August 31, 2006
Tim Keller on preaching in a post-modern city
Here's a great article from Pastor Tim Keller on preaching in a post-modern city. The senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Keller will be one of several guests at the Desiring God national conference which is less than 1 month away and is almost completely sold out.
(HT: Justin Hoover)
We need engineers!
I've previously blogged on Thomas Friedman's fascinating book The World is Flat. A major theme Friedman unpacks is that technology, one of the primary forces leveling the playing field between nations in our increasingly global marketplace, is being more hotly pursued by countries like India and China. Whereas the average age of an engineer in the US is over 40 (and increasing every year), college and graduate students in India and China are pursuing science and engineering in droves while enrollment in these disciplines by US students remains flat. As an engineer by trade, and an engineering professor at Northwestern College, I find this recent comment in the August 2006 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) newsletter to be very interesting:
The president of India, an aeronautical engineer who stewarded his country's guided missile program, has made it his mission to raise India to glory through scientific scholarship. According to an article in the August 21-28 Newsweek International by Mac Margolis and Karla Bruning, 74-year old A.P.J. Abdul Kalam travels from school to school exhorting students to hit the books and excel in science. By all indications the budding scientists of India have taken that advice to heart. Enrollment is soaring in engineering and technical schools throughout India - and elsewhere in Asia. India, China and South Korea are producing legions of engineers much larger than the US, and those graduates are vying for and winning contracts, customers and patents in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. And that is leading educators in the wealthiest countries, such as the US, the UK and Germany, to lose sleep. These three engineering titans still lead the way in technological innovation, but enrollment in university engineering programs is stagnating and the dropout rate further diminishes numbers of graduates. Now Western educators are trying to fix the problem by curricular changes, such as presenting students with real-world challenges early on. And engineering organizations are trying to correct the misconception that science and engineering jobs are geeky, dirty and dull.
The above citation is based on an article entitled Sexing Up Science: Western educators and industrialists team up to boost engineering's appeal.
August 30, 2006
Christianity Today cover story on Calvinism resurgence
I was hoping that Collin Hansen's recent (September, 2006) CT cover story would be made available on-line by now, but apparently it hasn't, so I'm going to blog on it now anyway, even though I can't provide a link to it (Update: Article available). The article is truly outstanding. I don't know what Hansen's theological convictions are, but he certainly wrote a fair piece. Interesting tid-bits and some reflection:
Hansen says that John Piper, more than anyone else, has contributed to the Calvinistic resurgence. That makes sense, given that Desiring God emphasizes the glory and the beauty of God and grips the heart as much as the mind. The book drives people back to the Scriptures to see that God's desire to glorify Himself and our pursuit of happiness are totally harmonious.
There's a terrific quote of Joshua Harris noting that when young people begin to realize that it's about God's glory, not us, they take "the first step down a path of Reformed theology. Because if you say that it's not about you, well then you're on the road of saying it's not about your actions, your choosings, your determination."
The Passion conferences organized by Louie Giglio are also recognized as being a catalyst in the Calvinist resurgence, particularly given that thousands of college students and other young adults are attracted to their various events, which generally include speakers such as John Piper and concerts by musicians such as Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, David Crowder, and Christy and Nathan Nockles.
Steve Lemke, provost of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, is cited commenting negatively about Calvinists, claiming that ".....baptism and membership figures show that the Calvinist churches of the SBC's Founders Ministries lack commitment to evangelism." Tom Ascol of the Founders Ministries blog links to several refutations of Lemke's research in a recent post.
Dr. Albert Mohler makes an insightful remark as to why this generation of young Christians is particularly "more committed, more theologically curious, more self-aware and self-conscious as believers." Mohler attributes these characteristics to the fact that today's young Christians were not raised in an environment of cultural Christianity. "Or if they were, they found themselves in a hostile environment upon arrival on a university campus....Calvinism offers young people a counter-cultural alternative with deep roots."
I think Mohler makes a great point. The doctrine of a sovereign God who is never taken by surprise and whose love plans and accomplishes redemption for His people is deeply satisfying (and stabilizing) to young Christians in a postmodern milieu in which, supposedly, absolute, foundational truths are beyond reach. Likewise Christians who may have grown up hearing that it was all about them find human-centered, shallow teaching (or self-help platitudes) to ring hollow given our God-given desire for transcendence. We were made to worship infinite majesty, and only a view of such grandeur can ultimately satisfy the soul. Likewise an accurate understanding of God's holiness and justice puts "amazing" back into grace, leaving us in awe and wonder that God would condescend to make us His own.
Recent comments on this blog
Dear Readers,
I want to apologize for taking a couple of days to post your comments. I was not being rude; I simply was not aware that you had posted a comment awaiting my moderation. Normally, I am informed via an automatic e-mail. It didn't happen for the last two days since I posted an Open Letter to Dr. Kostenberger (which he has graciously replied to in a comment). Thankfully, it now appears to be working again. Thank you for your patience.
Just a reminder, let's try to demonstrate civility even when we disagree. That way, we can all be edified by dialogue over thorny matters.
Blessings,
Alex
August 28, 2006
Evangelicals and Foreign Policy
Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, has penned a very interesting essay on the changing face of evangelical involvement in U.S. foreign policy. His article appears in the September/October 2006 edition of the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs. He summarizes his article as follows:
Summary: Religion has always been a major force in U.S. politics, but the recent surge in the number and the power of evangelicals is recasting the country's political scene -- with dramatic implications for foreign policy. This should not be cause for panic: evangelicals are passionately devoted to justice and improving the world, and eager to reach out across sectarian lines.
Dr. Albert Mohler provides a great overview.
Deliberate Childlessness - an International Trend
Here's an article in Newsweek International on the growing trend of deliberate childlessness throughout the industrial world. This represents a boon (in the short-term) for some industries, such as real estate, restaurants and some forms of luxurious recreational travel, but it ultimately will bring negative consequences in its train.
