Phil Johnson argues from the perfect foreknowledge of God that the only orthodox option is to recognize that God has Himself determined the future. If not, one must hold that something else did - either fatalism, or something supreme to even God (i.e. idolatry). The Arminian Problem in Simple Terms. See also Turritanfan's post here: link
Engwer writes that Christmas apologetics have largely been neglected, in comparison to Easter. He think that people have more emotional associations with Christmas, and may not want to get bogged down by apologetics. Liberal scholarship, while appearing plausible on the surface, can appear less credible upon closer scrutiny. For example, there is little work done of the idea that the infancy would have been a topic of interest among people of the day, and the churches access to James and Mary is seldom given the weight it should have. The Case of Christmas is apparently a recycling of material from the Case for Christ. The Neglect Of Christmas Apologetics
White discusses the fact that a church must announce unrepentant sin to the church so that the entire church can obey Christ's words and the apostolic directives and enact church discipline. If holiness were understood in the churches, discipline would be a given, a voluntary given. Now, the unbelieving world thinks that it has the right to tell the churches what to do. Our culture is seething in its hatred for God. And they will keep pushing forward to rid the culture of all the foundations that made it great in the first place. Church Discipline, Holiness, and Fox News
Here's Carl Trueman on the cult of Jim Jones, and Jonestown, thirty years ago. He applies it to today: on "watching and reading some of the 30th-anniversary coverage of the mass suicide/murder and of the rise and fall of the cult/sect it did occur to me that, over the years, I’ve seen analogous phenomena and impulses in the Reformed movements. 1. Attraction to a charismatic leader. 2. A shared, strongly-held, social view or program. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a large percentage of those who populate the Reformed movement have strong social views. 3. A utopian eschatology. This is a great engine for a religio-social program, just ask Karl Marx." He concludes. "At least some of the elements of the Jonestown tragedy have been present in the broader Reformed movement for the last several decades." http://heidelblog.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/jonestown-reformed-movement/
Clint asks, regarding the above article, "Something I wondered about was what Clark thinks of a 'charismatic' leader like Whitefield or the Tennents? What is the difference between God raising up new leaders and new ministries (cf. Luther) to whom many people attach themselves, and the cult of hero worship which can often ensue with potentially devastating effects? Is it appropriate to expect God to raise up 'giants' (think of Spurgeon or Lloyd-Jones) even at the danger of many following them in cultish ways (a problem with both men)?" RS Clark on Jim Jones
"let’s declare the good news this Christmas season, not just by demonstrating charity or goodwill towards others, but by the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus’ saving work that is to be received by faith." Go, Tell It On A Mountain…No, Seriously…GO!!!
Bird gives a positive recommendation of what he's read of Seeking the Identity of Jesus: "The highlight of the chapter is Hays and Gaventa's listing of the convergences between the various contributors: (1) Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew; (2) The identity of Jesus is reliably attested and known in the Scriptures...; (3) The Entirety of the canonical witness is indispensable to a faithful rendering of the figure of Jesus; (4) ... the church must constantly engage in the practice of deep, sustained reading of these texts; (5) ... we must know him as he is presented to us through the medium of narrative; (6) The trajectory begun within the New Testament of interpreting Jesus' identity in and for the church has continued through Christian history; (7) Because Jesus remains a living presence, he can be encountered in ... the body of Christ; (8) Jesus is a disturbing destabilizing figure; and (9) The identity of Jesus is something that must be learned through long term discipline." Book Notice- Seeking the Identity of Jesus
Bayly writes that rather than comment on his attacker's shoe size, Bush should have used the opportunity to acknowledge the pain caused by the course in Iraq, and respond with humility and compassion. Irregardless of whether the war is a good idea or not, it does not hurt to acknowledge the bad caused by it. A missed opportunity
Keller apparently doesn't preach on abortion. "good readers, if one preaches in Manhattan and wants to avoid issues that could be misunderstood, precisely what would one preach against?" When the sin of abortion can't be mentioned, there's always
Bayly writes about Rick Warren's prayer. "He gets to pray in front of millions during Senator Obama's inauguration, calling down God's presence and blessing on a ceremony centered around the national politician most committed to the slaughter of his nation's children taking God's Name in vain as he falsely promises to uphold the Constitution of these United States." An odious comparison- Evangelicalism's Baalam and Rome's Jeremiah
