You might be New Reformed

(...know who this is?)


TIm Challies posted a rather funny piece on what it means to be emergent. In response, I think it would be nice to see a contrast between Emergents and New Reformed (Resurgent, Calvinists the Next Generation-what could it be?)

Old Dead Guys
Ours : Francis Schaeffer, Jonathan Edwards, Calvin, Augustine, Martin Lloyd Jones, James Boice
Theirs: Stanley Grenz, Ignatius of Loyola, Karl Barth, Henri Nouen

Old Guys
Ours: J.I. Packer, John Piper, D.A. Carson, C.J. Mahaney, Wayne Grudem, John Macarthur
Theirs: Stanley Hauerwas, N. T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis

Music:
Ours: Classic Hymns and everything else
Theirs: Johnny Cash, Moby etc...

Drinks
Tie: Guinness (though some of us like root beer and green tea)


Classic Christianity:
Ours: The Apostle Paul, Martin Luther
Theirs: Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr.

Dislikes about Evangelical Christianity
Tie: Left Behind, Joel Osteen, consumerism (Note: they also aren't keen on Hell, Witnessing etc..)

Political Concerns:
Ours: Varied, but I hope to see a continuation of ministry to the homeless, third world nations etc...
Theirs: The same, but they can be rather smug about it at times. A few times, they have been right on AIDS, poverty etc...

Style:
Tie: Goatee's and vintage clothing. Though Schaeffer tried to make knickers cool. So close....

The Bible:
Ours: The Infallible Inspired the Incapable to write the Inerrant. Inerrancy and authority of scripture: We believe that the Bible is without error in its original form, and that it is the church's absolute authority for faith and life. We believe that the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to draw people to faith in Christ and to develop people to become more like him to the Glory of God. Ml 12:26,36; 13:11; Luke 24:27; 2 Tim 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:19-22 --thanks to paradox church L.A.

Theirs: All Scripture is inspired by God. Eugene Peterson says it like this, “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful.” What this verse does not say is that the Bible is perfect. It does not mean that its not, it just never claims to be. It never claims to have all the answers to every question in life. Timothy just makes the simple, deep, and confident claim that the Bible originated with God and it is useful. It is inspired. It is God-breathed --from iamjoshbrown blog
or-- you love the Bible as a beautiful, inspiring collection of works that lead us into the mystery of God but is not inerrant;

Truth:
Ours: can be found because it exists because our God is the way the TRUTH and the life.
Theirs: it's all about the search cause I don't think it can be found.

Church Life:
Ours: prayer, memorizing scripture, expository preaching, talking about theology at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and at BJ's Pizza.
Theirs: prayer labyrinths, candles, Play-Doh, chalk-drawings, couches, or beanbags (your youth group doesn’t count)

Buzzwords:
Ours: Exposition, Doctrinal, Hermeneutics, apologetics, Penal-Substitution, Sola Scriptura
Theirs: ancient-future, jazz, mosaic, matrix, missional, vintage, and dance

Hell:
Ours: Hell Yeah!
Theirs: who goes to hell is no one’s business and no one may be there anyway

Salvation:
Ours: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
Theirs: little to do with atoning for guilt and a lot to do with bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker

I'm sure I missed a few areas. What say you?

Upcoming Books--Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll has just released his book Vintage Jesus to much acclaim or scorn. He will be releasing his book based on questions his church asked him this year and now announced a forthcoming book: Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. It will take a Creation, Fall, Redemption approach to Doctrine and it will be based on his upcoming sermon series at his church based on the same title. There will be a companion website to go with the book and the series. I'll be following a long giving a play by play. Check it out. Here's the outline for the sermon series:
* Trinity: God Is – March 30
* Revelation: God Speaks – April 6
* Creation: God Makes – April 13
* Image: God Loves – April 20
* Fall: God Judges – April 27
* Covenant: God Pursues – May 4
* Incarnation: God Comes – May 11
* Cross: God Dies – May 18
* Resurrection: God Saves – June 1
* Church: God Sends – June 8
* Worship: God Transforms – June 15
* Stewardship: God Gives – June 22
* Kingdom: God Reigns – June 29

Muslims outnumber Catholics

Here we have a report on the latest statistics released by the Vatican. Of course this doesn't enclide Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestant churches. However, we what will this mean for evangelism and outreach? Something to think about.

