Solus Christus

In a Bible study class, I remember being given an assignment where 10 or so Bible verses were given and we were instructed to elaborate on what they said about the importance of the Bible. It was obvious the verses were found by concordance by locating any verses containing the phrase "word of God." As I looked for the context, it also became obvious that many of these verses explicitly referred to Christ, not the Bible. When I emailed the T.A. who gave the assignment, they instructed me to do the assignment as if they referred to the Bible, even if I knew they did not!

A hot topic lately on Christian blogs has been the tension between being bibliocentric (Centered on the Bible) and Christocentric (Centered on Christ). While slamming the wheel to the other side might be an over-reaction, I can sympathize that we sometimes may be too focused on the book, rather than what the book is about:

Svigel on the Fringe.

A British Pastor on "Why I am not a Bible Teacher" (& Part 2)

Solus Christus on Solus Christus

Jerry Falwell: Interesting Legacy

It is surprising how many interesting stories have come to light about Falwell after his death. My favorite was by students at Liberty who talked about seeing him at a restaurant. They didn't even think he knew them, but at the end of the meal, after Falwell and his friends had left, they were informed Falwell had paid for their meal. So when people as diverse as Rick Warren and Larry Flint have had good things to say, at least personally he must have been a good guy.

The reaction from the current evangelical movement was well observed as having lost a grandfather that they may not have agreed with all the time, but were kinda fond of.

R.I.P. Falwell

History of War

Ok I do not have this totally developed but I liked this commentary by Fred Thompson on an important thing of the past to study… war. He asserts that warfare is no longer taught at our Universities. I can say while I am sure he is correct I did have a run in with this at Illinois State University. I was a Social Science Major which is basically the same as a History major. The hardest class I ever took at ISU was “U.S. Military History”. This is to ISU’s credit and the woman teaching it is a first rate scholar.
If Fred is right I do think what he asserts as part of the reason has to be true. He states “The post-Vietnam antiwar movement tends to see all wars as mutual mistakes — with both sides in a conflict equally wrong. Some of these folks think war can be avoided by refusing to have anything to do with it.” To true and I think this has infected a lot of the Western Church which is so heavily influenced by our Anti-war at all costs culture. Meanwhile true evil may go unchecked to the point of no return. Perhaps we could use a good study not only of the History of warfare but the view of warfare (for better or worse) of the Church throughout history. Some stones would not be plesent to turn over but I do think we will find that Christians in the past were not as afraid to die as we (me included) are.

My view of what we are missing as we talk and talk about identifying with our enemies is summed up much better by Victor Davis Hanson when he writes, “The hundred years of talking about slavery was not as important as two days at Gettysburg. The success or failure of Normandy affected Hitler more in an hour than had years of pleading with him in the 1930s.”

The down trodden and oppressed are best helped when we are willing to fight for them.

Beckwith fully resigns,

Beckwith officially resigned as a member of ETS as well as the presidency today. Seems James White originally "broke" the story while Beckwith was trying to keep ETS off the radar screen by handling it quietly. White has tried to lead a few ETS-ers in going after Beckwith hard. I think Beckwith is wrong, but James White is not the guy I want talking about this subject. Even when he is on the right side, he doesn't know how to argue rhetorically and logically. I found myself disagreeing with a few foundational points in Geisler's Chosen But Free. Then James White came out with The Potter's Freedom that so poorly and angerly argued against Geisler's book that Geisler used the opportunity to instruct on poor logical agruments (Non Sequitur, Ad Hominem, etc) . Even though White was on the right side on some of the points, I still cringe when I see his name in a debate.

5/10 Update: Interview with Christianity Today

ETS President converts to Catholicism

The former President of the Evangelical Theological Society Francis J. Beckwith converted to Catholicism. ETS has had problems in the past when they would not bar Open Theists like Clark Pinnock, prompting Norman Geisler to resign. Pinnock in, Beckwith out. Just interesting to ponder.

Clarification: meaning, if they kick out the Catholic, then why do they keep the Open Theist?

Orthodox Church

I attended an Antiochian Orthodox Church this week. While my Protestant principles find a few problems with the Orthodox Church, it is always good to experience the other traditions for a sense of what others may emphasis that we do not.

The liturgy had one main focus: Christ. Christ incarnate, Christ our Savior, Christ the Resurrected. It is hard not to meditate on the person of Christ in the service. While we Protestants may look at Christ through the lens of faith or grace, it is helpful to also take a minute to look at the Christ as the one who incarnates Truth (who became what he wished to save) and Resurrects (completes, does not destroy).

