Culture, Culture News, Current Events, History, Politics, Prayer Requests

America is still a RACIST country

I as sit watching the presidential election results tonight. I cannot help but feel that America is demonstrating just how racist the country is today, as it was 100 years ago. America will never be done with its racism until the day comes that it doesn’t matter what color a man  or woman is who gets elected into the Presidential office.

May God be glorified as he continues to unveil His judgment upon this land! Pray that God might have mercy upon this country and tear the racism out of this place and cause those tonight, who voted because of the color of a man’s skin, to repent of their sin and anti-Christ spirit.

Culture News, Current Events, Interviews, Islam

BBC boss: Yes we are biased towards Islam


BBC boss says Islam should be treated more sensitively than Christianity
Islam should be treated more sensitively by the media than Christianity, according to the director general of the BBC.

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:39PM BST 15 Oct 2008

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Mark Thompson claimed that because Muslims are a religious minority in Britain and also often from ethnic minorities, their faith should be given different coverage to that of more established groups.

His comments come after the comedian Ben Elton accused the BBC of being scared of making jokes about Islam, while Hindus have claimed it favours Muslims over other religions.

But Mr Thompson, speaking at the annual public theology lecture of the religion think-tank Theos, insisted the state broadcaster would show programmes that criticised Islam if they were of sufficient quality.

The director general, whose corporation faced accusations of blasphemy from Christians after it allowed the transmission of the musical Jerry Springer -The Opera, also said his Christian beliefs guided his judgments and disclosed that he had never watched the Monty Python film Life of Brian which satirises the story of Jesus.

In his speech last night, Mr Thompson claimed there are now more programmes about religion on BBC television and radio than there have been in recent decades, whereas coverage has declined on ITV.

But asked whether it was correct that the BBC “let vicar gags pass but not imam gags”, as Elton claimed, he admitted it did take a different approach to Islam, which has 1.6million followers in Britain, compared to its approach to the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.

Mr Thompson said: “My view is that there is a difference between the position of Christianity, which I believe should be central to the BBC’s religion coverage and widely respected and followed.

“What Christian identity feels like it is about to the broad population is a little bit different to people for whom their religion is also associated with an ethnic identity which has not been fully integrated.

“There’s no reason why any religion should be immune from discussion, but I don’t want to say that all religions are the same. To be a minority I think puts a slightly different outlook on it.”

(Continue Reading…)

Apologetics, Promotionals, Theology

Apologetics and Acts 17

From the European Leadership Forum:

Despite its prominence historically, apologetics is seen as controversial in many Christian circles. Where practiced, contemporary apologetics is often characterised by a neglect of biblical foundations and models. Forum speaker Dr Lars Dahle wrote his PhD dissertation on Acts 17:16-34 as a case study of the biblical way to do apologetics.

We are pleased to present to you the following two papers written by Dr Dahle on apologetics.

Acts 17 As An Apologetic Model

“Acts 17:16-34 is the most extensive example in the New Testament of a dialogue with, and an address to, a pagan and pluralistic context. The passage clearly describes Paul as an apologist in the Athenian marketplace (the agora). It seems to have been recorded intentionally by Luke as a positive model from apostilic practice. The basis for this is found both in the fact that this passage fits a positive repeated pattern in Acts of key apologetic approaches and arguments and that Luke in the Book of Acts argues for the historical and theological truth of the Christian Gospel for Christian converts. This is done by Luke both to confirm the true-value of their faith and to give them tools and models for their own apologetic ministry”….

Click here to continue reading this article.

Encountering and Engaging a Post-modern Context:
Applying the Apologetic Model in Acts 17

“Alister E. McGrath and Donald A. Carson are among the contemporary apologists who have reflected in depth both on the post-modern challenge to Christian apologetics and on how to apply the apologetic model in Acts 17: 16-34 to this specific challenge. In their most significant apologetic contributions, both authors rely on the Acts 17 model. Whereas McGrath interprets and applies Paul’s use of God-given points of contact in order to generate interest for the Christian Gospel — as inherently attractive — in a post-modern context, Carson interprets and applies Paul’s use of ‘the biblical storyline’ in order to confront post-modern beliefs with a coherent Christian worldview. This shows the legitimacy of the focus on Acts 17:16-34 as an apologetic model in the post-modern context”….

