theologia viatorum

Bye, Bye, Blogger

2006-03-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally taken the plunge. I enjoyed the free ride while it lasted but I grew tired of the inflexibility of Blogger (what do you expect when it is free) so I have begun the journey with Word Press - and so far I am rather pleased. My blog has moved to www.theologiaviatorum.com. Please update your bookmarks and follow me there. I still have a lot of work I want to do such as adding to the blogroll and sprucing up the sidebar so if you have any comments or suggests please feel free to drop a note. www.theologiaviatorum.com

What is Truth? # 4

2006-03-10T20:51:00.000-05:00

Oughtness of Truth

Truth invokes response.[1] Since truth can be known it demands a response of those who come to know it.[2] Knowledge of God produces an obligation to obedience. In other words orthodoxy invokes orthopraxy. John’s Gospel highlights three particular elements of this response to truth.

First, a Christian is to live by the truth. Jesus told Nicodemus that “whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out by God.”[3] Christians therefore must do what is true; they must live by the truth. “Genuinely knowing divine reality will inevitably be reflected in the way disciples live; they will obey everything that Jesus has taught them.”[4] In other words, “God’s truth and faithfulness are to be reflected in his people’s lives.”[5]

A Christian must also worship in spirit and truth. The woman at the well was discussing worship locales with Jesus when he declared to her:

Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.[6]

What then does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? D. A. Carson offers some helpful thoughts on this difficult passage, which is worth quoting in length. Worship,

…must be in spirit and truth, i.e. essentially God-centered, made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in personal knowledge of and conformity to God’s Word-made-flesh, the one who is God’s truth, the faithful exposition and fulfillment of God and his saving purposes. The worshippers whom God seeks worship him out of the fullness of the supernatural life they enjoy (‘in spirit’), and on the basis of God’s incarnate Self-Expression, Christ Jesus himself, through whom God’s person and will are finally and ultimately disclosed (‘in truth’); and these two characteristics form one matrix, indivisible.[7]

Christian worship is based on the truth of the gospel and worked out by the supernatural indwelling of the Spirit. Worship is thus an event based on the truth of God and the work of grace in the believer’s life. Grace and truth, which Christ is full of, is central to our worshipping in spirit and truth. Only those who trust in the God who is true and who have had that God revealed to them through his Word are able to worship in spirit and truth. It must be noted that worship is not just an event but encompasses all of life. There is both a broad way of worship, which is all of life and a narrow or corporate gathering of worship.[8]

Lastly, the Christian must be continually sanctified by the truth. Christ prayed to the Father on behalf of his people, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”[9] This high priestly pray of Jesus was for both his immediate disciples and for those who will believe in him through their word (vs. 20). Believers are to be sanctified through the true Word of God.

This sanctification by the Word of God is achieved through the working of the Spirit. Sproul writes, “The Spirit is not divorced from the Word in such a way as to reduce revelation to an exercise in subjectivism. The Spirit works with the Word (cum verbo) and through the Word (per verbum), not without or apart from the Word (sine verbo).”[10] Beeke and Lanning also argue that God transforms believers through a combination of these two great powers, namely the word and the Spirit. “Each indispensable to the other, and both inseparably joined together, so as to accomplish all God’s will upon his people.”[11]

Beeke and Lanning show by what methods the Spirit works through the Word to transform and sanctify the believer. First, there is the fusion of Spirit and Word in the reading of Scripture. Daily reading of the Word of God helps bring about a renewal of the mind. Secondly, the preaching of God’s Word helps convict of sin and bring comfort to the downtrodden. Thirdly, the hearing of God’s Word is often a healing balm to the soul. Lastly, the singing of God’s Word is a returning to God the praise due his name.[12]

God’s truth requires a response. The very foundation of all truth, God, has made himself known and he has granted this knowledge of the truth to those who hear his voice, his sheep. Being confronted with the truth causes an obligation on the part of the hearer to respond to that truth. Biblically the believer is to respond to the truth of God through living his truth, worshipping God in spirit and truth, and lastly by being sanctified or transformed by the truth.

[1] See Frame, DKG, 43, 108-109

[2] Nicole has written, “The ethical is never far remote, and the distinction between dogmatics and ethics, while useful in the theological curriculum, is not to be pressed into a separation of doctrine and practice, which should always remain united.” In The Biblical Concept of Truth, 295.

[3] John 3:21

[4] Crump, “Truth.”

[5] Woodbridge, “Truth.” He continues, “Truth is an indispensable part of both Christian faith and Christian living, leading disciples to obey all that Jesus has taught them…Profession and practice must cohere, otherwise we do not live according to the truth.”

[6] John 4:21-24

[7] D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991. pp. 225-226

[8] See John M. Frame. Worship in Spirit and Truth: A Refreshing Study of the Principles and Practice of Biblical Worship. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1996 for a helpful fleshing out of these thoughts on worship.

[9] John 17:17

[10] Sproul, R. C. “The Internal Testimony of the Holy Spirit.” in Inerrancy. Norman L. Geisler. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1980. 337-384. p. 338

[11] Beeke, Joel R. and Ray Lanning. “The Transforming Power of Scripture.” in Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible. Don Kistler. ed. Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1995. 221-276. p. 225

[12] Ibid, 234-262

Lydia Grace

2006-03-09T02:53:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are keeping count and for those of you who have lost count – number four, Lydia Grace Turner arrived on Wednesday March 8, 2006 at 11:30 pm. She weighed 8 pounds and 1 oz; measuring 20 inches. I will post more pictures, etc. later. Right now it is almost three in the morning and I am tired, although very excited. Here she is!

Categorical Errors

2006-03-07T21:55:00.000-05:00

Much Thanks to David Price - I am in the process of putting in categories into this blog. I have thought about leaving blogger many times mainly because I wanted the option to categorize but if this works I may prolong my stay. Obviously I have yet to work out all the kinks. My problem lies somewhere in Firefox - I cannot seem to get my quick edit link along with my del.icio.us link to work in order to correctly post the categories. It works on my laptop but not on my desktop. I have fiddled with (I believe) all my security and content setting but cannot find the discrepancy. Any ideas anyone?

What is Truth? # 3

2006-03-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

Knowing the Truth

Having established the metaphysical foundation of truth as being rooted in the Godhead the question that immediately arises is whether or not this truth can be known. The Gospel of John provides the answer to this epistemological question. First, it begins by showing humanity’s bondage to falsehood. Jesus, the light of the world comes to the world which knows him not. They know him not because their eyes and minds have been blinded by their father the devil.

The interchange with Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8:39-47 is instructive of the human condition as being bound in sin and darkness. Jesus attributes their inability to know the truth about him being from the Father to their father being the devil. He says in verse 42: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

The Pharisees could not bear to hear such words from Jesus. They could not understand because they are of their father the devil and their will is to do that which their father desires. The devil has nothing to do with the truth. In fact it is fair to say that he is antithetical to the truth. He is the ultimate liar, the father of lies. There is absolutely no truth in him and by deduction those who are his children are also without that truth. Therefore Jesus concludes in verse 45, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” Humanity’s father has blinded their eyes and they have fallen into lying, deceit, and falsehood. Therefore they do not know the truth. They are unable to see the light for they walk in darkness.[1]

However, God has chosen some out of humanity to the truth. Jesus states before Pilate in John 18, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus himself declares that there are those who are of the truth and that they will listen to his voice. The parallel with John 10 is significant. The sheep hear the shepherds voice and come to him: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”[2] God has given certain sheep to Jesus and Jesus came to earth to die for those sheep. Those sheep were chosen from the beginning of time to come to know the good shepherd; they were chosen to know the truth.[3]

While many are blinded to the truth God has called out some from this world who will hear the truth and listen to its voice. These are the true disciples of Christ. They are the ones who remain in the true vine, drink his blood and eat his body, and walk in the light. They are the ones who believe that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life. They abide in his word and doing so they will know the truth and the truth will set them free.[4]

God has chosen a people to communicate his truth with. Therefore in this postmodern world, where truth is no longer to be found the Christian can stand out as heralding the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is true knowledge, true wisdom, this is the truth. By walking in the light Christians are able to steer others into the light. The Christian task after being converted from the bondage of darkness is to proclaim the light of the truth.

We can know God because he has revealed himself. This is at the heart of the gospel. This does not mean that God communicates all that he is and knows but he nonetheless has communicated some true elements[5]

Epistemologically the truth can be known. Truth being rooted in the Godhead is revealed to humanity through the Gospel. God, through Jesus Christ, breaks down the barriers of our sinful blind eyes and having chosen us reveals the truth, as it really is to us in the good news of his Son Jesus Christ. This revelation of Christ is at the heart of John’s usage of truth.

[1] See Frame’s discussion in DKG about what unbelievers can and cannot know pp. 49-61

[2] John 10:14-16

[3] cf. John 6 with the emphasis of Jesus on those whom the Father has given him.

[4] John 8:31-38

[5] D. A. Carson writes, “Because he chooses to communicate with finite mortals in their languages, God cannot possibly communicate all that he is and knows, but I cannot see how that is a barrier to his communicating some true elements of what he is and knows. Of course, we will misunderstand the communication in all sorts of ways, owing both to our finiteness and to our sinfulness. But the content itself is objectively true, a subset of what Omniscience knows, and cast in culture-laden forms that demand of modern readers that we attempt to fuse the horizon of our own understandings with that of the culture and language in which the deposit was given.” In The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996 p. 130 (emphasis his).

Anti-smoking ban ushers in a new epoch in Turkey

2006-03-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

Justice Commission approves a new anti-smoking law that, if passed by Parliament, will impose strict new rules on smoking, but there are doubts concerning how heavy smokers will be persuaded to abide by them

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Parliament's Justice Commission's decision to approve an anti-smoking law this week is expected to seriously change the way Turks live. Smoking is an ancestral tradition that goes back to the 17th century, when the "nargile" -- the hookah, or water pipe -- became a fixture in Ottoman coffee houses.

For about half the adult population of Turkey, smoking is an absolutely normal activity, the result being a permanent national health disaster with anti-smoking campaigns making barely a dent in the habit.

Health Ministry figures show about 110,000 Turks die of smoking-related illness each year. About 60 percent of men and 20 percent of women in the country of 71 million people are smokers, one of the highest rates in Europe.

Nicotine addiction has reached worrying levels even in schools, where 11.7 percent of schoolchildren smoke, according to ministry figures, despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Even among the justice commission members failed to agree on the extent of the ban, with smokers among them describing the bill as an execution order for smokers.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) Gümüşhane deputy Mahmut Durdu said every article of the anti-smoking bill was problematic, while Adıyaman deputy Hüsrev Kutlu argued that most diseases were due to stress, describing smoking as a way to combat stress.

The bill approved by the commission still needs to be passed by Parliament's General Assembly.

Turkish Anti-smoking Fighters Foundation (SSV), Ubeyd Korbey, has said that warning messages on cigarettes packets, in concert with a series of anti-smoking advertisements, has decreased the number of people addicted to smoking in Turkey over the past six years.

In a statement made to the Anatolia news agency, Korbey asserted that the effects of a more concerted fight against cigarettes in Turkey were beginning to be seen, and that a significant drop had been registered in the number of addicted smokers since 1999.

What is Truth? # 2

2006-03-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

Trinitarian Nature of Truth

Truth is founded upon the Trinitarian God of Scripture in both his person and his revelation. In John 3:33, John the Baptist declares that God is truth. Geerhardus Vos notes that throughout the Gospel of John the concept of truth is associated with the heavenly.[1] In John the Baptist’s declaration of God as truth Vos’ argument seems justified. John ties truthfulness to God because he is from above and the testifier of the Father is also seen as true because he comes from heaven.[2]

In fact as Groothius notes, “each member of the Trinity is closely associated with truth in the New Testament.”[3] Jesus constantly makes mention that he is testifying to the one and only true God. In John 7:25ff Jesus is teaching in the temple even though his enemies are seeking to kill him. Some question that the authorities really may think he is the Christ. However, they know where Jesus came from and believe that they will not know where the Christ comes from. Jesus responded by declaring that you may know where I come from but I have not come on my own accord. Then he proceeds to say, “He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.” Jesus’ mission was to bear testimony to the Father and he does so by declaring that He is True.[4]

Elsewhere Jesus almost in passing makes reference to the Father being true.[5] The people did not understand that he was speaking of the Father, but Jesus exalts Him as being true, as being the truth. Lastly, the Father is declared as true in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”[6] The only way to a life eternal is through God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Knowing God involves knowing him as the one and only true God.[7]

God the Son, Jesus Christ, is also the truth. He is both the messenger of truth and the message of truth.[8] Jesus’ mission as messenger was to reveal the Father who is truth.[9] The mission of Jesus is summed up well in John 1:9: “The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Jesus’ mission was to be a lamp unto his chosen people’s feet. He was to lift their heads to the radiance and truthfulness of the Father. The true light of the world came to point those in darkness to the source of that light. He alone was able to be a faithful witness, a truthful messenger, and a just herald to the Gospel of his grace.

Indeed grace and truth can never be separated. Coming from the Father, Jesus was full of grace and truth.[10] “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus’ message was to bring not the law, which was given, through Moses, but grace and truth. This grace is made known because Christ reveals the Father who has never been revealed before. Jesus has this right because of his closeness to the Father.

Jesus also is the message of truth. Jesus is the “true light, which enlightens everyone.” He is the true bread and his body and blood are the true food and drink. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is also the true vine. To know the truth one must walk in the light, eat of his body and blood, come to the Father through him and abide in him.[11] Crump writes, “John presents Jesus as the final revelation of God, who is himself God; the one against whom all claims to meaning and reality are to be evaluated.”[12]

The Spirit is also truth. Crump notes three aspects to the Spirit being defined as truth. First, the Spirit who comes from the Father is also God and therefore truth. Secondly, the Spirit continues the mission of Jesus, which was the proclamation of truth. Thirdly, the Spirit will lead disciples into the truth. The Spirit has come in the world to be an “advocate of heavenly reality in this world, advancing God’s case, as it were, and exposing, or at least condemning, all counterfeit claims to truth.[13]

From the above texts it is clear that the Gospel of John sets forth the Trinity as Truth. Truth as “conformity to fact” and “completion” have their foundation in the Godhead.[14] Roger Nicole understates this by writing, “The truth is called God’s truth for he has a stake in it.”[15] Indeed God has a stake in the truth because he is the truth! Herman Bavinck sums up the doctrine of God as truth:

God is the ‘original truth,’ the source of all truth, the truth in all truth; the ground of all truth, and the true essence of all things, of their knowability and conceivability; the ideal and archetype of all truth, of all ethical reality, of all laws and regulations, the norm in accordance with which all things should be judged both as to their essence and as to their manner of manifestation; the source and fountain of all true knowledge in every sphere the only light in which we can see the light, the sun of spirits.[16]

It is therefore correct to see God as the metaphysical foundation for all truth.[17] He is truth, he is the standard of truth and he is all the final judge of truth and falsity. In other words God is the precondition for all truth since he is the Truth. God is the norm or criterion for all knowledge and truth.[18] Without God there would be no truth and truth would not be attainable by humanity. Truth is derivable and knowable because God is truth and he has revealed himself.

The Trinitarian nature of truth is founded upon the metaphysical aspect of the Godhead being truth. The Father is true, the Son is true and the Spirit is true. Therefore there exists a foundation in this postmodern world for truth. There is such a thing as objective truth!

[1] Geerhardus Vos. “True’ and ‘Truth’ in the Johannine Writings.” in Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos. Richard B. Gaffin Jr. ed. Phillipsburg,NJ: P&R, 1980. 343-351.

[2] See John 3:31-32

[3] Truth Decay, 63

[4] cf. John 17:18 where the one who sent Christ is true and there is no falsehood in him.

[5] John 8:21-30 Pharisees are here questioning Jesus, they ask him who he is and where he is from. Jesus always goes back to his heavenly mission as one commissioned by the Father to proclaim the glory of the Father.

[6] to.n mo,non avlhqino.n qeo.n – The one true God, avlhqino.n stands in the attributive position in relation to qeo.n. Truth is attributed to God the Father.

[7] Crump writes, “As ultimate reality, God the Father is the only standard by which all truth or falsehood, light or darkness are measured in this world.” Crump, D. M. “Truth.” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. eds. electronic ed., Pages 859-862. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997, c1992.

[8] Ibid.

[9] John 3:17; 4:34; 5:24, 30; 6:29; 8:25; 17:18; 20:21

[10] John 1:14, 17. John Frame writes, “Truth like knowledge and wisdom, comes by grace, by trinitarian communication, by Word and Spirit.” DKG, 49

[11] John 1:9; 6:32, 55; 14:6; 15:1 respectively

[12] Crump, “Truth.”

[13] Ibid. See John 14:16-17 for the Spirit as another helper, 15:26 to his testifying to Christ, 16:7-11 for his conviction of the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, 16:13 for guiding believers into the truth. See also P. D. Woodbridge. “Truth.” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. eds. electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

[14] For truth being understood as conformity to fact and completion see Roger Nicole. “The Biblical Concept of Truth.” in Scripture and Truth. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. eds. Grand Rapids,MI: Baker, 1983, 1992 287-302.

[15] Ibid, 294

[16] Bavinck, Herman. The Doctrine of God. William Hendriksen. trans. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977, 202.

[17] John Frame writes, “In the lordship attribute of authority, he is the very standard of truth for his creatures…There is no higher standard than God against which his truth may be measured. So God’s metaphysical ultimacy implies that he is the standard of prepositional truth.” In The Doctrine of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2002, 477.

[18] Frame, DKG, 124

What is Truth? # 1

2006-03-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Toward a Biblical Understanding of Truth for Postmodern Times Truth is stranger than it used to be![1] Postmodernism has brought about a radicalization of the nature of truth. The truthfulness of truth has been dissected by the scalpel of postmodernism and little of anything has been left.[2] Many are found rejoicing that there is no longer any objectivity or absoluteness to truth and that it lays ravaged by postmodernism.[3] Others decry the postmodern decay of truth and seek to offer an alternative.[4] Where should Christians seeking to be Biblical stand on this matter? Must we agree with the postmoderns that truth is dead or should we fall back onto the foundationalism of modernism? More poignantly to paraphrase Pilate, “What is truth for this postmodern age?”

The following few posts will seek to answer that question. A course will be charted between the Scylla of modernism’s foundationalist truth and the Charybdis of postmodernism’s destruction of truth. Christianity offers an alternative paradigm on the nature of truth. The goal of this paper will be to examine the Biblical teaching of truth as found in the Gospel of John. First, it will be shown that the nature of truth is founded upon the Trinitarian God of Christianity and His Word. Secondly, it will be argued that the possibility of the knowledge of truth is founded on the nature of Scriptural truth. Thirdly, given the nature and knowability of truth there follows an oughtness of truth, which will be set forth. These three elements or perspectives on truth stand together as a construction of the biblical notion of truth.[5] Lastly a few applications to the postmodern situation will be set forth in seeking an alternate Christian paradigm.

[1] J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh. Truth is Stranger That It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

[2] For a detailed examination of this shift see the following: D. A. Carson. The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996. David S. Dockery. Ed. The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1995. Millard J. Erickson. Truth or Consequences: The Promise and Perils of Postmodernism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994. Stanley J. Grenz. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. Also see any other works by Grenz.

[3] Philip D. Kenneson. “There’s No Such Thing as Objective Truth, and It’s a Good Thing, Too.” In Timothy R. Phillips and Dennis L. Okholm. Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 155-172.

[4] Douglas Groothuis. Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

[5] My indebtedness to John Frame will be evident throughout this paper even when not directly cited. It is the hope of this paper to add some Biblical meat to his theological arguments. By this I mean adding more of an exegetical flavor to the argument through an understanding of truth as found in the Gospel of John. See his The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1987 for a thorough Biblical epistemology.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

2006-03-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' death. He died March 1st, 1981 requesting of his family, "Don't pray for healing, don't try to hold me back from the glory." The medical doctor - turned preacher - had a Christ-centered ministry at Westminster Chapel in London for over 30 years. His legacy abides through his numerous books, audio sermons and lectures which can be found through the Martyn Lloyd Jones Recordings Trust. His sermons on spiritual depression have been a great encouragement to my own soul. He begins upon the rock of Christ's imputed righteousness found in justification through faith in Christ alone. This, Llyod-Jones argues is the only foundation proper for truly understanding and putting depression in its proper and biblical context. Building upon this foundation, ever the doctor, Lloyd-Jones, takes the scalpel to the layers of depression and peels away that which is caused by sin, personality, and other difficulties. Throughout this work his hand is firm, but always caring. While he recognizes that depressed Christians don't make good Christians he doesn't dismiss them but seeks to move them to Christ for restoration and hope. The glory of Lloyd-Jones is his continually leading people to behold the beauty of Christ the Savior and Lord. May his legacy not die out with him, but pass on for generations. (HT: Reformation 21)

Glorious Mystery of Revelation

2006-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

God in the mystery of his providence has chosen to reveal himself to us. The God who is there has made himself known. He has boldly and loudly declared himself to deaf and dumb sinners. He has spoken that the deaf may hear and that the blind may see. He has opened plugged ears and closed eyes. What he has revealed is nothing else but himself.

