2009-03-31

Is it right to summarize a summary of this blog? ;-) Quick Summaries of Key Blogs

Doug Wilson has some interesting thoughts on Fireproof, including i) that the public would rather watch a woman be abused than rightly cherished so long as production quality is good (he’s taking a shot at general Hollywood filmmaking), and ii) that it is a ‘live-action marital catechism’, and Wilson has better things to do than rail on those who made it, and iii) it is quite relevant to marriages he knows [I second that]. Doug Wilson on Fireproof

JT points to an online repository of Martyn-Lloyd Jones sermons here: Martyn-Lloyd Jones's sermons are available for free at OnePlace.com. Lloyd-Jones Sermons

Carl Trueman laments the lack of the use of Psalms in modern praise, wondering if “the comfortable values of Western middle-class consumerism have silently infiltrated the church and made us consider such cries irrelevant, embarrassing, and signs of abject failure.” He provides a few anecdotes to support his suspicion. A constant diet of jolliness creates an unrealistic bar “which sees the normative Christian life as one long triumphalist street party,” thus excluding those who do not feel joyful and happy, be it those inside or out of the church, and so endorsed the values of consumerism while confirming its status as a ‘club for the complacent’. He contrasts this expectation with the characteristic depair, agony, and loneliness of the biblical patriarchs, and asks: “Does our contemporary language of worship reflect the horizon of expectation regarding the believer’s experience which the psalter proposes as normative?” [One additional thought – could it be that there is something to be said for the fulfillment of the longings and expectations and cries for vindication, as we see in the Psalms, in the work and person of Christ, such that we should have an surpassing peace and joy in this age despite – not to the exclusion of – our sorrows?] “What Can Miserable Christians Sing-” by Carl R. Trueman

Carolyn Mahaney reminds the mothers of teenagers to have faith, as it is the foundation of effective mothering, because successful mothering doesn’t begin with all the methods, but with God, and what He has promised and done. Fear and unbelief are equivalent to calling God a liar, but we have the Gospel. As Spurgeon said, “As for His failing you, never dream of it—hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.” Moms of Teenagers

Umm, Gilbert has posted an invitation from Saddleback to unbelievers without comment… and I’ll link without comment. Posted Without Comment by Greg Gilbert

Bird quotes an interesting thought to the effect that the reason why Paul so zealously persecuted the church was because they were interpreting the Torah in such a way that permitted the full inclusion of Gentiles (non-Jews) in God’s based on the claim that God has through Christ initiated the age where other nations would join Israel in worshiping the true God. Why Did Paul Persecute the Church-

Adams reminds us that in a moment our plans can be upset, and something can completely change our lives, often seemingly for the worse. But in God’s sovereignty and wisdom, even these things are for the good of His children, and His plans and purposes in everything stand. Such an Ordinary Trip

Turretinfan quotes a bishop and a Romanist e-pologist on differing sides of the contraception debate. “What we see from this comparison of views is that the typical Romanist apologetic argument that we need Rome to give us unity on issues like contraception (which are not explicitly addressed in Scripture) is wrong as a matter of fact: although Rome provides organizational unity, that organizational unity masks great doctrinal and moral disunity.” Contrasting Views on Contraceptive Devices

Turretinfan points (with warnings) to an article on “Why women are leaving men for other women.” Now, the article focuses on biology, but the Scriptures explain (Romans 1:25-32) what is happening – they are being handed over to their sin for exchanging the glory of God. It’s ironic that a culture that worships biology would be handed over to a perversion of the natural order. They have been handed over so far that this is now open-talk – the article puts it this way, "we've arrived at a moment in the popular culture when it all suddenly seems almost fashionable — or at least, acceptable." Why Women are Leaving Men for Other Women

Apparently an article in the Charlotte Observer says that Ehrman is not the debunker of Christianity because he thinks that Jesus really lived – to be the debunker today, you have to be opposed to the existence of the most-well attested historical figure of 2000 years ago. Ehrman is Not a Debunker of Christianity-

Bird doesn’t like the notion of two warring natures in the Christian. We have one nature, and we are the new creation (he would argue that the former is a bad reading of Romans 7), and when we sin, it’s not because of a civil war but because we aren’t acting like that which we truly are. It’s like laying an LP on a CD player. Rather, use CD’s with a CD player. The process of sanctification is about becoming who and what we truly are. Be What Your Are, Are Becoming, and Will Be!

Here’s some resources on raising children and how they come to faith in Christ. How Children Come to Faith in Christ

JT posts some points from Zinsser, author of On Writing Well, including “delete every word or phrase or sentence that told readers something they had already been enabled to know or were bright enough to deduce” and cutting every word/phrase that isn’t doing necessary work. Zinsser's On Writing Well - 33 Years Later

DeYoung has some thoughts on unity and truth; how no one can agree upon what the ‘essentials’ or ‘non-essentials’ are, how Christ didn’t envision in John 17, when praying for unity, those who denied His resurrection, how it is encouraging to see things like T4G, and how, no matter what your end of the spectrum is, everyone holds non-negotiable truths. “Some issues were not meant to divide us. Some issues are not as important as others. Not everyone outside our circles or confessional tradition is deserving of reproach. We always want to understand the word of God rightly, but coming to a right understanding of the word of God is more crucial in some areas than others.” Unity and Truth

AiG writes that the Lukan and Matthean genealogies are traced through Mary and Joseph respectively. [we disagree with this; see here for a better solution] http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/03/02/contradictions-whats-in-a-fathers-name