Click here to continue reading this article.

Dr Lars Dahle is the Principal of Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Kristiansand, Norway, where he has lectured in worldviews, ethics and apologetics since 1991. Lars wrote his Ph.D. on Acts 17:16-34. It is entitled An Apologetic Model Then and Now? (Open University, UK). He is also the Chairman of Damaris Norway steering committee, serves on the Steering Committee of the European Leadership Forum and is the Director of the European Christian Communicators Network. He previously served as the Vice-Chairman of NKSS (the Norwegian student movement within IFES).

Current Events, False Religion, Islam

Cyber-Jihad?

Sunni scholars have declared that hacking and attacking non-Muslim websites is a valid form of Jihad.

Egypt: Sunni Scholars Sanction Electronic Jihad

Cairo, 16 Oct. (AKI) – Attacking American and Israeli websites by hacking and sabotage is allowed under Islamic law and is a form of ‘Jihad’ or holy war, top Muslim scholars have decreed.

The religious edict (fatwa) issued by a committee from the highest authority in Sunni Islam, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University in Cairo, was published on the website of the Islamist Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement on Thursday. Read More.

[HT: David Wood]

Apologetics, History, New Testament Theology, Reforming, Systematic Theology, Theology, Trinity

The Impassibility of God

If you have never studied this doctrine of the divine impassibility, I encourage you to read the following history by Dr. Robert Culver. It is very good and thought provoking:

THE IMPASSIBILITY OF GOD

Here is an important excerpt from the paper:

Impassibility comes into our language as translation of the Greek word apatheia in the writings of Church fathers, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Apatheia, despite the obvious etymological connection with apathy and apathetic in modern English, (Pelikan) started out as meaning “the state of an apathes” (alpha privative, plus pathos) without pathos or suffering” (Liddell and Scott Lexicon). Among the Greek Fathers pathos or passion was the right word for the suffering of Christ, as it still is. So in theology to be impassible means primarily to be incapable of suffering. Early theology affirmed that in heaven our resurrected bodies will be pathes in this sense. The word came to be extended to mean incapable of emotion of any kind and beyond that, apathes (impassible) in important theological discourse meant without sexual desire (Gregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism, chap. xxxv, “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series,” edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, 1910, ii, 5, pp. 502-504). As applied to God, incapacity for any emotions sometimes is meant. We will return to this. The twelfth canon of the Second Council of Constantinople (553, Fifth Ecumenical) seems to say Christ on earth was impassible in the sense of “longings (passions, presumably sexual) of the flesh” (Henry Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, trans. R. J. Deferrari, Hersler Book Co., 1954, 224).

In this paper I am interested mainly in the question of whether or not the divine nature is capable of emotion, including, in a secondary way, the experience of suffering.

Apologetics, Creation, Culture, Debate, Mp3s, Podcasts, Promotionals, Science, Theology

Socrates in the City

Socrates in San Francisco is a very good venue that is bringing in some very big names to discuss important life issues that we all need to think about as we continue to learn more about God and to answer the big questions that our life experiences bring to mind. I’ve attached the audio from their first event (from earlier this year) with Dr. Francis S. Collins Speaking on, The Language of God: A Scientist-Believer Looks at the Human Genome.

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Their most recent event was a conversation/debate between Dr. N. T. Wright and Dr. Bart Ehrman on the topic of “A Good God? A Dialogue about the problem of Suffering and evil.” I encourage you to check back soon to see if they have posted the audio for the event. I will post it here as soon as it is available.

Here is what they say they are all about:

The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

Taking this as a starting point, Socrates in San Francisco sponsors events in which San Franciscans can begin a dialogue on “Life, God, and other small topics.”

Leading thinkers in science, philosophy, literature, religion, and the arts are featured in lectures and onstage conversations about the “big questions.”

Books, Interviews, Promotionals, RTS News, Seminary, Systematic Theology, Testimonies, Theology, Videos

Interview with Dr. John Frame about going to seminary

I currently attend RTS (Atlanta Campus) and I’m really enjoying my time there. I’m pleased to say that one of the best professors from RTS’s Orlando Campus has been interviewed about some of his writings and his experience teaching at seminary. I encourage everyone to listen to this, but especially those thinking about seminary or already attending it like myself. Here is a link to the full length interview, but here below I have posted the shortened You Tube form.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

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