This year is the Belgic Confession’s 450th anniversary. 

I was going to write a blog about the death of Osama bin Laden and eschatological tension, but Michael Horton wrote a better article for Christianity Today. To sum, we can be reservedly glad that temporally justice is served but we still should mourn death and that he did not repent. When the Kingdom is fully inaugurated we will fully rejoice over the vanquishing of God’s enemies. As one last point, we should not confuse the actions of the state with the church.

And here’s a good article from Carl Trueman on Reformation21 on the Great Man Theory of history. 

An excellent link to a friend’s post about adoption. 

In Dethroning the King, Julie MacIntosh chronicles the intriguing tale of the takeover of the producer of an insipid libation. She has taken great care in recounting the history of Anheuser-Busch after the repeal of Prohibition and how myopic decisions led to the largest American brewery with over 50% of market share to become an acquisition target. My only disappointment is she did not as thoroughly chronicle the acquirer InBev. Yet, MacIntosh kept my rapt attention the entire read; well worth my time. 

While in the hospital with my wife and new baby, I decided to do some light reading, Chick Lit; no, not what you’re thinking of but the bizarre cartoons of Jack Chick. Don’t ask me why, probably sleep deprivation; I had tried reading Augustine’s Confessions but didn’t think I was doing justice to it by being so tired. 

Anyway, Jack Chick is apparently a KJV-onlyite, and in his KJV page he made a reference to the new Conservapedia Bible. I’d heard of Conservapedia before but never looked at it. So I found the pages on Conservapedia. The most egregious mistranslation I found (granted I was looking for it because I know the passage) was the rewording of Acts 2.44 from ‘And all who believed were together and had all things in common.’ to the risible, ‘Everyone who believed was together and shared values, faith, and the truth.’ The context clearly shows it to be possessions; read the verses following. 

On the Colbert Report show the founder of Conservapedia commented that the bulk of Jesus’ parables were about the free-market. After looking around on the site, I’m not sure if it is the view of actual conservatives or parodying conservative view. (Sometime the two are very close.) But after seeing the Colbert Report interview I think it is actual conservatives. 

So go read the pages on the ‘Conservative Bible’; there is so much self-evidently wrong there it’s unprofitable to discuss it all. A few things, however, jumped out at me: 

We might add, finally, that when we lose sight of God’s work in the past we may easily also lose sight of his work in the future, of the eschatological dimension of the Christian faith.…Reformed theology, by giving due place to history in God’s purposes, points beyond the present to a bright future in eschatological glory and thus does justice to the biblical tension involved in living in the world between Pentecost and the Parousia.

I have a new project and a new site: Reformed Confessions Serialized. This year I’m starting slow and introducing the Second Helvetic Confession; the publishing schedule will be every Monday. Subscribe to the RSS and it’ll automatically deliver the new sections for you. 

Inspired by a note making the rounds on FaceBook I decided to create my own list of books.

1 *The Bible
2 Didache
3 The Shepherd of Hermas
4 Dialogue with Trypho — Justin Martyr
5 Against Heresies — Irenaeus
6 De Carne Christi —Tertullian
7 De Unitate Ecclesiae — Cyprian
8 Ecclesiastical History — Eusebius
9 Orations Against the Arians — Athanasius
10 On the Holy Spirit — Basil the Great
11 Collected Homilies — John Chrysostom
12*Confessions — Augustine
13*The City of God — Augustine
14 Enchiridion — Augustine
15 The Ecclesiastical History of the English People — Bede
16 ?On Loving God — Bernard of Clairvaux
17 Cur Deus Homo? (Why God Man?) — Anselm
18 ?Sic et Non — Peter Abelard
19 Four Books of Sentences — Peter Lombard
20 Summa Theologica — Thomas Aquinas
21 Summa Contra Gentiles — Thomas Aquinas
22 Divine Comedy — Dante
23 The Cause of God Against the Pelagians — Thomas Bradwardine
24 Imitation of Christ — Thomas à Kempis
25 Mirror for Christians — Dietrich Coelde
26 Commentary on the Psalms — Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples
27 In Praise of Folly — Desiderius Erasmus
28 *95 Theses — Martin Luther
29 *The Freedom of the Christian — Martin Luther
30 *Commentary on Galatians — Martin Luther
31 67 Theses — Ulrich Zwingli
32 On True and False Religion — Ulrich Zwingli
33 *Decades — Heinrich Bullinger
34 Loci Communes — Phillipp Melanchthon
35 Loci Communes — Peter Martyr Vermigli
36 *The Institutes of Christian Religion — John Calvin
37 Commentaries — John Calvin
38 *Treatise on Relics — John Calvin
39 *Heidelberg Catechism — Zacharius Ursinius
40 Icones — Theodore Beza
41 The History of the Reformation in Scotland — John Knox
42 The Bruised Reed — Richard Sibbs
43 *The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment — Jeremiah Burroughs
44 *Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices — Thomas Brooks
45 *The Death of Death in the Death of Christ — John Owen
46 Communion with God — John Owen
47 *The Mortification of Sin — John Owen
48 The Christian in Complete Armour — William Gurnall
49 *The Sinfulness of Sin (org. Sin: that Plague of Plagues) — Ralph Venning
50 Institutes of Elenctic Theology — Francis Turretin
51 *Pilgrim’s Progress — John Bunyan
52 *Grace Abounding — John Bunyan
53 *Westminster Standards
54 The Marrow of Modern Divinity — Edward Fisher
55 The Crook in the Lot — Thomas Boston
56 The Fourfold State of Man — Thomas Boston
57 The Christian’s Reasonable Service — Wilhelmus à Brakel
58 The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man — Hermann Witsius
59 *Charity and its Fruits — Jonathan Edwards
60 *Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God — Jonathan Edwards
61 Resolutions — Jonathan Edwards
62 The Christian Faith — Friedrich Schleiermacher
63 History of the Reformation — J. H. Merle d’Aubigné
64 Systematic Theology — Charles Hodge
65 The Mystical Presence — John Nevin
66 ? Either/Or — Søren Kierkegaard
67 The Sickness Unto Death — Søren Kierkegaard
68 Commentary on the Confession of Faith — A A Hodge
69 The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible — B B Warfield
70 The Person and Work of Christ — B B Warfield
71 *Morning and Evening — Charles Spurgeon
72 Lectures on Calvinism — Abraham Kuyper
73 *Reformed Dogmatics — Herman Bavinck
74 *Systematic Theology — Louis Berkhoff
75 *Biblical Theology — Geerhardus Vos
76 Pauline Eschatology — Geerhardus Vos
77 Orthodoxy — G K Chesterton
78 *Christianity and Liberalism — Gresham Machen
79 Church Dogmatics — Karl Barth
80 The Defense of the Faith — Cornelius Van Til
81 *Mere Christianity — C S Lewis
82 *Till We Have Faces — C S Lewis
83 *Space Trilogy — C S Lewis
84 The Cost of Discipleship — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
85 *Your God is Too Small — J B Phillips
86 The Bible and the Future — Anthony Hoekema
87 *The Pursuit of Holiness — Jerry Bridges
88 *Concise Theology — J I Packer
89 *Luther: Man Between God and Devil — Heiko Oberman
90 *The Christian Life — Sinclair Ferguson
91 *Children of the Living God — Sinclair Ferguson
92 The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses — Vern Poythress
93 *Putting Amazing Back into Grace — Michael Horton
94 *The Valley of Vision
95 *The Reason for God — Tim Keller
96 *The Wages of Spin — Carl Trueman
97 Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics — Richard Muller
98 *The Big Picture Story Bible — David Helm
99 *The Jesus Storybook Bible — Sally Lloyd-Jones
100 *Calvin — Bruce Gordon