The Eastern Orthodox talk about Icons. Icons signify something else. They are very similar to sacraments in that they remind us of some truth that is greater. Did we Protestants over-react to Icons in the past?

What would the culture look like if we did not run from culture to our safe walled garden, but incarnated truth in that culture? What would it look like if we looked to redeem all of creation? What would it look like if we saw life as a sacrament, if we could find more icons or types of Christ in art, culture and nature?

Sure, having Icons may tempt us to worship them instead of Christ. Anyway, we Protestants have enough to worship instead of Christ already: materialism, the pastor, the sermon, the Bible…

The Pearl

I was just thinking of how interesting it was that Boris Yeltsin had a full Orthodox funeral when I saw the same observation here on The Corner. Communism tore down churches and turned others into public rest rooms. Today the country is in need of rebirth as desperation, alcoholism and suicide are all out of control. May the Lord have mercy on Russia and indeed help “the Russians find the pearl that was viciously taken from them”.

The Emerging Church

An interesting movement lately is the Emerging Church. My initial reaction was resistance. But then, the "Emerging Church" is merely the church of my generation, so to be totally resistant to it is merely to be resistant to my generation. In "They like Jesus, But not the Church" Dan Kimball, in trying to target 20-somethings, noticed the number one question was not "what denomination are you?" but "what are you doing for the poor?" We like our minimall churches, our "blessings of wealth" but do not realize a rich church does not look like Christ. If the body of Christ does not look like Christ, why would or should anyone be attracted to the church?

If you only knew of the church by Jerry Falwell calling the Teletubees gay, or Pat Robertson lusting for judgment of homsexuality in Florida by huricanes, or James Dobson calling Spunge-Bob gay (interesting pattern here), would you see the Christ with the woman at the well, or the Pharisees ready to stone a similar woman caught in adultry? Would we "marvel" that Christ would dare speak and love a homosexual?

Some interesting resources for keeping an orthodox theology, but a liberal orthopraxy in the Emerging church (just click the underlined links):

Dallas Theological's audio discussion on the Emerging Church. (starts with part 3, click part 1 on the right)

Relevant Magazine (yeah, I hate the name too, but great magazine)

Dan Kimball's "They Like Jesus, But not the Church"

Mark Driscoll's "Confessions of a Reformissional Rev."

Don Miller's "Blue Like Jazz"
(not explicitly Emerging, but a good intro to narrative thoughts of Christ, rather than purely systematic)

Obama and "Christian politics"

There are many items that makes Obama appealing as a candidate. He professes Christ and has some great Biblical imagry in his speeches. He reminds Christians of the terrible state of Republicans on social justice issues and global poverty (or at least of conservative loud mouths like Ann Coulter and Michael Savage).

Yet, he places himself on dubious ground in his response to the ban on partial birth abortion. One thinks of Wilberforce needing to bring MPs on board slave ships to convince them of the extent of the evil of the slave trade. Are detailed discriptions needed? With a "life of the mother" exemption, isn't this an area where reasonable people can agree?

What a wonderful dialog that could take place about social justice and Bonhoeffer's ethics. But as Bonhoeffer had that one issue of the "Jewish Problem," so are we saddled with the issue of abortion. When will the Democratic party listen to moderation? Don't they know they would easily gain millions of evangelical supporters with merely a more moderate position?

I just viewed a superb movie called "Into Great Silence." The film maker spent 6 months filming the lives of the monks of Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps. The film first makes you restless with the silence of the monastery. Then, you find the rest of the world to be too noisy, and the aesthetic life of the monks engulf you. Everything is done slowly. Everything gains new beauty. You begin to realize; God is not experienced most in the greatest of things, but as 1 Kings 19:11-13 says:

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Legalism is Easier than Liberty

(Derek Webb - "A New Law" video above)

I once was afraid of Grace. "What will people do with it?" Legalism is just easier, so we preach that instead. Moderation? Christian Liberty? No, Pharisee-ism is easier to explain. Just follow the letter, not the Spirit.

Christ and Homosexuals

Some homosexuals organized a gathering outside a Southern Baptist seminary to protest their stance on homosexuality. Then the seminary students did what they should do: they handed out water to the protesters. Maybe Southern Baptists are taught the love of Jesus...

