Creation Confusion...On Science and New Creations

This past week

POC Bundle 3.4.2008

General News

• TED - Everyone's favorite group for cultural elites and world changers just finished up. Business Week explains TED for all us small people out there...they also provide a summary of the 08 conference.  A fun quote: Some, even BusinessWeek columnist Sarah Lacy, accuse TED of being a self-satisfied meeting of the rich and successful, who meet to pat each other on the back, hear some thought-provoking ideas, and then zoom off in their hybrid vehicles or private jets (both equally objectionable to the naysayers) to count money at their hedge-fund headquarters or map the future in their ivory towers. Personally, I like geniuses, elites, futurists and uber creatives - they make me realize how cool Jesus is.

Islamic Watch

• Oh No He Didn't - Apparently a member of the Dutch Parliament has put together a unflattering film about the Koran.  Cartoons had people calling for death threats upon Dutch cartoonists...I can only imagine the peaceful response coming from the religion of peace. Here is the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Technology

• Free Centros from Amazon - really, this looks legit. After rebates of course.
  

The Church

• This article's title just shows me how sideways the Anglican communion can be in some places - Diocese Threatens to Suspend J.I. Packer - For those who do not know JI Packer is a very old scholar highly respected in many circles. He is the author of the book Knowing God which some already consider a classic.
  

Single Sex...Education Theories

My friend Owen Strachan comments on a recent article in the New York Times Magazine article by Elizabeth Weil.  The piece is lengthy and focuses on the issue of single sex educational philosophy (keeping boys with boys, girls with girls and forsaking the co-ed classroom). 

Owen has called my blog and writing "punchy" - not sure what that means. I think I find his a bit "serious." But I did hang with him for dinner and coffee for a long evening once...and he is a really cool guy to hang with and has a great mind.

Prosperity Gospel

Many have heard John Piper's opinions on the prosperity gospel that is peddled in American churches and growing around the world.  The Atlantic Monthly even had an interesting look upon the prosperity gospel phenomena in the growing churches of Nigeria (this is a great article to read fully - the prosperity stuff is on page 3). Back to Piper...a portion of Piper's message has been set to many videographical expressions...the one below I think is the best I have seen to date.

(HT - Justin Taylor) 

Contest Results

Well, the contest results are in from the Together for the Gospel 08 web site.  The first question which asked was quite simple.  I can now share with you my answer to the question because I did not win.  Don't feel sorry for me, I can take an "L" every now and then.  To be quite honest I would like your opinion on the result.  First, I'll give you the winner's entry.  Then I'll share mine.  I'll report, you decide - I think mine was pretty good, and a lot funnier than the victorious submission.

Here is the question again as a refresher: If you could have anyone from history join the cast of speakers at T4G, who would it be and why?

The winning entry:

I would like to hear George Whitefield preach for two reasons. 1. Whenever I hear the term “Together for the Gospel” I think of the great quote by Whitefield. "Father Abraham, whom have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians? No! Any Presbyterians? No! Have you any Independents or Seceders? No! Have you any Methodists? No! No! No! Whom have you there? We don't know those names here! All who are here are Christians." 2. I would love to hear a man who could preach a Spirit-filled gospel message to 5,000 without the aid of a microphone."

Congrats to Joey Asbury from Greenwood, Indiana.  OK, here comes my entry, and you might see why I did not expect a guy like Mark Dever to crown this one a winner...but I thought it was funny and hope he got at least a chuckle from it as well.

This one is easy to answer – I would invite Jesus. First, it would solve all our lingering theological issues surrounding eschatology and bring closure to the cottage industry of producing bad end times films. Second, it would mark the removal of the curse, the end of death, our glorification, the resurrection of the dead and permanent joy in God – simply put; it would mean the consummation of the Kingdom. Finally, it would mean all the Baptists in attendance could drink wine with Jesus fulfilling his promise from Luke 22:18…and the Presbyterians would rejoice and welcome them to the party.

I may submit another one to the second question which is now up: Why are local churches better than pastors' conferences?

Stuff White People Like...

This is one of the funnier blogs I have run across in some time...Stuff White People Like 

Some of my favorites

#2 Religions that their parents don’t belong to:
White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. Which usually means that they will believe any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus. Popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Islam, but it’s much more rare since you have to give stuff up and actually go to Mosque. Mostly they are into religion that fits really well into their homes or wardrobe and doesn’t require them to do very much.

#40 - Apple Products
It is surprising that it took all the way to #40 to call out Apple products. Initially, we were planning for an entire week on Apple products, but that would just be over kill. Plain and simple, white people don’t just like Apple, they love and need Apple to operate. On the surface, you would ask yourself, how is that white people love a multi-billion dollar company with manufacturing plants in China, mass production, and that contributes to global pollution through the manufacture of consumer electronic devices? Simple answer: Apple products tell the world you are creative and unique. They are an exclusive product line only used by every white college student, designer, writer, English teacher, and hipster on the planet. [Might I add Emerging Church Pastors? OK, now I'm meddling]

Free Conference

Together for the Gospel is running a contest of sorts with the winners receiving a free pass to the T4G'08 party.  Here is the description:

Hey Friends, Time for some fun! For the next few weeks, we're going to give away a free T4G 08 registration on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to whomever gives the best answer to a question we post. Today's question is

If you could have anyone from history join the cast of speakers at T4G, who would it be and why?

