Between Two Worlds

I mentioned recently on Facebook that if your church or ministry needs to get a new website (as our church does), Clover Sites is the best option I've found so far. They set out to make it beautiful, intuitive, and affordable.

Here's a helpful one-minute promo (RSS readers may have to click through to view the videos):

Clover 60 Second Video from Clover on Vimeo.

Here's a more in-depth (6 minutes) walk-through:

Clover Walkthrough Video from Clover on Vimeo.

Here are the top 10 features they have identified:

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Over at their site you can demo their product for free.

Here's a new book out that looks great: Christian Apologetics Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader, edited by William Edgar and Scott Oliphint (Crossway, 2009).

This, the first of two volumes, goes up to 1500 and is in two parts: (1) The Early Church: The Struggle for Vindication; (2) The Middle Ages: The Church Becomes Established.

At WTS Books you can get some sample pages, which contain the table of contents and the introduction.

It's a 500-page hardcover. Each major historical section contains a preface, a time, and a map, then an introduction to each apologist and their primary material. Each source text is then followed by questions for reflection/discussion. I'm not aware of anything quite like this on apologetics.

Here are the blurbs:

"The texts here assembled are 'classics'--not in the sense that they answer all legitimate questions about Christianity, but that, when they were written, they made their readers think hard about the faith, and that they continue to do so today. This is a most worthy collection."
- Mark A. Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame

"For years I have wanted a book of primary sources in apologetics to use in my classes. Now we have an excellent one in this volume. Editors Edgar and Oliphint have made good choices in the selections used. A number of them are fascinating pieces rarely considered today, but timely, such as Raymond Lull’s critique of Islam."
- John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

"In an age of historical amnesia such as ours is, nothing could be more helpful than to know how the church, in its long march through time, has addressed the opponents of Christian faith. This collection is superbly done and will bring much needed wisdom to our own times."
- David F. Wells, Distinguished Research Professor, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"Understanding apologetics as explicating, affirming, and vindicating Christianity in the face of uncertainty and skepticism, Edgar and Oliphint have skillfully selected the best pre-Reformation sources to introduce us to this ongoing task. Their volume, the first of two, fills a gap in scholarly resources and highlights the strength, wisdom, and solidity of defenders of the faith in earlier times."
- J. I. Packer, Board of Governors Professor of Theology, Regent College

"This reader on the classical traditions of Christian apologetics is, to my knowledge, unmatched in basic compendia. It will equip and encourage thoughtful Christians to develop equally compelling defenses of the faith in our post-Enlightenment, post- Romantic, post-Postmodern era where global interdependencies plunge many into new varieties of suspicion, contempt, and hostility that demand reasonable and faith-filled encounter, dialogue, and debate."
- Max L. Stackhouse, De Vries Professor of Theology and Public Life Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Bill Edgar, one of evangelicalism’s most valued scholars and apologists, has given us in this work with Scott Oliphint a classic destined to be used for generations. I highly recommend it to all who are called to defend the faith."
- Chuck Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship

The book is also available from Amazon.

A panel moderated by Al Mohler, with Denny Burk, Tom Schreiner, Mark Seifrid, and Brian Vickers, on September 3, 2009 (at Southern Seminary):

Just noticed that their weekend sale has the ESV Study Bible (hardcover) for 50% off, and John MacArthur's The Truth War (hardcover) for $3.99.

Lots of people are saying that the best piece on health care is now this 10,000+ word essay by David Goldhill entitled How American Health Care Killed My Father, published in the September 2009 issue of The Atlantic. I don't know anything about Goldhill except that he is a Democrat and a business executive. But the piece will definitely inform you and cause much food for thought. Here's The Atlantic's summary:

After the needless death of his father, the author, a business executive, began a personal exploration of a health-care industry that for years has delivered poor service and irregular quality at astonishingly high cost. It is a system, he argues, that is not worth preserving in anything like its current form. And the health-care reform now being contemplated will not fix it. Here’s a radical solution to an agonizing problem.

Here is how David Brooks opens his op-ed in today's NYT:

If I were magically given an hour to help Barack Obama prepare for his health care speech next week, the first thing I’d do is ask him to read David Goldhill’s essay, “How American Health Care Killed My Father,” in the current issue of The Atlantic.

