2009-04-19

Harris quotes Ryle – there is no warrant in Scripture for the unconverted not to pray, for God commands them to cry out for mercy, and indeed the very attempt to pray has often been the quickening of the dead. J.C. Ryle- Cry to God for Mercy

The doctrine of the omnipotence of God does not mean that God can do things that are non-sense (logically impossible) [for that is inconsistent with the character of God, from which the laws of logic have their source]. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/03/20/feedback-just-how-omnipotent

JT recommends Nathan Clark George, a little known musicians who apparently makes some great music using Scripture. Nathan Clark George- Pull Up a Chair

Here’s an interesting point: “Twitter is the telegraph of Narcissus. Not only are you the star of the show, but everything that happens to you, no matter how trifling, is a headline, a media event, a stop-the-presses bulletin. Quicksilver turns to amber.” It’s not adults using language, but tweety birds using infantile language. Narcissism is the user interface of nihilism, indulging in self-absorption and simultaneously acknowledging its emptiness. “I love me! Just kidding!” Twitter- The Telegraph of Narcissus

Hays reiterates some points on studying history and methodological naturalism. i) Saying historical criticism “based on probability and publically available evidence that can be studied by religious and non-religious alike” (i.e. appealing to methodological naturalism) to justify methodological naturalism is viciously circular when methodological naturalism is the very issue in dispute. ii) historians don’t merely study past events but also historical causation. iii) And some events can only be accounted for by personal agency. Then it’s a matter of how we identify personal agency (e.g. how does a casino detect cheating). It’s not a leap to conclude that God raised Jesus. How to ignore history

Hays wonders if God views the past – and all His handiwork therein – as disposable and throw-away. Or will we be enabled to enjoy it all in the new heaven and earth, somehow? As sinless creatures, we’ll be in the premium position to enjoy God’s works, and for the first time we’ll be able to appreciate the beauty of it all. Perhaps the best in this world will be restored in vintage condition. The presence of the past

Keller’s church, Redeemer Presbyterian, effectively allows women to do almost anything a non-ordained male elder does – which includes teaching and discipling men (it only excepts two things: formal meetings of church officers (ruling elders) doing discipline and formal meetings of church officers (teaching elders) preaching during corporate worship.). Bayly argues that this is “to be deaf, dumb, and blind to the preeminent meta-narrative ruling our public life: fundamentalist egalitarian feminism. It's as if the Apostle Paul had actually said to the Areopagus, "In the past, God had not known of your great wisdom, but now he is commanding all people everywhere to come to Athens and learn your ways."” A breach with the Church fathers combined with no work of contextualization

From a Valley of Vision prayer. “O bury my sins in the ocean of Jesus' blood and let no evil result from my fretful temper, unseemly behaviour, provoking pettiness… O thou God of all grace, make me more thankful, more humble; Inspire me with a deep sense of my unworthiness arising from the depravity of my nature, my omitted duties, my unimproved advantages, thy commands violated by me.” Humility in Service

Wallace says that the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated with fireworks in Greece, perhaps a very fitting image. Καλο Πασχα! Χριστος ανεστη!

Spurgeon: “A false and spurious liberality has been growing up which has covered us all, so that we have dreamed that all who bore the name of ministers were indeed God's servants—that all who occupied pulpits, of whatever denomination they might be, were entitled to our respect, as being stewards of the mystery of Christ.” He welcomes the day of strife because of this as opposed to a false calm from its acceptance. A Day of Division

Bayly argues that i) the statement ‘woman may do anything an unordained man may do’ (from Keller’s church) is about trimming the deposit, not guarding it, its about find the happy point where work and witness would be counter-cultural enough to fulfill the minimal commitments necessary to claim Biblical obedience, but also contextualized enough to fulfill the minimal commitments necessary to claim cultural relevance, and its about viewing God’s forbidding of women to exercise authority over men as a hindrance to the furtherance of the Gospel; and ii) “The issue in the PCA today is not woman deacons, nor is it the refusal of some churches to ordain their male deacons. Rather, the issue is shepherds fleeing danger instead of laying down our lives for Christ's sheep… Woman deacons is the Trojan Horse the Evil One is using to infiltrate the church with rebels against God's order of sexuality.” Rather, Bayly argues that they went to the task of unordaining deacons because this was a problem given the above statement. Woman deacons and unordained male deacons are only a Trojan Horse within the PCA

There really is no end to useless books and writings, even among Christians. So Many Books, So Little Profit

Here’s a few interesting things. i) “The Obama administration will not prosecute US intelligence officials involved in harsh interrogations of terror suspects, the president pledged on Thursday.” ii) Apparently the ‘ghastly torture’ used by the Bush administration involved putting a detainee (who was afraid of insects) in a box with, well, an insect, telling him it could sting (while it was really a harmless one like a caterpillar). Lepidopteran torture

Some of the dangers of the restlessness among young evangelicals over the problems in the church are: i) arrogance, in thinking they’re the solution rather than God; ii) reaching the wrong audience (i.e. cutting edge peers on the internet instead of the outside world)'; iii) style over substance; iv) commending rather than contending (i.e. avoiding divisive points); v) a disdain for older generations. This all shouldn’t stop careful reflection – but it should cause one to tread carefully. The unease of the next generation

Hays points out that the Chicago Statement on inerrancy “presents a nuanced statement of inerrancy which is designed to forestall wooden objections to the inerrancy of Scripture.” He goes on to respond to an standard issue liberal’s (McGrath) claims. i) There is no such thing as value-free study of the Bible, and approaching it with naturalistic presuppositions will cause one to reject the supernatural in it. ii) Hays defends Beale, saying that his argument is not merely that Scripture uses phenomenological descriptions of the world, but that some of the descriptions are in some measure symbolic. iii) It’s anachronistic to interpret the OT in light of Greek astronomy, unless McGrath aims to credit Isaiah with prescient knowledge! This cosmology is alien to the OT. iv) Phenomenological language is still literal – its just relative. This has nothing to do with salvation, nor with soteriological descriptions. v) “The only relevant question is how Bible writers would define inerrancy. What qualifications would they take for granted?” Trapped in the matrix