Tim Keller Quote on the Bible and the Stepford God

What do you think? Let me know. I also am working on reviewing his book. It will be up this week--

If you don't trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you. For example, if a wife is not allowed to contradict her husband, they won't have an intimate relationship. Remember the (two!) movies The Stepford Wives? The husbands of Stepford, Connecticut, decide to have their wives turned into robots who never cross the wills of their husbands. A Stepford wife was wonderfully compliant and beautiful, but no one would describe such a marriage as intimate or personal.


Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won't! You'll have a Stepford God! A God, essentially, of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction. Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it. —The Reason for God, pages 113-114

The Emergent Church's Worst Nightmare.....

Here are the shocking details. What do you think?

What is apologetics?

Some quick thoughts from Dr. Bob of Biblicalthought. What do you think? (PS: I'm getting close to my 100th post!)

What is Apologetics?

James White Lectures 12 Common Attacks Against Reformed Theology

Mr. White is a great blogger, author, debator and professor. Here's a great Reformed Baptist presenting commong attacks against reformed theology and how to respond. Good stuff.

Movie review: Run Fatboy Run!!!!!!

Run Fatboy Run
location: London
Cast: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria,
Directed by: Davind Schwimmer (yes from FRIENDS)
Written by Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black (yes from I love the 80's on VH1)
Fusion's Scale: 4 Stars

Simon Pegg (from Saun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz) has done it again. This time, he's not fighting zombies or crime, but running a marathon in what appears to be a British family comedy. If these guys keep it up (Pegg, Frost and Moran) we'll have to start calling them the Brit Pack (as opposed to the Frat pack made up of the guys from Anchor man, Knocked up, Old School etc..) I got to see it at a special screening in Ontario and it was great.

How do you apologize to your girlfriend after leaving her at the altar? Running a marathon of course! The movie focuses on Dennis, an out of shape security guard who ran out on his pregnant girlfriend the day of their wedding. Without giving too much away, he trains to run a marathon to prove he's matured. Pegg shows his comedic and running talent and writing ability. He co-wrote this screenplay and it shows. I'm sorry to say his pal Nick Frost (from Saun and Hot Fuzz) isn't in this one. But one of the Saun of the Dead characters is in it.

Dylan Moran (the jealous friend from Saun) plays Peggs crazy best friend. Their fight involving a trashcan is hilarious. The scene where he has to pop a boil is also funny. I think he stole parts of the movie too. Plenty of slapstick comedy and while it can get a little predictable, I liked the ending and the funny characters surrounding Peggs character.

On another note, a theme that literally runs throughout the movie is the idea of perseverance and endurance. What's important to you? what will you do to get it? More so, the idea of responsibility comes up in it as well. You may be responsible for the problems in your life, but you can also be responsible for your response to those things as well.

The humor goes from PG to PG-13, but I was cool taking my little sis. You do see Moran's naked butt a few too many times, but the movie has heart and plenty of laughs. I will be buying this on dvd.

5 Stars
Memorable lines:
That's the second most disgusting fluid that's been in my eye!
Come on up!
You want your son to love you, don't break the law!!!!
The only serious relationship I've been in ended in a broken collarbone and a dead meerkat.


Scrotal Zone!!!!

Gordon: Go on then, run!
Dennis: Isn't there some kind of like... special technique?
Gordon: Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast.

Blog of note: Purgatorio

What can I say. We Christians don't always have a sense of humor. PURGATORIO does. And it does it with a vengeance. This guy's blog has more endorsements that Shaq in his best days. What's funny is that all sorts of people like this blog. The guys seems to be Reformed (like I said, they have the best humor) and I love the emblem of the tipped over cow. The message? Watch out suburban Christianity. We're coming for your sacred cows. The cool thing is that he expects people to comment and you can get a gravatar for your posts. Your specific pic will come up (Mine is of Darth Stewie) He puts up old Christian vinyl albums (and somehow gets really old pics of Christian leaders) and puts them up for people to have fun with. Very funny stuff. Go visit.

** note I am not just endorsing this guy cause he added me to his links. But it played a role. Thanks man.

What is the Bible?

