Bibliography on Natural Law

I've done some posts recently on natural law. For those who might be interested in exploring this topic further, I'm posting this bibliography, adapted from J. Budziszewski, Natural Law for Lawyers. Posted by permission of author. I've added Amazon.com links where possible.

A Very Brief Bibliography on Natural Law

J. Budziszewski
Professor of Government and Philosophy
University of Texas at Austin

The Locus Classicus:

• Aquinas, Thomas, Treatise on Law (same as Summa Theologica, I-II, Questions 90-97) and other works. Beware: The Treatise on Law was never meant to be read by itself, but only in the context of the rest of the Summa.

The Best Book on Natural Law in the Twentieth Century:

• C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man.

The Man Who Ejected Natural Law from Twentieth-Century American Legal
Education:

• Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Natural Law." Harvard Law Review, Vol. 62 (1918).

The Post-World War II Neo-Thomist Revival:

• Maritain, Jacques, The Rights of Man and the Natural Law and other works.
• Simon, Yves R., The Tradition of Natural Law: A Philosopher's Reflections and other works.

Is Natural Law Based on a Naturalist Fallacy? Pro and Con:

• Moore, G.E., Principia Ethica.
• Geach, Peter, "Good and Evil," Analysis 17 (1956), pp. 33-42.
• Lisska, Anthony, "Beyond the Naturalistic Fallacy: The Rediscovery of Aquinas," in Aquinas's Theory of Natural Law: An Analytic Reconstruction.

Three Contemporary Anthologies::

• Cromartie, Michael, ed. A Preserving Grace: Protestants, Catholics, and Natural Law.
• Forte, David F., ed., Natural Law and Contemporary Public Policy.
• McLean, Edward B., ed., Common Truths: New Perspectives on Natural Law.

The "New Natural Law Theory" of Grisez and Finnis, Pro and Con:

• Germain G. Grisez, John Finnis, and Joseph Boyle, "Practical Principles, Moral Truth and Ultimate Ends." American Journal of Jurisprudence 32 (1987), pp. 99-151. (See also Finnis, Natural Law and Natural Right; Grisez, Christian Moral Principles, 3 vols.)
• Hittinger, Russell, A Critique of the New Natural Law Theory.

Three Older Evaluations of Natural Law:

• Corwin, Edward S., The "Higher Law" Background of American Constitutional Law (sometimes confused -- beware).
• Alexander Passerin d'Entreves, Natural Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy.
• Rommen, Heinrich A., trans. Thomas R. Hanley, intro. Russell Hittinger, The Natural Law: A Study in Legal and Social History and Philosophy.

The Present Outpouring of Work on Natural Law (very selective):

• Arkes, Hadley, Natural Rights and the Right to Choose, Beyond the Constitution, and other works.
• Budziszewski, J., What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (adaptation of one chapter available at http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0206/articles/budziszewski.html), The Revenge of Conscience (title essay available at http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ ft9806/articles/budziszewski.html), and Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law.
• George, Robert P., The Clash of Orthodoxies, In Defense of Natural Law, and other works.
• Hittinger, Russell, The First Grace. See also above.
• Maritain, Jacques, The Rights of Man and the Natural Law and other works.
• MacIntyre, Alasdair, "How Can We Learn What Veritatis Splendor Has to Teach?" The Thomist 58 (1994), pp. 171-195 and "Theories of Natural Law in the Culture of Advanced Modernity," in Edward B. McLean, ed., Common Truths: New Perspectives on Natural Law.
• McInerny, Ralph, Ethica Thomista and other works.
• Novak, David. Natural Law and Judaism and Covenantal Rights. Concerning the Noachide Laws, which amount to a Jewish natural law tradition, see also The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism.
• Rice, Charles, Fifty Questions on the Natural Law: What It Is and Why We Need It.
• Veatch, Henry, Human Rights: Fact or Fancy?
  

Another Bibliography on Natural Law:
From the Acton Institute, <http://www.acton.org/research/reading/natural_law.html>

The Purpose of Moral Education

"Moral education serves at least five purposes.

It reinforces what we know, because the mere fact that we know something is wrong is not enough to keep us from doing it.

It elicits what we know, because we know many things without knowing that we know them.

It guards what we know, because although deep conscience cannot err, surface conscience can err in all too many ways.

It builds upon what we know, because only the most general and basic matters of right and wrong are known to us immediately, and second knowledge must be added to first.

Finally, it confronts us about what we know, because sometimes we need to be told 'You know better.'"


J. Budziszewski, What We Can't Not Know: A Guide, pp. 114-115 [my emphasis and formatting]

John Kerry

If I were a political operative for the Democrats I'd make it a top priority to keep John Kerry away from a microphone. Because this is what happens.



Here is a response by Bush Basher in Chief, Andrew Sullivan: "What Kerry said he must apologize for. Sooner rather than later. He may not have meant it the way it came out. That doesn't matter. It's wrong to talk about the military that way - wrong morally, empirically and ethically. And the way he said it can be construed as a patronizing snub to the men and women whose lives are on the line. It's also dumb politically not to kill this off in one news cycle. Is Kerry not content to lose just one election? Does his enormous ego have to insist on losing two?"

Update: Kerry finally apologizes, which he should have done in the first place and which should now put the issue to rest:

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don't want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

Update: The troops weigh in.

Reformation Day Symposium

Tim Challies posts his Reformation Day Symposium.

Is There a Culture War?

Is There a Culture War? A Dialogue on Values And American Public Life (Paperback), by James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe.

Book Description
Red and Blue states . . . the "Religious Right" and the "Liberal Media" . . . NASCAR dads and soccer moms . . . Is America clearly and bitterly divided? Are today's social and political differences truly worrisome, or the unavoidable products of a diverse democracy? In Is There a Culture War? two leading authorities on political culture lead a provocative examination of division and unity within America.

Long before most pundits and analysts considered the notion of a "culture war," James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe were laying the groundwork for the debate. Now, for the first time, these two important thinkers join in dialogue to search for the truth about America's cultural condition. Two other brilliant voices enter the forum, commenting on Hunter's and Wolfe's views--historian Gertrude Himmelfarb and Morris Fiorina, author of Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America.

About the Author
James Davison Hunter is the William R. Kenan Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, where he is also executive director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Among his several books is The Death of Character: On Moral Education of America's Children (Basic Books, 2000).

Alan Wolfe is a professor of political science at Boston College, where he directs the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. He is the author of numberous books, most recently Return to Greatness: How America Lost Its Sense of Purpose and What It Needs to Do to Recover It (Princeton, 2005).

Voice @ Bethlehem

Here's a YouTube video of Curtis Allen rapping "Unstoppable" at Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Owen

Kelly Kapic and I will be the guests today (Tues., Oct. 31) on the daily talk radio show, Calling for Truth, hosted by Paul Dean and Kevin Boling at 1 PM (eastern). We'll be talking about John Owen and the new work, Overcoming Sin and Temptation.

If you want to listen online or listen later to the archived version, click listen online. Those in update South Carolina can tune in to Christiantalk 660. The call-in number is 1-888-660-WLFJ(9535).

Speaking of Owen and our work on him, Desiring God has now posted John Piper's foreword to our volume as an article on their site.

Also, today's the last day to request a review copy (email: blogbookreviews@gmail.com). Some have asked what the deadline is for posting the review. There isn't a hard-and-fast deadline, but I'll plan to highlight in a blog post whatever has been received by Dec. 1. Thanks!

Quentin Schultze at TEDS

Those in Chicagoland may be interested in this blog entry from Keith Plummer:

Those in the vicinity of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School may be interested in this. Dr.Quentin Schultze, Professor of CommunicationArts and Sciences at Calvin College and author of Habits of the High-Tech Heart (which I've referred to here and here) and High-Tech Worship?, will be speaking this Wednesday, November 1, on Trinity's campus. The lecture is part of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding "Scripture and Ministry Lecture Series." Dr. Schultze's topic will be "Beyond the Digital Rat Race: Using Technology Wisely in Our Lives, Work, and Churches." Here's the description provided by the Center:

All of us are burdened with desires and demands to expand our technical abilities and to push for greater use of information and communication technologies in our daily lives. Yet the temptations to overuse and misuse technologies are evident all around us. How can we equip ourselves, our families, and our congregations to use email, PowerPoint, cell phones, instant messaging, personal Web sites, and other technologies appropriately?

The seminar is free, open to the public, and requires no registration. See the above link for more details. If you're anywhere in the area and can fit this into your schedule, I urge you to attend.

Audio archives and/or notes from past Henry Center seminars and conferences are available here.

C.J. Mahaney: As You've Never Seen Him Before

I can say with confidence that these words have never before been written about C.J. Mahaney:

"He appeared . . . in sartorial splendor."

You can read the rest of Al Mohler's reflections on C.J.'s time at Southern.

What Is the Emerging Church?

That's the title of a paper Scot McKnight delivered at Westminster Theological Seminary. I encourage you to read it, not because I agree with everything Scot says, but because I think it's helpful to read firsthand self-analysis from within the camp itself.

Race Problems

Michael O'Brien, an undergrad at the University of Michigan and the executive editor of the Michigan Review, has turned in a brave and perceptive editorial in National Review on the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), which will be voted on in the coming election. If passed, MCRI would ban affirmative action in college admissions and state hiring.

My school, like many other colleges and universities, has a serious problem with race. But the problem is hardly racism and systematic exclusion of minorities from access to higher education. If nothing else, schools have been overzealous to the point of unconstitutionality in their efforts to boost minority enrollment at all costs.

This has resulted in a crude disequilibrium in which all minority and obscure causes on campus are embraced to prove the school’s diversity bona fides, while anything associated with a campus majority is met with inertia on the part of the university.

The University of Michigan has let its institutional obsession with race and affirmative action distort and detract from its central purpose of providing its students with a truly meaningful education. Professors and administrators prod students at all times — from bulletin board postings to course themes — to see things in black-and-white, as it were. Most students could easily attest to the increased feeling of suspicion and borderline hostility on the basis of race that is encouraged by the University of Michigan’s policies. Race is the salient issue in classes from Sociology to Biology, and the insinuation (if not outright claim) by some that those who wish to cease this poisonous environment are outright racists is ever-present.

The University of Michigan desperately needs the opportunity to have the dense fog of politicized “diversity” lifted. A true dialogue about race may then finally take place, without the entire weight of a major university bearing down against those who wish to challenge its official assumptions. An atmosphere that labels opposing viewpoints as racist does not foster a truly “diverse” student body.

The Closest Thing to Spending an Hour with the President

Political commentator Michael Barone (US News & World Reports):

This afternoon I had the privilege of being one of eight columnists interviewing George W. Bush in the Oval Office. The others were Tony Blankley of the Washington Times, Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post, Lawrence Kudlow of CNBC, Kathleen Parker of the Orlando Sentinel, Mark Steyn of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Byron York of National Review–all conservatives of various stripes. Like many others who have been with Bush in the Oval Office, I have found him to be much more articulate and forceful in that setting than he often is in press conferences or in taking questions from traveling reporters. The interview was on the record, so we are posting MP3 audio recordings of the whole hour. I think you'll find it compelling listening. It's the closest thing many people will get to spending an hour or so in the Oval Office with the 43rd president. We've also posted the full text transcript.

Partial-Birth Abortion

USA Today has a frontpage story this morning about partial-birth abortion.

Jack Chick and Halloween

Just reading between the lines here, but I don't think Joe Carter likes the idea of giving out Jack Chick tracts for Halloween. Excerpt:

I think it's safe to say that if the Lord hates Halloween then he must despise Chick tracts. When a well-intentioned but overzealous Christian gives these "comics" to a child it must be, as Chick would say, a "slap in the face." If you are the type of person who does this on Halloween I only have one word to say to you: repent.

Obama Should Run, Lose, and Win by Losing

Charles Krauthammer on Barack Obama.

" Now that every columnist in the country has given him advice, here’s mine: He should run in ’08. He will lose in ’08."

"The reasons for running are clear."

(1) "At a time of ideological weariness, he has the persona: an affecting personal history, fine intelligence, remarkable articulateness, and refreshing charm." (2) "This is a uniquely open race." (3) "The country hungers for a black president."

"These are strong reasons for Obama to run. Nonetheless, he will not win. The reason is 9/11. The country will simply not elect a novice in wartime."

"Obama should be thinking ahead as well — using ’08 to cure his problem of inexperience. Run for the Democratic nomination and lose. He only has to do reasonably well in the primaries to become such a compelling national figure as to be invited onto the ticket as vice presidential nominee. If John Edwards, the runner-up in ’04 did well enough to be made running mate, a moderately successful Obama would be the natural choice for ’08.

Then, if the Democrats win, he will have all the foreign-policy credentials he needs for life. Even if the ticket loses, assuming he acquits himself reasonably well, he immediately becomes the presumptive front-runner in the next presidential cycle. And if by some miracle he hits the lottery and wins in ’08, well, then it is win-win-win.

He’s a young man with a future. But the future recedes. He needs to run now. And lose. And win by losing."

"Sugercoated Youth Ministry"

Time Magazine on the changing face of youth ministry:

Youth ministers have been on a long and frustrating quest of their own over the past two decades or so. Believing that a message wrapped in pop-culture packaging was the way to attract teens to their flocks, pastors watered down the religious content and boosted the entertainment. But in recent years churches have begun offering their young people a style of religious instruction grounded in Bible study and teachings about the doctrines of their denomination. Their conversion has been sparked by the recognition that sugarcoated Christianity, popular in the 1980s and early '90s, has caused growing numbers of kids to turn away not just from attending youth-fellowship activities but also from practicing their faith at all.

Covenant Life Church is cited as an example.

Update: Al Mohler comments:

Now, that is an astounding approach -- maybe these kids are hungry for biblical substance and something more than entertainment and pizza. Well, they probably still want the pizza, but they don't want to waste their time in useless and superficial youth programs. After all, they are swimming upstream against an adolescent culture. In many cases, they are more seriously-minded than their parents. They have to be, because the stakes are higher.

I am constantly asked a fascinating question by parents: Why are my children more conservative than I? The answer is complex, but when it comes to today's youth and young adults, the fact is that they have had to think clearly about the genuine options available. They have had to make hard decisions about life, meaning, morality, truth, and significance.

The fact that TIME found this story interesting is a story in itself. Now, if only we could encourage these parents to be as serious as their teenagers -- and their pastors as serious as their youth ministers.

Reformed Praise

Reformed Praise is a site well worth bookmarking. Here's the description:

Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to bringing together the rich tradition of hymnody, especially from the reformers or those directly influenced by them, with the modern worship song movement. Sound like a bad idea? Please see our articles page for links to articles about reformed theology, worship, styles of music, and many other topics by various respected theologians and pastors pertaining to this issue.

We truly believe that an incredible wealth of worship music is being "lost" amidst a sea of often over-simplified contemporary praise choruses. Our worship songs should be full of biblical, rich, and powerful truth, truth that is all too often absent from modern worship songs. Hymns have long been a rich source of deep lyrics, but many traditional tunes used to sing these hymns hinder rather than help believers feel what they are singing. The modern worship styles (and there are many) offer a new arena to make these hymn texts come alive to new generations. When these classic and biblical texts are wed to contemporary tunes, the result is a truly powerful worship experience that enables God's truth to settle deep in our hearts and minds.

They currently have 84 original songs, 1 hymn text, and 5 hymn arrangements.

That Duke Rape Case

Does anyone else out there find it appalling and astonishing that the aggressive DA in the case has still not talked to the alleged victim about what happened that night??

The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a woman at a team party said during a court hearing Friday that he still hasn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case.

"I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids," Mike Nifong said. "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

Nifong made the statement in response to a defense request for any statements the woman has made about the case.

"I understand the answer may not be the answer they want but it's the true answer. That's all I can give them," the prosecutor said after the hourlong hearing.

