Matt. 7:22-23), where those involved in public ministry will be told by Christ that he never knew them. v) Conviction of sin – our world is full of guilt-ridden people (so Felix, Acts 24:24-6). Conviction of sin is not saving faith – even the demons know their sin. vi) The feeling of assurance – one can be self-deceived, and Paul’s exhortations to self-testing presuppose this. vii) A time of decision – knowing when ‘it’ happened doesn’t confer salvation. The Marks of Saving Faith (Part 1)

Creation.com reviews From Hitler to Darwin. How could the horrors of the Holocaust occur in the most civilized country in the world? Richard Weikart (prof of European History at California State) has thoroughly documented the Darwinian roots of many aspects of the Nazi terror: Darwinism provided many of the foundations for Nazi principles. (For example, Darwinism undermined the uniqueness of humanity, which in turn undermined the sanctity of innocent life.) Moral relativism was able to take hold as Darwinism undermined divine foundations. Evolutionary fitness was applied to to groups as well as individuals. Weikart even points out that pre-darwinian racism was usually repulsed by the dominant Christian worldview. http://creation.com/the-darwinian-roots-of-the-nazi-tree-weikart-review

DeYoung’s church had Eric Washington, Assistant Professor of African-American and African History, speak on "The African-American Church Experience". Here’s a remarkable quotation from the first African American priest in the Episcopal Church: “There’s always been a mystery why the impartial Father of the human race should have permitted the transportation of so many millions of our fellow creatures to this country to endure all of the miseries of slavery. Perhaps his design was that a knowledge of the gospel might be acquired by some of their descendants in order that they might become qualified to be messengers of it to the land of their fathers.” The African-American Church Experience

Walsh at DG quotes an interesting point that seems to articulate a wrong-headed view of Africans as helpless victims that negatively manifests itself in short term missions, with most Americans simply going to check of a list of things to do, in investing time and money, that will advance the Gospel. “Our counterparts in the developing world are more resourceful than we imagine—and we need them at least as much as they need us.” We Need Them at Least as Much as They Need Us

iMonk has some interesting thoughts on the SBC roundup. He notes the younger leaders taking power in the SBC, a pull to have the Gospel above all else as the centre of unity, the utter waste of time the culture war has been in the SBC (as indicated by motions from the floor), and a call to young leaders to be mature, gracious and kind in light of 'winning'. "God is amazingly kind to our old ship. Born in a love of slavery. Arrogant. Blind to the Kingdom outside its own borders. Cantankerous and stubborn. But the ship still sails because the Holy Spirit says it will be so."
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/my-thoughts-on-todays-southern-baptist-convention-meeting-62309

Genderblog points to and commends several blogs here: An Annotated Biblio-BLOG-raphy

Manata points out that if God is 'loving' those in hell in such a way to seek their "re-tribution, re-mediation, re-probation " then God is either irrational (since classical Arminianism holds to omniscience, and that God knows they will never come out of punishment), or universality, or open theist. If the Arminian resorts to a retributive God, how is God omni-benevolent? Classical Arminianism less loving than other variants on Arminianism, or does it lead to means-end irrationality, Universalism or Open Theism?

JT says on prison rape, "I've been trying to think of another example but haven't for the strange situation surrounding this issue: namely, a brutal, horrific, devastating crime that frequently functions as a punchline in countless movies, sitcoms, and late-night shows. And if we're honest, many Christians laugh and pass along such jokes quite easily. (I know have been guilty of doing so.)" Prison Rape

Hays responds to the claim, "Eastern Orthodox Church has been most faithful to the apostles' Old Testament. They still use the LXX and usually base their translations of the Old Testament on it " (i.e. the NT prefers the LXX, so it should be accepted). i) Our extant LXX is not the same as the 1st century LXX. ii) NT writers don't often quote verbatim - they feel free to reword things (i.e.they don’t treat the wording of the Greek OT as inviolate.) iii) Some quotes are closer to the Massoretic Text. iv) One must distinguish between NT speakers and NT writers, since NT writers recorded speakers who would use the Greek OT directly. v) NT writers quote the Greek OT because they’re writing to Greek-speaking Jews and Gentiles; it can also be a matter of answering one on his own grounds. The Bible of the Apostles

Phillips quotes an illustration of sovereign grace (and asks for help in locating its author), where one attempts to give a life-giving elixer to a bunch of corpses in a morgue, and after preaching flawlessly to them, asks them to simply reach out and take a sip. If it were left to this, none would life. Calling the Brain Trust: help me source an illustration on sovereign grace Gospel

Danny Akin: "Great missionaries must be theologians, and truly great theologians will be missionaries." Missions Driven By Theology by Michael Mckinley

Hays points to the Quartodecimanism, the Filoque, the Tridentine Canon, the Assumption of Mary, Novus Ordo, and Anglican Orders to show the fundamental tension between the claims of Rome to be a champion of Christian unity, as well as a leader in ecumenical dialogue–on the one hand–and various actions by which she has alienated many professing believers and ejected them from the ranks of the “faithful”–retroactively defined.  Mother Church or mother of schism?

