Falling Down

My new blog

2007-10-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I started a personal blog hereI've joined the revolution ;)I will probably still post more formal stuff here, but I'll try to post more just random thoughts on my personal one.

The Clarity of Scripture: Three Views

2007-10-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Introduction The question of whether or not Scripture is clear is not a new one.1 In fact, it was brought up even before the Word of God existed in written form. The serpent asked Eve, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”2 bringing into question the clarity of God's command.3 It was as if the serpent was saying, “We both know what God said, but do you

I moved

2007-09-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

I moved here.

Ok, one more.

2007-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

1 John 2:2 "... and [Christ] Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."I know that universalism could be argued down from other passages in the NT, but as I ran across this last night, I asked myself why I had never read it so clearly before. At face value, does this passage, in context, advocate universalism? Or at the very least, a

I'm on a roll

2007-09-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

Ok. Here's another question.Once you get past primary issues of theology (divinity of Christ, afterlife, etc.) to secondary issues (nature of predestination, filioque clause) where there are many opinions on various issues, I want to know: is it better to have an informed opinion?Let me explain. We could have some opposing scenarios here.a) In one instance, I am a rock critic for a magazine. I

Response to "Filioque?"

2007-09-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

I responded here.

The Filioque?

2007-09-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

http://swordinfire.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-dont-protestants-protest-filioque.htmlDo you guys know what that word means? I had to look it up. But once I did, I remembered that it was the intellectual reason behind (or in front of?) the political reason for the Great Schism ... the split of the Catholic and Orthodox churches in ... 1054? The basic idea is this: they took issue with the addition of

On the Death of a Son

2007-07-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I started a new blog. I'm going to try to write on it, and hopefully some people might read it.I wrote about Josh Conradson's death here.

The Poor and Us

2007-07-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

We talk about the poor - about the homeless. How do we treat them? Do we give them money when they ask? Should we give them money? I mean, they'll probably miss-use it, and buy drugs or something! And besides, most of the homeless WANT to be homeless - we live in America, if someone wants a job, they can find one if they try hard enough, right?I've had these reactions before - but the thing I

"Why do we go to church?

2007-07-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of people in America go to church. Some more than others. But why do we go to church? What is the purpose? Some people go to church their whole lives, but what have they gained? Some people go to a different church every Sunday, finding it hard to settle down. Many complain, “I don't feel like I'm being fed”, or, “I just don't feel encouraged”, or maybe even, “I just don't fit in there”.

The Real Death Toll

2007-05-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6373 is unbelievable.Suicide kills more people each year than road traffic accidents in most European countries, the World Health Organization is warning. And globally, suicide takes more lives than murder and war put together, says the agency in a call for action.Obviously, the war we fight is not against flesh and blood!

For Those "Without a Testimony"

2007-05-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is a good word from Augustine for those of us who have grown up in the faith:There are some who have have been called by you and because they have listened to your voice they have avoided the sins which I here record and confess for them to read. But let them not deride me for having been cured by the same Doctor who preserved them from sickness, or at least from such great sickness as mine.

Who is a Christian?

2007-05-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

All right Nathan, I'm going to call you out on that one. "Who is a Christian?" is indeed the critical question. What I want to know is ...- What are the criteria?- What justifications can you provide for the criteria?- Which criteria are absolute prerequisites?- Which criteria are non-essential?And, further, how exactly does John MacArthur rate higher than Billy Graham, and why? I think the J Mc

A Critique of Iain H. Murray's Evangelicalism Divided

2007-05-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of Friedrich Schleiermacher, bringing about the idea that “beliefs are not vital to a relationship with God” (p. 9), there was a battle, a battle between the Evangelicals and the rest of the world over defining what a Christian really is. Iain Murry gives his insights into the past fifty years of that battle in his book Evangelicalism Divided. The term “evangelicals” was

Troops on March

2007-05-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

We walk up this mountain,and the dust sticks to our sweat.Sometimes we savor the beauty that we glimpsethrough the trees.