He has revealed himself as holy, just and perfect in every way. There is no human standard which can fully and adequately be compared to God. He has shown through his Word that he cannot stand sin. It is abhorrent to him and those who are sinners (all of humanity) stand at enmity with him. There is a (seemingly) irreparable breach in the worship of God. His holiness demands justice and therefore all stand condemned as sinners before an angry God.

Yet, he has also revealed himself in love and mercy. He has revealed himself in the Word made flesh. God became man and tabernacled with us. The Word became flesh. Jesus was the climax of the revelation of God. His perfect life and death offer salvation to all of those who God draws. Those who come weary and thirsty to Christ will find eternal life. There is no way to discover Christ apart from his Word. Salvation comes through hearing, reading, believing and appropriating the Word of Life (Rom. 10). There is no other way of salvation except through the name of Jesus – through his person and work. Christ is the sinner’s hope and Christ is met within the Holy Scriptures. To know Scripture is to know Christ.[1]

[1] The way I use “know” here is how Packer uses the word in Knowing God. It is more than just mere knowledge apart from heart affection, but it is knowledge that engages the whole person to develop a deep and lasting commitment to Christ.

Quest for Godliness # 10

2006-02-27T18:59:00.000-05:00

The Spirituality of John Owen

John Owen is primarily known more for his theological acumen and polemical prowess more than his affectionate spirituality. Yet, as Packer notes, we are worse off for not knowing and modeling the deep and intense spirituality of this giant of the faith. Owen’s intellectual ability was unsurpassed at the time, but his spiritual stature perfectly matched his theological learning. There was no dichotomy in his life between his knowledge and his piety. He was a man of great humility who also fully recognized the power of the gospel of God.

Puritans, including Owen, recognized that self-knowledge was a key concept in Christian spirituality. First, Owen recognized that the Christian is a man created for an end which is the rational and emotional worship and knowledge of God. Man was made to know his creator and redeemer. Second, man is a fallen creature subject to all the constraints and deceptions of sin. Sin has alienated man from both God and himself. The root of sin is enmity with God and a complete disaffection and antipathy toward their creator. Christian living must therefore be founded upon self-distrust and self-abhorrence. Third, the Christian is thus a redeemed man. Christ died for the sins of the Christian. Since redemption by Christ is at the heart of Christian doctrine a proper response to that redemption is at the heart of Christian devotion. Fourth, the Christian man is a regenerate man who has been made a new creature through union with Christ. A new life has been granted to him. Yet, it is the very nature of regeneration which makes the heart of man into a battlefield. War is no waged against the new man and the old man. The fight is a lifelong war.

Sanctification is the goal of Christ in the life of the Christian while on this earth. God’s desires man’s holiness which is first a gift of God promised and also man’s duty required. There are two aspects to achieve this state of sanctification. First, there is vivification which is the growing and maturing of the new man through being fed on the feeding of the Word and the fellowship of the saints. Second, is mortification which is the killing and destroying of the old man. The Christian will not rest until the old man is destroyed which will only come through glorification. Therefore the Christian life is a continual battle of vivification and mortification, of building up the new man and laying low the old man.

All of this has the goal of communion with God. For the Puritans, “communion between God and man is the end to which both creation and redemption are the means; it is the goal to which both theology and preaching must ever point; it is the essence of true religion; it is, indeed, the definition of Christianity” (202). Owen’s understanding of communion with God may fall under five heads. First, communion with God is a relationship between God and man which is marked by true reciprocal fellowship between one another. Second, communion with God is where the initiative lies solely with God. God acted first and because he first loved us therefore we are able to respond back in love. Yet, God always takes the initiative.

Third, communion with God is Trinitarian in that the believer receives love and fellowship with all members of the Trinity. Such communion with God involves the entirety of all persons within the Godhead. Fourth, communion with God is a relation of active, forward-looking friendship between God and man. “Communion with God means simply behaving as a friend of the God who has called you his friend” (208). Fifth, communion has its outworking in a special and spiritual way at the Lord’s Table. The communicant receives a unique and special grace in fellowshipping with the Lord Jesus Christ as they partake of the elements. It is here where Christ’s ultimate act of love is set in full force before the Christian to behold and adore.

In application three things must be recognized. First, the Puritans saw communion with God as a high and holy thing which today is seen as a small thing at best and an insignificant thing at worse. Christians today just do not see the absolute importance of communing in an intimate relationship with their creator and redeemer. Second, the piety of the Puritans was extremely God-centered in contrast to our artificial and boastful worship which carries on today. Third, the Puritans passion and integrity in worship has no equal in worship and spirituality today. They are unequalled in their spiritual passion and theological knowledge.

Check out JohnOwen.org

Random Thoughts on Honoring Scripture

2006-02-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

How do we honor the Word of God with the totality of our being? Of course, we often pay lip service, but that is not enough. We must exalt and honor Scripture with our whole person. One way to honor Scripture with our hearts is to memorize the Word of God thereby hiding it deep within our hearts. I think of two ways in which we can honor Scripture with our hands. First, having spent a significant time in a Muslim country I came to realize how flippantly we actually physically handle our Bibles. Muslims will not set the Qur’an on the floor nor would they cover it up with another book. They even make special book holders for the proper and respectful placement of the Qur’an in its rightful place. I often wonder if we should treat our Bible’s with a bit more respect, especially in the sight of unbelievers. Secondly, with our hands we honor the Word by obeying it and working it out in our lives. Obedience is the teeth of Scripture in the Christian life. It puts the Word into practice in our own life and the lives of others.

With our ears we must express rapt attention for the reading of the Word. Today, churches do not spend nearly enough time in the public reading of Scripture, but when it is read we often are more easily distracted than carefully listening. It is only through hearing the Word whereby we will grow in the Word so we therefore must give to it our utmost attention. We also don’t read out loud Scripture enough.[1] With our eyes we must give careful attention to the consistent and faithful reading of the Word. Every word is important and such careful study will most certainly bear its fruit. Lastly, as Paul notes we are transformed through the renewing of our minds. The only strong, powerful and true transforming power is the Spirit working through the perfect words of Scripture. It is through the reading, listening, preaching, meditating, and memorizing of Scripture where we will begin to have our minds shaped and renewed –

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power.

We are to engage all the senses when it comes to the intake of God’s Word. The more senses we engage the better and higher our chances of retaining Scripture.

[1] Was it not the young Augustine who remarked about the effect Ambrose’s reading of the Scriptures had on him in his Confessions?

Quest for Godliness # 9

2006-02-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

The Witness of the Spirit in Puritan Thought

The main theme of this chapter is how the Spirit works in assuring believers of their salvation as secure in Christ. They defined assurance as “faith full grown and come of age” (180). So there can be faith without assurance, but assurance cannot be separate from faith for at its essence it is a work of faith to bring about such an assurance. Faith which results from illumination begins in the mind when there is a belief in the truth of the gospel message. The certainty of faith is rooted in coming into an awareness and contact with the thing known. Therefore, faith is only attainable and actualized through a personal encounter with the living God and a deep-seated expression of faith being placed in him. Such faith only springs outwardly from the inner working of the Spirit on an individual’s heart through the divine contact of the Word of God.

Assurance is a God-given conviction of one’s standing in grace (182); of having the gospel stamped on their mind and heart creating a strong faith which trusts in the goodness and truthfulness of God their redeemer. It is when the soul (or conscience) sees himself or herself as rightly standing before God and expressed a strong conviction of security and surety in the promise and work of Christ that salvation is true and valid in their own life. Then there is a reciprocal action where faith begets assurance and the realization of assurance leads to the further strengthening of faith.

Just what is assurance? It is when the Holy Spirit applies the truth of Scripture to hearts so powerfully and authoritatively that the believer has no doubt that God has spoken to them and that they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. It is by no means a bare cognitive assent that one will go to heaven, but it is God explaining what heaven is and offering a foretaste of what is to come. In essence it is an experience of the realities of heaven while on earth. The Spirit works in such a way to take the thoughts of man off of himself and places them into higher realms.

Many Puritans such as Thomas Goodwin believed that the sealing of the Holy Spirit as explained in Ephesians 1:13 referred to the direct testimony of the Spirit offering this assurance to the believer. Such sealing was the work of the Spirit after salvation to impart an assurance of salvation and faith. Goodwin argues that Christ at his baptism was sealed by the Spirit thus being granted an assurance of mission. This parallels the assurance which believers have when they are sealed by the Spirit and are granted assurance of salvation. The moment of salvation is thus made a distinct and separate time from the actual moment of sealing which is seen as an assurance of faith flowing out of the act of baptism.

However, John Owen comes along and while agreeing in substance alters the exegesis to align more with a biblical teaching on the subject. Owen argues that it is persons who are sealed and not promises. The Spirit in sealing believers expresses within them a safe keeping. Thus assurance becomes a spin-off from the Spirit sealing believers instead of being the actual act of sealing itself. So Packer says, “Assurance may come with the gift, but it is not to be equated with it. The seal is not any particular operation of the Spirit, but the gift of the Spirit himself” (188). Therefore all who believe have the Spirit and are sealed by him.

The Ten Commandments in the New Testament

2006-02-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

Robert Reymond has a very helpful section on the permanency of the moral law of God for all Christians.[1] The moral law (lex moralis) was given through special revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai. Its more common name is the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words. The moral law reflects the very moral character of God and therefore has a continual validity in the life of the Christian. Therefore, the usefulness of the law remains today. Jesus himself argued for the continuing validity of the law of God (particularly the Ten Commandments) in Matthew 5:17-19:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen; will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Reymond provides various references from the New Testament where the NT authors allude to or directly reference the Ten Commandments.[2]

FIRST THREE COMMANDMENTS: No Other Gods; Do not Make an Idol; Do not Take the Lord’s Name in Vain

Romans 1:21-30 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents

Romans 2:22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.

Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-- such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Remember the Sabbath

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Revelation 1:10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Honor Your Parents

Romans 1:30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents.

Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother"-- which is the first commandment with a promise -- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

1 Timothy 1:9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers.

SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Murder

Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,¹liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound²doctrine.

James 2:11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Commit Adultery

Romans 2:22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteouswill not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality.

Ephesians 5:3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification:that you abstain from sexual immorality.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sounddoctrine.

James 2:11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

EIGHT COMMANDMENT: Do not Steal

1 Corinthians 6:10 Or thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sounddoctrine.

NINTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Bear False Witness

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self¹with its practices.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sounddoctrine.

TENTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Covet

Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips.

Romans 7:7-8 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Reymond concurs with the Westminster Confession which writes, “The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God, the Creator, who gave it. Neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation” (19.5). So if Scripture seems clear that the moral law has abiding worth what then is its relationship to the Christian? How does the law of God relate to the believer? And an even more difficult question, how does the law relate to unbelievers? Well, until another time…

[1] Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 775.

[2] Ibid., 776.

Quest for Godliness # 8

2006-02-19T16:35:00.000-05:00

The Puritan View of Preaching the Gospel

For the Puritans the proclamation of the gospel and the salvation of souls involved certain fundamental elements of biblical teaching. First, there must be a recognized awareness that humans because of their fallen state are unable to respond to God on their own. It is only through the power of the Spirit whereby fallen men and women are able to respond to Christ’s gospel call. Therefore, the power of the gospel and bringing souls to Christ does not rest of the persuasion or passion of the evangelist but on the purpose and power of the Holy Spirit.

There are two major problems which face today’s evangelism that may prove correctable by taking a careful look at the Puritan’s own method. First, there is a minimizing approach to the teaching of Christian truth. The minister seeks to get by preaching and teaching his congregation the essentials of the faith and no more. Likewise, the congregation often seeks to get by with just listening to the bare essentials of the faith rarely seeking more than a few sips of the milk of the Word, passing by the meat. Second, there is a widespread uncertainty about the nature of Reformed evangelism. Due to a poor understanding of the Reformed Faith many today fear that such theology will bring about the demise of missions and evangelism. However, such a return to a proper biblical understanding of Reformed theology will not diminish missions and evangelism but serve to strengthen and encourage it.

What then is the sum of the Puritan gospel? First, they taught a comprehensive gospel. It included the whole teaching on the doctrine of grace and saw salvation as an act of all three persons of the Godhead. Salvation was a Trinitarian act. To preach gospel sermons was to teach the totality of the whole Christian worldview. “Gospel preaching centers always upon the theme of man’s relationship to God, but around that centre it must range throughout the whole sphere of revealed truth, viewing the centre from every angle of vision that the Bible provides” (169). Knowledge of grace presupposes knowledge of sin and likewise knowledge of sin presupposes knowledge of the holiness and majesty of the Lord.

Second, there are various aspects of emphases of the gospel. They brought out the plight of man being dominated and daily destroyed by sin. They taught the issues of sin in relation to the goodness and holiness of God. They also stressed the goal of grace which was the glory and praise of God and Christ. Then they encouraged the sufficiency of Christ that men and women were to place their faith and trust in him alone. They also stressed the condescension of Christ in that the Son of God came down to save lowly sinners.

Third, they recognized the demands of the gospel. Sinners were summoned to faith in Christ and there is a distinct ought-ness in the gospel. Sinners are called to Christ and while it is a pleading to believe in Christ it is also a command that they must repent and believe in Christ or suffer the eternal punishments of hell. They also recognized that repentance is a fruit of faith. Faith only comes about through regeneration, but such working of the Spirit on the hearts of sinners brings about a desire to cast away all sin and to cling to Christ. Faith then must express itself in a life of continual belief, trust and obedience to the demands of the gospel.

While Puritan preaching of the gospel sought to bring glory to God and sinners to Christ it also sought to magnify Christ. He was to be exalted in their preaching. Christ, being the focal point of gospel preaching, was to be honored and exalted in all true preaching which sought to lift up the gospel to poor and needy sinners. His glory was to be declared in all its force and glory to those poor and needy sinners who needed nothing more than to hear of the greatness and worthiness of Jesus Christ and his free gospel of salvation.

Quest for Godliness # 7

2006-02-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

The Doctrine of Justification

The doctrine of justification is truly the articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiae – the doctrine which upholds and supports the entire church. If justification collapses so goes the church. Throughout the history of the church no doctrine has been more attacked and assailed on every side, but as noted no doctrine is more important and central to the health and spiritual stability of the church. It is only by grace whereby the doctrine is maintained and saved in the face of continual and pervasive error and false teaching.

Why is this one doctrine so important? First, it is a gospel mystery which serves as the supreme humbler of human pride and sinfulness. It is continually under threat by human pride. Second, justification is a climactic mystery which is like the top rung of a ladder which supports many other doctrines. Its truthfulness is integrative to the rest of theology and many other doctrines will crumple if justification were to fall. Thus, heretical theology is a threat to justification. Third, justification is a spiritual mystery. Only those enlightened by the Spirit of God are able to comprehend and apply it to their lives. A spiritual frivolity is an enemy of justification. Fourth, justification is a life-giving mystery. It is the source of peace, hope and spiritual vitality with satanic hostility standing against it. Fifth, justification is a contradicted mystery. Justification by works is a natural part of human religion and the grace of God continually reviles against such false and unbiblical teaching. Natural religion is therefore an enemy to true gospel justification.

Biblical justification may be defined as follows: Every man because of sin deserves the wrath of God and faces eternal judgment. The act of justification is God’s pardoning act of declaring the guilty sinner as righteous. The ground of justification is Christ’s own righteousness worked out in his perfect life and perfect death while the means of justification is faith in Jesus Christ. Then the fruit of that faith is worked out in bearing evidence to justification in the acts of good works performed by the justified sinner.

Three important aspects of justification needed further clarification and working out. First, concerning the ground of justification, Rome taught that the ground of justification was God’s righteousness imparted or infused righteousness because we have become genuinely righteous. However, the Puritans argued that the ground of justification is actually based alone on the imputed righteousness of Christ. Second, in regards to regeneration and justification the Roman church taught that regeneration was not a necessary precondition for justification thus enabling the necessity of good works to be rendered void. However, the Puritans upheld the biblical notion that good works flow out of regeneration and justification as obedience to the law of God. Third, justification was placed within the realm of covenant theology thus planting it securely into a coherent theological system which linked God’s promise to save believers with saving faith and regeneration, etc.

Sadly, however, the doctrines of Arminianism and Neonomianism combined to bring down the doctrine of justification once again. Arminianism taught a man-centered religion which in essence turned salvation into the work of man instead of the work of God. Instead of being a monergistic (a sole act of God in salvation) focused religion Arminianism turned justification into an act of synergism where God works together with man to bring about salvation. The Neonomianism of Richard Baxter helped to undermine justification by teaching that through the death of Christ a new and easier law was instituted, a law which sinners could obey thus becoming justified. As Packer concludes, “after more than a century of clear gospel light, Arminianism brought darkness back to the minds of conformists and Baxterianism did the same for nonconformists” (160).

The Death of Death

2006-02-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted my summary of J. I. Packer's masterful introduction to Owen's classic The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. At JohnOwen.org you will find among many articles the full length introduction by Packer, "Saved by His Precious Blood" along with an outline of Owen's treatise. Packer's introduction is really worth the read. Today, I have included my review of The Death of Death below. John Owen's work, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, is the classic text defending the purposeful and actual procurement of salvation for sinners in the death of Christ. While characteristically portrayed as a polemical work on the Calvinistic understanding of limited atonement this work is actually much more. In brief, it is a defense for the perfect work of Christ, which actually obtained salvation on the cross. It argues that the purpose of the triune God is to glorify himself and to save sinners.

Owen's thesis asserts that in the death of Christ salvation of sinners was actually accomplished. Christ came to the earth to seek and to save those who were lost. Through his oblation, being the entire humiliation of his life and death, he has secured perfectly the redemption of those for whom he died. Therefore the salvation of sinners was completely secured through the death of Christ. This stands in direct contrast to the Arminian and Amyraldian understanding of a universal redemption, which makes salvation only possible or hypothetical. Owen divides his work into four books. The first book sets forth his thesis that the work of Christ on the cross was made for the full and complete salvation of those whom God intended to save. The work of salvation is a work of the triune God. God the Father stands as the author of salvation and the sender of Christ. He is the one who from before creation elects and chooses some to be saved. Christ is the sent one that became incarnate and offered himself up for death, was resurrected and intercedes in heaven for those whom he died. The Spirit was the helper to Christ in his earthly ministry and is the applier of salvation. In the second book Owen argues that the supreme purpose of Christ's death was to bring glory to the Godhead. The subordinate purpose of his death was to bring salvation to sinners chosen by God. Scripture shows that in Christ's death God intended to save sinners and that the effect of his death actually secured their salvation and that those for whom Christ died are therefore chosen elect. Consequently, the impetration or securing work of salvation cannot be separated from the application of salvation. Christ's death (impetration) was intended for the elect only although being of infinite worth. His death brought about their salvation and the Spirit then applies that salvation to their account. Therefore Christ's death through the Spirit's application is a perfect and complete act of salvation. In the third book Owen sets forth sixteen arguments against the doctrine of a general ransom. His arguments are primarily set against Arminians and Amyraldians who hold to a general or universal atonement, which claims that God makes salvation possible or hypothetical for the whole world. He debunks the view that the cross work of Christ only made salvation possible and sets forth positively the view that on the cross Christ made salvation effectual and actual. Owen also helpfully shows the logic of such a view of the atonement stemming from the biblical doctrine of election. If God chooses sinners from before the creation of the world then it is only those chosen sinners to whom Christ has died for and to whom the Spirit applies salvation.

