Category Archives: Promotionals

Books, Culture, Evangelism, Pop Christianity, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology

Evangellyfish

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.

Apologetics, Books, Culture, Debate, Evolution, False Religion, History, Humanism, Intelligent Design, Movies, Promotionals, Videos

Hitchens vs. Wilson: A Collision of Lives

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)

New Testament Theology, Online Tests, Promotionals

NT Use of the OT: Test Your View!

NT Use of the OT — Test Your View!
Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view

You seem to be most closely aligned with the Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view, a view defended by Darrell L. Bock in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). This view affirms the singular nature of the meanings intended by the OT and NT authors when OT texts are cited in the NT. In spite of this essential unity in meaning, however, the words of the OT authors frequently take on new dimensions of significance and are found to apply appropriately to new referents and new situations as God’s purposes unfold in the larger canonical context. Often, these referents were not in the minds of the OT authors when they penned their texts. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by Quibblo

Apologetics, Atheism, Culture News, Debate, Eschatology, False Religion, History, Movies, New Testament Theology, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology, Videos

Bill Maher and John Piper

2 Comments

Denny Burk says:

You have probably seen by now one of the ads for Bill Maher’s new documentary “Religulous.” If you haven’t seen it, it’s a movie that was produced for the expressed purpose of denigrating religion. The fundamental point seems to be that having faith in any religion is ridiculous—thus “Religulous.” In the trailer for the movie, the following exchange takes place between Maher and a person dressed up like Jesus.

Maher: Why doesn’t [God] just obliterate the devil and therefore get rid of evil in the world?

Jesus Impersonator: He will.

Maher: He will?

Jesus Impersonator: That’s correct.

Maher: What’s he waiting for?

The whole point of the exchange is to show how ridiculous it is that the Christian God will not do anything about evil in the world even though He’s supposed to be both good and all-powerful. Even though it’s delivered with sarcastic humor, Maher is asking a serious question. At bottom the exchange is really about the classical question of theodicy, and the whole thing is framed in a way to discredit the Christian faith.

In a recent blog post, John Piper answers Maher’s question, though he doesn’t mention Maher’s name. Nevertheless, the title of Piper’s essay reads like an allusion to “Religulous”: “Why not destroy the devil now?” Piper gives an answer that is (as you might expect) grounded in God’s passion for His own glory. God is most glorified by allowing Satan to remain for a time. He writes:

“The glory of Christ is seen in his absolute right and power to annihilate or incapacitate Satan and all demons. But the reason he refrains from destroying and disabling them altogether is to manifest more clearly his superior beauty and worth. If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine as brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ.”

Maher’s question deserved a serious answer, and I am grateful that Piper took the time to write one. You should read the rest.

“Why Not Destroy the Devil Now?” – by John Piper (desiringgod.org)

Books, Devotionals, Mp3s, Prayer, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology

Free Audiobook of the Month – November

Free Audiobook of the Month:
Calvin: Of Prayer and The Christian Life

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.

Covenant Theology, Dutch Reformed, Eschatology, New Testament Theology, Promotionals, Protology, Reforming, Systematic Theology, Theology

Bavinck’s Covenant Christology

Covenant Christology: Herman Bavinck and the Pactum Salutis
By Rev. Mark Jones, Leiden Universiteit

For Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) ‘the doctrine of the covenant is of the greatest importance.’ Behind the temporal covenants of works and grace stands the pretemporal pactum salutis (counsel of peace/covenant of redemption). The pactum salutis is an intratrinitarian covenant between the Father, Son and Spirit that provides the eternal, inviolable foundation for the temporal covenant of grace (foedus gratiae). The Reformed orthodox in particular, since the sixteenth century, used the pactum salutis as an argument for the ad intra trinitarian grounding for the ad extra work of salvation. Thus, soteriology is decidedly trinitarian, that is, ‘salvation is an undertaking of the one God in three persons in which all cooperate and each one performs a special task.’ Consequently, this doctrine is the starting-point for any Christological discussion of the person and work of the Mediator, Jesus Christ.

In defending and giving expression to the pactum salutis, Bavinck is conscious that this doctrine has a fairly long and illustrious history among Reformed covenant theologians. And though this doctrine is ‘rooted in a scriptural idea’, Bavinck suggests that not a few of the Reformed were guilty of ‘scholastic subtlety’ by quoting various Scriptural passages (e.g. Zech. 6:13, translated by the Latin Vulgate as consilium pacis) that did not have reference to the pactum salutis. Thus, while clearly appreciative of his Reformed heritage, Bavinck is not uncritical of various formulations of the pactum salutis.

In order to understand why Bavinck gives such prominence to the pactum salutis, something of this doctrine’s history must be understood, which will show, among other things, that his theology reflects the broad parameters and concerns of the Reformed interpretive tradition.

(Continue Reading…)

[HT: James Grant]

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).

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.

[display_podcast]

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.