Saturday, April 7, 2012
Nevin: Reformation Thought
“The Reformation may be regarded, in one view, as an entirely new life in the history of Christianity. More deeply considered however, it will be found to stand in the closest living connection with this same history, as it had been regularly developed in the bosom of the Catholic Church for centuries before. It formed no absolute rupture with the old life of the body bearing this title; on the contrary, it was only its true and legitimate continuation, through the vast convulsive crisis which threatened at the same time its total dissolution. In no other light can it be vindicated as the work of God” (J. W. Nevin, History and Genius of the Heidelberg Catechism (Chambersburg, 1847), 2).
Friday, April 6, 2012
Book Review: John Calvin's American Legacy
I have picked up a new book and I plan on blogging through it. This will be my first blog-through-review of a book.
The Hoosier academic, Thomas J. Davis, is the editor of John Calvin’s American Legacy (Oxford University Press, 2010), and in his Introduction he notes that Calvin is used as a “stand-in for ideologies with which one either agrees or disagrees (usually vehemently.” Davis is absolutely correct. Calvin and Calvinism are, in the American public square, without doubt, controversial.
But the value of this work edited by Davis is demonstrated by what could have been a succinct (if it lacked parenthetical thoughts) statement-of-intent near the end of the Introduction. Davis says:
If this work achieves its aim, an honest yet irenic exploration of Calvin’s and Calvinism’s influence on American society and culture, and if the articles by the contributing authors work towards that aim without caricatured oversimplifications, then this should be an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to learning not only more about Calvin and Calvinism, being a point of interest since I am, in fact, a Calvinist, but also about the influence of Calvin's thought and legacy on America. Which is another point of interest, since I am also an American.
The Hoosier academic, Thomas J. Davis, is the editor of John Calvin’s American Legacy (Oxford University Press, 2010), and in his Introduction he notes that Calvin is used as a “stand-in for ideologies with which one either agrees or disagrees (usually vehemently.” Davis is absolutely correct. Calvin and Calvinism are, in the American public square, without doubt, controversial.
But the value of this work edited by Davis is demonstrated by what could have been a succinct (if it lacked parenthetical thoughts) statement-of-intent near the end of the Introduction. Davis says:
The point of this book is that, despite all of the changes and challenges; despite Calvinism’s ultimate failure to hold the American consciousness; and despite an especially fervent effort to dismiss the Calvinist outlook from American culture by sermon ([William Ellery] Channing and, after him, religious movements that numerically overwhelmed the old Puritan faith, such as Methodism) or by the art of letters and the novel ([Catharine] Sedgwick and others, yes, but also those deep within the tradition of Calvinism who brought their most anguished complaints against it to the light of day through their written work; one thinks of the Beecher children here) or by the sardonic newspaper column (H. L. Mencken), the fact remains that Calvinism in American has had an impact on American society and culture in every century, even if at times it has gone unrecognized. And behind Calvinism stands Calvin.
If this work achieves its aim, an honest yet irenic exploration of Calvin’s and Calvinism’s influence on American society and culture, and if the articles by the contributing authors work towards that aim without caricatured oversimplifications, then this should be an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to learning not only more about Calvin and Calvinism, being a point of interest since I am, in fact, a Calvinist, but also about the influence of Calvin's thought and legacy on America. Which is another point of interest, since I am also an American.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Bible Resources
Here are a couple resources I stumbled upon quite by accident.
http://www.biblewebapp.com - Designed well and the "Version 2" has some excellent features (e.g, morphology highlighting for word studies, etc.).
http://bestcommentaries.com - Draws from multiple sources for aggregate ranking of Bible commentaries. I imagine this would be useful for somebody embarking on Thesis research.
http://www.biblewebapp.com - Designed well and the "Version 2" has some excellent features (e.g, morphology highlighting for word studies, etc.).
http://bestcommentaries.com - Draws from multiple sources for aggregate ranking of Bible commentaries. I imagine this would be useful for somebody embarking on Thesis research.
The Church According to James B. Jordan
I have been listening to a collection of lectures from the 1990s on worship by James B. Jordan. Lots of excellent quips, here are a few:
"The Church creates civilization."
"The Church is the nursery of culture."
"The Church also is the pioneer of the Kingdom of God."
"The Church controls the world through the liturgy of the Church."
"The Church creates civilization."
"The Church is the nursery of culture."
"The Church also is the pioneer of the Kingdom of God."
"The Church controls the world through the liturgy of the Church."
