Doug Wilson has finished writing a satire related modern day Church culture and their pastors. I encourage you to visit the book’s web site. All of the material is available by chapter in blog format for free. So you can read the whole thing online if you want. Here is the link to the first chapter of the book. Here is some information about the book:
John Mitchell is the pastor of a small, modestly successful Reformed Baptist church in a city in the Midwest. Chad Lester is one of the most successful pastors in North America, and he is the leading light at Camel Creek Community Church in the same city. He is, speaking in theological terms, a dirt bag. And yet, his quasi-secret sexual misbehavior leads only to church growth success followed by publishing success, followed in turn by ever more church growth. John Mitchell hates everything that Lester stands for and yet, unbeknownst to him, envy of Lester’s success has him secretly by the throat. He thinks of it as indignation, or righteous concern, or something, but the real issue is that he is peeved that Lester appears to be blessed by God for being a creep, and he, Mitchell, struggles in obscurity for being faithful. But of course, Mitchell is faithful, and Lester is a creep, and the reader is not surprised that Mitchell can’t see it. None of us would if we were in his place.
When Lester is falsely accused of the one rotten thing he didn’t do, and his ministry starts to implode, John Mitchell is dragged into it much against his will, All this said, Evangellyfish is not really a dark comedy, but rather a medium brown comedy. In some sense, it is a satire on a world that defies satire.
I have to say, I cannot wait for this to come out on DVD! Enjoy the preview, especially the music and the camera work. 🙂
Here is some more information about it:
Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson squared-off in a recent series of debates over atheism. Hitchens is an atheist with an acerbic wit who thinks Christianity to be a blight on society. Douglas Wilson is a Christian who wants to show the reasonableness of the Christian faith. The video above is a trailer for a forthcoming documentary that describes the debates. (HT: Denny Burk)
Prayer as Calvin describes it is not giddy, and he goes on to give Scriptural definitions of proper thought, engagement, and attitude. What do the roles of patience and self-denial play in the role of the Christian life and what does Christian piety look like? What should our views be of the present life and the future life? These two sections of The Institutes guide us ever so thoughtfully and gracefully into his theology and practice of Christian living.
Just use the coupon code NOV2008 during checkout. Add the download format of Calvin: Of Prayer and The Christian Life to your cart and then enter the coupon code NOV2008 when prompted during checkout.
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.
John MacArthur‘s podcast on oneplace.com recently featured a series of talks entitled: The Battle for the Beginning. Although not reflecting the complete content of his series, this 20 part podcast covers the main material of his view of the Genesis creation narrative. Contrast his young-earth view with William Lane Craig‘s old-earth view (available on his podcast as well) in order to have a firm grasp of both angles. I found both the young-earth view and old-earth views very informative.
Some students from Princton Theological Seminary have started a research project for the purpose of studying the foundational works of theology by N.T. Wright. Here is their description of the project:
Rarely in the course of our seminary study do we have the opportunity to study theologians whose work is currently transforming the life of the church. Tom Wright is one such theologian, and a small group of us at Princeton Theological Seminary, together with one of our professors, Ross Wagner, have decided to spend this semester immersed in Wright’s work. We hope to carefully read some of his most foundational writings and to engage each other through this blog on the issues and ideas which emerge from this study. From time to time we will have guest authors from a wide spectrum contribute, and we also invite those of you in church, parachurch, or seminary communities to read and respond to our blog posts as a way of keeping this project closely grounded in the church today. Welcome and enjoy!
I encourage everyone to keep up with this blog, especially if you don’t have the ability to read Bishop Wright’s works in full by yourself. These students will be summarizing and analysing and discussing much of what he has written and I think we will all benefit from their work. May God bless this project!
Here is a link to Monergism.com’s Wayne Grudem Mp3 audio files for an ongoing series of classes based upon his own Systematic Theology. If you have not gone through a systematic theology text book before, I encourage you to buy this one and listen through these lectures as you read it. Or, if you don’t want to read, just listen to the FREE Mp3s! 🙂 Enjoy!
Every month Christianaudio.com gives away a free audio book. For the month of October, they are giving away Charles Spurgeon’s All of Grace. This is a classic work on grace in the Christian life. Go here and add it to your cart. Use the coupon code OCT2008 to receive the free download.
Here is some more about the book:
Charles Spurgeon is one of the great preachers in the history of Christianity. Spurgeon also communicates brilliantly through the written word, and his giftedness to proclaim the doctrine of grace shines in his little gem, All of Grace. Many Christians believe that this small book presents better than any other non-canonical work the gospel of salvation alone by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This short book is one of the bright jewels in post-apostolic writings on grace.
All of Grace is a prefect companion for Christians who wish to refresh their confidence in the grace of God. This book also makes an excellent introduction to those who are exploring the Christian gospel. Whether you are new to Christianity or a long-time believer, All of Grace will capture your attention and interest page after page.