Here are the contest rules:

1. Questions will be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
   
2. Post your answer in the "comments" section.
   
3. Your answer must be accompanied with a working email address.
   
4. Each question will remain open for 48 hours.
   
5. The winner's name and answer will be posted sometime after that 48 hour period.
6. Winner receives free registration for him/herself or a friend.
7. Responses must be in 100 words or less.
   

Any takers?

I  just submitted my 99 word response.  I'll post it here if I don't win - I like my entry but not sure if the guys will or not.  If you are a taker, here is the link. 

Christian Art History...

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on early Christian Art by Willard Spiegelman. It is interesting how the humble beginnings of the crucified good shepherd turns toward the pomp and jewels reflecting imperial majesty.  Jesus - he is a shepherd and a lofty King...but how much loot should be spent reflecting these truths?

Here is the link

A Question about Calvin...

One of the guys on the staff at our church asked me an interesting question today.  John Farkas, who just recently started blogging here, sent me the following request:

Give me your perspective on Calvin's 3 most important contributions.  Try to keep it to about 100 words (150 if you must)

I have to confess that I sinned against keeping it brief, but I did ask for forgiveness.  Here is my response which may get some fun comments from John Calvinists out there.  Here goes.

----------------------------------------

John,

Sure thing. I am a bit of a fan of the reformed view of God, the gospel and the church so I have many positive things to say about the contributions of Jean Calvin...I'll try to stay at three but will likely sin against the word limit. 

Ad Fontes 

Calvin was trained in France during a transition time in western culture.  The medieval catholic church was in great need for reform and humanistic studies (not secular humanism, but the study of man and culture) were on the rise in Europe.  One of the beacon calls of the era as ad fonts - to the sources.  The call was to return to the classical roots of western culture.  Additionally, church scholars applied this to theology.  That to form Christian doctrine one ought to go to the sources of Christian faith - namely, the inspired writings of the New Testament...the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.  Calvin sought to craft a thoroughly Bible based theology and literally wrote the first Protestant systematic theology when he was only 27 years old: The Institutes of the Christian Religion.  A word about Systematics.  Today there are many who do not like a systematic theology - the cry is for narrative etc.  I get that and affirm narrative theology, biblical theology etc. Yet all systermatic (in the way of Calvin) seeks to do is not reduce the Scriptures teaching about something (say the identity and work of Jesus) to one part of Scripture.  Calvin and those who like systematic just want to say ALL that the Bible says about Jesus, not just part of it.  For instance some might say Jesus is a nice, pacifistic teacher in looking at the sermon on the mount.  Yet to not look at the exalted Christ of Revelation who comes with a sword to strike the nations would give you a one dimensional Jesus whereas the whole of Scripture gives a much more 3D, full view.  Calvin sought to form doctrine by treating all of Scripture.  I think that was a great contribution - he certainly was not infallible and I don't agree with all his conclusions, but this is a lasting contribution of his.  By going "to the sources" Calvin and other Protestants affirm the idea of God's revealing himself to us in Scripture.  Man, left alone with his imaginations, will only create idols as he seeks to create God in his own image.  I also think that applying this view to the arts gives art a "narrative framework" which to live within.  The rich narrative world of Scripture can give birth to art that is truly good and beautiful rather than that which is created by man with an unsanctified imagination.   

Unique Theological Contribution to understanding Jesus and the Church

To my knowledge Calvin was the first to articulate a rich typological view of Jesus as seen in the Old Testament offices of Israel - the Prophet, the Priest and the King.  Calvin taught that all of these foreshadowed the work and ministry of Jesus himself and then that Jesus extends that ministry in and through his church.  In the Old Testament - Prophets, Priests, Kings - Israel's life was structured by these offices, which served as types - these were the three offices which were "anointed ones" - those anointed by God and set apart to serve his purposes^[1] The Prophet (1 Kings 19:16 - ) speaks the Word of God and Calls People to repentance, to God and His Mission.  The Priest (Leviticus 21:10 - Chief priest anointed with oil) intercedes between God and people facilitating worship and ministry.  The King (1 Samuel 10 and 16 - Samuel Anoints Saul and David, 1 Kings 1:39 - Zadok anoints Solomon, Jehu in 2 Kings 9 anointed by Elisha) ruled under the authority of God and his Word, guiding and shepherding a people through life.  The King protects, provides, and serves his people. Calvin saw this in Jesus' Ministry as a consummation of all the types. 

