2009-04-28

Here’s a good quote from Lewis: ““I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”” Well Said – C. S. Lewis

An ECLA pastor writes that no matter the results and success, “Torture is morally wrong. It is morally wrong, theologically speaking, because it is an attack upon the imago Dei, upon the image of God inherent to every human life.” [This reasoning easily applies to killing an enemy combatant in the field…] Mentally Murdering Our Enemies

Carson urges that people distinguish between the Gospel as what God has done and the message to be announced, and the effect of the Gospel in the lives of believers. In the former, there are ample place for including under “the gospel” the ways in which the kingdom has dawned and is coming. The Gospel is not love your neighbour, it is not love God, and it is not the practice of discipleship. Carson- The Necessary Consequences of the Gospel Are Not the Gospel

Spiegel and Cowan write that a legal system is unjust if it promotes evil, permits evil, requires evil, or prohibits good. Passive civil disobedience involves a refusal to do what the law requires, and active civil disobedience involves doing what the law prohibits. Good Thinking Often Requires Making Good Distinctions

Reformed Baptist Press reminds believers that when the day comes when the opposition to the Gospel is fierce enough in North America that churches and Christians openly have their rights taken and suppressed, remember that the war is not against flesh and blood, and that investing all efforts into civil and political remedies – trusting in horses and chariots – is not how we should response, but rather, we should trust in the Lord and pray. Inviting the Curse of God

Obama and Air Force One did a low-altitude fly-over of New York City!! Apparently without ensuring that everyone knew of it. As one person put it: “ Scare the [stuffing] out of a known terrorist . . . . . it’s torture. Scare the [stuffing] out of thousands of New Yorkers . . . . . . . it’s a photo op.” 10 administration

James Anderson writes that preachers must not only interpret the Scriptures and teach his people what it means and how it applies to them, but he must teach them how, over the long haul, to do for themselves what he does for them. Would any parent think they’ve done their job if their children could not feed themselves? Finally, this would provide an accountability for the pastor, since a congregation of suckling infants runs no risk of disturbing a slumbering pastor. The Preacher as Second-Level Teacher

Challies points to an article that calls porn the new tobacco. "Imagine a substance that is relatively new in the public square, but by now so ubiquitous in your society that a great many people find its presence unremarkable. Day in and day out, your own encounters with this substance, whether direct or indirect, are legion. Your exposure is so constant that it rarely even occurs to you to wonder what life might be like without it." 28)

Patton explains why, though he’s a Calvinists and a [sorta] complementarian, he goes to an Arminian and egalitarian church. Perfect theology isn’t in his criteria for a church. Grace and truth is at the top of it. His church focuses on the Gospel and teaches it. And it teaches grace and does not divide over non-cardinal issues. He places some weight on the value of diversity. Finally, he is needed there and can serve there. Why would he turn down a chance to teach those who don’t agree with him? He would prefer they have his theology, but not at the expense of grace and truth, which he finds happens in many Calvinistic churches. [now, I understand what he’s getting at, but isn’t a church that holds error by definition not full of truth?] Why Do I (A Calvinist) Go to An Arminian Church-

Having an expectation that we shall be like Christ helps us to purify ourselves in this age. Expectation

Engwer responds to the claim that Luke and John (writing 50 years later) were the first to include a physical element to post-resurrection encounters with Jesus. i) It’s mere assertion to say that Luke wrote that long after Matthew. ii) Mark’s Gospel doesn’t narrate the appearances.iii) 1 Cor. 15 is creedal, and isn’t expected to contain a lot of detail. But still, that some of the witnesses were unbelievers beforehand, the involvement of coordinated group activity is inconsistent with naturalistic theories. iv) Matthew tells us that the risen Jesus' feet were touched (Matt. 28:9) and people ‘saw’ Jesus (most likely physical vision). v) In 1 Cor. 15, the same ‘it’ that was buried was raised, indicating physical resurrection. The Alleged Absence Of References To Physical Evidence In The Earliest Accounts Of Jesus' Resurr

Hays shows the fact that one account may be more detailed than another, or contain different details, isn’t evidence of literary embellishment or discrepant reportage, contra liberal notions. He compares Acts and Luke, which are both written by Luke and both installments in the same unified work, where Luke has a brief account, and Acts has an expanded account – thus showing that a brief account doesn’t mean that the author wrote all he knew. Liberals postulate legendary embellishment for other works for which there is no such frame of reference, but clearly the inference is flawed. Legendary embellishment

Bayly posts a pastoral letter from a Baptist church in Africa. He highlights certain features in the letter that he thinks would not be likely to appear in a letter from our churches. For example, the pastor mentions weeping over the excommunications that were necessary to avert God’s judgment on the church. This church has not used grace to make light of sin or pass over the holiness of God. A reformed congregation that doesn't use grace to silence the fear of God

CCEF faculty member David Powlision shares on "Counseling through the Lens of Scripture." Originally delivered to the Evangelical Theological Society. Download the outline of this talk. Follow link for audio: http://www.ccef.org/counseling-through-lens-scripture