In the last book Owen examines the various exegetical arguments set forth for a universal atonement. Owen exegetes at length several texts which speak of a general intent of the death of Christ, those which suggest that Christ's death was ineffective and lastly those which seem to declare a general offer of salvation. He also provides careful exegesis of Biblical texts, which use the words "world" and "all" along with texts, which seem to speak of those perishing for whom Christ died. Owen ends the work by taking Thomas More's work to task and then refutes various theological arguments proffered by universal redemptionists. The most important point of this work is what is often missed in the present debate over unlimited vs. limited atonement. Owen's thesis is that Christ's death on the cross actually saved. The current debate focuses much on whether his death was for the elect or for the world, but I believe that the question is answered when it is framed in the matter of determining whether Christ's death actually saved or only made salvation possible. As Scripture shows, and Owen proves, the primary (sole?) emphasis is on the actual accomplishment of salvation. Those for whom Christ died are saved; they are regenerated, justified, sanctified, etc. Christ's work is perfect and that which he sought to accomplish has been fulfilled. Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is in many ways the authoritative work on the effectual death of Christ. Through careful theological arguments and sound exegesis Owen establishes his thesis that the death of Christ actually saved sinners as opposed to the Arminian and Amyraldian schemes which only allow for a potential or hypothetical salvation. This work of Christ was primarily for the glory of God and secondarily for the salvation of sinners. Owen's work helps regain a better understanding of the Biblical Gospel, which truly exalts God and saves sinners. While nonetheless a polemical work, The Death of Death is written for the safekeeping of the gospel that God may truly be glorified and that the sinners may be confronted with the truth of the gospel and be saved. The preservation of the true gospel in Owen's work is therefore to be most appreciated.

Quest for Godliness # 6

2006-02-15T16:59:00.000-05:00

Saved by His Precious Blood

Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is a polemical work which seeks to attack the weak and false views of the gospel while lifting up the true and biblical nature of God’s saving work in Christ. Today, as in Owen’s day, the biblical gospel has been replaced with a watered down substitute which in reality is no gospel at all. It is man centered and being such fails to exalt Christ and is in essence a different gospel than the God-centered gospel as presented in the Bible.

At the heart of debate over limited versus unlimited atonement is the fact that universal atonement removes the substitutionary nature of the cross and weakens the sovereignty of God by making salvation only a mere possibility actuated only by the free choice of man. However, within the Calvinistic worldview Christ’s redemption actually saves. Redemption is defined as “Christ’s actual substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners, through which God was reconciled to them, their liability to punishment was for ever destroyed, and a title to eternal life was secured for them” (131). It is grace, the work of the Spirit, which destroys the disposition to resist and the sinner is freed to run to Christ.

Owen correctly sees that the issue is not over the extent of the atonement but the very nature of the atonement. A universal atonement is therefore a depreciated atonement not able to fully save. We are left to save ourselves. However, an atonement that actually saves individuals is based on the free grace and mercy of God working through the Spirit in the hearts of sinners to secure their actual redemption. In Arminianism, the gospel call is Christ pleading hopefully that sinners may come if they are only willing. Yet, with the biblical gospel it is recognition that men and women cannot come to Christ apart from the Spirit and that Christ himself draws them to himself. God’s Son is not passive in our salvation but actively calls us to himself for salvation and healing – he actually saves.

WOW!! Seminary for Free!

2006-02-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

I am a sucker when it comes to finding cool stuff online where I can further my learning - particularly for free. Thanks to Kim Riddlebarger I now know of Covenant Theological Seminary's Worldwide Home website where they have tons of their Distance Education courses online in MP3! Needless to say I was rather excited. Here are some of the courses. David Calhoun on Calvin's Institutes Jerram Barrs on Francis Schaeffer (1 & 2) David Jones on Christian Ethics Robert Peterson on Humanity, Christ and Redemption Dan Doriani on Life and Teachings of Jesus There is some good stuff here!

Quest for Godliness # 5

2006-02-14T07:18:00.000-05:00

The Puritan Conscience

The supreme concern of the Puritans was a concern about God and how to know him and serve him in order to bring him glory. Because of this ultimate concern for God and the glory of Christ they sought to bring their conscious captive under the Word of God. In Packer’s own words, “Conscience, to them, signified a man’s knowledge of himself as standing in God’s presence, subject to God’s word and exposed to the judgment of God’s law and yet – if a believer – justified and accepted nonetheless through divine grace” (108). The Puritans therefore sought to be in constant communion with their conscience for there their affections were pricked and shaped by the Word of the Lord.

Conscious is largely autonomous in nature and character. It often times runs contrary to our own wills in-spite of our efforts to suppress it and quite its voice. It stands over us as an authority distinct from our own personhood. Often it condemns us reminding us of where we broke God’s holy law and where we now deserve to face his eternal judgment. But as Christians our conscious also excuses us from the pending judgment of God as we are reminded and meditate upon the mercy and grace of God displayed for us in the person and work of Christ. Conscious can stand as God’s word of condemnation or God’s echo of peace which resonates sweetly in the ears of a justified sinner.

First, our conscience is to be subject to the Word of God. Our consciences are to be controlled and at all times under the authority of God’s Word. Our consciences when they are governed by the Word will serve as true and faithful guides in directing us in the ways of the Lord’s will for our lives. It is through the careful and dedicated study of Scripture whereby we are able to have our minds and consciences transformed by the Bible so that we may know the good and pleasing will of the Lord.

Second, the Puritans argued that Christianity was a personal religion. Godliness then was a matter of conscience. As Richard Sibbes noted, a “conscience is either the greatest friend of the greatest enemy in the world” (quoted by Packer, 115). For those who stand as unbelievers before the court of God they are continually judged and condemned by their conscience. However, those who are freely justified by the act of the Spirit, on account of Christ’s death they have a conscience which encourages them in the faith granting perseverance and hope. Therefore, a healthy Christian is one who has an intimate awareness of God’s working on their soul. They have knowledge of the Spirit enlightening the conscience.

Third, the Puritans view on conscience was mirrored in their preaching and teaching. The Puritan goal of preaching was application. Such application is nothing else than the working of the Spirit on the conscience to bring about obedience to the law of God and delight in carrying out the Lord’s commands. “The Puritans ripped up consciences in the pulpit and urged self-trial in the closet only in order to drive sinners to Christ and to teach them to live by faith in him” (117). The purpose of preaching toward the conscience was to herald Christ to those who are perishing and to those who need afresh the grace of Christ.

The Puritans not only taught about the conscience but proved their words by living them out during the trials of their time and remaining true to their consciences as captive to the Word of God. In 1662 many Puritans were ejected from church and country for failing to accord with the Acts of Uniformity. Their consciences bound them to the truth of God’s word and because of being so bound in conscience they suffered various levels of hardship and persecution.

Quest for Godliness # 4

2006-02-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

The Puritans as Interpreters of Scripture

At the heart of Puritanism are the Scriptures, the very Word of the Lord. “To the Puritan the Bible was in truth the most precious possession that this world affords. His deepest conviction was that reverence for God means reverence for Scripture, and serving God means obeying Scripture” (98). The Puritan interpretation of Scripture is pre-modern and thus not encumbered by the differences and distances which they found themselves in relation to the biblical authors. Second, the Puritan grammatical-historical exegesis was extremely competent. Third, the Puritans always exegeted Scripture for the purpose of application.

There are two governing presuppositions of the Puritan approach to biblical interpretation. First, there is the nature of Scripture. They believed that the totality of Scripture was the very words of God. It was the mind of the Lord opened up in words and thoughts declared to humanity through the written Bible. Such revelation was given through a variety of authors and multiplicity of genres so that each specific author and genre deserves a careful study and recognition of their differences. Lastly, because Scripture is from God all who seek to interpret and understand it remain dependent of God for illumination. The second presupposition concerns the subject matter of Scripture. Scripture teaches us what to believe about God and then how we are to live our lives out in light of this teaching. We must live according to what we learn.

There are six methods of Puritan interpretation. First, they interpreted Scripture literally and grammatically. Attention was to be paid to grammar and context because it is the natural sense of Scripture which is to be sought after in contrast to the medieval spiritual interpretation of Scripture. Second, Scripture is to be interpreted consistently and harmonistically. All of Scripture flows from the mind of God and therefore must adhere and bind together. Therefore what is obscure must be interpreted in light of what is plain while certain ambiguities must be interpreted in harmony with more fundamental teachings. Third, interpret Scripture doctrinally and theocentrically. Scripture is a book of doctrine, a book of teaching and the teaching concerns none other than God the creator and redeemer. God is central in Scripture as opposed to those who believe man otherwise is central.

Fourth, Scripture is to be interpreted christologically and evangelically. As Isaac Ambrose notes, “Keep still Jesus Christ in your eye, in the perusal of the Scriptures, as the end, scope and substance thereof” (quoted by Packer on 103). Christ is the subject matter of Scripture. Fifth, interpret Scripture experimentally and practically. The Bible is a book chronicling spiritual experience. Therefore, it is a book that demands application. Scripture must be applied to the heart and soul of the reader or hearer. Scripture is for edification and igniting of the passions, not just the attainment of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Thus, the end of Scriptural interpretation is rightful application. Sixth, Scripture must be interpreted with a faithful and realistic application. As Packer writes, “Interpretation means making Scripture meaningful and relevant to those whom one addresses, and the work is not finished till the relevance of doctrine for their ‘reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness’ has been shown” (104). The interpretation of the Bible is to meet men where they are. It is a word for their life.

Muslim Ashura

2006-02-12T00:12:00.000-05:00

James White has posted some incredible pictures from the Shia Muslim holy day of Ashura. Self-flagellation is a common practice, named tatbir, where adherents seek to cover themselves in their own blood. Amazingly, what Muslims fail to realize is that the blood of their children and themselves cannot take away sins. Being covered in their own blood accomplishes nothing but a bloody mess. However, being covered and washed in the blood of Christ offers redemption and cleansing from sins along with a complete newness of life. This is at the heart of Christianity and this is why Islam is at root an empty religion.

Quest for Godliness # 3

2006-02-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

John Owen on Communication from God

John Owen defined communication with God to cover “every divine bestowal of benefit upon man” (82). At the foundation is a doctrine of the Spirit which engages the mind of man bringing about knowledge of God through an act of cognitive communication involving the Word of the Lord. It is God therefore who reveals himself and makes himself known to humanity. God speaks to us and we can understand him through the work of the Spirit in our hearts and minds. However, because of the fall there exist noetic effects of sin which can only be overcome through the divine illumination of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit must open hearts for people to come to knowledge of God. Owen’s work is highly anti-Roman because he argued that it was the Spirit who governed the revelation of God not the Holy Catholic Church.

The first aspect of Owen’s understanding of communication from God is the actually giving of revelation from the Lord to humanity. It is a communication of information from God to man about things which would otherwise remain unknown. Being a work of the Spirit such acts of communication from God became recognizable as coming from him. Therefore, divine revelation demanded obedience and adherence. After the Scriptures have been completely written there was no longer a further need for the Spirit to bring about specific revelations to humanity.

Second, there is the Spirit’s work of inspiring Holy Scripture. Owen defines inspiration as “the inbreathing of the Holy Spirit, whereby revelations are given, received, and transmitted, both orally and in writing” (86). The human subjects of inspiration exhibit both an active and passive state during the inspiration. Passively they are having their minds acted upon by the Spirit. Actively, the Spirit uses the composition of man to help form revelation. So the Spirit which knows the mind of man better than man himself implants his words into the person and life of the one receiving the revelation. The inspiration of Scripture is both true in matter and also in the words themselves. Faith is to be placed in the Scripture as assent to the testimony of the Christian Scriptures. Such faith is again the work of the Spirit in the act of regeneration causing unbelieving hearts to believe and trust in the veracity and divine authority of Scripture.

Third, in Owen’s conception is the authentication of Scripture. The Spirit causes the divine word to be received as truth. In doing so the Spirit creates both an internal and external witness to Scripture. Internally the Spirit works on the minds of men thus enabling them to believe the truth of Scripture. Externally the Spirit gives evidence in and by the Scripture as to its divine originality. Scripture is a light in dark places. It dispels the darkness and illumines the path of Christians. It is also of great power producing spiritual effects upon its readers and hearers. Scripture is also addressed personally to each individual by God himself. The Bible thus bears witness to itself as does the Spirit also bring a truthful internal witness to the complete and whole truthfulness of inspired Scripture.

Fourth, the testimony of the Spirit helps bring about an establishment of faith in Scripture. Man’s spiritual blindness is removed through an inward illumination of the Spirit which brings about understanding and comprehension of Scripture. Scripture becomes an understandable and purposeful book which is spiritual life to those who treasure it and seek to follow its commands.

Fifth, Owen believes in the perspicuity of Scripture so that the interpretation of Scripture is made possible. Therefore, through a careful interpretation of Scripture all Christians can come to an understanding of what they need to live a life of truth and godliness. Yet, the necessity of corporate interpretation cannot be neglected. The Spirit has spoken to many people throughout the ages of the church and we would be wise to hear his voice. In doing so, prayer must be ever before us as we seek the Lord through his Spirit to bring about a light upon our paths so that we may fully comprehend, understand and apply his Word.

Quest for Godliness # 2

2006-02-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

Why We Need the Puritans

What is a Puritan? The term Puritan was coined in the early 1560’s as a derogatory epitaph implying a hypocritical religious lifestyle. Yet, in reality they exhibited an intense spiritual maturity that is of absolute necessity today. In short, the Puritans need to be recovered because they had an unrivaled spiritual maturity coupled with Christian wisdom and passionate knowledge of the Scriptures. Their lives were lived in a perpetual state of conflict and strife, thus creating a rich heritage of closeness with Christ. Because of this the Puritans are needed today because they can help us toward our own spiritual maturity.

First, their Christianity completely embraced the totality of their lives. They integrated Christianity into the fabric and fray of their personal lives in both work and play. Second, they were marked by a high level of spiritual experience. They communed with God and they meditated passionately on the words of life. This brought about a hatred for sin and love of grace. Third, they worked out what they taught. They were men of action who sought to be agents of change for their generation and those that would follow. Fourth, the Puritans had a remarkable stability within their families. They sought wives to love and cherish forever while they raised children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The home was the first front of evangelism and ministry. Fifth, they treasured the eternal worth of humanity. By understanding how great their God was they were also able to understand the value he placed on humanity. Sixth, the Puritan’s sought and strived for church renewal and reformation. They sought to bring about an “enrichment of understanding of God’s truth, arousal of affections Godward, increase of ardour in one’s devotions, and more love, joy, and firmness of Christian purpose in one’s calling and personal life” (27). Renewal of the Church and reformation of the heart were the goals of Puritan ministry.

Puritanism was a worldview. In being such it was a spiritual movement to direct people back to God and to renew the Church of Christ. It was their goal to complete what the Reformation began: a radical reshaping of Church and church life. Such a vision was to be achieved through preaching, teaching and the placing of all things in life under the sovereign lordship of their creator and redeemer.

There are three types of evangelical Christians today who stand in need of being reshaped by the Puritan worldview. First, there are restless experientialists. They are the extroverts of Christianity who emphasize joy, happiness, etc. and often become the defining category of evangelical Christians. They need the Puritans to return them to a more god-centered focus which will bring about a humility, patience, and steadiness often lacking in this type of people. They need to become more self-conscious recognizing that God often works through difficulties to enable his children to grow in grace.

Second, there are entrenched intellectuals who present themselves as rigid, argumentative and critical Christians. They need the Puritans to point them to the necessity of God performing a heart work in them, a softening of the affections. They need to develop an intimate passion for their redeemer and a love for all other Christians, even with those whom they disagree. They need to move from knowledge about God to a “relational acquaintance with God himself” (32). Last, there are disaffected deviationists who once saw themselves as evangelicals but have since become dissatisfied with evangelical Christianity. They need the Puritans because they speak of the unknown mystery of God, the radical love of God for fallen sinners, his merciful salvation, that the Christian life is one of spiritual conflict, yet that God will protect his children with their lives ultimately bringing glory to God alone.

Quest for Godliness # 1

2006-02-07T19:13:00.000-05:00

The next few days I hope to post a few chapter summaries I wrote of J. I. Packer's excellent A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Here is a summary of the introduction:

The Puritans are giants standing out tall in the history of the Christian Church. They are a beacon of light which in many ways outshines the complacent majority of Christians. Today’s western Christians pale in comparison to these stalwarts of the faith. Yet, it is because of their greatness why they are so desperately needed for today. There are various reasons as to the necessity of their continuing validity but here Packer has chosen to highlight seven.

First, Owen helped bring about a realism of sin. When the misery of sin brings into our minds and hearts a despondency and despair Owen helped bring back a reality of sin. Second, Owen brought home the sovereignty and particularity of Christ’s redeeming love. It made the death of Christ personal. And it made the Christian religion out of absolute necessity to be a God-centered religion. Third, Baxter brought about the necessity of meditation. It is incumbent upon any Christian to apply spiritual truth to their hearts and this is accomplished through the spiritual discipline of meditation.

Fourth, Baxter placed the pastoral office in its proper duty and perspective. The way ministry is performed is shaped and cultivated in light of how the Puritans viewed pastoral ministry. Fifth, the Puritans have taught the transitoriness of life. Life on earth is preparation for eternity in the kingdom of God. An astute cognizance of death and a readiness to face its call begin a journey toward life. When so few of us live as it were on the edge of eternity we fail to live lives motivated by the power of the gospel and the hope of Christ. While in this world we must continue to exhibit an awareness of the fact that it is in death where we truly gain life.

Sixth, the Puritan view of reformation or renewal is central to understand the complete work of God in all its complexity and wholeness. Church life and the Christian life are intimately related for the goal of bringing about reformation and renewal within individual hearts stretching out to the church as a whole. Seventh, the Puritans have taught that all theology is spirituality. As Packer writes, “If our theology does not quicken the conscience and soften the heart, it actually hardens both; if it does not encourage the commitment of faith, it reinforces the detachment of unbelief; if it fails to promote humility, it inevitably feeds pride” (15). Our theology and spirituality are thus intricately linked in a reciprocal relationship.

For Packer it is a mark of joy to escape into a reading of the Puritans. It is sitting at the feet of the leaders and heroes of Christianity past. It is an entering into the communion of the saints which has spanned the centuries. It is fellowship not just with history, but with lives touched and transformed by the Word of the Lord. In particular, though the Puritans are dead, they still strongly speak to us. The question then becomes: will we hear their voice?

Worldview Clash

2006-02-05T14:35:00.000-05:00

The Muslim uproar over the cartoon depictions defaming Muhammad show us that the root of the issue is a war of competing worldviews. The Islamic worldview here stands out in stark contrast to the Christian worldview. When Muhammad is ridiculed in a cartoon Muslims become enraged and riot, burn and kill. When the Lord Jesus Christ was spit upon, flogged, beaten and ridiculed he cried out to his Father, "Forgive them for they know not what they do!" Here is the underlining difference between Christianity and Islam: Christianity offers grace and peace while Islam only offers law and slavery. John Piper has some thoughtful words on this worldview clash (HT: Between Two Worlds):

Am I missing it, or is there an unusual silence in the blogosphere about the Muslim outrage over the cartoons of Mohammed. To me this cries out for the observation that when artists put the crucifix in a flask of urine, Christians were grieved and angered, but not one threatened to kill anyone. Our longing is to convert the blasphemers with the Good News of Christ's death and resurrection, not kill them. Our faith is based on One who was reviled not just in cartoons but in reality and received it patiently for the salvation of the cartoonists. These riots are filled with intimations about the glorious difference between Christ and Mohammed, and between the way of Christ and the way of Islam. And the cowing of the press around the world and the US government is ominous for the fear we are under of Islam--not just extremist Islam. I do not respect the teachings of Islam which when followed devoutly lead to destruction. So I have been pondering which will take me out first, Islam, Uncle Sam, or cancer. No matter, all authority belongs to Jesus. I just want to bear faithful witness to his glorious gospel of peace to the end.

Covenant Theology Lectures

2006-02-04T16:05:00.000-05:00

Reformed Theological Seminary is currently offering an on-line course taught by Ligon Duncan on Covenant Theology. I really wanted to take the course, but since I don't need the credits I was too cheap to shell out the cash. However, I did find 12 two hour lectures by Ligon Duncan which have been transcribed from this course. There is also a Reformed critique of Dispensationalism. Not quite as nice as listening to the actual lectures but I am going to print them out and read them anyway. It looks like some good stuff. Here they are if you are interested.

Introduction to Covenant Theology

History of Covenant Theology - Overview of Works, Redemption, Grace

The Covenant of Works (Creation) - Blessings, Obligations, Penalties

Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace

Covenant of Preservation (Noah and Abram)

Abrahamic Covenant (Covenant Signs and Implications)

The Reformed Doctrine of Baptism & New Testament Practice

The Mosaic Covenant

Dispensationalism - A Reformed Evaluation

The Davidic Covenant

OT Prophecies of the New Covenant / The Holy Spirit in the OT & NT

Covenant in the Synoptics, Acts and Pauline Writings

Covenant in Hebrews / The Supper of the New Covenant

Freedom of the Islamic Press

2006-02-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

There is no freedom of the press in Islamic societies. A few cartoons recently depicted Muhammad as a terrorist and has since cause an uproar within Islamic circles. It is interesting to note that while Muslims recoil against the idea of Muhammad being portrayed as a terrorist they nonetheless spew out hatred and violence over a cartoon depiction. Do they not realize that their very actions add credibility to the veracity of the cartoons?

