September 29, 2007
More Jonathan Elijah Chediak
Check out more photos of Jonathan.
September 27, 2007
Interview with Ryken on ESV Literary Study Bible - II
I started this interview a couple days ago, but then was beautifully interrupted with the birth of our son. Now that we're all home from the hospital, I'll post the second installment of my interview of Dr. Ryken.
Do you see this study Bible being used in high school and college courses on the Bible as literature?
Dr. Ryken: It became evident early in the editorial process that an evangelical bias was evident in our commentary, even though our focus was on literary issues. Realistically speaking, therefore, while our study Bible is ideally suited for Bible-as-literature courses, it is unlikely to find much use beyond Christian schools and colleges. But I will not prejudge the matter, since my books on the Bible as literature have regularly been used in secular universities, and an online course that I composed and taught for Barnes and Noble University built around one of my books on the Bible as literature was one of their most popular courses.
Speaking as a professor of English at Wheaton College, might you offer your top-ten list of great Christian fiction?
Dr. Ryken: Such a list always reflects personal taste, of course, and this is reflected in my list. Additionally, although in common parlance fiction is virtually synonymous with the novel, the realm of fiction actually extends well beyond the novel. With those provisos in place, here is my own list of top eight: Homer's ODYSSEY; Shakespeare's MACBETH and HAMLET; Milton's PARADISE LOST; Hawthorne's THE SCARLET LETTER; Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS; Tolstoy's THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYCH; C. S. Lewis' CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. If I were to add two works to make the number ten, the additional two would not quite be at the high level of the works I have named.
What is the role of Christian literature in the spiritual lives of believers?
Dr. Ryken: Several years ago I agreed to compose an address on literature and the spiritual life. This was a different topic from the one on which I had written books and articles, namely, literature in Christian perspective. When I undertook research to uncover personal statements and anecdotes about how Christians had been spiritually influenced by their reading of literature, I was astounded to discover how important literature is in the lives of many Christians. I had underestimated the degree to which Christian literature can nurture one's spiritual life and even become the instrument by which people come to faith. I am a Miltonist (specialist in John Milton) by profession, and out of the mass of scholarship that I have read on Milton, my very favorite piece of commentary is the opening statement of someone's testimony offered when he became a member of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia: "I was led to the Lord by John Milton."
How should Christians interact with highly-regarded non-Christian literature?
Dr. Ryken: They should interact in the same way that they interact with all of life. They should affirm and be edified and entertained by what is true, good, and beautiful in such literature, and they should set up resistance to what is false and depraved.
September 26, 2007
Jonathan Elijah Chediak - Born 09/26/07
7 lbs., 14.4 ounces. Twenty inches long. Mom and baby appear healthy. Thanks be to God.
See more recent photos of Jonathan.
September 25, 2007
Interview with Ryken on ESV Literary Study Bible - I
Awhile ago I mentioned the newly released ESV Literary Study Bible, edited by Dr. Leland Ryken and Pastor Phil Ryken. Dr. Ryken, the Clyde S. Kilby professor of English at Wheaton College, was kind enough to answer a few questions about the project. I'll post part 1 of the interview now, and part 2 late tomorrow.
What motivated you to organize this type of study Bible?
Dr. Ryken: The primary motivation was my awareness that the Bible is, in terms of its external format, a literary anthology. That being the case, it deserves to be printed with critical apparatus (as it is called in my discipline) that is literary in nature, along the lines of THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. Secondarily, I was motivated by my discontent with conventional study Bibles. Conventional study Bibles are useful as reference books, chiefly in their ability to solve localized difficulties in the text, but in my view they do not provide practical help in interacting with the biblical text. Our literary Bible helps readers enter the text and move through a passage.
How long has producing this study Bible been a desire of your heart?
Dr. Ryken: I have been an advocate of the literary study of the Bible for four decades, but it never occurred to me until recently that I could put my knowledge about the Bible as literature into the format of a study Bible. For me the exciting thing in the venture is that a literary study Bible has allowed me to provide literary commentary on the whole Bible. I want to record a huge debt of gratitude to Lane Dennis, president of Crossway Books. Lane gave me two big breaks--the go-ahead to do a whole book on Bible translation and then to do a literary study Bible.
What need to you see it filling?
Dr. Ryken: Many Christians acknowledge in theory that the Bible is a literary book, but they do not know what this means. A literary study Bible shows plainly what it means that the Bible is literary in nature. Additionally, I view a literary approach to the Bible as a common reader's approach, in contrast to the highly specialized approaches of biblical scholarship. Literary commentary is of practical use in such things as the structure and unity of a passage, the experiential content of a passage (inasmuch as the subject of literature is human experience), and the ways in which an author has embodied his content (the "how" of a piece of writing). I would hope that preachers would use this literary study Bible in their sermon preparation, inasmuch as just a modicum of literary awareness would add a lot to an expository sermon.
Has the literary appreciation of the Bible diminished over the centuries?
