January 24, 2007
Boundless comments on Five Paths
Denise Morris over at the Boundless blog offers an introductory post to Five Paths to the Love of Your Life, which I introduce here (just scroll down).
Brian Vickers on Imputation
Denny Burk provides an provocative review of Jesus' Blood and Righteousness: Paul's Theology of Imputation. Burk's closing thoughts:
Vickers has done a masterful job in Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness. Not only is it an indispensible introduction to the issues at stake in the current debate, it also offers a compelling interpretation of Paul that affirms the traditional formulation of imputation. There are very few books like this one, and anyone who is concerned about having a biblical theology should give this volume careful consideration.Update: There is a good discussion on Denny's blogpost. Brian Vickers, Scot McKnight, and Mike Bird all chip in.
January 21, 2007
The Horror of Abortion
On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that women, as part of their right to privacy, have a qualified right to terminate their pregnancies under certain conditions. Since that time, over 47 million innocent babies have been killed.
Mr. John Ensor discovered that a disproportionately high number of abortions are committed in five states, one of which is Florida (the others included California, Nevada, New York, and another). And 40% of the abortions in Florida occur in Miami. John Piper's sermon this weekend (not yet posted) highlighted the ministry of John Ensor in Miami appropriately called Heartbeat of Miami. From their website:
Heartbeat of Miami is a bold and winsome call to the Christian community to open 3 to 5 pregnancy help centers in the neediest neighborhoods of Miami over the next two years. These centers will be equipped with ultrasound and staffed by nurses, trained peer counselors, and volunteers from the Christian community. When established they will save thousands of women every year from the violence and agony of abortion- in direct competition to the nearly 40 (!) abortion facilities operating in Miami.Beyond Miami, the strategy is to raise up new crisis pregnancy centers in the urban centers of the USA where a staggering 94% of America's abortion facilities exist. In essence, going toe-to-toe against Planned Parenthood. This strikes me as a wise plan to maximize effectiveness at saving lives while raising the consciences of the nation to the fact that loving Christians stand ready to help those experiencing unwanted pregnancies at every step of the process (not just before the baby is born).
This sobering and moving video can help us further appreciate the horror of abortion, and resolve to hasten the day when to be pro-choice is unthinkable.
(HT: Between Two Worlds)
January 18, 2007
Stereotypes, Generalizations, and Racism
John Piper offers some wise words on stereotypes, generalizations, and racism. Last part:
"So the tough question is: When is a generalization about a group racist? I am using the word racist as something sinful, and the following answers move toward a definition. The following uses of generalization would be wrong (racist):* When you want a person to fit a negative generalization that you have formed about a group (even if the generalization statistically is true).
* When you assume that a statistically true negative generalization is true of a particular person in the face of individual evidence to the contrary.
* When you treat all the members of a group as if all must be characterized by a negative generalization.
* When you speak disparagingly of an entire group on the basis of a negative generalization without any regard for those in the group who don’t fit the generalization. Or: When you speak negatively of a group based on a generalization without giving any evidence that you acknowledge and appreciate the exceptions. (I assume that Jesus’ generalizations about the Pharisees [Matthew 23] and Paul’s generalization about the Cretans [Titus 1:12] are not sinful because they did have such regard and did appreciate the exceptions.)"
Earlier he provides a great quote from Shelby Steele's White Guilt (reviewed here). Piper's essay is worth reading in its entirety.
Evangelical Gender Debate
Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, posts a great article provocatively entitled, "After Patriarchy, What? Why Egalitarians are Winning the Evangelical Gender Debate". (It looks like something that came out in a recent issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.) Excerpt:
"Complementarianism must be about more than isolating the gender issue as a concern. We must instead relate male headship to the whole of the gospel. And, in so doing, we must remember that complementarian Christianity is collapsing around us because we have not addressed the root causes behind egalitarianism in the first place."
Speaking of which, Dr. Albert Mohler and Dr. Ligon Duncan will be doing a half-day conference called Different By Design at the Minneapolis Convention Center immediately prior to the Desiring God Conference for Pastors on February 5.