No one comes to the Father

2006-01-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

But through me...

Hockey Pucks and the Mystery of Providence

2006-01-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

The greatness of God is a glorious and unsearchable mystery. ‘For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great king over all the earth’ (Ps. 47:2). The condescension of the most high God to men is also a profound mystery. ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly’ (Ps. 138:6). But when both these meet together, as they do in this Scripture, they make up a matchless mystery. Here we find the most high God performing all things for a poor and distressed creature. It is the great support and solace of the saints in all the distresses that befall them here, that there is a wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion, and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to be blessed and happy issues. And, indeed, it were not worth while to live in a world devoid of God and Providence.

So began the Puritan divine, John Flavel, on his discourse concerning Divine Conduct or the Mystery of Providence Opened. Both the person and work of God are mysteries to humanity. The very nature of the Triune Godhead is far beyond all of our simple comprehension. Even more so, that this great and mysterious God should stoop down to low and helpless creatures. As Flavel has noted, It is a matchless mystery to find the most high, holy and perfect Lord of All reaching down to poor dejected sinners. And although this is an immutable mystery it nonetheless remains a source of comfort and condolence for weary sinners. This is so because the Spirit is continually in the fray of everyday life. We are not left alone to ourselves, but are constantly guided, protected and cared for through the secret workings of the Holy Spirit. He works in all situations to bring about good and happy things for those who love him (Rom. 8:28). Having said that, I want to apply God’s mysterious providence to an Albany River Rats hockey game. How so? Work was giving out free tickets to the Rats hockey game (they are the AHL affiliate for the New Jersey Devils). Last night I took Calvin out with me for our first father and son outing to a hockey game. The Pepsi Arena in Albany holds about 17,000 but only a little over 5,000 showed up for the game. I think the Rats are last place in their division. After two periods of play the Rats were up 2 to 1 against the Manchester Monarchs. They were loosing going into the final two minutes of the second period when they scored two goals within 30 seconds of each other. It was pretty exciting to watch. As time was ticking of the clock and as we were about to head to intermission I caught something spinning toward us out of the corner of my eye. It was too late to react. Before I even knew what happened Calvin, who was sitting on my lap, had fallen over and began to cry. It took a second to figure out what had happened and then I saw the puck laying there on the floor. I immediately pulled him up and took a look. The puck hit him right on the right hand-side temple just missing the eye. Before I was able to stand up there was an Arena security guard coming down the stairs to take us out. Calvin was still crying and my heart was beating as we ran up the stairs toward the EMS station. Like any parent would, I feared the worst. About half way to the EMS station (only about 3-4 minutes after he was hit) he stopped crying and settled down although he was still holding on to me tightly. After arriving at the EMS station they checked him out and it seemed for the most part that it was just a flesh wound. For the first 10 minutes he wasn’t saying anything and I couldn’t get him to respond to me. Of course, that made me nervous thinking at the least he had suffered a concussion. I had him get up and walk and as soon as he didn’t have ten people hovering over him he began chatting all about what had just happened and started to run around everywhere. After about a half hour down in the EMS station he appeared to be fine. He was playing with his new souvenir, an official River Rats game puck taken right of the ice. It was still cold when he got it. It is his war souvenir. We went to Albany Med just to make sure everything was okay and he checked out fine. As a side note, the EMS personnel at the Arena and the doctor at Albany Med were great. In short, my son who was hit in the head with a hockey puck only has a small abrasion and a mild bruise. The providence of God is ultimately an inextricable mystery to us. His ways are far above our ways. The secret things of the Lord belong only to him. I don’t ultimately know why that is an arena that holds 17,000 people my son had to be hit. I had just switched him from one side of my lap to the other not even five minutes before. If I had not switched him the puck would have just bounced of my chest. Or why did I not see it sooner and move him out of the way or block it with my hand? Thankfully the security guard said that he saw it bounce twice before it hit Calvin. I did not even see it until it was too late. Why in the mystery of God’s providence did a hockey puck bounce out of the rink and strike my two year old son? Yet, upon further reflection the question which I really have to ask, the question which Flavel pondered is why in the mystery of God’s providence did He so orchestrate the event to protect my son from more serious harm? The mysterious providence of God truly is a divine solace and comfort for lowly creatures who do not deserve the mercy of God. He has shown his gracious hand to our family in protecting my son last night. Sadly, I too often fail to thank the Lord for his continual and secret care over us. One more thought which has been deeply impressed upon me from this event is my complete inability to protect my children. This is a terrifying, frustrating and humbling realization. As a parent, particularly as a father, I want to be in control when it comes to protecting my children. When the possibility of such protection is out of my hand I get angry and extremely frustrated. I hate the fact that I did not see the puck sooner or that I could not do anything to prevent it from hitting my son. Yet, in an amazing way that is exactly where the Lord wants us. It took my son getting nailed in the head with a hockey puck for me to realize that ultimately I cannot protect him but that I am to entrust my son to the Lord’s care for he loves him more than I ever could and he will protect him better than I ever could imagine. This is a terribly humbling thought. But as Flavel wrote, “it [is] not worth while to live in a world devoid of God and Providence.” Praise be to the Lord most high who gives life and watches over it. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

January 28, 1986

2006-01-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

For some people, older than me, the assassination of John F. Kennedy is an impression burned into their mind forever. They remember exactly where they were and what they were doing. It is a moment that will remain with them forever. For my generation the date of January 28, 1986 has been seared into our minds for the rest of our lives. While I honestly had not thought about it in years, when I clicked on CNN's website all the memories flooded back into my mind. I was in elementary school. I remember an announcement being made over the school PA system and I remember them bringing in TV's to show as what had just happened. I was nine years old at the time. It was a colder than usual day in Cape Canaveral, FL (36 degrees F). NASA space shuttle crew STS 51-L began their flight into space. They were hoping to make history by bringing along the first teacher, Christa McAuliffe, into space. Instead, another course of history had been charted for them. Just 73 seconds into their flight an o-ring seal in the right rocket booster failed creating a flame which destroyed the structural integrity of the spacecraft. The space shuttle Challenger was destroyed and all seven crew members were killed, most likely upon impact with the ocean. Like 9/11 now 1/28/86 is a day that will live on forever in the memories of those who witnessed it. I personally remember being shocked and deeply saddened, particularly over the loss of a teacher. It was a tragic day for more than just NASA's space program. On the twentieth anniversay of this day we should take the time to remember. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, issued shortly after the Challenger explosion, "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God." Read: About the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Read: About Christa McAuliffe Read: An account of the Challenger's Timeline

Jazzy Christian Spirituality

2006-01-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

Shane Walker over at 9Marks has a good review of Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz. Here is Walker's conclusion:

Likely, right now someone in your church is reading Blue Like Jazz or some similar book. It will resonate with them in style and content—it is cool and Christian. And it is extremely unhelpful. The only antidote seems to be twofold. The first is to reintroduce young Christians to the biblical Jesus: the person who died an agonizing death for their sins, who will tread the winepress of the wrath of God, and who listens to their prayers. The second is to begin the battle against the cool. The godly must begin to prove in the pulpit, in writing, and in their lives that Christianity is the deadly enemy of the cool. And the cool is the Western postmodern entertainment driven culture that has tutored our children and ourselves for the last fifty years.

(HT: Reformation 21)

212 Million $ to Uncover Solar System Beginnings

2006-01-16T00:03:00.000-05:00

NASA spent 212 million dollars on collecting comet dust in hope of discovering how the solar system began. While I have to admit that such a discovery and endeavor in general is pretty cool, wouldn't it be much easier to just crack open a Bible and read the first few chapters in Genesis? Government always has to spend big! However, such an endeavor, while I don't think it will uncover the beginning of the solar system, will nonetheless provide deeper insight into the glory of God as displayed throughout his creation. For that it is money well spent.

345 Killed during Hajj

2006-01-12T17:07:00.000-05:00

In the stoning ritual of attacking the devil, 345 Muslims pilgrims were killed in a stampede. The arduous duties in Islam only bring death. Hundreds of Muslims not only lost their lives in the ritualistic worship of an idol, but even worse being apart from Christ they have met their maker - the mighty and true God who demands absolute justice of those who reject him. It is a sad day for Christians who long to see Muslims come to Christ. May the Lord use this event to bring many to his son and glory to his name.

An inward Pilgrimage

2006-01-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

Ebrahim Moosa has an interesting Op-Ed piece in the NY Times today on the significance of an inward dimension of the Muslim Hajj. Moosa looks toward Ibn Arabi, the 13^th Century Islamic mystic for insight into making the pilgrimage more than just a trip around the rock. The author wants to highlight that the Islamic pilgrimage, hajj in particular and life in general, should be more than just outward deeds. It is interesting that Moosa argues as such since through Islamic history (and in the Qur’an?) there is a continual emphasis on outward deeds and works with a lack of emphasis on the heart and motivation.

I believe that such an inward glance in Islam would be extremely helpful for the religion. There are many both in Islam and Christianity who just go through the motions. Instead believers of their respective religions should seek to determine their motivations and inward affections instead of just focus on outward actions. More is required than just outward works.

Unfortunately, for Islam this will not be sufficient. There is hope only in Jesus Christ, so ultimately the Muslim must look outside of themselves toward the one and only true God and his Son Christ. However, such an introspective look may prove beneficial in uncovering the radical depravity and deception of heart within the Muslim. Such an inward glance may prove as the catalyst for the Spirit to show the Muslim their sin and point to the only name under heaven whereby one may be saved – Jesus Christ.

H5N1 Bird Flu hits Turkey

2006-01-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

One Turkish family has lost three children (ages 15, 14, 11) all to the deadly bird flu which has been sweeping through Asia. It now appears to have spread to Eastern Turkey. The greatest concern is to whether this virus has mutated to the point where it could now transmit from human to human instead of just from animal to human. At this point it is undetermined. World Health Organization workers have been despatched to the area. UPDATE: Turkish Press is reporting that five more people have been diagnosed with the bird flu in the city of Ankara (where I lived for five months). Picture: An imam in Turkey prays at the grave of Fatma Kocyigit, 15. She and her brother are the first victims of bird flu outside South-East Asia.

Tony Dungy: A Model Coach

2006-01-08T12:08:00.000-05:00

Chris Collinsworth has written a good piece on Tony Dungy's trend setting coaching style. Collinsworth is not as interested in how many wins Dungy has under his belt or how he handles himself on the field as he is in how Dungy prioritizes his football career with family and faith. He argues in the article for the necessity of more coaches following the example Dungy has set. Following from that he believes that coaches should better prioritize their life with the purpose of spending more time with family. He concludes his article with high regard for Dungy.

Tony Dungy has set so many standards for all coaches to follow. His graceful demeanor and respectful handling of players, media, and fans are second to none in the history of this league. But maybe most importantly is the way he has prioritized his life with God, family, and football coming in the proper order. My hope is that with a few changes, more coaches will be given an opportunity prioritize their lives in Tony's image.

One cannot but see the Lord taking such an awful event, as the suicide of Dungy's son, and working and shaping it for the good of those whom he loves. People are beginning to see the importance which Dungy has set on his family and more importantly on his God. Dungy has already proven himself as a coach with no rivals while on the field and what this horrible loss is also proving is the faithfulness of God through Christ working in the lives of the Dungy family. Christ will be glorified in ALL circumstances. He works in truly mysterious ways.

Child Rape, the Justice of God & Grace

2006-01-06T18:57:00.000-05:00

This previous Wednesday a judge in Vermont handed Mark Hulett, 34, a prison sentence of sixty days. The crime? Hulett confessed to repeatedly raping a young girl over the span of about four years beginning when she was only seven years old. Judge Edward Cashman argued that punishment no longer works and what is needed, particularly in the case of sex offenders, is rehabilitation. Because Hullet is considered a low-level repeat offender he does not qualify for in prison treatment. Therefore, in order to receive the proper rehabilitation treatment Hulett received a scanty jail sentence with the requirement of receiving treatment after serving time.

Referring to the punishment, Cashman said, "I discovered it accomplishes nothing of value; it doesn't make anything better; it costs us a lot of money; we create a lot of expectation, and we feed on anger.” He continued by stating, "The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul.” Never-mind the agony and misery which this little girl went through and which will haunt her for the rest of her life; never-mind a sense of justice being carried out; never-mind that a repeating sex offender (his abuse did cover numerous years) will be out on the loose in a matter of months.

Hearing stories like this enrage me. I am consumed with emotions and anger. If I were his judge I would have him slowly and painfully castrated and then I would introduce him to Bubba his new roommate and boyfriend, courtesy of the state penitentiary. Then after years of this child rapist suffering abuse, rape and disgrace in prison I would put him to death. Even with all of that, in my opinion, the punishment would still not be enough to fit the crime.

But I am not his judge (1 Cor. 5:13 & Heb. 10:30 - although I wish I had the honor). Vengeance is not mine. The Lord will judge those outside of his Church. In light of this I never fully realized what a consolation Hell is. Yes, it is a place of endless torment and punishment for those who have rejected Christ, but it is also a place of justice – a final court where all injustice is vanquished. We cry out with the Psalmist: “Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous - you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!” (Psalm 7:9). The Word of the Lord continues:

God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. (Psa. 7:11-17)

Even when it feels like justice has been miscarried the Lord will have his recompense. Because of God’s absolute righteousness even the minutest sin cannot enter his presence. Judgment and punishment is due for sin to all sinners. Our holy God is indignant every day due to the radical depravity within human hearts. And he is ready to strike. His sword is un-sheathed, his bow is ready and he waits the final day when “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thess. 1:7-9).

The justice of God is not harsh, awful or mean. It is righteous, holy and good. Every sinner (i.e., every human) deserves the wrath of God to rest upon them. We are a repugnant stench in the angry nostrils of a mighty and righteous God. In the case of Mark Hulett I look forward to the justice of God. Since Hulett will not receive his just due on this earth it will take eternity to reconcile this injustice. What is even more amazing and radical is that both child rapists and “normal” people have this in common: all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 6:23). And the wages of sin is death and eternal separation from our Creator God. This is the good, right and true justice of God. It is what we deserve and God is perfectly just in handing it out.

Yet, herein lies the scandal of the cross. Hypothetically, Mark Hulett runs into a Christian working with Chuck Colson’s Prison Ministry Fellowship. During his miniscule sixty day prison sentence the child rapist comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ. A sick and depraved sinner deserving the full wrath of God to be rushed out on him is now safe in the arms of Christ. The amazing thing, the truth that I cannot comprehend and which sometimes enrages me, is that the Kingdom of God is reserved for sinners (1 Cor. 6:9). Christ came, not seeking those who were well, but those who were lost, sick and depraved. I am left in wonder and amazement. The words which were once welling up inside of me have dried up with reverence and awe to our Creator and Redeemer. I can say nothing more but echo the Apostle Paul:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

The Face of Islam?

2006-01-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

Whether Muslims like it or not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is showing forth a side of Islam which many (even Muslims) may not like. Does such speech come from a follower of the religion of peace? To wish for the death of Ariel Sharon is one thing, but to deny the Holocaust and seek the eradication of Israel is quite another. This is more than the face of Islam - it is the face with a heart full of evil and radical corruption. Sometime, probably NOT in the near future, I would like to do a Qur'anic-historical study to see the roots of Muslim hatred toward Israel and the Jewish people. Any thoughts or resources?

Mormon Missionaries Shot

2006-01-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

They are the faithful. They are always there on mission. Every country I have visited I have run into Mormon missionaries. Even one of my favorite football players, Eagles tight-end Chad Lewis, is an active Mormon missionary. Yet, there is a danger in their mission - one was fatally shot while going door-to-door this past Monday night. I wonder of this will give them more resolve and determination or will they hunker down and become less active?

Usus Legis - the use of the Law

2006-01-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

Below is a brief piece I wrote for a class I am taking. It should be viewed as only an outline. There is much that could (and should) be filled in. Till another time. Well, let me know what you think.

----------------------------------------------

I believe that the law was used in Israel for a multitude of reasons. For now I will list only a few. First, it served as boundary markers (to steal a phrase from NPP)[1] to distinguish Israel from the other nations which surrounded God’s people. The law and obedience to its stipulations made Israel a holy nation, a people set aside unto the one and only true God. They were to be distinct from the other nations. All peoples were to see Israel’s obedience to the law of the Lord and they were to know the name of the Lord.

Second, the law was to declare the glory and absolute holiness of the God who revealed the law to them. Israel was to see the utter holiness of the Lord through the law.

Third, obedience to the law was important for personal purity. Psalm 119:9-11: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! ¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Knowledge of and obedience to the law was to keep God’s people from sinning against him.

Fourth, the law also served as Israel’s guide toward personal holiness. Sojourners on this earth need the commandments of the Lord for guidance and correction (Ps. 119:19). It was the path of holiness which Israel was to follow. Of course, history proved the impossibility of keeping this law and thus the impossibility of obtaining the purity unto righteousness. Only one person fulfilled and completely obeyed every aspect of the law.

Fifth, it was to show forth sin (Romans 7:8-9). As Paul says we would not know our sin apart from the law (whether written in Scripture or on human hearts). It leads us to the necessity of Christ (Heb. 10:1 – shadow of things to come). The multitude of blood sacrifices demanded by the law only showed forth the law’s inability to save. Instead it pointed to the absolute necessity for a savior – someone to perfectly obey the law and then grant that righteousness onto our own accounts.

The tertius usus legis argues for the necessity of the law for Christians. For those who have been saved by the grace of Christ the law no longer stands as judge and jury to condemn, but it stands as a norm of conduct, a pattern of life and behavior for the regenerate. It teaches us the way of righteousness. It is not adhered to out of guilt or duty but out of delight in light of the free salvation which God has bestowed on us through the death and resurrection of his son on our behalf.

In regards to the relationship of the law in the OT and the law in the NT I would hold to a basic continuity and unity. However, a threefold distinction of the law must be made. As traditionally stated I believe that the law can be broken up (although at times with difficulty) into lex ceremonialis, lex civilis, and lex moralis.

The lex ceremonialis is the law of the cult. It encompasses the stipulations and commandments which governed the proper conduct of the tabernacle and then temple. This aspect of the law has found its fulfillment in Christ who was the perfect sacrifice and has since been abrogated through his fulfillment.

The lex civilis, is the judicial and civil aspect of the law of God. This encompassed such laws which organized Israelite society. I believe that Christ has also fulfilled this aspect of the law, but as to its abrogation this is a much more difficult question. I am not a full fledged theonomist by any means, but I often wonder in my heart if we should seek to align the law of the land more with the law of the Lord. Just how this would look I don’t know.

Lastly, there is the lex moralis, which is the abiding moral law of God. It is best summed up in the Ten Commandments of which I believe ALL remain valid for today. It might be fair to say that the lex civilis was the cultural outworking of the lex moralis for Israel. God provided the application of the moral law through the civil law.

Therefore, it is the moral law of God which remains valid for today’s Christian and this law must be correctly interpreted and applied to each cultural context. The application may change with time, but the basis for those laws, found in the Ten Commandments, will not change.

[1] In using this phrase I understand that I am not using it in the same way as the New Perspective proponents.

Dungy returns to Colts

2005-12-31T10:34:00.000-05:00

Tony Dungy returned to coaching the Colts a week after his son's apparent suicide. He said, "It was the right time to come back." He continued, "we went through the grieving process and now we're starting with the healing process." During the funeral and after he returned to the Colts he urged parents to make sure they hug their children every chance they get. As a father I cannot even begin to imagine the regret and and blame that you would naturally place at your own feet. If only you were there more, if only you tried harder, if only... The questions will probably always remain unanswered for the Dungy family, but I do hope that the grace of Christ will reign in their lives affording them the hope to make it through the struggle of this life.

Irresponsible and Inexcusable Journalism

2005-12-29T19:25:00.000-05:00

The Los Angeles Times has committed a journalistic faux pas. An April Fool's joke ended up on their front page! The reporter who wrote the article admitted that they found their information on the internet and did not even check the source or seek further confirmation of the validity or invalidity of the piece. If they cannot be trusted with so little a story should we venture to trust them on matters far more important? HT: Between Two Worlds

Sermon Fodder

2005-12-28T17:05:00.000-05:00

Some good material here.

