Turk agrees with the idea that missional is an activity of the church to be a counter-culture, building to kingdom in all places where its members find themselves. Christianity faces problems because it looks like it jumped the shark or has been disproved. Now what does this missional look like? The Christians who faced down Rome, etc. were people who weren’t trying to imitate the culture, but trying to live without it in it. Christians behaved as if those things were wrong and they won people because it was obvious that they believed that Christ died for sin. Christ didn’t die to win an argument, but even though the missiology of the last 25 years has been overly polemical, it was in the context of church heresy. we make a mistake when we try to downplay to roll of those who came before us -- even if they only came 5 years ago. There are many missional expressions – can we bank on only one of them? Best Of -- Before and After Us
DeYoung warns against second ‘high place’ – worldly entertainment. For many Christians, they enjoy the same banal, crude, and immoral garbage that the world does. We’ve come to tolerate or enjoy that which ‘isn’t that bad’ instead of rejecting it as we should. Does the ‘art’ out there really have a net positive effect on spirituality? “What happened to not even a hint of sexual immorality (Eph. 5:3)? What about the whole “whatever is lovely, whatever is pure...” thing (Phil 4:8)? And while we’re at it, how does being entertained by the world’s lasciviousness fit with the injunction to not even speak about the things the world does in secret (Eph. 5:12)?” Our High Places (2)
Turk makes the simple observation that Paul (see Titus) wanted elders in the churches, who are charged with the well-being of Christ's people for the sake of teaching them who Christ is, who He has made them, and what that means in their daily life. Not political/theological brawlers. Establish Elders [4]
MacArthur continues railing against ‘turning Song of Songs into soft porn,’ an unconscionable thing when done by preachers in worship. He argues that the imagery is beautiful and veiled, guarding the most intimate secrets, because the beauty of marital passion is in the eye of the beholder—where it should stay. Preachers shouldn’t be more explicit than the Holy Spirit. He agrees that inappropriately explicit language causes wanton destruction and temptation. All a careful interpreter can say with certainty is that Solomon finds his bride pleasurable to all his sensory perceptions. He therefore likens her to the most pleasant and beautiful imagery he can think of—ointments and fragrances and visual delights—all concentrated together in one well-cultivated spot. He thinks that folks like Driscoll have taken it not as a poem about the delightful privacy the marriage partners enjoy; but a sneaky way of openly exposing that intimacy for all to see. The Rape of Solomon's Song (Part 2)
Turretinfan says that while we desire the good and salvation of Roman Catholics, “we do not want to give them the impression that God is favorably inclined to them while they remain opposed to the gospel. Thus, while we proclaim the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, we do not suggest that God presently is favorably inclined on those who oppose the gospel: He is not.” (Jeremiah 6:14 “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”) Hence, we do not normally say, “God bless you” to them. Can We Say God Bless You To Roman Catholics-
Patton asks the complex question, ‘would Christ have died if He were not killed’, considering that He was sinless. Patton thinks that Christ would have indeed died and that He was like us in every respect except sin. He’s not sure about this: fallen nature=sinful nature=inherited sin. He distinguishes these: The sinful nature is the effects of sin that bring about spiritual corruption and death (separation from God) producing in us an inward inclination toward sin that is mediated through our parents, effecting only humans who are in the spiritual lineage to the first Adam. The Fallen nature is the effects of sin that bring about physical corruption and ultimate physical death that are mediated through the consequence of the fall, affecting all of creation. Genesis 3 tells us that sin itself didn’t necessitate physical death, but rather Adam+Eve didn’t have access to the tree of life anymore. Physical death came as a result of a sanctioned consequence for sin having to do with humanities lack of access to the “Tree of Life.” Hence, Jesus would have died because He didn’t have access to this tree. He points out that (Rev. 22:2) the restoration of all things means that we will again rely on the tree of life. Did Christ Have Gray Hair-