Joe Carter at First Things:

The forthcoming issue of the Atlantic includes one of the most sensible and pragmatic articles on the health care debate you’re likely to ever read.

John Schwenkler , who says this may be the best piece he's ever read on the issue and that it's "absolutely worth reading carefully and in its entirety," tries to identify the top 10 points in the 10,000+ word piece:
Read Schwenkler's post for a summary of each of these points.

Goldhill was recently on NPR's Morning edition, and you can view or listen to the transcript and audio.

"From Google to youtube, from craigslist to flickr - how some of today's biggest sites looked back in the early days of their existence"--here.

If you want to use the month of Ramadan (when Muslims fast), here's a day-by-day prayer guide on various peoples you can learn about and pray for. May God draw many to himself through the gospel.

HT: Susan Gingrich

Crossway and Amazon are giving away for free, in the month of September, the Kindle version of Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not be Overwhelmed, by Carolyn Mahaney and daughters.

Here's the publisher description:

Overwhelmed. Miserable. Exhausted. These are often the words women use to describe their high-demand lifestyles. How are women who are always on the go expected to cope with the demands of work, family, and ministry? Carolyn Mahaney and her three daughters, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw, draw biblical principles from God’s Word to give women practical advice on how to fulfill and excel in their daily responsibilities.

HT: Challies, Crossway Blog

Some good cautions about relying on Google Books for research.

HT: Scott Clark

In looking at pictures like this of the fire in LA, my mind keeps going back to the Apostle James's statement about the power of the tongue to cause great damage: "How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!" (James 3:5)

Here.

This October Paul Tripp, Tony Rose, and I will be the speakers at the Promoting the Gospel Conference at LaGrange Baptist Church in Kentucky.

On Sunday morning I'll be preaching at the church on defining and displaying the gospel, and on Sunday evening I'll be talking about adoption. On Monday at the conference I'll talk on the gospel and the internet, and on Wednesday I'll talk about defining and defending the gospel.

Doug Wolter sent over a few questions for me in advance of the conference, and you can read our conversation here.

(Fixed the link. Sorry.)

Brian Godawa is the screenwriter of one of my favorite films, To End All Wars, and the author of a good book, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films With Wisdom & Discernment (IVP, 2002).

His new IVP book is Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story & Imagination, just published.

Here are a few endorsements:

"Brian Godawa is that rare breed--a philosopher-artist--who opens our eyes to the aesthetic dimension of spirituality. Cogently argued and fun to read, this book analyzes the rich variety of literary genres found in Scripture itself. Godawa shows convincingly that God interacts with us as whole persons, not only through didactic teaching but also through metaphor, symbol and sacrament."

—Nancy R. Pearcey, Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar, World Journalism Institute, and author of Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity

"This is must reading for anyone interested in the huge question of the use of words and the legitimacy of images for theological and apologetic discourse. Brian Godawa has left no stone unturned. Moving insightfully through the Bible, Luther, Calvin, Tolkien, Lewis and, of course, films, Godawa lays to rest the many fears about images and imagination. More than that, he encourages Christians to get involved in the media, with a view to transforming them rather than hiding behind the safe wall of 'Christian art.'"

—William Edgar, professor of apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

"Brian Godawa's book is an exploration of the literary nature of the Bible. It is a spirited and balanced defense of the imagination as a potential conveyer of truth. There is a lot of good literary theory in the book, as well as an autobiographical story line. Pervading all this wealth is a sense of the author's energetic mind. The thoroughness of research makes the book a triumph of scholarship as well."

—Leland Ryken, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English, Wheaton College, and editor of The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing

"Accessible and engaging, Word Pictures introduces readers to the popular discourse among religious conservatives about visual culture in a mass-mediated society. The strength of Word Pictures lies in the author's fresh explication of biblical passages, 'literarily' situating them in both generic and cultural contexts and then drawing interesting parallels for thinking about contemporary popular art."

—William Romanowski, professor of communication arts and sciences, Calvin College, and author of Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture

You can read the Table of Contents and chapter 1, Confessions of a Modern.

Daniel Hyde, Mark Jones, and Rowland Ward have started a new blog, Meet the Puritans.