Related Posts: State of the (Marriage) Unions - Childlessness, Economic Ramifications of Childlessness, Women and Childlessness
August 26, 2006
Open Letter to Andreas Köstenberger
Dear Dr. Köstenberger,
I appreciate your desire to avoid heaping judgment on singles who are fruitfully serving the Lord and enjoying what is (perhaps) merely a season of singleness. And I agree with you that many singles marry later in our culture for entirely justifiable reasons (for example, our increasingly knowledge-based economy encourages more years of study, both at the collegiate and post-collegiate level).
Please forgive me that I have not read your book. Given my family budget, I simply cannot justify the purchase (and sadly many good books fall into this category!). So my response is only to your two posts. I offer these thoughts as one eager to learn and open to correction and further light.
You stated in your post, Here is the critical point, however: How does a person who is currently unmarried know whether or not their unmarried state is permanent or temporary?
Please forgive me, but I had trouble finding an answer to this question in your post. On the one hand, you seemed to agree that we are seeing a unique problem with adult men in our day lacking masculine impulse to assume responsibility and marshal God-given strength for the good of others. I base this on your statement, "It appears that much of Maken’s underlying concern has to do with encouraging men to take more initiative and being more responsible in pursuing marriage. With this I heartily concur."
So I am confused when you later state: "I think God would have us not only encourage those many toward marriage who are called to marriage (though not prod them to rush into marriage), but also affirm those few who are content in their unmarried state and see it, whether permanently or temporarily (and who among those who are currently unmarried knows for certain which it is?), as God’s calling for them." (emphasis mine)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to suggest that knowledge of whether one's unmarried state is permanent or temporary is beyond reach. If by this you mean, "nobody knows what the sovereign will of God holds for us," I think we'd all agree. It seems that's what you mean because you end your letter saying, in essence, "only God knows."
But its one thing to say “only God knows if I will marry” and an entirely different thing to say “only God knows if I should marry.” Are there not biblical indicators of whether one should seek marriage? Would you agree that immature men who employ their singleness for selfish indulgence (e.g., excessive golf or other hobbies, spending a high percentage of their salary on entertainment) would be well-served (with respect to their Christian sanctification) by having to bear the huge personal responsibility of a wife? Granted, they must have a modicum of maturity even to marry, but that minimum standard being met, marriage matures and sanctifies them (far beyond the accountability of male roommates, I might add). Many married men readily testify that their wife has been used of God as a great (even the greatest) instrument towards their sanctification. To lack this instrument would have been to stunt their sanctification, would it not? [As an aside, have you not noticed that many single, never been married Christian men in their mid thirties or forties are socially awkward or quirky? Getting married forces a guy to cut-off tendencies that would otherwise become deeply embedded habits.]
In other words, might Christian maturity/fruitfulness be a parameter whereby a single Christian discerns whether they should “get serious about getting married”? A Christian single who zealously serves the Lord, does not overly struggle with lust, and is content with singleness is perhaps justified in not unduly marrying just because someone tells him (or her) he (or she) should. Perhaps his accomplishments for the Kingdom are “monumental,” or perhaps they are meager. Who are we to say what level of contribution is required? Fine. But a Christian single whose "contentment with singleness" is based on his being able to live entirely as he pleases and enjoy zero inconveniences to his self-absorbed, pleasure-craven, comfort-seeking schedule has a lot less biblical grounding to base his "gift" of singleness! Sure, he should get busy reading his Bible, serving in his church, and giving his money sacrificially to the spread of God's kingdom. But as he does so, ought he not seek a wife, lest the absence of significant, intimate relational involvement leave him more susceptible to his lusts (for unlawful sex, for excessive pleasure, comfort, or autonomy)?
Incidentally, you do not mention the parameter of sexual continence. I agree with you on the context of I Cor. 7 (Paul is dealing with particular Corinthian issues – they were denigrating marriage). Nevertheless, is Paul not referring to a high (unusually high?) degree of sexual continence when he discusses the “gift” in I Cor. 7? Might this not be transferable to our day - a day in which fornication among professing Christian singles runs rampant?
In conclusion, I think there are some biblical grounds for determining whether one should "get serious about getting married." Do you acknowledge the ones I've mentioned, or would you point to others? Or would you counsel a Christian single by saying "only God knows." The latter seems unhelpful.
Thank you for your ministry to the body of Christ on matters pertaining to marriage and family.
Yours truly and respectfully in Christ,
Alex Chediak
August 25, 2006
Köstenberger responds to Maken
Dr. Andreas Köstenberger responds to Debbie Maken's post.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
August 24, 2006
Gift of singleness? Maken responds to Köstenberger
Joining the blogosphere, Debbie Maken responds to Köstenberger regarding the "gift of singleness."
Readers of the blog might anticipate that I would want to chime in more substantively, but I have a few other projects going on right now, so I'll merely refer you to the tennis match, rather than give color commentary. That said, please note these related posts:
Andreas Köstenberger on the gift of singleness, Getting Serious about Getting Married
The Media and Hillary Clinton
Brent Bozell is writing a book with Tim Graham on how the media are trying to pave Hillary's path to the presidency. His latest example is the recent Time Magazine cover story. Since I previously linked to the Time story without much comment, I thought it appropriate to link to Bozell's outstanding critique of media bias in the coverage of Sen. Clinton. Excerpt: What, then, what was the tenor of the cover story inside this week's Time? If you love the Clintons, never fear. Karen Tumulty's report still carries the usual courtier's curtsies, starting with talk of the "outsize status of both Clintons" and how Hillary's husband is, hands down, "the best Democratic political strategist on the planet."
Related blog post: Mainstream media - Fair and Balanced?
Next Step with Iran: Stiff Sanctions
August 22 was a deadline set for Iran to respond the U.N. Security Council. On the day of the deadline, Iran provided a proposal to European diplomats which the Iranians claimed cited "positive and clear signals." The Bush Administration said it is still studying the Iranian proposal but that the reply of the Iranians "falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council.....which require the full and verifiable suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities."