Bauckham, in What He Must Be, argues that marriage is the preferred state, providing the best preparation for the next generation, forging the character of young men who will lead the church, and providing the best means by which young men can imitate Christ. He calls fathers to OT principles here: 1) protect their daughters’ virginity; 2) help guide them toward a suitable husband; 3) ensure her security by providing a kind of financial dowry; 4) protect his daughter from rash vows; 5) providing security for her if a marriage fails; and finally, instruct her in the Scriptures. What He Must Be...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter
Carolyn Mahaney urges parents to be pro-active, not re-active. The latter isn’t enough. She quotes Ryle: “Beware of that miserable delusion into which some have fallen,--that parents can do nothing for their children, that you must leave them alone, wait for grace, and sit still. These persons…desire much, and have nothing. And the devil rejoices to see such reasoning, just as he always does over anything which seems to excuse indolence, or to encourage neglect of means.” Proactive Not Reactive
While Bird agrees that it is strictly possible that the sayings of prophets could have been attributed to Jesus and projected into His pre-Easter ministry, he’s skeptical: (1) Luke is always careful to name the prophet to which a prophetic word originated from; (2) in 1 Corinthians 7, Paul clearly distinguishes between "words" of the Lord and his own inspired utterances; (3) there was a healthy degree of skepticism about prophecy in the early church as well (e.g 1 Thess 5.21). Christian Prophets and the Jesus Tradition
Here’s an article aimed at clearing up some Columbine myths. Of note: 1) The kids weren’t bullied. 2) The story of the girl being shot after refusing to deny her faith is apparently untrue. 3) One wore “Natural Selection” on his t-shirt the day of the shooting. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm
Manata has written what a satirical illustration of what appears to be a critique of certain two kingdom positions. Bureau of Weaker Siblings
Phillips comments on Newsweek’s attempts to get Christians to stop contending for Christian values in public, yield to Islam, get in step with the world. Newsweek is ready to hold a funeral for Christianity in America due to a 10% drop in the percentage of self-identified Christians, while, since 2007, Newsweek’s circulation has dropped 52%. The end of Newsweek? Their attempt to shame Christians into the mainstream is kind of funny – one day, Christians will be the mainstream. The end of Chr... er, Newsweek-
Phillips comments on a video of Jews preparing a lamb for sacrifice. This was God’s ancient pedagogy. What every Israelite paying attention would have known is that sin can only be atoned for by innocent life, life is in the blood, blood brings life and forgiveness. The violent death of a substitute is required. Jesus is the offering who brought final and lasting peace and atonement (Isaiah 52:13—53:12), and though the reality comes, the Israelite nation fabricates substituted traditions, works, programs, rituals, even though sacrifices according to the Law are impossible. Yet there are those in the churches who do not get it, who do not believe in substitutionary atonement, which begs the question, why did Jesus have to die such an ugly, horrid death? A holy day — not a pretty day
Phillips follows up on the above post. After giving a description of some of his experiences dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, and observing that their problem is deeper than intellectual (cf. Don Whitney, who said evangelism is like handing out lightning rods in a thunderstorm), he asks, Why the cross? Why death at all? Why a horrid death? Paul says, "If righteousness were through the law" — the God-given law of Moses, therefore any law — "then Christ died for no purpose" (Galatians 2:21). For Paul, the cross damned any system of works-righteousness. The Cross that saves us, damns us. The Cross that damns us, saves us. “If we contribute to our salvation by what we do, then the Cross is an absurd, gratuitous mockery.” Why the Cross-
Payne, in light of the attempts of some to go for a ‘generous orthodoxy’, challenges believers to be generous to those who are more fundamentalistic, to cease from finding fault with brothers who differ from us culturally and over secondaries, but who are one with us in being repentant, blood-bought believers in Jesus. Those to whom we should show inclusion and generosity are those who hold the Reformation ‘solas’ without hesitation, qualification or apology, and they show their beliefs by their actions; but we should not be generous to those who deny the supreme authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures, deny penal substitutionary atonement, or justification by faith alone, no matter how culturally similar we are to them. The NT urges us to fight with them. On being generous