Question about doing good

2007-04-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Can a sinner do anything good by God's standard? How would you go about showing what the Bible speaks of on this matter?Thoughts:When a non-Christian helps an old lady across the street, that is sin, because it is not done for the glory of God, and therefore is stealing what is rightfully God's."We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your

Taking Up Your Cross in the American Suburbs - Terms - Part One

2007-04-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

What does it look like to take up your cross in the American Suburbs?First of all, I think asking ourselves some questions (devised from William MacDonald's "Terms of Discipleship" chapter in his book True Discipleship) will help us discern what a disciple of Christ should look like. These are simple, but sometimes it is good to think on the simple. Do I love Christ more than anything else? "If

Epistemological Context

2007-04-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

En re the godtube discussion, I think you guys are talking past each other. Even though that dude is not part of our group, I thought it might be helpful for me to boil down my perspective on this discussion, seeing as it's related to a topic that comes up occasionally on our blog. I'm going to talk mostly about the discussion Nathan's having, because it's more interesting. Here's what I

More on GodTube

2007-04-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

In response to this:Nathan, I did not mean to suggest that we should not be attempting to discern what is true and what isn’t true. But rather, that this is the task in front of us. And whatever we claim, is exactly that: our claim. When we label things as christian, what we are really saying is that “I think this is inline with my understanding of what it means to follow christ.” I guess the

Is Godtube stupid?

2007-04-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

This is my response to a post here: http://russellseehafer.com/why-godtubecom-is-stupid/I would be interested to hear what you guys think about that guy's post.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any

Book Review: The Baptism with the Holy Spirit and the Value of Speaking in Tongues Today by Oral Roberts

2007-04-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oral Roberts was born in 1918 and is an American leader in the Charismatic movement. He is a televangelist and also started a university that bears his name in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His book The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is basically a defense and explanation of being baptized by the Holy Spirit with an emphasis on the outflowing gift of tongues. Roberts' theological positions

Attitudal and Transactional forgiveness?

2007-04-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing as attitudal forgiveness and transactional forgiveness?Possible Attitudal Forgiveness:"“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." (Mark 11:25)Possible Transactional Forgiveness:"“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."

Responses on the Spirit

2007-04-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

It looks like the main issues in question are:1. The Spirit in the Old Testament2. The role of the "sign gifts"3. The nature of "baptism of the Spirit"1. The Spirit in the OTThe entire Old Covenant economy was different from the New as it relates to the Spirit in the lives of God's people. Joel 2 (which Peter quotes at Pentecost) is seen as foreseeing a fundamentally New Covenant reality: "And in

Some Thoughts on the Spirit

2007-04-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about my own personal experience with the Spirit recently. It has been a long, gradual process. For a long time I've wanted to understand what the Charismatics were going on about, because I've felt my own experience of the Spirit could and should be deeper. For the sake of time and energy, I'm only going to post some of my conclusions for now:1. The Spirit's main role in

A Summery of The Religious Affections

2007-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Edwards set out to find in his book The Religious Affections what the distinguishing qualities between those who have truly gracious affections and those who have false affections (p. 15). The differences between the two are of highest importance to all people, being that their eternal destiny is held within the answer (p. 15). The quest that Edwards set out on in this book is divided

A Critique of David O. Beale's In Pursuit of Purity

2007-04-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

David Beale wrote In Pursuit of Purity in order to provide an historical record of American Fundamentalism since the 1850's (p. xi), but in doing so, fails to see major problems within the movement and gives praise to a movement that in many ways does not deserve it. He defines the ideal Christian Fundamentalist as one who, “desires to reach out in love and compassion to people, believes and

Seeing Jesus in Mark 9

2007-04-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I wrote this entry in my journal. It led to the poem that I posted yesterday. I have to confess: sometimes I don’t see Christ as glorious. This morning I listened to a snippet of Piper’s message at SBTS from a few weeks ago. He was proclaiming the gospel as “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God.” And I really want to see this and believe this.

His Prophecy

2007-04-12T18:20:00.001-07:00

The lowliness of earth surrounds me, and I’ll be delivered to death.I became a man.I am a man.I will die.The glory of heaven surrounds me, and I'll be delivered from death.I was God.I am God.I will rise.