I am Satan!

2005-12-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

Some people claim that they are Jesus Christ. Others claim to be Satan. Roy Lee Henson was arrested for walking around and screaming wildly in Lake County, FL. The only clothing which he was sporting were his boxers around his ankles. So in FL we have a dirty, freaky, white boy running around naked claiming to be Satan. I don't know, maybe he was thinking Santa and was just too drunk to say it correctly. Actually a naked Santa is almost a more frightening image than a naked white Satan. Don't worry - he probably is not really Satan. Now if he only had some horns... UPDATE: Speaking of the Devil: this story is horrid. This is what happens when Catholicism mixes with Animism. Such a deadly brew is what is found in this story of killing the "demons." Only true undiluted Christianity will have the truth which sets the captives free.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

Immanuel, God with us. In the fullness of time God sent his son born of the virgin Mary. The eternal and almight creator took upon himself the form of his creation. God became man. He dwelt amongst his people. He tabernacled with us. He became the Word of God incarnate, deity with humanity. He came with a purpose. To set the captives free. He came seeking to save those who were lost. Our creator became our redeemer. He lived the perfect life and died the perfect death for our sakes - that those who believe in him might have everlasting life. That is the true meaning of Christmas.

"I am that Person" Jesus Christ

2005-12-24T13:18:00.000-05:00

Jose Luis Espinal adds a new spin on taking the Lord's name in vain. On Friday a Manhattan Civil Courts Judge ruled that Espinal could legally change his name to Jesus Christ. When asked why he wanted his name changed to JC the unmarried and unemployed Espinal said, "This was not done for any reason other than I am that person. You're dealing with the real deal." While Espinal claims to be the real deal I believe the beloved apostle of the true Christ hits the nail on the head when he writes, "Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18). So while Espinal claims to be Jesus Christ God's holy word states otherwise. A little later on John admonishes his readers to test all those who come claiming to be prophets from the Lord:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:1-6

Instead of being a true believer, one who confesses that Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, Espinal confesses that he himself is Christ. His name change exhibits in all its depravity the spirit of the antichrist.

James Dungy, Dead at 18 yrs. old

2005-12-22T20:05:00.000-05:00

Although I am an Eagles, fan having been born and raised in and around Philly, I must confess that my favorite coach in the entire NFL organization is Tony Dungy head coach of the Indianopolis Colts. A few days ago NFL.com posted a great article on Dungy's leadership style (I haven't been able to find the article. I bookmarked it on my desktop which is currently having video card issues). The article was nothing but positive yet what it failed to mention was Dungy's faith in Jesus Christ. I don't know much about Dungy's Christianity but one thing seems true is that it is public and evident to all who surround him. It is with much sadness then to learn of the death of his son James today. He was eighteen years old and was found dead in an apartment in the Tampa Bay area. There is no foul play suspected. Many in the NFL have offered their prayers and support. I cannot imagine loosing one of my children. I honestly don't even want to conjure the thought. Even though I don't know him and will probably never meet him I prayed for him and for his family. Even for a Christian, the loss of a child is devastating. He needs to be reassured of the hope of the gospel even more. I pray that this may be so. It is a sad day for a great man of God. May the Dungy family find rest in the one and only true rock of salvation. UPDATE: It is confirmed that James Dungy has committed suicide although they will not know the official cause of death for a few weeks. Upon reading the initial report of his death and given the fact that there was no foul play suspected I pretty much thought it was a suicide. More importantly than knowing what caused his death physically is why he chose to die. This is the awful burning question which will haunt his family for the rest of their lives.

BUSTed for Praying in Jesus Name

2005-12-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

Maybe this is only something a guy would notice, but since I am one I thought it was rather funny. Get it? i am not sure if "busted" was intentionally placed over the bust. The site which this shirt is on, Cafe Press, certainly looks interesting. I am not into Christian t-shirts even if I would agree with their theology (seems to be Reformed?), but the clothing certainly is interesting. I wonder the responses they have had to the "Allah Hates You" t-shirt! Or how about the "Gay Men Must Be Blind" shirt. I have to admit that the design on that one is pretty cool.

Praying in the Name of Nobody

2005-12-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

In the armed forces of the United States it is no longer kosher to pray in Jesus' name. It has become increasingly difficult for evangelical Christians to adhere to their biblical faith by offering prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Instead if they want to pray in public the only deity which can be mentioned is a generic "god." Interestingly though it doesn't seem that Muslims and Jews are facing the same restrictions. At least not as harshly. To remove Jesus is to render Christianity void and meaningless. If there is no Christ there is no gospel, no hope, no salvation and no future promise of eternal reconciliation with the Father. There is only despair and misery. Christ must remain and his name must be held out and louldy proclaimed from the rooftops, boot camps, aircraft carriers and barricks. Christ is to be above all and over all. There is no other option. May those Christian chaplains pray boldly as Daniel did many years ago. May they continue to faithfully pray in the blessed and wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Child Pornography & Redemption

2005-12-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

Today the New York Times reports on a disturbing tale of a Justin Berry (NY Times requires a free membership – this article does contain graphic and disturbing material) who began offering pornographic images of himself online at the mere age of 13. It is a story of sin and misery, but also a story of redemption and hope. Trapped as an under aged victim in the hands of manipulative adults he soon assumed the role of the adult perpetrator. He began selling himself with the hopes of receiving gifts and money. He quickly established a thriving porn business racking in thousands of dollars a month with over 1,500 members who subscribed to his site. It began with a young thirteen year old teenager longer for friendship and companionship. Yet it brought all the wrong kinds of relationships.

His life fell apart in 2003 (then at the age of 16). A drug addict, a child porn-star, and a victim of repeated molestations, Justin began taking other young teenagers down the same path. Then in June 2005 he was contacted by a reporter who was writing a story on child pornography on the web. The reporter convinced Justin to go to the F.B.I. and after a slow start his life began to take a new direction. He received immunity and became a federal witness bringing many sexual predators to justice. He began to restore relationships with his family and the article even hints to his return to Christianity. Of course, that could mean a lot of things, but what the gospel says is that Jesus Christ is the only hope for people like Justin. Those trapped deep within their own sins and transgressions can only find hope and peace through Jesus Christ. If Justin found Christ and turned his life to him then his life which was once a tragedy has now become a masterpiece of the sovereign creator-redeemer of the universe. May it truly be so!

A What?

2005-12-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

A Win! After loosing the past ??? games (too many games to want to remember) the Eagles finally squeaked by the St. Louis Rams winning 17-16. Overall it was a rather ugly game. Both teams combined for 28 penalties in the game. Also neither McMahon nor the Rams QBs broke 100 yards throwing. McMahon was sacked four times and threw three interceptions. Yet he did throw the game winning pass to Mike Bartrum for a three yard touchdown. One shining moment was rookie Ryan Moats 59 yard rushing touchdown. Even though a win is way too late for any playoff hopes it still feels good inside. Maybe we'll have a few more this season?

Democracy and Religion in Tension

2005-12-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

In a recent op-ed contribution to the New York Times Pankaj Mishra argues that while the West often blames Islamism for the suppression of democratic ideals it is often in fact caused by a form of secularism which stands opposed to religion. Mishra points to Turkey as a test case and in particular the trial of Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk is on trial for mentioning the Armenian genocide along with the slaughter of 30,000 Kurds. The suppression of this genocide and slaughter, the disallowance of free speech, is actually caused by

Turkey

’s secularist democracy.

Mishra argues that for too long the West has argued for this east versus west, religion versus democracy worldview clash when in fact such a clash is quite different then previously perceived. In fact it is argued that for Turkey the problem is not one of Islamic extremism, but democratic authoritarianism. It is actually Turkey’s pursuit of democracy which has led to the suppression of free speech and the denigration of human rights.

Therefore as Mishra contends, one is too quick to see religious fundamentalism as the universal evil, the paradigmatic bad guy. It is to easy to blame religion when we actually need to be taken a harder and closer look at our own democratic ideology. Mishra writes, “The destructive potential of modern nationalism should not surprise us. Traditional religion hardly played a role in the unprecedented violence of the 20th century, which was largely caused by secular ideologies - Nazism and Communism. Secular nationalism has been known to impose intellectual conformity and suppress dissent even in advanced democratic societies.”

To a certain extent Mishra is correct in the case of Turkey. The country’s pursuit of democracy has often squelched religious and political freedom. With the Advent of Atatürk Turkey became reformed toward a western democracy. After Atatürk’s death Kemalism arose and instead of pursuing a furtherance of democracy the government and more particularly Turkey’s military sought to stabilize the fledgling democracy through autocratic methods. So in effect Turkey sought to keep its democracy stable and secure through the suppression of what democracy strives for. A paradox indeed!

So Mishra is correct to note that democracy gone bad, as in the case of Turkey, can have a stifling affect on freedom. However, religious fundamentalism, particularly in Islamic countries, cannot remain exempt from this charge of suppressing freedom. Does Indonesia, the heaviest Muslim populated country, fall out of Mishra’s radar? This is a country where true democracy would help stabilize and correct and otherwise backward and suppressive Islamic fundamentalism.

Again what Mishra also fails to recognize in placing some of the blame at the feet of democracy is that particularly in the case of Turkey they cannot be classified as a full and true democracy. They are striving towards democratic ideals but they still have a long way to go. So to conclude we can correctly state that democracy gone awry is often to blame for suppression of speech and basic human rights, but on the other hand Islamic fundamentalism as seen is such countries as Indonesia is not without blame. Today the story is often more complex than just ascribing only one guilty party. There are often much more factors to blame and while we must not be too quick to blame religion we must also not be too fast to place all the blame at the feet of democracy. As Mishra concludes we must carefully question our democratic ideologies, but we must also take a hard look at the Islamic suppression of western and Christian freedom.

Boiling Blood

2005-12-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

Some blogs I read just to get my blood pressure up. Some are provocative helping you to think about complex issues and others are just down right frustrating. Here are some blog posts that have been provoking my thoughts/anger lately. Scot McKnight, the self-professed pacifist, has written a post on the death penalty which has provoked many, not just myself. I wish I had more time to work out in writing my own thoughts. Maybe someday. Needless to say for the most part I disagree with McKnight. Another blood boiling moment was evoked by emergent. They emergent movement, conversation or whatever it is called will be meeting with some postmodern Jewish leaders for ecumenical dialogue. No suprise there. It was only a matter of time. Well I am starting to get bothered again just writing this so that is enough for now. I thought I would share the maddening madness.

Gospel According to Peanuts

2005-12-08T19:06:00.000-05:00

Brent Thomas reminds us of Charlie, Snoopy, Linus and the whole Peanuts gang's Christ centered Christmas. From the reading of Luke 2:8-14 to the singing of Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Charlie Brown's Christmas is full of Christ. Can't wait to watch it this year.

Blah, Blah, Blah

2005-12-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

I don't like noisy toys. You know the ones I am talking about. We have a whole bag of them in our basement. And every time you walk near the bag about ten different toys go off making all kinds of annoying noises. If you have children you have a LFT (least favorite toy) as Michele Norris calls them. Unfortunately we have more than I would like. Norris has a nice little piece (Wishing for a Silent Night in Toyland) about noisy toys and the headaches they cause. In the end of reviewing a few obnoxious noisemakers she settles for the mind inspiring creativity found in Lincoln Logs. Not only do these quieter toys make less noise they also allow for more creativity and thought in the child's mind. So if your child receives some annoying gifts for Christmas at the very least take out the batteries and even better suffocate Talking Elmo making sure that his whinny little voice is never heard again. Just make sure you hide the body. :)

Why am I so smart?

2005-12-02T12:44:00.000-05:00

Because I drink a lot of coffee! :)

Turning the Other Cheek

2005-11-23T17:11:00.000-05:00

Billy Joe Daugherty was calling people forward to profess faith in Christ. One man began walking down the isle and instead of confessing Christ he clocked Daugherty in the face. It was an altar call gone awry. He was preaching on giving praise and thanksgiving. With blood coming down his face he continued preaching. Forgiving the unforgiveable Daugherty said, "We don't forgive because we feel like it. We forgive because it's the right thing to do." Another reason to add to my list against performing altar calls! :)

Militant Islam & Russia

2005-11-22T19:41:00.000-05:00

Militant Islam is on the rise in Russia and the Russian government is doing something about it. Very interesting article.

Missions, Orality, and the Bible

2005-11-20T20:21:00.000-05:00

About a month ago I made brief mention about oral based cultures and the dangers of using solely a chronological bible study approach. Dave Revnak added some helpful comments to my post offering good clarification. On his blog he also points to a recent article by John Piper entitled Missions, Orality, and the Bible. Here are nine questions which Piper raises.

1. Will we Westerners who have had the Bible in our languages for five centuries and who have access to Greek and Hebrew in which the Bible was verbally inspired keep this privileged position for ourselves?

2. Or will we humble ourselves and labor with all our might to help other peoples and cultures have the same access we have to a full and right understanding of the scriptures so that they do not have to depend on cultural outsiders telling them what God’s words say and what they mean and how they should be applied culturally and religiously and missiologically?

3. Will we tell pre-literate and less-literate peoples and cultures that all authoritative religious truth comes from God through a single inspired book, and that all oral communication about God and his ways, no matter where it happens anywhere in the world, depends for its final reliability on this book, the Bible?

4. Will we clarify for them that, although all other holy books may have some helpful religious insights, nevertheless they do not have any final authority from God, but only the Bible does?

5. Will we tell them that this Bible was first written in Greek and Hebrew, the languages that God used when centuries ago “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21)?

6. Will we make sure they understand that if they remain only oral and do not someday raise up a generation who can read this book and study it in the original languages, they will remain dependent on outsiders for the divine truth God has given only through the Book?

7. Will we joyfully concur that access to the words of God in the Bible in one’s own language is a blessing greater than health and life, and that the golden rule gives us the privilege and duty to give other people and peoples the blessing that has come to us without our deserving it or planning it?

8. Will we labor for the long-term strength of the church among all unreached and less-reached peoples, by empowering them with the ability to read and study the Bible in the original languages, in the desire that the Lord may come very soon, but in the sober possibility that he may delay his return for centuries?

9. Will we labor to reverse the Western cultural trend away from reading, in the conviction that, when one moves away from reading, one moves away from a precious, God-given, edifying, stabilizing connection with God’s written word?

It should be our supreme desire to have all the nations worship Christ and have the ability to study his word in the original languages. God has revealed himself in words and it should be our mission that others may come to know these words. More importantly to know the Word - Jesus Christ - who today is known through the word of Scripture.

Belief and Disbelief

2005-11-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

Some people believe in witches while others disbelieve the extent of the holocaust. Some beat others with bibles and some think that Jews died from various diseases not gas chambers. Both of their beliefs has brought them jail time. The witch hunters need to visit an insane asylum while the historian David Irving needs to visist Auschwitz. Then they will realize that their belief and disbelief is only misbelief.

A Theologian’s Task

2005-11-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

Religion, the fear of God, must therefore be the element, which inspires and animates all theological investigation. That must be the pulsebeat of the science. A theologian is a person who makes bold to speak about God because he speaks out of God and through God. To profess theology is to do holy work. It is a priestly ministration in the house of the Lord. It is itself a service of worship, a consecration of mind and heart to the honour of His name.

Herman Bavinck’s Inaugural Address as Professor of Systematic Theology in the Free University of Amsterdam

Football's Biggest Crybaby

2005-11-08T17:15:00.000-05:00

The biggest crybaby in football is history. At least for Philly. Terrell Owens is gone. I never wanted him in Philly and although he may have made some good plays he is not worth the money they are paying him. He was just a headache. But thankfully he is gone. Bye bye T.O. can't say we'll miss ya. Even though the Eagles lost I thought rookie Reggie Brown had a great game - 94 yards on five catches and his first NFL touchdown. We won't even miss the crybaby.

Pray for Turkey

2005-11-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

From November 5-7 the country of Turkey is the focus country on Operation World's Pray Today website. Please join us as we pray for the 65+ million Muslims who live without Christ in the least reached nation in the world.

The Supra-Cultural Gospel

2005-10-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

The gospel transcends culture and worldview. It is not confined to any one culture, worldview, or people group. It is the good news for every culture, every worldview, and every people group. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, it is always wrapped up in culture and worldview. While it transcends culture and worldview it can never be separated from culture and worldview to exist as a bare gospel. The gospel message, indeed the entire Scriptures were written in a cultural context and we must know biblical culture in order to appropriate Scripture for our culture. The gospel is wrapped up in the culture in which it was written. God predetermined that his word would be written in a historical-cultural context. Therefore his word is enveloped in culture. Yet, his word transcends culture – it can be placed into every culture and applied to every person because it is the revealed will of the Lord for all of his creation.

The Christian and the Old Testament

2005-10-23T15:51:00.000-04:00

Many Christians today either outright dismiss the Old Testament or there are others who give lip service to it but in practice see no relevance in it. Yet all of Scripture is clear – the Old Testament is essential for the Christian believer for it contains the very words of God. There are numerous reasons as to why the OT offers an essential message for Christians. Here are a few brief ideas in no particular order.

The Sovereign Plan of God. In the providence of God he has determined to provide his people with a twofold covenantal book. The Lord of the Old and New Testaments did not plan and purpose for the writing and establishment of the OT only for the purpose of it being superseded by the New Testament. The Holy Spirit has sovereignly preserved the whole Bible over thousands of years.
Progressive revelation. The OT begins the story of creation, fall, redemption and the NT fulfills it. We are left in suspense with the ending of the OT. We have reached the height of the problem. How will God solve this problem of sin and depravity set forth in the OT? Well, that is what the NT completes. It is the rest of the story, the grand finale, and the climax of the Biblical story. Christ is shown to be the answer, the redemption from the fall into sin. Without the NT it would be like reading a mystery novel with never finding out “who did it?” With the NT alone it would be finding out “who did it” without knowing what they did.
The OT is foundational to the NT. The NT cannot be properly understood without the OT and vice versa: the OT cannot be properly understood without the NT. The Bible is a unity and Christians should view it as a complete whole. We should not call ourselves NT Christians, but biblical Christians. The Old Testament is the foundational structure for the New Testament superstructure. And the NT is the only interpretive lens for understanding the OT biblically.
1 Corinthians 10:6. “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” The history of the OT is a historical lesson for Christians. The sins, failures and accomplishments of the Saints in the OT serve as illustrations of what the NT teaches didactically. For example, David’s sin with Bathsheba serves as an example of how Jesus defined adultery in Matt. 5:28. David’s lust began with a look and was carried out into the physical act of adultery. Yet, this story also highlights the radical forgiveness of God found ultimately in Christ (Psalm 51).
It is the Story of Jesus. This is what Christ himself argues. Luke 24:25-27: He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.[1]
Shadow and Reality. The OT paints a picture of the need of Christ while the NT shows the reality of Christ. In the OT the absolute necessity of Christ is set forth with all the rules and regulations of the OT. The sacrificial system points to the need of a perfect sacrifice which was fulfilled by Christ on the cross. Christ is needed in the OT, but Christ is here, present in the NT. The shadow becomes reality.[2]
Jesus’ use of the OT. Our Lord himself continually quotes and alludes to the OT. He provides clarification on its stipulations and also fulfills the law perfectly like no other could. Also for Christians who seek to follow Christ shouldn’t we understand his exaltation of the OT as God’s words and then seek to do likewise?[3]
Paul’s use of the OT. Paul quotes the Old Testament approximately ninety-three times. Ladd argues that the purpose of Paul quoting the OT is not so much to prove the validity of prophecy but to show the NT continuity with the OT.[4] In other words, Paul uses the OT to provide justification for the NT.
Timothy 3:16-17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Paul here particularly referring to the OT says that the words of God are profitable for numerous things. The OT Scriptures are important and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
Deuteronomy 32:45-47. “When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. ⁴⁷ They are not just idle words for you-- they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." The words of Scripture are the words of life. For both the OT and NT saints the OT is made up not of idle words, but words that give life. All of Scripture holds out words of life to those who will hear it call.

[1] See Edmund P. Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1988); Charles D. Drew, The Ancient Love Song: Finding Christ in the Old Testament (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1996, 2000) and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Messiah in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995).

[2] See Tremper Longman III, Immanuel in Our Place: Seeing Christ in Israel’s Worship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001) and Vern S. Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1991).

[3] Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel and Kingdom (Paternoster Press, 1981, 2000). He writes, “The Christian cannot be committed to Christ without being committed to his teaching. It follows that Christ’s attitude to the Old Testament will begin to convey itself to the Christian who is carefully studying the New Testament” (19).