Here is a great explanation of why "the obvious next diplomatic step is to show Iran that the world meant what it said by following through with the toughest achievable sanctions."
August 23, 2006
Heroes and Villains - and Pirates II (Dead Man's Chest)
Al Mohler cites Dorothea Israel Wolfson's observation that "the distinction between heroes and villains is often blurred" in today's children's literature. Mohler notes that such a reality is reflective of the new postmodern ethos.
(HT: Tim Challies)
In a different context, my wife and I felt that the lines between good and evil were particularly blurred as we viewed Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest. Though the movie had some fun action scenes, the entire plot seemed frustratingly incoherent in that Jack Sparrow, set forth as a hero in the last film (though a pirate) lacks the basic decency of Will Turner. Nevertheless, Turner somehow pledges undying allegiance to Sparrow. Trying to discern the motivation of the characters (including Elizabeth Swann) at the end of the film was particularly confusing.
So reading Mohler's post reminded me of this unpleasant movie-watching experience. Dead Man's Chest is not worth seeing, in my opinion. Care to disagree?
The Degradation of Today's Teen Music
Joe Carter points out a dangerous decline in the lyrics of teen music today. (Note: Though the descriptive language employed is not gratuitous, this sober assessment may not be appropriate for children.)
(HT: Tim Challies)
August 21, 2006
Christian Rap and Curtis "Voice" Allen
I would agree with those who believe in the moral neutrality of musical genres. God or the devil can be glorified by classical music, depending on whether it is produced and enjoyed by hearts that prize God or hearts that prize human achievement or self-reliance. And although much of the rap music culture is filled with sex and violence, the musical style itself does not necessarily engender such sinful expression. I once read an outstanding article on this subject by Dr. Harold Best, Dean of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. It described how a man ran out of a church service after hearing the prelude of the organist. He ran out because that was the exact piece of music used in a satanic ritual of which he took part prior to being marvelous won to Christ. The music? A piece of classical music by J.S. Bach (a Christian). I forgot the details of the article, but I never forgot the point. A style of music that feels worshipful to me may not necessarily encourage or edify another person. I am told that Dr. Best discusses this in his book Music Through the Eyes of Faith. (Note: This does not mean that all songs are created equal. God-centered, theologically-rich lyrics and quality within a musical genre are both important, in my opinion.)
With that as introduction, I want to join those who are commending the music of Curtis Allen, who goes by the name Voice. I have really enjoyed listening to his CD Progression. His songs are theologically rich and have catchy phrases and beats -- even for someone like me, who really never enjoyed rap music. Curtis describes his project Progression in this way:
Progression is an album that I wanted to make that I considered to be a “Very Human” album. Sometimes Christian music can lack the everyday struggle of the Christian or can easily gloss over the problem and go right to the solution, but that is not always the case in real life situations. Sometimes we doubt God’s Sovereignty, and I wanted to capture that on the album. It has 14 songs, and the album progresses. So it starts off with faith in Christ and excitement in being like him in the world. Then after a few songs you get to a bit of unbelief and complaints about the very thing you were celebrating in the first few songs. Then in "Contemporary Job," like the book of Job, God addresses those complaints with His perspective. After that the Christian is refreshed and is ready to again fight sin in "Divide and Conquer" and so forth. So I see Progression as the Christian life in many ways. We all face doubts and encouragement and I wanted to have that element on Progression. (in an interview with Justin Taylor, posted here)
I commend Curtis Allen's project Progression to you for the edification, relaxation, and worship it can stimulate in your heart.
Another President Clinton?
Time Magazine looks at the behind-the-scenes campaign that Senator Hillary Clinton is already mounting for the White House. Could she win? May it never be.
August 20, 2006
Welfare Reform - 10 year anniversary
On the ten-year anniversary of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, passed by a Republican-led Congress and enacted by President Bill Clinton, Rich Lowry notes reasons to celebrate, while Douglas J. Besharov of the American Enterprise Institute sounds a more cautionary note, pointing to the need for further improvement.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, formerly a member of the Dutch parliament, and writer of the controversial film Submission, is now with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington, D.C. Her 12-minute film powerfully examines domestic violence in Islamic households. Ali was a guest on CBS 60 minutes this evening.
Ali has written a book entitled The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam in which she examines the question of "whether the roots of evil [referring to the 9/11 attacks] can be traced to the faith I grew up with: was the aggression, the hatred inherent in Islam itself?"
Her story is interesting given the irony of a former representative of a very "liberal" country now working for a "conservative" organization. It is also a noteworthy contrast between depictions of women's worth and dignity in the Koran versus the Bible (not that Ali is a Christian, to the best of my knowledge).
August 19, 2006
Mainstream media - Fair and Balanced?
Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, has written an incisive, penetrating essay called Is the Mainstream Media Fair and Balanced? in the August, 2006 issue of Imprimis, a monthly digest of Hillsdale College. His thesis:
My topic today is how the mainstream media—meaning nationally influential newspapers like the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today; influential regional papers like the Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times; the broadcast networks and cable news stations like CNN; and the wire services, which now are pretty much reduced to the Associated Press—stacks up in terms of the latter two journalistic standards, fairness and balance. In my opinion, they don't stack up very well.
Barnes observes that "Polls of the Washington press corps....about who they voted for in 2004 always show that nine-to-one or ten-to-one of them voted Democratic."
Though there are many fine conservative journalists, they are almost never hired by the mainstream media (MSM). There are many more liberal commentators on FOX than conservatives on other stations, Barnes notes. The result is that "only the mainstream media still has the power to make stories big." Barnes recounts the Cindy Sheehan story last summer as an example. The story was huge in the MSM, even though Sheehan assigned credibility to the Iraqi insurgency by naming those maiming, beheading, and killing innocent civilians as "freedom fighters."
