2009-04-30

Mohler cites Baroness Finlay, Professor of Palliative Medicine at Cardiff University in Wales, who argues that assisted suicide is far too dangerous. She points out that the risk of ‘getting it wrong’ is too great, that it assumes the perfection of the physician and the capacity of the patient to actually reckon with the choice. Patients are known to go through phases of hope and despair, and often when patients inquire about assisted suicide they actually want to hear that they will not be abandoned, and that their doctor will act in their best interest. Actually processing such a request sends the signal ‘you’re better off dead.’ Human sinfulness means that though we are not equipped to determine when a person should die, people will nevertheless play God. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3539

JT points to Paul Mills, an economist and Christian, who spoke at Capitol Hill Baptist Church on the spiritual diagnosis of the financial crisis. A Spiritual Diagnosis of the Financial Breakdown

DeYoung recommends his friend Tullian Tchividjian’s book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World By Being Different. It is about being unlike the world to change the world. The author makes the point that the young people today aren’t interested in trendy engagement, but in truthful engagement; indeed, they are suspicious of the former and they desperately want to invest their lives in something worth dying for, not some fad. They want meaningful interaction with transcendent reality and historical and theological solidiity. He aims at transforming culture more than DeYoung would, but nevertheless warns Christians to have purity and proximity regarding culture. Unfashionable

Turretinfan writes that the Eucharist is Christ’s body and blood. He agrees that Augustine says this, but denies that Augustine thought that the Eucharist came to contain Christ’s spirit or that there is a physical change. Augustine elsewhere said, "Christ deprived them of his bodily presence." “For some reason (tradition!) people have trouble recognizing the obvious fact that "this is my body" and "this is my blood" were similar statements that shouldn't be understood transubstantially but according to their most obvious sense: representatively and analogically.” The Weakest Argument Against the Spiritual Presence

Phillips writes about Spurgeon’s confessions of imperfections, which he finds Psalmic in their authenticity and sincerity (noting they avoid the self-indulgent ‘transparency’ of our day'). Spurgeon is a man amazed to find himself an heir with Christ, yet well aware of the wretchedness of his own affections. After admitting his neediness Spurgeon immediately takes people to Christ – he doesn’t throw a pity-party. Spurgeon’s lack of affections and neediness sent him running to Christ. Can such a miserably flawed man find hope, life, and joy in Christ? Spurgeon says, yes. Why I love Spurgeon- much of my former obduracy remains

Harris has some comments on Twitter. “Three Tips for Using Twitter: (1.) Follow people. A lot of people. (2.) Don't self-promote. (Or, at least, don't overdo it.) and (3.) Use a Client App (He elaborates on each of these in the full article.)” Twitter Flu- Are You Infected-

Piper says that it is possible to restore a pastor who has sinned sexually – but he is careful to say this is not an encouragement to do this or do it hastily. Trust, unlike forgiveness and repentance, does not come quickly. He says that a pastor who has sinned should immediately resign, find other work, and sit and humbly receive discipleship in his church or another – and not seek the pastorate again. Only the church should seek him out. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/69/3829_Is_it_possible_to_restore_a_pastor_who_has_sinned_sexually/

MacArthur points to Paul’s life to redefine ministry success. At the end, Paul had been imprisoned, cut off, abandoned by all but a few. Yet, Paul measured his success by whether he ‘kept the faith’, meaning both that he had remained faithful to Christ and that he had kept the message of Christ’s gospel intact, just as he had received it. He had fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel, and now he was passing this duty on. Thus he finished, even in a cold dark dungeon, with a sense of triumph and accomplishment, not regret. He had finished the work the Lord gave him to do. Redefining Success in Ministry

Hays, commenting on Turretinfan’s post on paradox, distinguishes between the nature of truth (to which the law of non-contradiction applies) and the perception of truth, observing that there can indeed be an apparent contradiction that cannot be resolved due to insufficient information. Thus the law of non-contradiction doesn’t preclude the possibility of contradictory truths in human experience. We can’t take the position that nothing true could ever confront the mind as apparently contradictory or paradoxical. Bivalence & paradox

Phillips has a minor ?rant? on verbizing (pun intended) nouns. Verb those nouns!