Dr. Ryken: Awareness of the Bible as being literary in nature has ebbed and flowed through the centuries. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, scholars like Luther and Calvin, as well as most English literary authors, had a grasp of the literary dimension of the Bible. The Romantic movement of the nineteenth century represented another flowering of literary interest in the Bible, but it was unaccompanied by an evangelical view of the Bible's status as God's inspired word. In the last half century there has been a discernible interest in the Bible as literature by literary critics and biblical scholars. It is fair to say that few Bible readers today read the Bible with literary awareness.
Update: Read Part II of this interview.
Update: This resource is now available for 40% off ($29.99).
September 24, 2007
Gospel Growth vs. Church Growth Conference
Nine Marks and Matthias Media ministries are hosting a conference entitled: Gospel Growth versus Church Growth: Understanding the difference sets you free.
Dates: Tuesday, October 30 to Thursday, November 1, 2007
Location: Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Registration Ends: October 10, 2007
Cost: $95
Speakers: Phillip Jensen, Mark Dever, and Tony Payne
It's hard for pastors not to be mesmerized by church growth. Who doesn't want their congregation to grow? Who doesn't want to see numbers and budgets increasing year by year? And who isn't greatly interested when the latest growth model comes along, the latest research, the latest insight that promises us the key to such growth?But there's growth and there's growth.
Understanding what the New Testament means by growth, and how that growth happens, sets us free. It liberates us from anxiety and self-doubt, and from the slavery of chasing the latest program.
The Death of the Grown-Up
Dr. Mohler commends newly released The Death of the Grown-up: How America's Arrested Development Is Bringing Down Western Civilization
"That was then. These days, of course, father and son dress more or less alike, from message-emblazoned t-shirts to chunky athletic shoes, both equally at ease in the baggy rumple of eternal summer camp. In the mature male, these trappings of adolescence have become more than a matter of comfort or style; they reveal a state of mind, a reflection of a personality that hasn't fully developed, and doesn't want to - or worse, doesn't know how."
The second part of the book argues that this pattern of "arrested development" leaves American civilization unprepared to confront challenges like Islam and terrorism. It sounds like The Death of the Grown-up
“Diana West’s analysis of American culture and society is filled with sharp insights and critical judgments that are illuminating and provocative. The Death of the Grown-Up delivers an honest perspective on the many forces and pressures challenging 21st century Americans.” —Lou Dobbs, CNN
“The most intriguing question about American culture today--even more intriguing than, "When and why did men start to hug each other?"--is the question Diana West tackles in this penetrating and witty book: "When and why did Americans decide to stop growing up?" Actually, I have a depressing feeling that the two questions are related.” —George F. Will
”This is a vigorously argued, far-reaching and timely book which should be read especially by those content to drift along with the noxious tide of fashion.”—Paul Johnson
“Diana West's brilliant and irreverent skewering of America's fixation on youth is a wake-up call for every individual who wants to see Western civilization endure. West makes the provocative case that a mass cultural obsession with perpetual adolescence has eliminated adulthood from the human experience, leaving our society effectively undefended as we confront the challenges ahead, especially the menace of Islamofascism.”—Tony Blankley
“With keen wit and unparalleled insight, Diana West traces the national decline of adulthood and the rise of the permanent adolescent class in American life. From James Dean to Elvis to Bill Clinton, from "anything goes" to "whatever," un-parents have succumbed to the Teen Age. But what makes West's invaluable analysis stand apart is her connection of the death of the grown-up to the post-9/11 political, intellectual, and moral paralysis that imperils us today. Her impassioned message: We cannot defend our identity if we have no clue about who we were and are and should be. We cannot defend our existence as long as we mollycoddle a generation of self-absorbed brats. West administers an overdue spanking to the cultural relativists: Wise up or we will all pay dearly.”—Michelle Malkin
“This is a brilliant book that devastatingly dissects our politically correct society. In a book that will be read for generations, Diana West has written one of the most important books on our culture, politics and society that I have ever read. Diana has masterfully recognized and explained how certain trends within Western culture have fundamentally altered Western identity and weakened our resolve to combat a fierce enemy, radical Islam. A must read for anyone who wants to understand why, all too often, many in the West are apologetic when confronted with the excesses of radical Islam and what we need to do to win the war on terror. This is a phenomenal book that will truly alter the way you view society. It is masterful.”—Steven Emerson
”Diana West has written a book not to be missed by anyone concerned about the future of America and the West. With wide- ranging scholarship and a lucid and sprightly prose style, she chronicles and analyzes the unprecedented transfer of cultural authority from adults to teenagers. The unhappy consequences range from the obliteration of traditional standards in almost all areas of life to a multicultural relativism that lowers our defenses against elements of a civilization that would destroy us. West has mounted a much-needed counterattack in the service of Western values and common sense.”—Judge Robert Bork
The PBS Documentary "The War"
Ken Burns has directed a critically-acclaimed, almost 15-hour long documentary entitled THE WAR. The documentary traces the lives of these who fought and those who stayed behind from four American towns: Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota. From the producers:
"Above all, we wanted to honor the experiences of those who lived through the greatest cataclysm in human history by providing the opportunity for them to bear witness to their own history. Our film is therefore an attempt to describe, through their eyewitness testimony, what the war was actually like for those who served on the front lines, in the places where the killing and the dying took place, and equally what it was like for their loved ones back home. We have done our best not to sentimentalize, glorify or aestheticize the war, but instead have tried simply to tell the stories of those who did the fighting -- and of their families. In so doing, we have tried to illuminate the intimate, human dimensions of a global catastrophe that took the lives of between 50 and 60 million people -- of whom more than 400,000 were Americans. Through the eyes of our witnesses, it is possible to see the universal in the particular, to understand how the whole country got caught up in the war; how the four towns and their people were permanently transformed; how those who remained at home worked and worried and grieved in the face of the struggle; and in the end, how innocent young men who had been turned into professional killers eventually learned to live in a world without war."