Defense lawyers said outside court that they found Nifong's statement surprising.

"One of the most interesting things to me of course is Mr. Nifong did admit that he in fact has basically never talked to this woman and has absolutely no idea what her story is, and yet he has chosen to continue to go forward with this case," defense lawyer Joseph Cheshire said.

Nifong said none of his assistants have discussed the case with the woman either and only have spoken with her to monitor her well-being. They have left the investigation of the case to police, he said.

For more on the case, see the extensive reporting done by 60 Minutes. Those who care about justice should have some pretty grave concerns about this case.

Wise Words for Moms

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Wise Words for Moms

Many parents today focus only on the outward behavior of their children. They have developed the philosophy that if they can get their children to "act" right that they are raising them the right way. There is far more to parenting than getting children to "act" right. We have to get them to "think" right and to be motivated out of a love of virtue rather than a fear of punishment. We do this by training them in righteousness. And righteous training can only come from the Word of God. Wise Words for Moms is a user friendly, quick reference chart that will aid moms in reproving their children biblically and training them in righteousness.

"Wise Words for Moms is an answer to one of the most frequently asked questions, 'How can I find the passages of Scripture that will enable me to address heart issues?' Ginger Plowman has identified themes of response we find in our children and located passages of Scripture that will help address heart issues in richly biblical ways. This book will encourage your study of Scripture and application of God's Truth to your correction, discipline, and motivation of your kids." - Tedd Tripp, Pastor and author of Shepherding a Child's Heart

Wise Words for Moms will help mothers to bend young twigs into strong and faithful trees!" - R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Wise Words for Moms is available for $3.99

To order, go here and scroll down to it.

"The Christian Community is Largely a Performance-based Culture"

Jerry Bridges on Gospel-Driven Sanctification:

Still worse, I assumed that God's acceptance of me and his blessing in my life depended on how well I did. I knew I was saved by grace through faith in Christ apart from any works. I had assurance of my salvation and expected to go to heaven when I died. But in my daily life, I thought God's blessing depended on the practice of certain spiritual disciplines, such as having a daily quiet time and not knowingly committing any sin. I did not think this out but just unconsciously assumed it, given the Christian culture in which I lived. Yet it determined my attitude toward the Christian life.

My story is not unusual. Evangelicals commonly think today that the gospel is only for unbelievers. Once we're inside the kingdom's door, we need the gospel only in order to share it with those who are still outside. Now, as believers, we need to hear the message of discipleship. We need to learn how to live the Christian life and be challenged to go do it. That's what I believed and practiced in my life and ministry for some time. It is what most Christians seem to believe. As I see it, the Christian community is largely a performance-based culture today. And the more deeply committed we are to following Jesus, the more deeply ingrained the performance mindset is. We think we earn God's blessing or forfeit it by how well we live the Christian life.

HT: Matt Perman

Sanctified Scrubbing

Fred Sanders, associate professor of theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, has discovered a way to redeem the time while washing dishes.

CJ @ SBTS

C. J. Mahaney spoke in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this past week.

"Grace and the Adventure of Leadership" (1 Cor. 1:1-9)
Play MP3 | Download

"Leadership in the Local Church"
Play MP3 | Download

"Cravings and Conflicts" (James 4:1-2)
Play MP3 | Download

CCEL Reloaded

"The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a digital library of hundreds of classic Christian books selected for edification and education. The online www.ccel.org server reaches several million different users each year."

I see that they've now redesigned their site to make it more attractive, functional, and easier to use. Check it out, and thank God for their incredible efforts to serve the church in this way.

The Natural Law and the Reformation

What is "natural law"? Stephen Grabill explains:

The “nature” referred to in natural law can mean different things, but I mean by it the divinely engrafted knowledge of morality in human reason and conscience, that which all human beings share by virtue of their creation in God’s image. Theologically speaking, I think this understanding of nature points back to our original creation in God’s image, but it also anticipates the fall into sin, where the divine image was corrupted but not destroyed.

“Law,” too, can vary in meaning, but we have used it here as shorthand for the universal moral law written into the human heart by God. Law as a representation of God’s will can be known through a variety of means such as the Ten Commandments, the Torah, the Sermon on the Mount, the pangs of conscience, or the rational intuition of good and evil. When “nature” and “law” are understood in these ways, the claim that natural law is a forgotten legacy of the Reformation is certainly an understatement.

Natural law holds great promise as a bridge to connect the Christian faith to culture, although from the fuller perspective of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, natural law has limited but significant value. . . . When natural law is understood properly, only so much should be expected from it as a source of revelation. God does not save the world through natural law, nor does he reconcile the world through the pursuit of justice; but he does provide a public record of his eternal power and divinity through the law written on the heart.

To explore this important subject further, see Gabrill's blog (Uncommon Truths), especially his series on why Protestants don't like natural law.

It seems to me that a neglected aspect of the natural law debates concern the relationship between Reformational theology and the natural law tradition. Some Reformation historians, like John T. McNeill (the editor of Calvin’s Institutes) sees a strong line of continuity:

There is no real discontinuity between the teaching of the Reformers and that of their predecessors with respect to natural law. Not one of the leaders of the Reformation assails the principle. Instead, with the possible exception of Zwingli, they all on occasion express a quite ungrudging respect for the moral law naturally implanted in the human heart and seek to inculcate this attitude in their readers. Natural law is not one of the issues on which they bring the Scholastics under criticism. With safeguards of their primary doctrines but without conscious resistance on their part, natural law enters into the framework of their thought and is an assumption of their political and social teaching. . . . The assumption of some contemporary theologians that natural law has no place in the company of Reformation theology cannot be allowed to govern historical inquiry or to lead us to ignore, minimize, or evacuate of reality, the positive utterances on natural law scattered through the works of the Reformers. . . . For the Reformers, as for the Fathers, canonists, and Scholastics, natural law stood affirmed on the pages of Scripture. "Natural Law in the Teaching of the Reformers," Journal of Religion 26 (1946), p. 168.

For more on this connection, see Gabrill's book, Rediscovering the Natural Law in Reformed Theological Ethics, as well as Westminster Seminary's David Vandrunen's A Biblical Case for Natural Law (75 pp.) I have not yet read either book, though I plan to do so soon!

Blog Winsomely

Melinda Penner offers some good counsel on how to blog winsomely.

Wikipedia

The Chronicle of Higher Education examines the pros and cons of Wikipedia.com, the open-source online encyclopedia.

Powlison on the Dove Beauty Campaign Video

I received the following reflections on this video by David Powlison, which I'm posting with his permission:

Along the way, it's a great example of the close co-operation and simultaneous interworking between common grace and noetic sin, isn't it. On the one hand, very insightful, well-intended, blowing the cover on cultural idols/ideals, with an instinct that shows traces of a recognition of God's creation . . . and yet, on the other hand, it is fundamentally misguided in its self-referential self-affirming "salvation," in its frank suppression of that Creator, in its denial of the active and fallen human heart that willingly embraces lies. If only the counseling field could see that this is exactly what the secular psychologies are like!: simultaneously so insightful and so off-base. I think that the resolution of the "counseling wars" will come as God's people come to see and get a working feel for how noetic sin and common grace simultaneously operate. It's an intellectual skill -- a wisdom -- that's much to be desired for the blessing of the church in knowing how to engage contemporary culture. Thinking with this mindset is the reason, for example, that Calvin can be both so affirming and so withering when he comments on the Greek philosophers.

It does seem to me, that "fundies" only see the contradiction between secularity and faith. They lose the point of contact, in that both believer and unbeliever share the same "ontological situation," having "all things in common ontologically," as Van Til put it. So all the "stuff" of psychology is in common, and faithfulness to God in our times calls for careful practical theological reflection in formulating the Faith's psychology in a more fine-grained way. They don't see how much of life still needs a biblical interpretation, and that there’s not a proof text for every phenomenon.

But integrationists, while seeing something of the contradiction, chiefly see the insightfulness of secular observers. The lose the ability to make a pointed call for unbelievers to an intellectual as well as personal metanoia [i.e., repentance]. They lose sight of the comprehensive "ethical situation," that unbeliever and believer inhabit radically different worlds presuppositionally. They never see the comprehensiveness of the biblical worldview, so, while they screen out some secularities (common examples: homosexual advocacy, easy divorce), they swallow as "truth" things that simply aren’t true (common examples: Maslovian need theory, personal history determinism, biological determinism). Thus, they are equally unable to formulate the Faith's psychology, because they have no standpoint for comprehensive reinterpretation.

Neither thinks about worldview very consistently. Would it be fair to say, as a generalization, that fundies are epistemologically clumsy, while integrationists are epistemologically naive? And the net effect, in both cases, is powerlessness both intellectually and pastorally. Souls aren't deeply understood; and souls aren't deeply cured.

Guest Review of "With One Voice"

I recently received a review copy of Alex Chediak's book, With One Voice: Singleness, Marriage, and Dating to the Glory of God, published by Christian Focus.

I decided to ask my friend and colleague, Lydia Brownback, if she would be willing to pen a guest review for me. Lydia is the author of Legacy of Faith: From Women of the Bible to Women of Today, and Fine China Is for Single Women Too.

I thought it would be helpful to hear the response of a single woman on these issues, rather than to hear my thoughts as a married guy. I'm thankful for Lydia's insightful thoughts below.

Here is her review:

Is there a “right” way to approach Christian courtship and marriage? Recent debate in evangelical circles—much of it heated—reveals that a once simple path has become an intricate and confusing maze. What happened? Clearly we have latched onto some wrong ideas—worldly ideas—and in our attempt to widen the narrow way, we've gotten way off track. Our toleration of feminism and the accompanying loss of cultural masculinity have further obscured our approach. But since the culture has always been opposed to biblical principles, we cannot perpetually point a collective accusatory finger at the latest repackaging of rebellion.

So while it is only wise to recognize the influence culture has had on our compromised practice of Christianity, we do well to acknowledge that we, contemporary evangelicals, are the real core of the problem. When we allow feeling to replace thinking, when we orient ourselves to self-fulfillment, self-actualization, and every other self-centered ideology, when we blend secular psychology with biblical principles—what else can we expect but an erosion of biblical authority in all areas of life? Singleness, marriage, and spanning the gap between has certainly been altered by our culture, but only because we evangelicals have allowed it to do so.

As a result of all this, books advocating a variety of views on singleness, dating, and marriage have hit the Christian market with fresh fervor. With so many to choose from, how do we know the good from the bad? We may consider the experience of the author. Has he or she practiced what’s being preached for any duration? How about training? Has the author sat under the wisdom of experienced mentors? Such categories are helpful for evaluation, but the only criteria that really matters is this: is it biblical? A book with a strong scriptural foundation is not one in which the author has latched on to a passage or two to reinforce his or her views; rather, it is one in which the material presented is based on the Bible as a whole, i.e., one in which Scripture has been used to interpret Scripture.

With One Voice: Singleness, Dating, and Marriage to the Glory of God by Alex Chediak (Christian Focus Publications) is just such a book. Adding a balanced voice to the current debate, Chediak speaks pastorally—and biblically—to young men and women entering the contemporary landscape of courtship.

Chediak sets the stage for his advice with an insightful survey of recent social history and how it has impacted evangelical courtship practices. He explains that in previous decades men and women got to know one another in the company of family and friends. A man set his sights on marriage and wooed a fit companion. His goal was marriage, not amusement. Today men and women go out on dates centering around entertainment, which can easily obscure or displace long-term relational goals. The inevitable consequence of this practice is a skewed view of marriage as little more than a means for emotional fulfillment.

The result of our now insatiable quest for entertainment has led to a prolonged adolescence. Chediak writes:

The concept of a stage of adolescence for teenagers was developed in the early to mid 1900s; today we're seeing adolescence increasingly prolonged into the mid to late twenties or beyond. Sometimes this is referred to as the 'singles' culture. . . . The assumption is accepted that such a young adult phase of irresponsibility is normal. Never mind the fact that this demographic statistically did not exist prior to 1950.

Chediak astutely addresses another reason for the frenzied evangelical debate regarding courtship and marriage: "Numerous conservative Christian countercultures have arisen seeking to take us back in time to 'the good old days.'" Although the motivation is good, the means is wrong, because we cannot go back. "Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask this" (Eccl. 7:10).

After detailing where and how evangelicals have gotten off track, Chediak seeks to challenge men and women of all ages caught in the drift. He asks young men, "Are you passive in your pursuit of a marriage partner?" He challenges single women, "Are you afraid to lose the security of singleness?" and with the precision of a laser beam he exposes this truth: "The longer we are single, the more settled we become. We know how to live single, and the thought of embarking on an intimate, committed relationship can really rock the boat, even if it is one of our deepest desires."

A chapter in the book titled, "The Normality of Marriage?" goes a long way toward centering current arguments on the topic of singleness. He describes how to discern the difference between godly, biblical contentment in a state of singleness and godly discontent that ought to be viewed as a call to marriage. This chapter is particularly helpful.

However, this chapter is also where I found the one point in the book that I believe doesn’t incorporate the whole of biblical teaching. In advising women on how to be marriageable, Chediak writes, "They can learn to be content with their wages and resist the lure of the corporate ladder." Such advice fails to take into account the wisdom of the Proverbs 31 woman, for example, who was shrewd in financial management. Single women must consider the possibility that they may never marry, and in so doing prepare financially for solitary elderly years with no children to care for them. Additionally, too many women today do not maximize their gifts and talents, fearing that doing so will scare off potential husbands. However, this is to make of marriage a higher priority than serving God with the best of what we can offer. I know very few single, Christian women—committed believers—who are climbing a corporate ladder for the sole purpose of ego gratification. Many of them are simply "redeeming the time" in the best way they know how.

One chapter in Chediak's book, "Choosing Wisely," presents a list of questions for men and women to ask when considering a potential mate. There is nothing new here; what we find are tried and true bits of biblical practicality: "If he isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life, if he takes an inordinately long time advancing your relationship, if all his free time is spent in front of the television, consider whether he is ready to lead you and your family." And "does she have a nurturing disposition or is she self-absorbed?

Chediak gives advice for developing a romantic relationship within the safeguards of biblical parameters. Even good things require wisdom when a relationship is in its infancy: "Please note that certain kinds of praying together, in private, can still breed excessive intimacy. A brief prayer of thanks before a meal or a prayer for the health of a cousin might be fine. But it is still too soon to be confessing sin together. . . . " Each person is trying to pursue God at this time, and prayer together tends to communicate that you are making decisions together—as a couple. But you aren’t; that's what engaged and married folk do."

Chediak ends the book with a chapter of hard-hitting FAQs, addressing topics such as pornography, homosexuality, and dating unbelievers. The end, like the beginning and almost everything in between, will be helpful to both men and women—young and old—seeking to reorient their approach to singleness, courtship, and marriage around the glory of God.

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Derek Thomas in Siouxland

As a native of Sioux City, IA, I'm delighted to learn that Derek Thomas of Reformed Theological Seminary will be in Siouxland Oct 27 and 28 lecturing on Calvin. The event is free and open to the public. Information below for all those in the area:

Siouxland Reformation Conference - "The Reformation: Was it a Mistake?" is the topic of the 2006 Siouxland Reformation Conference, to be held at Dordt College, October 27 and 28. This conference is free and open to all who are interested in Biblical reformation in the church.

Dr. Derek W.H. Thomas will be the featured speaker at the conference. Thomas is a theology professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS., a popular speaker, author/editor of 15 books, and the editorial director for The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

"Calvin: A Portrait" will be Thomas' topic on Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m., in S101. Following a brief break, he will speak at 8:10 p.m. on "Calvin and the Scriptures: Some Important Contributions."