A more recent example is the coverage of the NSA surveillance leak story. Rather than expressing concern over the breach of confidentiality and the potential impact on national security (which is all they say about the Valerie Plame issue), the media mischaracterizes the story as a "domestic spying scandal." Nevermind that those being spied on are Al-Qaeda members overseas using the telephone to speak to people in the U.S.
When liberals express outrage, they are "criticizing." However, in the Clinton era, his critics were demonized as "Clinton haters." Though there were certainly Clinton haters on the fringe right, the point remains that nobody today is ever labelled a "Bush hater," even though that is clearly what some folks are.
Barnes goes on to examine religious and partisan bias. Bush is considered "extremely religious" because he reads his Bible daily and prays. Nevermind the fact that millions of Americans also do that. Meanwhile Paul Kengor found that President Clinton quoted the Bible and mentioned God and Jesus Christ more than President Bush, who (in public discourse) says relatively little about his faith. Kengor discusses this and more in his book God and George W. Bush: A Spiritual Life.
With regard to partisan bias, Barnes notes that Robert Lichter (President of the Center for Media and Public Affairs) found that no presidential candidate has received more favorable treatment from the broadcast media than John Kerry (over the course of Lichter's 20 years of experience in accessing broadcast news for bias). Kerry received 77 percent favorable coverage in the stories regarding him on the three broadcast news shows. For Bush, it was 34 percent. Two noteworthy examples are the lack of coverage of the Swift Boat vets (uncovering faulty claims to Vietnam war heroism on Kerry's part) and Dan Rather's flawed report on President Bush's (supposed) preferential treatment in the Texas National Guard.
Barnes's essay, in its entirity, is well worth the read.
Andreas Köstenberger on the gift of singleness
Dr. Andreas Kostenberger weighs in on the gift of singleness. He offers a somewhat more nuanced view on the gift, particularly the benefits of singleness for the kingdom of God, than he attributes to Debbie Maken.
Though I've read articles by Debbie Maken and reviews of her book, I regret that I have not yet had a chance to read the entire book. My wife Marni did read it cover-to-cover. Perhaps Marni or Mrs. Maken herself would like to comment? (Our family is moving next month, so Marni probably won't have time!)
My blog post below is an introduction to Maken's overarching thesis. It is not an exhaustive examination of every issue in her book.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
August 16, 2006
Getting Serious about Getting Married
Debbie Maken has written a book called Getting Serious about Getting Married. It is a strong critical response to the somewhat widespread view that to be single is to have "the gift of singleness."
Many in the church advise singles to merely be content with their singleness. “Just think how effective you can be in serving Christ because you aren’t distracted by a husband and children!” “Just be content; Jesus is all you need.” “It’s God’s will for you to be single now; maybe He has some lessons He wants you to learn, first.”
Such thoughts have the appearance of wisdom, because we know that (on one level) everything that comes to pass is God's will (in the sense that He decrees it, Eph. 1:11). But God also has revealed to us His moral will in His word: things He wants us to do, things that please Him. Like believing in Jesus for salvation. Like loving our neighbor as ourself. Like relieving the suffering of others. And like "it is not good for man to be alone."
God requires all singles to be celibate (to abstain from sexual expression in thought and deed), but because most singles aren’t gifted for celibacy, most should seek to marry. I agree with Maken, Al Mohler, and others in the view that the Bible does not describe a gift of singleness per se, but rather a gift of celibacy. The gift of celibacy is a rare gift that is accompanied by a Spirit-endowed ability to cheerfully and without bitterness or rancor abstain from sexual intimacy and the deep emotional companionship that only comes with marriage and having children. In many cases, I believe this is accompanied with a particular life calling that greatly profits from the status of singleness (e.g., missions, a life-threatening vocation, excessive traveling, etc.). I have written on the biblical normality of marriage for adults in chapter 2 of my book With One Voice, which Christian Focus has generously allowed me to post here.
My wife and I were (for the most part) not raised with convictions about the rarity of the gift of celibacy and the normality of marriage. Since the book's author is female, I asked my wife Marni if she'd be willing to read Maken's book and post some thoughts for us here. Marni writes:
"Like Maken, I also spent my twenties single, longing to be married. I read the book thinking of my situation, as well as of my single girlfriends. And I found myself saying “right on!” throughout the book, wishing I had had this book when I was 23. The book is a breath of fresh air; she makes a compelling argument that single women are not desperate, unusual, or sinful for having a desire to be married. In fact, she makes the case that biblically and all through Christian history, early marriage has been not only the norm but is God’s will. Instead of chastising women for not being content enough or not focusing on serving God with the luxury of time afforded by their freedom from care of a husband and children, she validates the desire to be married as just as normal as hunger for food.
There is such tremendous pressure in the church and in the Christian culture today to embrace singleness as a “gift,” based on Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7. But Maken is condemning of the perspective that singleness is equal to the rare “gift of celibacy,” which is truly for those who do not desire to marry and are called to a specific, unusual calling that would be incompatible with a family. While Maken’s exegesis of 1 Corinthians 7 and Jesus’ words in Matthew 19 is a bit weak, her conclusions are nonetheless compelling.
I very much appreciated her encouragement to single women to use their discontent as a God-given impetus to get married, rather than to suppress it in an unfounded attempt to be “more godly” in the hopes that once the desire for marriage is gone and a certain advanced level of sanctification is reached, then God will magically cause her to get married. I remember being terrified to admit to anyone in the church that I wasn’t content in my singleness. I knew I would be perceived as weak, ungodly, and desperate. I hope all pastors and elders will read this book and begin to encourage singles based on God’s clear will for the normalcy of marriage, and not try to biblically justify the prevalence of delayed marriage induced by sin."