Bayly quotes Rick Warren, "Three years ago I took enormous heat for inviting Barack Obama to my church because some of his views don't agree (with mine). Now he's invited me" and writes, "Men of God, if the Holy Spirit has made you a shepherd of His flock, be vigilant against the influence of such men corrupting you; and through you, your flock. Guard your heart." You cannot serve both God and Evangelicalism
Mathis shows from Acts 1:9-11, Phil. 3:20-21, and 1 Timothy 2:5, that Jesus will return as He left, that He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His, and He will keep the form of the servant, and that we have one mediator, the man Jesus, all of which shows that Jesus remains fully human and fully divine. Jesus Is Still Human
Phillips writes about this horrid epitaph: "My Bible reading today clanged me over the head with one summary I don't want written: "And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart" (2 Chronicles 25:2)." How could you be summed up on your tombstone? Amaziah- what a wretched epitaph
Swan briefly addresses the misuse of a Luther quote by health and wealth preachers. Luther didn't believe what they teach. To the contrary: Luther one time stated, "Wealth is the most insignificant thing on earth, the smallest gift that God can give a man," and "God usually gives riches to coarse fools whom he grants nothing besides." and "Whoever professes that he is baptized and is glad to be called by the name of Christ should be convinced that he is no better than Christ, his Lord. For such a person must be conformed to the image of the Son of God. If Christ wore a crown of thorns, we should not expect people to place wreaths and roses on our head." . Luther Goes Word of Faith (Part One)
This article draws an analogy between antibiotic resistance in bacteria and Bible-resistance in Christians: "Bible resistance can develop when the Bible teaching frequently fails to ‘finish the course’ in that it fails to devote sufficient time and energy to helping people see the relevance of the subject matter for their own behaviour. That is, the application of the Bible teaching to the individual (i.e. “How should I respond to this?”) is inadequate; it is abbreviated, absent, irrelevant, impossible, assumed, unconnected to the exegesis of the passage, clichéd, just a hobbyhorse of the teacher, delivered impersonally, hypocritical or un-thought-through. The result is that the person's life remains unchanged, and he or she becomes used to hearing ‘good’ Bible teaching without feeling the need to really respond." He then gives some warning signs of it, and some tips for tachers. The whole article is worth a read: Bible Resistance
Regarding a document produced by pro-baby-murder organizations for Obama's transition team, JT writes, "James Grant writes: It is hard to believe that while my wife and I are desperately doing everything we can to make sure our baby, at 23 weeks, survives and continues to grow in the womb for the next few months, there are others who in this country actually have abortions at this stage." "Think for a minute about what James writes above. What is the difference between the baby growing inside Brandy Grant's womb, and a baby growing inside the womb of a mother undergoing abortion. (In the time it takes you to read this post another baby will have been killed.)" Piper writes, "in a world without God, the will of the strong creates (or nullifies) the personhood of the weak." Abortion, the New Administration, and Anarchy
Mohler comments on a recent survey: "This survey cannot easily be dismissed. The specificity of the responses and the quality of the research sample indicate that we face a serious decline in confidence in the Gospel. When 34% of white evangelicals reject the truth that Jesus is the only Savior, we are witnessing a virtual collapse of evangelical theology." "As I told USA Today, this report reveals that a good number of those who attend evangelical churches either misunderstand or repudiate the Gospel. The New Testament reveals not only that Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father [see John 14:6] but also that the Gospel of Christ is the only message that saves [see Romans 10]." Once again, the lack of biblical faithfulness and doctrinal instruction from the pulpits is probably to blame. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2971
Mohler comments on Rick Warren being picked to do the prayer by Obama. "The outrage from gay activist groups and other liberal allies reached a fever pitch within hours." Now, ironically, "when Candidate Obama was asked to define marriage during the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, he appeared to leave no room for same-sex marriage: "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian -- for me -- for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union."" "If the President-elect wanted to choose a figure recognized as an evangelical in the public eye, but sympathetic to much of his stated agenda to unite, he could scarcely have chosen a more recognizable figure than Rick Warren." "now many of Obama's own supporters attack Rick Warren as if he is a hate-driven homophobe, which he clearly is not. All that was necessary to bring on this opposition is Warren's opposition to same-sex marriage and his support for Proposition 8. Now, he is grouped along with the most strident and careless apostles of hatred." http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3023
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