PBS aired the first installment last night, and it was outstanding.
(HT: Denny Burk)
Video Games Cut Into GPAs
As a university professor, I do not find this USA Today study by Todd Stinebrickner, an associate professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario, and his father, Ralph Stinebrickner, a professor of mathematics and computer science at Berea College in Kentucky, to be surprising:
"First-year students whose roommates brought a video game player to college studied 40 minutes less each day on average, according to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Those 40 minutes of lost study time translated into first-semester grades that were 0.241 points lower on the 4.0 grade scale."
Also:
"The study found that students whose roommate brought a video game console did not exhibit different levels of class attendance, partying, study efficiency or paid employment — all factors that also could affect grades. But there was a substantial drop in time spent studying when one roommate brought a video game player. This means that the lower grades of students whose roommates brought video games can be attributed to the fact that these students studied less, Todd Stinebrickner says."
(HT: Steve Watters)
September 23, 2007
The Role of Authority
Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile explains the value of authority---civil, parental, pastoral, and marital. He defines authority as "the right and ability to control, command, or determine the proper responses of others." Excerpt:
"God laces all of life with some form of authority. It's clear, then, that a wholesale rejection of God-ordained authority leads inexorably to anarchy, instability, unrestrained desires, evil, and the judgment of God."
Why We Believe the Bible
In 1969, Dr. Daniel Fuller wrote:
"Thus we can never say that the Bible's good news is true news because it is good news. Instead, its truth must be based on something besides our desire for it to be true. There are two ways the attempt has been made to show the Bible as true. One way is to argue from its historical origins; the other, to argue from the gift of faith that God gives a man to credit it as true." (Hermeneutics, Chapter 8)
In the Why We Believe the Bible seminar taught by John Piper, Apprentices were asked to read chapters 7 and 8 of Fuller's 1983 volume Hermeutics (either unpublished or out of print), Appendix 2 of Desiring God
In my three-page paper, I first explain Fuller's view, and then respond to it.
The Why We Believe the Bible seminar is one of nine seminars on Practical Theology taught by John Piper.
September 21, 2007
Collin Hansen on Mark Driscoll
Writing for Christianity Today, Collin Hansen pens an engaging overview of Mark Driscoll. An excerpt:
"The spectrum of response speaks to his sharp tongue—his greatest strength and his glaring weakness. But Driscoll also disturbs many fellow evangelicals because he straddles the borders that divide us. His unflinching Reformed theology grates on the church-growth crowd. His plan to grow a large church strikes postmoderns as arrogant. His roots in the emerging church worry Calvinists. No one group can claim him. Maybe that's why they all turn their guns on him."
(HT: JT)
Interview with Piper on Wright
The DG blog will be posting a seven-part interview with John Piper over the next few weeks leading up to the October 23 release of The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright
N.T. Wright, a world-renowned New Testament scholar and bishop of Durham in the Church of England, has spent years studying the apostle Paul’s writings and has offered a “fresh perspective” on Paul’s theology. Among his conclusions are that “the discussions of justification in much of the history of the church—certainly since Augustine—got off on the wrong foot, at least in terms of understanding Paul—and they have stayed there ever since.”Wright’s confidence that the church has gotten it wrong for 1,500 years, given his enormous influence, has set off warning bells for Christian leaders such as John Piper, a pastor and New Testament scholar. If Wright’s framework for interpreting the New Testament text and his understanding of justification find a home in the church, not only could the doctrine of justification be distorted for generations to come, but the New Testament writers’ original intent could be silenced. So Piper is sounding a crucial warning in this book, reminding all Christians to exercise great caution regarding “fresh” interpretations of the Bible and to hold fast to the biblical view of justification.
Paul Collier on Poverty and Growth
"Cuba is a stagnant, low-income, egalitarian country with good social services. If the bottom billion emulated Cuba, would this solve their problems? I think that the vast majority of the people living in the bottom billion---and indeed in Cuba---would see it as continued failure. To my mind, development is about giving hope to ordinary people that their children will live in a society that has caught up with the rest of the world. Take that hope away and the smart people will use their energies not to develop their society but to escape from it---as have a million Cubans."Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
p. 12.
