Piper clarifies his words on the tornado a few days ago. He points to the ‘tornado’ in his life of a cancer diagnosis three years ago. The message of every calamity (Luke 13:1-5) and good day (Rom. 2:4) is a rebuke against worldliness and a thrust toward holiness; it is intended by God – but not Satan, who only intends to approve sin - to be a call to repentance, to be deepened in affection for Christ. Only the details change with different tornados. Clarifying the Tornado
Here’s ten interesting thesis on social action, which JT links to for fuller explanation. They include things like “We must not collapse the already/not-yet tension” and “We must realize that our actions are not self-interpreting” and “We must prioritize proclamation of the gospel without neglecting social action”. 10 Theses on the Kingdom of God and Social Action
Challies posts a quote to the effect that the whole idea of human progress is meaningless apart from a theistic reality. Commenting on the technological advancement of man over the millennia, “is that progress? Or is it merely change? What is the goal toward which human society is tending? Or are we too, like our 10,000 year-old forbears, only wishing to survive as long as possible with a maximum of comfort, pleasure, and security?” Human Development
Turk comments on a comment on Piper’s blog on the tornado. He notes that the direct one-to-one connection of individual sin and calamity is wrong, and then, speaking of Piper’s comments, says that the “difference is the Gospel-centeredness of this statement. It doesn't say, "because you did 'A', God punished you with 'B'": it says, "because Jesus said plainly that all sinners are is grave peril, all sinners must be on guard to repent."” i) Nuance is key, and there is a big difference between saying as Piper did "calamity in this world points sinners to a Holy God who calls them to repentance" (which is the Gospel) and "those punks got what was coming to them" (which is a self-congratulatory misapplication of the Law). ii) Piper does want to understand that all calamities that happen are signs – even those to ‘good Christians’, so its rather short-sighted to imply that Piper’s view, which is quite nuanced, simply wants to see a call of judgment on liberals. iii) It’s absurd to lump all evangelical views on sovereignty together. iv) It’s also absurd to deny people the possibility of comfort in the midst of tragedy by lumping all the quack notions of God communicating through toast together with those who, in agreement with Jesus in Luke 13 and Paul in Romans and the Psalmists say that God does communicate through pain. v) Piper believes in God’s sovereignty in a pervasive way, a way which preaches safety and salvation from sin. [I’ll note that the comments about speaking of both ‘scientific observations’ of how stuff works and God’s sovereignty in all things as being contradictory indicate that the writer has missed the elephant in the room, namely, that God upholds this world by His word, that the very consistency of such ‘natural’ processes depends upon God’s sovereign rule! As one who does engineering, the consistency which I take for granted when I do my work depends upon God’s sovereign will entirely]. vi) The author would rather curse the darkness, blame engineers and weathermen an so on for calamity, than see the Gospel light that can help us find comfort in tragedy. vii) There is a difference between falsely prophecying over the death of an infant and quoting Jesus about how we should see natural disasters. viii) Piper is not cherry-picking disasters. [having read much of Piper, I agree]. In which we end the summer with a bang
“There are five pillars in Islam, things that each Muslim is required to do. One of the pillars is the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A Muslim is to go on pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime if he is able.” The Hajj & Unity in Islam
Why did Cain kill Abel? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. DeYoung writes that a sure sign of CHristian maturity is being able to root for each other and take joy in the surpassing successes of others, be it school, church, parents, etc. We want to have joy in this, but we all know the jealousy within us. Piper writes that while we may not kill our brothers, we keep away from those who make us look defective. Love doesn’t act like this. It rejoices in growth. And Why Did Cain Murder Abel- Because His Own Deeds Were Evil and His Brother's Righteous
Engwer points to a discussion on “whether passages like Mark 9:1 suggest that the earliest Christians believed that the second coming of Jesus was certain to occur before the end of His generation.” Did The Earliest Christians Falsely Predict The Timing Of The Second Coming-
Chan: Baruch Maoz is an evangelical, Reformed Messianic Jew. His website is well-worth checking out. The Maoz Web
Burk comments on Kourtney Kardashian’s (E! network reality show personality) rather public deliberations over an unplanned pregnancy and having an abortion. She reasons like a woman who thinks she should have a right to choose. But this is overridden by her maternal, pro-life instincts. For example, “I looked online, and I was sitting on the bed hysterically crying, reading these stories of people who felt so guilty from having an abortion. I was reading these things of how many people are traumatized by it afterwards… For me, all the reasons why I wouldn’t keep the baby were so selfish… My doctor told me there is nothing you will ever regret about having the baby, but he was like, ‘You may regret not having the baby.’ And I was like: That is so true. And it just hit me. I got so excited, and when I told Scott he was so excited.”” Kardashian’s Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Dilemma
Swan notes the intense disagreement within Roman Catholicism over the Immaculate Conception, between rival schools of Thomists and Scotists, and the rival orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans. Why It's Not Easier to Settle Things Without a Bible
Citing the Heidelberg Catechism on the question, “How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?” DeYoung writes that it should be a joyous thing to the Christian to hear the truth proclaimed by the Lord’s Table. God knows our faith is weak. He gave us the sacraments to remind us of the surety of His promises, and the work of Christ for the believer. In faith, as surely as you can see the bread and cup, so surely does God love you through Christ. As surely as chew the food and drain the drink, so surely has Christ died for you. Here at the Table the faith becomes sight. They give us a picture of our union with Christ – in partaking we literally have communion with him, not be dragging Christ down from heaven but by experiencing his presence through the Holy Spirit. Tears and the Table