John Calvin --- Moreover, it is to be observed, that the name Christ refers to those three offices: for we know that under the law, prophets as well as priests and kings were anointed with holy oil. Whence, also, the celebrated name of Messiah was given to the promised Mediator.^[2]

Jesus is our Great Prophet (Hebrews 1:1,2)- He is the fulfillment of the law and prophets - his word is God's word.  Jesus is our great High Priest - Hebrews 8:1,2 - We HAVE such a high priest, he intercedes for us, brings us to the father, covers our sins with his sacrifice of himself - there is one mediator (1 Tim 2:5, 6).  Jesus is our Covenant King (Psalm 2, Psalm 110:1; Matthew 1:1-4; Revelation 17:14) - He is our covenant King, our good shepherd, not one of his sheep are lost, he will guide us home, we will live and not die if we trust him.  

Additionally, his ministry extends in the Church. The prophetic Ministry of Jesus extends when the Word of God, the gospel is preached.  The priestly ministry of Jesus extends in the Sacraments - the new covenant is mediated by Jesus, in his church. Baptism serves as the entry sign into the covenant and the Lord's Supper as the continuing sign of the covenant.  Finally, the kingly ministry of Jesus extends in Church Government and Discipline. God gives elders to the church to guard the doctrine of the church, pastor/shepherd/love the sheep, and discipline us towards godliness and holiness.

All of this flows from Calvin's unique insight into the continuity of the covenants and the Old Testament pointing penultimately and typologically to Jesus, the Christ. 

Bible teaching and Commentary 

Many people fail to realize that Calvin was primarily a Bible teacher.  His sermons and commentaries remain a wonderful gift to the church that are available online for free - http://www.ccel.org/index/author-C.html.

Church sending, Pastoral Training and Cultural Transformation 

Something that is unknown about Calvin to many is that they trained hundreds of ministers and sent them out all over Switzerland and France.  Many of these young men went into France and were slaughtered for their preaching.  It is no historical mystery why the Protestant movement did not flourish as much in France - they were massacred.  Finally, there is good little book that I believe I heard referenced by Tim Keller on the influence of Calvin's theological vision on shaping the City - it is called Light of the City.

OK, I sinned against the number of strengths and word limit - forgive? 

---

^[1]In the Old Testament priests (Exod 29:7, 21), prophets (1 Kgs 19:16), and kings (1 Sam 10:1) were anointed for special tasks  James A. Brooks, vol. 23, Mark, electronic e., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1991), 38.

^[2]Jean Calvin and Henry Beveridge, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Translation of: Institutio Christianae Religionis.; Reprint, With New Introd. Originally Published: Edinburgh : Calvin Translation Society, 1845-1846. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), II, xv, 2.

Sweet Echoes in Life

Every so often life has a rhythm which brings a sweetness to the soul.  Not every day is like this, in fact the good days can be followed by some that remind you that the foul stench of the fall still dominates our reality.  Yet this weekend was filled with sweet echoes of a golden goodness which exists far beyond the shores of the earth.  My weekend was simple yet full of simple graces which make me smile even in writing.

I enjoyed seeing my kids on Saturday morning and then packing up my bags for a two day visit to the state of North Carolina.  Carolina is a special place for me.  Though it is not my home, in many ways it has a homelike ring to it for me.  I grew up in Virginia Beach; a great military and tourist town where I have many treasured youthful memories.  Yet it was in North Carolina that many signposts guiding me to the life I pursue today.  It was at UNC Chapel Hill that I met Jesus while studying Applied Science and Physics and competing for the tarheel wrestling team.  It was at UNC where I met a captivating young woman named Kasey Monroe; smart as a whip, gorgeous, fiercely interesting and tough as nails as an athlete.  Man, I am still so whipped in love with that girl.  She is sleeping now and I just thank God for her.  It was also in North Carolina that we connected with a new church in the mid nineties.  This weekend I spent time with this family of faith once again.

Grace Community Church was started in 1994 by a group of families that consisted of professors from Campbell University, Moms, business men and a cool group of their high school kids.  Kasey had transferred to Campell and connected with some of these folks as she was renting an apartment from one of the members of the new church.  During our last few years of college we were asked to do several events with their youth group; one of which was a weekend beach retreat where we encouraged the crew towards a radical commitment to Jesus.  The year we graduated and went on staff with Athletes in Action we had a six month season where we were raising money and actually being youth pastors with the high school kids.  One thing the youth group produced was Rhett and Link - we claim them on Tuesdays and Saturdays...and their new song on the Oscars is funny. We'll never forget Eric Woodruff, Rhett McClaughlin, Link Neal, Rebecca McKinney, Maria Mathews, Heather Wilson, The Enzor brothers, Chris Lanier and many others.  Grace was one of the churches that launched our family into ministry in 1997 so we are grateful for their friendship over the years.  So it was a sweet time to visit them this weekend.

