A valuable book listing by Justin Taylor from Desiring God Ministries - very, very beautiful article :)
The City of God and the City of Man: Recommended Reading on Christian Engagement in Culture
--------
POC Blog
The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan
Meet Darryl Tapp
Jan Hus of Bohemia
Jan Hus Monument in Old Town Square, Prague, Czech RepublicDear Faithful Christian...Search for Truth, Hear Truth, Learn Truth, Love Truth, Speak the Truth, Hold the Truth, and Defend the Truth til DeathFor a brief biography see - Jan Hus of Bohemia
The Execution of Jan Hus at the Council of Constance 1415
"God is my witness that I have never taught that of which I have been accused by false witnesses. In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached I will die today with gladness." Thereupon the fire was kindled. With uplifted voice Hus sang, "Christ, thou Son of the living God, have mercy upon me." When he started this for the third time and continued "who art born of Mary the Virgin," the wind blew the flame into his face; he still moved lips and head, and then died of suffocation.
On December 18, 1999 Pope John Paul II
apologized for the execution of Jan Hus.
Ochuk’s Blog � Why I Am Not An Open Theist
Very good article from a "former Open Theist" - Ochuk’s Blog � Blog Archive � Why I Am Not An Open Theist
For those new to the conversastion regarding Open Theism...a good place to start is here: Open Theism at Christian Apologetics and Resource Ministry
--------
Some good brothers
The Church Report - The 50 most influential churches
Emergent Apologetics?
Some comments on "Emergent Apologetics" over at the A-Team - love those 80s TV Shows :)
The A-Team Blog :: Emergent Apologetics?
--------
Uncommon Descent � Sorry, kids, but you’re just too stupid
Uncommon Descent � Sorry, kids, but you’re just too stupid
I hope my kids can understand all of this quite easily by the time they are 16 years old. Seme simple facts about Darwinism...
--------
Slow down…
A current article from the BBC News chronicles our fast paced, urbanized, consummerized, globalized cultures that keep us plugged in at all times racing to a finish line that we never reach. Describing what could be called a “Roadrunner Culture” Barry Schwartz author of In Praise of Slowness makes the following observations:
…The author of In Praise of Slowness decided to decelerate after he found himself speed reading bedtime stories to his son. He even found himself excited when he read in the newspaper a story about one-minute bedtime stories. But he caught himself: "Has it really come to this that I'm ready to fob off my son with a sound bite at the end of the day?"
…Technology was supposed to make us more efficient, he explained. But our lives are often so driven by interruptions that a recent report on "info-mania" found that the flood of e-mails was such a distraction that it cut workers IQ by 10 points.
…Choice is good, he said, but in modern, affluent societies most people are confronted with a bewildering array of choices that leads to paralysis. He said that his students sometimes become stuck in low-wage jobs because they fear making the wrong choice of career. Some professors at liberal arts colleges now joke that they "take students who would have been stuck working at McDonalds and makes them people who are stuck working at Starbucks".
I would add to Schwartz’s causes “secularization” – for prayer, solitude with God, meditation have fallen away in a secularized world. I would also add that the frenzied, fast paced life of the contemporary world infects religious believers as well – where silence, contemplation, solitude are many times foreigners to the soul of the Christian. I personally have seen the influx of technology (as one that studied Computer Science in college and continues to be a tech hobbyist) encroach upon the life of my soul – damping zeal for God and genuine piety.
Exhortation of the mind to the contemplation of God. It casts aside cares, and excludes all thoughts save that of God, that it may seek Him. Man was created to see God. Man by sin lost the blessedness for which he was made, and found the misery for which he was not made. He did not keep this good when he could keep it easily. Without God it is ill with us. Our labors and attempts are in vain without God. Man cannot seek God, unless God himself teaches him; nor find him, unless he reveals himself. God created man in his image, that he might be mindful of him, think of him, and love him. The believer does not seek to understand, that he may believe, but he believes that he may understand: for unless he believed he would not understand.