January 16, 2007
New Book Promoting Chastity
I've previously commented on an outstanding book called What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman by Danielle Crittenden. Here were my remarks:
"What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us vividly captures some of the disadvantages women experience in the current male/female milieu prevalent in our culture (in general) and on college campuses (in particular). The book is not explicitly Christian by any means, yet her conclusions are very similar to mine. In short, if women in the 1950s saw themselves primarily through the lens of their uniquely feminine callings (wives, mothers, etc.) and insufficiently as adults with non-gender-specific intelligence, skills, and aspirations, the modern woman tends to view her worth in ways that suppress her uniquely feminine longings. The result is a more androgynous culture, and, yes, one in which women have unparalleled opportunity, but also one in which women are increasingly vulnerable to male oppression--precisely because men no longer feel obligated (by societal mores) to regard women with particular esteem. For example, men are less likely to marry and commit to being breadwinners, so women (most of who still innately long to bear children) feel pressured to simultaneously balance demanding careers."
One of the associated lies of the sexual revolution is that women can engage in a string of casual sexual encounters without long-term emotional repercussions. Dawn Eden, once a feminist and sexual libertine, tells her story of transformation into a celibate Catholic in The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On. She writes this introductory article in the Times Online. Excerpts:
"The Sixties generation thought everything should be free. But only a few decades later the hippies were selling water at rock festivals for $5 a bottle. But for me the price of “free love” was even higher. I sacrificed what should have been the best years of my life for the black lie of free love. All the sex I ever had — and I had more than my fair share — far from bringing me the lasting relationship I sought, only made marriage a more distant prospect."
And
"The misguided, hedonistic philosophy which urges young women into this kind of behaviour harms both men and women; but it is particularly damaging to women, as it pressures them to subvert their deepest emotional desires. The champions of the sexual revolution are cynical. They know in their tin hearts that casual sex doesn’t make women happy. That’s why they feel the need continually to promote it."
Sounds like a good book.
[HT: Justin Taylor and Denny Burk]
January 15, 2007
Wayne Grudem on Offensive Language
Yesterday, Wayne Grudem wrote a warm, articulate and balanced e-mail to John Piper on the use of offensive language. Grudem is responding to Piper's explanation on why he used a vulgar word in a breakout session at the Passion 2007 Conference. Later reflecting on his choice of words, Piper noted:
"I regret saying it. I am sitting here trying to figure out why I say things like that every now and then. I think it is a mixture of (sinful) audience titillation and (holy) scorn against my own flesh and against the devil, along with the desire to make the battle with Satan and my flesh feel gutsy and real and not middle-class pious."
Grudem's correspondence makes a helpful connection between physical and verbal cleanliness:
"Using the words commonly thought to be offensive in the culture seems to me to be sort of the verbal equivalent of not wearing deodorant and having body odor, or of going around with spilled food on our shirts all the time. Someone might argue that not wearing deodorant or wearing dirty clothes are not morally wrong things in themselves, but my response is that they do give needless offense and cause others to think of us as somewhat impure or unclean. So, I think, does using words commonly thought to be "obscene" or "offensive" or "vulgar" in the culture generally. Plus it encourages others to act in the same way. So in that way it brings reproach on the church and the gospel."
Grudem's entire e-mail has been posted by Desiring God with his permission. It is the best statement on offensive language that I have ever read. I join Tim Challies in expressing my gratitude for these two brothers.
January 14, 2007
Believer's Baptism - Schreiner and Wright
Tom Schreiner and Shawn Wright have done the church an excellent service by co-editing a volume called Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ with Broadman and Holman. The book's description (from Amazon):
Is believer's baptism the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures? What are the historical and theological challenges to believer's baptism? What are the practical applications for believer's baptism today? Volume two in the NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY STUDIES IN BIBLE & THEOLOGY (NACSBT) series for pastors, advanced Bible students, and other deeply committed laypersons addresses these compelling questions.Indeed, Believer's Baptism begins with the belief that believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism or other faith proclaiming methods) is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Along the way, the argument is supported by written contributions from Andreas Kostenberger, Robert Stein, Thomas Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, Steve McKinion, Jonathan Rainbow, Shawn Wright, and Mark Dever.
This issue is of great contemporary importance, as some baptist churches in our day have sought to downplay baptist distinctives. Dr. Albet Mohler's article on theological "triage" is helpful. He distinguishes between first order issues (on which salvation hinges), second order issue (which should determine church or seminary affiliation), and third order issues (which would not prevent Christians from joining together in a covenant community). He characterizes the bodily resurrection of Christ as a first order issue, believers baptism and the ordination of women as a second order issue, and eschatology as a third order issue. Southern Seminary actually dedicated their entire Fall 2005 magazine to Baptist identity, and why it matters.