Fruit Inspections

So many things to have fun with in this article! So Fred Thompson is bad, Newt (On my third wife) Gingrich is the real thing? And his organization is called "Focus on the Family"? I just think it is weird to say Newt says the right things (may not live it) and Fred does not say the right things, therefore... Newt is true Blue and Fred is not. I also have to reject the premise that we need a "evangelical" Christian as the litmus test for President.

"I would rather be ruled by a just Turk then an unjust Christian" - Martin Luther

Gospel and Robes

I attended a mid-day mass in Dallas at an Anglican Church on the invite of a friend. Ministers in robes who actually preach the gospel...different. The church has such a rich history of great christians such as Cramner, Wesley, Whitefield, Wilberforce, John Newton, Charles Simeon, C.S. Lewis, J.I. Packer, and Alister McGrath. Seems the Dallas diocese is one of the most conservative in the country.The Anglican church will gather in 2008 in England to (hopefully) address the ordination of homosexuals by the more liberal wings in America. If the more liberal wings are expelled, the Anglican church might revert to being a great conservative semi-evangelical church again. A hopeful prospect.

Wrongful Life?

A woman is suing after a failed abortion resulted in birth. How sick is our culture when someone's life necessitates compensation?

When asked to give a lecture at Harvard comparing the poverty of India and the wealth of the United States, Mother Teresa flipped the labels. India, she said, is rich with spiritual hunger and culture. The United States is impoverished: only a poverty of soul would kill the unborn for convenience.

Presuming on Grace from a Holy God

Sproul's sermon here is one of the most moving I have heard. In one sermon, Sproul puts the entire Old Testament "Angry" God in perspective. How often we confuse grace and justice. At times, God gives us justice and we cry out for "fairness" and justice, when we really are angry God gave us justice when we wanted grace. "I have mercy on whomever I will have mercy"

click on listen and you can download the mp3.

In What Sense God is Ineffable.

While teaching on St. Augustine in adult Sunday School I had the class read and discuss this passage from St. Augustine's "On Christian Doctrine". How often do we think about what leap it is for God to accept our praise as he is truly unspeakable? And for that matter who even writes about stuff like this anymore? IT got some great discussion going. The class seemed to really enjoy it. See for yourself;

Chapter 6.—In What Sense God is Ineffable.
6. Have I spoken of God, or uttered His praise, in any worthy way? Nay, I feel that I have done nothing more than desire to speak; and if I have said anything, it is not what I desired to say. How do I know this, except from the fact that God is unspeakable? But what I have said, if it had been unspeakable, could not have been spoken. And so God is not even to be called “unspeakable,” because to say even this is to speak of Him. Thus there arises a curious contradiction of words, because if the unspeakable is what cannot be spoken of, it is not unspeakable if it can be called unspeakable. And this opposition of words is rather to be avoided by silence than to be explained away by speech. And yet God, although nothing worthy of His greatness can be said of Him, has condescended to accept the worship of men’s mouths, and has desired us through the medium of our own words to rejoice in His praise. For on this principle it is that He is called Deus (God). For the sound of those two syllables in itself conveys no true knowledge of His nature; but yet all who know the Latin tongue are led, when that sound reaches their ears, to think of a nature supreme in excellence and eternal in existence.

The Lost World

The term unevangelized here means: has never had exposure to the gospel.

The Decline of Dispensationalism?

Is Dispensationalism in Decline? Or dead as some less objective commentators might suggest? I was surprised that the purported academic center of dispensationism is actually not as big on it as it used to be. On a recent CNN special, DTS was shown as such, though more moderate than more fanatical adherents on TV like John Hagee. But one student said most students on campus wouldn't be able to define dispensationalism. Thoughts?

DTS

I'm off to Dallas Theological. Thought it had a nice list of alumni:
Andy Stanley
Tony Evans
Chuck Swindoll
J Vernon McGee

Maybe I can just be smart by association...