UP now, slight man! flee, for a little while, thy occupations; hide thyself, for a time, from thy disturbing thoughts. Cast aside, now, thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him. Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid thee in seeking him; close thy door and seek him
St. Anselm of Cantebury Proslogian - Chapter 1 Prologue
Slow down, I need to hear this…Look at the breadth of the Scriptures on the concept of “waiting”
- Genesis 49:18 – I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
- Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
- Psalm 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!
- Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
- Psalm 37:34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
- Psalm 39:7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
- Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
- Psalm 130:6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
- Isaiah 25:9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
- Isaiah 26:8 In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.
- Isaiah 33:2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.
- Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
- Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
- Lamentations 3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
- Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
- Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.
- James 5:7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
- Jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Greeting Cards for Adulterers
I have to say in a very calm way, that this plain ticks me off.
"In a time, when nothing's sacred, and souls settle for less" - Billy Sprague
Read here - Adulterers need cards too
--------
Store Wars!
Bottom Ten List
Dr. Sam Storms has a great entry on "Bottom Ten List" of books:
Thanks to Sandy Young of Blacksburg Christian Fellowship for putting me on to this list... --------My “Bottom Ten” ListThe most recent issue of World magazine (June 18, 2005) contained an interesting item that got me thinking. The conservative publication, Human Events, asked a panel of 15 scholars to rank the 10 most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. Included on the list were such “favorites” as The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital by Karl Marx, The Kinsey Report by Alfred Kinsey, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and other volumes that make for unpleasant bedside reading.
Several years ago I was asked by my students to put together my Top Ten list of most influential books I had read. The list ended up going well beyond ten and can now be found on my website (www.SamStorms.com) in the Recommended Section (it is titled, “Meditations of a Bibliophile”). But no one has ever asked me for a Bottom Ten list! But since Human Events did it with respect to political, social, and economic books, I can certainly do the same when it comes to books on theology or related topics.
Not all my bottom ten are equally harmful. Some of them were written by wonderful Christian people who, I believe, love and honor Jesus as best they can. But that doesn’t minimize the deleterious effects of what they wrote. All of mine are of recent vintage, the oldest of which was released in the 1970’s. I decided to avoid mention of some obvious, older, and more overtly liberal works, with one exception, so that the list would make sense to the average Christian today. So, here goes. In no particular order, they are:
"The Myth of God Incarnate,” edited by John Hick (Westminster Press). Although I said these were in no particular order, I’m compelled to put this profoundly anti-Christian collection of essays at the top of the list of the bottom ten!
“The DaVinci Code,” by Dan Brown (Doubleday). Yes, it was a fascinating read (and yes, I will go to the movie). I actually enjoyed it, until I became aware of how many non-Christians imbibed it as non-fiction.
"Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament & Contemporary Contexts,” by Joel B. Greene & Mark D. Baker (InterVarsity Press). This frontal assault on the biblical doctrine of Christ’s penal substitutionary death is one that I will review for the website some time in the future. For the present, avoid it at all costs.
“Beyond Sex Roles: A Guide for the Study of Female Roles in the Bible,” by Gilbert Bilezikian (Baker Book House). There are a number of well-written and competently argued (although not necessarily persuasive) books on the role of women in ministry from an egalitarian perspective, but this isn’t one of them.
“The God Who Risks,” by John Sanders (InterVarsity Press). This is certainly the most consistent of all books defending Open Theism. That is why it is probably the most harmful in the way it undermines our knowledge of God’s knowledge.
"God of the Possible,” by Gregory Boyd (Baker Books). I typically required this book for my course in theology at Wheaton, to be read alongside the excellent refutation of it by Bruce Ware (“God’s Lesser Glory” [Crossway Books]). Boyd is an excellent writer and his popular and easy to read defense of Open Theism accounts for its widespread (but unfortunate) influence.
"A New Kind of Christian" by Brian McLaren (Jossey-Bass). I chose this volume among many McLaren has written because it was the first in a series of three and is more responsible than the others for his widespread influence in the evangelical world. Being included on this list isn’t to say there is nothing of value in what McLaren writes. He has some excellent and stimulating ideas and his prose is superb. But I fear what Christians will become if they decide they want to be among the “New Kind” that he recommends.