I want to join my wife in commending Debbie Maken's Getting Serious about Getting Married: Rethinking the Gift of Singleness to others. For a primer on Maken's thesis, see her boundless.org article. I close with a portion of Al Mohler's endorsement of Maken's book:
"One of the most urgent questions facing today's generation of young Christians is this --does God really intend for us to make marriage a priority? Confusion reigns in this area of the Christian life. For too many young Christians sideline marriage, delay marriage, and avoid marriage in an extension of adolescence that is truly unique in human history."
I could not agree more. I think the negative consequences are widespread in the culture at large. We hope to raise our children in a day of recovery and revival of the blessed gift of marriage. A day in which young men and women deliberately and gladly assume the mantle of adulthood and responsibility. A day in which interest in the opposite sex is entertained in a context that assumes the appropriate goal of marriage. A day in which marriage is the non-negotiable price for sexual intimacy. A day in which married couples welcome children and men gladly assume their God-given duties of protection and provision, allowing their wives to thrive in the sphere for which God uniquely designed them.
SBC and church membership
Pastor, author, and blogger Mark Dever writes about a serious mistake made at the most recent Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
One corollary question might be: what (if anything) should be done about regular attenders who, lacking a biblically defensible explanation, are unwilling to become members of a particular church after a significant period of evaluation?
Review of With One Voice by Josh Riley
Josh Riley of worship.com has written a very gracious and detailed review of With One Voice, written by my wife and yours truly.
An Excerpt:
There's no shortage of relationship books on the market, to be sure. But some discount the Christian perspective to the point that they offer little hope, or encouragement, to the Christian striving to live lives pleasing to God. And some Christian books on the subject tends toward checklists and "principles," some of which are helpful but focus too much on the goal of marriage and too little on the process of living a life of ministry and service in preparation for marriage. Others end up advocating goofy dating practices that don't always address the issues of the heart and can leave one thinking they will be guaranteed success in marriage if only they follow a myrid of extrabiblical rules.
The Chediaks have avoided both pitfalls. Their advice is sound, biblical, and grounded in the real world, though sadly many in the contemporary evangelical may not have the discernment to recognize it. And make no Chediaks mistake about it -- this isn't the pious writing of simplistic nerds with no experience in the real world; Alex is a professor at Northwestern College in Roseville, MN, and also is serving as an apprentice at the Bethlehem Institute in Minneapolis under the direction of John Piper. His wife Marni had a successful management career with Fortune 500 companies before joining Alex in ministry.
[Phew.....I was glad to hear that my wife and I are not nerds! Now as for my Northwestern students.....-:)]
The entire review is engaging and a helpful overview for those who may be interested in our book. We are deeply humbled (and very grateful) for Mr. Riley's interest in our work.
Evangelical Feminism and Liberalism
On this weblog, I have posted several times on my concern that the evangelical church, on a whole, seems to be losing its moorings on central issues such as God's design for men and women. Some churches move towards egalitarian positions on matters such as women in leadership in the name of cultural progress, following arguments such as those developed by William J. Webb. Others, such as City Church in San Francisco, CA, are moved more by more traditional evangelical feminist arguments. An example of an articulate scholar of this persuasion is Dr. Ben Witherington.
Wayne Grudem, whom many regard as today's foremost complementarian scholar, responds to Webb's trajectory argument in Appendix 5 of his outstanding tome, Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth. He responds to Witherington's reading of I Timothy 2 in chapter 8 of the same tome.
Another hot-button issue related to gender and the church is whether (and to what degree) there is a connection between evangelical feminism and liberalism. In chapter 13 of this same Grudem volume, the correlation between evangelical feminism and theological liberalism is explored. There is a disturbing trend between denominations that move toward egalitarian perspectives on the ordination of women and those that reinterpret "headship" in Ephesians 5 to make the husband-wife submission Paul is discussing entirely symmetrical (meaning there is no real sense in which the husband has primary leadership responsibility in his home). Further, it seems that egalitarian churches have been more likely to abandon the historic position of biblical inerrancy. These churches also exhibit a trend toward the denial of anything being uniquely masculine. Next, there is a tendency to calling God Father or Mother. (For example, we've seen the PC(USA) discuss alternate titles for the Persons of the Trinity.) The final step seems to be the approval of homosexuality. Grudem cites not only the PC(USA) but also the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Christian Reformed Church (which many still believe to be largely evangelical). Again, it is not being suggested that there are no evangelicals in these denominations. But the denominational trends are certainly important and disturbing, as it puts remaining evangelicals in a collision course with their own leadership.
Much has happened since 2004 when Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth was published. Wayne Grudem has now further developed his insightful commentary on this important subject in a new book entitled Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism? The book is available in just a month from Crossway, and can already be pre-ordered.
Also on this topic, Roger Overton and Amy Hall of the A-team are blogging through Wayne Grudem's Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth every Friday (about a chapter at a time).
August 14, 2006
President of Iran launches a weblog
Though the Internet is severely restricted in his country, that should not stop Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from participating in the international blogging movement. This looks legitimate -- and concerning.
See the BBC's report here.
Click here to go directly to President Ahmadinejad's blog -- the second flag from the left will give it to you in English. His post is about 2000 (English) words long, but don't worry....he promises to be more brief in the future.
(HT: Justin Taylor and Dana Olson)
Update: President Bush, rightly, going after Iran today, reminding the world of the link between Hezbollah (messing things up in Lebanon and Israel) and Iran. "We can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks," says Bush.
Also, this note of alarm from Bill O'Reilly. I'm not sure about his take on the details (e.g., a military draft), but in the main, this piece is timely and reasonable.