Monday, March 26, 2012
Van Til: Christian Metaphysics
"So I point out that the Bible does contain a theory of reality. And this theory of reality is that of two levels of being, first, of God as infinite, eternal, and unchangeable and, second, of the universe that is derivative, finite, temporal and changeable. A position is best known by its most basic differentiation. The meanings of all words in the Christian theory of being depend upon the differentiation between the self-contained God and the created universe" (Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (4th Edition by P&R Publishing, 2008), 237).
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Lenten Meditation
"Let us ride the eruption of Easter" (N. D. Wilson, Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl, 197).
Reading Scripture
“Christ’s sacrifice and death for sinners, and Christ’s kingdom and future glory, are the light we must bring to bear on any book of Scripture we read” (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 312).
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Andrew's Art
http://andrew-luttrull-news.blogspot.com/
Take a break from Facebook, or whichever Internets-of-choice you prefer, and spend time enjoying images of art created by my friend Andrew. He recently completed his MFA examination.
Congratulations, Andrew!
Take a break from Facebook, or whichever Internets-of-choice you prefer, and spend time enjoying images of art created by my friend Andrew. He recently completed his MFA examination.
Congratulations, Andrew!
Spiritual Laziness
A meaningful warning to those who have “zeal for orthodoxy and neglect for daily practical godliness,” myself included. Believe you me; there is nothing orthodox about neglect or, as they use to say, Acedia.
Trinity Evangelical Church: Family Study
On Sunday our church has a family study before the Covenant Renewal and Worship Service. I recently taught a two week course for the family study on the relationship between Worship, Worldview, and Christian Character. I leaned heavily upon the thinking of J.C. Ryle's Holiness, James K. A. Smith's Desiring the Kingdom, Jeff Meyers' The Lord's Service, and N. T. Wright's After You Believe. If you care to listen, you can find audio at http://trinity-evangelical.org/blog/.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Van Til: Doctrine of Salvation
"... Christ must subdue us in order to give us knowledge. But this subduing of us by Christ is done through his Spirit. It is the Spirit who takes the things of Christ and gives them unto us." ...
"For this reason we must observe at this juncture that the Spirit who applies the work of Christ is himself also a member of the ontological Trinity. He would have to be. Unless he were, the work of salvation would not be the work of God alone. If God was to be maintained in his incommunicable attributes [the attributes of God that cannot be communicated or gifted to objects or persons in the universe; e.g., the aseity of God, immutability of God, omnipresence of God, etc.], the Spirit of God, not man, had to effect the salvation of man. The only alternative to this would be that man could at some point take the initiative in the matter of his own salvation. This would imply that the salvation wrought by Christ could be frustrated by man. Suppose that none should accept the salvation offered to them. In that case the whole of Christ's work would be in vain, and the eternal God would be set at naught by temporal man. Even if we say that in the case of any one individual sinner the question of salvation is in the last analysis dependent upon man rather than upon God, that is, if we say that man can of himself accept or reject the gospel as he pleases, we have made the eternal God dependent upon man. We have then, in effect, denied the incommunicable attributes of God. If we refuse to mix the eternal and the temporal at the point of creation and at the point of the incarnation, we must also refuse to mix them at the point of salvation" (Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of The Faith, 40).
"For this reason we must observe at this juncture that the Spirit who applies the work of Christ is himself also a member of the ontological Trinity. He would have to be. Unless he were, the work of salvation would not be the work of God alone. If God was to be maintained in his incommunicable attributes [the attributes of God that cannot be communicated or gifted to objects or persons in the universe; e.g., the aseity of God, immutability of God, omnipresence of God, etc.], the Spirit of God, not man, had to effect the salvation of man. The only alternative to this would be that man could at some point take the initiative in the matter of his own salvation. This would imply that the salvation wrought by Christ could be frustrated by man. Suppose that none should accept the salvation offered to them. In that case the whole of Christ's work would be in vain, and the eternal God would be set at naught by temporal man. Even if we say that in the case of any one individual sinner the question of salvation is in the last analysis dependent upon man rather than upon God, that is, if we say that man can of himself accept or reject the gospel as he pleases, we have made the eternal God dependent upon man. We have then, in effect, denied the incommunicable attributes of God. If we refuse to mix the eternal and the temporal at the point of creation and at the point of the incarnation, we must also refuse to mix them at the point of salvation" (Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of The Faith, 40).
Wright: After You Believe
“What are we here for in the first place? The fundamental answer we shall explore in this book is that what we’re “here for” is to become genuine human beings, reflecting the God in whose image we’re made, and doing so in worship on the one hand and in mission, in its full and large sense, on the other; and that we do this not least by “following Jesus.” The way this works out is that it produces, through the work of the Holy Spirit, a transformation of character” (N.T. Wright, After You Believe, 26).