On Saturday morning, lecture topics will be "Calvin and the Holy Spirit," at 9 a.m., "What would Luther and Calvin say about the New Perspective on Paul? The Continuing Debate on Justification." at 10:10 a.m.; and his final topic at 11:10 a.m. will be "Calvin and Prayer: The Real Heartbeat of the Reformation."

For more information about the conference or the Siouxland Reformation Society, email reformation@mtcnet.net or contact KDCR Radio.

Resources for NT Exegesis

Gordon-Conwell's Roy Ciampa has assembled a very nice collection of online resources for those studying the New Testament.

Curtis "Voice" Allen at BBC

Curtis Allen, whom I interviewed here on this blog, will be at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis this weekend. Marc Heinrich has the details if you're in the area and want to check it out.

Agassiz and the Fish

Samuel Scudder (1837-1911) was a famous entymologist, who once recounted his first experience of studying under the legendary Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), professor of natural history at Harvard from 1848-1873.

It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects.

"When do you wish to begin?" he asked.

"Now," I replied.

This seemed to please him, and with an energetic "Very well," he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol.

"Take this fish," he said, "and look at it; we call it a Haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen."

With that he left me, but in a moment returned with explicit instructions as to the care of the object entrusted to me.

"No man is fit to be a naturalist," said he, "who does not know how to take care of specimens."

I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground glass stoppers, and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge, neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half-eaten by insects and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the example of the professor who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish was infectious; and though this alcohol had "a very ancient and fish-like smell," I really dared not show any aversion within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed, when they discovered that no amount of eau de cologne would drown the perfume which haunted me like a shadow.

In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the professor, who had, however, left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate it from a fainting-fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of a normal, sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but return to a steadfast gaze at my mute companion. Half an hour passed, an hour, another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face -- ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view -- just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour, I concluded that lunch was necessary; so with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free.

On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish; it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my fingers down its throat to see how sharp its teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me -- I would draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the professor returned.

"That is right," said he, "a pencil is one of the best eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet and your bottle corked."

With these encouraging words he added --

"Well, what is it like?"

He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed gill-arches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, fleshly lips, and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fin, and forked tail; the compressed and arched body. When I had finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment:

"You have not looked very carefully; why," he continued, more earnestly, "you haven't seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself. Look again; look again!" And he left me to my misery.

I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish? But now I set myself to the task with a will, and discovered one new thing after another, until I saw how just the professor's criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly, and when, towards its close, the professor inquired,

"Do you see it yet?"

"No," I replied. "I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before."

"That is next best," said he earnestly, "but I won't hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish."

This was disconcerting; not only must I think of my fish all night, studying, without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be, but also, without reviewing my new discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities.

The cordial greeting from the professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw.

"Do you perhaps mean," I asked, "that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs?"

His thoroughly pleased, "Of course, of course!" repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed most happily and enthusiastically -- as he always did -- upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next.

"Oh, look at your fish!" he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour he returned and heard my new catalogue.

"That is good, that is good!" he repeated, "but that is not all; go on." And so for three long days, he placed that fish before my eyes, forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. "Look, look, look," was his repeated injunction.

This was the best entomological lesson I ever had -- a lesson whose influence was extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot part.

A year afterwards, some of us were amusing ourselves with chalking outlandish beasts upon the blackboard. We drew prancing star-fishes; frogs in mortal combat; hydro-headed worms; stately craw-fishes, standing on their tails, bearing aloft umbrellas; and grotesque fishes, with gaping mouths and staring eyes. The professor came in shortly after, and was as much amused as any at our experiments. He looked at the fishes.

"Haemulons, every one of them," he said; "Mr. ____________ drew them."

True; and to this day, if I attempt a fish, I can draw nothing but Haemulons.

The fourth day a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first, and I was bidden to point out the resemblances and differences between the two; another and another followed, until the entire family lay before me, and a whole legion of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves; the odor had become a pleasant perfume; and even now, the sight of an old six-inch worm-eaten cork brings fragrant memories!

The whole group of Haemulons was thus brought into review; and whether engaged upon the dissection of the internal organs, preparation and examination of the bony framework, or the description of the various parts, Agassiz's training in the method of observing facts in their orderly arrangement, was ever accompanied by the urgent exhortation not to be content with them.

"Facts are stupid things," he would say, "until brought into connection with some general law."

At the end of eight months, it was almost with reluctance that I left these friends and turned to insects; but what I gained by this outside experience has been of greater value than years of later investigation in my favorite groups.

Source: American Poems (3^rd ed.; Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1879): pp. 450-54. Emphasis is mine.

David Howard, Professor of Old Testament and Dean of the Center for Biblical and Theological Foundations at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, writes about this story:

Its lessons certainly apply to studying the Bible. Too often students of the Bible rely on second-hand, derivative knowledge, acquired from pastors, teachers, parents, books about the Bible, or other secondary sources. While all of these have their place, there is no substitute, in the end, for one's own first-hand study and experience of the Scriptures, and for the joy of discovery.

Bring the Books!

From a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon in 1863 on 2 Tim. 4:13 ("The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchment"):

How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!

The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, "Give thyself unto reading." The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people.

You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible.

We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master's service. Paul cries, "Bring the books"—join in the cry.

Hugh Hewitt on Andrew Sullivan

Hewitt, reflecting on his interview yesterday with Sullivan: "That Andrew Sullivan is read at all is a symptom of a fundamentally unserious country in a deadly serious age. A nice and well read fellow, yes; but serious? No."

Eating on the Run

Leon Kass, The Hungry Soul: Eating and the Perfecting of Our Nature (Free Press, 1994):

“We see clearly what is culturally and spiritually at stake in certain current habits of eating. We face serious dangers from our increasingly utilitarian, functional, or ‘economic’ attitudes toward food. True, fast food, TV dinners, and eating on the run save time, meet our need for ‘fuel,’ and provide close to instant gratification. But for these very reasons, they diminish opportunities for conversation, communion, and aesthetic discernment; they thus shortchange the other hungers of the soul. Disposable utensils and paper plates save labor at the price of refinement, and also symbolically deny memory and permanence their rightful places at the table. Meals eaten before the television set turn eating into feeding. Wolfing down food dishonors both the human effort to prepare it and the lives of those plants and animals sacrificed on our behalf. Not surprisingly, incivility, insensitivity, and ingratitude learned at the family table can infect all other aspects of one’s life.”

(HT: Ken Myers)

Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis

Crossway has just released Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis, ed. Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning.

"This book teaches the principles, methods, and fundamentals of exegeting the New Testament. It also has examples of textual exegesis that clearly and helpfully show the value of exegeting a text well. Any serious student of Scripture would benefit from utilizing this book in the study of the Bible.

• Contents
• Excerpt: Introduction and Chapter 1 - 719K PDF
• Back Cover

“Interpreting the New Testament Text is a contemporary application of Paul’s charge to Timothy to study to present himself to God, approved as one who correctly handles the word of truth. Highly recommended!”
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D. Studies, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“This ‘how-to’ guide provides significant step-by-step help for first-year seminarians. It should prove very helpful.”
Klyne Snodgrass, Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies, North Park Theological Seminary

“Not only an excellent textbook but also a useful refresher for pastors and teachers engaged in the weekly study of the text for ministry.”
Clinton E. Arnold, Professor and Chairman, Department of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

“Covers the exegetical landscape admirably.”
B. Paul Wolfe, Associate Professor of New Testament, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“A comprehensive, thorough, and excellent guide to exegetical method that I am happy to recommend with enthusiasm!”
Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

“Fanning and Bock have compiled an all-star cast of lucid writers on exegetical method with like-minded writers illustrating good interpretations of texts and themes. It’s really two books for the price of one, with each made better by the other!”
Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

“This excellent collection of essays provides a solid foundation for all whose goal is to hear and obey God’s Word.”
Mark Strauss, Professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary–San Diego

“A tool that takes you into the best New Testament classrooms for the simple price of one volume.”
David Wyrtzen, Adjunct Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary; Pastor, Midlothian Bible Church

Firefox 2.0

Has arrived.

(HT: Challies)

How Hillary Clinton Could Get Elected President

Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for National Review, has emerged as one of this country's most articulate and winsome pro-life thinkers. In his book Party of Death he opens with a dream of Hillary Clinton giving a speech on this issue. At the end of it, he says that he awoke and realized that if Hillary Clinton ever gave this speech, she would be elected president of the United States. In a subsequent interview, he even said he'd consider voting for her if she gave such a speech. I don't think either will happen (she won't give it, and she won't be president), but it might be helpful nonetheless to reprint the excerpt below:

I do not often dream about Hillary Clinton. I did once, though, and I will try to clear away the haze and reconstruct it here.

She is at the podium, well into a campaign speech. The audience is more than sympathetic. NOW? The Democratic National Convention?

"Like so many of you in this room, I have been an advocate for women and children for years. And while we have more work to do, we should be proud of what we have accomplished. (Applause.)

Because of our efforts, domestic violence is no longer hushed up, no longer seen as just a part of marriage. We treat it for what it is: a crime. We have raised awareness of rape, and made sure that the victims are no longer put on trial.

You know, I'm old enough to remember when they called business a "man's world." Now almost everyone knows that a woman's place is in the boardroom. I know, we still have far to go. The pay gap has shrunk, but it hasn't disappeared. The lack of child care still keeps our society from realizing its full potential. And there are still some glass ceilings out there. I think we're going to break some of them soon! (Cheers, applause.)

And we've fought for something else, too. No woman should ever find herself in jail because an unplanned pregnancy has left her desperate. We don't make criminals out of pregnant women in America. The Supreme Court guarantees that. If idealogues in the other party tries [sic] to change that, we will fight them every step of the way. ("HILL-A-RY! HILL-A-RY!")

But that doesn't mean we're for abortion. Don't let anyone pretend that's what we stand for! Abortion is a tragic choice. We want to liberate women. Abortion is a sign that our society is pitting them against their women. (Scattered applause, murmurs.)

We should all be able to agree that 1.3 million abortions a year is way too many, and we should work together to bring that number down. The most important thing we can do is to give women more options. We need to balance the federal budget. But let's do it by ending giveaways to big corporations that don't need the money--not by cutting programs that help women take care of their families.

I'll admit that like many Americans, my thinking on this issue has changed over the years, and what I'm about to say may trouble some of my oldest friends and allies. I think maybe we've been so busy fighting the people who want to throw women in jail that we've somehow lost sight of the fact that abortion is a terrible act of violence against the young. If the law can discourage it--without, I repeat, making criminals out of women--then we ought to consider it. We ought to make laws that involve parents in their children's decisions, for example.

I'm not saying that I have all the answers. I don't. But I think states out to be able to try different approaches to protect women and children. And I think the Supreme Court ought to let them. Because America deserves better than abortion, and America deserves better than this fight we've been having for over a generation. And I'm willing to work with anyone, in either party, who wants to move past this fight."

The people in the audience had turned quiet by now, some in confusion, some in anger. People were looking at one another to see how to react.

Then I awoke. And I realized that if Hillary Clinton ever made that speech, she would be elected president of the United States.

Caricatures to the Glory of God

I have long been a fan of caricature drawings--the combination of exaggeration that also conveys reality.

One of the best working today is named Thomas Fluharty--who is also a member of a Sovereign Grace church in Minneapolis. You can check out his blog here.

Suburbia vs. Social Justice

Doug Hayes, head of Covenant Mercies (a “non-profit organization established for the purpose of serving the poor, the orphan, the widow, and others facing severe adversity") writes on suburbia and social justice:

Living in suburbia can lead to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality toward the poor. We’re pretty comfortable and typically pretty busy, so it’s easy to forget that our experience is not shared by many – even most – people in the world. We need to develop what Gary Haugen calls compassion permanence: the capacity to remember the needs of those who are suffering due to injustice, multi-generational poverty, disease, calamity, etc., even when they are out of our immediate sight.

Those of us who live in suburbia can sometimes feel a pang of guilt for the comfortable lives we lead in comparison to the world’s poor. While I wouldn’t want to douse any legitimate conviction of the Holy Spirit, I don’t believe the Lord wants us be motivated by guilt. Could God be calling some of us to forsake the suburban lifestyle and “incarnate” with the poor, taking up residence with those who are marginalized in our world? Absolutely. Is he calling all of us to do that? Probably not. The great majority of believers who live in suburbia are called to remain right where they are, but to develop a compassion permanence that leads us to remember the poor even though they are not immediately before our eyes day after day.

To see his suggestions for cultivating "compassion permanence" read the whole thing.

Reformation 21

The latest edition of Reformation 21 is now online.

Featured are:

Jerram Barrs on Francis Schaeffer: The Man and His Message
Marc Ryan providing A Brief Introduction to Francis Schaeffer's Writings

There's also a review of Gilbert Meilaender's The Way That Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), which looks very helpful.

Carl Trueman critiques religious nostalgia. Carl writes: "There is, however, a more insidious anti-historical dimension to some parts of modern Christendom: nostalgia, that uncritical adulation of the past, nay, that invention of an idealized past, which legitimates all manner of criticism of the present, and yet which really provides no answers but rather simply an excuse for inactivity."

Phil Ryken looks at the Mark Foley scandal.

And more.

How to Prevent a Church Split

Thabiti Anyabwile has begun an important series on one of his callings as a pastor: to do all he can to avoid having a church split. I'll link to the whole series once its complete. I encourage you to read his wise, biblical words--especially if you are a pastor.

A New Path to Theological Liberalism?

Al Mohler reviews Wayne Grudem's latest book.

Update: It looks like Grudem was also a guest on Mohler's radio program yesterday, discussing the book.

The Enemy Within

Kris Lundgaard has performed a wonderful service to the church with his modernizations of John Owen's thinking and writing (see The Enemy Within and Through the Looking Glass).

At the recent Omaha Bible Church Conference, Mr. Lundgaard gave four talks on Owen's view of mortifying sin--which are available online for free stream or download. These would be a great preparation before reading Overcoming Sin and Temptation.

(HT: Jeff Downs)

Paul Edwards Program

Just a heads up here: Mark Talbot (Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton) and I will be the guests this afternoon on the The Paul Edwards Program (AM 1500 WLQV Detroit). We'll be talking about Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.

The show is live, from 5-6pm (eastern), 4-5pm (central). You can stream the program live.

Bleak House

For those who follow politics--and I gather some of you do!--Pete du Pont offers a preview of what is likely to happen in the likely event that the Democrats take control of the House.

It's hard to disagree with his conclusion:

It is possible President Bush and Karl Rove can stem the anti-Republican political tide. But more likely on Nov. 7 American voters will send the Congress a strong disapproval message by voting out the current Republican majority. In politics as in other jobs, there is a price to pay for poor performance.

Have You Yourself Read It Yet?

J. I. Packer offers many of us a gentle rebuke:

For two centuries Pilgrim's Progress was the best-read book, after the Bible, in all Chrisendom, but sadly it is not so today. When I ask my classes of young and youngish evangelicals, as I often do, who has read Pilgrim's Progress, not a quarter of the hands go up. Yet our rapport with fantasy writing, plus our lack of grip on the searching, humbling, edifying truths about spiritual life that the Puritans understood so well, surely mean that the time is ripe for us to dust off Pilgrim's Progress and start reading it again. Certainly, it would be great gain for modern Christians if Bunyan's masterpiece came back into its own in our day. Have you yourself, I wonder, read it yet?
J. I. Packer, "Pilgrim's Progress," in The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics, ed. Kapic and Gleason (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press: 2004), p. 198.

If you're looking for a handsome edition of the work, you can do no better than the edition produced by the Banner of Truth:

"This de luxe edition of Bunyan's great work comes as near as possible to the 'ideal'- with the original marginal notes and references from Scripture, both parts of the Progress, and a series of magnificent and evocative etchings by William Strang."