A brief history of the Christmas tree

"Let them over whom the fires of hell are imminent affix to their posts laurels doomed presently to burn: to them the testimonies of darkness and the omens of their penalties are suitable. You are a light of the world, and a tree ever green. If you have renounced temples, make not your own gate a temple." - Tertullian

apparently Tertullian was no fan of "converting" pagan rituals. With many, mostly ignorant, claims that Christianity is nothing more then an adaptation of paganism I think he may have been right. Either way go to the following link for a very nice brief history of the Christmas tree

Scofield

I visited another church, and found my Scofield Bible had much more piercing spiritual insight than the pastor. Others may know Peter thrice is asked "Do you love me?" by Christ after the resurrection. Scofield points out the first two times Christ asks if Peter "agape"'s Him. Agape is "that love which the law demands". Peter replies he "phileis"'s Christ. Christ asks if we love God with perfect divine love, and Peter replies he loves Christ passionately as his friend, but not perfectly as the Law calls for as he did before he denied Christ three times. When Peter replied he did not twice, the third time, Christ asks Peter if he phileis's Him and Peter replies “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love (phileis) You.” This was not Peter's frustration at being asked three times (as some have interpreted), but Christ condecending to our abilities, giving us grace as we cannot fullfil the command to love God perfectly and Peter being accepted by grace in his imperfect love. We are not accepted by Loving as the Law demands, but by our personal relationship with Christ as our Savior, as he stoops to conquer.

Iran and the Anti-Christ?

I know I am being way too contemporary for a blog named "Dead Theologians." But current events reminds me of just after 9/11 when Jon Stewart said he was using the book of Revelation as a checklist...

In God We Trust

In God We Trust

in God we trust
and the government is on His shoulders
in God we trust
through democracy and tyranny alike
in God we trust
He uses both good and evil men

in God we trust
so we fight for peace and He fights for us
in God we trust
even when He fights us for someone else
in God we trust
even when He looks like the enemy

in God we trust
even though our hearts are bankrupt
in God we trust
for more than just the value of our dollar bills
in God we trust
but there’s no gold behind these notes of reserve

in God we trust
even through our great presumption
in God we trust
even though He favors no nation-state
in God we trust
even when the blessing is a curse

Deja Vu

If Protestant Church Structure has a major flaw, it is that it is too dependant on individual leaders in churches. Ever since he was named one of the most powerful Evangelicals by Time, I have not been a fan of Ted Haggard. Not to kick him while he's down, but early on he actually reminded me of Jimmy Swaggard: an emotional, theologically-light, health and wealth preacher. Now the similarity seems to be more clear. Though I hope it is not true.

Pre-Mourning

If you were to ask me who my favorite Senator is, I would be quick to answer: Rick Santorum. I have already begun my pre-mourning of his impending loss in Pennsylvania. The loss is great. He was one of the few Senators that wrote a book that actually made you think. The intellectual heft of “It Takes a Family” is daunting compared to Obama, Hillary, and Edwards’ books. Anyone who has read and actually understands and cites Russell Kirk, Alexis de Tocqueville, Immanuel Kant and Allan Bloom deserves a moment of silence while fading from Public Office.

Should I have faith in my faith?

No I should have faith in Christ. Packer (who is just old not dead) put it well when he wrote;


One of the unhealthiest features of protestant theology today is its preoccupation with faith, that is, viewed man centeredly as a state of existential commitment. Inevitably, this preoccupation diverts thought away from faith’s object… Though the Reformers said much about faith…their interest was not of the modern kind. It was not subject centered, but object centered, not psychological but theological, not anthropocentric, but christocentric

J.I. Packer, “Sole Fide: The Reformed Doctrine of Justification, in Soli Deo Gloria, (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1976) 20.

Dawkin’s Arguments against God.

I’m only about on page 140, but I thought I would give you Dawkin’s four main arguments against God as best I can make out:

1. Argument from Superiority.

a. I am really smart
b. I don’t believe in God
c. Therefore, God does not exist.
[Dawkins has other smart friends and people who call him smart whom he loves to quote who will attest to this]

2. Argument from name-calling [Logically, this should be a part of Argument one, but he spends so much time doing it, it deserves a unique category]

a. What are you, stupid?
b. Therefore, God does not exist.
c. Seriously, if you think God exists you are ignorant and prejudiced (pg. 66), no smarter than a gardener (56), full of hate speech (23), not rational (11), awed in ignorance (117) uneducated and unintelligent (102), laughable (99), disreputable (97) and unsophisticated (94).

3. Argument against Scripture

a. I have a couple of examples of Scripture being contradictory or unhistorical which a first year theological student can defend against. (pg 92-95)
b. Therefore, God does not exist.

4. Argument from the Design of the Designer

a. Who made God?
b. Therefore, God does not exist.
c. Don’t cite supernatural or beyond or above nature stuff, that’s not fair, just trust me, Nature is all there is.