Johnson writes that on the one hand, it’s sad that the history of the church is one marred with one doctrinal controversy after another. On the other hand, the apostles predicted precisely this. There are those in our ‘tolerant’ day who swing the other way, looking for any reason to be offended. On the other hand, there are those who are so ‘broad-minded’ and sinfully tolerant that they settle for any sort of false unity with people the Scriptures command Christians to avoid or whom Christians are morally obligated to refute. These two extremes are to be avoided. The only way to be biblically faithful is to have a sound understanding of how to distinguish between core and peripheral doctrines. Johnson identifies this as an oversight in the fundamentalist movement; they identified several key doctrines as fundamental, but didn’t do extensive work on how to deal with peripheral matters. Sometimes fellowship is better than a fight. Sometimes not
Bayly has some comments on the lack of a theology of the Church among many today. The glorious Bride of Christ
Turk has words for those who would leave their churches (as he always does). He asks, are there any important flaws in your theology? If you say no, then you probably haven’t considered your theology significantly. Someone else of the same stripe as yourself could use your unseen flaws as a reason to leave your church. There’s no reason to stay in a Mormon church or pelagian cult like Unitarianism, but you yourself are not a prize catch in the theological sea. You’re a stinky little sinner fished out of a stinky pond by a fisherman who has chosen to save you out of His love and kindness, and you shouldn’t be surprised that you’re in a fishbowl now with other smelly littler fish. This should give you cause to rejoice together. Flaws
Commenting on contextualization, this post at Reformed Baptist Press notes that historically it seems that Christians have actually contextualized pro-actively to teach the people something about God, be it the position of the pulpit or whatever. Some may have been wrong about their approaches, but the church was proactive in creating a climate that would communicate something to the culture about what the church is all about. Some today have turned the historical practice on its head, and they may be right, but that’s what’s happening. Contextualizing
“Brent Littlefield reflects on Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D [duh], Md) who, faced with the overwhelmingly negative reaction of real-life people to Obamacare, retorts, "I'm more 
resolved than ever.... I love debating. I'm sorry more of that couldn't happen this week because of so much of the shouting, but I personally believe the American people [his opposing audience was not composed of Americans?] still want us to deal with tough problems. We're not all going to agree, that's obvious, but we're at the point we need a specific bill." Translation: I'm from the government, I'm here to help you — by ramming something you don't want down your throat! Now get out of my way!” Hither and Tither
In light of the controversy over whether a girl who won an athletic competition but whose sex is being question, Bayly posts a commentary which notes that she’ll probably be shown to have taken steroids. Interestingly, the performances of women in the 70’s haven’t been matched since – and steroid testing was practically non-existent then. Here’s some results of long-term studies of East German athletes who received steroids: “-one in four (male and female) athletes got some form of cancer. -one in three showed some form of auto aggression: cutting, suicide attempt, etc. -one in nine withdrew from the study for psychological reasons. -most of the children of those who took the steroids have disabilities. This holds for fathers and mothers, but it is especially correlated with mothers who were given steroids during their athletic careers.” It is written, "Male and female He created them." More on determining her gender
Bayly comments on the comments on Piper’s post on the Tornado: “Read the comments and you'll find John excoriated for making such a boringly Biblical point. Why are insurance companies permitted to call earthquakes and floods "acts of God" while pastors are denied this privilege? No pastor dare open the mind of God in notorious judgments, and yet he is expected to open the mind of God in blessings and may lose his job if he refuses.” It’s remarkable how no one goes after pastors for specific declarations of God’s blessings, but when you talk about His judgments? That’s a different story. Men have omniscience with regard to the will of God in mercy and blessing and grace, but when it comes to judgments, everything is inscrutable, and anyone who dares interpret these acts of God is a ‘monster’. Why God's blessings but not His judgments-
Here’s a post on Womanly Dominion, a book which calls for a recovery of true feminine strength, endowed by the Creator, redeemed by the Savior, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It’s a call for women to play their position. People easily becomes scattered an confused and overwhelmed, losing the clarity of purpose in the Scriptures. Girltalk writes that women must be clear on what Scriptures says are the priorities of our “position”: our spiritual growth, service in the church, evangelism, love for our husband and children, caring for our home. What are you spending your time and strength on? Where are trying to ‘win’? Womanly Dominion Book Club- Week 2
Piper writes, “If I were to put my finger on one devastating sin today, it would not be the so-called women's movement, but the lack of spiritual leadership by men at home and in the church… Pride and self-pity and fear and laziness and confusion are luring many men into self-protecting, self-exalting cocoons of silence.” Piper on the Loss of Male Leadership
DeYoung, continuing on the two kingdom, etc. discussion, seems to take the position [me reading of what he says] that the church should refrain from directly engaging political issues except at the intersection of biblical morality and those political issues (e.g. slavery, abortion), and yet still refrain from partisan tethering, while speaking to the morality of laws, etc. He isn’t opposed to ministries on such issues, and thinks that the two-kingdom people who seem opposed to any program in the church except for weekly worship and pastoral care are taking a good instinct too far. White Horse Inn Weighing in on 2K
Rhology explains why Beggars’ All blog exists. The Beggars All blogteam regards the gospel that the Roman church preaches to be a Gospel that saves. We also find numerous Roman dogmas to be heterodox, blasphemous, and/or heretical. He notes that, if they were really anti-Catholic (and not merely anti-Roman Catholicism), then they would adopt an ecumenical, agreeable stance, since they would know they would be encouraging their Romanist friends to go further into darkness, since if they were really anti-Catholic they'd want them to go to Hell. They’d want them to spend their entire lives and eternity apart from Him. But they don’t want Catholics to go to hell. They aren’t anti-Catholic. So they argue against the Roman church. Hence the label is completely wrong. They are are pro-Catholic because we are anti-Roman CatholicISM. Pro-Catholic and Enjoying It!
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