So far, the book reads well, as I had anticipated from a First Things review by Richard John Neuhaus.
ESV Literary Study Bible
The father and son team of Leland Ryken, the Clyde S. Kilby professor of English at Wheaton College, and Philip Graham Ryken, senior minister at the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, have teamed up to produce the ESV Literary Study Bible. This newly released resource explores the Bible’s story lines, complex characters, historical settings, literary genres, motifs, theological themes, imagery, and important terms. The commentary (which accompanies the ESV text) focuses on the literary features of the Bible, as distinct from historical, cultural, or linguistic features. It also divides the Bible into units of a size that lends itself to daily reading or weekly group Bible study. The commentary also has the intentional aim of showing the unity of the Bible. A glossary at the back of the ESV Literary Study Bible provides definitions of literary terms and pointers about how to understand and interpret various literary genres.
Browse the ESV Literary Study Bible, or read the Preface.
September 19, 2007
Together For The Gospel -- Ad #4
Putting Jesus in His Place
Robert Bowman and Ed Komoszewski are to be commended for writing a highly accessible defense of the deity of Christ entitled Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ
I think this book will be particularly helpful for Christians involved in evangelism to Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses, to pastors and scholars, and to any who are curious to examine the biblical testimony for the uniqueness of Christ---the One who added humanity to deity (John 1:14; Phil. 2:1-11) and, as fully-God and fully-man, experienced the wrath of God on behalf of all who would ever trust Him (I Tim. 2:5-6).
A bit about the authors:
Robert M. Bowman Jr. (M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary) is the manager of Apologetics and Interfaith Evangelism for the North American Mission Board. For five years he was a lecturer in the M.A. in Christian Apologetics program at Biola University. He is the author of eleven other books, including Why You Should Believe in the Trinity and (with Kenneth D. Boa) the Gold Medallion Award-winning book Faith Has Its Reasons.
J. Ed Komoszewski (Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary) is the founder of Christus Nexus, a nonprofit organization devoted to research, writing, and teaching on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. He has taught biblical and theological studies at Northwestern College and currently serves as a director for Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. He is the author (with M. James Sawyer and Daniel B. Wallace) of Reinventing Jesus.
In addition to a foreword by Darrell Bock, the book carries twenty endorsements from authors and respected scholars (from a range of theological traditions) all over the globe. Here is a small sample:
"Putting Jesus in His Place is a meticulously researched and brilliant book on a subject that continues to remain significant even after 2000 years. Robert Bowman and Ed Komoszewski have given readers a unique and unparalleled resource—and one with life-changing implications. I commend this volume to you with much appreciation for their work."
--Ravi Zacharias, Author and speaker
"Bowman and Komoszewski do a splendid job of showing that the divine identity of Jesus is not confined to a few key texts, but presented throughout the New Testament in a wide variety of ways. Their arguments are fully based on the best of recent scholarship, and explained in a way that all serious readers of the New Testament will appreciate."
--Richard Bauckham, Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor
St. Mary's College, University of St Andrews
"The deity of Jesus Christ is central and foundational to the gospel. Bowman and Komoszewski show that Christ’s deity pervades the New Testament and is not limited to a few proof texts. Those who have eyes to see will find it everywhere, and if your eyes are deficient this book is just the corrective you need. The work is convincing, clear, and scholarly. Most of all, the book is glorious, reminding us that Jesus is to be worshiped as our Lord, Savior, and God."
--Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
CBMW Unveils New Website
The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood has unveiled an impressive new website, with many easy-to-locate features, including an introductory essay entitled Summaries of the Egalitarian and Complementarian Positions on the Role of Women in the Home and in Christian Ministry by Dr. Bruce Ware. The archives for every past issue of The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (dating back to 1995) are all available. There is also a gender blog containing posts on contemporary developments such as Emerson University's troubling decision to make restrooms gender-neutral to accommodate "transgender" students.
September 18, 2007
Ben Witherington Critiques Piper on Bridge Collapse
Discussion on the sovereignty of God over natural disasters has erupted numerous times on the blogosphere since the I-35 Bridge collapse at the end of July. Respected scholar Dr. Ben Witherington enters the fray with an argument that Piper's view makes God the author of sin:
"Who is it that really wants to wreak havoc in human lives? Who is it that really seeks to destroy and devour all that is good, and true and beautiful about human life? Does the Bible really lay these sorts of things at the doorstep of God or not? Why is it that Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it abundantly? Why does it say that God so loved the world (not the elect notice, but the world) that he sent his Son into the world, not to condemn it, but to redeem it? Is God chiefly life giving or death dealing? And while we are at it-- how did death come into the human equation in the first place? Was it God's will? If so, why does Paul call death the last enemy that must be overcome by God in Christ, the last result of human sin and the Fall to be overcome in 1 Cor. 15?"