Seventh Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Prayer is a Profound Privilege With Respect to Who God Is As one ponders all these truths about prayer and who God is, one cannot but fall down in worship. God, the Unsearchable (Job 11:7), the Incorruptible (Rom. 1:23), the Eternal (Ps. 90:2), the Only-wise (Rom. 16:27), the Most High (Ps. 83:18), the Holy One (Rev. 16:5), can be approached, and conversed with in prayer!

How about this?

2007-04-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people."Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a

Sixth Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

Prayer is Beneficial Because it Changes Us Abiding in Christ In John 15:7 Jesus says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” This principle that Jesus laid out is key to our understanding of the relationship God's sovereignty has with our prayers. When we abide in Christ, and his words abide in us, we can ask

Fifth Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Prayer is Beneficial Because God's Sovereign Plan is Good It would not do us much good if God was sovereign but was not good. Though he would have the capability to answer our prayers, there would be little to look forward to in asking God for something or even in praising his name (Hunter, p. 49). In fact, we might actually get what we ask for when in fact it would not be best for

Fourth Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

Prayer is Effective Because It is a Part of God's Sovereign Plan Prayer as a Means Many people assume that if in fact, God is sovereign, and everything in life has been “scripted” by God in eternity past, there is no reason to pray. But in fact, this should give us even more incentive to pray! God has sovereignly ordained prayer as a means to accomplish his will and he says

Third Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Prayer is Effective Because God Commands It A Simple Command In both the New and the Old Testament God commands his people to pray (Isa. 55:6, Matt. 7:7, Phil. 4:6, Eph. 6:18, 1 Thes. 5:17). Though people desired to pray, if God had not commanded it, there would be no way that it would be of any effect. If fact, if God had not commanded us to pray, it would be sin to do

Second Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-06T08:27:00.001-07:00

Prayer is Effective Because God's Will is Not Influenced by Humans God is Not Divided When a person prays and asks God for something, that prayer does not alter the will of God. If it did, God would not longer be sovereign, because his will would no longer be supreme, but rather, God would be doing the bidding of a mere human. It is foolish to think that prayer changes the

How To Use This Information on Repentance vs. Penance In A Counseling Situation

2007-04-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Having biblically established the Biblical mandate for repentance, we will now turn our attention to giving some practical and personal advice regarding how a person can help a fellow believer who has confessed to an immoral affair to understand biblical repentance and the dangers of penance. Because this case has to do with a person who has confessed to an immoral affair, one of the most

Repentance

2007-04-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

For what it's worth, Bruce Demarest in The Cross and Salvation says this:True repetance possesses three essential aspects. (1) An intellectualaspect. The repentant soul must understand God's holiness, righteousness, and displeasure at sin; must be be aware of personal sin and guilt; and must be persuaded of God's readiness to forgive. (2) An emotional element, in which the penitent abhors sin and

The First Major Difference Between Repentance and Penance

2007-04-05T22:37:00.001-07:00

Corresponding with the fact that the word “penance” never appears in Scripture, the first major difference between repentance and penance is that repentance is explicitly commanded by God whereas penance is nowhere found to be required by God. Numerous times throughout Scripture God outright calls people to repent (Eze 14:6; 18:30; Matt 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22; Rev 2:5, 16;

The Second Major Difference Between Repentance and Penance

2007-04-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

A second major difference between repentance and penance is that repentance is a work of God in the heart, while penance is a work of man in his own heart. As discussed previously, repentance is commanded of God, and anyone who repents has obeyed God and done what is right. However, it must be clarified that repentance is not a work of man, but rather a work of God. For it is impossible for

First Principle Drawn From God's Sovereignty in Relation to Prayer

2007-04-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Prayer is Effective Because God is Sovereign A World Without a Sovereign God While the truth that God is sovereign does present problems to the human mind in regards to its interaction with prayer, before we go to far down the road of belittling God's sovereign control over all things in order to “solve” the problem, as some do (such as Gregory A. Boyd in his book, God