It's 396 pages, cloth-bound, and retails for $36. (ISBN=851512593)

Dangerous Journey

Although we've owned it for a couple of years now, we just started reading A Dangerous Journey with our daughter.

Here's the publisher (Eerdmans) description:

The world-famous, much-loved classic Pilgrim’s Progress is here retold for children. This abridged version uses the original words of John Bunyan as selected by Oliver Hunkin to present a gripping narrative. Filled with intricately detailed illustrations, this handsome, large-format book makes an ideal gift.

It really is a wonderful volume--full of truth and wisdom, and a true joy to read aloud.

Constitutional Interpretation

Here are some notes from J. Budziszewski's appendix on "Constitutional Interpretation" in his book, True Tolerance: Liberalism and the Necessity of Judgment:

"Originalism, as represented for instance by former Judge Robert Bork, has at least four deep flaws":

1. The reasons advanced by the leading originalists for reliance on the original intentions of the framers and ratifiers are incoherent. (Bork is an ethical neutralist, therefore he does not want judges to enact their moral views; however, his goal is to liberate legislative majorities--which is itself a violation of neutrality.)
   
2. Originalism presents the intentions of the framers and ratifiers as much less ambiguous than they really are. (Originalists rarely go to the trouble of penetrating the obscurities occassioned by the fact that different groups involved in the Constitution approved the same provisions for different reasons.
   
3. Originalists often construe original intentions as overriding the actual text to which the framers and ratifiers gave their endorsement. (Originalists tend to ignore or at least cramp the Constitution's open-ended provisions.)
   
4. Originalism gives no guidance for cases where the relevant intentions of the framers and ratifiers cannot be ascertained. (Their functional maxim is often, "When in doubt, defer to the other two branches," which does not follow from the axiom of relying on original intent.)
   

In its place, Budziszewski advocates "Neo-Originalism." This is "a way of relying on the intentions of the framers and ratifiers that avoids these four problems. The procedure I suggest involves three sharply distinguished principles of interpretation, and requires that they be followed in a fixed order."

1. The Text Principle. This is "to impute to the framers and ratifiers a general intention that the words that they actually wrote be taken according to their face value--as face value would have been taken in the English of the time of enactment." In other words, "it does not allow special intentions to override text: so far as possible, text controls." But because some of the constitutional language is ambiguous on its face, we need to turn to:
2. The Context Principle. This means that "choice from among the possible meanings be made according to the more specific intentions of the framers and ratifiers, so far as they were in consensus and so far as this consensus can be known." But of course, sometimes more than one possible meaning remains even after both of these principles are applied. Therefore we need:
3. The Reconstruction Principle. This instructs the judge: "Of all the possible meanings for a disputed passage, choose the one for which the best argument can be constructed from the philosophical premises that would have been broadly accepted at the time that the passage was enacted."

"In constitutional interpretation, reliance on original intent can take us no further than this. The Text, Context, and Reconstruction Principles will not produce a unique interpretation for each disputed passage. Arguments will still be necessary. However, not only do the three principles avoid the four pitfalls of the old, 'unimproved' originalism, they also go substantially beyond it by telling us what kinds of arguments to look for. No theory of constitutional interpretation can do more than this; therefore, it is enough."

Redeeming Science

Vern Poythress has now posted his new book--Redeeming Science--online.

I'm only a few chapters into the book, and I am enjoying it very much.

(HT: Jeff Downs)

Sources of the Self

I mentioned earlier that I'm currently reading Charles Taylor's The Sources of the Self. I found today that C. John Sommerville, Professor of History at the University of Florida, has penned an interesting review of the book. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Did you ever think you would see a time when the most talked-about, most comprehensive and challenging book in academic philosophy would identify itself as Christian? Charles Taylor’s Sources of the Self has been out for fourteen years now and is being cited as “magisterial.” It is nothing less than a review of the whole history of Western philosophy on its central point. That is, how do we understand ourselves or our “identity,” and consequently how should we argue our political and social issues. . . .
Taylor may have thought he was writing for a general audience, but despite his efforts to be clear, it is a long and tough read. His efforts to show how philosophical views of the human found expression in painting and literature would be more interesting if we were all on his level. And he is frank in admitting that he is neglecting the social factors that might help explain the movements of thought. But Christians who were less than satisfied with Francis Schaeffer’s sketchy and flawed works, and do not know whether to trust Peter Kreeft’s somewhat tendentious surveys can feel more confident with Taylor. The book is an education in itself, if one has the patience. And one can be assured of knowing how an expert like Taylor surveys a playing field like philosophy.

"Reading It Can Feel a Little Like Watching a Michael Moore Movie"

Al Mohler provides a roundup of recent scathing reviews of Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.

Halloween Reflections

It's a tradition: (1) Halloween is almost upon us, (2) Tim Challies writes on the issue; and (3) I link to Tim's reflections.

Seeing no good reason to break with the past, I'll once again quote from Tim at length:

I am guessing my neighbourhood is all-too-typical in that people typically arrive home from work and immediately drive their cars into the garage. More often than not they do not emerge again until the next morning when they leave for work once more. We are private, reclusive people who delight in our privacy. We rarely see our neighbors and rarely communicate with them. It would be a terrible breach of Canadian social etiquette for me to knock on a person's door and ask them for a small gift or even just to say "hello" to them. In the six years we have been living in this area, we have never once had a neighbor come to the door to ask for anything (except for this time). Yet on Halloween these barriers all come down. I have the opportunity to greet every person in the neighbourhood. I have the opportunity to introduce myself to the family who moved in just down the row a few weeks ago and to greet some other people I have not seen for weeks or months. At the same time, those people's children will come knocking on my door. We have two possible responses. We can turn the lights out and sit inside, seeking to shelter ourselves from the pagan influence of the little Harry Potters, Batmans and ballerinas, or we can greet them, gush over them, and make them feel welcome. We can prove ourselves to be the family who genuinely cares about our neighbours, or we can be the family who shows that we want to interact with them only on our terms. Most of our neighbors know of our faith and of our supposed concern for them. This is a chance to prove our love for them.

The same contributor to the email list concluded his defense of participating in Halloween with these words: "One night does not a neighbor make (and one night does not a pagan make), but Halloween is the one night of the year where the good neighborliness that flows from being in Christ is communicated and reinforced. We are citizens of another Kingdom where The Light is always on."

The truth is that I have several convictions regarding Halloween. I despise the pagan aspects of it. I am convicted that my children should not dress as little devils or ghosts or monsters. But I am also convicted that there could be no worse witness to the neighbours than having a dark house, especially in a neighbourhood like ours which is small and where every person and every home is highly-visible. We know that, if we choose not to participate, the neighbors will notice and will smile knowingly, supposing that we feel too good to participate. We have nothing to fear from our neighbours or from their children. So my children will dress up (my son as a police officer and my daughter as a princess) and we will visit each of our neighbours, knocking on their doors and accepting their fistfuls of candy. Either my wife or I will remain at home, greeting people at our door with a smile and a handful of something tasty. If the kids are deemed too old to trick-or-treat, they'll be forced to sing a song to merit any handouts. Our door will be open and the light will be on. And we trust that the Light will shine brightly.

My encouragement to you today is to think and pray about this issue. I do not see Halloween as a great evangelistic occasion. I do not foresee it as a time when the people coming to your door are likely to be saved. But I do think it is a time that you can prove to your neighbors that you care about them, that you care about their children, and that you are glad to be in this world and this culture, even if you are not of this world or this culture. Halloween may serve as a bridge to the hearts of those who live around you who so desperately need a Savior.

"Mr. Compassionate Conservatism"

Naomi Schaeffer Riley profiles Michael Gerson, an evangelical/compassionate conservative who formerly served as speechwriter to President Bush.

Nation of Islam

It looks like the Nation of Islam will soon have new leadership. The Washington Post reports:

Nearly 30 years after Louis Farrakhan seized control of the Nation of Islam, the organization is preparing for a change at the top. The controversial minister is battling what he has described as a "life-threatening" illness -- painful swelling of the prostate that has left him more than 30 pounds underweight, dehydrated, anemic and unwilling to eat.

Farrakhan, 73, recently relinquished his duties and turned control over to an executive panel of trusted lieutenants, exhorting them to move the Nation of Islam forward and prove that it is more than the charisma and influence of one man.

Brooks on Sullivan

David Brooks, reviewing Andrew Sullivan's The Conversative Soul in the NYT:

“The Conservative Soul” is imbued with Sullivan’s characteristic passion and clarity. And yet I must confess, if I hadn’t been reviewing this book, I wouldn’t have finished it. I have a rule, which has never failed me, that when a writer uses quotations from Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and the Left Behind series to capture the religious and political currents in modern America, then I know I can put that piece of writing down because the author either doesn’t know what he is talking about or is arguing in bad faith.

Savage

David Klinghoffer turns in an interesting profile on right-wing hate-monger Michael Savage, whose name (which he invented) fits him well.

It's quite depressing to reflect on the fact that he is the third-most-listened-to radio talk show host in the country, that he has 8.25 million listeners, and that his latest book sold 400,000 copies.

America's God

The latest cover story of Time Magazine is devoted to America by the Numbers.

You can see their presentation on how we view God, and how we divide up denominationally.

IE 7.0 + ESV

If you've downloaded the latest version of Internet Explorer and you use the ESV, you may be interested in seeing how you can add an ESV search to your toolbar.

Tongues and the SBC

In the latest edition of the Criswell Theological Review Alan Street interviews Tom Hatley, Former Chair, International Mission Board of Trustees (Southern Baptist Convention) and discusses the new policy that “No person who is actively participating in or promoting glossolalia shall be approved for appointment by the International Mission Board. This includes a private prayer language.”

Also, earlier this week, the trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (by a vote of 36-1) passed the following resolution: "Southwestern will not knowingly endorse in any way, advertise, or commend the conclusions of the contemporary charismatic movement including private prayer language. Neither will Southwestern knowingly employ professors or administrators who promote such practices."

(HT: Denny Burk--who has all the latest for those who might be interested in these issues)

Blog Book Reviews

If you are interested in reviewing Overcoming Sin and Temptation (ed. Kapic and Taylor) and/or Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (ed. Piper and Taylor), here's what you can do:

1. Send us an email at blogbookreviews@gmail.com, letting us know which book you'd like to review. (It's fine if you want both.)
   
2. We'll email you a free PDF of the book(s). We won't send out any more PDFs after October 31, so please send your requests before then.
   
3. If you post a blog review, then please cross-post it at Amazon.com.
4. Then send us the blogreview link + your snail-mail address, and we'll send you a free hardcopy of the book(s).

If you want to read the entire book before you review it, that's great! But another suggestion would be to read and review three chapters from the Suffering book and/or the Introduction + just the Mortification book.

Happy reading and reviewing!

Web Video

Troy Patterson: "Web video is the ideal medium for a world populated by instinctual exhibitionists who double as full-time voyeurs."

JE Is My Homeboy

The official Jonathan Edwards Is My Homeboy (seen on the CT cover) is now available from Yale.

The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online

What a gift to the church and a labor of love this is:

The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online is now available for use in a Public Beta phase. After thousands of hours of use, loads of email feedback from our initial Closed Beta team, and a great deal of internal QA testing, we are ready to make the Works of Jonathan Edwards Online available to the general public.

The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online is a world-class digital learning environment which will make Jonathan Edwards' entire manuscript corpus available for the first time in history. It is an XML-based, fully-searchable, thematically, scripturally, and chronologically tagged interface in which anyone can explore the entirety of Edwards' written thoughts.

Professor Ed Ayers, Dean of the College and the Graduate School at the University of Virginia writes that "this is wonderful in every way, especially with all the alternative ways of searching...you're not only making Edwards available in a profoundly new way, but you're also establishing a new standard for digital archives."

The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online presently contains all of the Miscellanies (Edwards' private theological notebooks) and some two hundred sermons, many of which have never been published. We are presently preparing the contents of numerous additional volumes for the official launch of our "Essentials" package in 2007.

Check it out! Explore the Works of Jonathan Edwards Online today.

Make Math Fun!

USA Today: "The more kids like math and say they do well in it, the less likely they are to do well." Al Mohler has the roundup on the discovery that bolstering self-esteem and showing practical relevance in math education isn't helping.

Full disclosure: I never liked math, I didn't do well in it, and would have told you so as a young lad. In fact, I remember in 4th grade asking our substitute teacher--with a bit of indignation and so the whole class could benefit from my wisdom--"When are we ever going to use this in life?" We were studying multiplication.

Update: Here is an article by Vern Poythress from 30 years ago on A Biblical View of Mathematics.

Hopelessness

Bob Kauflin shares about how he is learning to become more hopeless.

Christmas CD Forthcoming from Sovereign Grace

From the Sovereign Grace e-newsletter:

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

In one sense, the answer is easy: We celebrate the coming of Jesus. But in another sense the answer is beyond our comprehension: The eternal God became a man. The Holy One came to live with sinners. The Savior came to bear our sins and bring us to God.

This astounding truth is the reason for our newest music CD: Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man. This CD contains twelve new songs for worship, each one truth-saturated and singable, most of them suitable for use in corporate praise. The songs ponder not only Christ's coming, but also the reason he came:

God has sent His greatest treasure
Shown His love in greatest measure
Sending Christ to bleed and suffer
Purchasing our joy forever
Let the earth rejoice!

Savior will be released, Lord willing, in early November. But you can pre-order it now at our online store ($14.00). You can also listen to song samples, download lyrics, and see a video interview with songwriters Mark and Stephen Altrogge at the CD webpage: www.SaviorCD.com.

And as we celebrate, we want you to have more than a brief preview. We want to give you the song "Hope Has Come" from Savior as a free MP3 download. Written and sung by Stephen Altrogge (Mark Altrogge's son), "Hope Has Come" rejoices in the One who came to break sin's power and set us free. To download the song, visit our online store (http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=M4185-02-51), place the song in your shopping cart, and proceed to checkout. No download code is necessary. (If the above link does not lead you to the webpage for "Hope Has Come," use the online store's search feature to search for this item number: M4185-02-51.) This free download will be available until the CD is released next month.

Phil Johnson and the Lordship Debate

Phil Johnson has now wrapped up his very interesting series on how he got drawn into the lordship debate:

1. A Word of Personal Testimony

2. A New Song in My Mouth

3. Should sinners be urged to worship, love, and obey Christ as Lord?

4. A Brief Interlude about History and Terminology

5. My Short, Eye-Opening Stint as a Youth Pastor

6. Meeting John MacArthur

7. How Zondervan Acquired The Gospel According to Jesus

8. The Aftermath

Duncan on the Top Ten Books

Ligon Duncan writes in:

"The following list is from the Reformed side of evangelicalism, the books are from the last 50 years or so, there is a heavy emphasis on theology and devotional material. Naturally, it emphasizes what should be the top ten, as opposed to what has been the top ten!"

1. J. I. Packer, Knowing God (IVP). Introduced a new generation to the Reformed doctrine of God, without their knowing it.

2. J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Eerdmans). One of the most important popular presentations and defenses of the historic Christian (“evangelical” or “fundamentalist”) view of Scripture published throughout the long era of “The Battle for the Bible”

3. J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Crossway Books) Introduced a new generations to the Puritans, one of the hallmarks of Packer’s long ministry to evangelicalism.

4. John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans). Put Reformed soteriology and the ordo salutis on the map for three generations (now) of evangelical Christians. Given originally as Sunday School class lectures, most students require dictionaries at hand in order to grasp the precision and variety of Murray’s vocabulary!

5. David F. Wells, No Place for Truth (Eerdmans). The most important assessment of the disappearance of theology in evangelicalism in print. Totally different conclusions than Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.

6. John Piper, Desiring God (Multnomah). Piper’s message has profoundly affected the entire younger Reformed movement.

7. John Stott, Basic Christianity (IVP). A book that has been instrumental in the conversion of thousands, and used by thousands in bearing witness to Christ. Typical of Stott’s whole ministry.

8. Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Crossway). Schaeffer as a thinking popularizer and apologist (rather than as an intellectual or theologian) had a profound and positive impact on evangelicalism.

9. R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Tyndale House). The whole ministry of Ligonier is built around the message of this book (which shook everyone from Bill Hybels to Charles Colson to the core). Other than John Piper, no one has been a greater popular exponent for Reformed Christianity than R.C. Sproul.

10. O Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Covenants (P&R). Single-handedly revived covenant theology, which had been languishing for almost a hundred years.

True vs. Distorted Beauty

The GirlTalkers give us a needed perspective on true beauty vs. distorted beauty.

The Problem With Liberalism

J. Budziszewski's other article is entitled The Problem With Liberalism.

He writes:

"Even though I am not a duck, I will sometimes seem to quack like a duck. I cannot be a liberal and I cannot even be in strategic alliance with liberals, but I may from time to time find myself in tactical alliance with them--just as with conservatives--defending the cause of particular laws, precepts, or policies that they too approve, but for reasons of their own. To keep my head, I had better be clear about what those reasons are and how they differ from mine. So although we cannot ask whether Christians can or should be political liberals, we can and should ask what Christians are to think of liberalism."

By "liberal," Budziszewski is here referring to the "contemporary variety of government-driven social reformism."

Here is his thesis:

My thesis is that, even as worldly philosophies go, political liberalism is deeply flawed. We may best describe it as a bundle of acute moral errors, with political consequences that grow more and more alarming as these errors are taken closer and closer to their logical conclusions. I am not speaking of such errors as celebrating sodomy and abortion--for these are merely symptoms--but of their causes. Nor am I speaking of all their causes--for this would require reading hearts--but of their intellectual causes. I am not even speaking of all their intellectual causes--for these are too numerous-but of the most obvious. No claim is here made that every political liberal commits all the moral errors all the time. Nor do I claim that all the moral errors are logically compatible, so they even could all be committed all the time. Certain moral errors support certain others, but others are at odds, so they must be committed selectively. One must not expect logical coherence in moral confusion.

And here are the nine moral errors he identifies with political liberalism, contrasted with the biblical worldview:

1. Propitiationism: I should do unto others as they want. Christianity: I should do unto others as they need.
2. Expropiationism: I may take from others to help the needy, giving nothing of my own. Christianity: I should give of my own to help the needy, taking from no one.
3. Solipsism: Human beings make themselves, belong to themselves, and have value in and of themselves. Christianity: Human beings are made by God, belong to Him, and have value because they are loved by Him and made in His image.
4. Absolutism: We cannot be blamed when we violate the moral law, either because we cannot help it, because we have no choice, or because it is our choice. Christianity: We must be blamed, because we are morally responsible beings.
5. Perfectionism: Human effort is adequate to cure human evil. Christianity: Our sin, like our guilt, can be erased only by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
6. Universalism: The human race forms a harmony whose divisions are ultimately either unreal or unimportant. Christianity: Human harmony has been shattered by sin and cannot be fully healed by any means short of conversion.
7. Neutralism: The virtue of tolerance requires suspending judgments about good and evil. Christianity: The virtue of tolerance requires making judgments about good and evil.
8. Collectivism: The state is more important to the child than the family. Christianity: The family is more important to the child than the state.
9. The Fallacy of Desperate Gestures: "The perfectionist acts, at least in the beginning, from a desire to relieve someone else's pain. The desperationist acts to relieve his own: the pain of pity, the pain of impotence, the pain of indignation. He is like a man who beats on a foggy television screen with a pipe wrench, not because the wrench will fix the picture but because it is handy and feels good to use."

Conclusion:

Here lies the power of political liberalism: Its moral errors are fortified with opiates. We may think that reality will break through the dream by itself, but reality is not self-interpreting; the causes by which errors are eventually dissipated and replaced by other errors are hidden in God's Providence. All we can do is keep up the critique which is in the gospel, and in the meantime go on being Christians: our eyes lifted up not to the spectacular idol of political salvation, but to the Cross. Let those who will call this doing nothing; we know better.

The Problem With Conservatism

J. Budziszewski (pronounced something like Boo-jee-CHEF-ski) is professor of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin and one of my favorite writers. One of the reasons I like to read his work is that he is a clear thinker who is both challenging and instructive.

Recently I've enjoyed reading a pair of article he wrote for First Things about 10 years ago. I'll blog on them separately. The first is entitled The Problem With Conservatism. In it he sets forth eight moral errors of political conservatism. He then contrasts the political conservative trajectory with the biblical worldview.

Budziszewski is clear up front that not all of these errors apply equally to all conservatives. Rather he is identifying broad themes. Further, it helps to know that he is roughly defining a conservative as a person who "opposes the contemporary government-driven variety of social reformism in the name of some cherished thing which he finds that it endangers."

Here is a short overview of his general perspective:

What then is a Christian to make of conservatism? The danger, it would seem, is not in conserving, for anyone may have a vocation to care for precious things, but in conservative ideology, which sets forth a picture of these things at variance with the faith. The same is true of liberalism. From time to time Christians may find themselves in tactical alliance with conservatives, just as with liberals, over particular policies, precepts, and laws. But they cannot be in strategic alliance, because their reasons for these stands are different; they are living in a different vision. For our allies' sake as well as our own, it behooves us to remember the difference. We do not need another Social Gospel--just the Gospel.

Here are the eight moral errors, contrasted with the biblical vision:

1. Civil Religionism: America is a chosen nation, and its projects are a proper focus of religious aspiration. Christianity: America is but one nation among many, no less loved by God, but no more.
2. Instrumentalism: Faith should be used for the ends of the state. Christianity: Believers should be good citizens, but faith is not a tool.
3. Moralism: God's grace needs the help of the state. Christianity: Merely asks that the state get out of the way.
4. Caesarism: The laws of man are higher than the laws of God. Christianity: The laws of God are higher than the laws of man.
5. Traditionalism: What has been done is what should be done. Christianity: Any merely human custom may have to be repented.
6. Neutralism: Everyone ought to mind his own business, therefore moral and religious judgments should be avoided. Christianity: While one ought to mind his own business, moral and religious judgments can never be avoided.
7. Mammonism: Wealth is the object of commonwealth, and its continual increase even better. Christianity: Wealth is a snare, and its continual increase even worse.
8. Meritism: I should do unto others as they deserve. Christianity: I should do unto others not as they deserve, but as they need.

Conclusion:

Citizenship is an obligation of the faith, therefore the Christian will not abstain from the politics of the nation-state. But his primary mode of politics must always be witness. It is a good and necessary thing to change the welfare laws, but better yet to go out and feed the poor. It is a good and necessary thing to ban abortion, but better yet to sustain young women and their babies by taking them into the fellowship of faith. This is the way the kingdom of God is built.

It is not by the world that the world is moved--yet how it pulls. Ah, God, help us let go of the heights and the depths, the thrones and dominions, the powers and principalities; to be not conservatives, nor yet liberals, but simply Christians. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts."

I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, though you'll have to read his entire piece to comment intelligently on these points.

Piper Bios

All of John Piper's biographical addresses--on folks like Luther, Calvin, Augustine, Edwards, Owen, Machen, Wilberforce, Newton, etc.--are now available online for free audio.

Relgious Affections and Signs of Grace

When John Piper was once asked about books that he would recommend, his first response was "Read Religious Affections, at all costs read Religious Affections! And anything else you can get your hands on by this great saint."

In his book Seeing God: Jonathan Edwards and Spiritual Discernment, Gerald R. McDermott uses the outline Jonathan Edwards's Religious Affections to provide spiritual counsel and discernment for today. The following is a cursory overview of the affections, seen through McDermott who in turn is relying upon Edwards.

According to McDermott, Edwards insisted that "religious experience is centered in what he called the 'affections.' These lie at a deeper level of the human person than either thoughts or feelings, and in fact are the source and motivating power of thoughts and feelings. Indeed, they are at the root of all spiritual experience, both true and false. Holy affections are the source of true spirituality, while other kinds of affections lie at the root of false spiritualities."

What are affections? For Edwards, "the affections are the strongest motivations of the human self, ultimately determining everything the person is and does. " They are "strong inclinations of the soul that are manifested in thinking, feeling, and acting."

The difference between affections and emotions are that affections are (1) long-lasting, (2) deep, (3) consistent with beliefs, (4) always result in action, and (5) involve mind, will, and feelings. Emotions, on the other hand, are (1) fleeting, (2) superficial, (3) sometimes overpowering, (4) often unable to produce action, and (5) often disconnected from the mind and will.

The difference between affections and beliefs are that affections (1) always influence behavior, (2) influence feelings, and (3) are strong. Beliefs, on the other hand, (1) do not always influence behavior, (2) are often disconnected from feelings, and (3) are often weak.

Holy affections always inspire feeling, thinking, and doing. Unholy affections are either (1) all feeling with no thinking, or (2) all thinking with no feeling, or (3) mere doing with no thinking or feeling.

Examples of holy affections are: (1) love for God and others, (2) hatred of sin, (3) hunger for God and divine things, (4) joy, and (5) gratitude to God. Examples of unholy affections are (1) hatred for God and others, (2) love of sin, (3) disgust for, or indifference to, God and divine things; (4) cynicism; (5) bitterness toward God.

Finally, McDermott lists both "the unreliable signs of grace" and the "reliable signs of grace." The presence of the former does not indicate one way or the other whether there is genuine, authentic spiritual life within a person. The presence of the latter does.

Unreliable Signs of Grace

1. Intense religious affections
2. Many religous affections at the same time
3. A certain sequence in the affections
4. Affections not produced by the self
5. Scriptures coming miraculously to mind
6. Physical manifestations of the affections
7. Much or eloquent talk about God and religion
8. Frequent and passionate praise for God
9. The appearance of love
10. Zealous or time-consuming devotion to religious activities
11. Being convinced that one is saved
12. Others being convinced that one is saved

Reliable Signs of Grace

1. A divine and supernatural source
2. Attraction to God and his ways for their own sake
3. Seeing the beauty of holiness
4. A new knowing
5. Deept-seated conviction
6. Humility
7. A change of nature
8. A Christlike spirit
9. Fear of God
10. Balance
11. Hunger for God
12. Christian practice

A Reformation Day Symposium

Tim Challies is calling for a symposium of blog posts to commemorate Reformation Day:

In recognition of the significance of this day, I would like to suggest that Christian bloggers mark October 31 with reflections on Reformation Day. You may want to reflect on a person, an event, or a particular point of theology. The topic is wide open, so long as it somehow ties in to Reformation Day. And remember, you do not need to be Reformed to appreciate the Reformation and all it stood for. If you do not have a blog of your own, but would still like to participate, why not ask another blogger if you can "guest" on his site that day (which is not to say that I am offering my blog for this purpose!).

I will gladly allow my site to serve as a repository for whatever links are provided to me. So, if you write an article, send me the link on October 31 and I will list it on my site.

In an attempt to make things even more interesting, I'll kick in a prize to the article that is determined to be "best" (as judged by myself and likely a couple of other judges, and based on whatever subjective criteria we come up with).

For a prize I'll offer:

• One print of your choice from Reformation Art.
• 
  
• A copy of Steve Lawson's book Foundations of Grace, the first in his series "A Long Line of Godly Men."

So start thinking, start writing, and prepare to post your articles on October 31.

Packer on Owen

Here is the final endorsement I'll post on Owen's Overcoming Sin and Temptation:

“The greatest Christian writers are those who most powerfully project to spiritual readers the knowledge of God, of ourselves, and of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Among these are Augustine, Calvin, Edwards, and the Puritan John Owen, who ought to be better known than he is. The editors of this volume have worked hard to make Owen’s unrivalled insight into the Christian’s inner war with sin accessible to all, and the result is truly a godsend. Filled with classic devotional theology which, like Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, needs to be read again and again to be properly grasped, we have in the three treatises presented here a companion for life.”

—J. I. PACKER, Professor of Theology, Regent College

The title is available for 40% off (plus free shipping if you buy an additional book, + a free PDF of the books via email), good till the end of the month. Just enter BTWOW when you check out.

I'm glad to say that the book is now available and ready to ship.

No Ordinary People

C. S. Lewis on the fact that you've never spoken to a mere mortal:

It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner--no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.

—from "The Weight of Glory," in The Weight of Glory (Eerdmans, 1949)

Too Good to be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype

Michael Horton, Professor of Apologetics and Theology at Westminster Seminary California, is the author of the new book from Zondervan entitled Too Good to Be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype.

He recently lectured on this topic at the OKC Conference on Reformed Theology. The talks (listed below) are free online for download or streaming.

• Good News For Losers
• Where Is God When We Suffer?
• Figuring It All Out: Trying to Read God's Mind
• When God Goes to a Funeral (with Q&A)

Update: Oops. Sorry about the missing link to the actual conference!

We the Sheeple?

It's no secret that conspiracy theories have gone mainstream, especially since 9/11. But why? Why are an increasing number of seemingly intelligent people drawn to improbable constructions that fly in the face of common sense and advocate complicated and bizarre theories?

Philosopher Edward Feser has written the most thoughtful analysis I've seen on this issue: We the Sheeple? Why Conspiracy Theories Persist.

Here is one of his observations:

A clue to the real attraction of conspiracy theories, I would suggest, lies in the rhetoric of theorists themselves, which is filled with self-congratulatory descriptions of those who accept such theories as "willing to think," "educated," "independent-minded," and so forth, and with invective against the "uninformed" and "unthinking" "sheeple" who "blindly follow authority." The world of the conspiracy theorist is Manichean: either you are intelligent, well-informed, and honest, and therefore question all authority and received opinion; or you accept what popular opinion or an authority says and therefore must be stupid, dishonest, and ignorant. There is no third option.

One of the great things about this article is that in addressing the issue of conspiracy theories, the author instructs us on a range of relevant subjects, like the false but persistent "official storyline" of the Enlightenment, the role of authority in epistemology, the hermeneutics of suspicion, etc. I'll quote his closing paragraphs, which certainly have application to more than just debunking crazy conspiracies:

I would suggest, then, that the post-Enlightenment pretense of hostility to authority, tradition, and common sense as such, and especially the extreme form of it represented by the likes of Marx and Nietzsche, is what really underlies the popularity of conspiracy theories, particularly those involving 9/11. The absurd idea that to be intelligent, scientific, and intellectually honest requires a distrust for all authority per se and a contempt for the opinions of the average person, has so deeply permeated the modern Western consciousness that conspiratorial thinking has for many people come to seem the rational default position. And it also explains why even mainstream outlets like Time and Vanity Fair, while by no means endorsing the views of the conspiracy theorists, have tended to treat them with kid gloves, as if they were harmless and well-meaning eccentrics instead of shrill and hate-filled crackpots. The belief that extremism in the attack on authority is no vice has a powerful appeal even for suit-wearing journalists and media executives (especially if they are liberals), even if they have too much sense to follow it out consistently.

Yet no civilization can be healthy which nurtures such delusions, for they strike at the very heart of a society's core institutions - family, religion, schools, political institutions, and so forth - and replace the (sometimes critical) allegiance we should feel for them with a corrosive skepticism. Conspiracy theories are only the most extreme symptom of this disease. Less dramatic, but in the long run more dangerous, is the relentless tendency of the Western intelligentsia to denigrate the Western past and present, massively exaggerating the vices of their own civilization and the virtues of its competitors, and putting the worst possible spin on the motives and policies of its current leaders while minimizing or excusing the crimes of its enemies. This would be dangerous under the best of circumstances. It is doubly so while we are at war with enemies who know no such self-doubt and self-hatred.