I stayed in the home of Jim and Joy Aycock - Jim is a retired preacher who is gracious and spirited.  Joy is a wonderful host who showed so much southern hospitality that I rethought our call to Jersey for a couple moments.  It was sweet to be among people who still value spending time together, taking time to talk and bringing a word of friendship to others.  I met a new friend in pastor KJ Hill - who is actually FROM New Jersey but made it south to coach soccer...then became a pastor.  I love KJ and his family though my time with them was brief.  His wife Liz has a great mind and we had some great theological banter around the dinner table.  I caught up with Rhett and his wife Jesse - he is a young man I am really quite proud of.  Rhett spun a little comedy in introducing me on Sunday morning as a guy who could kill them with my bare hands as well as beat them in Jeopardy...funny - you can hear it in the sermon audio here. I preached twice on Sunday morning and then spent time at a pot luck dinner and shared the ministry of Jacob's Well with my old friends.  It could not have been more encouraging. Having such a good time made getting up at 3:45am CST to drive to the airport, fly home, drive to class and immediately take an exam feel all the more worth it.  I think I did OK on the test too - smile.

Finally, I was able to spend just a few moments with their pastor Brad Talley.  Brad is watching his beloved wife Linda struggle for life in the midst of aggressive brain cancer.  Oh, how it aches to see life ebb away.  I love pastors and hanging with them.  Brad has many challenges in these days but I was so encouraged by the way he talked about his Lord, his wife and marriage.  Pray for the Talleys as they walk so close the valley of the shadow of death.  Linda could very much be in her last few days of life. Our hope is with them and with them it is in Jesus.

Grace Community has grown beyond meeting in a living room, small buildings, the ruritan club, a school auditorium and cafeteria to having their own facility and a small staff. Yet they face some challenges and are moving forward in the gospel.  I kept thinking to myself "he who began a good work in them will be faithful to complete it..." I pray to stay in partnership with our friends at Grace for as long as God permits.  I love the people there, and they continue to love our family so well.  I would do anything for the people at Grace and thankful for this sweet echo over the weekend...which brought past, present and future together for me in the work of Christ.

POC Bundle 2.28.2008

General News

• The people of Great Britain are lonely, have long lines to receive mental health care and as such are all hopped up on anti-depressants.   A couple of articles - BBC - Britain is the True Prozac Nation. But the London Telegraph alerts us that anti-depressants are no better than dummy pills

Apologetics

• Chuck Colson says I Heart PETA - well, sort of.  For those unfamiliar, PETA stands for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. 
  

The Church

• The Pew Research Center has an excellent study on religions in American.  Summary available here
  
• Interesting response by Os Guinness to Frank Schaeffer's book "Crazy for God" - CT Online here

Technology

• Cool looking Bluetooth headset - not in the US yet, but a cool idea

Jonathan Coulton on TWIT

Jonathan Coulton, who is an indie singer song writer who appeals to technoid geeks was interviewed on This Week in Tech.  I personally like Coulton's songs which are strange playful interactions with science, sci fi, biotech and dystopian futuristic views.  If you missed it I blogged on Coulton here a while back. I am a fan of the songs Chiron Beta Prime, The Future Soon and Skullcrusher Mountain. 

This interview would be of interest to: 1) indie music people 2) tech people/programmers and 3) Pastors who did their undergrad in Applied Computer Science and Physics, love tech stuff and weird creepy biotech and zombie humor (OK, me).

Enjoy...

Sighting: Apple Cult Behavior

More evidence that we should be concerned about our Mac Brethren. Here is what MacIdolators do in their spare time. Very nice.

 

The Seven Deadly Sinful Cities

Forbes has up featuring the most sinful American cities. The technology is cool as well because a simple mouse-over will show the areas of the country which are the greediest, most lustful, etc. It uses the seven deadlies. It is true that Bible Belt folks are the fattest and and laziest. The West has its share of lust, the Mormons are full of pride and Tony Soprano was from New Jersey.  It seems that Memphis is just jealous, fat and lazy. 

Here is the link

(HT Al Mohler) 

Resurgence Conference

In an interview related to the upcoming Resurgence national conference, John Piper talks about the state of American pulpit/preaching ministry today.  The last line is just classic: "But oh my, there is a lot of foolishness going on." 

In case you are like me and just could not fit the schedule to go to the Resurgence Conference...our friend Jon Krombein, tech wizard of the Resurgence, just announced they will be streaming the content live and then have all the audio and video available for free in the weeks following.  The theme of the conference is Text and Context and focuses on brining the unchanging message of Scripture in to changing cultural contexts.

Baptism and Covenant

Christian baptism, which has the form of a ceremonial washing (like John’s pre-Christian baptism), is a sign from God that signifies inward cleansing and remission of sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life (Titus 3:5), and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). Baptism carries these meanings because first and fundamentally it signifies union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12); and this union with Christ is the source of every element in our salvation (1 John 5:11-12). Receiving the sign in faith assures the persons baptized that God’s gift of new life in Christ is freely given to them. At the same time, it commits them to live henceforth in a new way as committed disciples of Jesus. Baptism signifies a watershed point in a human life because it signifies a new-creational engrafting into Christ’s risen life.