[4] George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament. Rev. Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974, 1993): 432-434. He writes, “Paul’s use of the Old Testament is not so much to seek a one-to-one equating of prophecy and fulfillment as to place the new redemptive events squarely in the stream of Old Testament redemptive history” (433).

Anti-Christian Riot in Egypt

2005-10-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

The showing of a two year old play in a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt sparked a riot brining about 5,000 Muslims descending down upon the church. Police had to use tear gas and rubber bullets in order to quell the crowd. One man was killed after being trampled in the mob. Muslims tried to storm St. George Church as they pelted the building with stones. The DVD was a taped performance of a play entitled "I was Blind but now I can See." It portrays the story of a Christian who turns to Islam and later becomes disillusioned with his new faith. He is later "saved" by a Muslim. Egypt's Ministry of Interior described those rioting as "fanatic elements" but one has to wonder if 5,000 people are all fanatics confused about the true nature of Islam or 5,000 people who see the very heart of Islam as being anti-Christian.

Culture and Worldview

2005-10-22T00:04:00.000-04:00

Some brief thoughts about culture and worldview: Culture is the “how” and “what” of life. A worldview is the “why” behind the “how” and “what”. Culture is the “how” of life. It is how we live out our lives having been shaped and molded from birth. It is also the “what” of life. What is life made up of? What is the world and what is our place in it? On the other hand, worldview is the “why” of life. It seeks to explain the “how” and “what” of life. Worldview functions to explain how we do things and what those things are in relation to God, the world, and self. While some distinction can be made between the two we must be careful to not press their differences. There is an intricate reciprocity between the two. Culture helps shape and form worldview, but worldview also shapes culture. One cannot exist without the other.

God's Work in Salvation

2005-10-16T19:02:00.000-04:00

Will Metzger, in his excellent book on evangelism, argues that salvation is an absolute work of the sovereign and living God. He artfully spends most of his book describing and declaring the depravity of sin and the glory of the gospel. While his book has some detail on methods it is primarily based about the message – the gospel of Christ. He beautifully proclaims the work of our mighty God in salvation:

So God, in Christ, calls to us in our complacency. We hear the outward call offering good news, but we are unwilling. Then the Holy Spirit enters the basement and turns up the heat of conviction. We now have an inner urge, a desire to get out of that house. That desire is fanned into a passionate flame by Christ’s alluring beauty and his provision of a place of safety and love – at home with the Father and adopted into his family. I became willing and choose Christ because of what I desired in my mind was changed by God’s empowering, evocative grace! Sovereign grace gives power to obey, as well as grants pardon for disobedience. My will is freed.

Thoughts on Orality

2005-10-11T19:56:00.000-04:00

In a class discussion I was recently asked the following. Below is my answer. About 70% of the world consists of oral cultures -- people who do not, cannot, or will not read. 50% of the world is illiterate and over 70% of the Unreached People Groups of the world are illiterate. Using oral methods like Chronological Bible Storying allows missionaries to win and disciple people from those cultures but many find these methods too "loose" since there is no written Bible. Consider that about 2/3 of the 6809 languages of the world do not have a scrap of Scripture. How can we use oral means to share the Gospel? Is an oral format enough? What if they never get a Bible? How can you adjust your methods while ensuring that you do not change the message? ---------------------------------- Orality has its limits and I think those limits need to be recognized. Chronological Bible Storying is helpful in evangelistic and new Christian contexts. However, it cannot be the end. For discipleship to continue there must be a progression of faith and understanding of Scripture. I think we need to be careful of saying that just because 70% of the world consists in oral based cultures that we should exclude or minimize the written word. Literacy is not a bad thing and I believe it is something that we as Christians should strive to bring to those remaining peoples who have no written language. With that being said I don’t think that written language is an end all either. Both oral and written language communication is helpful and important for sharing the gospel. If a people group were to never receive a written Bible in their own language then I don’t think they would be ostracized from Christ. I doubt the repentant thief on the cross was able to read from the Scriptures, before he entered paradise with his Savior. For salvation one must only hear the word proclaimed and then respond by believing and confessing Jesus is Lord. Nonetheless, for Christian maturation I believe that the written word is needed. God, in the mystery of his providence, has chosen for His Words to be written down. This began with Moses and has been carried on throughout the ages. A danger of having no written Bible is that over time the possibility of the oral word becoming corrupted is too great. God has his word written for its preservation. It has been kept securely for thousands of years. If his word is to have any abiding affect in a culture for many generations than it must become ink on paper. If at the very least just for the sake of its preservation. Another problem particularly with Oral Bible Storying is when one comes to the epistles. Storying is just that – telling a story. Try explaining Ephesians 1 or Romans 9-11 in a story. These texts are written in propositional language and while their truths can be illustrated with stories the truths themselves – the way God has chosen to word his words – are given propositional statements. Some cultures may think more abstractly while other more concretely, but this does not negate the fact that both cultures need to learn and understand communication in both abstract and concrete terms.

Cultural Anthropology

2005-10-09T11:11:00.000-04:00

Stephen A. Grunlan and Marvin K. Mayers, Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979, 1988. Cultural Anthropology is an introductory book written by two Christian anthropologists for Christian missionaries and pastors. The sub-title declares after all that it is a “Christian Perspective.” Grunlan and Mayers have taken various insights which they have learned from studying anthropology and have applied it to the Christian context. They have correctly noted the usefulness of anthropological study for the task of missions in particular and any cross-cultural encounter in general. One of the most helpful contributions this book provides is its discussion of Cultural Relativity in relation to Biblical Authority. Cultural relativity is achieved when one recognizes that no two cultures are alike and that those differences do not necessarily constitute matters of validity or non-validity. The rightness of wrongness of culture cannot be determined solely by comparing it with another culture. This recognizes that every culture has problems and no culture is superior to the other. Yet, if one held only to cultural relativity than one would slide deep into a morass of relativism. Everything in every culture would become acceptable and right. It is here where it becomes necessary to recognize the authority of the Bible. Biblical absolutes help ground cultural relativity. In fact, biblical authority is the bedrock foundation upon which cultural relativity is built. Biblical authority shows that there are some things within culture and transcending culture which are wrong. Scripture is the ultimate authority in matters of right and wrong. Every culture and every cultural practice must be weighed by the teaching of Scripture. Therefore, “each culture defined the situation (cultural relativity), but it was on the basis of the biblical principles (biblical authority) that the action was evaluated” (260). Such recognition of biblical authority keeps cultural relativism in check. Unfortunately, the book suffered from what I thought were some basic shortcomings which affected its usefulness. First, throughout the book, there is a quiet tendency to drift more toward cultural relativism than toward biblical authority. Of course, this is after all a fine line and I am sure that no one can walk it without falling, yet I do believe that Grunlan and Mayers were in danger of falling off in numerous places. While for the most part I agree with their understanding of cultural relativity and biblical authority I don’t think we should hold to it to tightly. There are many times where the Bible may not specifically speak to an issue and yet one culture may have a better way than the other. Cultural relativity can tend to smack of arrogance in saying that both cultures are right. What actually needs to be done is for both cultures to have a willingness to listen and learn from each other. There may be some things that are “culturally relative” but should none the less be changed for the better of the culture. One of things that what most annoying in reading this book is that for most chapters it read like a dictionary with examples. They would define a term and then provide a few examples from some preliterate culture and then define another term along with more examples. There didn’t seem to be much of a critical evaluation of the terms they were borrowing from secular anthropology. Maybe the inclusion of more in-depth case studies would have proven more helpful than just brief illustrations of the definitions they provided. One can quickly get bogged down in trying to remember what endogamy, proximic communication, sororate marriage, and phratry are. Thankfully they at least provided a glossary of terms at the back. Despite a lot of the profuse vocabulary the book remained rather readable. The illustrations helped move the book along, but after a while they grew tiresome. I would have enjoyed them using more illustrations from western and Middle Eastern countries along with the smaller tribal communities which they primarily used. This book is written for a selective audience. Those interested in tribal missions in particular and those who have an interest in other cultures would benefit from reading this work. I honestly question its usefulness for pastors who already know the culture in which they minister. Yet, for the missionary it does help awaken their eyes to be prepared for what they are about to step into when they first get off that plane and enter into a new culture.

Mr. Freethinker

2005-10-08T01:02:00.000-04:00

A guy nicknamed “Freethinker” left a comment on my blog so I naturally checked out his blog. As a humanist atheist, Freethinker’s blog is a splash of color and life, yet sadness and death. This is the subtitle of his blog: Freethinker: "One who forms opinions on the basis of reason independent of authority; especially one who doubts or denies religious dogma." I left the following in the comments section on his blog. ----------------------------------------- "Freethinker": Thanks for stopping by. Of course the Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is not just for homosexuals. It is for all of those who seek to pervert that which is good. FSF is actually a radical perversion of how sex was intended. Such a perversion is the result of rebellion against God their Creator. Of course, you personify this rebellion in your blog and by your very assumption of being a "freethinker." This is what the Bible says: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." I like your definition of a free thinker. Unfortunately it is rather naive. In your free thinking you have only traded in the true God of the Bible for a false and enslaving religion with yourself and/or reason as god. You rule your life and you have traded in one "religious dogma" for another. You are now your own authority. If you are not your own god than from your definition you seem to have placed reason as your deity. For many, reason becomes their sole authority and religion. The very sad thing is that reason is so corrupted. Interestingly, you unwittingly exalt reason as an unquestioned, infallible and sure dogma. The very thing you despise in “religious” people you end up doing yourself with reason. It seems that you have placed a lot of your faith in reason and reason alone. Do you really believe that you can reason independently of all authority and religious thought? This is only possible if you were to exist in a vacuum of nothingness. You are shaped by authority and by religion. I no doubt believe that you are a very religious person. Of course you reject Christianity, but you seem to have developed your own atheistic religion. One of the main tenets of such a man-centered religion is the rejection of Jesus Christ and the only true religion he offers. As the Bible says you have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. I would much rather be labeled as a critical thinker. One who seeks after the truth and determines its validity or invalidity through careful study and attainment of knowledge. Such free thinking to which you espouse only results in a free fall of the mind and soul. Have you ever read completely through and understood that which you so quickly denigrate – the Bible? Do you understand truly the message of Jesus Christ? Yet, by rejecting the God of the Bible and his Son Jesus Christ you have allowed your thinking to become futile and as punishment God has given you over to your sin. However, God is in the habit of saving and changing those who hate him. Paul, one of the main writers of the New Testament hated God before his life was changed after he realized who Jesus Christ was and what Christ had done. In fact, he actually killed Christians, much worse than your denigration with words. Yet, God demonstrates his love for the world in this way – while we were still in our sin, still with our corrupt God hating minds – he sent his Son to die on the cross to take away our sins. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved. Your mind will be renewed. Your thinking will be aligned with the way it was created to be. You will know your God, your creator. Of course, all this only appears as foolishness to those who are perishing, to those who reject and hate God. Yet it is the greatest wisdom to believe in the one who created you. Whether you believe it or not you were created to worship, you were created religious. Yet, because of the sin of your heart you have rejected the only way to restore true worship to the one and only true God. By believing in Jesus Christ you will restore that relationship. This is not foolishness, but hope and life for now and in the next. Thank you for your time in reading this. Thank you for posting your comment on my blog. Please feel free to respond if you would like. I would very much like to hear your thoughts about what I have said. By the way I agree with you – I would rather listen to Green Day over Stryper any day! I certainly think they are right in Jesus of Suburbia. Many who claim to be Christians have so distorted Christianity that it has become unrecognizable. Too many Christians offer a watered down Jesus tailor made for what people want – what will make them feel good. This is not at all how the Bible presents the almighty Son of God. They are also right: “No one ever died for my sins in hell as far as I can tell.” Jesus did not die in hell; he died on a cross some 2,000 years ago outside of the city of Jerusalem. It was there he died for the sins of those who believe on him. And three days later by the power of God he arose from the dead and now he stands at the right hand of God the father awaiting the time of judgment and salvation. “As far as [you] can tell” Jesus may never have died for your sins, but I tell you the truth – if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. You will not stand condemned. You will have eternal life. You will not stand at the “end of another lost highway” but you will stand before the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Foolishness…maybe. Words of life – definitely!

Turkey and Austria

2005-10-03T11:21:00.000-04:00

Austria is becoming a thorn in Turkey's side in regards to getting the talks for EU membership underway. Austria wants to be able to offer Turkey, what amounts to a second rate EU membership, in case full EU membership breaks down. Turkey adamantly rejects this "second-class status." UPDATE: Talks have begun...

San Fran's Folsom Street Fair

2005-10-01T21:43:00.000-04:00

On September 25, 400,000 people from the homosexual community congregated in San Francisco for the purpose of raising money to benefit homosexual and AIDS agencies. The event, ,Folsom Street Fair (click at your own risk - homosexually activities pictured), raised over $265,000. Yet, the interesting thing is that hardly any of the media has picked up the story. Why? Because of what takes place at this event. Let's just say it makes Sodom and Gomorrah look mild. Baptist Press has an interesting article on the event and its lack of media coverage.

Turkey and the Mentally Disabled

2005-09-30T18:12:00.000-04:00

The New York Times has an interesting editorial on Turkey's "torture" of the mentally handicap. A recent report released by Mental Disability Rights International claims that 1/3 of those in psychiatric rehabilitation for mental retardation receive electric shock therapy. After having skimmed the report it seems that electric shock therapy is mild compared to some of the other things that mentally handicapped people in Turkey must face. The reality is that this happens in probably just about every country to a certain extent. MDRI's website documents many different cases of abuse in many different countries - Turkey is just in the limelight now because of its hopes of joining the EU. I agree though with the NY Times editorial in that Turkey should take advantage of this to help form a corrective for the sake of their membership in the EU and more importantly for the sake of those who suffer under such corrupt circumstances.

Architeuthis

2005-09-27T22:12:00.000-04:00

There is just something that fascinates me about the Architeuthis, or the Giant Squid. There is something all together mysterious about this creature which roams in the darkest depths of the ocean. It defintely seems to be true that the Ocean is the last frontier. There are so many mysteries which we are only beginning to discover. God is surely a creative God. Such creatures only declare the glory and wonder of the Creator of heaven and earth.

An Autobiographical Deconstruction of Nietzsche

2005-09-27T18:19:00.000-04:00

Here is mt stab at getting to the heart of the life and thought of Friedrich Nietzsche God is dead and I have killed him. I am now dead and I have killed myself. This is the chronicle of my great existence. I am Dionysus against the crucified. First, let me begin with the murder of myself. I was born on October 15, 1844 in Rocken in the Prussian province of Saxony (Germany). My father was a Lutheran minister and both of my grandfathers were Lutheran clergymen. I am already dead as to my father and yet remain alive while becoming old as to my mother. My father died while I was at the age of four. I was told that he used to keep me by his side, as he would prepare his sermons or play the piano. After he died I was left as the only male in a household consisting of my sister, mother, grandmother, and two aunts. In 1865 I departed to the University of Leipzig and it was there where I encounter the work of Arthur Schopenhauer. His The World as Will and Representation, awakened me to the reality of suffering and conflict. His pessimism proved to be my optimism. In his work I discovered that suffering and pain were essential to life and in many ways were the foundation of life. To live purely as a rational Apollonian is to self-destruct. One need also be a Dionysian to lavish in suffering, pain, frivolity and the orgiastic. At the age of 24, before I even received my doctorate, I was appointed to a professorship of philology at Basel. I remained at Basel from 1869 to 1879 when constant sickness forced me out of teaching. Suffering seduced me and actually strengthened me. That which does not kill me only makes me stronger. I endured suffering physically and also professionally as my book The Birth of Tragedy was seen by many in philology to be a failure in the field. It is true that my Zarathustra is the greatest of my works, indeed the greatest of all works. I have continually been misunderstood, but do not perceive a time where humanity will come to their senses. It remains for them to see that I am no man, but that I am dynamite. My sister, Elisabeth, has also been an enigma to my mind. My relationship with her has been up and down yet it seems to have remained in the dregs. I have come to realize that in her character is everything, which I wish not to become. Her marriage to Bernhard Foerster, the anti-Semite, has reviled my soul. Her madness is sickness and I no longer which to see her and I have sought to avoid her husband for many years now. The anti-Semitic hubris of Germans is ironic in that Germany has in corrupted culture, learning, and truth. Germans are incapable of any notion of greatness and this is most evident in the arrogance of my brother-in-law. Anti-Semitism has even captured the heart of Richard Wagner. I could not have survived my youth without his music, but now find him as standing against everything, which is German. Wagner was once the hashish I needed to rid myself of being condemned as German. He was an antitoxin of everything German. How then is it possible that he has become a Christian? Is this to explain his hatred for the Jews? While he has been the great benefactor of my life and I have often greatly enjoyed his company I must remain contra Wagner. To become what one is, one must not have the faintest notion of what one is. In not knowing myself I come to best see myself as I am. It was on this day, January 3rd 1889 when I was walking through town and came upon a coach driver whipping his horse. Rage infected my heart at this act of brutality and I rushed to protect the animal. I wrapped my arms around the animal’s neck and was no more. I remain human, all too human. Secondly, let me speak to you of the death of God. I am predisposed to atheism. I do not understand such concepts as sin and guilt. Christian morality is the climactic foolishness of the ages. I am not child like enough to have a conscience, which is pricked by such imaginative doctrines. I have no experience of sin, no perception of guilt. What are these teachings but the herd morality of a religion with a God who is no longer. I am too inquisitive, too questionable, and too exuberant to accept the gross answer, which Christianity provides. God is a gross answer, one that I cannot live with. I will seek to annihilate Christian morality. I am the first immoralist. I am the annihilator par excellence. I reject the lies of Christian truth, the lies of Christian morality. Benevolence is not virtue it is weakness. Humility is arrogance. I do not want to be holy. In fact every “holy” man of whom I encounter I must wash my hands. Holiness reviles me. The God of Christianity is weak. He must be overcome. Where is this God? Is he asleep? Is he unable to hear? Has he forgotten? Is he able? No, he is dead and I have killed him. The bloodstained knife remains in my hands. The acrid smell of his decomposing body is a constant and putrid stench breathed in my nostrils. Where can I escape from his death, where can I run from his ruined presence? God is dead and the only way to escape him is to become him. I shall become God. I shall become the Ubermensch. I will strive with my all to fill the place of God. I shall not be the last man that Zarathustra spoke of. The last man sacrifices the future. I however shall become the future. I will not lie around but instead I will seek to conquer. I know my fate and I know that one day I shall attain, one day I shall become greatly known. This will come about because I am so wise. I have realized that God is dead and that the ultimate goal of my life is to fill his place. I do not want to become God but to become better then him; I want to become more than human. I am war like by nature. I will achieve the status of Ubermensch by waging war on morality, reality, and the truth, which is really all a lie. In essence I will wage war on Christianity. It is here, in Christianity, where all error stems from and flows forth. I do not want to become a victim of Christianity, but to expose the lies, which have been promulgated throughout the ages as the truth. Attacking is one of my instincts and therefore I myself am an opponent of Christianity. I am the Antichrist. Christianity is an oppressive religion, which seeks to exploit its adherents by positing superstition, which only strives on stupidity and weakness. Christians indeed have destroyed Christ. The New Testament has made Christ into a week queer who taught some quasi-feminist morality. The will to power is to be far more exalted. It is in overcoming the follies of religion where one will find the true meaning of this deranged life. It is not to be found in Christ or in the endless meanderings of the New Testament. Christianity is empty, a vacuous religion which seeks to suppress the truth in the name of righteousness. Humanity must relearn the truth and I will be her teacher. Throughout the ages man has only known meager imaginings of the heart, which leads astray. For the one who seeks after pleasure, laziness and immorality let him find it in religion. However for the one who seeks after the truth let him strive against reality, against Christianity, and against our cultural conception of truth. I am the truth and you can become the truth for there is no such thing as truth. Let us return to where we began. God is dead and so am I. I revel in the death of God and glory in the death of self. For God is dead and I have killed him. I am dead and have killed myself. The bloody knife drips wet with a mixed blood for now I have become more than human and more than God. I am the wise. I am the clever. I am a destiny. I am the murderer of God. I am the murderer of myself. I am Apollonian. I am Dionysus. I am all too human. I am the Ubermensch, the superman.

An Ugly Win!

2005-09-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

It wasn't pretty but it was a win. David Ackers, suffering through a hamstring injury, managed to kick the winning field goal with 9 seconds left to give the Eagles the victory over a persistent Oakland Raiders.

The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

2005-09-25T15:54:00.000-04:00

This little piece has been making its way around the blogosphere. It is pretty funny. Thanks Scott for pointing it out.