25/30/*41/?3/^0

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Romans 12:11 (NIV)

Start your day right: with Zeal Oats™.

Zeal Oats provide a hearty breakfast encouraging zeal for the Kingdom and healthy living.

Although several products have already been Christianized, until now there have been few Christian breakfast grains, as they have previously been considered either neutral or the domain of a pagan goddess. That changes with Zeal Oats!

Zeal Oats are a new product developed by Healthy Christian Flavor. Using a zealously guarded process, Zeal Oats combine the taste of steel-cut oats with the convenience of instant oatmeal. In the process, they infused with organic milk and honey. The oats are reaped and rotated using Biblical principles outlined in Leviticus. When you buy Zeal Oats, your purchase helps nourish the poor from the corners of the fields. In addition, the Zeal Oats box contains inspirational quotes about zeal from the Bible and famous Christian thinkers. 

Zeals Oats are sure to increase your zeal: preferably for Christ and his Kingdom. (Please use product responsibly and do not misdirect zeal into unprofitable arguments, fruitless diversions, or unwelcome badgering.) 

Zeal Oats are sold in the breakfast foods aisle of your local Christian bookstore. 

Please also try these other fine products from Healthy Christian Flavour: 
Meek Puffs: Even the milk is turned meek!
Joyoghurt: With live Laetatiobacillus gaudiphilus cultures.
And flavor your meals with low-sodium Psalter. 

Healthy Christian Flavor: helping displace books from Christian bookstores since 2010. 

Tom Wright Reads Humpty Dumpty

A great article by Carl Trueman of Reformation 21 (and Westminster Theological Seminary): No, Mr Beck is Part of the Problem. 

With the blogosphere abuzz about Glenn Beck, I shall have to consider writing my own article. After all, nothing says ‘blog’ like over-saturation. 

Here is an interesting article on the failure of the Christian Right political movement to truly proclaim the Gospel: God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck.

A great quote from the article:

There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Amphibiansandinsects by Christopher  
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I recorded this on Aug 1, 2010 about 2:00 AM while being fascinated after walking out my back door. Sadly as the only portable microphone I had was the one internal to my netbook, this mp3 does not begin to do it justice.

From Five Quarts by Bill Hays:

…Steve’s Lazarus-like return from dire illness…

Wait, isn’t the whole point of Lazarus’s return is that he was dead! This isn’t Princess Bride ‘He’s only mostly dead.’ Lazarus was dead four days. I stopped reading the book there, didn’t even finish the sentence.

One of the first things that I noticed when reading the Gospel of Thomas is that it has no narrative; it is composed of 114 sayings of Jesus, most of them without context. Even the ones which have context are abbreviated from the context in the synoptic gospels. This important fact would seem to actually exclude it from the genre of gospel. If ‘gospel’ is ‘good news’ then in addition to the sayings and preachings of Jesus, it would include the actions of Jesus. Christianity is not an ahistorical faith. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ show God’s good news: how he has redeemed sinners. The teachings follow from an understanding of Jesus; they have no authority if Jesus is not raised from the dead. ‘And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.’ (1 Cor 15.17)

This report is dedicated to 

Galileo Galilei

who altered our view of the heavens forever

Thomas Jefferson

who took scissors and paste to the gospels

David Friedrich Strauss

who pioneered the quest of the historical Jesus

Option 1

red: I would include this item unequivocally in the database for determining who Jesus was.

pink: I would include this item with reservations (or modifications) in the database.

gray: I would not include this item in the database, but I might make use of some of the content in determining who Jesus was.

black: I would not include this item in the primary database.

 

Option 2

red: Jesus undoubtedly said this or something very like it.

pink: Jesus probably said something like this.

gray: Jesus did not say this, but the ideas contained in it are close to his own.

black: Jesus did not say this; it represents the perspective or content of a later or different tradition. 

An interesting blogpost disagreeing with Michael Ward’s hypothesis about the planets and Narnia I  wrote an article discussing his book here.

Safari 5 has just been released and has an awesome new feature: Reader. This allows you to read news articles as one page without ads. (You can still read it as RSS if you prefer and the page is set up so) I not sure how the technology behind this works but this is an awesome update.

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An old post but nevertheless still humorous. It’d be interesting to see such republications in CT and see responses.

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At 41% ABV it’s not a traditional beer, but a hilarious ad nonetheless.

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Spiritual warfare is not often discussed in Presbyterian and Reformed circles; frequently we think it is a charismatic concern. In this volume of the Basics of the Reformed Faith series, Stanley Gale discusses spiritual warfare from a Reformed perspective.

The author begins What is Spiritual Warfare? with a description of the unseen world of angels and demons as we know it from the Bible. He shows how the Devil has opposed God since Eden. More importantly, he shows that Jesus is the Divine Warrior who fights for his people.