J.I. Packer

There is nothing more central to Christian faith than the person and work of Jesus the Christ.  There is nothing more central to his work and message than the gospel - the good news of what he has done, is doing and will do in redeeming sinners and this fallen world.  In walking together as the church in every age there are few things more central than the sacraments/ordinances Jesus gave to us.  Yet there have been few things which have brought up as much debate amongst Christians as the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper.  This essay has very small goals.  I will briefly treat the different views of baptism held by those who have a covenantal understanding of the gospel. I am looking mainly here at covenant baptism; the view that baptism is a sign and seal of the new covenant marking a person as belonging to Jesus and part of the church. In circles of confessing believers, I am speaking of baptism as viewed by those in reformed traditions, those who seek to trace their views back to Scripture in the Protestant view. 

There are many debates surrounding baptism which can take place along various lines. Very common are the questions of who should be baptized and the age at which is should be administered.  Additionally, there are debates about methodology: immersion/dunking, pouring, sprinkling, shaken but not stirred.  Here I only want to look at two simple questions. 1) First, the relation of baptism to the new covenant and 2) Who then should be baptized. After answering these two questions I become a bit less concerned.  Though I believe that immersion in water is the NT model that fits most clearly with the meaning of baptism, I find no problem with sprinkling, pouring, or dipping if/when environmental circumstances come into play.  Let me just get to the issue directly and tackle the issue of covenantal understandings of baptism and whether it should it be for babies or not.  OK, this is for my reformed and Baptist type friends.

Agreements

There is a wonderful agreement about baptism with those who hold to certain tenants of reformation theology.  We all believe the following:

1. Baptism was commanded by Jesus (Matt 28:18-20) and practiced by the apostles (Acts 2)
2. Baptism signifies the gospel and our union with Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3,4)
3. Baptism marks a person as part of new the covenant community. It is the outward signifier that a person is under the new covenant of grace and part of Jesus’ church (Colossians 2:12)

Now when we come to the question as to when it should be applied; here we find our differences.  Historically reformed churches (Presbyterians, RCA, CRC and others) typically baptize infants as a sign of the covenant and a confession of the faithfulness of God to his promises. Baptistic types (Various Baptists, Bible Churches, Non Denominational) wait until a person has expressed faith in Jesus and applies baptism after conversion rather than physical birth.  Let us look very briefly at some support offered for both positions.

Baptism after Birth (Paedo Baptism or Infant Baptism)

It is a no small task to rightly give the traditional reformed view of baptism.  For that I refer you to a volume of essays entitled The Case for Covenental Infant Baptism edited by Greg Strawbridge. Here I only want to highlight a few of the biblical/theological arguments for baptizing infants:

• In the New Testament we see statements that the promise of the gospel is for you and your children and those who are far off (See Acts 2:37-39).  The promise in the OT included children so in the New Covenant it does as well. 
• Household baptisms - there are several circumstances in the NT where “households” were baptized.  Acts 16 has Lydia and her household as well as the Philippian jailer’s household being baptized.  1 Corinthians 1 has the “household of Stephanas” being baptized.  The assumption here is that infants and/or children would have been baptized as well as those who had believed.
• There is a symmetry seen between Old Covenant circumcision and New Covenant baptism as the sign of the covenant.  In the OT the children of believers were included as members of the covenant community and in the NT this is the same.  Baptism signifies such membership and thus should be applied to children. As such the person is subject to the blessings and curses of covenant membership (see Deuteronomy 28).
• Church tradition – it was an early and long standing practice in church history to baptize infants. 

Baptism after the New Birth (Credo Baptism or Believers Baptism)

• Makes note that in the Bible there are no recorded instances of infants being baptized. Every record of baptism in the New Testament are of people who have heard the gospel and then placed faith in Jesus Christ. 
• Household baptisms are an argument from silence and hence prove nothing as to who was actually baptized. Furthermore, in some cases, as in Acts 16, the word of the Lord was spoken to all in the house and all in the house rejoiced and had a party.
• There is a break in continuity between Old and New Covenants.  Though baptism is the sign of the new covenant, it is applied not simply to males as was circumcision in the Old; it is applied to all who believe. As such the time of application is also different.  It follows regeneration/new birth exemplified by repentance and faith.
• Meaning of baptizo - the meaning of the word baptism in the New Testament means to dip or immerse.  Sprinkling of babies would not be in view. 
• Though this gets a bit towards the “mode” debate, it is clear that baptism is reflecting a “burial/death with Christ” and a raising “to live a new life” (See Romans 6:3,4 and Colossians 2:12). 
• People also walked down into water to be baptized.  Jesus himself in the gospels and the ethiopian in the book of Acts (See Acts 8).  These rights seem to describe adult actions and is reflective of believers.
• Practice of the church.  One of the earliest documents we have of early church practice, The Didache, gives details on the practice of baptism and it reflects believers baptism. For instance you cannot “order an infant to fast two days before his baptism.”