The purpose of this website is to promote the seventeenth century English Puritans. We intend to do this by means of original research, theological and devotional commentary upon the writings of the Puritans, reviews of books about the Puritans, recommendations of books about the Puritans, and by providing Recommended Reading of helpful materials in your study of the Puritans.

Darryl Dash asks Doug Moo some questions about the NIV, TNIV, and NIV2011.

The latest issue is online: available in PDF or in html at the 9Marks site.

Mark Dever's most recent interviews are with Kevin DeYoung and with Darryl Hart.

Bruce Waltke, writing in Ligonier Magazine about the parallels between Elisha and Jesus:

Both are designated by a prophet, whom the general populace recognized as a true prophet.

Both receive the Spirit on the other side of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:7–15; John 1:28);

are surrounded by more disciples than their predecessors;

are itinerant miracle workers;

give life in a land of death;

cleanse lepers (2 Kings 5; Mark 1:40–45);

heal the sick (2 Kings 4:34–35; Mark 8:22–25);

defy gravity (2 Kings 6:6; Matt. 14:22–33);

reverse death by raising dead sons and restoring them to their mothers (2 Kings 4: 1–7; Luke 7:11–17);

help widows in desperate circumstances; are kinsman redeemers to save from slavery (2 Kings 4:1–7; Luke 4:19);

feed the hungry (2 Kings 4:1–7; Mark 8:1–12);

minister to the Gentiles (2 Kings 5:1–16);

prepare (2 Kings 6:20–23) and sit at table with sinners (Luke 5:29);

lead captives (2 Kings 6:18–20; Eph. 4:7–8);

have a covetous disciple (Gehazi and Judas);

end their lives in a life-giving tomb from which people flee (2 Kings 13:20–21; Mark 16:1–8).

He also shows that Elisha is a type of Christ’s disciples:

elected by I AM;

leaves father and mother behind;

forsakes everything to be a disciple to his Master;

becomes like his Master;

perseveres with his Master;

does greater works than these (2 Kings 4:31–35; John 14:12);

brings life to those who stay close to their Master in a culture of death; and

develops disciples for whom they also serve as types.

Read the whole thing.

(Line breaks in the quotes above are mine.)

A press release from Ligon Duncan, chairman of the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood:

Today (September 1, 2009), Zondervan (the publisher of the NIV), the Committee on Bible Translation [CBT] (which oversees the NIV and TNIV translations) and Biblica (which owns the copyrights to the NIV and TNIV) announced the discontinuation of the TNIV translation. The TNIV received significant criticism from the larger evangelical community both because of the way in which it was introduced to the Christian public (there was a widespread perception of lack of integrity in the process), and because of numerous controversial aspects to the translation itself (including but not limited to the way it handles gender language and the veiling of some important Messianic references).

I want to thank publicly Maureen (Moe) Girkins, President of Zondervan, for her transparent integrity in this process. I have the utmost respect for her. I also want to thank Professor Doug Moo, of the CBT, who has long been a hero of mine (along with his colleague and mine, Bruce Waltke). Though I disagree with Professor Moo’s public assessment of the relative correctness of the choices the TNIV made in relation to gender language, I honor him as a father in the faith and brother in the Lord, from whom I have learned more than I can adequately express, and for whom I have the highest esteem.

I also believe Ms. Girkins and Professor Moo implicitly when they say that the CBT is embarking upon: “a complete review of every gender-related change we have made in the TNIV” and that they are “actively seeking scholarly input" from anyone who would like to send it to them. I will personally avail myself of that opportunity with Professor Moo (and I have been expressly invited and encouraged to do so by Ms. Girkins).

When the TNIV first surfaced, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood [www.cbmw.org] emphatically criticized the CBT’s translation choices in numerous places, especially relating to gender-neutral language (see www.genderneutralbibles.com). We believe that a flawed translation philosophy resulted in the TNIV presenting English readers with an unjustified rendering of the gender language of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible. It is our sincere hope that this new revision of the NIV will do better. We await the new product of the CBT with expectancy. And when we have the opportunity, we will review it for the larger Christian public with rigor and charity.

I especially appreciate that Zondervan and Biblica have both privately and publicly acknowledged that they made serious mistakes of process, and that the CBT has committed itself to re-examine the gender-related changes that appeared in the TNIV. This is a welcome and humble approach.