1. Q: What is the chief end of each individual Christian? A: Each individual Christian's chief end is to get saved. This is the first and great commandment. 2. Q: And what is the second great commandment? A: The second, which is like unto it, is to get as many others saved as he can. 3. Q: What one work is required of thee for thy salvation? A: It is required of me for my salvation that I make a Decision for Christ, which meaneth to accept Him into my heart to be my personal lord'n'saviour. 4. Q: At what time must thou perform this work? A: I must perform this work at such time as I have reached the Age of Accountability. 5. Q: At what time wilt thou have reached this Age? A: That is a trick question. In order to determine this time, my mind must be sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce even to the division of bone and marrow; for, alas, the Age of Accountability is different for each individual, and is thus unknowable. 6. Q: By what means is a Decision for Christ made? A: A Decision for Christ is made, not according to His own purpose and grace which was given to me in Christ Jesus before the world began, but according to the exercise of my own Free Will in saying the Sinner's Prayer in my own words. 7. Q: If it be true then that man is responsible for this Decision, how then can God be sovereign? A: He cannot be. God sovereignly chose not to be sovereign, and is therefore dependent upon me to come to Him for salvation. He standeth outside the door of my heart, forlornly knocking, until such time as I Decide to let Him in. 8. Q: How then can we make such a Decision, seeing that the Scripture saith, we are dead in our trespasses and sins? A: By this the Scripture meaneth, not that we are dead, but only that we are sick or injured in them. 9. Q: What is the assurance of thy salvation? A: The assurance of thy salvation is, that I know the date on which I prayed the Sinner's Prayer, and have duly written this date on an official Decision card. 10. Q: What is thy story? What is thy song? A: Praising my Savior all the day long. 11. Q: You ask me how I know he lives? A: He lives within my heart. 12. Q: And what else hast thou got in thine heart? A: I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. 13. Q: Where?? A: Down in my heart! 14. Q: Where??? A: Down in my heart!! 15. Q: What witness aid hath been given us as a technique by which we may win souls? A: The tract known commonly as the Four Spiritual Laws, is the chief aid whereby we may win souls. 16. Q: What doth this tract principally teach? A: The Four Spiritual Laws principally teach, that God's entire plan for history and the universe centereth on me, and that I am powerful enough to thwart His divine purpose if I refuse to let Him pursue His Wonderful Plan for my life. 17. Q: What supplementary technique is given by which we may win souls? A: The technique of giving our own Personal Testimony, in the which we must always be ready to give an answer concerning the years we spent in vanity and pride, and the wretched vices in which we wallowed all our lives until the day we got saved. 18. Q: I'm so happy, what's the reason why? A: Jesus took my burden all away! 19. Q: What are the means given whereby we may save large crowds of souls in a spectacular manner? A: Such a spectacle is accomplished by means of well-publicized Crusades and Revivals which (in order that none may be loath to attend) are best conducted anywhere else but in a Church. 20. Q: Am I a soldier of the Cross? A: I am a soldier of the Cross if I join Campus Crusade, Boys' Brigade, the Salvation Army, or the Wheaton Crusaders; of if I put on the helmet of Dispensationalism, the breastplate of Pietism, the shield of Tribulationism, and the sword of Zionism, having my feet shod with the gospel of Arminianism. 21. Q: Who is your boss? A: My boss is a Jewish carpenter. 22. Q: Hath God predestined vessels of wrath to Hell? A: God hath never performed such an omnipotent act, for any such thing would not reflect His primary attribute, which is Niceness. 23. Q: What is sanctification? A: Sanctification is the work of my free Will, whereby I am renewed by having my Daily Quiet Time. 24. Q: What rule hath God for our direction in prayer? A: The rule that we must bow our hands, close our heads, and fold our eyes. 25. Q: What doth the Lord's Prayer teach us? A: The Lord's Prayer teacheth us that we must never memorize a prayer, or use one that hath been written down. 26. Q: What's the book for thee? A: The B-I-B-L-E. 27. Q: Which are among the first books which a Christian should read to his soul's health? A: Among the first books which a Christian should read are the books of Daniel and Revelation, and The Late Great Planet Earth. 28. Q: Who is on the Lord's side? A: He who doth support whatsoever is done by the nation of Israel, and who doth renounce the world, the flesh, and the Catholic Church. 29. Q: What are the seven deadly sins? A: The seven deadly sins are smoking, drinking, dancing, card-playing, movie-going, baptizing babies, and having any creed but the Bible. 30. Q: What is a sacrament? A: A sacrament is an insidious invention devised by the Catholic Church whereby men are drawn into idolatry. 31. Q: What is the Lord's Supper? A: The Lord's Supper is a dispensing of saltines and grape juice, in which we remember Christ's command to pretend that they are His body and blood. 32. Q: What is baptism? A: Baptism is the act whereby, by the performance of something that seems quite silly in front of everyone, I prove that I really, really mean it. 33. Q: What is the Church? A: The Church is the tiny minority of individuals living at this time who have Jesus in their hearts, and who come together once a week for a sermon, fellowship and donuts. 34. Q: What is the office of the keys? A: The office of the keys is that office held by the custodian. 35. Q: What meaneth "The Priesthood Of All Believers"? A: The Priesthood Of All Believers meaneth that there exists no authority in the Church, as that falsely thought to be held by elders, presbyters, deacons, and bishops, but that each individual Christian acts as his own authority in all matters pertaining to the faith. 36. Q: Who is the Holy Spirit? A: The Holy Spirit is a gentleman who would never barge in. 37. Q: How long hath the Holy Spirit been at work? A: The Holy Spirit hath been at work for more than a century: expressly, since the nineteenth-century Revitalization brought about by traveling Evangelists carrying tents across America. 38. Q: When will be the "Last Days" of which the Bible speaketh? A: The "Last Days" are these days in which we are now living, in which the Antichrist, the Beast, and the Thief in the Night shall most certainly appear. 39. Q: What is the name of the event by which Christians will escape these dreadful entities? A: The event commonly known as the Rapture, in that which it is our Blessed Hope that all cars driven by Christians will suddenly have no drivers. 40. Q: When is Jesus coming again? A: Maybe morning, maybe noon, maybe evening, and maybe soon. 41. Q: When the roll, roll, roll, is called up yonder, where will you be? A: There. 42. Q: Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah! A: Praise ye the Lord! 43. Q: Praise ye the Lord! A: Hallelujah! 44. Q: Where will we meet again? A: Here, there, or in the air. 45. Q: Can I hear an Ay-men? A: Ay-men.

Injustice at Catholic Seminaries

2005-09-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

As the Catholic Church begins to take a deeper look at their seminaries many homosexual priests are upset. The Roman Church is seeking to weed out all homosexuality and homosexual practice within the priesthood. In light of the recent sexual abuse scandals that have riddled the church many argue that such a move will cut off the problem at its root. However, as expected, most homosexuals are not at all happy. It appears that the Vatican is working on a document which will bar all gay men from the clergy. They will begin at the seminary level in hopes of rooting out any homosexuals which may be thinking they are called into the ministry. One 48 year old gay priest has compared the recent moves of the Roman Church to Hitler’s “Final Solution” by exterminating and persecuting all the Jews. A 30 year old Franciscan seminarian says that the thought of leaving seminary has not crossed his mind and that he desires to speak out against such “injustices.” Others argue that homosexuality is not the issue, but celibacy is. Msgr. Denis Herron, pastor of St. Teresa's Church in NY, believes that a commitment to celibacy is more important than one’s sexual orientation. "Some people can't make that commitment, and that can be heterosexuals or homosexuals," Monsignor Herron said. "I'm concerned that this could turn into a witch hunt." It very well may turn into a witch hunt but are not some witch hunts necessary? The Bible is clear in its denunciation of homosexuality. The question then becomes, “how closely will the Roman Catholic Church follow the teachings of the Bible?” This issue is much deeper than just a few sexual abuse scandals – it is a matter of God’s holy word. Read a TIME article on the Roman Church and Homosexuality. UPDATE: Amy Welborn, in an Op Ed for the NY Times, argues for the validity of such a "purge" of homosexuality from Catholic seminaries for the sake of the people in the pew. She writes, "But a seminary also owes us, the people in the pews, psychologically mature priests who aren't engaged in an eternal and ego-driven struggle with their own problems, who are prepared to serve, to teach and preach - with integrity and honesty."

Bridging the Chasm: Abstract to Concrete

2005-09-18T15:51:00.000-04:00

Trying to teach abstract ideas to concrete thinkers is tantamount to trying to explain the difference between red and orange to a person who was born blind. How would you seek to explain grace, mercy, redemption, or righteousness to concrete thinkers without at the same time teaching something that is not really accurate?

Bridging the Chasm: Abstract to Concrete

In order to bridge the chasm of abstraction for those who think concretely the use of examples may prove the best.  Concrete thinkers need to see and hear concrete examples.  Examples, however, can only exist on an analogical relationship between that which they attempt to represent.  For instance, an example of grace can only mirror the reality of grace.  As an example it may have some dissimilarity between the reality of grace in abstraction.  Yet, even though this analogous relationship exists I do believe that is exactly the method Scripture uses.  The Bible does not discuss grace, mercy, redemption, and righteousness in abstraction.  Instead the Bible uses concrete examples from life and history.

First, there is grace and mercy.  Grace (or mercy) in abstraction may be defined as receiving that which we do not deserve.  Yet, grace is made real and concrete when sinners who deserve death and judgment actually receive grace and mercy.  Romans 5:8 best exemplifies the concrete example of grace: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  The concrete reality of the death and resurrection of Christ display the grace and mercy of God.

Secondly, there is redemption (or ransom).  Abstractly it may be defined as being saved from something evil or bad.  Yet, here again, we see that the example of Christ brings home the abstraction of redemption.  Scripture uses a variety of metaphors and examples to explain redemption.  First, there is the idea that we are dead in trespasses and sins, yet we are made alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1; Rom. 6:11).  The Devil has captured humanity and is the king of the earth, yet Christ came in order to destroy the works of the devil and to ransom those who were once children of darkness (1 John 3:8-10).  And of course, probably the most prominent event in the Bible is that of the Exodus.  The Exodus is the paradigmatic story of redemption and ransom from out of slavery and bondage.  This event serves as a type of the redemption found in Christ.

Lastly, there is the idea of righteousness.  This concept in abstraction may be defined as holy and moral perfection.  This is even a more difficult concept to explain concretely because the examples are hard to come by – for there are none righteous (Rom. 3:10).  The examples of the cult rituals of OT Israel which prefigured Christ may serve as a helpful example differentiating between righteousness and unrighteousness.  It is probably true that unrighteousness is easier to explain than righteousness – there are more examples and illustrations to use!

The Bible is full of examples and illustrations to help bridge the gap between abstract thought and concrete thought.  As a side not this is why chronological Bible-telling is so effective and helpful in more orally traditional cultures (non-western cultures).

Lakeshore Baptist Church

2005-09-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

Lakeshore Baptist Church was decimated by Katrina. Yet, in the midst of hopeful tears they continue to worship together. All but one of the members homes was destroyed and as Pastor Elbourne describes, they are a church in exile. The pictures are amazing...

Total Depravity in the News

2005-09-13T20:33:00.000-04:00

More verification that our world is lost in sin and misery. Two men were convicted of murdering a transgendered person. After they discovered that Gwen Araujo used to be a boy they killed him/her. A Haitian woman recounts her rape and beatings at the hand of the Haitian paramilitary. Eleven children were found caged in Ohio. Nursing home owners are charged with multiple deaths and negligence in the wake of Hurrican Katrina.

Comment Spam

2005-09-12T14:09:00.000-04:00

I don't really want to do this but my hand has been forced. I have turned on a word-verification form for the comments to help eliminate comment spam. Every time I post something it gets spammed. Just type in the words shown and you will be allowed to post your comment - sorry for this inconvenience, but it should help keep things clean.

Evangelism and the Devotional Life

2005-09-12T13:57:00.000-04:00

How does evangelism and devotion to Christ fit together? What affect does our time spent in prayer and the Word of God have on our evangelism? There have generally been two responses to this question and with these responses therein lies two dangers. First, there is the danger of seeing ones devotional life as a causal event which produces the effect of evangelism. This view argues somewhat as follows: I just had a great time with the Lord, therefore I am ready to share my faith with anyone. On the corollary it also argues that if you have a devotional time and get nothing out of it or if you skip your devotions then you are unfit to accomplish any fruitful evangelism. This is the error of legalism. The Church has been swept away by the flood waters of such thinking, washing away the true hope and motivation for evangelism. The second error is to think that no devotional life is needed for evangelism. We can just go out and do it without any spiritual preparation. This views sees no conditions whatsoever on the Christian and his purposes in the world. This is the subtle error of antinomianism. It is a rejection of God’s law and the way he intended for his people to obey him. Both legalism and antinomianism are guilty of separating one’s time of devotion away from the rest of one’s life. It is the fallacy of compartmentalization. Legalism argues that a set aside time of devotion to Christ insures a good or at least faithful witness. Antinomianism teaches that such a time of devotion is unnecessary to the task which God has called us unto. Both are affronts to the gospel of Christ and Biblical evangelism. God’s blessing of our evangelism is not dependent on our performance. We have a gospel centered salvation but a performance focused sanctification. This is not the Christian life, but a life lived under the shackles of legalism or antinomianism. The true Christian life is one that teaches that we are saved by grace and that we are to live daily by that grace. Jerry Bridges attacks our sinful thinking of “good days” vs. “bad days.”[1] On a bad day spiritually we see ourselves as too sinful and worthless to evangelize. We skipped our devotions or got nothing out of them. It was a dry time and because of this we think that we are unspiritual, unfit to evangelize. Then on good days we had a time of sweet fellowship with Christ and feel that nothing could stop us. We are hopeful in our evangelism and believe that because of our being filled up with the Spirit our witness will be effective. Every day, our good and bad days “should be a day of relating to God on the basis of his grace alone.” Bridges offers up this earth shattering spiritual principle: “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.”[2] Even our good works of evangelism are filthy rags in need of cleansing through the blood of Christ. We must take our eyes off of our performance and place it on our Savior. Our filthy rags are to no avail, but Christ and his perfect righteousness imputed to sinners such as ourselves is the hope of the gospel for all of life. Yet, there is also the danger of forsaking our duty to evangelize because the gospel covers all of our sin. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2). We are no longer compelled to evangelize by our guilt, we are to be motivated by the love of Christ. “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). Our devotional life and our evangelism must be motivated by love to Christ and not guilt for our countless sins and endless shortcomings. Here we see the necessity of a life of devotion to Christ for the purpose of effective Biblical evangelism.[3] It is the gospel which motivates our hearts to share the love of Christ with others. Without spending time in the Word and in prayer we will not be reminded of his love and we will fail to be compelled to share it with others. We need the gospel every hour, every day of our lives. There is also a danger of seeing our devotions as limited to a set aside time to worship Christ, read the Word and pray to our Father in heaven. I am not advocating that we abandon a set aside time of devotion to Christ, but that we so reorganize our lives that we see not a set aside 15 minutes as our devotional time, but the very entirety of our lives as a living sacrifice of devotion to Christ. It is not our time of devotions, but our life of devotion which counts in the long run.[4] We are to do all things to the glory of our God, our creator and king. [1] Jerry Bridges, The Disciplines of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994), 15-17. [2] Ibid, 18, emphasis his. [3] By using the word “effective” I am not referring to the amount of conversions or baptisms but evangelism carried out purposefully for the proclamation of the Word and the glory of Christ. [4] Of course, it must not be forgotten that a life of devotion to Christ presupposes a consistent time spent in the Word and in prayer.

Islam and Peace

2005-09-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

We have heard in the Western media that Islam means peace. Therefore it has been deduced that Islam is a peaceful religion which has been hijacked by a few radicalists. While a derivative of the word "Islam" does mean peace the central meaning of Islam actually means submission. Islam is a religion of submission of the whole person to Allah. In a video tape released today, 9/11, a Muslim threatening Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia says the following: "We are Muslims. We love peace, but peace on our terms, peace as laid down by Islam, not the so-called peace of occupiers and dictators." The Islamic notion of peace is submission of all to Islam. At least this is what the so-called "radicalists" are saying...

Operation World

2005-09-11T08:36:00.000-04:00

For many years Patrick Johnstone has produced Operation World. Simply, it is a prayer guide for the nations. It details the nations of the world for the purpose of informing the reader to better pray for those peoples. It looks at the religion, geography, economy, politics, and culture of any given people. Then after the “facts” are given there are numerous suggestions for prayer and outreach. It is simply an amazing resource. There is even a CD and a website. I have my homepage set to Operation World’s Pray Today. This page defaults to the nation scheduled to pray on that specific day. I would encourage you to set this as your homepage and be reminded to pray for the nations every time you log onto the internet. That all the nations of the earth will one day praise his name!

Tensions of Turkish Identity

2005-09-10T10:14:00.000-04:00

In one of today's New York Times editorials, the case of Orhan Pamuk - a novelist charged with the “public denigration” of Turkish society - stands to remind us of the underlining tensions of Turkish identity. Pamuk, facing up to three years in Turkish prison, has left the country. Indeed, I would say that there is a multifaceted tension of identity. There are at least three vying for attention: Islamic, secular, and nationalistic. The Islamic consciousness of Turkey longs for a strong Muslim presence and rule in the country. While, the Turkey is considered about 99% Muslim, the majority of those “Muslims” live as secularists even if they profess Islam. An Islamic identity would bring a resurgence of Islam to the table including the stronger more radical forms of Islam. This is a direct tension which would severely limit their options for joining the European Union. Then there is the secular consciousness of Turkey which I would say is the predominate view. This is the thought and lifestyle of those in the major cities and outlying areas. The impact of the West cannot be denied on this Islamic country. Its presence is everywhere, from cell-phones to McDonalds. This Western influence is what is allowing the EU to remain partially open to Turkish membership. Then there is the strong undercurrent of nationalistic consciousness. This identity can actually cut across and flow through the other two yet also remains separated. Those who strongly identify with Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, are the military and leaders of the present Turkish government. They fear the EU for what it could do to undermine the country’s Kemalist ideals. Yet, they also fear the Islamic identity for Kemal wanted a more Westernized society and almost paradoxically they fear the western secularist identity as too strong of a break from the past. Turkey is a land in tension. A country that exists between two worlds: the West and the Middle East, secularism and Islam. The next few years are defining for Turkey. If they are able to join the EU I believe a change of openness and democratic secularism will gradually influence the country, yet if they are denied membership than I believe that the option of Islamic rule will gain a stronger foothold in the country. A resolution of this tension will either strengthen Turkey or begin to erode the country. For now we can only wait and see what will happen along with Mr. Pamuk.

Gospel Motivation

2005-09-04T12:14:00.000-04:00

Here is my answer to two questions I was asked for a class on personal evangelism. 1) What motivates you to witness 2) The most significant "barrier" to witnessing with which you struggle For better or for worse there is a difference between what often motivates me and what should motivate me to witness. For instance, in this course we are required to witness and share the gospel at least seven times. So, in this particular case the primary motivation may overwhelmingly be the course requirement. Of course, this is a wrong motivation but given that it is a requirement it is an unavoidable one. On the other hand, though it cannot be completely dismissed as wrong. Maybe someone, like me, needs the requirement of a course to motivate into active evangelism. It may first be as a duty, but through actively performing evangelism and seeing the power of God and his gospel the work of evangelism will (I hope and pray) turn into a delight. Now what should be the true and proper motivation toward Christian proclamation? The Gospel. It is the love of Christ displayed to poor and wretched sinners which should motivate us to share this love. Only once we have understood that we as poor, miserable, and destitute sinners have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb, only then will we be constrained to proclaim the glories of Christ. We need to let Romans 5:8 sink in to our hearts and minds: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I believe that the greatest barrier to my consistent evangelism is the failure to recognize and fully grasp the motivation of evangelism. When I forget the gospel or when the gospel is not impacting my life then I loose the sense of urgency and importance for evangelism. Yet, if the gospel is revived and if I begin to live the gospel then a naturally out flowing of my gospel life will be a desire to share it. When one forgets the grace and mercy of God to miserable sinners one doesn’t see the need of sharing what is not important or what hasn’t impacted their life. Yet, when the reality of the gospel burns within our hearts we will have no other choice to share. Therefore, a recover of the undiluted, pure gospel of Jesus Christ is necessary to achieving consistent and faithful biblical evangelism.