August 13, 2006
Zuckerman on the Israeli - Lebanese conflict
Referring to the Israeli withdrawl from the Gaza Strip almost a year ago: Worth reading in its entirity. I hope Zuckerman is incorrect with regard to his pessimistic outlook, but his assessment of some of the underlying issues is compelling. Dr. Jerry Walls will be interviewed this Fall in the periodical Modern Reformation. I had the privilege of reading the interview in advance of its publication. An outstanding spokesman for classical Arminianism (a position I do not hold), Walls really tries to understand Calvinism and avoid its caricatures. I found his book Why I am not a Calvinist (co-authored with Dr. Joe Dongell, InterVarsity Press, 2004) to be an clear and fair presentation of Arminianism. Dr. Walls provides a strong argument for a libertarian view of human freedom as opposed to compatibilism (the view that God's decrees and human freedom, defined as the power to do what one wants, work harmoniously or "compatibly," neither doing violence to the other). Though ultimately I found the philosophical and exegetical arguments set forth by Walls and Dongell (respectively) to be unpersuasive, I recommend their book for anyone seeking to accurately understand the Wesleyan strand of Arminianism. Dr. Tom Schreiner and Dr. Bruce A Ware are commendable proponents of the compatibilist position (often in response to Open Theism). Wayne Grudem's remarkably accessible Systematic Theology also contains a good section on the topic. On July 30, yours truly predicted that Joe Lieberman (who perhaps might have been our Vice President today were it not for a few thousand votes and Ralph Nadar's candidacy) would be hung out to dry by the Democratic establishment in Connecticut and beyond (so I'm batting 100%, 1-for-1, in political predictions). This past Wednesday, Jacob Weisberg, writing in the left-of-center publication Slate lambasted the Lamont candidacy with this incisive piece entitled Dead with Ned. Weisberg's reading on Ned Lamont's victory is that: This is a signal event that will have a huge and lasting negative impact on the Democratic Party. The result suggests that instead of capitalizing on the massive failures of the Bush administration, Democrats are poised to re-enact a version of the Vietnam-era drama that helped them lose five out six presidential elections between 1968 and the end of the Cold War. In a nutshell, Weisberg asserts that: The problem for the Democrats is that.....Many of them appear not to take the wider, global battle against Islamic fanaticism seriously. They see Iraq purely as a symptom of a cynical and politicized right-wing response to Sept. 11, as opposed to a tragic misstep in a bigger conflict. Substantively, this view indicates a fundamental misapprehension of the problem of terrorism. Politically, it points the way to perpetual Democratic defeat. I do not agree with all of Weisberg's remarks (he regards the Iraq war as a mistake), but his entire essay is quite thoughtful and well written. (HT: Justin Taylor) A good word from Pastor John Piper on why talking to people, rather than about them, is often more difficult yet more loving. Excerpt: But Jesus does not call us to make safe choices. He calls us to make loving choices. In the short run, love is often more painful than self-protecting conflict-avoidance. But in the long run, our consciences condemn us for this easy path and we do little good for others. So let’s be more like Jesus in this case and not talk about people, but talk to them, both with words of encouragement, because of the evidences of grace we see in their lives, and with words of caution or warning or correction or even rebuke. Paul urged us to use the full range of words for the full range of needs: “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). My wife Marni will be posting some book reviews here, so I'd like to introduce her to you a bit: The former Maren Kristine Haugen grew up in Palo Alto, CA where after being homeschooled through elementary school she demonstrated academic prowess as a high schooler at Crystal Springs Uplands School. Her English SAT score is more than 100 points higher than mine, yet I have the audacity to call myself a writer. Marni also played the trombone, acted in several plays, and was involved in summer camps such as City on the Hill which taught leadership and the formation of a Christian worldview. Marni later attended Stanford University, where she majored in Human Biology and did dorm talks on abstinence. Graduating in 1993, she worked for Pacific Bell (now AT&T) until 2004, serving in several management positions, the last of which was Director of Knowledge Management. During her single years Marni enjoyed her time as a leader in Bible study fellowship and traveled all over the world. We married in Dec 2004, and when we moved to MN Marni worked for General Mills as a team lead until our first child, Karis Joy, was born in March of 2006. I finally got around to reading the Newsweek interview of Billie Graham, now 87, and mostly avoiding the spotlight nowadays. The interview is a bit disappointing in some ways, notably: (p. 6): When asked whether he believes heaven will be closed to good Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or secular people, though, Graham says: "Those are decisions only the Lord will make. It would be foolish for me to speculate on who will be there and who won't ... I don't want to speculate about all that. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the whole world, and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have." It seems to me that such convictions necessarily undercut the urgency of the gospel call -- and command -- to repentance and faith in Christ, the only way to God. (See my post on Tom Wells' outstanding book Come to Me!) Graham did have a good word that is particularly fitting for young Christian workers: The entire interview is here. Another good post from Al Mohler on the foundational value of marriage in our civilization. Mohler discusses an article by James Q. Wilson (Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University) which argues that our current marriage crisis is rooted in a basic failure to reconcile the values of character and freedom. Pastor John Piper's first sermon to Bethlehem following his sabbatical is now on-line, both in audio and written format. (HT: Justin Taylor) The topic he takes on here is of extraordinary importance. I spent a semester wrestling with the issue of justification and God's grace in a Greek exegesis class on Romans 9-11. I wrote a 12 page paper on Rom. 9:30-10:13. Upshot: the law of God called for perfect obedience, which no sinner could provide. Righteousness was the goal of the law, but it could only be attained apart from the law (Rom. 3:21). Righteousness was never attainable by (sinful) human performance. Abraham was counted righteous by faith in the Old Testament (Rom. 4:3), and this was written for our sakes also, because we are likewise counted righteous when we place faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 4:23-24). That is why the parable of the tax collector who is justified (Luke 18:9-14) -- rather than the other man -- is so riveting. Dear Readers, Marni, Karis and I are back from visiting her family in CA and introducing many of them to Karis. It was a great trip, but somewhat tiring as we took a red-eye back to MN last night. You may recall I had written a cautionary post regarding Multnomah being sold. Well, it turns out rumors were true -- Random House has picked up the Christian publishing company, just as the picked up Waterbrook Press a few years back. But they are apparently not being closed. Nevertheless, Tim Challies echoed my concern regarding the disturbing trend of secular companies having ownership over Christian media organizations (whether dedicated to books, as in the case of Multnomah and Waterbrook) or music (as in the case of the contemporary Christian music scene). An excellent discussion followed Challies' post, including some interesting commentary from Christian musician Steve Camp. Are you ever looking for short, readable works that can clearly, articulately, and carefully