May I also say (though this may come unlooked for and from an unexpected source), as the Chairman of CBMW, the quick reaction of some egalitarians in the blogosphere to Zondervan’s announcement, accusing Zondervan and the CBT of “caving in” to “fundamentalism" is uncharitable, inaccurate and unfair. There is every indication that the CBT aims to be true to its own translation philosophy, whatever the feedback of egalitarians or complementarians may be.

Greg Gilbert writes about a professor repeatedly using "what may be the all-time worst argument for immersion."

It goes like this: In the story of Philip and the eunuch, the text uses the Greek words for "to go down [into]" and "to come up [out of]" water. Going down into the water and coming back up—that's immersion.

Well, no. That's a bad argument. Here's what the text says (Acts 8:38-39):

And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Now if "went down into the water" and "came up out of the water" refer to the baptism itself, are we to understand that both Philip and the eunuch were baptized? The text, after all, says that "they both went down into the water" and that they both came back up. Surely the text is not saying that both were baptized. Also, look carefully at the text's sequence; it's very precise. They went down into the water, he baptized him, then they came up. If "went down" and "came up" refer to the immersion itself, then we're left with the ridiculous picture of Philip pushing the eunuch under (presumably going under himself, too), then immersing him while they're both under water, and then both of them coming up together out of the water. What sense does that make? It's much easier to understand "went down into the water" as referring not to immersion, but to stepping down into whatever body of water the eunuch saw. Then Philip baptized him, and then they both stepped out of the body of water.

Update: To clarify, I (and Greg) hold to credobaptism by immersion as biblical.

This quote from a sermon by Mike Bullmore is worth meditating upon:

We need fellowship with others to be alone safely.
We need solitude to be with others meaningfully.

HT: @Tony Reinke

Update: In the comments below David reprints some Bonhoeffer quotes (Life Together) that fit with this very well:

Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. . . . But the reverse is also true: Let him who is not in community beware of being alone. . . . We recognize, then, that only as we are within the fellowship can we be alone, and only he that is alone can live in the fellowship. Only in fellowship do we learn to be rightly alone and only in aloneness do we learn to live rightly in fellowship. . . . Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair. (p. 77-78)

And:

Blessed is he who is alone in the strength of the fellowship and blessed is he who keeps the fellowship in the strength of aloneness. But the strength of aloneness and the strength of the fellowship is solely the strength of the Word of God, which is addressed to the individual in the fellowship. (p. 89)

Thanks, David!

From a new sermon by John Piper on humility, summarizing what humility is and does:

1. Humility is glad that God gets all the credit for choosing us so that we boast only in him and not man.
2. Humility happily admits that everything we have is a free gift from God, so that we can’t boast in it.
3. Humility is glad to affirm that God sovereignly governs our heartbeats and safe arrivals, or non-arrivals.
4. The root of Christian humility is the gospel that Christ died for our sins. That’s how sinful I was. That’s how dependent I am.
5. Humility gives itself away in serving everyone, rather than seeking to be served.
6. And humility is glad to affirm that this service is true greatness.

He also answers three worldly objections to humility:

1. Humility makes a person gloomy, dismal, downcast, unhappy
   
2. Humility makes you fearful and timid
   
3. Humility makes you passive and removes the driving motor of achievement

I especially appreciated this quote:

Gospel humility frees you from the need to posture and pose and calculate what others think, so that you are free to laugh at what is really funny with the biggest belly laugh. Proud people don’t really let themselves go in laughter. They don’t get red in the face and fall off chairs and twist their faces into the contortions of real free laughter. Proud people need to keep their dignity. The humble are free to howl with laughter.

[Updates below.]

Biblica (formerly International Bible Society), the Committee on Bible Translation, and Zondervan announced this morning that they will be doing a new revision of the NIV translation of the Bible, released in 2011, and taking the TNIV off the market when it's published.

From Kathy Grossman's article:

"The T-NIV is very divisive. It's not a unifying translation. And it was poorly handled in the marketplace. We need to undo the damage," says Maureen (Moe ) Girkins, president of Zondervan.

The T-NIV will be taken off the market when the new Bible is released.