Dr. Witherington seems to make a caricature of Piper. Earlier in his post, Witherington suggests Piper's theological reflection, "doesn't sound much like an attempt to mourn with those who are mourning." Yet Piper states, "Talitha (11 years old) and Noel and I prayed earnestly for the families affected by the calamity and for the others in our city."
There is no internal contradiction between mourning with those who mourn (Rom. 12:15b) and attributing natural disasters to God. Whether we say "God allowed it" or "God caused it," either way we acknowledge that God could have decided to prevent it, and chose not to. And one can believe this in the face of catastrophe, and still weep with those who weep. In fact, this view of God allows us to weep with hope. Hosea 6:1 says “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up."
Yes, Satan is a murder who wants to wreak havoc. But he is on a leash whose length is established by God, as the book of Job teaches. Amos 3:6b reads: "Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?" Also note Psalm 105: 16-17: "When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave." The text unambiguously says God "sent" the famine.
(HT: Michael Spencer)
September 11, 2007
John Piper and September 11, 2001
Three good words from John Piper delivered within one week of the September 11, 2001 tragedy:
Terrorism, Justice, and Loving Our Enemies (September 12, 2001). The opening:
Someone asked me after our Tuesday prayer service in response to the terrorist attack, "Can we pray for justice, and yet love our enemy at the same time?" The answer is yes.But let's start with our own guilt. Christians know that if God dealt with us only according to justice, we would perish under his condemnation. We are guilty of treason against God in our sinful pride and rebellion. We deserve only judgment. Justice alone would condemn us to everlasting torment.
A Service of Sorrow, Self-Humbling, and Steady Hope in Our Savior and King, Jesus Christ (September 16, 2001)
Why I Do Not Say, "God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good" (September 17, 2001)
Mark Dever on the Gospel and Personal Evangelism
Mark Dever has written The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
“Mark Dever’s personal devotion to Scripture has led him to think deeply, read widely, preach clearly, and write simply to the great blessing of the body of Christ. Evangelism is the church’s mandate, and the one reason the redeemed are still on earth. Doing it effectively requires doing it biblically. Mark teaches us how to mobilize our churches to do just that.” --John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California
The Foreword by C.J. Mahaney, the Introduction, and Chapter 1 are all freely available in PDF format.
Mark Driscoll Books with Crossway
Mark Driscoll describes some of the 2008 book projects he and his associates are working on with Crossway Publishers. Upcoming titles include Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions and Death By Love, both on the person and work of Christ.
"Vintage Jesus is set for release in February of 2008 in conjunction with the Text & Context Conference hosted by Resurgence at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Attendees at the conference will receive a free copy of the book and more. They will also enjoy main teaching sessions by Mark Driscoll, Dr. John Piper, Matt Chandler, and James Gilmore, author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stageand newly released Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want
. Registration is limited to the first one thousand people."
More on Human Animal Hybrid Embryos
Joe Carter weighs in on the UK ruling allowing the creation of embryos composed of 99.9 per cent human, 0.1 per cent animal DNA.
I had posted on this awhile ago.
September 10, 2007
Business For The Glory of God
Inspired by Paul Collier's book, I just finished reading Wayne Grudem's concise book entitled Business for the Glory of God: The Bible's Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business. I wonder if some Christians live with a vague guilt about business activity. They feel that business is (at best) morally neutral and that using business relationships to explicitly share Christ is the only way to legitimize it. While we should rejoice that business connections can and do provide wonderful avenues for sharing Christ, while also providing financial means to advance the gospel, Grudem's aim in this book is something more: He wants readers to enjoy and thank God for ownership, productivity, employment, commercial transactions, profit, money, inequality of possessions, competition, and borrowing and lending. These are chapters 1-9 in this provocative, accessible, and very helpful book. In each chapter, Grudem explains how business is inherently a gift of God and therefore good, even though humans can distort it for evil purposes.
In the chapter on ownership, Grudem explains that God validated personal ownership by commanding that we ought not steal (Ex. 20:15). By owning possessions, we imitate God's sovereignty by exercising "sovereignty" over a tiny portion of the universe. By taking care of our belongings or improving upon them (washing our car, or adding a bathroom to a home) we imitate God who owns a cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10). The Bible's teaching on generous giving assumes ownership. Yet we need not give away all that we own, for the Bible mentions other morally right uses of our resources, like subduing the earth (through harvesting crops, or converting sand into computer chips for cell phones and iPODs). Of course, ownership can be distorted for evil purposes. For example, in some governments hoard the land and/or impose complex regulations which inhibit common folk from improving their lives through owning a home or a small business.
In the chapter on competition, Grudem explains that competition encourages and rewards excellence in areas such as sports and academics. Competition guides society in the assigning of jobs to those who are best suited for those jobs. In the business world, competition rewards performance. A bad painter will not gain referrals and will thus be directed toward other lines of work. Competition also drives down prices and rewards efficiency, which helps people be better stewards of their limited income. While a "safety net" should be available for those who are physically or mentally incapacitated, in American society, Grudem argues, "there is productive work for the vast majority of the population, and competition is the mechanism that helps workers find the jobs for which their interests and abilities best suit them."