explain the gospel message to those uninitiated to biblical language? Quite frankly, I know of no better resource for this than Tom Wells' little book, Come to Me! -- which is now available for as little as a penny on Amazon.com!!! I was reminded of Wells' work for several reasons: First, I just received a few copies in the mail (and that always helps); Second, I just heard of someone I know professing faith in Christ (which is great); Third, I read Mark Dever's sober-minded post on whether evangelists should ever question professions of faith. Here's an excerpt of Dever's counsel of how we should respond to new professions of faith: What should we do? Encourage the new believer in all things good. Remind them of the gospel. After some appropriate time (which would vary much from case to case) they should be baptized and join a church. They should regularly hear the preaching of the Word, commune, fellowship, pray and obey the Word. They should be building relationships in order to do that. And they should be told to hope in Christ alone for their salvation. Our desire is to find every professor getting safely home to heaven. See the context of Dever's admonition here. Looks like I am able to get back into my blog, but blogging will still be light until Thursday. We are currently in CA visiting with my wife Marni's family and therefore missed John Piper's first sermon at Bethlehem since February. Matt at What Else Floats has a good post summarizing the message. The sermon dealt with the justification of the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. Though I have not yet heard the sermon, there seems to be a relationship between the message and a manuscript that Piper has written, which he described in an open letter to Bethlehem at the close of his sabbatical. Here is the description: This should be an outstanding book. (HT: Tim Challies and Justin Taylor) Dear Friends, I apologize, but it appears that I will be unable to blog until Thursday of this week (8/10). Dear Readers, We're going camping for a few days. Here's some interesting stuff for now: The Thirsty Theologian continues his analysis of the permissibility of alcohol for Christians today. Al Mohler reprints a blogpost regarding a Time Magazine assessment on "Being 13." The Jollyblogger expresses some balancing thoughts on the converse of the feminized church -- namely the hyper-masculine church. Have a great weekend! Awhile back the team at Boundless.org ran an article by Danielle Crittenden on the cost of delaying marriage. It contained some counter-cultural statements that tipped the apple cart, even for many Christians. Here are two examples: The Boundless.org editors were deluged with messages expressing shock and outrage. Many of these were from single women in their 30s who either wanted to be married, but felt they had no options, or enjoyed their singleness and felt insulted by Crittenden's remarks. Candice Watters then wrote a sober, winsome response to each of these (and several other) concerns. Here's an excerpt (she first quotes some of the criticism): Read the whole essay from Watters. Note: The article from Crittenden is (for the most part) an excerpt from her outstanding book on this topic entitled What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman. Sean Higgins over at Tohu Va Bohu has a lot of good things to say about the myth of adolescence. His outline is: II. The Birth of Adolescence * An Introduction to the Myth of Adolescence III. The Growth of Adolescence * Introduction 1. The Enactment of Child Labor Laws * Adolescence Growth Enhancements IV Adolescents in the Old Testament * Introduction V. Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry Check out his posts here. Alex and Brett Harris over at The Rebelution have an excellent series of posts that seem to have originated from Thomas Friedman's best-selling book The World is Flat (an excellent read). They provide a good synopsis of the book in their first post, and also do a nice job highlighting the problems regarding the (poor) math and science competency in the USA today, particularly at both the college and high school level. I happen to care deeply about this given my engineering background and involvement with prospective engineering students at a Christian college (each of whom will be required to read this chapter from Friedman's book): The National Science Board (NSB) reports that the number of American eighteen-to-twenty-four-year-olds who received science degrees has fallen to seventeenth in the world, even though we ranked third 30 years ago. Furthermore, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) showed that American twelfth graders finished 15th out of sixteen countries in advanced mathematics and dead last out of sixteen countries in advanced science. Don’t think for a moment that the up-and-coming world is sitting still. Of the 2.8 million bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering granted worldwide in 2003, 1.2 million were earned by Asian students in Asian universities. Only 400,000 were granted in the United States. Shirley Ann Jackson, the 2004 president of the American Association for Advancement of Science explains, “the proportional emphasis on science and engineering is greater in other nations.” Check out the The Rebelution's series of posts here. Packer and Nystrom's book Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty To Delight also contains helpful assignments for group study/reflection associated with each chapter. The assignments are broken down into the topics of study, prayer and writing. J.I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom have just published a book with InterVarsity Press called Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight. The book is based on a series of taped lectures on prayer given by Dr. Packer, which Ms. Nystrom then developed into a transcript, which the two later developed. The authors describe their book as a “heart-to-heart affair in which two Christians who try to pray and wish they prayed better share thoughts about what they are doing with people whom they envisage as being like themselves.” I resonate with the struggle in prayer that they describe: “Thoughts wander, hearts that ardently longed to be praying freeze once we start, and we dry up. We thought we knew what we had to say to God, but our minds lose focus as soon as we start to say it, our muddle reduces us to stumbling, using words that do not express our meaning, and finally our muddle descends into silence.” Packer and Nystrom assert that good praying is both duty and delight, but we often must begin with duty. As we grow in the practice of prayer, God causes what begins as duty to blossom into delight. Chapter 1 is entitled "The God We Pray To." The chapter discusses the benefits of setting a regular time for prayer (like a husband and wife setting a regular time to talk about the day), but caution that routine prayer “always brings the danger that the routine itself will become the goal and, once fulfilled, will become a source of false well-being.” The authors proceed to meditate on the nature of God. They note that God is personal, plural, perfect, powerful, purposeful, a promise-keeper, paternal, and praiseworthy. The authors aim not just to come alongside us in our struggles with prayer, but to move us to greater delight in prayer by pointing us to a clearer understanding of God and His character. Key quote: "In this book we contend that the key to heartfelt, meaningful, enriching realism in our prayers is threefold: clear realization of the reality of God, continual practice of the presence of God, and constant endeavor to please God every day of our lives." Other chapters deal with different types of prayer: Brooding (chap 3) , Praising (chap 4), Asking (chap 6), Complaining (chap 7), and Hanging On (Chap 8). Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight reads with an accessible tone/style. The topic is certainly relevant. The wisdom, wit, and pastoral warmth of Packer's other works (such as Knowing God) comes through in this work as well. (Editorial blog note: I classify this as an introduction to a book, not an exhaustive review.)