For the 2011 edition, more than a dozen scholars will "review every single gender-related decision we have made and make sure we are putting God's unchanging word into English people are actually using," says Douglas Moo, chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation.

Gender issues aren't the only areas for re-examination, says Moo. "In the 1984 NIV when Paul says (in 2 Corinthians 11:25) 'I was stoned,' we changed it to 'pelted with stones' to avoid the laughter in the junior high row of the church."

While the committee has always called on scholars from numerous faiths and disciplines, they're also now calling for input from the general public at a special new website, NIVBible2011.com.

"I can't predict what will happen with gender usage. My guess would be we made a lot of the right decisions for the T-NIV but every one of those is open for consideration. We may even be returning to what we had in the 1984 NIV," says Moo.

Update: For more developments, keep an eye on Ted Olsen's post here. Ted has some quotes from this morning's press conference:

Keith Danby, Biblica CEO [NB: Danby is talking here about the UK's NIVi, not the TNIV]:

Some of the criticism was justified. We fell short of the trust that was placed in us and we made some important errors on the way.

Moe Gerkins, Zondervan CEO:

Whatever its strengths were, the TNIV divided the evangelical Christian community. So as we launch this new NIV, we will discontinue putting out new products with the TNIV. . . . We are correcting the mistakes in the past. Being as transparent as possible is part of that. This decision was made by the board was made in the last 10 days.

Doug Moo, Committee on Bible Translation Chairman:

We felt certainly at the time it was the right thing to do, that the language was moving in that direction. All that is back on the table. This has been a time of transition in the way the English language has handed gender, and it is in flux and in process as things are changing quickly.

Update: Official press release here.

Danby:

We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand. This is why we are recommitting ourselves today to the original NIV charter, complete with its charge to monitor and reflect developments in English usage and Biblical scholarship by periodically updating the NIV Bible text.

As time passes and English changes, the NIV we have at present is becoming increasingly dated. If we want a Bible that English speakers around the world can understand, we have to listen to, and respect, the vocabulary they are using today.

Moo:

The committee exists to ensure that the NIV continues to articulate the words of God, as we find them recorded in the original languages, in a form of English that is comprehensible to the broadest possible audience. As a committee, our response to this challenge has always been to follow the example of the original Bible writers who wrote in forms of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that reflected the language spoken by the everyday working people of their day. Just as the New Testament is written in 'Koine' or 'common' Greek, our aim with the NIV Bible is - and has always been - to translate the Bible into what you might call 'Koine' or 'common' English.

So it is fitting that the new edition of the NIV Bible will be coming out in 2011, the year which marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version. Our goal in the NIV Bible translation mirrors that of the 17th Century translators themselves: to produce a Bible that removes all unnecessary obstacles to comprehension by drawing on the best available scholarship.

The new 2011 NIV is all about maintaining and enhancing the original values of the NIV for today's readers. We're looking for a translation that is above all accurate - that says what the original authors said in the way they would have said it had they been speaking in English to the global English-speaking audience today. We're looking for a translation that offers clarity - where understanding comes naturally and readers can quickly grasp the original authors' ideas and the cadence of their language. We're looking for a translation that is suitable both for in-depth study and for outreach - a translation that Christians can share with their neighbors without hindrance whether they are experienced Bible readers or interested newcomers.

The CBT has always proactively sought peer review from qualified biblical scholars, linguists and English stylists and it continues to do so. Every suggestion presented in writing to the CBT before the end of this calendar year will be considered for the 2011 edition of the NIV Bible. The CBT also values the feedback it receives from NIV Bible readers - be they scholars or not - on the comprehensibility of the text as we continue in our efforts to create a translation that offers English speakers across the world accurate understanding and unobstructed access to God's unchanging word.

Justin Childers shares how each Sunday for the past three years his church has read aloud an entire psalm--starting at Psalm 1 and working up to Psalm 150. I think this is a great idea. See his post for some thoughts on it (including what they did with Psalm 119!).

HT: Jeff Brewer

David Brooks: "All presidents fall from their honeymoon highs, but in the history of polling, no newly elected American president has fallen this far this fast."

You can watch online an hour-long documentary on C.S. Lewis's life. It is nicely done, with attractive re-creations.

Watch the trailer here.

HT: @John Piper