For more thoughts on competition, you might check out my recent Boundless essay, which also discusses God-ordained inequalities of ability. Grudem hits on this theme as well, and from a similar perspective, noting that Jesus' teaching on stewardship suggests there will be inequalities of stewardship and responsibility even in heaven, with some having authority over ten cities and others over five (Luke 19:17,19). Here on earth, "if reward for each person's labor is given fairly and is based on the value of what that person produces, then those with larger abilities will naturally gain larger rewards," says Grudem. Yet an abundance of riches is accompanied by many temptations to sin (I Tim. 6:9-10). The rich need to trust God, not their wealth (Prov. 30:8-9), and to give generously to the poor (I Tim. 6:17-19) and to the work of the church (Luke 12:48; I Cor. 4:2; 14:12).
The chapter on borrowing and lending also helpfully refutes the position of some well-meaning Christians whose consciences forbid accruing any debt, including a home mortgage. Romans 13:8 ("owe no one anything"), taken in context, does not prohibit all borrowing. Rather, it merely teaches that we should pay what we owe at the proper time. Taking out a 30-year mortgage for a home is perfectly consistent with Rom. 13:8 provided we faithfully make our monthly payments. Of course, borrowing can be unwise (see Prov. 22:7, "the borrower is the slave of the lender"), like when someone borrows too much and cannot repay (Ps. 37:21, "the wicked borrows but does not pay back"). However, used responsibly, borrowing and lending brings tremendous good to the economy. It allows me to "temporarily own" (i.e., rent) a car in any city in the world--for a day, a week, or for longer. It allows a bank to put money to work by lending it to a family to buy a home (which then allows a contractor to build the home, and other vendors to furnish it, employing many people in the process). Furthermore, "microloans" are having an amazing impact among the poor in many countries. (See the pioneering work of Opportunity International in Oak Brook, IL. In 2002, they made 536,003 loans for an average amount of $237. The money was loaned at market rates, with 98% of it repaid on schedule. They estimate the loans are providing 800,000 jobs and impacting the lives of 4,000,000 people.)
In the last chapter, Grudem states that "the only long-term solution to world poverty is business." I could not agree more. Every country that is lifting itself out of poverty has at least one common characteristic: a relatively simply process for getting a small loan and starting a business. Unfortunately, many countries impose excessive regulations on entrepreneurs, choking the life out of economic growth. Some evil governments confiscate wealth. Other governments destroy businesses to enhance their own power. But if the long-term solution to world poverty is business, Grudem has done us a great service by helping us see the moral goodness of business (in spite of it being a potential occasion for evil). Grudem's closing paragraph:
"If attitudes toward business change in the ways I have described, then who could resist being a God-pleasing subduer of the earth who uses materials from God’s good creation and works with the God-given gift of money to earn morally good profits, and shows love to his neighbors by giving them jobs and by producing material goods that overcome world poverty, goods that enable people to glorify God for his goodness, that sustain just and fair differences in possessions, and that encourage morally good and beneficial competition? What a great career that would be! What a great activity for governments to favor and encourage! What a solution to world poverty! What a great way to give glory to God!"
GodBlog Convention
The schedule for the GodBlog Convention in Las Vegas, NV on November 8-9, 2007 is now available. Plenary speakers include Albert Mohler, John Mark Reynolds, Mark D. Roberts, Joe Carter, and La Shawn Barber.
[HT: Ted Slater]
Newsweek and Al Mohler on Gay Rights
This week's Newsweek cover story highlights the rise in gay rights worldwide: "Now mature in the west, gay power is growing worldwide, even in the land of machismo [Mexico]." Joseph Contreras of Newsweek writes:
"The growing maturity of the gay-rights movement in the West is having a marked effect on the developing world. In the United States, the Republican Party is in trouble in part because it has made a fetish of its opposition to gay marriage. At least some gays in big cities like New York question why they are still holding "pride" parades, as if they were still a closeted minority and not part of the Manhattan mainstream. Since 2001, Western European countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain have gone even farther than the United States, placing gay and lesbian partners on the same legal footing as their heterosexual counterparts. And now, the major developing powers of Asia, Latin America and Africa are following the liberal road--sometimes imitating Western models, sometimes not--but in all cases setting precedents that could spread to the remaining outposts of official homophobia."
Al Mohler offers a sober reflection:
"The most important part of Contreras' argument is his conclusion, in which he predicts that change is inevitable, since young people around the world are adjusting to a new sexual liberalism. The data support that prediction, which holds true in the West and in much of the developing world.Globalization began as a term related to economics and the development of a global market for goods and services. Contreras' article reminds us that where good and services go, moral and ideological assumptions hitch a ride. Today's world is a global marketplace of moralities and worldviews. As the Romans warned, caveat emptor -- Let the buyer beware."