Dawkins God

I decided I needed to investigate the other side a little more. I have weighed many arguments dealing with evolution. The best being Kenneth Miller's "Finding Darwin's God". Miller comes from a semi-Open theist position. The value of his book is not, however, in his conclusions, but is in challenging many of my assumptions. I am more amazed at the Providence of God when he is not the "God of the Gaps" that many evangelicals squeeze Him into.

But I have not read full tome from an atheistic perspective. I am starting to read Dawkins new book "The God Delusion" (his Summa Theologica, so to speak). He also has a mini-series entitled "the root of all evil," about religion. You can grasp his subtle position. We'll have to see what this anti-theistic guy Dawkins has to say. I need to be challenged...

A Story of Homecoming

Return of the Prodigal Son

I have finished this fine book by Nouwen called "The Return of the Prodigal Son". I give it my recommendation even though the author is not dead. First my criticisms.

I part company at least somewhat with the author that we are all sons of God and inherently good. As a protestant that should not be a surprising difference for me to have with a Catholic. I think his insights are still good however because as Christians we are given the spirit of adoption and thus given a new family and a new reputation to live up to. So if one were to view the prodigal son story as story of fellowship with our father (as opposed to just a simple gospel / conversion story) then I think his insights only need minor qualifications.
The art observations are very cool. As someone who is not very artsy it does wear old. The observations from scripture hold my attention better, but I find very little fault with his using art as an illustrative tool. All in all that is a welcome portion of the book.

Ok what is just plain good about the book? The comments on the elder son hit me in a way I needed. I felt liberated to live and serve freely in my fathers house with joy and without resentment. Also the call to love like the father loves is certainly a high goal worth setting. This book is short and easy to read, but it is deep rich and packed with spiritual insights that are very refreshing to the soul!! It will help you to identify well with each character of perhaps Jesus' most famous parable.

Reformed comeback

Well I do hope there are more exciting things then this going on in the church today. But the upswing in Calvinism is something that I think is exciting and pretty cool. As they say sound living flows from sound doctrine. I know Piper was very helpful to me to understand the Glory of God and the importance of making God my treasure and source of Joy. While I have problems with Reformed theology on some levels it is so much better then most of what else is out there. It is deep, rich and God centered. I hope that the end of this story is correct. My take is that Reformed theology often does try to hard to fit scripture into it's system at times. It seem to me it does not simply let the Bible speak, most notably on God's promises to Israel. But that being said, I LOVE CALVINISM!

Pope must die

Still I do not understand the "hurt" if the Pope was simply saying stop trying to kill us so we can talk. But this is encouraging to read in a story about a group calling for the Pope's death. Has it come to this? That I think wow he is a great guy for saying the Pope should not die?

Larger Islamic groups in Britain said they accepted the Pope's apology. Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The Vatican has moved quickly to deal with the hurt and we accept that.

"It was something that should never have happened - words of that nature were always likely to cause dismay - and we believe some of the Pope's advisers may have been at fault over his speech."

Pope in Effigy

This is getting to predictable. Will these Islamo fascists types every get it? If you are angry that someone suggested your religion is violent should one respond by burning the person in effigy in protest?? hmmmm... This will prove them wrong!

I am not even convinced that the Pope was saying what they think he was saying, it appears to me he was just discussing history of thought around the subject. I am again reminded too of how different religions really are. As John Piper pointed out a few months back being mocked really is the essence of Christ's work, not Mohammad’s. Which would explain why I think Sarah Silverman is right when she says (paraphased) we all know it is safe to make fun of certain groups. Christians are not going to hunt you down and kill you. But others would respond in a manner that makes it hard to have a rational discussion.

I am eager to see what the Pope does next in response to calls for an apology. I can see it now "After seeing myself burned in effigy I see the serious error in my comments that suggested that Mohammad has only brought violence to the world. I deeply regret my foolish words."

The Pope and ID

A honest debate on intelligent design is something I would love to see. I love that the Pope is considering this. I love science and all it has to offer, no doubt. But it seems so many in science have such an narrow view. Do I really have to only think thoughts that are empirical? Should I (or can I) really live on science alone? My soul cries out for something more, but not less. So let's debate and explore the origins of the universe on scientific and philosophic and whatever grounds we can find to search out the questions of life. Peter Kreeft has some good arguments here that while I do not buy into all of them are certainly worth exploring.

Spurgeon quote for the day.

