Between Two Worlds

A couple of good pieces of advice here from Jonathan Edwards's letter of spiritual counsel to Deborah Hatheway:

#8 Remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the soul’s peace and of sweet communion with Christ. It was the first sin committed and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan’s whole building, and is with the greatest difficulty rooted out, and is the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all lusts, and often creeps insensibly into the midst of religion, even, sometimes, under the disguise of humility itself.

#10 If at any time you fall into doubts about the state of your soul, in dark and dull frames of mind, it is proper to review your past experience. But do not consume too much time and strength in this way; rather apply yourself, with all your might, to an earnest pursuit after renewed experience, new light, and new lively acts of faith and love. One new discovery of the glory of Christ’s face will do more toward scattering clouds of darkness in one minute, than examining old experience, by the best marks that can be given, through a whole year.

Sam Storms has a new website (finally Firefox compatible), and has also entered the blogosphere.

The Boston Globe reports on the dawning realization by some researchers that their relentless focus on self-esteem is part of the cause behind the narcissism of today's generation.

Someone sent me the following via email (sorry, I don't know the original source):

It made me think of Isaiah 40:

18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

Art Rogers interviews Sam Storms on topics like:

• currents in the SBC
• the future of Reformed theology
• the debates over the moderate use of alcohol
• the role of spiritual gifts
• the Missional Church, Traditional Church, and Emerging Church

I'm happy to announce that Crossway Books will be publishing Pierced for Our Transgressions in North America, due out November 2007.

Gene Veith looks at aesthetic standards and a song like Rich Mullins's "Our God Is An Awesome God."

David Instone-Brewer writes in WSJ today about evangelicals and divorce.

(HT: Christian Mind)

Bob Kauflin on songs to sing at Easter.

Anthony Carter lists a number of African-American reformed brothers whose sermons are available on the web.

(HT: Thabiti)

From The Cross in the New Testament by Leon Morris:

To put it bluntly and plainly, if Christ is not my Substitute, I still occupy the place of a condemned sinner. If my sins and my guilt are not transferred to Him, if he did not take them upon Himself, then surely they remain with me. If He did not deal with my sins, I must face their consequences. If my penalty was not borne by Him, it still hangs over me. There is no other possibility.--The Cross in the New Testament by Leon Morris

(HT: GospelDrivenLife via Thabiti)

ChristanAudio.com's free monthly audiobook is Augustine's classic, On Christian Doctrine.

"From the time that Saint Augustine finished On Christian Doctrine until the end of the Middle Ages, this book was considered by Christians to be one of the most important ever written. Challenging at times though surprisingly relevant for the modern reader, Augustine's book discusses the interpretation of Scripture. It remains valuable for church leaders and serious lay Christians alike."

Receive this quality recording as a free download by going to christianaudio.com and using coupon code: APR2007

(HT: Travis Carden)

La Shawn Barber--who runs one of the most popular conservative political blogs on the web--shares her testimony in Today's Christian Woman.

(HT: Common Grounds Online)

Alan Jacobs writes on Serendipity in Books & Culture. Here's the conclusion:

The cultivation of serendipity, of this alchemy, is an option for anyone, but—so I wish to argue—for Christians living in conditions of prosperity and security and informational richness it is something vital, perhaps even necessary. To practice "accidental sagacity" is to recognize that I don't really know where I am going, even if I like to think I do; that if I know what I am looking for I probably don't know what I need; that I am not master of my destiny and captain of my fate; that it is a very good thing that I am not master of my destiny and captain of my fate; that the more often I succumb to the temptation to say "I am my own" the more completely I close off the possibility of a blessing that comes from beyond my own desires and self-love. The cultivation of serendipity is at once a self-abnegation, a disciplining of technological power, a form of trust in God, and an expression of solidarity with the vast multitudes of Christians from all generations whose poverty and powerlessness made it impossible for them to think even for a moment that they could control their own lives. An accidental sagacity is the form of wisdom I most need, but am least likely to find.

Some people never change. Melinda Penner continues to put God in a box!

In Books & Culture Michael Ward provides an entertaining, informative review of the third (and final) volume of C. S. Lewis's correspondence. All in all, 3,228 separate items of correspondence!

Phil Johnson summarizes his overarching concerns about the emerging church movement.

John Piper's sermons can be found according to various categories: Palm Sunday sermons, Maundy Thursday sermons, Good Friday sermons, and Easter sermons.

Carolyn McCulley passes along a very helpful illustration on sin and the human heart. It's simple--but when I first heard it there was the light-bulb-going-on effect.

Follow the links on her post for more edifying material on this topic.

Justin Buzzard interviews Gerrit Scott Dawson, author of Jesus Ascended: The Meaning of Christ's Continuing Incarnation, on this important but neglected doctrine.

Colin Adams interviews Tim Keller, asking him 10 questions about expository preaching. Tim also weighs in on the comment section.

Next week Colin will interview Philip Ryken.

A new girl-talker has been born!

You can access the entire 15-part Q&A here.

One of the more frustrating things I've encountered in theological studies is the general disdain for and caricature of systematic theology. I sincerely hope that the current generation of students will ignore the bumper-sticker analysis of complicated topics like "theoretical," "abstraction," "proof-texting," "common sense realism," and the like.

Paul Helm has posted an excellent little piece on what definitions do and don't do. Despite its brevity, it is a helpful meditation that can go a long way to clearing away some of the confusion.

A few quotes:

"Berkhof’s definition is not an attempt to replace the language of the Psalms or of any other language, or to be cleverer than Scripture. His definition does not take us beyond Scripture, making Scripture second-rate. It is a skeleton, not the entire body."

". . . definitions do not describe, they protect and safeguard."

"Where we are not understanding the scriptures with the skeleton of systematic theology in place then our ‘body of divinity’ will be flabby and misshapen. . . . We ‘participate’ in sound definitions when they engender confidence that they have captured the relevant bit of the skeleton."

"Calling exact, propositional theology rude names like ‘theoretical’ or ‘foundationalistic’ does not alter anything."

Upshot: "So definitions are not imperialistic. They are not the work of theological know-alls. And the theoretical versus practical issue is a red herring."

Read the whole thing!