(HT: Amy Hall and Charlie at AnotherThink.com)

Travel Tip: Use Farecast.com

From a Time Magazine article on Web 2.0 entitled The Next YouTubes:

"There are plenty of good travel sites, so any new entry needs to have a better idea. Farecast.com uses fearsome computer power to predict the direction of plane fares. That helps travelers figure out the optimum time to buy a ticket. It was founded by Oren Etzioni, who created the Web's first meta-search site (it scans multiple search engines) and first shopping-comparison tool. Farecast uses an algorithm to crunch 100 billion prices in its database, then evaluates 200 attributes that affect plane fares. From those trillions of combinations, it figures out whether you should buy a ticket now or wait for prices to drop."

Piper on Owen

John Piper on John Owen:

What Owen offers is not quick relief, but long-term, deep growth in grace that can make strong, healthy trees where there was once a fragile sapling. I pray that thousands—especially teachers and pastors and other leaders—will choose the harder, long-term path of growth, not the easier, short-term path of circumstantial relief.

. . . We cannot properly estimate the blessing of soaking our minds in the Bible-saturated thinking of the likes of John Owen. What he was able to see in the Bible and preserve for us in writing is simply magnificent. It is so sad—a travesty, I want to say—how many Christian leaders of our day do not strive to penetrate the wisdom of John Owen, but instead read books and magazines that are superficial in their grasp of the Bible. We act as though there was nothing extraordinary about John Owen’s vision of biblical truth—that he was not a rare gift to the church. But he was rare. There are very few people like this whom God raises up in the history of the church. Why does God do this? Why does he give an Owen or an Edwards to the church and then ordain that what they saw of God should be preserved in books? Is it not because he loves us? Is it not because he would share Owen’s vision with his church? Great trees that are covered with the richest life-giving fruit are not for museums. God preserves them and their fruit for the health of his church.

I know that all Christians cannot read all such giants. Even one mountain is too high to climb for most of us. But we can pick one or two, and then ask God to teach us what he taught them. The really great writers are not valuable for their cleverness but for their straightforward and astonishing insight into what the Bible really says about great realities. This is what we
need.

Owen is especially worthy of our attention because he is shocking in his insights. That is my impression again and again. He shocks me out of my platitudinous ways of thinking about God and man.

. . . For me, to read Owen is to wake up to ways of seeing that are so clearly biblical that I wonder how I could have been so blind. May that be your joyful experience as well.

—John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision
Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis

To receive Owen's Overcoming Sin and Temptation for 40% off of the retail, a free PDF of the book, and the possibility of free shipping, go here and enter BTWOW as you check out.

A Brand Plucked Out of the Burning

To my mind, few essayists model humble orthodoxy like World Magazine's Andrée Seu, a true gift to the church. Her latest essay continues her insightful ministry:

Firebrand preachers and lackluster husbands. Men of both prayer and clinical morbidity. Women of wisdom given to gluttony. Samson making shipwreck of his life but taking the prophets of Dagon down with him. How do you tally the sum of this? Where do you put the coordinating conjunction? "Wesley was a great soul winner, but he sure was a lousy husband!" or, "Wesley was a lousy husband, but what a soul winner!"

In 1753, Mr. Wesley, in the grip of serious illness, and "not knowing how it might please God to dispose of me," penned his own epitaph, which begins: "Here lies the body of John Wesley, A brand plucked out of the burning." Better words were never writ.

A 16-year-old boy I care deeply about is growing up with half a complement of parents, and the one who remains is obtuse in sports and tends to depression. Such are the children of the kingdom of God—all missing arms or limbs, all cracked vessels. His mother doesn't always hear her children because she's lost in thought about some essay or other for a Christian magazine. Out of such raw material God is pleased to build His kingdom, the better to show the power is from Him.

The Lord will judge. And when He does (on that Day when no flesh shall boast), I know His weights and measures will be fair, and tempered with a better love than mine, and that the Wisdom who was by His side when He established earth and sky will cast His judgment in our favor.

Read the whole thing.

John Stott Interview

CT interviews John Stott on evangelicalism.

(HT: Z)

Update: Al Mohler offers some reflections on this interview.

Dever on Owen

“Sin is tenacious, but by God’s grace we can hate it and hunt it. John Owen provides the master guide for the sin-hunter. Kapic and Taylor bring together three of Owen’s classics, clarifying them in simple ways—but all the substance, the careful, hounding arguments are still there to train our spiritual sight and love our souls.”

—MARK DEVER, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.


Overcoming Sin and Temptation--an unabridged by more accessible version of John Owen's three classic writings on battling sin--is due out next week.

Here's the promo: each day for a week or so I'll post an endorsement of the book, along with the following instructions on how to get the book for 40% off of retail ($12 instead of $20):

1. Go to http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581346492
2. Click the “Pre-Order” or “Add to Cart” button
3. Enter the following code in the Coupon Code box on the Shopping Cart page: BTWOW
4. Continue through the Checkout process

The offer expires October 31.

If you order through the Crossway website, you'll immediately receive a free PDF copy of the books through email.

In addition, if you order at least one other Crossway title (at regular price), you can get free shipping on your books. (Note: the offer of free shipping is only for US orders--sorry!)

YouTube

"'Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.' What's YouTube? Probably the world can be divided in our time between people who really know what YouTube is and people who don't."

For those in the latter category, Daniel Henninger provides a helpful introduction.

Mahaney on the Top Books

C. J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace Ministries. Here is his list of books that should have been most influential in evangelicalism in the last 50 years:

1. The Cross of Christ, by John Stott
2. Knowing God, by J. I. Packer
3. The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul
4. Fundamentalism and the Word of God, by J.I. Packer
5. Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem
6. The Cross and Christian Ministry, by D.A. Carson
7. The Trilogy (The God Who Is There; Escape From Reason; He is There and He is Not Silent), by Francis Schaeffer
8. Competent to Counsel, by Jay Adams and Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, by Paul Tripp
9. Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
10. Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14, by D. A. Carson, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, by Gordon Fee

Thoennes on the Top Books

Erik Thoennes, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at Biola University, weighs in:

The Top 10 Books That Were Most Influential in Evangelicalism in the Past 50 Years

1) Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life
2) John Piper, Desiring God
3) Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor
4) Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye, Left Behind
5) Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth
6) Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism
7) Carl F. H. Henry, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
8) C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
9) J. I. Packer, Knowing God
10) Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez


The Top 10 Books That Should Have Been Most Influential in Evangelicalism in the Past 50 Years

1) A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy
2) John Piper and Wayne Grudem, ed., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
3) Elisabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty
4) John Piper, Desiring God
5) Carl F. H. Henry, Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
6) J. I. Packer, Knowing God
7) Robert Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism
8) Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
9) Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
10) Patrick Johnstone, Operation World

Ryken on the Top Books

Philp Ryken is the Senior Minister of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Here are his lists:

Some of the books on the CT list certainly qualify as most influential.

• Patrick Johnstone, Operation World
• Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life
• C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
• Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth
• James Dobson, Dare to Discipline
• Henry Morris, The Genesis Flood
• John Stott, Basic Christianity
• Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
• J. I. Packer, Knowing God
• Ken Taylor, The Living Bible

The following could be added as well:

• Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness
• Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto

Those that should have been most influential include:

• John Stott, Basic Christianity
• Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness
• J. I. Packer, Knowing God
• Patrick Johnstone, Operation World
• John Piper, Desiring God
• Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There
• J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
• David Wells, No Place for Truth
• The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
• Will Metzger, Tell the Truth
• R. C. Sproul, Chosen by God
• Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross

Storms on the Top Books

Sam Storms of Enjoying God Ministries (www.SamStorms.com) offers his lists below:

"I tried to keep it to ten each, but failed. As you requested, the first list is of those books which exerted the greatest influence, even if some (several?) of them shouldn’t have. The second list is of those books that I believe should have exerted the greatest influence, but sadly didn’t always do so. The problem comes when books ought to appear on both lists, i.e., they were among the most influential and rightfully so. So, I chose to construct the two lists with no overlap. Surely Knowing God by Packer and Desiring God by Piper, just to cite two examples, were among the most influential and deserved to be. But I’ve included them both only on the second list."

The Top Fifteen Most Influential Books of the Last 50 Years
(although most of them shouldn’t have been)

(1) The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. The influence of Lindsey’s book on mainstream evangelicals and charismatics is incalculable. Sadly, many who read it simply assumed there is no other credible way of understanding biblical eschatology.

(2) Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. This is a no-brainer. Lewis has been read widely both within and outside of evangelical circles.

(3) The Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. We must include all the books in this unfortunate series of novels. Would that people might read them as fiction rather than non-fiction!

(4) Dare to Discipline (perhaps all books) by James Dobson. The pervasive influence of Dobson on the family, parenting, and the engagement of Christians in the social and moral debates of the last thirty years would be hard to exaggerate.

(5) The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I still haven’t read it (and don’t plan to; although I probably should). It has to be included, though, as it is the best-selling hardback of all time!

(6) Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Foster’s restoration of the disciplines to their rightful place as normal Christian living has shaped how many pursue their life in God.

(7) God of the Possible by Gregory Boyd. How tragic that a book that denigrates the greatness and sovereignty of our majestic God could exert such widespread influence on how countless laypeople now think of him.

(8) Inside Out by Larry Crabb. Like Dobson, Crabb’s many books should probably be included under this one heading. Larry brought biblical and theological integrity to the insights of psychology in a way that changed many (myself included). I could have easily listed Larry’s book(s) below in the list of those that should have been influential. It’s important to know, of course, that Larry’s thinking about the role of psychology has changed in the past decade as he now recognizes the primacy of the church (and less so the professional counselor) in the healing and restoration of the human heart.

(9) Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge. I’m thankful for what is good and profitable in this book and for the beneficial effects it has wrought in the lives of countless men. But I’m not convinced that Eldredge’s view of masculinity is sufficiently biblical or that it fairly encompasses those who differ with him on critical points (see my review of his book at www.SamStorms.com).

(10) This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti. Although intentionally fictional in nature, this page-turner shaped how many evangelicals and even more charismatics think about spiritual warfare.

(11) A New Kind of Christian (Jossey-Bass) by Brian McLaren. It’s hard to deny the influence of this book (as regrettable as that influence may be). If I were to make a list ten years from now I wonder if McLaren would appear on it. It all depends on whether the “conversation” is a permanent star in the universe of faith or merely a passing meteorite.

(12) They Speak with Other Tongues by John Sherrill. This was perhaps the most widely read and influential book in the early years of the charismatic renewal.

(13) The Ryrie Study Bible by Charles Ryrie. This study bible probably did as much to promote dispensationalism as did its more famous predecessor (The Scofield Reference Bible).

(14) The Final Quest by Rick Joyner. Few non-charismatics will have read this book (and that’s o.k.), but its impact on the Pentecostal, charismatic, and third-wave world has been incalculable.

(15) The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. I listed Wilkinson’s book last, given that its influence was due less to its content and more to the way that its commercial success revolutionized the Christian publishing industry.

[Close, but no cigar, would be Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey and Power Evangelism by John Wimber and Kevin Springer.]

The Top Fifteen Books of the Last 50 Years
(that should have been most influential but sadly, in many cases, were not)

(1) Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah Press), by John Piper. This is the most important and life-changing book I’ve read in the past thirty-five years. The gospel of Christian Hedonism warrants a global hearing.

(2) Knowing God (IVP) by J. I. Packer. I’ve heard Packer say no one is more surprised by the influence of this book than Packer himself. Virtually everyone I know has read it and testifies to its glorious portrait of the grandeur of God.

(3) Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem (Zondervan). Grudem’s theology is must reading. Not just for scholars, this wonderful book is being used in Sunday School classes, small groups, and bible studies of every sort.

(4) The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Multnomah Press), by John Piper. Runs a close second to Desiring God in the Piper corpus of writings.

(5) The Presence of the Future (Zondervan), by George Ladd. This excellent treatment of the kingdom of God marked the end of dispensationalism in my theology.

(6) Jesus and the Victory of God, by N. T. Wright (Fortress Press). I don’t agree with everything Wright writes, especially his doctrine of justification. But this is a marvelous and ground-breaking achievement in dealing with the ministry of Jesus, the kingdom of God, and the proper understanding of the relationship between Israel and the Church.

(7) The Holiness of God (Tyndale), by R. C. Sproul. This excellent book restored in many of us a reverence for the transcendent otherness of God and how it impacts our daily relationship with him.

(8) God’s Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism (Crossway) by Bruce Ware. Would that all might read this superb refutation of Open Theism. Bruce has done a marvelous job of demonstrating both biblically and theologically the exhaustive divine foreknowledge of God.

(9) The Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship, by John Frame (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishers). Although this should exert mind-shaping influence on the Christian world, few are inclined to apply the necessary mental energy required to profit from this wonderful book.

(10) Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan), by Jack Deere. Although not all will agree with this selection, I remain convinced that Deere’s careful and biblical refutation of cessationism is the best available on the subject. Highly recommended.

(11) Let the Nations be Glad! by John Piper (Baker Books). The best book on missions I’ve ever read.

(12) Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Crossway). This was one of the first, and certainly the most influential, of books explaining and defending biblical complementarianism.

(13) The Gospel According to Jesus (Zondervan), by John MacArthur. A ground-breaking defense of the Lordship of Christ and a thorough-going refutation of antinomianism.

(14) Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy (Basic Books), and Integrity (Basic Books) by Stephen Carter. These are great books, especially Civility. In a day of selfish disregard for the rights and dignity of others, Carter brings both a rebuke and a refreshing word of instruction.

(15) Jonathan Edwards: A Life, by George Marsden (Yale University Press). I had to include something about Edwards!

[By the way, Yes, I have heard of Rosalind Rinker (whose book appeared as #1 on CT’s list of the most influential). But, No, I have never read any of her books and have never had anyone tell me that they have.]

Hamilton on the Top Books

In light of CT's Top 50 books list, I decided to ask a few friends for their top 10 list of what most influential and what should have been most influential in the last 50 years.

All of the responders followed a different format in responding. I'll post their responses in individual posts.

First up is Jim Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Houston Campus). He combined the list, and focused more on the influence within the seminary world:

1. J. I. Packer, Knowing God
2. George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament
3. Roland Bainton, Here I Stand
4. Leon Morris, Apostolic Preaching of the Cross
5. John Stott, The Cross of Christ
6. John Piper and Wayne Grudem, ed., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
7. Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments
8. F. F. Bruce, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free
9. Carl F. H. Henry, Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
10. John Piper, Desiring God

Evangelical Outpost

Joe Carter--the self-professed Sam Bowie of the blogosphere--reflects on his third year of blogging.

Grieving with Those Who Grieve

Robert Godfrey writes: "Our avoidance of death as a subject means that often we do not know how to speak to those who are grieving. What should we do as individuals and as Christian communities to offer comfort to those who mourn? That is a question that must be addressed in every church. It is a question that each of us will encounter in our lives."

To help the church learn how to counsel those who are grieving--an area about which I have much to learn--Dr. Godfrey interviewed Hilda Ozinga, whose husband Norman died in 1982. Her words contain helpful lessons on what we can do, say, and avoid.

I'd also recommend Dustin Shramek's chapter in Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.

As pointed out in the comments section below, htere is also a helpful article by Dan Doriani entitled Miscarriage: A Death in the Family, that recounts his own family's situation and then looks at ways in which to minister to, comfort, and serve those who are grieving.

Redeeming Science

One of the forthcoming books from Crossway that I can't wait to read is Vern Poythress' Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach, which is due out any day now. (The contents, as well as Introduction and Chapter 1 are already available online.)

At first glance one might think that a professor of NT is not qualified to write a theological treatise on science. But Poythress is not your normal NT prof. This man gives a new meaning to the word "smart." He majored in mathematics at CalTech, then went on to complete a Ph.D. in mathematics at Harvard. After teaching math for a year at Fresno State and studying linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics, he went to Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.Div. and a Th.M. in apologetics. He then went on to get an M.Litt in NT from the University of Cambridge. Between the M.Div/Th.M. and the M.Litt, he taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics. He then earned a Th.D. in NT from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. For those who are counting, that's one bachelors degree, three masters, and two doctorates.