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them." -C.H. Spurgeon

Joy

While watching The Question of God - Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis the other night I was struck by C.S. Lewis' take on Joy as a desire. Or even as desire for a desire. If Luther (Commentary on Peter & Jude) and the majority of commentators that I have read about 1 Peter are correct, then 1 Peter is about what Luther termed "Future Joy". Putting that with Lewis' definition of joy then it is a interesting concept that the joy we look forward to in heaven is a desire, certainly a desire for God and the things of God. We can only get a taste of it here, mingled with the death and heartache of Earth. But when Christ comes the joy His people feel does seem to be something beyond what can be put into words. We will both have the desire, and the object of our desire.

Table Talk for the Day

DCCCXXX.
News came from Torgau that the Turks had led out into the great square at Constantinople twenty-three Christian prisoners, who, on their refusing to apostatize, were beheaded. Dr. Luther said: Their blood will cry up to heaven against the Turks, as that of John Huss did against the papists. `Tis certain, tyranny and persecution will not avail to stifle the Word of Jesus Christ. It flourishes and grows in blood. Where one Christian is slaughtered, a host of others arise. `Tis not on our walls or our arquebusses I rely for resisting the Turk, but upon the Pater Noster. `Tis that will triumph. The Decalogue is not, of itself, sufficient. I said to the engineers at Wittenberg: Why strengthen your walls - they are trash; the walls with which a Christian should fortify himself are made, not of stone and mortar, but of prayer and faith.

-Luther

Buchanan encourages good to do nothing in the face of evil

This is hardly the theme of Buchanan's "they didn't attack us" response to evil:

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

1 Peter Study

We are now in the second half of Chapter 1.
Thought for the theme from John Calvin (my commentator of choice): "The main point of this epistle is to raise us above the world, in order that we may be prepared and encouraged to sustain the spiritual contests of our warefare."
In other words: 1 Peter fosters joy in hope of 'future grace.' (to steal John Piper's phrase)

Superman vs. Gibson's Christ

Ok I have seen "The Passion" and while it has many problems, I liked it a lot. I have not made it to Superman yet so I do not have much to comment on this story. But I am looking forward to seeing the new Superman movie! Looks like it could be fun. As for getting the Gospel message out to the masses through a mainstream movie... I am to tired of the thought to even yawn at it anymore. I just don't think that God has plans for a big revival centered around a Hollywood production. Even so it is still beneficial to discern truth and beauty in any art whether it claims to be "Christian" or not. In that spirit I submit this story for your reading enjoyment.

Chesterton Quote for June

"Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it." - Autobiography, 1937

The Local Church is the Hope of the World 2

Stories of the growth of home churches continue to pop up here and there. Like this story entitled "Going to Church by Staying at Home" While I see the necessity of it in many places like China or India. I stand by my position that it is mostly a negative thing in the U.S. While I can totally sympathize with not wanting to be part of a "megachurch" and the overhead of American "Churches" is part of what is wrong with our culture. We often seem to think we need to have the best building, state of the art nursery etc. No we don't! I also think that small groups in peoples homes is needed. Even if they are hard to get along with sometimes. Having conceded that and other points, I do think we need to be plugged into the larger community and not be doing our Christianity "Freelance" with no educated leaders. I continue to hold that more is needed then just a "Bible and a believer" to get truth right... Let's humble ourselves and get to church on Sunday.

1 Peter

This summer we will be tackling 1 Peter with the help of our Dead Theologian friends. Aaron has already called Luther for his commentary and I tenatively call Calvin. Sounds like Eric is weighing his options and maybe we can talk Old Man Nelson to join us too (though Jim Elliott and C.S. Lewis didn't write any commentaries so I don't know who Dad would like to pick).

American V

I can hardly contain my excitement. There has been talk of this for a long time but I had given up hope on it being released. But on July 4 we will finally be able to listen to American V. Perfect release date for Johnny Cash’s last album.

Equality would be boring...

The discourse turning among the great differences amongst the learned, Luther said: God has very finely distributed his gifts, so that the learned serve the unlearned, and the unlearned humble themselves before the learned, in what is needful for them. If all people were equal, the world could not go on; nobody would serve another, and there would be no peace. The peacock complained because he had not the nightingale's voice. God, with apparent inequality, has instituted the greatest equality; one man, who has greater gifts than another, is proud and haughty, and seeks to rule and domineer over others, and condemns them. God finely illustrates human society in the members of the body, and shows that one member must assist the other, and that none can be without the other.