As a baptist by conviction, I applaud the arrival of this volume.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
January 12, 2007
Joe Carter Reviews With One Voice
Joe Carter writes this gracious review of With One Voice (which is summarized here):
"In With One Voice: Singleness, Dating and Marriage to the Glory of God, Alex and Marni Chediak provide the ultimate answer: It is more important to become a certain type of person than it is to find a certain type of boyfriend/girlfriend.
'What are you doing to become the sort of person who would be winsome and attractive to the kind of person you want to marry?' (p. 45)Such candid questions and refreshing candor is the hallmark of this superb book on dating and marriage. It is filled with advice that is redemptive, realistic, and relevant."
Read the whole thing. Joe's review has been added to the other reviews (from Lydia Brownback, Tim Challies, Josh Riley and Ryan Corbett).
Thanks, Joe! We appreciate your kind words.
January 11, 2007
William Wilberforce - book by John Piper
John Piper's short biography on William Wilberforce is available January 29 as a softcover book and immediately as a free PDF.
Speaking of Wilberforce, Piper notes:
"He believed with all his heart that new affections for God were the key to new morals (or manners, as they were sometimes called) and lasting political reformation. And these new affections and this reformation did not come from mere ethical systems. They came from what he called the "peculiar doctrines" of Christianity. For Wilberforce, practical deeds were born in "peculiar doctrines." By that term he simply meant the central distinguishing doctrines of human depravity, divine judgment, the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross, justification by faith alone, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the practical necessity of fruit in a life devoted to good deeds."
I previously mentioned the upcoming major motion picture Amazing Grace. Here is the trailer:
Response to Peter Masters' Critique of Desiring God
One of the courses in The Bethlehem Institute is called Practical Theology: The Pursuit of God in All of Life. It consists of a series of seminars by Pastor John Piper on the following topics: Future Grace; Why We Believe the Bible; TULIP; Sexual Complementarity; Biblical Eldership; Desiring God; Corporate Worship; Prayer, Meditation and Fasting; and Suffering. On some of these topics, Piper has written full-length books for a mainstream audience. On others, he has only written shorter booklets available at Bethlehem Baptist Church via Desiring God ministries.
For each of these seminars, Apprentices (such as me) are required to read what Piper has written on the topic as well as a selection of critical responses from writers who disagree (e.g., an essay critical of Future Grace, or a book representing Arminianism or Open Theism). Our writing assignement is often to respond to a particular critic.
So for the Desiring God seminar, we read Desiring God and chapter two of The God Who Commands by Richard Mouw (Notre Dame Press, 1991). Mouw is critical of Desiring God, claiming that its thesis places the "attainment of [personal] happiness as the single motivating and sustaining factor in the Christian life" (Mouw, p. 37). Note that there is a published response to Mouw from John Piper (1993), which we also read.
Lastly, we were asked to read and respond to this critical essay by Peter Masters (2002). Here is my response.
January 09, 2007
Nancy Pelosi and the "Marble Ceiling"
Carol Platt Liebau reflects on Speaker Pelosi's accomplishment, while putting the matter in perspective. The irony of Pelosi's flexing her muscles is that she actually sells herself short. Liebau explains:
"Ultimately, the most frustrating part of Pelosi’s fixation on the “first woman” angle is that it actually results in her selling herself short. She didn’t win the post of Speaker of the House because of her sex or despite it. She won because of her hard work, her fundraising, her long tenure in the House and her political skills -- plus her ability to garner more support than the well-qualified man who had run against her. In other words, she won her post in the same way and for the same reasons any man would have. Her sex was simply incidental -- as it should have been.
Notwithstanding Nancy Pelosi's exuberant bicep-flexing in front of the Speaker's chair last Thursday, her election isn’t significant because it marks the destruction of some “marble ceiling.” It’s significant for a less romantic but more important reason. It demonstrates that even Democrats are occasionally willing to do what other Americans do on a regular basis: Support the person they believe is best for a particular job – regardless of gender."
Her whole piece is a worthy analysis.
January 07, 2007
The Folly of Evil
This year I am listening to and reading the Bible with The One Year ESV Bible. This morning I was struck with the description of the fruit of the wicked in Psalm 7:14-16:
"Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends."
Surely he did not intend to fall in the hole that he made, but the pursuit of pleasure in sin always reaps far more pain than originally anticipated. From a short-term perspective, he may have expected minimal pain and big-time pleasure. But in the end, it was the other way around. Proverbs 1:17-19 sounds the same warning:
"For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."