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God - Introduction

2007-04-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Prayer and The Sovereignty of God Introduction The Difficulty Many questions are raised when the topic of God's sovereignty and prayer are mentioned in the same sentence together. These questions are the direct result of any extended thought on the fact that God is sovereign, and yet we, as mere humans, can pray to God and be answered by him. The many broad sweeping statements in

Penitence

2007-04-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

It is probably too late to take another tack on your paper (not that you should anyway) but I think that penance may not be a word that accurately describes what you are opposing. In fact, the word penance (in its French origin) was derived from a word similar to penitence, which in turn was derived from the same Latin word that gives us our English word repentance. In many languages they are the

Repentance vs. Penance - Introduction

2007-04-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Introduction In Evangelical Christianity today, there are some believers who have a tendency to practice penance rather than repentance. Though the term penance is many times associated with Catholicism, in this context, it does not mean that large numbers of Evangelicals are turning Catholic, but simply that there are some within Evangelicalism who, after initially being converted,

The ThirdMajor Difference Between Repentance and Penance

2007-03-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

(this is one portion of a paper written on the difference between repentance and penance. Simply stated, penance is "a religious attitude deeply rooted in the human heart which prompts men to attempt to pay for their own sins by their good works and sufferings."1 1C. John Miller. Repentance and the 20th Century Man (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1980), 19-20).

Polemic vs. Purification

2007-03-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

"No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."I have on occasion been accused of being divisive, negative, and critical. This claim is far from being unjust, as I'm sure you'll

My Fiancee On National Radio!

2007-02-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

Check out Laura's appearance as the featured guest on Dr. Mohler's radio show today. The topic was the Time cover story on crisis pregnancy centers.

Interesting blog

2007-02-20T10:46:00.001-08:00

custardy.blogspot.com

Musings from Jonathan Edwards #4

2007-02-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

“… I don’t pretend fully to explain how these things are, ...I am far from pretending to explain the Trinity so as to render it no longer a mystery still, notwithstanding anything I have said about it. I don’t pretend to explain the Trinity…” “The Father is as the substance of the sun; the Son is as the rightness and glory of the disk of the sun, or that bright and glorious form under which

Musings from Jonathan Edwards #3

2007-01-31T22:25:00.000-08:00

Some said that that "free will, meaning the ability to determine the nature of the choices made, is the basis of moral good and evil." But Edwards thought was that the "will does not determine choices, it selects among available choices. It is not a self-determining power."Questions:"Does Edwards’ doctrine make God the author of sin? Did not God cause Adam to sin when He withdrew preserving

Calvinism / Southern Seminary in the news

2007-01-31T13:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1583921,00.htmlSo, after reading this article, I was asking myself the question ... is Al talking about actual, historical Calvinism, or about his own personal beliefs? Because my experience has been that Calvinism in practice and polemic, as regards free will, goes a good bit beyond "you can't save yourself" to the point of "Mankind has a free will;

Counsel or Command?

2007-01-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm reading A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams for a class - he says this: "By counsel (he didn't decide to do it on his own) Adam named the animals. By counsel he dressed the garden. By counsel he learned of the trees in the garden and the proper use of them (as well as the possible consequences of misuse). All this came after creation, to a man who was made to be dependent on God's

Free Willy-Nilly

2007-01-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Doesn't the idea that our choices are determined by our greatest inclination born out by every-day experience?Why did I choose to come to a coffee shop to study, instead of hanging out with my fiancee? Because strongest and most desirable inclination is to get my reading done for school. I didn't make the decision arbitrarily.If my choice is determined by my greatest inclination, where does that

Captive Will

2007-01-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

"Freedom is not the ability to act contrary to willingness – what we find pleasure in is dictated by our nature."Well, that's his opinion. I think it's balderdash, personally. Our nature dictates what things will be attractive to us, but it doesn't dictate which we will choose. Life is a series of choices between different pleasures -- delayed gratification and instant pleasure, sinful and godly

Musings from Jonathan Edwards #2

2007-01-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

Freedom is the ability to choose what you please based on the options available to you. Freedom is not the ability to act contrary to willingness – what we find pleasure in is dictated by our nature.

