Payne discusses an example of the trend to try to market Jesus rather than proclaim him. It appears in many works that try to 'sell' Jesus by explaining all the benefits and smoothing over the doubts. You're getting a quality product! But the consumer has seen the bait-and-switch too many times, and just as modern PR departments are abandoning it, predictably, Christians are grabbing onto it. This is neither biblical nor pragmatically effective. Really, these Christians are ashamed of the Gospel, and they must think they know better than God. Is Jesus all about life-
Pointing to New England and other states, Mohler writes that secularization and support for same-sex marriage appear to be part of a combined pattern. Conversely, those states reporting the highest church affiliation are also the states exhibiting the strongest opposition to same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage proponents seldom conclude that support for it is grounded in a worldview and its cognitive commitments. New England is now a post-Christian culture, meaning that it is notoriously difficult to evangelize. The moral landscape is changing. The moral issues are sufficient alarm -- the deadly danger is the loss of Christian faith. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3517
Adams points to III John to exhort Christians to treat missionaries as God Himself, for they bear God's message, and to provide for them, not with scraps and left-overs, but with the best. Tea Bags for Missions-
In Real Christianity, Wilberforce wrote about those whose faith had no bearing on their lives and for whom the Lord was not uppermost in their affections. People have an inadequate appreciation of Christ, an inadequate appreciation of the Holy Spirit and inadequate conception of Christian behavior. While emotions have been abused in many places, and must be controlled by the intellect, they must still be exercised. The question is, do our emotions motivate the love that keeps God's commandments? Moreover, without an adequate concept of the Holy Spirit's operation, people resort to their own religious systems to please God. He also writes that the name of Jesus should not be worn on the arm like a badge or amulet, but rather should be engraved deeply on our hearts. Reading the Classics - Real Christianity (IV)
This observes two properties of information. "Information itself is never the actual object or fact, neither is it a relationship (event or idea), but the encoded symbols merely represent that which is discussed. Symbols of extremely different nature play a substitutionary role with regard to reality or a system of thought. Information is always an abstract representation of something quite different." http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/itbwi/delineation-information-concept
Adams compares two approaches to truth to birds feeding at a feeder. Some birds take a seed off to a safe place and peck at it. Others eat as much as they can at the feeder. Both have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to truth. The former can seem reclusive and miss out on certain truths. The latter can fail to truly be affected by the truths. For the Birds
This article cites a number of Scriptures that are relevant to epistemology, and writes, "numerous biblical affirmations carry significance for our understanding of human knowledge. If the Bible is God’s Word, and true in all it teaches, it follows that the Bible can give us substantial guidance about which theories of knowledge, truth, epistemic warrant, rationality, etc., are likely to be true (or false) even though it doesn’t answer all the important questions considered by epistemologists." There isn't one particular theory of epistemology taught in the Bible. But the Bible gives parameters and provides guidance to our theorizing in this area. It has much to say about knowledge. A Biblical Epistemology-
White quotes Calvin, connecting the description to today's educational system: "To be so occupied in the investigation of the secrets of nature, as never to turn the eyes to its Author, is a most perverted study; and to enjoy everything in nature without acknowledging the Author of the benefit, is the basest ingratitude." Today's Educational System Described Nearly 500 Years Ago
Turretinfan writes that Roman Catholics believe that the college of bishops isn't always infallible and that the pope isn't always infallible. But what are the conditions for infallibility and where did they come from? For the pope's infallibility, it came from (Vatican I), but what about the conditions for the college of bishops (this issue is a sort of logical precursor, since Vatican I was a council). Was it decided by a previous council? By a previous pope? Is Rome's claim just circular? ("we are authoritative because we say so") Reginald Tries Again
Haykin writes that 500 years ago, John Calvin was born (1509) and he sought to see the Gospel spread throughout France. There was great revival in that time, but today, very few in France embrace the Gospel or hold to Christ. Those who wish to honour Calvin's legacy should also share his desire to see the Gospel produce great fruit there. As Calvin did, pray for France!
Challies has an article discussing anonymity at Tabletalk, and it's capacity to show that a man can be a completely different person without accountability. Escaping Anonymity
Hays writes about the mind-numbing stupidity of releasing jihadis: "it’s almost inevitable, thanks to all the liberals, that out gov’t will be releasing jihadis onto the streets of America. They will be brought to the mainland to stand trial in civil courts. They will be acquitted on legal technicalities. And they won’t be deported for fear of “torture.” So the only alternative is to release the enemy onto American soil." More than that, they want to jail everyone complicit in their 'torture'. "on the one hand they want to spring our enemies from jail while, on the other hand, they want to jail the men and women who tried to shield us from the enemy." Jail the guards, release the inmates!