Wright: After You Believe
“How do we not only think clearly and wisely about what to do, in our personal lives, our church lives, and our entire public life, but also discover how to do it” (12)? … “Interestingly, Jesus seems to have given both sides of this question the same answer: “Follow me!” That is both what you should do and how you should do it” (14).
“You can divide theories about human behavior into two: either you obey rules imposed from the outside, or you discover the deepest longings of your own heart and try to go with them.” … “But what we notice in Mark 10 is something which seems to operate in a different dimension. For a start, it is a call, not to specific acts of behavior, but to a type of character. For another thing, it is a call to see oneself as having a role to play within a story-—and a story where, to join up with the first point, there is one supreme Character whose life is to be followed” (17).
“My contention in this book is that the New Testament invites its readers to learn how to be human in this particular way, which will both inform our moral judgments and form our characters so that we can live by their guidance. The name for this way of being human, this kind of transformation, is virtue” (N.T. Wright, After You Believe, 18).
“You can divide theories about human behavior into two: either you obey rules imposed from the outside, or you discover the deepest longings of your own heart and try to go with them.” … “But what we notice in Mark 10 is something which seems to operate in a different dimension. For a start, it is a call, not to specific acts of behavior, but to a type of character. For another thing, it is a call to see oneself as having a role to play within a story-—and a story where, to join up with the first point, there is one supreme Character whose life is to be followed” (17).
“My contention in this book is that the New Testament invites its readers to learn how to be human in this particular way, which will both inform our moral judgments and form our characters so that we can live by their guidance. The name for this way of being human, this kind of transformation, is virtue” (N.T. Wright, After You Believe, 18).
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Coming to Christ is Faith
Robert Haldane quotes from Bell’s On the Covenants in his opening remarks on Chapter IX of Romans: “The sinner’s right to Christ turns not at all upon any inward gracious qualifications, but purely on the Divine warrant revealed in the word. Faith is not a qualification in order to come to Christ, but the coming itself; it is not our right to Christ, but our taking and receiving Him to ourselves on the footing of the right conveyed by the Gospel offer” (Exposition of Romans, 433).
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sermon Notes: 2 Kings 4:1-7
Introduction: An anonymous widow cried unto the prophet Elisha because her sons are going to be taken away and made bondmen as payment for a debt. If this occurs, then the widow’s prospects are grim. Equally grim is the state of affairs in the divided nation of Israel. King David died and so did King Solomon, but now wicked men rule the nation and now death is everywhere in the land. However, there is hope for the nation, a hope presented in the story of the widow who God delivers through the miraculous pouring of oil from one vessel into many vessels. And the hope is this – place your faith in YHWH who is the deliverer and Lord of life.
Context: The story of 1 & 2 Kings is a prophetic and political story of Israel’s rebellion against YHWH; a story of the transition from holiness/life to sin/death. When godly men rule the land justice is in the land; but when wicked men rule people cannot appeal to a king for justice, rather they have to appeal to the prophets of God, like the anonymous widow does.
The widow’s sons are going to be taken away as payment for a debt by her creditors, but this is not a just avenue. Although the Law did allow temporary servitude for defaulted charity loans to the impoverished (Leviticus 25), Israel was given instructions to care for widows and orphans (Exodus 22). The creditors have the ability to forgive the debt, to be merciful; but instead, they are wicked, like the priests and scribes that devoured homes of widows (Matthew 23:1-14).
Widow Cried Unto Elisha: So, the widows goes to Elisha, she cries out to the prophet of God for help.
Elisha’s Reply: What shall I do for thee? What do you have in your home? He wants to know if she has anything she could sell to pay off the debt. All she has a single vessel of oil, but even though oil is valuable it is not enough to pay off the debt. So, Elisha tells her to go collect empty vessels from her neighbors and to bring them back to her house, and to then, from the secrecy behind her closed door, to begin to pour oil into the empty vessels.
Widow’s Response: The widow obeys to the letter. She gathers pots and begins to pour, and she pours until all of the pots are full. She then returns to the prophet to notify him that she now has many vessels with oil. It is important to note that she does not presume upon the word of the prophet, she does not go out and sell the oil without his instructing her to do so.
