2009-03-20

This article is worth reading, especially in light of things like the outrage over the AiG bonuses, and so on. Bernard Madoff reflects something in every single human being. “Here is the dirty secret about the Madoff tragedy. Madoff is us. Yes, he is. Do not shut down your computer in disgust. We are all potential members of “Swindler’s List.” Do you know why our gut reaction is so strong and so hostile to Bernard Madoff (“I hope he rots in jail,” said one of his “victims”)? It is because he mirrors the flaw in each of us. We instinctively react to such people because they strip away our facade and reveal what theologians used to call “sin,” before we became “dysfunctional” and in need of medication, not salvation. In extreme circumstances, we have crucified people who exposed our darkness to the light. ” http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/15170

JT has summaries of the notes by livebloggers for the Ligonier conference on Calvin here. Liveblogging Ligonier- On Calvin and On Holiness

Mohler summarizes Time Magazine’s ‘10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now’. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3464

John Knox argues that the Romanist mass is an abomination to God and idolatry. “Consider now, beloved brethren, what the fruits of the Mass have been, even in her greatest purity. The Mass is nothing but the invention of man, set up without all authority of God's word, for honouring of God; and therefore it is idolatry. Unto it is added a vain, false, deceitful, and most wicked opinion: that is, that by it is obtained remission of sins; and therefore it is abomination before God. It is contrary unto the Supper of Jesus Christ, and has taken away both the right use and remembrance thereof, and therefore it is blasphemous to Christ's death. Maintain or defend the papistical Mass who so list, this honour and service did all which used the same. And here I speak not of the most abominable abuses, as of buying and selling, used now of late by the mischievous priests; but of the Mass in her most high degree, and most honest garment; yea, even of the great Gaudeamus sung or said by Gregory the Great, as Papists do call him.” http://www.swrb.ab.ca/newslett/actualNLs/vindicat.htm. HT: Knox on the Idolatry of the Mass

Bock writes, “Bart Ehrman's Jesus, Interrupted by his own admission says nothing new. It packages what scholars have been saying for two decades.” i) Ehrman asserts that historians can’t handle the divine, so we can’t speak of it – making a convenient limitation, even though Ehrman has no problem making many assertions about what is taking place and who is responsible. ii) Ehrman largely ignores conservative scholarship, which has highlighted the ‘human’ element of Scripture itself and engaged all of Ehrman’s points. iii) Ehrman buries his little qualifications by taking directions that imply more than the evidence gives. iv) Ehrman claims a discrepancy between Mark and Luke’s account of Jesus’ death, but wants to preclude a citation of Ps 22:1 being uttered to point to the entire lament, doesn’t mention that most scholars hold that Luke depends on Mark, and doesn’t say that Mark mentions a second cry. v) He ignores Acts 20:28 when claiming Luke has no substitution of sin. Another feature of Ehrman's appraoch is that he is consistently appeals to what are possible readings of text's in combination reading while chiding those who combine things differently and more harmoniously. vi) that the Gospel writers have different emphases and supplement each other is well known, and hardly problematic. http://blog.bible.org/bock/node/456

Piper quotes Clarence Thomas, confirmed to be a Supreme Court Justice in 1991 after a divisive battle, to the effect that his strength was the Lord, his concern his own sin and pride, and his trust was in God. Clarence Thomas’s God-Centered Submission

JT points to Alfred Poirier’s article on criticizing other believers. There is a summary on how to give criticism in a godly way. The Cross and Criticism

Adams doesn’t like talking in terms of two natures, and argues for a ‘new orientation’ versus an 'old [self-absorbed] orientation’ as a better way of thinking about sanctification. New and Old

Piper comments on the books he uses in his prep for John: Carson’s, Kostenberger’s, Ridderbos’s (because he asks stirring and provocative questions), and Calvin’s. 3 Books John Piper Is Using for Sermon Prep