So what is the Bible? What is it about? One of my more thoughtful readers has asked me to address that question. However, as I think about it, what I say doesn't matter. The questions is what does it say it's about? Here are a few excerpts:

19And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was(U) a prophet(V) mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and(W) how our chief priests and(X) rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was(Y) the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now(Z) the third day since these things happened. 22Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.(AA) They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and(AB) when they did not find his body, they came back saying that(AC) they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24(AD) Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." 25And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26(AE) Was it not necessary that(AF) the Christ should suffer these things and enter into(AG) his glory?" 27And(AH) beginning with(AI) Moses and(AJ) all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

What I find interesting (seeing that we are approaching Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday when these vents took place) is that Jesus took the time to teach two disciples. He told them about himself. He didn't just tell them himself, but he used the scripture to tell them. Going to the Bible it tells us foremost about God and his Son.

John 5:39
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,

So helpful are they in telling us about God, that in the early days of the church Paul was able from the OT alone show who Jesus was (just like Jesus did on the road to Emmaus). We're told about the people:
Acts 18:28
For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.


One of the most important things we find the Bible is about is in what it says about salvation.
1 Corinthians 15

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Yet again Paul appeals to scripture. Indeed about the gospel he preaches he says

Romans 1:2
the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures

But it deals with real life as well. If God is the one who made us and knows us and can guide us (issues which necessitate another post if so desired) then his Word is practical. And it is. Paul states

Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Very practical value hope. It's what we are able to do that other creatures can't. A dog can't hope or have faith. We can. Paul also states
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Again, it tells us about salvation (note that it is good for a child to know them) and it teaches us what to believe, not believe, not do and do. Ultimately it is how we are made useful in God's hands. It is a cumulative effect. If it happens all at once for you that please show me your halo.

Overall, the Bible tells us about God. It even starts with Him, and then us. It's only in that context that we make sense. We see him dealing with people in history and in real time, and finally sending his son (many promises about his arrival are given) and ultimately his life and death and resurrection and what it means for us who will follow him.

Not to say that we will always get it (it is in our nature!). It can get messy, indeed Peter says about Paul

2 Peter 3:16
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

He confirms Paul as a Scripture writer, and says he doesn't get him sometimes! Things don't change much I guess. But he says it is not good to mess around with it. Indeed he says of those who do that it is to their own destruction. Don't mess with this book I guess. But keep reading, learning and in my case memorizing.

Scientology does it again.......and Anonymous responds

This time they want to block protestor's from being able to meet publicly and protest outside their Clearwater, FL headquarters. I wonder what Anonymous will do?

March 15th the world will see.

English Standard Bible: Literary Study Bible

What can i say? I love books and love using very good Bible study tools. One such tool i would love to recommend is the English Standard Bible Literary Study Bible (ESVLSB). This study Bible deals more with the literary aspects of the Bible. One of the things that we should focus on when studying scripture is the literary genre you are reading. So far it's great and has small notes throughout the text, and great introductions to each book, along with a literary glossary at the end. Great work. I recommend it to you. 5 Stars.

I might add, they haven't sold too well. Another sign that Evangelicals don't care about Bible study. So the good people at House of Bible's have them on sale at 50% off(I paid about $25 in all). Those of you who are bargain hunters better get there soon. And if you bring some old books, you can get store credit. Have fun.

The Sinners Prayer

LISTEN TO THIS!!!!

ESV Classic Thinline TruTone Char Cross

I recently purchased a new ESV bible ( I sadly lost or misplaced my ESV Reformation Study Bible at home) and am a real satisfied customer. I bought it at Archives Bookshop in Pasadena. You can check out their selection of used, new and rare bibles. You can also bring in your old books and get store credit. This is a great bible with a soft feel. You may need to get a special bible highlighter as the pages are thin and require lots of care. The Black charcoal cross on the cover gives it a great classic feel. The only other one I would want is the journal bible wrapped in old leather. I would recommend the ESV as many people from R.C. Sproul to John Piper to Mark Driscoll give it their thumbs up.
5 Stars.