The pope gave indulges, etc. to those who read Henry VIII's response to Luther's Babylonian Captivity. Swan wonders if the pope today shouldn't do this for all the would be 'defenders of the faith' in the USA, the e-pologists. Which Catholic wouldn't want to help out these apologists in these hard economic times for the sake of their own soils? Assertio Septem Sacramentorum- An Idea To Help Catholic Apologists Sell Books
Bird quotes Trueman and Goldsworthy on biblical theology, with Trueman pointing out that it isn't enough, that the Bible raises more than just redemptive-historical questions, and that biblical theology is insufficient to defend the core of the faith (which is Trinitarian), while Goldsworthy argues that systematic theology is an abstraction, and that such an abstraction, if divorced from the redemptive-historical context, becomes a full abstraction and will destroy the Gospel by de-historicising (which is historical, a time and space event), that systematic theology is impossible without biblical theology, which is essential for preventing Christians from thinking that every text is of equal importance. Debates on Biblical Theology
Ray Ortlund is thankful for the recent gospel-centred theologically aggressive indicators like The Gospel Coalition, Together For The Gospel, Acts 29, etc. of the movement of God. Ortlund on God's Work in Our Time
Adams briefly writes that the Lord's Supper is an act of remembrance and proclamation, and thus transubstantiation is not true. "If I hold up a picture of myself and say, “See, this is me,” what do you suppose—that the picture is somehow morphed into me?" Transubstantiation
Bayly quotes Soren Kierkegaard, Attack Upon “Christendom": "Imagine a fortress, absolutely impregnable, provisioned for an eternity. There comes a new commandant. He conceives that it might be a good idea to build bridges over the moats--so as to be able to attack the besiegers. Charming! He transforms the fortress into a countryseat, and naturally the enemy takes it. So it is with Christianity. They changed the method--and naturally the world conquered." In which contextualization becomes compromise and the fortress becomes a countryseat
Bird comments on Horton's view of the 'Eucharist' in People and Place. Horton seems to follows Calvin, rejecting the Roman mistake of conflating the sign and the signified, and also rejects completely separating the sign from the signified (Zwingli; Calvin called this 'profane'). He thinks that the work of Christ can be communicated through the sacrament, though the person of Christ cannot be. i.e. through the working of the word and the sacrament the Spirit clothes us with Christ inwardly (sort of like the Eastern idea that the Spirit communicates the energies of Christ's life-giving flesh in the sacrament - the sacraments mediate God's presence-in-action, the redemptive speech-act of Father in the Son by the Spirit). Horton on Reformed View of the Eucharist
More on the New York Presbytery at Redeemer church and the issue of women deacons. Woman deacons and Metro NY Presbytery- Signatories to proposal admit certain tensions between th
Ware has written a systematic theology for children. Big Truths for Young Hearts- Systematic Theology for Little Ones, Part I
Walton writes that nothing like the negative prohibition form of the Ten Commandments appears in the Hammurabi code. It does appear in treaties, however, suggesting that they are stipulations of the covenant between God and His people. The parallels that do appear, say, in Instructions of Shuruppak and the Egyptian Book of the Dead only parallel commandments 5-10, showing us the people kept the same sort of ethical system. There is nothing like the first four. Moreover, unlike these other texts, the Old Testament places these principles in the context of being holy as God is holy. The Ten Commandments . . . in Context
Hays points out that secularism reduces to moral nihilism, which some of them are willing to admit, yet irrationally, they also have blueprints for social engineering. "“Life is meaningless! Now I’m going to tell you how to live your life!”" Why would a nihilist really care how people live? Obama does this by imposing his iron will on Americans by force of law, yet for him, life is a pretty cheap commodity. Totalitarian nihilism
Keller brings out a point made by Puritan David Clarkson, that the idolatry of the body bowing down to a physical image isn't really different and far less prevalent than the real sin of “soul idolatry”—bowing down to some thing that probably doesn’t have a physical image, in your heart. There need not be a physical image. There rarely is. Clarkson- Soul Idolatry
Paul said, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, be zealous for what builds up the church. Adams observes that zeal can be good or bad. Be sure to harness it so that you use it, not for yourself, but for other believers. Zeal
A previously unknown copy of Revelation has been found! New Greek Manuscript of Revelation!
"Though many people insist global warming is real and man-made, Protestant pastors aren't entirely convinced, according to a new study from LifeWay Research." Global Warming and Protestant Pastors
Here's some arguments for a red letter-esque approach to Scripture from Peter Head, and some against. Red Letter Bibles Again
Phillips quotes Warfield to this effect: "Warfield makes a rich, important, central, and richly Gospelly point: we never get beyond needing grace, needing Christ, needing all the rich benefits purchased for believers on the Cross. Any teaching that in any way implies that Christ is where we start, that grace is Square A and we get beyond it into the really good stuff, is sub-Christian and un-Biblical." Warfield- the Christian ever a debtor to God's grace in Christ
Phillips responds to the statement, "I'm a continualist." "Really? And here I am, "stuck" with a sixty-six book Bible. You guys must have hundreds of inerrant, morally-binding Bible books by now!" Continuationist dodge (NEXT! #11)
White had posted a picture of a homosexual couple holding a little girl, writing that it was a form of child abuse. Now, he was just informed that a laywer from AP had sent us a cease and desist order. He has once again removed the picture, though, you can see it, repeatedly, if you so desire, even with zoom capabilities, at all the links posted above. "For, as we all know, the only reason the AP came after us is that a complaint was filed with them." "... the reason for this is clear: homosexuals use the cover of "tolerance" as a demand for "silence" on the part of those of us who still identify moral evil as moral evil." Homosexuals have been elevated to the status of protected minority, a group of elites. And Google/Youtube hasn't been helpful in White's attempt to remove a slanderous video pieced together from his presentations. More On the Death of Free Speech
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