Is the church the main impediment?

2007-01-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Response to Nathan's comment --You know, one thing I've been realizing lately is how dangerous it is to say "the church" when you mean "this one church in particular". The truth is, every church is different. I think that my experience the last few years has been of church that (from my perspective) was robbed of the spiritual and the personal. I guess I can't really speak for the church at large

Musings from Jonathan Edwards #1

2007-01-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sin is not voluntary because all men sin.There must be a cause to sin because all sin – for if we sin voluntarily then some must not sin, but because all sin, it is therefore not voluntary – for there cannot be an uncaused cause (except God). Helping Question: If sin is voluntary, why do infants (who do not sin by choice) die?

Helen Keller

2007-01-09T09:28:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, I have a new poem up at my poetry blog.

Test

2007-01-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to test the e-mail notification system. If you don't want to be notified by e-mail when someone posts something new just remove yourself from the google group I added you all to.-Nathan

Dreary Days

2007-01-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Weather affects mood...We're fallen and so is our planet. My weakness manifests itself so clearly, because yesterday it was cold and dreary, with rain either drizzling or pouring all day. I started getting really depressed, for no apparent reason. I mean, sure, life is a bit stressful right now, but Laura and I spent hours registering for stuff people are going to buy for us. It's not like it was

Registry

2007-01-07T17:19:00.001-08:00

For all you married types: what is something you wish you had registered for?

Because...

2007-01-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

I realized after Outback when we were all in town a few weeks ago, that I really miss talking with you guys.And then I was like, oh yeah, we all have a blog together.I figured if I was posting stuff, and other people were posting stuff, we'd all be posting stuff. All of which equals the semblance of communication.But, still, nothing beats talking over free bread and cheese fries.

So...

2007-01-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing happened here for a few months and then all of a sudden there is a flurry of activity, what's the deal?

Not Connected

2007-01-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a photog, but I liked this picture.

What Holds People Back?

2007-01-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Fundamentally, the idea of being "sold out" for Christ isn't all that helpful , because there are truly only two types of people: those "in Adam" and those "in Christ." I mean that we are either dead or alive and there isn't an in-between. But I think the point of the question is a good one: "Why are there so many resurrected souls who look a lot like zombies?" By "zombies," I mean "walking dead

God = Father, according to Calvin [parts 3 &4 of 4]

2007-01-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

So, up to this point we have seen that prior the Fall man stood in unbroken Father-son relationship to God. But Adam destroyed this relationship with his heavenly Father by transgressing the commandment. All of his offspring, then, are estranged from God, condemned in Adam. God’s fatherly love, however, extends by grace to those chosen in Christ, those, who by faith in him are united with him as

Where are you going?

2007-01-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

This is a response to the question -- "What's holding people back?"Following Christ 100% is not as easy as just choosing to do it. Even if you didn't have all kinds of sins and temptations luring you away, the actual goal is kind of elusive. Let's be honest, what we call being sold out for Christ usually ends up looking more like an interest or even obsession with ministry or Christian topics,

God = Father, according to Calvin [part 2 of 4]

2007-01-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Relationship Restored God initiates this restoration of his relationship with sinful men, and still loves them as a Father. The instrument of this reconciling work is faith, the object of this faith is Christ (the true Son) and the goal is reconciliation, the restitution of God being to us a Father. Calvin explains, “Although the preaching of the cross does not agree with our human

Response to Christ-Centered Preaching

2006-12-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

Reading Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching really provoked me to farther thought as to why I preach the way I preach, and why I say what I say when I preach. To be perfectly honest, many of these thoughts came into my mind because of questions I had in regards to the reasoning behind Chapell's goal of a “reclamation and rescue”[1] of the

God = Father, according to Calvin [part 1 of 4]

2006-12-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

A caricature, at its most fundamental level, either over-exaggerates or under-exaggerates distinctive elements of a person or thing, distorting its actual appearance. And so, like funny pictures drawn at an amusement park, portraits painted of John Calvin’s theology often render his doctrine with the equivalent of an inflated head and dwarfish body. Scholarship has neglected a pervasive concept

What are we waiting for?