Bock has a brief description of what we know of the Essenes: They were an aesthetic Jewish community that kept the Law very strictly, a separatist sect at Qumram, and their library (the DSS) gave us great insight into the Judaism of Jesus’ day. http://blog.bible.org/bock/node/458
Turretinfan has a lengthy response and treatment of a claim that "the early Christians taught the same thing that the Catholic Church teaches today about Mary, especially about her being the Ark of the New Covenant.” Peddling Imitation Patristics - Ray's At it Again
DeYoung shows from the pastoral epistles that on the one hand, we are to avoid pointless controversies (e.g. myths and genealogies), but on the other hand, many controversies have a point. Some truths are essential. “For the Apostle Paul, there is a core of apostolic teaching that must be embraced by the Christian, a deposit of truth without which our gospel message is no longer the gospel. Anyone who departs from these truths, Paul argues, has departed from the faith and is no longer a Christian.” Truths that Transform, Doctrines that Damn (1)
Swan gives another example of a Romanist apologist contradicting the Roman Catholic Catechism – the Catechism puts the rich man in Luke 16 in hell, whereas this apologist puts him in purgatory. The apologist is careful to note that Rome doesn't have a definitive position on this text, so they are free to interpret – yet they insist on telling Protestants that the infallible magisterium is essential for interpreting the Bible properly. We Have Apostolic Tradition - The Unofficial Catholic Apologist Commentary #6
Courtney at GenderBlog writes that Paul instructed older women, not Titus, to teach the younger women. There is nothing subhuman or demeaning about women teaching women and children, and not men. Women are to mentor women because God has commanded it, and because it is essential to proclaim and teach the Gospel, and not create empty moralists. The goal is that they would see Christ as infinitely valuable and treasure him above all things. Me, a Mentor- Part I, Why Women Disciple Women
Commenting on the Reformed confessions and a radicalized two kingdom view, Turretinfan points out that even “the Baptists (the least "magisterial" of the Reformers) recognized that the civil magistrate's responsibility in his office is to glorify God and do what is good.” They make no appeal to an abstract natural law system for governing the state. Their system is specifically theistic and Christian, governed by what is acceptable in God's eyes, not simply what is accepted among men. Confessions and the Magistrate
Turretinfan points out the speculative nature of the claim that Calvinists destroyed Irenaeus’ body (and hate him). “One would not be surprised if the Calvinists simply buried Irenaeus' remains in an unmarked grave to prevent further idolatry.” The importance of Irenaeus is historical. The Importance of Irenaeus
Here’s some interesting comments from an individual who, after converting to atheism, started to believe again. Here’s one: “The worst thing about being faithless? When I thought I was an atheist I would listen to the music of Bach and realize that his perception of life was deeper, wiser, more rounded than my own. Ditto when I read the lives of great men and women who were religious.” http://www.inlightofthegospel.org/?p=4790
McKinley points to an article by Slate magazine on the China’s missing girls. “Almost as wretched is Saletan's complete inability to articulate any kind of reason for moral outrage beyond gender discrimination.” Slate on Child Quotas, Abortion, and China's Missing Girls by Michael Mckinley
People are complaining about the length of posts as SolaPanel. Grimmond points out: “We live in a culture that has the attention span of a gnat. Gnats don’t know much. Go figure. Sound bites are used by reporters to create conflicts (even conflicts that don’t exist). You can start a fight in five words or less, but you can’t always say the thing that needs to be said.” He observes that the opinion articles in a paper are on average longer, and people can read them. “Our hope is that The Sola Panel provides a little depth.” Why should they be shorter? The long and the short of it
Payne follows up on the article on generosity to fundamentalists by observing that different emphasis are needed for different people. His article was written for those who go out of their way to be generous to liberals. More on generosity
According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, some 200 million people worldwide have never seen a Bible in their own language. Wycliffe Stats on Bible Translations
Here’s a description of Aquinas’s principle of double effect, a set of of ethical criteria for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one’s otherwise legitimate act will also cause an effect one would normally be obliged to avoid. Philosophy Word of the Day – Principle of Double Effect
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