Related: Joe Carter on homosexual immorality (in light of the Senator Craig debacle)
The Christian Publication Industry
Al Hsu of InterVarsity Press offers some wise thoughts (a continuation of his previous reflections) on the inherent tensions in the Christian publishing industry between wanting to bless people with good books and needing to be somewhat profitable. [For what it is worth, I thank God for my meeting Al at an InterVarsity Graduate Student Conference at the tail end of 2002. I went to an "aspiring author" reception hosted by IVP, and told Al and others about a crazy idea for a multi-perspective book on Christian dating. Al was kind enough to correspond with me over the next year, providing a lot of helpful feedback.]
[HT: JT]
September 08, 2007
Helping the Poorest of the Poor
As former director of research for the World Bank and current Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier has spent a lifetime working to end global poverty. Collier's background also lends credibility for his withering criticism of international development agencies such as the World Bank, whose administrators often prefer to work in “developing” countries which (without the help of the World Bank) are already moving toward prosperity on their own. In fact, Collier observes that global poverty is actually falling quite rapidly for about eighty percent of the world: One billion of the world’s population are already wealthy; four billion are, albeit at varying pace, on the way to becoming prosperous; the real challenge is the “bottom billion," composed of about 50 failing states whose problems defy traditional approaches to alleviating poverty. Notably, these are states which are excluded, or exclude themselves, from the global circle of productivity and exchange. Seventy percent of them are in Africa.
Following Collier, Neuthaus notes that these failing states are caught in a four traps: the conflict trap, the natural resource trap, the trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors, and the trap of corrupt government in a small country. These "traps" virtually guarantee that they will be poorer in the years ahead--"a ghetto of misery, disease, and discontent on an otherwise flourishing planet." Collier writes:
"Change in the societies at the very bottom must come predominantly from within; we cannot impose it on them. In all these societies there are struggles between brave people wanting change and entrenched interests opposing it. To date, we have largely been bystanders in this struggle. We can do much more to strengthen the hand of reformers. But to do so we will need to draw upon tools—such as military interventions, international standard-setting, and trade policy—that to date have been used for other purposes. The agencies that control these instruments have neither knowledge of nor interest in the problems of the bottom billion."
In other words, Collier advocates for increased U.S. and European intervention among the poorest billion, including (controversially) military intervention. Collier contends that such intervention is necessary to " restore order, maintain post-conflict peace, and prevent coups." Collier is not unaware that intervention is dangerous, and requires a (politically and emotionally) strong stomach. Writes Collier:
"Don’t get me wrong: it is terrible when peacekeeping troops get killed, and it is magnificent of a nation to send its troops into a dangerous situation. But that is what modern armies are for: to supply the global public good of peace in territories that otherwise have the potential for nightmare. . . . Armies cannot operate at zero risk. . . . [P]ost-Iraq, the fact that the United States pulled out of Somalia as a result of a mere eighteen deaths looks even more bizarre. The consequence for Somalia were miserable: more than twelve years later it still has no functioning national government. By 1991 around 300,000 people had died, and beyond that there are no estimates of the deaths from continuing conflict and the failure of health systems. But the biggest killer consequent upon the withdrawal was not what happened in Somalia but the lesson that was learned: never intervene. . . . Remember that 1994 was the year of Rwanda. We didn’t want a second Somalia, with another eighteen American soldiers killed, so we got Rwanda, in which half a million people were butchered, entirely avoidably, because international intervention was inadequate."But military intervention is not to be equated with colonization. Neuthaus notes that "Collier is not advocating military intervention to advance grand geopolitical goals but simply to give development a chance among the bottom billion."
The conclusion of Neuthaus' outstanding review:
"The phrase 'policeman of the world' was presumably discredited during the Vietnam era. But even the best neighborhoods have policemen, and the worst cannot survive without them. Policemen operate under the law to prevent the depredations of the lawless. The really poor live in a large and lawless neighborhood, and, if the United States, Britain, and France—and, increasingly, Germany and Japan—do not police the neighborhood, who will? This is among the questions raised and arguments advanced by one of the most important books on world poverty in a very long time, Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
September 06, 2007
Christians and Competition
Boundless, a ministry of Focus on the Family, has just published a short article by yours truly entitled "Christians and Competition." Here is the executive summary I originally submitted for the article:
How should college students and young professionals think about competition? It goes on all the time, whether we know it or not. Professors compare students with other students in classes (or for merit-based scholarships). We interview "against" our friends for the most attractive summer or full-time jobs. Does it end on graduation day? Nope. Most employers "rank" employees (at least within their band/level). And then there are temptations to jealousy towards others in our same professional field. As Christians, we're called to do "whatever we do, in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17), and "to the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31). And there's a fine line between wanting to make a name for Christ and wanting to make a name for ourselves -- so competition can be an issue even in the ministry. Regardless of one's vocation, there are dangers of arrogance and self-promotion, and there are also dangers in setting goals too low, squandering potential (II Kings 13:18-19). This article will examine how a framework of "Christian excellence" views other people -- both those whose accomplishments or stature may (in God's wisdom) exceed ours, and those for whom (by God's grace) we may serve as role models. Though man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart (I Sam 16:7). Ultimately, it is faithfulness that pleases God and puts Him on display. Yet we should wisely steward our God-given talents for maximum Kingdom impact.