Rev. Gale develops this theme further; he empathizes that the way we conduct warfare is to stand firm in Christ. We are heralds of his victory over sin, death, and the Devil. We are reminded of the importance of the sacraments in Christian life. Moreover, our primary weapons we have in spiritual warfare are the Word of God (both preached and read) and prayer.
This volume is an excellent overview of the topic from a Presbyterian author. Gale encourages us that all we are is in Christ, and that he is king who will subdue his and our enemies.

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via xkcd.com

There was an earthquake yesterday in Baja California, Mexico. While we were supposed to be able to feel it here, I did not and went thru the day unaware until I read the news yesterday evening.

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I picked up Basics of the Reformed Faith from Westminster Bookstore at a great deal. These books cover a variety of topics designed to introduce people to Reformed Faith. They will be great to loan someone (friends, parents, relatives etc) who have questions about Reformed Churches or theology. I will also use them to help simply explain to my children (well not for a few years anyway) the concepts of the faith. The books in this series are, in no particular order:

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In this vein I planted habanero chilli peppers. (We obtained pepper, summer squash, and cucumber seeds from the local nursery and will be planting them over the next few weeks.)

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From Phil Ryken at Reformation 21. 

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The audio feature is new; let me know what you think.

Ratsnest by Christopher  
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Definitions:
Traducianism—The soul is propagated along with the body by natural generation. I.e., we received our souls from our parents.
Creationism—God creates each soul specially for the fœtus in utero.
(Pre-existentianism—All souls existed in a previous state before birth, often coupled with the belief in a fall of humans in this spirit state before Adam in Eden. This is listed a note of historical interest. Origen [d. 254], who was the principal proponent of this view was anathematized in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553.)

A Brief History
This question has been debated since the early church. Tertullian (d. c. 220) first proposed traducianism to explain the transmission of original sin (by inheritance). Traducianism became popular in the western regions of the Church (including northern Africa) but the eastern regions of the Church held to creationism. As noted, Origen held to the preëxistence of souls, but is not widely received outside of Alexandria. Augustine (d. 430) was undecided on the issue. The Scholastics (1100-1500) all held creationism although some of the earlier Schoolmen viewed creationism as more probable but not certain. In the Reformation, Luther favoured traducianism, but Calvin espoused creationism. As covenant theology developed, the notion of inherited original sin was replaced with the concept of the federal headship of Adam acting on behalf of humanity in the covenant of works.

Some Proponents of Each Position:
Traducians:
Tertullian d. 220
Gregory of Nyssa d. 394
Martin Luther d. 1546
Jonathan Edwards d. 1758
W. G. T. Shedd d. 1894
A. H. Strong d. 1924
Gordon Clark d. 1985

Creationists:
Hilary of Picavium d. 368
Jerome d.420
Peter Lombard d. 1160
Thomas Aquinas d. 1274
John Calvin d. 1564
Francis Turritin d. 1687
Herman Bavinck d. 1921
Louis Berkhof d. 1957
Wayne Grudem b. 1948

Scripture References:

Cited for traducianism:
Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
Genesis 5:3
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
John 1:13
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Acts 17:26
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
Romans 1:3
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
Hebrews 7:9-10
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Cited for creationism:
Numbers 16:22
And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Isaiah 42:5
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
Zechariah 12:1
The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:
Hebrews 12:9
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

A Brief Overview of the Debate

Arguments for traducianism:
1. God largely ceased from his creative work after the creation week, now working ordinarily through secondary causes.
2. Explains of how original sin is transmitted without invoking God directly creating souls for evil.

Rebuttals against traducianism:
1. Regeneration is a new creative process which does not depend on secondary causes
2. The imputation original sin does not require the inheritance model of transmillion.

Objections to traducianism:
1. It is against the philosophical doctrine of the simplexity of the soul. To avoid arguing that the soul is divided from or a composite of the parents’ souls, traducians sometimes propose a. the soul is potentially present in the seed of the man and/or the woman which is materialism or b. the soul is brought forth by the parents, which makes the parents creators in a sense.
2. Traducianism is usually believed together with a form of (Platonic) realism. This accounts for the original guilt via the numerical unity of man and the inheritance of original sin. However this cannot explain why men are only held responsible for the first sin of Adam and not his later sins or the sins of all their ancestors
3. Realism leads to problems with Christology. If human nature as a whole sinned in Adam (who at that time contained the whole of human nature) and this sin is the actual sin of every part of that human nature ‘then the conclusion cannot be escaped that the human nature of Christ was also sinful and guilty because it had actually sinned in Adam.’ (Berkhof)

Rebuttals to objections to traducianism:
1. Simplexity properly belongs to God. Shedd argues by analogy that the lighting of a second candle by the first is similar to psychical propagation. A. the potentiality may be present with but not in the seed and b. in other aspects humans in some sense are creators working with existing materials to bring forth new things.
2. Realism is not a necessary component of traducianism but if one holds to it then it may be argued the sins of Adam and Eve before and after the fall are of a different type. Whereas before the fall sin was against the probationary statute, after they were transgressions of the moral law. Also the subsequent sins of men were not committed by the entire race in and with Adam; after propagation Adam was not the whole of the human race but only a fraction.
3. The sinless nature of Christ is not problematic if a miraculous conception is held. Shedd argues that ‘So far, then, as the guilt of Adam’s sin rested upon that unindividualizcd portion of the common fallen nature of Adam assumed by the Logos, it was expiated by the one sacrifice on Calvary. The human nature of Christ was prepared for the personal union with the Logos, by being justified, as well as sanctified.’

Arguments for creationism:
1. It is more consistent with the Scriptural idea of the body being of the earth and the spirit being of God.
2. It preserves better the distinction of the immaterial nature of the soul.

Rebuttals against creationism:
1. and 2. It is incorrect to associate propagation with materialism; it is not outside of God’s power to propagate the spirit.

Objections to creationism:
1. Creationism makes God the author of evil either a. directly by creating a soul with evil tendencies or b. by united a pure soul with a body with will inevitably corrupt it.
2. It makes the parents the progenitors of only the body of the child and limits the race of men to just the flesh. By contrast the animals reproduce after their kind. Creationism does not account for the observation that not just physical characteristics are inherited but personality traits and peculiarities which run in families, even when the parents do not raise their children.

Rebuttals to objections to creationism:
1. While this is a difficult problem, however the creationist does not regard original sin entirely as a result of inheritance. ‘The descendants of Adam are sinners, not as a result of their being brought into contact with a sinful body, but in virtue of the fact that God imputes to them the original disobedience of Adam. And it is for this reason that God withholds from them original righteousness, and the pollution of sin naturally follows.
2. God can create souls adapted to particular situations or perhaps the union with the body influences the soul. Also we are not certain the extent of the role environment plays.