Evangelism and Joy

My thesis: Evangelism is motivated by joy. Why? Evangelism is a form of praise, and praise is sharing our joy with others. Thus we share Christ with others as a privilege of delight and joy. The command is for us to have joy in God, to delight in God, not to merely share with or without that joy.

(1 Peter 3:15-16)

15…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

An answer requires hope

Romans 15:13:
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

What is Praise?: Joy, Delight, Happiness - results in Praise.

C.S. Lewis -“ all enjoyment spontaneously flows into praise”

Praise and Joy linked to sharing in the Bible:
Psalm 9:1-2
1[a] I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
2I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 50:8-15

Not of duties, but of thanksgiving:
[God Speaking:]
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds. 10For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

We are told to “go into the world and preach the gospel” (Mk. 16:15). Gospel is good news. It is good news because it brings us joy. Joy naturally results in praise. And by praise we preach the gospel.

God does not accept our sacrifices of duty (Ps. 50:8,12). He may work through them, but he does not need them and we do Him no favor by doing them (v12). Our sacrifice is of thanksgiving (v13). The command is delighting in God (Ps. 37:4), praise is the result. Evangelism is others hearing our praise.

The Hope of Salvation

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope. No husbandman would sow one grain of corn, if he hoped not it would grow up and become seed; no bachelor would marry a wife, if he hope not to have children; no merchant or tradesman would set himself to work, if he did not hope to reap benefit thereby, etc. How much more, then, does hope urge us on to everlasting life and salvation? - Martin Luther

Does Regeneration precede faith? Are these two distinct events, or simultaneous?

John 1:13 (King James Version)
"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

John Calvin appears to have no problem with the mystery his later followers feel they must deny.
John Calvin on John 1:13
"The will of the flesh and the will of man appear to me to mean the same thing; for I see no reason why flesh should be supposed to signify woman, as Augustine and many others explain it. On the contrary, the Evangelist repeats the same thing in a variety of words, in order to explain it more fully, and impress it more deeply on the minds of men. Though he refers directly to the Jews, who gloried in the flesh, yet from this passage a general doctrine may be obtained: that our being reckoned the sons of God does not belong to our nature, and does not proceed from us, but because God begat us willingly, (James 1:18,) that is, from undeserved love. Hence it follows, first, that faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration; for the Evangelist affirms that no man can believe, unless he be begotten of God; and therefore faith is a heavenly gift. It follows, secondly, that faith is not bare or cold knowledge, since no man can believe who has not been renewed by the Spirit of God.

It may be thought that the Evangelist reverses the natural order by making regeneration to precede faith, whereas, on the contrary, it is an effect of faith, and therefore ought to be placed later. I reply, that both statements perfectly agree; because by faith we receive the incorruptible seed, (1 Peter 1:23,) by which we are born again to a new and divine life. And yet faith itself is a work of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in none but the children of God. So then, in various respects, faith is a part of our regeneration, and an entrance into the kingdom of God, that he may reckon us among his children. The illumination of our minds by the Holy Spirit belongs to our renewal, and thus faith flows from regeneration as from its source; but since it is by the same faith that we receive Christ, who sanctifies us by his Spirit, on that account it is said to be the beginning of our adoption.

Another solution, still more plain and easy, may be offered; for when the Lord breathes faith into us, he regenerates us by some method that is hidden and unknown to us; but after we have received faith, we perceive, by a lively feeling of conscience, not only the grace of adoption, but also newness of life and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. For since faith, as we have said, receives Christ, it puts us in possession, so to speak, of all his blessings. Thus so far as respects our sense, it is only after having believed -- that we begin to be the sons of God. But if the inheritance of eternal life is the fruit of adoption, we see how the Evangelist ascribes the whole of our salvation to the grace of Christ alone; and, indeed, how closely soever men examine themselves, they will find nothing that is worthy of the children of God, except what Christ has bestowed on them."

Why Is Modern Culture Bored?

Update: Sorry, I had tried to post from my mobile phone and that didn't work too well.

I was going to put up an Augustine quote:
"Those who fail to discover what they are looking for suffer from hunger, whereas those who do not look, because they have it in front of them, often die of boredom." -Augustine "On Christian Teaching"

Da Vinci Opportunities

It was hard for me. I saw this phenomenon going on; everyone at work was talking about the book. Some even taking the conspiracy theories found in it seriously! It was so hard to not be condescending. It was also hard to read the book. Not HARD hard. It is a very easy read. I just could not believe I was reading a book that contained an albino assassin monk. It is pulp fiction to the core, full of cheesy dialog, unbelievable characters on every page. But I got through it, and was able to notice the creativity in the puzzles and acknowledge that there was some talent in there. It opened the dialog at work with people in great ways! I could add what I liked about the book, what I did not like, and why the history in it is pure drivel and should only be enjoyed as fiction. I hope the movie will open up more windows to discuss the truth. I agree with the sentiment of this story whole heartedly!