Oh, and I've been told that while he was at Harvard he memorized virtually all of the NT.

Here are the blurbs for the book.

“Poythress shows how a proper understanding of biblical theology makes possible not just one but many credible harmonizations of biblical and scientific truth. Along the way, he provides an insightful defense of the theory of intelligent design as a viable scientific research program. His examination of the mathematical beauty inherent in the universe gives yet another compelling reason to acknowledge the wisdom and design that lie behind physical reality.”

—STEPHEN C. MEYER, Director, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute

“With doctorates in both New Testament and mathematics, and with a solid commitment to orthodox Reformed theology, Vern Poythress is uniquely qualified to write on the theology of science. Further, he is one of the most insightful theologians writing today. As you read this book, you will be amazed at the ways in which a biblical perspective illumines the work of science. Poythress deals, of course, with all the traditional science-Bible issues, like the days of Genesis. But he also shows that a biblical worldview is essential to the work of science itself, for scientific law can be nothing other than the law of the God of Scripture. This is by far the most important book you can read on this subject. I recommend it without reservation.”

—JOHN FRAME, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando


“In this highly original and remarkably insightful work, Vern Poythress demonstrates just how natural the partnership is between science and Christianity. Using examples from a variety of scientific disciplines, Dr. Poythress gives us a prescription for how science and the Christian faith can interact in a way that mutually benefits both and spurs scientific and theological advance.”

—FAZALE RANA, Vice President of Science Apologetics, Reasons To Believe


“In the crowded market of theology and science studies this book fills a gap. Not only does it offer a theological perspective rooted in the historic Reformation, but it also attends to strategies of interpretation of Bible texts concerning nature and history that underwrite doctrine but are often left out of the dialogue. The author’s approach is nuanced, balanced, and open-minded.”

—JITSE VAN DER MEER, Professor of Biology and History and Philosophy of Science, Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario


“Sound theology meets sound science in this book as Vern Poythress shows us how to see the beauty of God’s character revealed in everything that scientists study in the created universe. A fascinating, comprehensive, profound, yet very readable analysis of all branches of modern science from one of the greatest minds in the Christian world today.”

—WAYNE GRUDEM, Research Professor of Theology and Bible,
Phoenix Seminary, Scottsdale, Arizona

“Redeeming Science will be welcomed by every thoughtful Christian. Vern Poythress’s analysis of the relationship between science and faith proceeds from an unapologetic, undisguised confession of belief in Christ, through personal testimony, clear-minded evaluation of the nature of science, careful analysis of Scripture, and honest reflection on the present state of this debate. This is a book of creational theology and Biblical theology, as well as of apologetics and pastoral instruction. Poythress demonstrates the revelational character of the world around us, especially in his claim that the ‘laws’ of science are nothing more than descriptions of the sovereign working of an all-wise and all-powerful God. He exposes the unexamined assumptions of the modern scientific enterprise, showing that it, like every worldview, is, at its base, religious in nature. He provides careful and thoughtful exegesis of relevant texts of Scripture, especially Genesis 1–9, demonstrating that Christians can think rationally about the scientific enterprise without compromising their most cherished Biblical convictions. Above all, Poythress points readers beyond the details and doldrums of the debate concerning science and faith to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the consummation of both redemption and science. Christians committed to pursuing the Great Commission and the cultural mandate will find Redeeming Science a most useful resource for their endeavors.”

—T. M. MOORE, Pastor of Teaching Ministries, Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee; Author, Consider the Lilies: A Plea for Creational Theology

Mahaney on Owen

Overcoming Sin and Temptation--an unabridged by more accessible version of John Owen's three classic writings on battling sin--is due out next week.

Here's the promo: each day for a week or so I'll post an endorsement of the book, along with the following instructions on how to get the book for 40% off of retail ($12 instead of $20):

1. Go to http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581346492
2. Click the “Pre-Order” or “Add to Cart” button
3. Enter the following code in the Coupon Code box on the Shopping Cart page: BTWOW
4. Continue through the Checkout process

The offer expires October 31.

If you order through the Crossway website, you'll immediately receive a free PDF copy of the books through email.

In addition, if you order at least one other Crossway title (at regular price), you can get free shipping on your books. (Note: the offer of free shipping is only for US orders--sorry!)

Here's another blurb:

“No writer has taught me more about the dynamics of the heart and the deceitfulness of sin than John Owen. Reading his writing has been lifechanging, although at times his seventeenth-century style can be a challenge to modern ears. How grateful I am that Kapic and Taylor have invested their time and considerable skills to bring Owen’s profound and practical teaching to a modern audience. Read this book carefully; it will help you understand your heart and experience God’s grace.”

—C. J. MAHANEY, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Defining Discernment

Tim Challies is attempting to define biblical discernment, and is also looking for some feedback.

And as long as I'm mentioning Tim, you can his answers here to an online interview.

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

I didn't realize this was available until just now, but it looks like Desiring God has produced a free study guide to go along with the book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.

They've designed it for group study, and set up a deal whereby you can get a DVD of the conference messages + 10 copies of the book for $100 (which is about $84 off of the retail price.)

Christian Audiobooks

ChristianAudio.com is featuring a 50% off sale on their new releases. It looks like the offer ends on October 16.

Here are some of those featured:

• What Jesus Demands Of The World (Unabridged)
• Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Unabridged)
• Paradise Lost (Unabridged)
• The Holiness of God (Unabridged)

They are also offering some free resources, like:

• Tolstoy On Death: Ilych and Master and Man (Unabridged)
• Interview with Ralph Wood on Christians and Literature

Carson on Evangelism in a PoMo World

Those of you who attended the DG conference or listened to the audio of the panel sessions may recall that I referred to some lectures by D.A. Carson on evangelism in the postmodern world.

Here's a link to the messages (available for $1.50/MP3 download):

• Evangelizing Post-Moderns (5-part series)

Also of relevance from Carson on similar themes:

• Telling the Pre-Modern Truth to Post-Modern People (1 message)
• Various Evangelistic Addresses (7 messages)
• The Interpretation of the Bible in a Postmodern World (7 messages)

Common Grace and Theological Scholarship

Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology and Academic Dean at Westminster Seminary California, delivered a very helpful message in 1991 on the theme of Common Grace and Theological Scholarship. Using Titus 1:5-16, he shows how it is unscriptural and dangerous for believers to withdraw from interaction with the secular or unbelieving thought-world.

I've outlined the talk below and recommend it to you:

Reasons That May Cause Us to Distrust Non-Christian Scholarship

1. The Sufficiency of Scripture
2. Reformed Theology and Presuppositional Apologetics
3. Personal Discomfort

Reasons to Take Non-Christian Scholarship Seriously

If we take the path of withdrawal, we fail in two ways in our role as servants of Christ and protectors of his people:

1. Our Apologetic Duty to Understand the Opposition
2. Common Grace and Human Inconsistency

Extremes to Avoid

1. Undiscerning Consumption
2. Proud Isolation

Discernment: Dangerous and Difficult Labor

Here's the conclusion:

You realize, of course, that this makes our study of theology less outwardly secure. We cannot simply compile a list of "safe" authors, stamp them with the Reformed equivalent of imprimatur or nihil obstat, and then confine our reading to them. We must do the hard work of exercising discernment – sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, argument by argument. Facts, insights, perspectives, and methods must all be tested in the light of the principles of Scripture. And we must keep alive our consciousness of dependence on Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Our safety is not in avoiding the ideas of the unbelieving world; our safety is in union with Christ, who transforms the mind of those who trust in him.

There is hard work to be done in sorting and sifting the teachings of other humans, especially when we realize that we cannot simply cubbyhole the unpleasant or challenging ideas away and ignore them. But this hard work, like other exercise, gives us the necessary muscle tone to serve and lead God's people. "Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Heb. 5:14).

Dockery on Owen

Overcoming Sin and Temptation--an unabridged by more accessible version of John Owen's three classic writings on battling sin--is due out next week.

Here's the promo: each day for a week or so I'll post an endorsement of the book, along with the following instructions on how to get the book for 40% off of retail ($12 instead of $20):

1. Go to http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581346492
2. Click the “Pre-Order” or “Add to Cart” button
3. Enter the following code in the Coupon Code box on the Shopping Cart page: BTWOW
4. Continue through the Checkout process
5. People who have already ordered directly from Crossway can call customer service--1-800-543-1659--before their order ships to get in on it
6. Please note: if you order through the Crossway website, you'll immediately receive a free copy of the book in PDF through email
   
7. The offer expires October 31.
   

In addition, if you order at least one other Crossway title (at regular price), you can get free shipping on your books. (Note: the offer of free shipping is only for US orders--sorry!)

Here's another blurb:

“For over three hundred years the doctrinal and devotional works of John Owen have been a classic resource for the church. Though unusually insightful, Owen may be too challenging for many to read with benefit. Now, with brilliant editorial efforts and insightful introductions by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor, Owen’s magnificent treatises on sin and sanctification have been made available for a new generation. I am confident that this welcomed volume will provide guidance and enablement for believers in need of God’s grace and blessing. The editors are to be congratulated for their fine work!”

—DAVID S. DOCKERY, President, Union University, Jackson, Tenn.

Fire Bible

Not a parody:

When was the last time your class saw how "HOT" God's Word is? Open this authentic looking "bible" and begin to share the scripture for the day as real flames are seen coming from your "bible". This full size book comes with a battery operated ignition system. All you supply are the batteries, lighter fluid and composure as your class gets excited. (special note: Fed-Ex shipping is available if you absolutely have to have the Fire Bible for this Sunday!) Only $44.95!

(HT: Marko)

MBTS Acquires Spurgeon Library

Don Hinkle reports that Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has purchased the Charles H. Spurgeon Library (6,750 volumes) from William Jewell College for $400,000.

Hinkle recounts that the "Prince of Preachers," "had what is regarded as the world’s finest library of Puritan literature in existence. The library contains many personal works as well as volumes of literature, theology, religion, travel, biography, science, hymnody, history and humor."

"Most of Spurgeon’s original library was distributed among family members and friends after his death in 1892. The Midwestern collection is comprised of volumes that were not retained by the family. It contains books with personal notes and comments, as well as books given to Spurgeon from many 19th century authors." Also, "The collection features one volume dated to the 14th century and one copy of the Geneva Bible dated to the 16th century. A considerable portion of the collection is pre-19th century."

(HT: Scott Lamb)

Catherwoods on Lloyd-Jones

9Marks interview: "How often do you get to hear the children of great ministers reminisce about their father's ministry? Listen in as Lady Elizabeth Catherwood, daughter of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and her husband Sir Fred recount stories of the famed British preacher."

NoKo Nukes FAQ

A helpful little primer.

Ferguson on "Overcoming Sin and Temptation"

Overcoming Sin and Temptation--an unabridged by more accessible version of John Owen's three classic writings on battling sin--is due out next week.

Here's the promo: each day for a week or so I'll post an endorsement of the book, along with the following instructions on how to get the book for 40% off of retail ($12 instead of $20):

1. Go to http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581346492
2. Click the “Pre-Order” or “Add to Cart” button
3. Enter the following code in the Coupon Code box on the Shopping Cart page: BTWOW
4. Continue through the Checkout process
5. People who have already ordered directly from Crossway can call customer service--1-800-543-1659--before their order ships to get in on it
6. The offer expires October 31.
   

In addition, if you order at least one other Crossway title (at regular price), you can get free shipping on your books.

Here's another blurb:

“With a volume of Owen in your hands you may wonder why you have wasted so much time reading lesser things. True, as Dr. John (“Rabbi”) Duncan once said, if you are going to read this you will need to ‘prepare yourself for the knife.’ But that knife is the scalpel of one of the finest spiritual surgeons in the history of the church. Owen understood as few have how the gospel makes us well. Three cheers for everything Kapic and Taylor are doing to introduce a new generation of Christians to Owen’s peerless works.”

—SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON,
Senior Minister, The First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, S.C.

Love Her More and Love Her Less

Here is a poem on marriage, written by John Piper in 1995 and delivered at his son's wedding.

Divine Vinyl

If you've never seen Marc Heinrich's collection of album covers, it really is worth a gander!

Galli on the Top 50 Books

Mark Galli, managing editor at CT, explains in the comments section of his personal blog some of the reasoning behind the selection of the Top 50 Books for CT's 50th anniversary issue:

When all was said and done with the original list, C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity topped the list. This troubled me for two reasons. First, it was just so expected. It was a let down as I read the list (compiled by other editors with lots of input from people inside and outside the office). Second, I don’t happen to think Mere Christianity has shaped evangelicalism as much as other books have. We may wish that we were a movement characterized by Lewis’s calm, cogent rationalism. But we aren’t that.

As I thought about it, I felt that Rinker’s book really made a huge difference, as the comment notes. Today we pray conversationally, and can’t imagine any other way to pray. But this was not always the case with evangelicals. This changed in the sixties, and it has been such a profound change, no one today notices.

Ditto on Understanding Church Growth: today every church in America consciously decides to practice church growth principles or (actually very few) eschew them. There are no neutral parties in this respect. McGavarn’s ideas have so changed the way we think about the church, it’s nearly unimaginable that a church would not try to grow and grow.

The staff just had a fit when I moved these two up top. Some disagreed. Some were frankly embarrassed: they didn’t think these two books represented us at our best. But the point of the list was this: what books have indeed shaped us, not the books we wish would have shaped us.

There is a tendency among the evangelical educated elite to be ashamed of our populist nature. But that, in fact, is who we are. That populism has strengths and weaknesses, but it is who we are. And thus the inclusion of Left Behind, Evangelism Explosion, and Prayer, Conversing with God–and many others. Naturally, we have an intellectual side, as represented by Lewis, Schaeffer, and others. But it’s the populist element that makes up most of our DNA.

Mark

NoKo Nukes

As you know, North Korea has successfully tested a nuclear weapon.

Here is a symposium of brief responses by experts on what should be done now.

David Allen Interview

Homiletics Online interviews Getting-Things-Done guru David Allen.

(HT: Cawley)

Audio Highlights

The DG folks have done us a very helpful service by posting online audio excerpts from the recent conference. Enjoy. [Note: click the link above to go to the DG page. I've also reproduced the links below.]

David Wells

• Christ’s Supremacy in the New Testament
• Christianity Is Becoming De-Westernized
• Fear in the West Is Not of Being Unsafe, but Unsuccessful
• Risk in the West Is Not of Danger, but Distraction
• Contextualization and Foreign Missions
• Contextualization and Preaching
• What Christianity Has to Offer

Voddie Baucham

• Four Questions Everybody Asks
• Question #1: Who Am I?
• Question #2: Why Am I Here?
• Question #3: What Is Wrong with the World?
• Question #4: How Can What’s Wrong Be Made Right?
• The Supremacy of Christ in Education
• Argue for the Bible from the Bible
• The Risk in Racial Diversity
• Racism in Christian Cultures

Tim Keller

• All Theology Has To Be an Exposition of the Gospel
• If You Think You Understand the Gospel, You Don’t
• The Gospel Must Be Urbanized to Reach the Culture
• Contextualization Makes the Gospel Plausible
• We Must Confront Unbelievers with Compassion
• Argue Against a False Worldview Using Its Presuppositions

Mark Driscoll

• The Bible Is True for Everybody
• Without the Virgin Birth There Is No Jesus
• Christ’s Death Saves Us from God
• Jesus Is the Only Way to God
• We Must Stress Both Christ’s Humanity and His Divinity
• Everybody Believes in Hell
• Contextualizing the Theology We Contend For
• John Calvin’s Contextualization
• Relativism vs. Relevantism

D.A. Carson

• Encouragement to Press On When You Feel Unsuccessful
• The Value of Preachers Listening to Other Preachers
• How to Contextualize a Church Service
• Christian Unity Shows the World What God Is Like
• We Must Know Truth to Be Holy

John Piper

• Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches
• Missions and Seeker-Sensitive Contextualization
• The Personal Effect of Writing What Jesus Demands from the World
• Affection for Emergents
• The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World: Short Version
• Why You Should Be Happy that You Are Less Valuable Than God

Overcoming Sin and Temptation

Overcoming Sin and Temptation--an unabridged by more accessible version of John Owen's three classic writings on battling sin--is due out next week.