Conclusion
The arguments on both sides of the debate are well-balanced and Scripture gives no clear support to either position. Perhaps Deuteronomy 29.29 speaks best to this discussion, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Trivia:
The word traducian has a shared root with tradition and traitor. Each of these words deals with the concept of something being handed over.

Bibliography
Berkhof, Systematic Theology
Shedd, Dogmatic Theology
Williamson, The Westminster Confession: A Study Guide

Further reading:
Turretin, Creationism or Traducianism?
Clark, Traducianism

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The Bible is God’s story and it begins with these big words: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” — The Big Picture Story Bible

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The Death of the Disc was a traditionalist who prided himself on his personal service and spent most of the time being depressed because this was not appreciated. He would point out that no-one feared death itself, just pain and separation and oblivion, and that it was quite unreasonable to take against someone just because he had empty eye-sockets and a quiet pride in his work. He still used a scythe, he’d pointed out, while the Deaths of other worlds had long ago invested in combined harvesters.

Humans! They lived in a world where the grass continued to be green and the sun rose every day and flowers regularly turned into fruit, and what impressed them? Weeping statues? And wine made out of water! A mere quantum-mechanistic tunnel effect, that’d happen anyway if you were prepared to wait zillions of years. As if the turning of sunlight into wine, by means of vines and grapes and time and enzymes, wasn’t a thousand times more impressive and happened all the time…

The museum had several large rooms of preserved animals, ranging from insects to birds to megafauna. Included were a few skeletons of prehistoric animals, exhibits on the Sonoran Desert, and displays on poaching and conservation. While I did not get to examine the poaching exhibit, I did notice a few placards interspersed with the exotic animals advocating conservation and relaying success stories where numbers of animals have increased through stewardship programs.  One room in particular (The Head and Horns Room) reminded me uncomfortably of Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. I learnt the museum is an educational program of the Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF). SCIF is ‘dedicated to increasing knowledge and appreciation of the world’s diverse wildlife, as well as explaining the role of wildlife management in conservation. (Flyer at museum)’

The message of the museum is very different from the standard message one hears from the media where man is the bogeyman responsible for all sorts of animal atrocities. It was interesting to see this different point of view. Although I was not able to read all of the placards (it’s hard to when chasing your son who wants to walk everywhere) the museum seemed to present a rather positive view of humans in conserving endangered species. The museum also highlighted the funds hunters pay being used for the conservation of the prey, increasing their numbers. It was interesting to see this point of view and realize what good man has done in his environment.

On a related note the DVDs for Planet Earth have three documentaries of which I’ve watched the first. I thought the first was very well balanced, asking questions of: how do we improve impoverished peoples so they don’t destroy wildlands, and is environmentalism a Western luxury? I was surprised the message wasn’t heavy-handed like so much environmentalism. I look forward to watching the other two documentaries.

In conclusion, I enjoyed going to the museum and look forward to going again when I have more time to read the exhibit descriptions.

The Tucson CSA began in 2004 and offers a variety of fruits and vegetables. Members sign up for a share each season and pick up an allotment each week at the Historic Y near the University. This season we have received: onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, eggplant, melons, potatoes, wheat-berries, cucumber, flowers, and squash among other produce.

Enjoy these pictures of CSA harvests:

And check out the Tucson CSA website.

As many of my readers already know, Calvin fever is high this year in both popular and scholastic circles. Conferences are running in Geneva (and elsewhere) as many undertake a Protestant pilgrimage. A few new biographies have come out this year (John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life, John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor, etc.) as well as studies, coffee table books (The Piety of John Calvin: A Collection of His Spiritual Prose, Poems, and Hymns, and a historical fiction novel (Betrayal). Undoubtedly, Calvin himself would be embarrassed by this publicity; his will directed he be buried in an unmarked grave.

However, there is good reason to study John Calvin; he systematized Protestant theology in his The Institutes of Christian Religion; he (along with other Reformers) helped create the ‘Protestant work ethic’ with his teachings on vocation. Like Luther, he expounded the sovereignty of God in all things and our absolute dependence on grace for our salvation. His definition of justification in his Institutes is classic:

Now he is justified who is reckoned in the condition not of a sinner, but of a righteous man: and for that reason, he stands firm before God’s judgment seat while all sinners fall….Thus, justified before God is the man who, freed from the company of sinners, has God to witness and affirm his righteousness. In the same way, therefore, he in whose life that purity and holiness will be found which deserves a testimony of righteousness before God’s throne will be said to be justified by works, or else he who, by the wholeness of his works, can meet and satisfy God’s judgment. On the contrary, justified by faith is he who, excluded from the righteousness of works, grasps the righteousness of Christ through faith, and clothed in it, appears in God’s sight not as a sinner but as a righteous man.

Although John Calvin is known primarily as a great theologian, he considered himself primarily a pastor. His letter-writing was prolific, offering godly counsel and practical advice. Likewise, his sermons have also been overlooked. (Fortunately, some previously untranslated sermons are now available in English.) As we remember Calvin, let us not only remember his great contributions to systematic theology or the logic of his description of salvation; let us also remember his piety, his zeal for godliness, and passion to see Christ preached.

As for myself, I’ll read a Calvin biography this year and probably pick up a copy of his sermons on Genesis.

news |n(y)oōz|
noun
newly received or noteworthy information, esp. about recent or important events
from New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition

In the last two weeks, most media outlets have tirelessly broadcast the untimely death of Michael Jackson. So much so that that other news (Iran, Al Franklin, Congress debating on universal health care, etc. [even other celebrities' deaths]) have been pushed to the sidelines. I saw an advertisement for a TV news special entitled. ‘Is the media coverage of Michael Jackson too much?’ I think that by the media asking the question, they have their answer. Apparently journalists have no one else to interview and have begun reporting on themselves.

For another interesting perspective, Carl Trueman has a post A Very English Death Scene at Ref21.

Soon I hope to update the blog with more on my series on whole foods with some links to blogs and further reviews of books. Until then enjoy the above picture.

The two sections I found the most interesting discussed artificial flavouring and marketing. During the research for the book, Schlosser toured a flavour factory in New Jersey. Here various artificial flavours are created; the products of chemical reactions. In addition, natural flavours are distilled from flora. In the end, the final makeup of natural and artificial flavours is very similar.