Elisha’s Command: Go and sell the oil. You will pay off your debt and there will also be profits left over for you and your sons to live on. Notice that YHWH has not only delivered this widow, but he has also provided retribution in addition to the sons who have been figuratively returned to her, the sons who were going to be stolen from her by her wicked creditors
Application: We need to “wear our theology” – we need to “wear” the story of the widow who cried unto Elisha – have true faith like she did. In her time of need, in the midst of pain (her husband has died) and hardship (sons will be taken away as payment for a debt), she appeals to the prophet of God (ultimately to God!) for justice and deliverance. The widow had true faith, she obeyed the word of the Lord to the letter (she goes out and appears foolish, collecting empty vessels, and returns to her home and begins to pour).
We must have faith like this widow because the Gospel is true. Our circumstances are equally grim; because of sin our circumstances are grim. However, God has provided deliverance to us through the instrument of faith by the grace and atoning work of Jesus Christ. We must take God at his word, like the widow, and trust and obey. So, put on and exercise real faith, just like the anonymous widow who cried unto Elisha.
Context: The story of 1 & 2 Kings is a prophetic and political story of Israel’s rebellion against YHWH; a story of the transition from holiness/life to sin/death. When godly men rule the land justice is in the land; but when wicked men rule people cannot appeal to a king for justice, rather they have to appeal to the prophets of God, like the anonymous widow does.
The widow’s sons are going to be taken away as payment for a debt by her creditors, but this is not a just avenue. Although the Law did allow temporary servitude for defaulted charity loans to the impoverished (Leviticus 25), Israel was given instructions to care for widows and orphans (Exodus 22). The creditors have the ability to forgive the debt, to be merciful; but instead, they are wicked, like the priests and scribes that devoured homes of widows (Matthew 23:1-14).
Widow Cried Unto Elisha: So, the widows goes to Elisha, she cries out to the prophet of God for help.
Elisha’s Reply: What shall I do for thee? What do you have in your home? He wants to know if she has anything she could sell to pay off the debt. All she has a single vessel of oil, but even though oil is valuable it is not enough to pay off the debt. So, Elisha tells her to go collect empty vessels from her neighbors and to bring them back to her house, and to then, from the secrecy behind her closed door, to begin to pour oil into the empty vessels.
Widow’s Response: The widow obeys to the letter. She gathers pots and begins to pour, and she pours until all of the pots are full. She then returns to the prophet to notify him that she now has many vessels with oil. It is important to note that she does not presume upon the word of the prophet, she does not go out and sell the oil without his instructing her to do so.
Elisha’s Command: Go and sell the oil. You will pay off your debt and there will also be profits left over for you and your sons to live on. Notice that YHWH has not only delivered this widow, but he has also provided retribution in addition to the sons who have been figuratively returned to her, the sons who were going to be stolen from her by her wicked creditors
Application: We need to “wear our theology” – we need to “wear” the story of the widow who cried unto Elisha – have true faith like she did. In her time of need, in the midst of pain (her husband has died) and hardship (sons will be taken away as payment for a debt), she appeals to the prophet of God (ultimately to God!) for justice and deliverance. The widow had true faith, she obeyed the word of the Lord to the letter (she goes out and appears foolish, collecting empty vessels, and returns to her home and begins to pour).
We must have faith like this widow because the Gospel is true. Our circumstances are equally grim; because of sin our circumstances are grim. However, God has provided deliverance to us through the instrument of faith by the grace and atoning work of Jesus Christ. We must take God at his word, like the widow, and trust and obey. So, put on and exercise real faith, just like the anonymous widow who cried unto Elisha.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Apologetics: Innate Knowledge
We know that God exists because of innate knowledge. But why? How is it that knowledge of God is innate? What makes that the case? To find the answer we must consider two things about our creaturehood.
1. How are we made? God "spoke" creation into existence ex nihilo, out of nothing. God spoke the scientific things we call "space" and "time" and "matter" into existence, and then like a potter does with a pot, he formed that stuff into things. God formed man out of the dirt of the earth and breathed life into him. This is how God created man.
2. What are we made of? Since God spoke the world into existence and created it out of nothing, that is, he merely spoke and it was so, this means that man is made out of God's spoken word! This means that everything is made out of God's spoken words, which are so powerful that the thing said becomes the thing. Divine speech is truly creative and powerful!
What are we made of? Raw material that God spoke into existence, out of nothing. And it is God’s voice that sustains us. As N D Wilson says, we are God's spoken world. It would make sense then that knowledge of God is innate knowledge.
1. How are we made? God "spoke" creation into existence ex nihilo, out of nothing. God spoke the scientific things we call "space" and "time" and "matter" into existence, and then like a potter does with a pot, he formed that stuff into things. God formed man out of the dirt of the earth and breathed life into him. This is how God created man.