Happy Easter

John 20:1-9 (NKJV)
The Empty Tomb
1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

In the Tomb

"When Adam lived, that is, when he sinned, death devoured life; when Christ died, that is, was justified, then life, which is Christ, swallowed up and devoured death; therefore God be praised, that Christ died, and has got the victory."

-Martin Luther “Table Talk”


Matthew 12:39-41 (New King James Version)
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

Have an Atonement Centered Good Friday

"God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 2:1-2 KJV

The Transfiguration of Harold Maines

I have finally secured a copy of The Transfiguration of Harold Maines by director Jared W. Johnson. It is well done and very funny! Hard to believe much of it was adlibbed. Kudos to the actors for being so funny and believable. Director Jared Johnson's bizarre sense of humor is at its best in this piece of fiction made to look like a documentary. The idea of a documentary about a man who may have turned into a horse is an idea only he would cook up. If you want to see something truly original then I recommend this short movie.

"Gospel” of Judas sheds light on Gnosticism. Not Christianity.

Those pesky Gnostics keep finding their way into pop culture even after almost 2000 years. Perhaps this will give Dan Brown material for another wonderful work of artistic fiction full of albino assassin monks who want to stop the spread of feminism. We can only hope…

Borders will not carry magazine

Not because it's pornographic [they still carry Playboy], or advocates illegal activity [They still carry High Times], but because it has the cartoon making fun of Islam's Prophet. Free speech for everything but political speech...

Chesterton Quote

"Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God." - Christendom in Dublin, 1933

Fascism and V

In the west is has been true that totalitarian regimes try to kill God so that the government can become the god. It seems to be fairly effective. We do see some examples however of Islam being used as a tool of totalitarian regimes. So while I would argue that Islam is better suited for that end, it is not beyond imagination that Christianity could be twisted in that direction as well.
One reason I am excited about Goldberg's upcoming book
Liberal Fascism : The Totalitarian Temptation from Mussolini to Hillary Clinton is because the record needs to be setstraight on fascism. It was not made up of evangelical Christians bent on ruling the world!

V for Very Verbose Vapor

The most touching moment in 1984, to me, was when the poet in prison explains that he just couldn't find any other word for his poem except "God." V for Vendetta on the other hand seems to be 1984 for liberals. The religious dimension just didn't make sense. 'Faith is Unity' is the new 'Love is Hate' or 'War is Peace' for an anti-Truth government. But if there was a God over government, there must be truth. God is truth, the unappeallable Judge. If government really wanted to destroy Truth, it must become the God. So philosophically, I just have to say 1984 seems more real than V for Vendetta. That is, unless you really do think we have more to fear from the pre-WWII threat of fascism than the post-modern threat of relativism/subjectivism and the intolerance of intolerance.

St. (Beef) Patty

Isn't that nice. Catholics have permission to eat meat tomorrow. Enjoy!!

Ok, lame post but I thought I should get one in before the month is over.

What happened to books?

A friend sent me this story. I suppose he found it provocative or something. All I could write was:

"How times have changed. Once "great authors" and "important people" wrote of current events in the medium of a book (i.e. Burke vs the French Revolution). But alas all the great men of this age can muster is a ramble at the Academy Awards or a cliche filled Editorial to the Tribune. When Keillor fills up 2 pages in Bartlett's with his Current Affairs wisdom, perhaps I will turn my head:

http://www.bartleby.com/100/276.html "

UPDATE: I guess I should try and establish Burke as a theologian to justify writing about him here so here's a random Burke thought on Religion: "Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation."

Amyraldism?

It seems this is what "4-point Calvinism" can be called. Amyraldism prefers to define a universal atonement, but particular election. It does seem dangerous, however, to get away from Christ's substitutionary work on the cross. Christ died for our sins. And in the context of Romans 5:8b-9: "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." It seems those whom Christ died for are assured salvation. Then Christ died just for the elect, no?

Also interesting from the article:

"Amyraldism can be found among various evangelical groups, perhaps most notably among dispensationalists in independent Bible churches and independant Baptist churches."