The most interesting part of the book was that statistics and practices of marketing to children. The author relates sever of the fast food industry’s past marketing campaigns, many of which my wife and I remember from childhood, such as McDonald’s Teenie Beanie Baby Giveaway and Pizza Hut’s Book It Program. It is disturbing how much is spent on advertising to children. TV ads and give-away programs are not the only marketing, increasingly companies are signing deals with schools to allow advertisements on campus in return for additional funds. Tastes developed in childhood persist into adulthood. America’s health problem is due in no small part to the availability of cheap food.

Schlosser suggests that we ban (or limit) advertising to children. A conclusion with which I support. With the exception of a few child actors, children do not generate money. They are largely dependant on parents’ money for purchasing power. Several marketing studies show advertising to children incites them to nag their parents for the advertised product; several different nagging styles have been identified by researchers. Children, furthermore, cannot tell the different between the TV programme they are watching and the advertising, and do not realize the purpose of advertising; i.e, to sell a product. Advertising any products to children thus usurps the household œconomy and encourages them to break the Fifth Commandment (Honour your father and mother…). Children sadly believe advertisers over their parents and doubt their parent have their best interests in mind. While parents should not encourage or allow excessive TV use, and should not leave their children watching TV unattended, advertising to children is no friend to a family. Our laws should reflect the importance of the family, and not seek to weaken community.

I found it amazing that a Tucson alternative newspaper actually has a good discussion of what it means to take God name in vain. (A better translation would be, ‘Do not use the name of God frivolously.’) The writer focuses on claiming to speak for God where God has not spoken.

If he just went a little further and recognized that we are all guilty of breaking that command which should show us our need of grace.

I was excited to have a physical copy of the rules (instead of just a .pdf file) and delved right in. Man! there are a lot of rules, the rule book is 40-some pages, and the sections of the rule book refer forward to unread sections and back to sections which I need to reread. However, once reading the entire rule book the rules do make sense, even if you need to refer to them occasionally. I look forward to playing the game with some friends I surprisingly convinced to agree to play with me. (Thank you, friends, I appreciate this.)

Some general info about the game: it covers the period from 1517-1555 in Europe. The playable powers are the Habsburgs, the Ottomans, the Protestants, the Papacy, France, England, Venice, Scotland, Genoa, and Hungary-Bohemia. Each of the major powers has their own path to victory. More updates as we play.

I realized that soon Charles would ask me the names of these plants (and animals) and I want to give him better names than ‘shrub’, ‘tree’, ‘flower’, and ‘#£!! if I know’. To alleviate my ignorance, I decided to purchase a general field guide for Arizona: The Nature of Arizona.

The book is a great introduction to the diverse wildlife of Arizona, from the Sonoran Desert to the Colorado Plateau. The book is filled with great illustrations of amphibians, arthropods, reptiles, mammals, trees, cacti, and wildflowers. Accompanying each illustration is a succinct description of the species’ characteristics including colouring and shape. I enjoyed the book, it is a great introductory tool to the wildlife of Arizona.

As an introductory book, of course, not all Arizona’s species are listed. In reading the book I discovered I am more interested in identifying plants (they have less of a tendency to hide) and will definitely have to follow it up with a book on plants of the Sonoran Desert.

Before I divulge my modification, let me explain a little about the game. Carcassonne is a German-style board game. (Often it is considered a “gateway game” to the style for its quick and simple play.) The game consists of several tiles with parts of a landscape printed on them — field, river, city, road, and monastery. To begin the game, one player places the start tile atop the table, and has the choice to play a meeple. Then play passes onto the next player, who picks up an unknown tile. He or she must place the tile to match the landscape pictures on the existing tile, and may also play a follower (affectionately known as a meeple) on a feature of the tile. No one may place a meeple on a feature already claimed if the feature extends across touching tiles. When features are completed the player with who has the most meeple on the feature scores points.

We bought expansion pack which added new tiles and, more importantly, the capability to add a sixth player. However, the sixth player meeples were gray which we thought an unimaginative colour. Since the original colours were black, yellow, green, blue, and red, we decided purple would make a great addition to those colours. I bought some model paint and a brush and got to work. Surprisingly they required more coats of paint than expected.

Also included in the expansion pack were large meeple which counted as two meeple for the purposes of the game. Inexplicably, the large meeple are only 4 mm taller (sadly, I actually measured this) than a regular meeple. To help distinguish them, Heather used a silver Sharpie™ to mark a crescent on them, which resembles a small smile.

Thus I picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel. The book starts slow but is intriguing, holding promise of more interesting material ahead. Clearly, the author does not want to show her cards all at once. The story begins with a meeting of the Learned Society of York Magicians, discussing the decline of English magic. All of the magicians now in England are theoretical magicians and practical magic has not been seen in England for many years. In the first chapter, one of the principal characters, Gilbert Norrell, is introduced. Mr Norrell is England’s only practical magician. The first section of the book chronicles Mr Norrell’s experience in London as he attempts to restore English magic.

Eventually, a third of the way into the book, the 2nd major character is introduced: Jonathan Strange. The book details their work for the government, a strange prophecy concerning them and the restoration of English magic. Along the way, a woman is brought back to life, connexions between England and Færie are re-established, and the magicians quarrel.

The author has a very interesting writing style. She has elaborate descriptions of characters and settings similar to Charles Dickens. Her wit resembles Jane Austen, wherein she combines keen social observations with a dry sense of humour. To give the story an antiquated feel, she employed archaic spellings of some words, for example, ‘chuse’ and ‘sopha’.

The work is quite long, around 1000 pages, but reads very quickly once you get into it. The version I was given was divided into three paperback volumes to facilitate reading. I finished the book in about a week reading at a moderate pace. I enjoyed the work quite a bit and highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasy. As a side note, Susanna Clarke spent a decade writing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell. The rumour is she is working on a sequel which will involve secondary characters from this book; I hope it will be written in less time as I will be sure to pick it up.

The first is the plan from the ESV Study Bible (an excellent Study Bible, review forthcoming).

The second allows you to read the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards in the course of a year.

And my final link, is for a blog allowing you to read Calvin’s Institutes in a year, with commentary from the folk at Reformation 21

Enjoy.