J.I. Packer, Knowing Scripture and the Church

As many of you know, I'm reformed. It was through the ministries of Robert Morey, John Piper and R. C. Sproul that I traveled from my uninformed Christian world-view, to the light of the Reformation. Indeed, the light of the Word of God. It's been a great journey. Sproul's radio show along with Dr. Morey's radio show that played a huge role. I'm currently reading Sproul's book "Knowing Scripture" and the introduction written 31 years ago, by J.I. Packer, is very interesting.
For those of you who are't following Anglican news (the few of you who don't) The Anglican church is going through a change. The Archbishop has been behind changes in the church that include the blessing of same-sex marriages. Many within the church (notably African and South American and Conservative Western churches) have begun to distance themselves. Packer (an Evangelical and Anglican and author of great books like "Knowing God" and an upcoming systematic theology) has gone with his church and they have aligned themselves with the Church of the Southern Cone (The Southern Cone is Argentina in South America). As a result, Packer and other's will be suspended from the Anglican church of Canada. The reason is because it is the conservative branch of the Anglican Church that has opposed the new changes. I might add, that for the first time in centuries, Anglicans are looking to someone in South America (The Bishop of Argentina) as their leader. This is only the beginning, as stats show that in the future Christianity will be stronger in Asia, Africa and South America.
Why is this important? Packer write in his introduction to Sproul's book:
If I were the devil... I should try to distract all clergy from preaching and teaching the Bible... I should broadcast doubts about the truth and relevance of and good sense and straightforwardness of the Bible....At all costs I should want to keep from using their minds in a disciplined way to get the measure of its message.


The Anglican church has now with it's approval of the New Perspective on Paul, and it's blessing of same-sex marriages and even the Archbishops shameful statements about Sharia law being practiced in England, show that it is time to "come out from among them and be different". They have let the devil take them from the pure milk of the word. The Bible has been taken down, and popular opinion has been allowed to take over. Keep the church in prayer as they begin anew with new leadership from the Southern Cone.

Thou Shalt Drive Not Pollute?????

The Vatican has announced new sins. Some of them are commendable. These include cloning and stem cell research. However, it also includes polluting the environment. Does this mean Catholics will have to say a few Hail Mary's before driving their SUV's? Another reason for them to convert to the real gospel and come over to the evangelical side. Here's the article

What's even more interesting is thatthe number 2 man at the Vatican says that Italian's aren't going to confessional, many belive there doesn't need to be a intermediary between men and God, and more so that they don't feel comfortable going to tell someone their sins. Wow, it just gets even more interesting. However, it shouldn't surprise us because a lot of Europe is going secular. With the rise of Islam in Europe, let us pray that a New Reformation will begin in Europe.

OUT OF CONTEXT

Watch the video first!!!


Hopefully you've watched and it thought: Wow that was interesting. Too bad that wasn't what really happened. Truth is it happens with our words too. I posted earlier about Rick Warren quoting scripture out of context and making verses say what they don't mean. I must admit, I have seen well intentioned people try to make other people/ministries say what they don't mean. I won't say who (yet) but for all of us who are out here trying to get the word out on this idea or that bad idea, please quote people in context and their entirety when making allegations against them. Much like the film clip above, you can easily distort what someone says and make them mean something they didn't. This ought not to be. Especially when it comes to a fellow brother or sister in Christ.

Mark Driscoll Apologizes

And not for the shirt either! As I've said before, I like to take a wait and see approach to people. Having said that, I have said before that I think Mark Driscoll is on a great trajectory. He has said that he will try not to cuss while preaching, and he has publicly apologized for his lack of humility in the last year. Tim Challies has some audio from what he said during a conference in which he had John Piper and C.J. Mahaney. (They both have taken flak for promoting his ministry-indeed they have played a role in shaping him for the better) I think he shows that he truly is growing. You can listen to the audio clip HERE apologizing for the lack of robust worship. This was in response to having some guidance from Mahaney and Piper and from his own study of scripture. I really love the respones people give on Challies's blog.

--Iron sharpening iron, to be sure. But to paraphrase Abraham above, iron can’t sharpen iron without contact! It challenges me to engage with brothers with whom I disagree, rather than just lob shots from a distance. It also challenges me to be open to correction the next time someone points out a weakness or sin or deficiency in my own life. I pray that I would have the kind of humility that Mark showed in that sermon.

--How great it is to see the New Testament pattern for love producing fruit. It works much better than throwing stones. Thank God for wise older men who know how to love a younger brother.

Yes, it always helps to be in contact than to throw stones.

Emergent Resources

For those of you who have to deal with some of the major ideas in the emergent movement, you can now go to CARM's new emergent page. CARM stands for Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. It played a huge role in my first days of growing as a young Christian Thinker. I highly recommend the site
CARM Emergent page

For those of you who have more time to read and want something even more scholarly, Ron Gleason's page is great. I wish more scholars blogged like this.
Ron Gleason's Blog

Triablogue: What's The Point?