So what do we make of the two views? First, I agree that we should not loose the meaning of baptism as “sign of the covenant.”  When baptism was taught by some early Christians to “remove original sin” (this was Augustine’s view) the desire and motive for baptizing infants became enormous.  If a person was not baptized he was not saved.  This doctrine is not taught in Scripture but became a big deal in the church. If baptism is the means by which God removes original sin, then you must baptize as soon as possible.  Hence all matter of reasons, theologies etc were made to explain this application of baptism.  Some Roman Catholic theologians crafted a  doctrine of “limbo” to keep babies out of hell if they were not baptized. 

Later during the Reformation, those studying the Bible clearly brought into question the “saving power” of baptism.  The reformers were clear that it is the gospel that saves as God saves sinners through Jesus’ work on the cross. Their baptism signifies and seals this truth but does not save them in and of itself. However, many reformed churches created a sort of half-way view which is reflected in covenant infant baptism.  My thought is that once you sever baptism/salvation and maintain the proper meaning and symbolism as a outward sign of conversion (see JI Packer quote at the top) then it must be applied when it signifies an actual state of affairs. The person has been saved and at this point they ought be baptized.  Reformed thinkers acknowledge that the earlier Catholic view that baptism saves is flawed. Here is the 19th century reformed theologian Charles Hodge’s take. I will give the entire context of his 8th point arguing for infant baptism and then ask some questions.

On this point all Christians are agreed. All churches —the Greek, the Latin, the Lutheran, and the Reformed —unite in the belief that infants need “the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” and the renewing of the Holy Ghost in order to their salvation. The Reformed, at least, do not believe that those blessings are tied to the ordinance of baptism, so that the reception of baptism is necessary to a participation of the spiritual benefits which it symbolizes; but all agree that infants are saved by Christ, that they are the purchase of his blood, and that they need expiation and regeneration. They are united, also, in believing that all who seek the benefits of the work of Christ, are bound to be baptized in acknowledgment of its necessity and of their faith, and that those who need, but cannot seek, are, by the ordinance of God, entitled to receive the appointed sign and seal of redemption, whenever and wherever they are presented by those who have the right to represent them.

Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Originally Published 1872. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 3:557. 

I have made bold the above portion of the quote to emphasize the right turn that is made by Hodge. He is right to say that the Reformed have separated salvation from the ordinance, he is incorrect then in shifting back towards the view that those can receive who have not been regenerated in the gospel and exercised faith.  If he would end his sentence above with the word “faith” I would find complete agreement. Yet because of a theological system, he tacks on the clause I have highlighted.  We should be baptized upon our acknowledgment of its necessity (it is commanded by Christ) and of our faith.

If this be so, we ought to apply the sign at the time someone enters the New Covenant, and believe it or not, many are agreed that this happens at the new birth.  Now what are some in the Reformed tradition afraid of being lost in the process.  I believe it is child’s place in the covenant community. This indeed would be a terrible loss that I stand with them against.  Yet I believe we can maintain the “sanctification” or “set apart nature” of children of believers because Scripture actually teaches this in 1 Corinthians 7.  We do not need to baptize them to signify this. As a community we can hold up and pray for the babies (boys and girls) and then baptize if they become spiritual babies when they repent, believe and place their faith in Christ.  I love the interpretive framework of covenantal theology; I just don’t see that we must submit to something absent from Scripture in order to see the holistic covenant of grace unfolding in the Bible.

The current edition of the doctrinal statement of Jacob’s Well has this position that drives my hardcore Baptist friends nuts.  It is written to affirm what we see as the biblical teaching on baptism and show charity to other confessional Christians in regards to church membership. It is very close to the positions John Bunyan and John Piper.  

At Jacob’s Well we only perform and teach baptism by immersion for believers who profess personal faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that water baptism is symbolic of the fact that we have repented from our sins, we have been cleansed of our sins and God has forgiven us, we are buried in Christ in death and have risen with Him in newness of life (Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:36–38; Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12; Acts 10:47). Additionally, baptism is the sign and seal which marks a person’s entry into the new covenant community of the church. This is our only practice of baptism, though we will receive people into membership who have been baptized by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion as long as it was performed by a biblical local church, the person now evidences conversion and where the baptism was performed in the name of the triune God.

Book Review - Vintage Jesus

 
Sometimes books come along that make you think, make you laugh, make you want to read excerpts out loud to the person in the next room.  I just finished a quick read of Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears new book Vintage Jesus and was not disappointed. I typically enjoy books that are both intellectually stimulating and engaging; I also like to find books I can give to just about anybody.  Yet such works are rare.  I think I found another one to add to that short list.