The pursuit of pleasure outside of God is spiritual suicide. This is the folly of evil.
January 05, 2007
The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman
Tim Challies reviews The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman. I've previously blogged about this significant book.
Pray for Dr. Mohler
You've likely heard that he was found to be suffering from pulmonary emboli in both lungs.
Now, praise God, he appears to be responding well to the treatment. But he still needs our prayers.
January 04, 2007
When The Darkness Will Not Lift - John Piper
John Piper recently published a 79-page book entitled When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God -- and Joy. The book began as the final chapter of a 272-page book, When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy.
The Introduction talks about the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and how it relates to our fight for joy. Chaper 1 then discusses various physical causes of spiritual darkness and depression, and to what extent the use of medication might be appropriate. Chapter 2 is about waiting in a time of darkness for what can seem an unbearable amount of time. Chapter 3 is about taking action (pursuing our God-given responsibilities) even when our level of joy is low. Chapter 4 discusses what role unconfessed sin can play in blocking joy. I found this chapter particularly encouraging.
Chapter 5 takes on a seldom-recognized issue: the role self-absorption plays in triggering and exacerbating spiritual melancholy. Self-pity is the flip side of boasting. The latter is what proud people do when things go well, the former what we do when things go poorly. Likewise, being too concerned for the "prudential concerns about ourselves and our families" can squeeze out joy. Piper explains:
"Ethics has diminished from global concerns of justice and mercy and missions down to little lists of bad things to avoid. We find ourselves not energized for any great cause, but always thinking about the way to maximize our leisure and escape pressure. Unconsciously we have become very self-absorbed and oblivious and uncaring toward the pain and suffering in the world that is far worse than our own." (Piper, pp. 61-62)
Chapter 6 brings this powerful, concise book to a close with some thoughts of how to perseveringly love others experiencing prolonged seasons of darkness.
I highly recommend it.
Mel Gibson's Apocalytpo
The Internet Monk gives a more positive review of Apocalypto than I would have. Nevertheless, I think he makes some good points:
"His [Jaguar Paw's] journey takes him into the heart of a dying world. It is a world of stunning, impressive accomplishments and conspicuous consumption, but it is also a world where self-justifying desperation gives birth to tribal violence and captivating religions that encourage and approve of atrocity. Jaguar Paw journeys through an adventure where arrogance, ecological disaster and unleashed depravity are bringing down a world that believes it can never end. It is a chilling and remarkably relevant vision that will stay with thoughtful film-goers. Unlike the clumsy anti-conservative Bushisms of V For Vendetta, Apocalypto takes a much grander view of what threatens a culture, going to the heart of the many factors that combine to bring a world to the brink of collapse, all the while thinking it can last for a thousand years."
Here's the whole thing.
Interview with Ligon Duncan - streaming MP3
My interview with Ligon Duncan (from back in October) about With One Voice is now available as an MP3 on the "Audio" section of this website. Here's some information on the radio program hosted by Pastor Duncan (and, generally, Derek Thomas):
First Things. 9:00 am - 9:30 am Sunday. First Things is the weekly radio program carried live on Jackson radio station WJNT News/Talk 1180 AM. Format consists of interviews, devotional messages and panel discussion of contemporary social and theological subjects. You will need Real Audio to listen, which may be downloaded from the WJNT web site.
Ligon Duncan later was kind enough to offer this endorsement of With One Voice.
January 03, 2007
Numbering our Days
Psalm 90 repays a slow reading at the turning of a year:
"The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Ps. 90:10-12)
Josh Harris begins a series of posts on 4 qualities of the “heart of wisdom” we should seek to cultivate (v.12).
America - Free or Secular?
Dennis Prager poses the question:
"Are we a Judeo-Christian country with liberty for people of every, and of no, faith? Or are we a secular country that happens to have within it a large number of individuals who hold Judeo-Christian values?"
His answer is the former. He also notes:
"...the Founders regarded America as a Second Israel, in Abraham Lincoln's words, the "Almost Chosen" People. This self-identification was so deep that Thomas Jefferson, today often described as not even a Christian, wanted the seal of the United States to depict the Jews leaving Egypt at the splitting of the sea. Just as the Jews left Egypt, Americans left Europe."
Some may have thought that way, but is it theologically accurate? I prefer Dr. Albert Mohler's take:
"America is not Christian by constitutional provision or creedal affirmation -- but its people are overwhelmingly Christian by self-affirmation. Thoughtful evangelicals will not overestimate the convictional character of this self-identification. Secularists ought not to overestimate its superficiality."
