This last week in Sunday School I was wrapping up some teaching on understanding conversion biblically. Part of that conversation went in the direction of discussing various aspects of election and predestination. Over at “The Blazing Center” Stephen Altrogge has posted a very short, but very good post called “So which is it? Did I choose God or did He choose me?” Since this is relevant to what we have been talking about I thought I would mention it here.
Archive | January, 2011
What’s Up with Bonhoeffer?
One of the new books from this last year I have been really been excited to get into is Eric Metaxas’ book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
I have resolved not to read Metaxas’ book until I have gotten all the way through The Cost of Discipleship
When I went through college I was taught that Bonhoeffer was a liberal and was most likely not saved. These statements were made mainly unqualified, but I do recall at the time the rationale made sense (I don’t recall what that actually was though). The interesting thing that Metexas does is paint Bonhoeffer in a very evangelical, orthodox light. Metaxas is saying that Bonhoeffer has been misunderstood and that he really was a champion of the gospel and was very evangelical.
Yesterday Tim Challies, a blog I follow, posted something he called, “Counterfeit Bonhoeffer.” Carl Trueman, professor of historical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, also jumped into the conversation with his short article “Bonhoeffer and Anonymous Evangelicals.” Both of these articles work to shed some light upon the disagreement there is over Bonhoeffer.
This discussion goes to show the point that to be a student of the Word and to be a recipient of knowledge imparted through the works of fallible man, you must be a discerning reading. Discernment is of the utmost importance. Don’t be fooled into believing everything you read or see or hear.
So what do I think about Bonhoeffer? I don’t know. I am going to read these works discerningly and work to come to some conclusions as I go. Unfortunately this could be a few more months for me.
Quiet Around Here This Week
It is probably going to be pretty quiet this week around the blog because I am in class all week. It makes for a crazy week because I don’t want to take vacation time so I am going to class 8-5, then somehow working in there as well. So if something by chance does get up on the blog it will be because I’m not paying attention in class.
A Bold New Look for Preachers
Mark and Stephen Altrogge are Sovereign Grace’s funny men (they aren’t the only, but they are at the top). They are not only funny guys, but they pastor a church together (they are father and son). When they are not doing the comic routine or shepherding their church, they are writing music for Sovereign Grace.
I saw this post on their blog today and had to share it. It is all about the new look for preachers and it all centers around everyone’s favorite mustache, Paul Tripp. My favorite in this post is by far the Mark Driscoll look.
Tripp once did an “Ask Paul Tripp” segment with Desiring God and they asked him about the mustache. You can check out that out below. It is well worth your time to listen to the entire thing.
So go check it out! You won’t regret it. And while you are at it, you can follow Stephen on Twitter by clicking here and Mark by clicking here.
Book Review: “Radical” by David Platt
Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 2010.
Earlier this year (May) I heard of a new book that had been published and was going to be the new “must read” of 2010. Typically when I hear epitaphs attached to a book like that I turn the other direction and ignore it. So I ignored David Platt’s book, Radical
My first impressions of this book is that it has the feel of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love
Back to Platt…David Platt is very readable. I read this book casually on a weekend and it was very easy reading. The theme of this book is something along the lines of “You need to live a radical life in pursuit of Jesus and away from the American Dream.” In essence, he is asking “What is Jesus worth to you?”
Much of what Platt writes about is based on personal experiences from pastoring a large church and traveling through Asia, Indonesia, India, and Africa. He has been challenged to evaluate his life and to live a “radical” life, so to speak, in light of these experiences as he works to interpret them through the lens of the Word. I commend him for this as many would be tempted to interpret the Word through the lens of their experience.
There are a myriad of quotes and short statements that I highlighted and made notes on. Some of the statements that impacted me the most, even void of their context are;
We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with.
We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him.
We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging for us to accept him.
Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? More specifically, is materialism a blind spot in your Christianity today?
And then this statement I found to be one of the most convicting of the entire book;
Most Christians rarely share the gospel, and most Christians’ schedules are not heavily weighted to feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and strengthening the church in the neediest places in our country.
So all in all I think this is a worthy read, however, it does not come without some issues. It seems at times Platt misses the meaning of some passages of Scripture, like when he is talking about John 15 and says that the meaning of this text is to teach that we cannot “accomplish anything of value apart from him.” While this text does teach that apart from Christ we can do nothing, it is not the primary purpose of the the entire passage as Platt tends to imply. Unfortunately I feel he ripped this text from it’s context (Location 667 on Kindle).
At another point in the book Platt is talking about the Spirit as our comforter and seems to imply that the Spirit does not permanently indwell a believer (Location 831 on Kindle). Unfortunately he does not elaborate much on this so perhaps it simply was not developed well enough to get his full meaning.
All in all I feel that reading through it was redeeming and challenging.I would encourage others in the church to read it as well and see how the Spirit will use it their lives.
Al Mohler vs. BioLogos
A week ago I introduced some of you to an organization that calls itself BioLogos. If you are unfamiliar with this group then please see the post that is referenced above. As the end of the year drew to a close their president, Darrel Falk, wrote an article called “The Dawning of a New Day.”
Arrogance permeates through the letter that Darrel Falks has written. There is no piety and little grace in what and how he writes. It is one thing to have strong beliefs and stand up for those beliefs but it is entirely another as to how you stand up for those beliefs. Falk’s article is not long, I would encourage you to read it and get a first hand account of what I am talking about. The thing that stand out to me most noticeably is how Falk puts words in to Al Mohler’s mouth. Falk wrote:
Albert Mohler, among the most important evangelicals in the world, noticed us—then, like a giant annoyed by a buzzing little fly, attempted to squish us, not with a swat, but with a few delicately placed strokes on his keyboard.
Mr. Falk has interpreted what Mohler has written terribly wrong and Mohler addresses that in his blog today, “No Buzzing Little Fly—Why the Creation-Evolution Debate is So Important” by saying;
I do not believe that BioLogos is “a buzzing little fly.” To the contrary, I believe that it represents a very significant challenge to the integrity of Christian theology and the church’s understanding of everything from the authority and truthfulness of the Bible to the meaning of the Gospel. A buzzing little fly is only a nuisance. The theory of evolution is no mere nuisance — it represents one of the greatest challenges to Christian faith and faithfulness in our times.
There are so many things I want to draw your attention to in Mohler’s article, however, it just makes more sense if you go and read through it for yourself. Mohler is not only intellectual, he is gracious and he is a gentleman. Darrel Falks has must to learn from the communication of Al Mohler.
Seminary Scholarship (Bible College too)
Going to Seminary is expensive. On top of that, finding a scholarship can be really difficult. That’s why I was so excited to find this Seminary Scholarship website today. Not only are they giving away a $1,000.00 scholarship and a digital theological library, all I had to do to apply was watch a short video and answer a few questions! It took less than 15 minutes. What is best of all is that if you’re in seminary and apply for the Seminary Scholarship, and put my name as the person who referred you, if you win the scholarship, so do I! We could both get a $1,000.00 scholarship and digital theological library. So, do us both a favor and go apply for the Seminary Scholarship today.
If you are in Bible college then use this link instead.
About Me
I am a follower of Christ, a husband to Michelle, and an employee to Northland International University. I married the love of my life in May of 2009 one week after I graduated from seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. I am now pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree and desire to serve the church through education and discipleship.
Book Review Teams