All thoughts are welcome.
Nancy Pearcey's Announcement
Hats off to Nancy Pearcey (author of the outstanding book Total Truth) on her new position as Scholar for Worldview Studies with the rank of professor at the Center for University Studies at Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU), based in Langhorne, Pa. In this assignment, Dr. Pearcey will "teach, speak, and write on the relevance of the Judeo-Christian worldview as a humane and verifiably true alternative to secular, pagan, and humanistic philosophies set forth in the academy, politics, society, and popular culture of today."
Dr. Pearcey holds a Distributed Studies Degree from Iowa State University and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. She pursued graduate work in the history of philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. In May 2007, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in religious education from PBU.
September 05, 2007
Old Testament Citations in the New Testament
Have you ever been reading along in the New Testament when, seemingly out of nowhere, Paul or Peter will grab an Old Testament passage and use it to argue for a particular theological position or to explain a historical event? For example, Peter, in explaining the immediate aftermath of Pentecost, cites Joel 2:28-32. Or Paul, in describing the hardening of Israelites, cites passages in Exodus (9:16; 33:19) originally descriptive, in Moses' day, of Pharaoh.
Scholarly debate on the import and precise meaning of such citations has increased in the last ten to twenty years. Now, Baker Academic is releasing (on November 1) what promises to be a very helpful volume for assessing these difficult passages. Edited by G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
The contributors:
Craig Blomberg (Denver Seminary) - Matthew
Rikk E. Watts (Regent College) - Mark
David W. Pao (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and Eckhard J. Schnabel (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) - Luke
Andreas J. Köstenberger (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) - John
I. Howard Marshall (University of Aberdeen) - Acts
Mark A. Seifrid (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) - Romans
Brian Rosner (Moore Theological College) and Roy Ciampa (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) - 1 Corinthians
Peter Balla (Károli Gáspár University, Budapest) - 2 Corinthians
Moisés Silva (author of Philippians in BECNT) - Galatians
Philippians Frank Thielman (Beeson Divinity School) - Ephesians
G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) - Colossians
Jeffrey A. D. Weima (Calvin Theological Seminary) - 1 and 2 Thessalonians
Philip Towner (United Bible Societies) - Pastoral Epistles
George Guthrie (Union University) - Hebrews
D. A. Carson (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) - General Epistles
G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) and Sean McDonough (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) - Revelation
Hybrid Embryo Production Approved in UK
The embryonic stem cell research debate has shifted into unchartered territory: Britain's fertility regulator has given the green light for the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) cautioned:
"This is not a total green light for cytoplasmic hybrid research, but recognition that this area of research can, with caution and careful scrutiny, be permitted. Individual research teams should be able to undertake research projects involving the creation of cytoplasmic hybrid embryos if they can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of an HFEA licence committee, that their planned research project is both necessary and desirable. They must also meet the overall standards required by the HFEA for any embryo research."
The impetus for the work is the belief that cytoplasmic hybrids, in which human nuclei are placed into enucleated animal cells, will provide a good source of stem cells. The Lineacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, a bioethics research institute under the trusteeship of the Catholic Trust for England and Wales, offers a strong critique.
(HT: Derek Thomas)
September 04, 2007
Together For The Gospel -- 2008 Registration Opens
Update: Dr. Mohler did give permission (via Mark Dever) for this handsome shot to be posted.
[HT: Andrew S.]
John Frame on the Problem of Evil
The DG Blog provides a four-part series on the problem of evil:
Part 1 -- Does God Author Sin?
Part 2 -- Does God Cause Sin?
Part 3 -- Does God Permit Sin?
Part 4 -- The Author-Story Model
In addition to recent sermons from John Piper on the subject, selections from John Frame's The Doctrine of God (Chapter 9, “The Problem of Evil") are reprinted.
Clark and Phillips on Roger Olson's view of Calvinism
Reacting to John Piper's statement on the sovereignty of God and the interstate bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Roger Olson muses: "The God of Calvinism scares me; I'm not sure how to distinguish him from the devil." (HT: JT)
Scott Clark and Rick Phillips weigh in on Olson's comment.
For a helpful introduction to both sides of this issue, I recommend Why I Am Not a Calvinist by Jerry Walls and Joe Dongell (which I reviewed in a series of posts) and Chosen For Life by Sam Storms (which Brian Tabb reviewed).
SPONSORS
Please support this site by visiting the
sponsors, or contact me about sponsorship.
>
Search
Categories
Archives
Recent Posts