Summary

Vintage Jesus, is...well, about Jesus.  No surprise here.  The book is a treatment of the person and work of Jesus Christ written very much for a contemporary world which is ever interested in the man reared in Nazareth long ago.  The author of the work is primarily Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle WA. He is joined in this marvel team up by Dr. Gerry Breshears professor of theology at Western Seminary in Oregon. The book is the first in a partnership between the Resurgence Theological Cooperative and Crossway Books.  The two organizations hope to produce a new line of books entitled "RE:LIT" which will espouse biblical faithful and theologically driven content written for today's world in a relevant way.  Yes, very nice.

The book was taken from a sermons series that Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church of the same name.  The structure is pretty simple - 12 chapters each with a different focus about the Scriptures teaching about the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Dr. Breshears is a theological partner in the work and does a great job closing each chapter with theological questions and answers regarding some issue taken up by the chapter.  It is both rigorous in treating the subject matter but at the same time remaining highly accessible. 

Strengths

The greatest strengths of the book is its diversity and usefulness to life and ministry.  I will cover the books diversity first and then make a comment on its potential use in ministry. I will then comment on a couple of specific content items which I particularly enjoyed.

It is diverse in that it meets several goals rarely attained in the same volume.  First, it is funny and enjoyable to read.  Now I "get" Driscolls humor and tend to vibe with it so the enjoyability will have something to do with getting Mark's humor and style.  Though it is certain that some may find the language choices curt or pedestrian, I just found it funny.  Second, the book is a serious work in biblical Christology.  The range covered in the short chapters is very wide, though not comprehensive.  It shows a great mastery of Christological controversies in church history as well as a good grasp on the history of Christian thought. In the first few chapters you will see quotes from Pamela Anderson on one page and then discussions of various trinitarian heresies (dynamic and modalistic monarchialism anyone?).  The book will serve as a great introduction to Jesus and sound theology about him.  Third, it is diverse in that it communicates as a work of positive Apologetics.  The real Jesus is the best defense against the posers and the biblical Jesus (or Jesus according to Jesus) is shown off in the book.  Finally, the book is well researched and documented with copious footnotes in every chapter.  Now a large amount of the references are due to the choice to put biblical references in the notes, but their are serious sources cited and consulted in Vintage Jesus.

The glaring strength of this book is that you can likely give it to anyone under 35.  My partners in crime at Inversion have echoed that so many of the books aimed at young adults today are lightweight, many times emergent crap.  Many books we love do not easily connect to the flow of younger folks.  We love John Piper books and thankful for his ministry to the twenty something crowd, but sometimes Desiring God can intimidate the neophyte a bit...and we are big time on reading in our ministry.  In this book we have a work that can be studied in groups, handed to a non Christian friend and one that will actually make some folks laugh along the way.

Last, the book had content which I love as it speaks of the wonderul Savior God and King Jesus Christ.  The opening chapters are very clear about the tension with Jesus being fully God, fully Man in one person.  I love the Chalcedonian theology and it is on display in relevant terms in Vintage Jesus.  I also love the unique perspective of Jesus as the Prophet, Priest and King foreshadowed in the Old Testament.  A theological observation that John Calvin gave the church is very helpful in understanding Jesus' ministry and how Christ is the focus of both Old and New Testaments.  Sexy stuff.  The list of OT prophecy and NT fulfillment will be helpful for the budding evangelists and apologists out there - the coming of Jesus just was not a coincidence of time and place, but rather the very providence of God. The great chapter on the atonement and death of Jesus is timely as every generation reacts to "God died for you" and you can't save yourself.  We much prefer programs of self salvation.  Chapters on the resurrection and on Jesus uniqueness compared to other "saviors" (his quote of Stephen Colbert is revealing of the views in our age) again have great value for conversations with those who have questions.  Finally the book calls people to worship Jesus - which is the whole point of the gospel.  God making rebels worshippers of the triune God through the work of Jesus.

Weaknesses

I did not find too many terrible weaknesses to the work, but two small ones stood out.  The first one I felt reading the book came up right from the beginning.  As I said above I really get Mark's humor and particularly enjoy it.  Yet a few times I felt it was too frequent and a bit too much.  Personally, I am fine with the content of the jokes but they could have been spaced out a bit more at times.  When something feels overused it can distract a bit from the flow of the work.  My counsel to Mark would not be to tone it down, though others certainly would give that counsel.  My thought would be save some for later so that the humor doesn't loose its saltiness.  The use of a bit more subtlety and timing would have been helpful. 

The second weakness did not affect me but may be felt by the casual reader. There are many references to people and ideas which are not explained and may fly over some peoples heads.  Ironically this could take place both on the pop cultural level and the historical/academic level (I love the list of Christological heresies - even listing Eutychianism).  There are some that may just not know who some of the people quoted and referenced are.  I don't think this takes anything away from the book, it is not distracting, but some may wonder who some of these people/ideas are.