2. What are we made of? Since God spoke the world into existence and created it out of nothing, that is, he merely spoke and it was so, this means that man is made out of God's spoken word! This means that everything is made out of God's spoken words, which are so powerful that the thing said becomes the thing. Divine speech is truly creative and powerful!
What are we made of? Raw material that God spoke into existence, out of nothing. And it is God’s voice that sustains us. As N D Wilson says, we are God's spoken world. It would make sense then that knowledge of God is innate knowledge.
Apologetics: Romans 1:18-21
How should Christians "do" Apologetics? If we are going to craft some arguments for the existence, nature, and attributes of the Triune God, then where should we begin? To do so, we need not look any further than Paul's opening chapter from Romans.
Man, therefore, knows that God exists. This presupposition is where Christians must start to "do" Apologetics.
An Evangelical-Apologetic, in order to be effective, must be Biblical. A Christian Apologist must start with Scripture (man knows God exists), and, from the outset, consider it a settled matter that, in regards to the men and women with whom he will be conversing, all non-believers have "vain imaginations" and "darkened foolish hearts". Iniquity is wrapped up inside of them. Hence, if a Christian appeals to the ontological or empirical arguments as the primary defense for the existence of God, then he is merely wasting time. God is the base of epistemology (knowledge) because he is the source of all things (the Creator of Creation). This means that knowledge of God's existence is innate knowledge.
True conversion occurs when men and women take their creaturehood seriously and admit "that which may be known of God is manifest in them." When men and women take their creaturehood seriously they stop thirsting for "objective" truth or self-discovered truth, and they stop making their perceptions the measure of all things. They need to be humble before the Lord, whose very image they bear as creatures, and put on the mind of a servant and glorify God and be thankful! The aim of Apologetics is to convert non-believers, to tell ingrates to take their creaturehood seriously by "waking up and smelling the coffee", by tasting and seeing and knowing that the Lord is good!
So, the take away message is this: never concede to an unbeliever that they do not know that God exists. They may begin to shout, they may begin to hop around, and you will begin to think they are doing a rain-dance, but don't allow this to distract you or dull your wits. God says they do know that He exists! If they say they don't know that God exits, then they are both an ingrate and a liar.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Man, therefore, knows that God exists. This presupposition is where Christians must start to "do" Apologetics.
An Evangelical-Apologetic, in order to be effective, must be Biblical. A Christian Apologist must start with Scripture (man knows God exists), and, from the outset, consider it a settled matter that, in regards to the men and women with whom he will be conversing, all non-believers have "vain imaginations" and "darkened foolish hearts". Iniquity is wrapped up inside of them. Hence, if a Christian appeals to the ontological or empirical arguments as the primary defense for the existence of God, then he is merely wasting time. God is the base of epistemology (knowledge) because he is the source of all things (the Creator of Creation). This means that knowledge of God's existence is innate knowledge.
True conversion occurs when men and women take their creaturehood seriously and admit "that which may be known of God is manifest in them." When men and women take their creaturehood seriously they stop thirsting for "objective" truth or self-discovered truth, and they stop making their perceptions the measure of all things. They need to be humble before the Lord, whose very image they bear as creatures, and put on the mind of a servant and glorify God and be thankful! The aim of Apologetics is to convert non-believers, to tell ingrates to take their creaturehood seriously by "waking up and smelling the coffee", by tasting and seeing and knowing that the Lord is good!
So, the take away message is this: never concede to an unbeliever that they do not know that God exists. They may begin to shout, they may begin to hop around, and you will begin to think they are doing a rain-dance, but don't allow this to distract you or dull your wits. God says they do know that He exists! If they say they don't know that God exits, then they are both an ingrate and a liar.
Apologetics: Calling a Spade a Spade
“The correct theological term for many who label themselves “liberal” or “left-wing” or “progressive” theologians is “heretics.” By definition, a heretic is one who dissents from an essential doctrine (from the Greek haireomai, “to pick out for oneself”). Since most heretics today no longer believe in the very idea of essential doctrines, they do not accept the label” (Peter Kreeft & Ronald Keith Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, 25).
Apologetics: Evangelical
“Western civilization is for the first time in its history in danger of dying. The reason is spiritual. It is losing its life, its soul; that soul was the Christian faith. The infection killing it is not multiculturalism—other faiths—but the monoculturalism of secularism—no faith, no soul. Our century has been marked by genocide, sexual chaos, and money-worship. Unless all the prophets are liars, we are doomed unless we repent and “turn back the clock” (not technologically but spiritually). The church of Christ will never die, but our civilization will. If the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, this world certainly won’t. We do apologetics not to save the church but to save the world” (Peter Kreeft & Ronald Keith Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, 23-24).
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