2009-07-05

Hays responds to a Romanist argument that though inspiration secures truthfulness in the Scriptures it does not secure perfect interpretation (given the complexity of the text) and so, not only is an infallible interpretive authority necessary, but it’s unthinkable that God wouldn’t supply one. To this, Hays points out: i) It exaggerates the obscurity of the Scriptures. ii) Appealing to antecedent probabilities proves to much ( if it’s true that God would install machinery to spit out infallible rulings, it’s likewise improbable that He would allow the faithful to be confused by so many rival claimants – God gave us this great machinery, but not an indubitable way to identify it! ) or too little ( it would also be antecedently improbable that God would permit the Great Schism, and confusion over who is the pope, and Arian dominance, and so on ). Rather, we’re on a walk of faith, trusting the God who sees infinitely further than us to lead us, as we discover His will by observing the way that He actually guides His people. God hasn’t ordered our lives so that we know where our foot will land. This is the walk of faith. Hot on the trail of the elusive, infallible interpreter

Helm begins by quoting this of Edwards: “The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other, is by music.” Helm recalls Hodge rejecting two methods of theology, the Speculative and the Mystical, both which impose norms on Scripture from outside. Hodge took post-Kantian German Protestant theology to task in his systematic theology, on divine omnipotence, omniscience, divine holiness, the Trinity, inspiration, Christology, Soteriology, and the post-mortem status of human beings. However, Hodge did not discount the Christian experience entirely, holding that the facts of religious experience should be accepted as facts and when Scripturally authenticated be permitted to interpret the doctrinal statements of Scripture. He quotes Hodge to the effect that hymn-singing may reveal and express what a person’s developed theology may not (precluding him from being a mere child of the Enlightenemnt, rationalistic, purely intellectual). Hodge held that as a man can be all heart/no intellect, and all intellect/no heart, so too he can be part head and heart, and though regeneration brings new life and light, the disruption of the fall continues: where (in a regenerate person) the intellect is blocked, or is taken over by various factors, the forces of regeneration nevertheless find their outlet in what he calls the ‘religious consciousness’, the ‘renewed heart’. This disjunction in the head and heart, a cognitive dissonance, is in Hodge’s view very real in the Christian experience, and also, it is a recurring strand of Reformed theology. Regeneration and the work of the Spirit will not permit the regenerate, though he errs in mind, to follow it to its conclusion. He posts some fascinating quotes (doesn’t say who they’re from), one of which suggests that on this account a man can be saved in heart by grace he denies in the mind. Hodge and Hymn-singing

Spurgeon: “The church wants mature Christians very greatly, and especially when there are many fresh converts added to it. New converts furnish impetus to the church, but her backbone and substance must, under God, lie with the mature members.” He compares them to battle-hardened, unwavering, resolves, mature, intelligent, wise soldiers, compared to young raw recruits. They are more decided, thoroughgoing, well-instructed, and confirmed believers. By contrast, the inventors of new doctrines in these days, while fancying themselves like a Luther, “at their discoveries like a cow at a new gate, as if there were nothing else in all the world but the one thing for them to stare at.” The raw recruits will follow these teachers, but the mature believers never will. Wanted- Mature Christians

Ascol looks at Morris Chapman’s (president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee) reasons for not signing the Great Commission Resurgence document. i) Ascol, contra Chapman, is convinced that the structures of the SBC do need to be restructured for the sake of the Great Commission, and nothing should be exempt to scrutiny. ii) Chapman called for a “major overhaul” in 2004 himself. He even said in 2006 that changes should be made in SBC entities to make them leaner/more effective for the sake of witness. So Chapman’s objection to the GCR at a point which he had previously agreed rings hollow. iii) According to this BP report, in 2007-2008 only 1.13% of undesignated offerings given by Southern Baptists made it to the International Missions Board, a statistic that is causing alarm among the missionary hearts of Southern Baptists. iv) Touting a fear of division is eerily reminiscent of the objections to the conservative resurgence in the 1979 and on, and allowing it to trump all other concerns is the slope to liberalism. ”How can taking an honest look at who we are and what we are doing be offensive to truth-loving, kingdom-advancing people?” Morris Chapman and the Great Commission Resurgence

Patton looks at the argument that due to the capacity to side-track from the simplicity of loving God, etc. theological discourse is not necessary for the average Christian. This views almost always thinks that, no matter how significant the theological issue, the issue just brings sinful divisiveness. This seems to have some truth it it. Knowledge puffs up. But the knowledge is worth the risk. Patton likens it to the risks inherent in coming to know a person. Getting to know someone can bring about great pain. When the fear of relational knowledge causes one to avoid all vulnerability, we see schizoid personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder (AvPD), social anxiety disorder, etc. While this can be rationalized, it deprives us of relations, an essential human need. Theology is simply coming to understand God at a deeper level, and there are risks. There are risks of misunderstanding, of strife as you defend what you believe to be true. But how is this different than normal relations? People have a theological disorder when it comes to truth: theologyphobic. The symptoms: Increasing apathy toward theological issues; belief that theological discussions are counter-productive since they often cause divisions; distancing one’s theology from their relationship with God; separating “devotional time” from “study time”; an increasing antagonism toward labels. It would be like your spouse telling you that, because there might be pain, conflict of opinion, your spouse doesn’t want to know too much about you – just love and that’s it. This is a superficial relationship, protecting your ideals. That’s no relationship at all. Ignorance is bliss, but bliss is not God’s will for us. Theology Avoidance Disorder

White refutes Dave Hunt’s poor argumentation on 2 Thes. 2:13. Hunt asserts that “nowhere in the Bible do we ever see anyone elected, predestined, chosen unto salvation, but only unto service and blessing”, saying that Paul uses “from the beginning” nowhere else as referring to predestination so in 2 Thes. 2:13 it means they were chose from the point when they believed. i) The Greek is different in the other instances; it’s not the same expression. ii) A specific temporal denotation is supplied in each of the other cases. So it’s both logically and linguistically an irrelevant argument. iii) Hunt’s argument would mean that God chose them in time, but he thinks it could be from the ‘beginning of the Gospel’ in Macedonia, as in, the Thessalonians were chosen to hear it. But this still means that God chose them before they chose. iv) Calvinism has no problem with God using means to save His people. v) Hunt appeals to all Israelites being chosen to go through the red sea, being led out of Egypt, etc. neglecting the fact that the Israelites were God’s chosen – no Egyptians, etc. were redeemed, as well as the remnant motif throughout the OT. Dave Hunt- A Man Who Refuses to Be Corrected

AiG has an article giving some basic theology of the fall, sin, and salvation in Christ, out of Genesis 3. Answers Summer Issue Sneak Peek- Lessons From the Fall

Challies reviews Miller’s book A Praying Life. It’s got a lot of good teaching. It begins by saying that people struggle with prayer because they pursue prayer rather than God, when prayer is a means to pursue God. It has five main parts which focus on the following: i) Praying with a child-like trust, living a life of calling out, Abba Father! ii) Putting aside the endemic cynicism in our culture which prevents us from enjoying God and trusting in Him. iii) Petitioning God confidently, with Miller looking at the variety of the promises Christ has made. iv) Looking at prayer as part of the grand story that God is weaving into the lives of his people. v) Practical advice for prayer. Challies’ caveat is that there seems to be some influence from mystics (such as Roman Catholic Trappist monk Thomas Merton!), which detracts from the overall book. Nevertheless, he recommends it. A Praying Life

The divorce rate jumps 40% following Calgary Stampede. Apparently it’s become like Vegas. http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/07/03/Divorce-rate-rises-after-Calgary-Stampede/UPI-26711246645077/