Two final comments are needed. One thing is certain about Vintage Jesus - uptight funnymentalists will not like the tone of the book...this has already been observed in the comments on Tim Challies' review.  Many will struggle reading some of the terms used by Driscoll; terms like shagging and knocking boots are so far from many Christians' vernacular. Yet there are people today that would look at the terms “knocking boots” and “shagging” (which is a British term for sex popularized in America by the Austin Powers movies that non Christian people are very familiar with) as so uncontroversial. If you spend significant time with real non Christians you will find that there are other terms used for this activity that are much, much more offensive (and I would say actually profane). But writing like this should provoke discussions about language and why we do or do not use certain words and phrases.  I think the discussion itself is needed as some go too far and some need to loosen up a bit. Finally, Bible discarding emergents and theologically liberal Christians will not like the exalted Christ and biblical focus, but I will only say this is a book about "Vintage" Jesus not "Reinventing" or "Reimagining" Jesus. Selah.

Conclusion 

Dr. Breshears and Mark Driscoll have produced a fun book that also has real meat and substance.  It is no wonder it has drawn endorsements from some of the best evangelical theologians (Grudem, Ware, Packer), an ultimate fighter, a music producer and a Disney executive. It is that diverse. More than anything I left the read loving Jesus more and for this I am personally thankful.  I highly recommend Vintage Jesus to read and give away to friends and neighbors of every belief and persuasion. Highly recommended.

Spiked - Another Story on "Religion and Violence"

There is a very interesting article by Roger Sandall regarding the secular intellectual discussions of "religion and violence" and the utter lengths that will be traveled not to say anything honest about the history of the religion of peace. 

If you have never studied the history of the Crusades this article is a must read for you.  Then pick up The New Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas Madden.

This article is worth the time to read. Here is an excerpt:

In the sort of books produced by Hitchens and Dawkins the Crusades are the usual point of departure for one-sided historical accounts coupling Christianity and “violence”. Indeed, Dawkins takes this so much for granted that he can’t even be bothered discussing the matter (“In this book, I have deliberately refrained from detailing the horrors of the Crusades”). Hitchens however regards the opportunity as too good to pass up, and on page 35 drags the Iraq War into the argument. The gist being that there’s nothing to choose between Christians and jihadis, and that the modern atrocities of the latter could be seen as a delayed but appropriate response to “the bloodstained spectre of the Crusaders”.

This attitude is widespread. Moreover, as Paul Stenhouse points out in a valuable recent study, “The Crusades in Context”, Hitchens’ “bloodstained spectre” is absurdly seen as the result of unprovoked Christian aggression. It is claimed that “five centuries of peaceful co-existence” between Muslims and Christians were brought to an end by deranged sword-waving Soldiers of the Cross, terrorising, killing, burning and sacking decent, respectable, peace-loving Muslim communities.

More than this, the Crusaders are being presented in schools as the original terrorists. As a Year 8 textbook in the Australian state of Victoria has it: “Those who destroyed the World Trade Centre are regarded as terrorists … Might it be fair to say that the Crusaders who attacked the Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem were also terrorists?”

Why the Crusades took place

No it wouldn’t be fair. Nor would it be true. In the story Paul Stenhouse tells, the 463 years between the death of Muhammed in 632 AD, and the First Crusade in 1095, were extremely dangerous for Christian Europe. Instead of peace there were unrelenting Islamic wars and incursions; Muslim invasions of Spain, Italy, Sicily and Sardinia; raids, seizures, looting of treasure, military occupations that lasted until Saracen forces were forcibly dislodged, sackings of Christian cities including Rome, and desecrations of Christian shrines. And be it noted: all this went on for 463 years before any Christian Crusade in response to these murderous provocations took place.

Sixteen years after the death of Muhammed, in 648 AD, Cyprus was overrun. Rhodes fell in 653, and by 698 AD the whole of North Africa was lost. In 711 Muslims from Tangier crossed into Spain, set their sights on France, and by 720 AD Narbonne had fallen. Bordeaux was stormed and its churches burnt in 732. As Gibbon emphasised, only the resistance at Poitiers of Charles Martel in 732 saved Europe from occupation, and arrested the Muslim tide.

(HT - Ben Schellack)

POC Tech Bundle - 02.19.2008

Technology

• iPod Shuffles are now only 49 bucks - a good deal for an MP3 player of that quality
• Palm's Centro is not out on AT&T - in my opinion, AT&T has the suckiest data network out of the big three...but just in case you don't want to spend the loot for an iPhone and want to use AT&T. It is white with a greenish key pad.
• Most of you probably know this but HD DVD is going to the deep technological grave which once consumed Sony's Betamax video cassette recorder.  This time Sony wins - Blu Ray Disc is going to be the defacto standard for High Def optical media.  Word is Sony just paid everyone better to win the day.  Once Warner went with it for movies the dominoes all fell.  Netflix, BestBuy and then the killer - Walmart.  If you can't do Walmart in consumer tech, movies, etc. You just can't win.  All the Walmart haters now tear thy cloths.

Our House - Now for Sale

Kasey and I are putting our house for sale as we work towards moving to New Jersey to plant Jacob's Well - if you know anyone who might be interested in moving to Franklin, please put them in contact with us. Blessings

 

Here is a link to the listing.