Here’s some interesting thoughts on when Lucifer fell. Hays observes that while some suppose the creation of the angels to be on day 1, leaving day 2 to 5 for the fall of the angels (framework hypothesis may buy some time here), why accept that? It’s possible that time was created before space, and the angels were created, spiritual beings, in a spiritual realm before day 1 . When did Lucifer fall-

This is a chilling point, discussing ‘Europe Syndrome’, with this anecdote from Sweden: “the churches are empty. Including on Sundays. Scandinavia and Western Europe pride themselves on their "child-friendly" policies, providing generous child allowances, free day-care centers, and long maternity leaves. Those same countries have fertility rates far below replacement and plunging marriage rates. Those same countries are ones in which jobs are most carefully protected by government regulation and mandated benefits are most lavish. And they, with only a few exceptions, are countries where work is most often seen as a necessary evil, least often seen as a vocation, and where the proportions of people who say they love their jobs are the lowest.” The post goes on to describe the nihilism inherent to viewing mankind as mere chemicals, resulting in a self-absorbtion, (why do anything but try to pass the time pleasurably? Why have kids? why help your neighbour), making the point that this contributes to their military impotence, since they don’t value greatness. This despairing viewpoint is infiltrating the USA through America's social democrats. Organic chemistry

Chan points to these articles from John Warwick Montgomery: "A Critique of Chinese Religious Options" "Greek Opposition to Evangelism" Montgomery on China and Greece

White examines some errant claims from Bart Ehrman with respect to his new book, Jesus, Interrupted. 1) The media gives atheists credibility in whatever field they choose to address, for some reason. e.g. Dawkins is no historian. 2) Ehrman has a specific focus on textual criticism (and the Alexandrian text type, at that), and he is going beyond this. 3) Orthodox Corruption of Scripture (page 65): he claims that Luke contradicts himself, saying Jesus was born the Christ, and also in Acts 2:38 that he became Christ at his baptism. The verse is wrong, he’s speaking of Acts 2:36, but what is remarkable is that 12 years later this exact error appears in Misquoting Jesus! 4) Ehrman misrepresents Matthew and Luke and their presentations of Jesus death in his video promo. But Ehrman doesn’t mention Mark 14:62, where Jesus identifies Himself with the vision in Daniel; Ehrman doesn’t mention the anointing for the burial – he ignores data pointing to Jesus being in control. 5) Ehrman isn’t bothering to try to convince people who know about the text and are familiar with these issues, but rather, he’s passing over significant information to impact people who don’t know the text, so as to poison their minds. This is a trend we see with apostates. Bart Ehrman on NPR- Errors Regarding Mark

Harris writes, “I think that one of the oddest words in the Christian lexicon is the word unchurched. Have you heard someone use this word? Usually it's spoken by pastors or church leaders talking about the people they want to save. At some point in the 1980s somebody decided that terms like unsaved, unbeliever, non-Christian, sinner and hell-bound pagan were offensive to the people they described. So they came up with the term unchurched in order to have a nice way of talking about people who are not Christians. This fascinates me.” He thinks the term is kind of lame. Reflections on the Word Unchurched

Challies summarizes Sproul’s conference message. Speaking on Isaiah 45:1-8, where Cyrus is called the Lord’s anointed, and God says “I am the Lord, there is no other,” he focuses on this declaration of the uniqueness of God. Holiness usually refers to two things: God's otherness, the sense in which he is different from anything in the created world. His perfection in righteousness, his purity. Only the second of these is a communicable attribute; the first belongs to God alone. It refers to his transcendent divine nature in which he is other than us. We have three ways of talking about God’s attributes: i) Defining them in terms of what they’re not; ii) by analogy to normal earthly categories, but to the nth degree; iii) by affirmation. Now, "Nothing has no is-ness." God’s aseity refers to His self-existence, that He is the only necessary being. He alone has being that is necessary, ontologically and logically, and this makes him holy. Logic demands that if something exists now, something always existed or you have to choose an irrational alternative. Everything is contingent, derived from something outside of itself to lend being to it...except for God. He is not created. Ligonier Conference - R.C. Sproul