So does the Calvinist waste his time when praying? How about the Arminian? Something to think about. A quick reponse to the "you can't pray if you're a Calvinist" attack. Triablogue: What's The Point?

Videos I wanted to Share

** to listen to these videos scroll to the bottom and turn off the playlist.

A video I made that says what I've wanted to say for a long time:

An Open Message To The Church - The top video clips of the week are here

The Oscar performance of the song that I liked and ended up winning: Falling Slowly.






What do you tell a man who's dying? I hope it's more than how to feel better about yourself. Take a look at this:

Mark Driscoll on Joel Osteen

Something he said last year, it bears playing again.

Living together before getting married?

On my xanga account I got a question about whether it was good for people to live together before they got married. As a Christian with distinct notions on the question, I had to answer no. Here's what I said:
If I recall correctly, Psychology Today had an article about it. Most of those couples don't last. I know spending time with some one plays a role, but talk to the girl who is still trying to get her guy to set a date! However, at the church I visit, they do encourage couples who are getting married to get pre-marital counseling. (Oh it's free too). Not just that, but they would encourage it before they even decide to get married (but after an appropriate amount of time dating). The reason being because for 8 weeks the couple really talks and tries to figure out if they really want to take that step. That's just something you won't get just by living together. A friend of mine had a friend who took that route and by the second week he knew the girl wasn't going to marry him. She wouldn't even open up! It saved him an engagement ring, and to be honest, if you figure this out while living together, you have the added expense of finding a new roomate, finding out the best way to split up your stuff, pets, clothes, etc On the other hand, I have a friend of mine who will be getting married in a few weeks and they never lived together. They did do the pre-marital counseling before he proposed. Then again, he did date her for about a year and knew it was getting serious. Just living together doesn't automatically mean it's going in that direction. Ask the many girls who are still trying to get their live-in boyfriend to set a date!!! So no. I don't go for that.

What surprises me are two things: how many people said yes (well maybe it shouldn't surprise me) but the second was the bad arguments some Christians used. However, I saw some great responses-some from a bad personal experience:

--No way... why should we act married and have all the benefits of marriage without a commitment? I'd rather keep my independence and guard my heart, finances and sanity until the man loves me enough to commit for life.

--No, not a good idea. Why? God ordained marriage, not "oh lets just see how this works first." Either you love the person enough to commit completly, or you don'
--I was brought up by parents who believed that a partner was for life, so my husband and I only started living together the night of our wedding day. We've never regretted it and believe it has helped our marriage

Here's one that really got me thinking:
--think it depends on the relationship and the ages of the people. I lived with Frank (not me!) for about a year after Emma was born. It was all downhill after that. I mean, it's not like he wasn't a good guy. I just think we were too young and we both had these expectations of how things should be and neither one of us really wanted to change and act like the adults we should be as our lives had taken such a dramatic turn.I have a girlfriend who lives with her boyfriend. They have been living together for 7 years, and I don't think he will ever marry her. He is fine with the arrangement and she wants that ring. But she feels that she doesn't want to lose him so she will stay.

Very sad. I think what's interesting is that a lot of people think that just because it's easy to live with somoene their marriage will be great. Granted you may be able to tell if they are great at cooking and easy to get along with, but in the long run, it's a mentality that you need-not just an experience. They go into this thing to make themselves comfortable, and then at the first sign of trouble they bail. It used to be that you got married not because that personwas easy to get along with (to say the least) but because you saw it as something important and worth fighting for. I think we've lost that in this country, and that's why a lot of people get divorced.

**I might add, a lot of people get divorced for real serious reasons, and I'm not putting any of them down. They deserve our love and encouragement.

Moses was on....drugs?

From our "This Dude is Whacked!" files, a researcher from Israel has made allegations about Moses. Apparently he says that he was high when he saw the Burning bush and got the Ten Commandments. How does the researcher know? Because's he's been high himself in a religious ceremony. Perhaps the Priests got to keep the fat from their offerings because they got the munchies? Really, I guess he was also High when he wrote very complicated religious laws, the most advanced sanitation laws at the time, and when a new nation was founded. Cause that's what all stoners have done while high.