“Charismatic Chaos,” by John MacArthur (Zondervan). I have tremendous respect for MacArthur and cherish him as a brother in Christ. But this book is bad. It takes the worst in the Pentecostal-Charismatic world (and yes, there are some pretty bad things in that world) and portrays them as typical of charismatics in general. His arguments for cessationism and against the contemporary validity of so-called miraculous spiritual gifts is extremely weak. But I want to say again how much I appreciate most of the other books MacArthur has written.
“Left Behind,” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (Tyndale House). O.K. No, I haven’t read it, nor any in the series. No, I don’t intend to. But I know what’s in them and they are more than deserving of inclusion on this list. The eschatological perspective they perpetuate is damaging to the Church and to individual Christian expectation regarding the future.
“Healing and Holiness: A Biblical Response to the Faith-Healing Phenomenon,” by Sam Storms (Presbyterian & Reformed). No, this isn’t a joke. Neither is it a bad attempt at false humility. It’s simply a bad book. Forgive me for having written it. I suppose a good portion of what I wrote is o.k., but that doesn’t justify the rest of the nonsense I put forth in this regrettable effort to undermine people’s confidence in the healing power of God today. It’s out of print (thank God), so don’t write me asking for an autographed copy.
If I’ve offended you by including in this list your favorite author or if I’m in error for mentioning a book you found helpful, rather than harmful, I hope you’ll let me know so that, if possible, I might make amends. Having written one of the books on the list, I’m in a repentant mood right now.
Lions, and Tigers, and Benny Hinn's Wife - Oh My
You have to check this out over at Theologica - scary, just a little scary...
Between Two Worlds: Mrs. Benny Hinn
--------
Coming to save the world new you!
The smart people are getting together - I hope they can help us...
BBC NEWS | Technology | Leading brains take on big ideas
--------
How to really do "Mega Church"
World Mag Blog has a link about Lakewood Church's move to the site of the former Compaq Center in Houston
If you really want a Mega Church - you need to have it in a former sports arena - and sepnd 75 mil to do it!
I have to admit - the building does look cool...
--------
No more teachers, no more books!
America's biggest fans
Which nation has the highest and most favorable view of America? India!
Source - South Asia News via World Mag Blog
--------
Man recites pi from memory to 83,431 places....
James R. White over at Pros Apologian had this pithy remark "And We Struggle to Get Folks to Memorize Scripture..."
Looks like the human memory is extremely capable. Now, if only we can encourage more American youth to even know what "pi" is, let alone 3.14nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn - well, you get the point.
From Ask Dr. Math Pi is:
By definition, pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is always the same number, no matter which circle you use to compute it. For the sake of usefulness people often need to approximate pi. For many purposes you can use 3.14159, which is really pretty good, but if you want a better approximation you can use a computer to get it. Here's pi to many more digits: 3.14159265358979323846. The area of a circle is pi times the square of the length of the radius, or "pi r squared":Source - Man recites pi from memory to 83,431 places - World News - MSNBC.com Out... --------A = pi*r^2
PBS on the Emerging Church
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . The Emerging Church, Part One . July 8, 2005 | PBS
PBS's religion and ethics weekly is doing a multi-part series on the emerging church. The video of part I - you can watch online. It is only 10 min and cannot say too much. More interesting are the full transcipts of the interviews. Justin Taylor has them linked up at Theologica
Also, note to DA Carson. You have a lot to say to our generation - but please take of the short sleeve and tie. People will hear you better if you do :)
--------
Short Term Missions - Words from the Wise
A saavy pastor friend of mine had some great feedback for the Short Term Missions Discussion going on at CT Online:
- What was the purpose of the SST’s they “analyzed”? As anyone knows who has done experimental research, conclusions and causes are not possible in studies that miss the questions and fail to study the relevant issues. All STT don’t fit one neat category.
- Establishing and maintaining strong partnerships that share leadership and kingdom vision are essential characteristics of viability and effectiveness. My guess is that most STT ministry lacks these two elements at one end or the other.