2008-12-27

Bock writes, "The [Newsweek] article’s key claim is that the Bible provides no clear definition of marriage, nor does the way marriage is portrayed fit the ideals of family that traditionalists argue the Bible espouses." There is a difference between what is described as taking place in the narrative and what the narrative endorses about the practice in question. Rejection of various practices is actually a point in the narratives. e.g. polygamy produced chaos - rivalries, rebellion to God. Jesus does define marriage, citing Genesis 2:24. A marriage is both a civil and a religious institution. The article treats marriage as a religious institution, appealing to narrative example. For the article, "(1) The Bible is not to be seen as revelatory in any sense (and is not for some), (2) new realities change the way we understand marriage, and (3) marriage is about more than procreation. Now, there is an element of truth to all of these claims." In claiming to embrace the Judeo-Christian view on marriage, the article actually dismisses the Bible in the process, which is hardly a Judeo-Christian approach. You could make the case, looking at our society, that our moral standards are not advancing but declining as we move from ideals that religion and the pursuit of faithfulness advocate. However civil a marriage is, in Judeo-Christian eyes, a marriage is a sacred reaffirmation of God’s creative work of male and female being made in God’s image, something a family is supposed to reflect. The article is guilty of a bait and switch. It omitted Jesus' definition of marriage. http://blog.bible.org/bock/node/442

Post-Christmas melancholy sets in. And it is instructive. Gifts and events can't fill the soul. Putting our hope in them will leave us empty. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Hopeful Post-Christmas Melancholy

Mohler asks, can a Christian deny the virgin birth? This cardinal doctrine is increasingly under attack in the last few centuries. E.g. Bultmann, who worked to produce a demythologized faith, reducing Jesus to an enlightened teacher and existentialist model, presuppositionally denying the supernatural. Fosdick basically argued that the disciples were sure that Jesus came from God and phrased it in terms of a 'biological miracle' that we cannot accept today. More contemporary attacks on the virgin birth of Christ have emerged from figures such as retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong and German New Testament scholar Gerd Luedemann, and the Jesus Seminar. In The Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives, Jane Schaberg accuses the church of inventing the doctrine of the virgin birth in order to subordinate women. Increasingly the mainline Protestant denominations are unwilling to identify as heretics even those who openly teach heresy. Christians cannot deny the virgin birth: "Those who deny the virgin birth reject the authority of Scripture, deny the supernatural birth of the Savior, undermine the very foundations of the Gospel, and have no way of explaining the deity of Christ." It is a denial of Jesus as the Christ. As Machen went on to argue, "if the Bible is regarded as being wrong in what it says about the birth of Christ, then obviously the authority of the Bible in any high sense, is gone." Where there is liberal theology there is no acknowledgment of biblical authority. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3041

Swan links to his pastor's sermon on Revelation 12:1-6 that answers the question, who was the woman of Revelation 12:1-6? Revelation 12-1-6 Who is the Woman-

Susan Hunt: "The content of the gospel must be taught in the context of relationships that validate the gospel." She gives nine imperatives for a strong, weather-worthy, women's ministry in the local church. [note - i disagree with this: "Seventh, teach children the language of the covenant. By this Hunt means use and define covenant vocabulary in the every-day events of life. Say to your little ones "You are a covenant child!" "We live according to the covenant in this home - that means we honor and love each other as God does us."" - e.g. biological generational view of covenant children] Susan Hunt Offers Biblically Sound Foundation for Women’s Ministry

For those who think President Bush is de facto an idiot, try reading the number of books he does every year (while you're president). http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB123025595706634689.html

John Piper's short biographical-theological sketch of John Calvin is now available. It's entitled John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God. John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God

You are the worse sinner you know because the only person for whom you have more than even a glimpse of the depth of sin is yourself. CJ Mahaney is an Awful Sinner, but I am Worse!!

Turretinfan recommends a chapter in Witsius's book "The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man" on the atonement. Herman Witsius on the Atonement

Jay Adams doesn't like the weaker language of permission (e.g. God permitted hurricane Katrina to do such and such). To whom does God issue the permit? No, God is in control of it. He worked it. To Whom Was the Permit Issued-

Mounce points out that the term deilia in 2 Tim. 1:7 means fear, not timidity, and that Paul is not implying that Timothy is fearful, but giving him encouragement, and using the contrast as a literary foil to make his point. Why fear? We have the power of the Lord. Was Timothy Timid or Fearful- (Monday with Mounce 17) by Bill Mounce

Mounce suggests that the term in Hebrews 12:1-5 has more than just the meaning of 'reprove' (i.e. for sin) but also 'bring up properly.' "we are being "disciplined," not in the sense of being punished for sin but in the sense of God allowing life to mold and shape us, to teach us about his love as our heavenly father, and to call us to faithfulness in the midst of life. So many have gone before us, men and women who have experienced great pain not because they sinned but because they were called to be "Christ with flesh on" in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." Is God---s Discipline Teaching or Chastisement - (Monday with Mounce 18)

Bock points to the mythology of ancient culture to show the transcendent uniqueness of the incarnation of the Son of God by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. "There are no snakes or visions detailing how God moved. There is the mere declaration that God through the Holy Spirit would bring this birth to pass." The Uniqueness of Jesus' Birth By Darrell Bock

Jeff continues to write about the efficacy of the mediatorship of Christ and His ability to save to the uttermost. "those truly regenerated by the Spirit, who have been moved to faith and repentance by the Father’s drawing and who have put a genuine trust in Christ, can be said to be secure. But mark this: they are secure because of God’s work, God’s promise, not because of human effort. A true Christian will do good works, certainly, and the lack thereof is evidence that a true change of heart has not happened; but these works are the result and fruit of God’s work in saving and preserving the believer, not the cause (immediate or intermediate)!" Christ Our Mediator- He Cannot Fail

Manata points out an inconsistency in the presentation of infant salvation from some Arminians. They claim that all infants are saved because Christ atoned for everyone. So you are born saved, and you lose it. But on the other hand, they say that Adam's sin is not necessarily imputed, or else every single human would be saved (Romans 5). So why then do they need atonement? And moreover, why are those who never hear of Christ saved? They never have the chance to disbelieve. Moreover, the standard Calvinist position on infant salvation is non-committal. Arminianism in Diapers

Bird has some decent advice for Ph.D students. On a funny note, "So if you're doing 1 Corinthians, Matthew, or Revelation, you should be able to read the Greek text from whoa to go as if it were English! I've done a few vivas now where the student had struggled to read Greek texts that they were working on. Now if you struggle with Greek then you should not be in a Ph.D programme, but if you did fool them on your Greek profficiency in your admission, then you should be working your butt off to bring your Greek or Hebrew up to speed. So with that advice in hand, I swear before blessed Benny 16 that I will slap in the face with a soggy fish the next Ph.D student I orally examine who cannot translate thlipsis!" Advice for Your Viva

Here's some fascinating quotes by Augustine on the need to know the original languages, and his argument for the inspiration of the LXX. Augustine on Translation, the Study of Languages, and the LXX