In other words, America is not a religious state per se. However, many of its inhabitants hold to values which flow from a Judeo-Christian framework and therefore Christmas trees and "Merry Christmas" greetings are entirely appropriate. After all, secularists ought not to understate the pervasiveness of religion's influence among Americans (see my post on charity, for example). Nevertheless, committed evangelicals ("Christians" who believe that Jesus is the only way to God and that the Bible is entirely trustworthy) ought to also recognize that there is a difference between external submission to a religious milieu and a deep-seated, internalized, biblical worldview flowing ought of a regenerate heart and lifestyle.
Also relevant is Darryl Hart's latest book, which I am still reading.
Feel free to push back. I'm trying to grow in the clarity of my convictions on these matters.
Pat Robertson predicts "mass killing" in late 2007
Pat Robertson is at it again, making predictions with an authoritative facade of "the Lord told me." How embarrassing to Christians everywhere!
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AP) -- Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007.
January 02, 2007
White Guilt - Book Introduction/Review/Summary
"In the '60s--the first instance of open mutual witness between blacks and whites in American history--a balance of power was struck between the races. The broad white acknowledgment of racism meant that whites would be responsible both for overcoming their racism and for ending black poverty because, after all, their racism had so obviously caused that poverty. For whites to suggest that blacks might be in some way responsible for their own poverty would be to relinquish this responsibility and, thus, to return to racism. So, from its start in the '60s, this balance of power (offering redemption to whites and justice to blacks) involved a skewed distribution of responsibility: Whites, and not blacks, would be responsible for achieving racial equality in America, for overcoming the shames of both races--black inferiority and white racism. And the very idea of black responsibility would be stigmatized as racism in whites and Uncle Tomism in blacks."
I found this quote in an essay written by Shelby Steele soon after the Katrina disaster. It is a helpful introduction to the thesis of Steele's outstanding book, White Guilt: How Blacks & Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era.
I don't think I've ever commented on issues pertaining to race on this blog. I realize this topic is emotionally charged and highly controversial. Sincere Christians disagree on how to best pursue Jesus' command that we love our neighbor as ourselves with regard to matters of racial injustice (perceived or actual). Does love involve the majority culture taking responsibility to actively lift up minority culture (i.e., race-based affirmative action)? Or does love involve simply the removal of race-based discrimination, such that jobs/honors are awarded purely on the basis of merit? Wherever you are on this continuum, White Guilt is a worthy read. Steele builds an articulate and persuasive argument against some commonly accepted notions. Agree or not, you are guaranteed to find him provocative and engaging -- an articulate spokesman for his position.
So here's a brief primer on the book: Steele argues that as the civil rights victories of the 1960s dealt a blow to racial discrimination, white Americans began to lose their moral authority. After all, they admitted to centuries of wrong doing. Both the government and academic institutions put affirmative action and other programs in place, ostensibly to help blacks, but the upshot has been a different form of exploitation -- one that views blacks as victims rather than equals. "White Guilt" then becomes a way for whites to give the appearance of concern without addressing the real underlying problems of African Americans. Steel notes:
"The corruption of 'results'-oriented racial reform is that it separates racial reform from all accountability to the actual development of excellence and merit in black Americans. The inferiority imposed on blacks by four centuries of oppression is ignored as institutions shoehorn minorities into their midst (by lowering standards) simply to get the 'result' that shows the institution is beyond racism." (page 61)
Steele argues that many black leaders today, in turn, seek to exploit white guilt as a means of putting pressure on white America to take more responsibility for black advancement. "Together and separately their goal is always to redistribute responsibility for black uplift from blacks themselves to American institutions." (Steele, p. 59)
Steele draws on personal experiences of racism and segregation from his childhood (not being allowed to be the batboy for a semipro baseball team, because he was black), as well as his own college years when he, too, sought concessions from institutions (once presenting a list of demands to his college President, while leaving cigarette ashes on the carpet of his office). He later walks us through his transformation into a "black conservative" (a term often employed in a derogatory fashion).
Steele shows himself to be a refreshingly independent thinker, constantly engaging the reader with thought-provoking sentences and vivid illustrations. While highly readable, White Guilt also exhibits a great deal of intellectual depth and analytical insight. There were many pages I found myself reading 2-3 times to try to understand all that he was saying. Nevertheless, I could barely put the 181 page book down, reading it in three sittings. I found it convincing. I highly recommend it.
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