Ambassadors for Christ

2005-09-01T19:52:00.000-04:00

Little, Paul E., How to Give Away Your Faith. Downers Groves, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1966, 1989. 191 pages. Introduction Paul Little’s classic work, How to Give Away Your Faith, offers a simple yet often times profound look at one of the “hardest” tasks of the Christian life: evangelism. Witnessing is hard. Most Christians try to stay away from it and those who do evangelize often prove to be more of an embarrassment to the faith than a witness. How are we to faithfully proclaim the gospel of Christ to a world in need? How do broken clay jars carry an eternal message of hope and life to the thirsty and starving? In seeking to answer such questions, Little charts a helpful course for those who seek to be Christ’s ambassadors to the world. Summary Be Real! The world’s need for Christ is real and his help is a necessity. Christ and Christianity are the only real answers to the world’s need. We must be aware of this need and we must sincerely and truthfully proclaim the wonders of his name. It is our duty to live a life of genuine faith and sincerity of mission because superficial Christianity is empty and meaningless. Our focus should be ultimately placed on things eternal while seeking to remedy things material. Our goal is to have others not just assent to the facts of Christianity but to believe in the Christ of Christianity. How then are we to witness? First, Little highlights the necessity of evangelism for our own personal spiritual growth. It is necessary to witness the power of the gospel. Then we must obey. Evangelism is a matter of obedience. Obedience to Christ brings forth proclamation of his truth. Little proceeds to list seven steps toward active evangelism. First, we must have contact with others in a social context. Secondly, we must seek to establish a common interest with the purpose of bridging communication. Then we must provoke an interest in spiritual things. Fourthly, we must recognize when we should stop and when we should continue on sharing. We also must not condemn those whom we are witnessing too for their various sins. Sixthly, we must not become sidetracked. We must stick to the main message. Lastly, we must call them to repentance. We must call them to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that they might be saved. How do we handle those “ticklish” awkward situations? Our desire is to have the unbelievers with whom we are in contact to begin to respect us even though we are different. As they begin to respect us so they will also begin to listen to us instead of viewing us as weird or insane. But awkward moments will come and the best thing we can do is to be prepared for them. We should anticipate difficult situations and have alternatives to comfortably work through them. As ambassadors of Christ it is our duty to proclaim his message. The messenger must know and understand the message for the purpose of being a faithful and knowledgeable ambassador. Little sums up the gospel message in Jesus Christ himself – “who He is, what He has done, and how He can be known in personal experience” (56). He suggests following the pattern of problem, diagnosis, cure for setting forth the message of the gospel. Further, ambassadors cannot just know the message but they must also believe it and live it. We don’t have all the answers, but we nonetheless must be ready to give a reason for the hope within us. There are many questions, which non-believers have, but their basic problem is one of moral unbelief. They have rejected their creator and traded his truth in for a lie. Christ is the answer to those questions, which are asked. However, he has left it as our duty to show the helpless and lost the importance and relevance of Christ in answering those questions. Christianity is true because Jesus is the truth. He is the relevant truth the world needs. So how are Christians to witness to a corrupted world without compromising our holiness? It is our duty to reach out to the world, but we must not succumb to worldliness. We must recognize that all of our life is God’s and we are to live as unto him and for his purposes. We should live all of life cognizant of being stewards of God’s time and we must strive to live a life of constant witness to the truth. The gospel is not just for a one-time salvation event; the gospel is for life. Faith in Christ, the object of our salvation, must continue throughout the Christian life. We are in a daily battle but with Christ it is a victorious battle. We battle against our secret self; against sins both external and internal. This battle must be fought with the Sword of the Spirit and it must be waged through the power of prayer. We also battle over time and priorities, which must be aligned with God’s prerogative. In doing so we will have fought a victorious battle. Evaluation It is hard to summarize the gospel. It encompasses the totality of the person and work of Christ. It cannot be easily reduced; yet, all gospel presentations in one-way or another do so. Little summed the message of the gospel up briefly in five points (or three facts: problem, diagnosis, cure). The gospel by no means is limited to these five points or four spiritual laws. Because the gospel is the message and motivation for evangelism it would have been helpful to spend more time on explicating the basics of the gospel message. He does offer good suggestions in helping us better understand the gospel: write it out, tell other Christians, tell non-Christians. I began reading Little’s “Seven Basic Questions” which non-Christians ask with the thought of seeing how postmodernism has changed those questions (67-81). Surprisingly, many of the questions being asked back in the 60’s and 70’s are the same ones being asked in the 21st Century. The destiny of the lost, the exclusivity of Christ, the problem of evil, miracles, and the veracity of the Bible are all questions still being pondered today. However, one will have to look elsewhere to find more comprehensive answers to these questions. Chapters 7-9 seem a little disconnected from the whole of the work. While they do relate in many ways to evangelism they don’t seem to relate as much as previous chapters. They do relate, but it seems that Little could have done a better job in integrating them together into a coherent whole. These later chapters seem to move away from teaching about evangelism toward various basics of the Christian life. It probably would have proven more helpful to have those chapters under a heading of what to do after evangelism. Maybe it would have been more worthwhile to have those chapters in the beginning to discuss the character and duties of the evangelist. Another factor which Little did not really deal with was the role of Scripture memorization in evangelism. Maybe this would fall under a general knowledge of God’s Word, but it seems important enough to warrant a separate discussion. The one who has hide God’s Word in their heart will have a great arsenal at their disposal when it comes to the battle of witnessing. Being able to go to the Bible will help show the non-Christian the importance to Scripture and that it contains the hope for this life and the next. Conclusion Witnessing is not optional for the Christian. In fact, as Little has shown, it is vital to the Christian life. It is a matter of obedience to our Creator and Redeemer. Little, offers a helpful guide toward developing better witnesses. While he offers various witnessing helps he goes beyond the task of evangelism and hits the witness himself. This is where Little is most valuable and while this work will be used for some years to come.

To be a Turk...

2005-09-01T17:18:00.000-04:00

...is to be a Muslim. This is the philosophy of the majority of the Turkish people. A true Turk cannot be a Christian. Because of this the persecution continues.

Scriptural Lenses for Cultural Viewing

2005-08-27T07:32:00.000-04:00

Note: The following post is my rambling of an answer to the question below. It is for a class I am taking called Intercultural Communication. God's Word is the only concrete absolute in our universe; it informs all cultures and can be changed by none. We should be biblical absolutists. Yet, we should always strive toward being cultural relativists. How? Why? Can something be right in one culture and wrong in another? Is there a purely Christian culture in the world today that all others should seek to imitate? Scriptural Lenses for Cultural Viewing Here is the obvious: cultures are different and varying, but Scripture is unchanging and perfect. Scripture then is to be the glasses which culture is viewed through. In order to determine right and wrong within any given culture we must go to the word of God. The Bible is to be the light upon our path as we walk along the diversity of today’s cultures. Yet, somewhat ironically, the Bible is never alone. We interpret Scripture and because we exist in a specific context our interpretations will be tainted by that context. This is not a denial of Sola Scriptura but an affirmation of our (and the Bible’s) historical situated-ness. We do not exist in a vacuum and we must also affirm that Scripture was written in history. Indeed, even the Word made flesh was born into history, born into a specific cultural context. Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Are we trapped then, drowning in the pit of postmodern relativistic despair? By no means! Let’s rehash first: Scripture is to inform and stand over culture, yet inescapably culture informs and helps define our understanding of Scripture. Thankfully, we are not left doing hermeneutical donuts in the snowy mix of postmodern flakiness. I believe Grant Osborne has offered an immensely helpful way out. Instead of the never-ending hermeneutical circle, Osborne argues for a model, which he calls, The Hermeneutical Spiral. Given this approach you are able to move from text to context (culture in our case). A spiral is a better metaphor than a circle, “because it is not a closed circle but rather an open-ended movement from the horizon of the text to the horizon of the reader” (Osborne, 6). There is marked progress. He continues: I am not going round and round a closed circle that can never detect the true meaning but am spiraling nearer and nearer to the text’s intending meaning as I refine my hypotheses and allow the text to continue to challenge and correct those alternative interpretations, then to guide my delineation of its significance for my situation today. So why is this important for understanding the relationship of culture to Scripture? Culture and Scripture exist in a symbiotic relationship each informing and interpreting the other. Scripture interprets culture and we are able to view the cultural worldview through scriptural lenses. Likewise, our culture helps us understand Scripture. As Scripture and culture interplay off of each other they do not go back and forth in a circle, but both of them spiral together toward the truth of Scripture’s intended meaning and its specific cultural application. The more Scripture and culture mesh together the closer to the truth they will come in applying Scripture to culture. After all, theology is just simply “applying scripture to life” (John Frame). Thinking about the incarnation is helpful in providing a deeper-rooted understanding of culture in relation to Scripture. Here, at the point of the incarnation, the Word and culture met. Christ, in taking human form, entered into our cultural-historical context. He did not just assume the body of a man, but entered and became involved within culture. Christ, the Lord of the universe partook in many aspects of the culture at that time (washing of feet, feasting at weddings, reading and debate in the synagogues, etc.). He even died through a means of cultural torture and death. At that time it was a cultural means of death for a crucifixion to be carried out. Yet, he also stood out against culture. He condemned many practices of the Pharisees, which conflicted against Scripture. He even talked with a Samaritan woman. He dined with tax collectors and sinners. For Christ, the foundation and lens of viewing culture is the Word of God. In using the language of Grunlan and Mayers, it is in Christ where "Biblical Absolutism" and "Cultural Relativism" meet.

De-evolution at London Zoo

2005-08-26T15:50:00.000-04:00

Human beings are on display at the London Zoo. The sign on their cage reads, "Warning: Humans in their Natural Environment." Yes, they are in a cage and apparently wearing little clothing. So, just why did the London Zoo put three men and five women on exhibit? Polly Willis, the spokeswoman for the Zoo said, "Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals ... teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate." One of the participants, 26-year-old Tom Mahoney is quoted as saying, "A lot of people think humans are above other animals. When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds us that we're not that special." Mahoney and the seven other “primates” are being treated just like the other animals complete with keepers, but they are allowed to go home at night. While attempting to emphasis the evolutionary worldview the Zoo actually (unwittingly) is left arguing for a form of de-evolution. In hoping to tie humanity back to the apes they end up, for the sake of argument, reversing the evolutionary growth of humanity. Humanity is returning to the apes. Well, I have to admit that there is some merit to their evolutionary thinking here. Sinful men and women who reject their creator and sustainer actually become so corrupted that the image of God, which they were stamped with, becomes more and more defiled. Those caged beasts are trading the truth of God for a lie. Here the sane words of Scripture: Psalm 8:4-9 What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Romans 1:20-23 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. With darkened hearts, God has given them over to every form of corruption and defilement. Sinful humanity has de-evolved from the place God intended. Now we are left only a little higher than the apes.

Killing in the Name of Science

2005-08-24T22:02:00.000-04:00

In The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) a team of doctors has argued that babies (fetuses as they call them) probably do not experience pain until at least the 29th week of gestation. The paper argues that the nerve connections in the brain are not complete enough until that time in order to feel and experience pain. Well here are some of my scattered thoughts based on the New York Times article. On the JAMA website it is stated that the context for this research is due to the federal legislation that would require doctors to tell woman that after 20 weeks the baby will feel pain and they will recommend anesthesia for the child. The doctors wanted to determine what developmental age a child actual began to feel pain. The research itself is very sketchy. They used as a basis for their research other writings, whether journals or various medical reports of child pain and the like. So they are basing their conclusions solely on what others wrote? Let’s face it – they are “writing” for the choir. Pro-abortion doctors arguing (seeking) for legitimacy to their taking of unborn life. I guess abortion doctors have to provide job security as well. Dr. David A. Grimes, a former head of abortion surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had a help admission to this debate. He said, "This is an unknowable question." Dr. Grimes still performs abortions in North Carolina but he is content to say, "All we can do in medicine is to infer." So inference is their best hope for children not feeling pain. I have to wonder in the back of my mind if this research is performed for the purpose of alleviating the guilt, which doctors and nurses must experience after taking active roles in the murder of unborn children. Dr. Mark A. Rosen, an author of the journal article and chief of obstetric anesthesia at the University of California, said that we should base our decisions upon “evidence, scientific evidence, not our emotional beliefs." He believes that the evidence points to no pain in unborn children up to the 29th week of pregnancy. Part of the problem is that whenever you raise any objection to such inhumane practice you will simply be dismissed as arguing from emotion and not the facts. This fails to realize two things: First, facts are interpreted. The question then becomes what interpretive framework are you working from? Are you a secular naturalist who sees humanity as simply an evolutionary primate or are you a Biblical Christian who sees all human life created and shaped in the image of God? This matters in understanding the facts. Facts can often go both ways, and they do. Secondly, is it always wrong to argue from emotions? I don’t think so. Emotions are an integral part of our life. They cannot be separated from reason so easily as scientists seem to think. Dr. K. S. Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, offered the most sage advice even though he is not against abortions. He said, "In the first trimester there is very likely no pain perception. By the second trimester, all bets are off and I would argue that in the absence of absolute proof we should give the fetus the benefit of the doubt if we are going to call ourselves compassionate and humane physicians." What a great concept – giving children the benefit of the doubt. But if this were to take place then abortion would be illegal. There are just too many questions to have absolute certainty. Therefore if we were to give the benefit of the doubt then abortion would be over. Even Dr. Rosen, one of the articles authors, admitted that we couldn’t know 100% whether the child does or does not experience pain. Well then, if this is so should we not give the unborn children the benefit of the doubt? Wouldn’t this be compassionate medicine? This surely is the more humane road. Another thing that I just don’t get is this – why give a child who is about to be brutally murdered anesthesia? I guess this is the humane and compassionate way to commit murder. Sadly, abortion is not going away any time soon. In America alone 1.3 million lives every year are snuffed out before they even come out of the womb. My initial reaction is that God would send his quick and swift judgment upon abortion practitioners. However, the more I thought about it the more I realize that they are desperately in need of God’s grace. While God would be glorified whether he sent out judgment or salvation it would nonetheless bring great glory to him to bring many abortion doctors and nurses to Christ. Imagine doctors who once committed abortions now decrying the practice and arguing from a Christian perspective against abortion. We certainly can and must pray for this end. UPDATE: Derek Thomas and the Guys at Reformation 21 will be blogging about this from a theological and pastoral point of view all next week. You will definitely want to see what they have to say regardless of what side of the debate you fall down on.

In the Cause of Freedom

2005-08-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

Today I realized that I do not pray for and thank enough those men and women who fight for the cause of freedom throughout the world. Hundreds of thousands of young men and women have died for our country in this century alone. I remain way to forgetful of their sacrifice. As a small token of my thankfulness to those who now serve our country I quote the following, which is just as applicable today as it was nearly 230 years ago. Thanks to them I remain a free man.

Your exertions in the cause of freedom, guided by wisdom and animated by zeal and courage, have gained you the love and confidence of your grateful countrymen; and they look to you, who are experienced veterans, and trust that you will still be the guardians of America. As I have the honor to be an American, and one among the free millions, who are defended by your valor, I would pay the tribute of thanks, and express my gratitude while I solicit you to continue in your present honorable and important station. I doubt not America will always find enough of her sons ready to flock to her standard, and support her freedom; but experience proves that experienced soldiers are more capable of performing the duties of the camp, and better qualified to face the enemy, than others; and therefore every friend of America will be desirous that most of the gentlemen who compose the present army may continue in the service of their country until “Liberty, Peace, and Safety” are established. Although your private concerns may call for your assistance at home, yet the voice of your country is still louder, and it is painful to heroic minds to quit the field when liberty calls, and the voice of injured millions cries “To arms! To arms!” Never was a cause more important or glorious than that which you are engaged in; not only your wives, your children, and distant posterity, but humanity at large, the world of mankind, are interested in it; for if tyranny should prevail in this great country, we may expect liberty will expire throughout the world. Therefore, more human glory and happiness may depend upon your exertions than every yet depended upon any of the sons of men. He that is a soldier in defense of such a cause, needs no title; his post is a post of honor, and although not an emperor, yet he shall wear a crown – of glory – and blessed will be his memory!

Excerpt taken from the New England Chronicle, signed simply “A Freeman.” Winter, 1776. Quoted in David, McCullough, 1776. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005; pp. 62-63.

United Way and the Gospel

2005-08-18T20:08:00.000-04:00

In work today we had the mandatory United Way meeting. All the big companies have them. When I worked at UPS we had to go and now while at Target. They say it is their way about caring for the community. It sounds like a lot of PR to me. In those meetings you watch a stirring video, replete with needy children, which lets you know what an impact you can make on your own community. It is very simply an emotional appeal. And it often works. Many people sign up to give a dollar a week or sometimes even more. After all this helps ease their sin-stricken conscious. Many see it as a way to “be good”; to work or in this case buy their way to heaven. But of course this doesn’t work. Even if they sacrificed their whole paycheck they would not reach eternity with Christ. Yet, sadly it has the effect of easing their troubled hearts. It makes them feel better about themselves. It makes them believe that they are good persons. The Gospel speaks otherwise. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All good works are mere filthy rags. There is no one who is righteous not one. A dollar a week does not get one into heaven. Only by the power of the gospel, the work of Jesus Christ, will people be saved. Another thing struck me about United Way. Why is there even a United Way? There shouldn’t be. To me this only highlights the failure of the Church. The United Way is doing the mission of the Church. It is the Church, which should be taking care of the sick, poor, and needy. Widows, orphans, the homeless, and the abandoned elderly, etc. are to be taken care of the Church, not the United Way. Sadly, the Church has failed to live out what James calls pure and true religion. I pray that the Body of Christ will begin to care for this world again. Lastly, I just wanted to briefly note why I will not be giving a dollar a week out of my paycheck. There are a few reasons why I will not support the United Way. First, as a Christian I believe it is an irresponsible use of God’s money. There are much better organizations to give to. How about Voice of the Martyrs or Samaritan’s Purse to name a few. Secondly, I will not support the United Way because of their muddy relationship with Planned Parenthood (there are other organization of which I am not that happy about either, but Planned Parenthood is the most obvious). Their website says that their money does not support abortion yet still millions of dollars is given each year to Planned Parenthood. Their website states: “No United Way funds are currently used, or have ever been used to support abortion services.” Maybe not directly, but they still support abortion organizations who service abortions. Their relationship is just to muddy for me. It is my hope that one day the Church will grow into such a gospel-caring community that the United Way will become unnecessary and pass away.

Loss of Gospel Power

2005-08-17T21:06:00.000-04:00

If the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), why then does it often seem powerless? There is certainly nothing in the gospel itself, which is diminished or weakened over time. But we must sadly confess that our hearts often grow cold and lifeless to its power. I have drifted in and out of this state for some time now. I continually remind myself that the gospel is powerful and it is the only means of hope, the only means of salvation. But all too often I am not convicted, challenged and encouraged by its message. I came across a good answer to this question in an unlikely place. I have been reading Paul Little’s classic work on evangelism entitled, How to Give Away Your Faith. At one point he is discussing how our lack of evangelism and withdrawing from it actually produces spiritual harm. When we do not share the gospel we often stifle ourselves spiritually. He writes, “When we see no evidence of [the Gospel's] redemptive power, the gospel begins to seem less real” (24). When we fail to see demonstratively the power of the gospel we tend to loose sight of the reality of its power. We forget what it is like to share Christ with someone. We fail to remember the passion we once had after we accepted Christ, or the passion displayed by new believers. We have forgotten the miracles of the Lord and have traded them in for the mundane. We continue to profess the gospel but we have failed to live it out. When the gospel looses its power we need to experience it again. We need to feel the nervous excitement of sharing its truths with the lost. We need to feel its power as lives are transformed. We need to see those who are weary and heavy-laden finding rest in Christ. We need to put the gospel into action. We need to revive its power and might before our eyes. We need to witness salvation as from the Lord. May the Lord take our fledgling understanding of his gospel and revive our hearts with its demonstration in our lives and the lives of others – only then will the power of salvation be clearly seen.

Not conducive to the public good

2005-08-13T12:22:00.000-04:00

Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed has finally been kicked out of Britain. After preaching much violence and hate, which includes praise for the 9-11 attacks on the U.S., the Syrian Cleric was barred from ever returning to England. Before a "vacation" in Lebanon the Sheik had lived in London for the past 20 years after being granted political asylum by the British government. His presence in London was ruled as "not conducive to the public good." No kidding! So there is a level to tolerance! Those who preach hate and jihad against the infidels (i.e. westerners) will be dealt with. It always amazes me that such people mock and criticize the very system, which provides refuge and stability for them to offer such criticism.

Caffeine Conflict

2005-08-12T21:37:00.000-04:00

This is why I prefer Dunkin Donuts. :)