Dennis is an amazing pastor. I met him my freshman year (2000) when he was the Campus Minister for Reformed University Fellowship at the University of Arizona. He was very engaging and zealous for the Scriptures and God. Coming out of a fundamentalist/evangelical Baptist church, I had heard of Calvinism but thought the theology to be inconsistent with the Bible. However, I was intrigued and during my first semester I attended one of the RUF Bible Studies. I remember one of our first conversations one evening after the Bible study concluded. Dennis explained he was interested in what Scripture said and that our theology should conform to Scripture. He encouraged me in the study of the Bible and even stated that if we found the Bible was soteriologically Arminian then he would (by his adherence to the text) be compelled to change his position.

Well, from studying the text I came to the conclusion that God is sovereign over salvation and does ordain all things. At first I accepted this position, but didn’t rejoice in it (It was after all a humiliation of man.) Dennis taught that right doctrine leads to doxology and I came to see the glory and freedom of the Gospel.

For my four years in the University, I attended RUF and grew in my Christian faith. Even in my dark times, Dennis loved me and worked to show me the Gospel. He lived in light of the Gospel and tirelessly proclaimed it. He always explained that Christians, just as unbelievers, need to hear the Gospel, and reminded us that we continued in the Christian faith the same way we were inaugurated in it, by the grace of God.

He clearly delineated the Gospel as the news of what God has done for us. God took upon himself all the curses of the covenant; and in the life and death of Jesus Christ he humbled himself and bore the wrath of God for us, that we may be exalted and enjoy restored fellowship with God.

Dennis also expressed the beauty of the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition. Calvin did not stand alone in teaching the sovereignty of God in all things, but he stood upon a previous generation of reformers and was versed in previous theologians going back to the Church Fathers. Many men came after Calvin and the Reformed tradition continued to flourish. God has been gracious to us in history to give us a legacy of godly men throughout the ages (even godly men of other traditions).

Dennis was RUF minister for five years and in 2005 accepted a call to the church I attend, Desert Springs Presbyterian. He faithfully exegeted the Scriptures weekly (in season and out of season) and humbly showed forth what a great God we have, and how great his salvation is. The church was shown the centrality of Word and Sacrament under his leadership. In the service, he often explained the liturgy so it would not become rote. In all things, Dennis emboldened us in the Gospel and God used him to transform our church into a more outward-oriented, missional church.

God has used Dennis mightily in my life and in Tucson; he is a giant among men and although this chapter of Dennis’s legacy is closed, God will use him powerfully in Texas as well. True, it is sad to see Dennis leave, but I believe, however, that God has prepared us for this, and it will be exciting to see the impact of Dennis’s legacy as we call a new pastor.

…Oh, yes, I was going to discuss his last triad of sermons: each of the three focuses on a birth: the birth of Isaac, the birth of Samson, and the birth of Christ. The first two foreshadow the latter, and discuss certain themes which find their fulfilment in Christ. Interspersed between these was a Christmas Eve sermon on Galatians 4:4-7 concerning our adoption as sons; and that God has not forsaken or abandoned us, nor has he left us alone. The Christmas Eve service included readings from all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation to show the history of salvation.

Without further ado:
Unto Us a Son is Given (Isaac)
Unto Us a Child is Born (Samson)
Christ the Saviour is Born (Jesus)

As a concluding thought: Dennis is a man who is intoxicated with the ale of the Gospel and exhorted us to drink deeply of that draught. I am pleased to count him as my spiritual father.

The Incarnation
©2008 Sean McGinty

The birthing cry announces the situation.
Into space, time and this dreary ghetto town
Comes something new, at least from our perception.
Joy, hope, fear embodied has to us come down.

This child will bring about the end,
In one way or another, of all.
The turning point of the immutable trend
Set about by the most treacherous of falls.

Our friends and lovers have failed and left.
All our expectations have crashed down on our heads.
God help us, the poor, the lonely, the bereft,
The sick, the tired, the living, the dead.

We who swallow our tears cry out
And tonight we are answered.
Blinding hosts invade to tell about
The long sought cure for our cancer.

These winter rifts will soon be healed.
The tattered things, certainly mended.
Tombs of every sort will be unsealed,
And this aching darkness ended.

Peace upon our wretched hearts,
Peace upon our addled brains.
Sin resolved by our Lord’s art
Of drawing mercy from His pain.

Christmas Chiasmus
©2008 Christopher Hall

And the Word became flesh.
The King of Glory descending,
Took on humanity.
Unplumbed of mysteries;
In pure humility 
He left his throne condescending.
Human and Divine mesh.

Born fallen man to redeem,
Like us in every respect;
Unlike Adam he obeyed
The Saviour committed no wrong;
And the whole Law he portrayed; 
Yes, sin did he reject.
Repealed Adam’s curse as theme.

Agreed before all time
Mercy to shower mankind.
God’s wrath on God pourèd;
Our covenant curses he took;
His ire now assuagèd.
Grace toward us God aligned;
God Triune in full rhyme.

This mystery ushers us praise;
Praise for his complete redemption!
The Trinity in Unity,
Exalt the Triune God who secured life!
Lo, Unity in Trinity.
Praise for God’s wrought salvation!
In song let us our voices raise.

Works we could not do;
Adam fully did deprave
Seed, Hope is Christ, keeping
Covenant blessings does he give
To his chosen. Sweeping
Second Adam burst the grave;
His pure work makes all new.

By his perfect life and death,
Our guilt he exchanged.
Evil broken evermore,
The Saviour left undone no good.
His people’s sin he bore
And our nature he changed.
His righteousness bequeaths breath.

God and man: Jesus,
Second Person of Trinity.
Come to earth, humbly born,
In hypostatic union,
To be counted forlorn.
Son of God from eternity,
And he dwelt among us.

We borrowed the game Khet from our friends, the Pixleys. The concept of this game is to direct a laser beam, using mirrored pieces, onto the opponent’s Pharaoh. This is not as easy as it seems; on our first game my wife wiped out her own Pharaoh with a misdirected mirror.

Khet has four types of pieces: an unreflective obelisk, a reflective pyramid, a doubly reflective djed, and the pharaoh. The pieces may move one square in any direction or rotate 90 degrees. The game instructions suggest three opening scenarios, but the players may create their own. On each turn, a player must move a piece of theirs and fire their laser beam. Since each player fires a laser beam, there are two paths that must be watched for an attack. If a laser beam shines on an unreflective surface of a piece, that piece is removed from the board.