Everyone hoped then that the Palestinians would show the world what they could achieve with freedom as a template for a future independent state. Alas, they have shown us all too well. Not one day of peace has followed since then. The pattern was set on the very day of Israel's pullout. Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza into Israeli towns on the other side of the border, targeting innocent civilians living in the pre-1967 Israel recognized by the international community. The final straw came last month, with the Hamas attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and resulted in the kidnapping of a third. Last week, inspired by the rhetorical threats of Iran's incendiary president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah--like Hamas, another Iranian proxy--attacked Israel from the north, killing eight Israeli soldiers and abducting two more, and then began raining rockets down onto Israel civilians.
Jerry Walls Interview - Modern Reformation
August 12, 2006
Ned Lamont victory - a bad sign for the Democratic Party
Following his 52-48 August 8 primary loss to Ned Lamont, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Sens. Chuck Schumer, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dick Durbin, John Kerry and Christopher Dodd have all declared their support of Ned Lamont in the November general election. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson today became the first prominent figure to explicitly call on Sen. Lieberman to drop his reelection bid. Talking to people rather than about them
Introduction to my wife, Marni
August 11, 2006
Billie Graham - Newsweek Interview
(p.6) If he had his life to live over again, Graham says he would spend more time immersed in Scripture and theology. He never went to seminary, and his lack of a graduate education is something that still gives him a twinge. "The greatest regret that I have is that I didn't study more and read more," he says. "I regret it, because now I feel at times I am empty of what I would like to have been. I have friends that have memorized great portions of the Bible. They can quote [so much], and that would mean a lot to me now."August 10, 2006
Al Mohler on Central Value of Marriage in Civilization
Update on Pastor John's return - first sermon available
We're Back & an Update on Multnomah
August 08, 2006
Tom Wells - little gospel book
August 07, 2006
John Piper - Back in the Pulpit
The other book is a response to N. T. Wright on the doctrine of justification. I have no immediate plan to publish it until I get the feedback from critical readers. My motivation in writing it is that I think his understanding of Paul is wrong and his view of justification is harmful to the church and to the human soul. Few things are more precious than the truth of justification by faith alone because of Christ alone. As a shepherd of a flock of God’s blood-bought church, I feel responsible to lead the sheep to life-giving pastures. That is not what the sheep find in Wright’s view of Paul on justification. He is an eloquent and influential writer and is, I believe, misleading many people on the doctrine of justification. I will keep you posted on what becomes of this manuscript.August 06, 2006
Experiencing Computer Difficulties
August 02, 2006
Blog going dark until Monday (8/7)
Delaying Marriage: Conflict over the Cost
But if a woman remains single until her age creeps up past 30, she may find herself tapping at her watch and staring down the now mysteriously empty tunnel, wondering if there hasn’t been a derailment or accident somewhere along the line.
The 33-year-old single woman who decides she wants more from life than her career cannot so readily walk into marriage and children; by postponing them, all she has done is to push them ahead to a point in her life when she has less sexual power to attain them.
One example: "Do I sound bitter? I am really not bitter. I am frustrated, because I see articles that do not seem to present the other side of the story, that despite our best efforts, some of us have just not met someone. That sometimes a person does not have a choice about delaying marriage, because the possibility has never presented itself.
And another: "I don't want to sound like a complainer, but I think that the delayed marriage factor has a lot to do with Christian men as well as women. I find it frustrating to be accused of being very independent when I haven't even had the option of anything else! It's not like I had ten suitors on my doorstep, and I turned down marriage at 20. I didn't have the option of marriage at 20 or even 30. … I need the support of the Christian community. Your Boundless article seems to put us all in the bucket of waiting too long or too late. But what about just waiting, because that's your only choice."
I think this writer is on to something. The problem of delayed marriage has a lot to do with men who won't take initiative. Women want to be pursued and men are charged by God to be the pursuers. Proverbs says, "he who finds a wife, " Finds. That's no passive verb. It's active. It instructs the man who wants God's blessing to get out there and look. And to the men we say, get going. It's time you accept the challenge to pursue marriage.
To the women, I say stop glorifying the single years as a super-holy season of just you and Jesus. Yes, being single does provide the chance to be uniquely intimate with Jesus. Enjoy that. But don't advertise it. Why? Because it gives guys permission to kick back and let you. If they think you're perfectly happy as a single, why wouldn't they let you stay that way? Especially when so many of them are gun shy. Thanks to a 50 percent (give or take a few points) divorce rate and absentee dad problem, many of them grew up without a mentor (their dad) and without a godly model for what marriage should look like. Many of them are scared, and for good reason.
The Myth of Adolescence
I. The Myth of Adolescence
* A Definition for Adolescence
* The Birth of Adolescence
2. The Endorsement of Compulsory Education
3. The Expression of Parental Wishfulness
4. The Establishment of a Juvenile Justice System
5. The Evolving Popularity of Psychology (Part 1) (Part 2)
6. The Emergence of Target Marketing Strategies
7. The Expansion of National Media
8. The Easy Sell of Irresponsibility Excuses
* Vocabulary for OT Young PeopleAugust 01, 2006
The World is Flat - by Thomas Friedman
Addendum to Previous Post
Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight
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