2006-12-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

What do you feel Joe "Christian" is waiting for? What holds Christians back from living a life sold out for Christ?

Impressions on Leonard Verduin's The Reformers and Their Stepchildren

2006-12-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

If someone has ever thought that history should be re-written it was Leonard Verduin. In his book, The Reformers and Their Stepchildren he drives hard at the historically accepted Reformers and paints a picture that is not very pretty. Verduin makes the Reformers out to be no better than their Catholic counterparts and almost gives the impression that all that occurred during the Reformation was

What is meant in Matthew 16:18, “upon this rock I will build my church . . .”?

2006-10-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

Statement of the Problem. What is meant in Matthew 16:18, “upon this rock I will build my church . . .”?Proposed Solutions. Throughout history this passage has been “among the most controversial in all of Scripture” (W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew", The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, eds. J. A.

Impressions on The Confessions

2006-09-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

The opening sentence of The Confessions, written around A.D. 397 by Saint Augustine, reads, “Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise” (p. 39). And so it is that right from the beginning of the book Augustine makes it clear that he is writing, not to boast about his colorful past or about his unlikely conversion, but rather to give praise and honor to God.

The Manifestation of Christ

2006-07-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

John 14:21-24 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will

Freedom

2006-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

Danny made an interesting comment to me in a discussion that we were having the other day, on the nature of the New Covenant. I said, "The conflict of the judaizers against Paul in the Book of Acts illustrates that the break with the Old Law is also a break with culturally-based law, and the Law of the Spirit is not a replacement, but a new kind of law that is grace-based and less specific."

Sola Scriptura Gloria

2006-06-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you first of all the position I am arguing against. It goes like this: "The Reformation was in essence a Restoration. It put the church back at the place it had been at the onset of the middle ages, and restored it to its former near-perfect balance." On the other hand, there is this: "The Reformation was a Revolution. It took many ideas which had never been mainstream and tried to

"Do not let your heart be troubled"

2006-06-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

John 14:1-11 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."And you know the way where I am going."Thomas

The 11th Commandment

2006-06-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

John 13:34-35 (34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.(35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." In the early days of Christianity, a deadly sickness broke out in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The sickness spread so easily that being in the same room

What exactly was the Reformation?

2006-06-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Why did Luther challenge the church? And why did his challenge succeed philosophically and politically? I mean, the Puritans' motives are somewhat easier to siphon out. But even if you limit the Reformation just to Luther, who can say why it happened or what it was?Was it about "freedom to study the Bible and take its authority first?" (a la "know the truth, and the truth shall set you free").

Catholic v. Protestant

2006-06-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

What are the Reformers and Puritans encouraging us to do? Christ corrected the Pharisees for spending all their time on side issues, and neglecting the real issue: "Come back when you have learned the meaning of this: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice". How is a slavish devotion to outward, intellectual conformity with one corner of Christianity's version of doctrine any different than imposing

What do you believe?!

2006-06-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Shouldn't faith be a bit more than group-think? It's so riddled with hypocrisy, it stops making sense with a fierce velocity. In light of conflicting claims, most of which have similar feet of clay, how can we think that choosing one equally valid and invalid type of Christianity over another is pivotal. Do you really think that Christ is going to quiz you on the minutiae of theological effluvia?

Do you believe?

2006-05-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

“So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” (John 11:3) "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." Put yourself in their shoes. “You and your brothers and sisters know Jesus really well – He comes over to stay at your house whenever He is in town. And now one of your brothers is sick. What would you be thinking?” “Jesus should know, He should be

Violent Faith

2006-05-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Under the Banner of Heaven, finally. I really wish that I could have been involved in the discussion for this one. It is making me think a lot about faith and knowledge and etc. Jon Krakauer, and probably 90% of non-evangelical intellectuals, would probably lump us in the same category, in the end, as the FLDS ... in fact he basically says so at several points; he's using this story

Interesting Article on Bible Translation

2006-04-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article from a blog I readhttp://englishbibles.blogspot.com/2006/04/neither-hand-nor-foot.htmlI posted some thoughts which you can check out on the comments section of the page.-Nathan

"Only the Father Knows..."