What is interesting is that although the game is quite unlike chess in the mechanics, some of the strategy translates over. For example, there are pins, forks, and other such scenarios. Embarrassingly enough my dad, who is an avid chess player, learnt the game and actually won our third game.

Khet is a very fun game, with simple rules and complex strategy. I’m looking forward to acquiring the beam splitter and tower expansion packs.

As might be inferred from the title of this post, M Ward proposes that each book is defined a Ptolemaic astrological planet. When Sean first told me the thesis and encouraged me to read the book, I was rather sceptical. Narnia has been out 50-some years and just now someone has found a Grand Unified Theory of Narnia! However, I figured it’d be an interesting read at least, and began reading Planet Narnia.

The author skillfully defends his thesis. Michael Ward looks at a variety of Lewisian literature to glean how the planets are understood in the rest of Lewis’s writings. He especially draws on the poem “Planets” and the Ransom Trilogy. In so doing M Ward coins a new word, donegality, (Donegal being a favourite holidaying spot for Lewis.) which involves using symbolism to create an atmosphere for a work while imparting it with a Christological meaning.

Michael Ward illustrates not only major themes of each book, (e.g., the Jovian Spring of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) but several details in each book (e.g., the inclusion of the minotaur among the monsters of the White Which) that serve to substantiate his thesis. In each book the author also discussed how the attributes of each planet serve to illustrate Christ.

After reading the application and explanation of Jupiter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as a mental exercise I attempted to place each book with each planet and correclyt matched four of the remaining six. (I missed Venus, probably due to the necessity of cloaking venereal themes in children’s literature.) As the litmus test of a theory is its predictive prowess, I am thoroughly convinced that this astrological theme is the hidden structure of the Narniad

A new microwave appeared at work recently. This equipment has far more features than a microwave ought to have and its control panel looks like that of a graphing calculator. However, I thought the most peculiar thing was that when the microwave was done the display screen ran the message, ‘Enjoy your food.’

I was immediately reminded of the motto ‘Share and Enjoy’

“Share and Enjoy” is the company motto of the hugely successful Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Complaints Devision, which now covers the major land masses of three medium-sized planets and is the only part of the Corporation to have shown a consistent profit in recent years.

The motto stands—or rather stood—in three mile high illuminated letters near the complaints Department spaceport of Eadrax. Unfortunately its weight was such that shortly after it was erected, the ground beneath the letters caved in and they dropped for nearly half their length through the offices of many talented young Complaints executives—now deceased.

The protruding upper halves of the letters now appear, in the local language, to read “Go stick your head in a pig,” and are no longer illuminated, except at times of special celebration.

—The Restuarant at the End of the Universe—Douglas Adams

The message reminds me of the Genuine People Personality Feature of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, of which the depressive robot Marvin was a prototype. Other machines with GPP were the friendly ship’s computer and the neurotic elevators. Why do I need a microwave to tell me to enjoy my food?

Will our machines eventually have something similar to GPP? Probably not, as even Microsoft learned from Clippy’s failure. However, one hopes that manufacturers read satires of their products and trend in appliances.

Now, since becoming Reformed, I know that all of Scripture (including the Old Testament) points to Christ. I have even read this story and how it fits into the redemptive-historical narrative. But hearing it in a sermon is quite different. How thankful I am that I am not to ‘slay the giants in my life’, but that the anointed one has won victory for me and defeats all his and my enemies.

Here is the link to the sermon audio.

In the the previous year, many interesting and wonderful things occurred that I did not foresee. Primarily, I became a father. I have observed Charles develop from a unknown twinkling in my eye, to a 10-pound newborn, to a 2-month old active infant. We bought our first house, and are slowly transforming it into a more beautiful place. True, not everything has been peachy or on (my) schedule, but looking back on the past year, I must say God has blessed us very much.

To celebrate, I have changed the name and look of this blog, and hope to add to the widgets on the side soon (most improvements are planned to add links to media I find enjoyable). If you know of any cool items you’d like to see on the sidebar or think I’d be interested in, let me know. Also, feel free to comment on the changes.

Well here’s a look back and a look ahead:
Some of my favourite posts of last year:
Locust, the BBC, and Repentance
Xenophobia and Talk Radio
A Small Story in a Day
Pædobaptism: A Sign and Seal of Covenantal Grace
Ibid, the Greatest Unsung Writer
Carbon Offsets: The New Papal Indulgence

And upcoming posts:
Marvin and the Microwave
Planet Narnia
Bourbon: Not Just a County in Kentucky (Matt, I probably could use your help researching this post)
John Calvin, the Quinticentenary
Revelation and Epistemology Part II

If you’re interested (and 5% of my readership is, along as I’m included as part of my readership), here is a list of names my wife and I brainstormed while trying to find a new name for this blog. I apologize for the less than optimal resolution, but rest assured that a higher resolution would not hinder reading my chirography any more than the current resolution.

C T Hall Brainstorms a New Blog name.

On the Virtue of Spoiling Ballot Papers

[Thoughts on]President-Elect Obama

Natural Law, the Two Kingdoms, and Homosexual Marriage
For more information on Natural Law, q.v., Natural Law and Light in the Reformed Confessions and Is Natural Law “Theocratic”?

Some Initial Thoughts on Praying for President-Elect Obama

A Four-Year-Old and the Presidency

I hope you enjoy.

As my reader no doubt knows, the Institutes are Calvin’s systematic theology. Better histories have been written of the work so I won’t bore my reader here. Likewise I will not attempt to write a full review of Calvin’s magnum opus.

When I reflect on the work, I am amazed by the depth of John Calvin and his knowledge of the Word and the Church Fathers. Calvin packs much information into his paragraphs; frequently one has to reread him a few times to grasp what he is saying. It also helps to read him with a dictionary in hand, but where else would one learn the words ‘concupiscence’ and ‘anagogic’ and more than score of other words?

The sovereignty of God features prominently in this book. Calvin’s writing is saturated with this. Not only did God sovereignly work creation, but he sovereignly works redemption. Salvation is all of God, our faith (given to us by God) receives his gift of grace.

Some of the many excellent passages include the beginning where Calvin asserts that true knowledge of self leads to true knowledge of God leads to true knowledge of self. The more we see our own sin, it causes us to look outside ourselves for the remedy, and the more that we look to Christ and his grace, the more it causes us to be aware of our evil.