A Friendly Debate???

Many of you know I'm a friend of the New Reformation. Hence the new lion in full action on my page. My friends at biblicalthought.com have had a post on Tim Keller HERE. It's sad to say that he has made some pro-Roman Catholic Statements that I will have to address as soon as I finish his book. Having said that, on that post, a young lady named Denise (her blog is HERE) and I have had an ongoing (friendly?!) debate. I've been to her page and she writes:

My heart is to show other believers the error of various movements(e.g. the Word Of Faith, Seeker Friendly,Emergent Church movements, Reformed theology,etc.)I want to help them find truth through Scripture.

While I applaud her searching of the scriptures and her denouncement of many bad movements, I think I'll have to say no thanks to her difficulties with the reformed movement. (What's interesting is that she has a link to John Macarthur's messages and he's considered a Modern Reformer HERE) We seem to disagree on the best interpretation of Genesis 1, Mark Driscoll, John Piper, and now John Frame. I know in the heat of the moment we can all type things that can sound bad, but to say that John Frame has denied the need to believe in the ressurrection of Jesus is very troubling. So far, no real proof has been given, but I hope for all you, if you make a serious claim about a beloved and historically Christian teacher, you better have proof. On another note, I do applaud Ms. Denise's reseearch on Tim Keller and on the pagan approach to psychology. ( I do think there can be a christian approach to psychology).

Book Review: Socrates Meets Jesus

Socrates Meets Jesus
Peter kreeft
Inter-Varsity Press 1985
Amazon rating: 3.5 stars
Fusion's Book-o-meter™ scale: 4 for style and 3.75 for content

After a long time I have brought yet another book review. This time I picked an interesting book called "Socrates Meets Jesus" by Peter Kreeft. For those in the know, Peter Kreeft is known in apologetics circles as an apologist. He's also a C.S Lewis fan and a fan of Socrates. He teaches Philosophy at Boston College and lectures on Religion. He also stands out because he was once a Reformed believer and after thinking (or over thinking?) he defected to Roman Catholicism. Many of you know I am Protestant believer, so why am I reading this book?
I have to admit first and foremost that I like the style of the book. He writes the story in a socratic dialogue. It involves Socrates waking up (after his death?) in Have it (a pun on Harvard) with an enrollment slip for the divinity school.
A fish out of water type story. More so, as soon as we wakes up, the questions begin. From progress since his day to theology, he has questions about a lot of things. In the divinity school he and Bertha Broadmind, dialogue a lot about evil, faith, Jesus and God. He questions the assumptions of liberal academia and makes some good points. In a way, this Socrates sounded more like C.S. Lewis (which doesn't surprise me). If you know someone who has to deal with liberal Christians, this would be the book to read. What's interesting is that a new book looking a the resurrection has been released by Geza Vermes. It ends with the view that states that resurrection happened in people's hearts. Such ideas are discussed in this book.

But what is it that I liked about the book? The questions! I have been want to find people that deal with the use of questions in evangelistic dialogues. However there are a few . Kreeft knows how to craft a question. Why is that important? For now, it just matters that in dialoguing with unbelievers, questions are the tools that can help you to find out what the other person's presuppositions are.

Now what didn't I like? For the most part, the first two-thirds of the book were well done, but the last part was what bothered me. Kreeft, via Socrates, makes it seem that the truth of the OT prophets is close to the Classic Greek Philosophers and the Myths of times past (an idea I'll deal with later) However, as we read in Romans, no one seeks after God, and people don't want to know God. If the Myths point to God the question is why? It's not salvific, and it wouldn't lead to God without him first reaching out to the person.

Having said that, it was a decent reading and might give you an idea of how to talk to people in an apologetic dialogue. More so, John Frame of Reformed Theological Seminary recommends Kreeft's books for the same reason. So there!

Update: I might add, no I do not endorse everything Mr. Kreeft writes. He's catholic (I completely and utterly hope he changes his mind for the good of his soul) but I can respect good scholarship for the same reasons I would protest an abortion clinic with an atheist. So there!

In poor taste?

In times past when I took to a pre-tribulational rapture (I take a different approach now-it can happen whenever!) I had that fear that I would be left behind. This "christian" prank show, makes this poor girl think she was "left behind". I might add, it was in poor taste, and another reason why I'm not a fan of The Left Behind Series.