We're going to run a little promo for the rest of the month. Each day for a week or so I'll post an endorsement of the book, along with the following instructions on how to get the book for 40% off of retail ($12 instead of $20):

1. Go to http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581346492
2. Click the “Pre-Order” or “Add to Cart” button
3. Enter the following code in the Coupon Code box on the Shopping Cart page: BTWOW
4. Continue through the Checkout process
5. People who have already ordered directly from Crossway can call customer service--1-800-543-1659--before their order ships to get in on it
6. The offer expires October 31.
   

In addition, if you order at least one other Crossway title (at regular price), you can get free shipping on your books.

I hope that makes sense!

Here is the first blurb:

“John Owen’s three treatises on sin, mortification, and temptation are a priceless treasure. To read them is to mine pure spiritual gold. Unfortunately, as in mining, reading Owen is hard work. Now, through skillful editing, Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor have made Owen’s work accessible to modern readers while still retaining his unique writing style. Anyone concerned about personal holiness will profit from reading this new edition of a classic work.”

—JERRY BRIDGES, Navigators Community Ministries Group

How Long, O Lord?

D. A. Carson's book, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, is now in its second edition from Baker Books. I highly recommend it as a biblically based, pastorally sensitive, and philosophically informed.

Here are a few endorsements/reviews:

"[A] sober, encouraging book. . . . The two sides of the author, the biblical scholar who reads, thinks, and misses no detail and the pastoral teacher who understands people, feels with them, and cares for them, combine here to give us a treatment of suffering under God's sovereignty which is outstandingly accurate, wise, and helpful. All who follow the author's fast-flowing argument will find their heads cleared and their hearts strengthened."--J. I. Packer, Regent College

"Covers a wealth of biblical material with carefully reasoned clarity and umbrella-like relevance to help us prepare for whatever difficulties life may bring. This volume represents important and profoundly useful reading for pastors and counselors and for every Christian willing to think about life as it really happens."--Larry J. Crabb, New Way Ministries

"The author writes, with Bible in hand, less as philosopher than as a devout and battered pilgrim. His meditations on suffering and evil and the questions they raise and address are solid study-group materials conducive to faith, joy, and hope."--Carl F. H. Henry, founding editor of Christianity Today

"A straightforward, tough-minded, pastorally motivated treatment of the problem of evil. Carson writes not as a philosopher trying to give an account of evil to skeptics but as a biblical scholar addressing fellow believers who struggle with the challenge evil poses for their faith."--Jerry L. Walls, Asbury Theological Journal

"The best compliment I can pay to Carson's book is that I have used it in a college seminar on the problem of evil and that I would do so again. My students seemed especially to benefit from it. Carson covers many if not most biblical themes related to the topic, and therein lies the secret to appreciating his book. . . . It is truly a fine model of excellent scholarship used in the service of the Church."--Daniel B. Clendenin, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

More on Vocation

For those who want to delve deeper into the doctrine of vocation, these titles might be worth consulting.

• Luther on Vocation by Gustaf Wingren
• Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work by Miroslav Volf

Any readers out there familiar with these books?

I know the former was quite formative for Veith's volume.

Veith on Vocation

One of my convictions is that the church needs to do a better job of adopting and advancing the Reformational doctrine of vocation.

Tim Keller points to the need and begins an introduction to this important topic in Redeemer's Vision Paper #5:

Churches must equip believers to integrate their faith with their work. Most American Christians have been taught to seal off their faith-beliefs from the way they work in their vocation. The gospel is seen as a means of finding individual peace and not as a ‘world-view’--a comprehensive interpretation of reality that affects all we do. But the gospel has a deep and vital impact on how we do art, business, government, media, and scholarship. Churches must be highly committed to support Christians’ engagement with culture, helping them work with excellence, distinctiveness, and accountability in their professions and in ‘secular work.’ Developing humane, yet creative and excellent business environments out of our understanding of the gospel can be part of the work of restoring creation in the power of the Spirit. Bringing Christian joy, hope, and truth to embodiment in the arts is also part of this work.

Learning to integrate faith and work is a tall order. Christians need at least the following from their churches:

• First, theological education about how to 'think Christianly' about all of life, public and private, and about how to work with Christian distinctiveness. They need to know what cultural practices are ‘common grace’ and can be embraced, what practices are antithetical to the gospel and must be rejected, and what practices can be adapted/revised for use by believers.
• Second, they need to be practically mentored, placed, and positioned in their vocations in the most advantageous way. They need cooperation with others in the field who can encourage, advise, and advocate for them. They need help to do their work with excellence and in a way that really helps others and strengthens social cohesiveness rather than weakening it.
• Third, they need spiritual support for the ups and downs of their work and accountability for living and working with Christian integrity.

There are two books I'm aware of that deal with this issue: (1) Gene Veith's God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life (contents and intro available at the link); and (2) Os Guinness's The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. (I've read the former but not the latter.)

This weekend on Scott Moonen's website I found a number of good resources on the doctrine of vocation. He points to this six-part series of articles that Veith wrote in the Lutheran Witness in 2001. (All the files are in PDF.)

This should serve as a helpful intro.

• God at work (part 1)
  [Every Christian has a particular calling from God]
  

• The masks of God (part 2)
  [God works through you in your vocation, whatever it may be]
  

• Family vocation (part 3)
  [God works through us in our callings as parents, spouses, and children]
  

• Calling (part 4)
  [We don’t choose our vocations; God chooses us for them]
  

• Citizenship (part 5)
  [America is caught up in feelings of patriotism and national unity; Is it really OK to “wave the flag”?]
  

• The gospel and the local church (part 6)
  [Christians, both laypeople and pastors, have a vocation in the church]
  

Amish Faith in the Midst of Tragedy

Rod Dreher writes in the Dallas Morning News about the Christ-imitating faith of the Amish in response to horrific tragedy.

What Is That to You? You Follow Me!

John Piper's reflections on John 21:18-22 and the DG conference are worth quoting at length:

So I was refreshed by Jesus’ blunt word to me (and you): “What is that to you? You follow me!” Peter had just heard a very hard word. You will die—painfully. His first thought was comparison. What about John? If I have to suffer, will he have to suffer? If my ministry ends like that, will his end like that? If I don’t get to live a long life of fruitful ministry, will he get to?

That’s the way we sinners are wired. Compare. Compare. Compare. We crave to know how we stack up in comparison to others. There is some kind of high if we can just find someone less effective than we are. Ouch. To this day, I recall the little note posted by my Resident Assistant in Elliot Hall my senior year at Wheaton: “To love is to stop comparing.” What is that to you, Piper? Follow me.

• What is it to you that David Wells has such a comprehensive grasp of the pervasive effects of postmodernism? You follow me.
• What is it to you that Voddie Baucham speaks the gospel so powerfully without notes? You follow me.
• What is it to you that Tim Keller sees gospel connections with professional life so clearly? You follow me.
• What is it to you that Mark Driscoll has the language and the folly of pop culture at his fingertips? You follow me.
• What is it to you that Don Carson reads five hundred books a year and combines pastoral insight with the scholar’s depth and comprehensiveness? You follow me.

That word landed on me with great joy. Jesus will not judge me according to my superiority or inferiority over anybody. No preacher. No church. No ministry. These are not the standard. Jesus has a work for me to do (and a different one for you). It is not what he has given anyone else to do. There is a grace to do it. Will I trust him for that grace and do what he has given me to do? That is the question. O the liberty that comes when Jesus gets tough!

I hope you find encouragement and freedom today when you hear Jesus say to all your fretting comparisons: “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Learning to walk in freedom with you,

Pastor John

(HT: Z)

Where Is Thy Sting?

Carl Trueman provides biblical reflection and counsel on the enemy of death.

King of the Beasts

Phil Ryken offers a biblical meditation on lions.

Radical Orthodoxy

Paul Helm reviews Introducing Radical Orthodoxy by James A.K. Smith and Radical Orthodoxy and the Reformed Tradition, ed. James K. A. Smith and James H. Olthuis.

I can't resist reproducing this single sentence by John Milbank, cited by Helm:

But since "return to self" is not after all quite perfectly reflexive at that point at which it must also seek to be a return to its own higher origin, which is inseparable from its inner selfhood, one can see that self reflection (as Plotinus already taught) is equally a "failed" attempt (though this failure has the positive value of apophasis) at perfection reflection, which in its "failure" constructs the world beneath the psyche and it thereby the "giving" to be of material reality in its diverse modes - even though, for Proclus already, this is the work of higher not human souls, since the latter are rather "fully descended" into the body (and therefore have their realm of donation within the realm of the imagination, culture and history). (19)

Helm's response is classic: "Easier, much easier, to parody than to understand."

Bock on the Emerging Church Movement

Darrell Bock has wrapped up his series on the E/emerging church movement/conversation.

In this summary post, he identifies what he perceives to be the strengths and weaknesses of the movement.

Clear Strengths

1. There is a problem with modernity in its spirit of freedom and quest for human autonomy. This is a cultural value that needs to be challenged.
2. There is a problem with modernity in its dominance of the consumer culture and the way it can lead to compromise of values of the faith.
3. A problem with modernity is that efficiency and technology can depersonalize or overwhelm life (leading to the [over]saturated self).

Strengths That Are Positive But Need Qualficiation in How They Are Applied

1. Interpretation is never totally objective (we all read from a place and perspective).
2. Communities matter.
3. Differing perspectives can teach.
4. Interpretations need testing (ghere is an appropriate plea for a proper humility).
5. Pushing for authenticity is of solid value.
6. Recognizing one's social location is an important factor to appreciate in life (where we fit in the world and how that helps and blinds us).
7. Their effort to evangelizing outsiders is stronger (esp. those on the fringe).
8. There is a valuable probing of links back to tradition.
9. There is often better success with people on the edge because of the value of concentrating on this group.

Major Concerns

1. The analysis of modernism oversimplifies and characterizes the period to a degree (which is more diverse in expression than suggested by the absolutist contrasts of much of the presentations and that shares the concerns and values that many E/E churches are concerned about).
2. There is a seeming devaluation of confessional expressions of Christianity and the content elements of the faith.
3. There is too much either/or thinking (or better) rhetoric when both/and modes and relative emphases are really the point (leaders when pressed acknowledge these are not as either/or as their rhetoric.)
4. There is a tendency to avoid discussion of hell and judgment (i.e., to confront on sin) or accountability to God as His creature.
5. There is a tendency to equivocate on moral issues (like homosexuality).
6. There is a tendency to underplay or underestimate the nature and role of Scripture in the face of problematic factors in reading it.

The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals

Christianity Today produces their list of The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals. [link fixed]

It's a pretty good list: for good or for ill, it's hard to argue with most of the choices.

But what do you think about their #1 choice? A few questions for you, my faithful readers:

1. Have any of you heard of this book?
2. Has anyone ever seen this book cited as influential, much less the most influential book in the past five decades?
3. Does anyone know how many copies it has sold?

Seems to me that the CT editors may have been wanting to make a point about prayer and found a book that fit the bill--it seems like a stretch to argue that this book has been the most influential in the past five decades of evangelicalism. But I'm open to being persuaded otherwise!

Update: Please note that CT has apparently updated/clarified their top choice a bit. Instead of tapping Rosalind Rinker's Learning Conversational Prayer (which no one seems to have heard of) to be the most influential book in evangelicalism over the past 50 years, it has now been replaced with her book, Prayer: Conversing with God. This volume was published in 1959 by Zondervan, and is still in print by Zondervan. It has sold quite well over the years. That's not to say I think it was the right choice, but I wanted to point out that the printed magazine and the earlier online edition had the wrong title; it's now correct (according to author intent)!

"One Night with the King"

That's the title of a new movie coming out on the biblical story of Esther.

(HT: Mathis)

Anti-Intellectualism

Anti-Intellectualism in the Western World

Anti-intellectualism is a disposition to discount the importance of truth and the life of the mind.
—Os Guinness

We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. . . . We must have passion—indeed hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti-intellectual spirit of the world.
—R. C. Sproul

The result of all this is that Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least well-informed people in the Western world.
—Neil Postman


Anti-Intellectualism in Evangelicalism

I must be frank with you: the greatest danger confronting American evangelical Christianity is the danger of anti-intellectualism. The mind in its greatest and deepest reaches is not cared for enough.
—Charles Malik, Former President of the United Nations General Assembly

The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.
—Mark Noll

We speak of “the modern mind” and of “the scientific mind,” using that word mind of a collectively accepted set of notions and attitudes. On the pattern of such usage I have positied a Christian Mind, chiefly for the purpose of showing it does not exist. . . . There is no Christian mind. . . . the Christian Mind has succumbed to the secular drift with a degree of weakness unmatched in Christian History.
—Harry Blamires

The contemporary Christian mind is starved, and as a result we have small, impoverished souls.
—J. P. Moreland


Anti-Intellectualism Is No Virtue

God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers.
—C. S. Lewis

At root, evangelical anti-intellectualism is both a scandal and a sin. It is a scandal in the sense of being an offense and a stumbling block that needlessly hinders serious people from considering the Christian faith and coming to Christ. It is a sin because it is a refusal, contrary to Jesus’ two great commandments, to love the Lord our God with our minds.

Anti-intellectualism is quite simply a sin. Evangelicals must address it as such, beyond all excuses, evasions, or rationalizations of false piety.
—Os Guinness


Anti-Intellectualism Is a Hindrance to the Gospel

False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel.
—J. Gresham Machen


Towards a Solution to Anti-Intellectualism

The Christian religion flourishes not in the darkness but in the light. Intellectual slothfulness is but a quack remedy for unbelief; the true remedy is consecration of intellectual power to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
—J. Gresham Machen

Update: For a bibliography on anti-intellectualism, visit Timmy's blog.

Read the Old Books

The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.
—Joseph Joubert

Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old. . . . It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. . . . We all . . . need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. . . . We may be sure that the characteristic blindness of the twentieth century . . . lies where we have never suspected it. . . . None of us can fully escape this blindness. . . . The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.
—C. S. Lewis

The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest men of past centuries.
—René Descartes

—I have a peaceful study, as a refuge from the hurries and noise of the world around me; the venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me.
—Samuel Davies

Read the Best Books

It is not the reading of many books which is necessary to make one wise, but the well-reading of a few, could they be sure to be the best.
—Richard Baxter

Few are sufficiently sensible of the importance of that economy in reading which selects, almost exclusively, the very first order of books. Why should a man, except for some special reason, read an inferior book at the very time he might be reading one of the highest order?
—John Foster

We should accustom the mind to keep the best company by introducing it only to the best books.
—Sydney Smith

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
—Mark Twain

Read the great books! That is worth repeating: Read the great books! . . . You should bear in mind why they were written: great books were written to show a great God and a great Christ to the people of God. You must never be tricked into reading lesser books about great subjects when you are perfectly capable of reading great books about great subjects!
—Sinclair Ferguson

Read Worldviewishly

James Sire, in his very helpful book How to Read Slowly, suggests that we must look for worldviews in everything we read. That involves asking these questions:

1. What is prime reality—the really real?
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?
3. What is a human being?
4. What happens to a person at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
7. What is the meaning of human history?