This article from AiG briefly argues that the church in Europe has collapsed because they disconnected the Bible from reality, and this is now happening in North America, where Christians are immersed in secularism. "the Bible is not some “pie in the sky” theoretical book. It’s a real book connected to the real world. It has everything to do with history, geology, biology, anthropology, and sociology. It provides the true history of the world, as opposed to evolution over millions of years." Already Gone

This article from AiG offers a basic primer on the principle of interpretation as they relate to literary forms, and how this applies to interpreting the Bible (i.e. grammatico-historical method). http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v4/n1/literary-forms-biblical-interpretation

T-fan recalls this illustration: "Old Woman: I hear there is a new pastor in town. Old Man: Oh? Is he any good? OW: An excellent speaker - everyone who goes enjoys the sermon. OM: None of that "fire and brimstone" eh? OW: Oh, no! Certainly not! This young man actually insists that there is no hell. Everyone will be saved. OM: Well, if he's right we don't need him, and if he's wrong we don't want him." Mark 9:44 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (identical statement at vss. 46 and 48): There is a hell, and yes it is eternal - not of finite duration. People are not punished temporally. Universalism

Turk answers the question as to whether an elder should step down if his children are unbelievers, pointing out that the ESV translation ought to be revised. On what basis? i) The NET translation notes: The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation. ii) In Mt 25:21, Luke 12:42, Acts 16:15 (and about 50 other places) all use this word to indicate reliability or trustworthiness or obedience.  Paul is looking for a man who can train others up to be trustworthy or reliable members of his household. [The children are faithful, that is, to the parent]. Family is the place where a man shows that he can lead well. His Children

McKinley points to a Peruvian man in their fellowship, who cam to America to make as much money as possible. Having converted, one fruit of this is that he'd rather spend time with believers than work, so he doesn't work Sunday anymore. And he said that he has 'Thursday off' - i.e. he only works from 7 am to 3:30 am (he has 3 jobs). An 8 hour day is a day off??? You Think You Are Busy by Michael Mckinley

McKinley provides this quote: "Imagine a spectrum as horizontal... from good looks to athleticism to brains to money to fluency to how well you know the Bible to how big your church is (you could pick a hundred areas... but what our sinful hearts do is they take what is a horizontal spectrum and they turn it vertical as a ladder to nowhere.  They rank themselves and either feel superior to people or inferior to people. " Ladder to Nowhere by Michael Mckinley

Jean Williams quotes CJ Mahaney on unanswered prayer, where Mahaney is thankful for it. The Savior is sovereign, not sentimental. He sees things we don't. And we are disappointed and angry at unanswered prayer because we think that we know better than God. Unanswered prayers purify the motives. God doesn't say “yes” to His children's petulant, childish demands. Like a loving parent, he says “no”. The blessing of unanswered prayer

Hays quotes some interesting stats. Here's some highlights: "Overall, then, 80% of those who were raised as Protestant are still Protestant, either within the same denominational family in which they were raised (52%) or within another Protestant family (28%). So only one-in-five (20%) adults who were raised as Protestant have left Protestantism altogether (7% for a non-Protestant religion and 13% for no religion at all). " "Overall, 31.4% of U.S. adults say that they were raised Catholic. Today, however, only 23.9% of adults identify with the Catholic Church, a net loss of 7.5 percentage points. "  "Two of the religious groups with the lowest retention rates are Jehovah’s Witnesses and Buddhists. Only slightly more than a third (37%) of adults who were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses still
identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Half of all of those who were raised as Buddhists (50%) are still Buddhists. " Religious demographics in America

Russ Moore continues with what he understands is at stake in an ethical dilemma having to do with a transgender individual who has come to Christ. i) The Gospel is first. All sin is weird and perverted, so the pastor must not be repulsed. ii) Repentence is next. Has the sinner counted the cost? iii) There is no simple solution: no matter the action, there will be havoc. The man's daughter will learn that 'mom' is really a man. iv) It's essential to articulate the sin that this man is walking away from: In seeking to "become" a woman, John has established himself as a god, determining the very structure of his createdness. God creates male and female, not in generics. v) The pastor must therefore address him as a man, in line with the 'new creation' that he is in Christ. vi) While gratuitous disclosure is unnecessary, the pastor must not deceive the congregation, and they must be told who they are baptizing. vi) "Joan is not going to "feel" like John, and that's okay. But the pastor must start ministering to him by helping him identify what peace looks like, what the destination is to which he's headed. And that's as a man." Moore aims to address some practical concerns in a following post. How the Gospel Ministers to the Transgendered, Part II

JT has a quote to the effect that while Orwell saw our undoing as the result of external oppression, Huxley said there would be no need for it. People would love their own oppression, i.e. they would come to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. "What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one." "In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us." Brave New World vs. Nineteen Eighty-Four
JT has some good advice from Bruce Ashford on reading: How to read, what to read, why to read. On Disciplined Reading

Here's a Q&A for parents on the sacraments from Covenant Life Church. Q&A for Parents on the Sacraments

JT points to a study guide and an outline of John Frame's The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Q&A for Parents on the Sacraments

JT links to a video from Os Guinness, who believes that the only way forward for America is to tackle and resolve the major question of whether a free republic can maintain and sustain its freedom. Os Guinness: Can America Sustain Its Freedom?

Here's Piper challenging children to have a holy ambition for God. "Mom and Dad, single people, young and old, Christians should have a holy ambition. Something you really, really want to do for the glory of God. Something that controls you. It helps you decide not to go to Rome yet. It gives eternal focus and passion to your life." Do You Have a Holy Ambition?

Ray Ortland argues that the gospel requires us to have high expectations of one another on biblically central doctrines and strategies, and it cautions us to be more relaxed with one another the further we have to move out from the center. Conclusions should be modest in inverse proportion to the clarity of the appeal to the Bible. "May we become more certain where we've been too open and more open where we've been too certain, according to Scripture alone. And where it seems helpful to provide further definition on our own authority, may we do so with candor and humility but without apology." Certainty vs Openness

In the book, Through His Eyes, Jerram Barrs aims to understand how God sees women. Through His Eyes: God's Perspective on Women in the Bible