2006-04-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Another "what I'm reading" excerpt:"Christ had to submit to knowing dependently and to knowing partially. He had to learn to boey without knowing all the facts and to believe without being in possession of full information. He had to forego the comfort which omniscience would sometimes have brought. This, surely, was a potent factor in the dereliction (Mk 15:34). The assurance of the Father's

My Feet Hurt

2006-04-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

They do. I've been standing for hours on end at work.

The Difference Between Apostate and Apostle

2006-04-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

In Matthew 26:17-35 we see the respective stories of Judas and Peter before Jesus' crucifixion. In v.21 Jesus prophesies that one of the twelve will betray him and "they were very sorrowful," each asking "Is it I?"Jesus responds: "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!" (v.24). Judas then asks if it is he, and Jesus affirms that he has

Get in the Game

2006-03-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not saying that a true picture of God is not important. What I am saying is this: that being well-versed in Christian doctrine is valueless; only love for the true God (and for others) is. To the extent that doctrine assists you in loving God and others, it is valuable. But it is not valuable for its own sake.The question is: which is highest? The system of beliefs which forms Christianity,

Something Resembling a (short) Argument

2006-03-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

You cannot disconnect true theology and true love, and, in fact, proper theology must inform proper love and not vice versa.Look at Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."Love is certainly more than simply correct theology; but it is certainly not less. Correct

My Problem with Machen

2006-03-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

This is important, I think. I read a little bit about Machen, and I think he's saying this: "Doctrine is the message of the New Testament". As the founder of the Orthodox Presbyterian Denomenation, when he says "preaching doctrine", he probably means "Promoting strict adherence to reformed theology".Now, the principal issues he fought for (for instance, attacking the idea that Paul basically

What I'm Reading

2006-03-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is from The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzalez. He quotes John Chrysostom, who says:"Many who have gone from monastic retreat to the active life of the priest or the bishop are completely unable to face the difficulties of their new situation."

Quote for thought - J. Gresham Machen

2006-03-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

"Men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end. Some years ago I was in a company of teachers of the Bible in the colleges and other educational institutions of America.

Better Khmer Bibles Blog

2006-03-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

Just FYI - I started up a blog for Khmer Bible translation issues.You kinda need to know Khmer, but you can check it out ;)Better Khmer Bibles Blog: The Purpose

Church vs. Para-church

2006-03-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Not exactly what I've been reading, but I've been taking a missions class and this week was all about why we should have a 'para-church'. I'm always a little skeptical of anything so self-serving (the organization that puts on the class is itself a para-church organization, etc.) but I figured I might as well outline what they said.The premise is that throughout the history of the church, and

What have you been reading?

2006-03-12T04:18:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be nice for each of us to post a quote from a book we are currently reading. And as we change books or come across something that impacted us, we can post it for everyone to read.I posted one below from John Owen.-Nathan

Quote for Thought - John Owen

2006-03-12T04:10:00.000-08:00

"The choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin...Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world." - John Owen from "Temptation and Sin"

Too Much Information

2006-02-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

You know that verse, Jeremaiah 29:11? "I know the plans, etc." Have you ever read that verse in context? I did, today. The context is a lot of prophecy and condemnation related to the recently-exiled Jewish nation. My question is: who stumbled along this passage and decided that it was more important than the entire rest of the book? The Bible contains a lot of information. Way too much to digest

sbbic.org

2006-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

I just opened a new web sitehttp://www.sbbic.orgThere is nothing really there right now, and really isn't all that useful unless you know Khmer, but I thought I would put it up here anyway. I put up a Khmer Unicode dictionary, which so far as I know doesn't exist anywhere else. It is a pretty small dictionary, only about 500 words and phrases though - and most of the terms are Christian terms,

"Take heed to yourselves"

2006-02-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

Regurgitating some of Richard Baxtor:“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28 ESV) Some think that when someone exhorts another, they become their ruler. Some think that because Paul said these things to the elders at the city of Ephesus, that