Challies.com February DVD Giveaway

The SponsorThis month’s sponsor is Franklin Springs Family Media. Franklin Springs exists “to provide families with top-quality DVDs that set forth a vision for the fullness of a God-honoring family life.” Their vision “is focused squarely on providing a picture of the exciting reformation that’s happening in families across the country. It’s a world of courageous servant/leader fathers, nurturing mothers who embrace the nobility of raising children, and children who embody the joyous adventure of being raised in a unified family.”

You can learn more about the company at www.franklinsprings.com.

February Giveaway

Just click on this banner above to enter yourself in the drawing!

Here are the prizes for this month’s giveaway:

First prize: Five Films Gift Pack: Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story, Inherit the Land: Adventures on the Agrarian Journey, The Eden String Quartet: A Bountiful Blessing, A Journey Home, The Peasall Sisters: Family Harmony.

Second prize: New Films Pack: Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story, Inherit the Land: Adventures on the Agrarian Journey.

Third Prize: Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story.

Civil and Religious Law in England: a Religious Perspective

For those of you who want to know more about Archbishop Rowan Williams’ rational behind his recent statements about Great Britain adopting parts of Islamic Sharia Law for Muslims to live under… here is his lecture found on the Archbishop’s web site.

Also, please see David Field’s entry on this. Field gives analysis of the Archbishop’s proposals and offers some helpful insight and correction.

[HT: Ben Myers]

N. T. Wright Interview: Christians Wrong About Heaven

And to this I must say, Amen!

N. T. Wright is one of the best Bible teachers out there when it comes to eschatology and God’s ultimate purpose for mankind and the rest of the creation. One of the things he loves talking about is “life after life after death”. His point is that “life after death” is not the end. It’s not our final resting place. Heaven, as most Christians think today, is not the end goal of the Christian life. The “end”, instead, is the beginning of life as God always planned it to be. Life after life after death begins with resurrection. And in resurrection the Christian inherits a new heaven and a new earth.

In other words, heaven and earth will finally be one, God will be all in all, and man will finally dwell on the earth as God has always intended it to be. Had God decreed something other than the fall, Adam would have fulfilled his calling to expand the Garden and dwelling place of God on the earth (i.e. – to fill and subdue the planet, Gen. 1:26-28) and his descendants would have been brought into a new heavens and a new earth once the Genesis dominion mandate was fulfilled.

Let us thank God for the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled Adam’s calling and guaranteed a new heavens and a new earth to all who trust in him!

So, why the interview? Well, Wright has just published his second book in a trilogy of books on the essentials of the Christian Faith. Thankfully, Time has interviewed him for us here. I am reposting the interview below. Enjoy! Continue reading N. T. Wright Interview: Christians Wrong About Heaven

TN Governor: Tornadoes the ‘Wrath of God’

Sermon Audio reported that my state governor, Phil Bredesen, said (after surveying the damage done by the tornadoes earlier this week), “The wrath of God is the only way I can describe it.

These are wise words and the United States should heed them. Why do you think John McCain and Hillary Clinton are the leading candidates for both parties in the upcoming Presidential election? You think it’s bad luck these tornadoes happen to come through the day after Super Tuesday? Think again…

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Luke 13:1-5 (ESV)

[HT: Sermon Audio]

Great Britain will be under Sharia Law in less than a year

According to BBC news, Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) has concluded that Sharia law in UK is ‘unavoidable.’

This is not good news and it means that the positive results of the Crusades over 800 years ago are now being overturned without even a fight by the Europeans. Muslim rule is being handed over to Muslims without any questions asked or any struggle at all. THIS IS NOT GOOD NEWS!

Here is an excerpt from the article:

‘Sensational reporting’

In an exclusive interview with BBC correspondent Christopher Landau, ahead of a lecture to lawyers in London on Monday, Dr Williams argues this relies on Sharia law being better understood.

At the moment, he says “sensational reporting of opinion polls” clouds the issue.

He stresses that “nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that’s sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states; the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women as well”.

But Dr Williams said an approach to law which simply said “there’s one law for everybody and that’s all there is to be said, and anything else that commands your loyalty or allegiance is completely irrelevant in the processes of the courts – I think that’s a bit of a danger”.

“There’s a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law, as we already do with some other aspects of religious law.”

‘Other loyalties’

Dr Williams added: “What we don’t want either, is I think, a stand-off, where the law squares up to people’s religious consciences.”

“We don’t either want a situation where, because there’s no way of legally monitoring what communities do… people do what they like in private in such a way that that becomes another way of intensifying oppression inside a community.”

The issue of whether Catholic adoption agencies would be forced to accept gay parents under equality laws showed the potential for legal confusion, he said.

“That principle that there is only one law for everybody is an important pillar of our social identity as a western democracy,” he said.

“But I think it is a misunderstanding to suppose that means people don’t have other affiliations, other loyalties which shape and dictate how they behave in society and that the law needs to take some account of that.”

[HT: George Grant]

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Keller’s latest book is due out on Feb. 14th, Valentine’s Day. From what I know about this book and about Keller, it is not a book you will want to miss out on. It would even be a great gift to give your loved one on V-Day! 🙂

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
By Tim Keller

The Reason for God

Book Description
The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?

Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.

Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? Shouldn’t the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be “right” and the rest “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

About the Author
As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Tim Keller started his congregation with a few dozen people. It now draws over five thousand weekly attendees who meet in three Manhattan locations. Redeemer has since spawned a movement of churches across America and throughout major world cities. Many pastors model their churches on Redeemer and Tim’s thoughtful style of preaching.

Some Positive Book Reviews:

About.com

Publishers Weekly

Justin Taylor’s Interview

Tim Keller’s reason for writing the book

Here is where you can purchase it once it comes out: Continue reading The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

ChristianAudio.com Free Audiobook – February

ChristianAudio.com has sent out info on this months free audiobook. Here are the details below:

How to Pray

Free Download of How To Pray

How to Pray is a gripping call to prayer read in an enlivening style. Pastor, educator, evangelist, and author R.A. Torrey delivers a no-nonsense handbook for praying correctly and receiving answers from God. The book is full of examples, stories, and anecdotes that inwardly compel the listener to pray heartily. Topics covered include the importance of prayer, praying in the Spirit, constancy in prayer, and hindrances to prayer.

Just add the Download Format of How To Pray to your cart and then enter the coupon code FEB2008 during checkout.

Our Price: $0.00
List Price: $12.98

Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study

This is Fee’s most recent work on the Apostle Paul and his theology. I do not own it, but from the reviews I’m posting below, I really do look forward to it and I would definitely recommend it to others already.

Here is the information on the book:

Pauline Christology Cover

Description: An exhaustive study of Pauline Christology by noted Pauline scholar, Gordon Fee. The author provides a detailed analysis of the letters of Paul (including those whose authorship is questioned) individually, exploring the Christology of each one, and then attempts a synthesis of the exegetical work into a biblical Christology of Paul. The author’s synthesis covers the following themes: Christ’s roles as divine Savior and as preexistent and incarnate Savior; Jesus as the Second Adam, the Jewish Messiah, and Son of God; and as the Messiah and exalted Lord. Fee also explores the relationship between Christ and the Spirit and considers the Person and role of the Spirit in Paul’s thought. Appendices cover the theme of Christ and Personified Wisdom, and Paul’s use of Kurios (Lord) in citations and echoes of the Septuagint.

Subjects: Bible, New Testament, Pauline Epistles, Literature, Methods, Theological Approaches, Biblical Theology, New Testament Theology

Reviews:

Review by Matthew Montonini

Review by Don Garlington

You can purchase the book here: Continue reading Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study

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

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