Calvin also has great sections on how we receive grace from Christ and the great benefits of justification and adoption. Truly God has lavished his riches upon us in Christ.

A wonderful read, Calvin was a student of the Word and marvelled at the depth of the grace of God. May we take this spirit into our own time and enjoy the work of a sovereign God!

Helvetica is the world’s most common font. Designed in 1957, it gained wide adoption in the 1960′s as corporations and governments wanted a modern typeface. The remarkable story of this font (including its predecessors and derivatives) is expertly relayed in the 2007 documentary Helvetica.

This film traces not only the rise of Helvetica but also American corporate advertising, European style, and even contrasts modernism and postmodernism (at least in typography).

Much of the movie’s content is relayed through a series of interviews. Among these interviews one gains much information on the subject as several typographers of various generations, advertisers, and design artists. Some of these people are very passionate about their jobs; one stated that Helvetica was the font of the Vietnam and Iraq wars.

My favourite part of the movie was the contrast between the modernists and postmodernists. While the modernists all loved the font because it was transparent ‘like a crystal goblet’ (the font did not get in the way of the message), the postmodernists disliked it for the same reason. True to their suspicion of the metanarrative, the postmodernists decry the existence of a universally suitable typeface.

In conclusion, the movie is well worth watching, even my wife (who wondered why I added the movie to our Netflix queue) thought it was interesting.

Some links:
Where I first heard of the documentary
An Atlantic article about specialized fonts

While I was on paternity leave I read the book A Case for Amillennialism by Kim Riddlebarger. (Yes, you get strange questions from nurses reading that book in the hospital. Oddly, our midwife had heard of the subject.) Having previously rejected the dispensationalist schema, I had not concerned myself with eschatology for a while. Last year, I read Hendrickson’s More than Conquerors, an overview of Revelation, and was intrigued.

Heather bought me a copy of the book for my birthday. I enjoyed the book for its clarity of presentation and thoroughness in comparing other eschatological ideas.

A Case for Amillennialism is 246 pages, not counting end notes and is divided into four sections. The first section defines terms used in eschatological discussions, surveys eschatological view, and explains the hermeneutics of interpreting Biblical prophecy; the second explains amillennialism in context of Biblical and theological concerns; the third section contains expositions of Biblical passages; the last part is an overview of the major millennial positions.

The first section defines terms such eschatology, millennium, rapture, preterism, and futurism. There is also a survey of the four major views on the millennium: dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. The first section is rounded out with a chapter that gives guidance on reading all of Scripture, including prophecy, as Christocentric. Dr Riddlebarger contrasts the Reformed hermeneutic ‘the analogy of faith’ with the dispensational hermeneutic (which seeks to interpret prophecy as ‘literally’ as possible and maintains a sharp distinction in the people of God, between Israel and the Church).

The second section lays the foundation of the case for amillennialism being the Biblical eschatology. The section starts with an explanation of covenant theology in the Old Testament and how it relates to eschatology. In the Old Testament, the prophets looked forward to the coming of the Messiah who would reverse the curse of Adam. The kings, prophets, and priests of Israel pointed to the one future man who would hold all three offices. Furthermore, the prophets prophesied to a better covenant than that of Moses. In the fullness of time, we see in the New Testament, Christ is the one who was foretold. He is true Israel, David’s greater son, the true temple, a better sacrifice, the mediator of better covenant, and a surer Word. When Jesus preached he spoke of two ages, this current age and the age to come, ‘the kingdom of God is nigh’. The current age is corrupt and temporal; the age to come is pure and eternal. Yet, Jesus says something amazing, that is that the age to come has broken into this age; the kingdom of God is here although not consummated. We live in an eschatological tension, ‘now and not yet’. The course of history is now bringing us to the final coming of Jesus when this age shall pass away and the fullness of the kingdom of God shall be revealed.

In the third section contains expositions of passages of Scripture which are often used to cite support for one’s eschatological opinion. The passages discussed are Daniel’s ‘seventy sevens’ (a proof-text of dispensationalists), the Olivet Discourse (used by dispensationalists and preterists alike), Romans 11 (used in discussions of if there is a [and if so, what the] future is for Israel), and Revelation 20.1-10 (concerning the nature of a thousand).

The final section of the book gives some detail concerning the strengths and weakness of each major eschatological position: premillennialism, amillennialism, postmillennialism, and preterism.

Throughout the book Dr Riddlebarger persuasively presents amillennialism as the most Biblical eschatological system. It alone is adequately congruent with the eschatological tension of the New Testament. Now and not yet very well explains Jesus’ word that his kingdom is near, but we have not reached his second coming. A Case for Amillennialism explains that Christ is reigning over his kingdom now; this is hope that our God is sovereign working all things for our good. We look forward now to the full realization of Christ’s coming with his second coming.

Having been previously dispensationalist, Dr Riddlebarger’s exposition of Daniel 9 was very illuminating. Though the dispensationalists claim they are being faithful to the text by interpreting the Bible literally, often they don’t consider the genre of the text and interpret literalistically ignoring the subtler meanings of the text. In some cases, such as Daniel 9, dispensationalists change the meaning of the passage. Nowhere does Daniel speak of a gap between the 69th and 70th ‘seven’, yet it is crucial to dispensationalism and pretribulational rapture. Likewise, the Apostle Paul teaches that on the last day, when Christ returns and the believers are caught up to him, “[T]he Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” It seems that the plain meaning of this text is that it will be very obvious the Lord has returned; he has not just come for a secret rapture of which only believer’s will be aware.

The only thing I wish for in the book is that the final section would be longer. Dr Riddlebarger could have gone into more depth in contrasting the positions. Fortunately, he has an extensive bibliography, so that the reader can find more information on the subjects of the book.

In conclusion, Dr Riddlebarger aptly makes the case that amillennialism is most consistent with a covenantal Christocentric reading of Scripture.

Let us always find Christ on every page of Scripture.

——————–

My mother-in-law found A Book Lover’s Journal, which is a great idea for keeping track of the books I read. I’m pleased to have this book as the first entry in the journal.

A first draft of this blog post.

The store is well laid out and it is easy to find what you are looking for. A map is provided at the front of the store, as well as a buying guide. There are wines from all regions of the world, each taking at least an aisle worth. Additionally, there are several aisles of different varietals. The store has a generous selection of imported and craft beers in divers styles. Total Wine has a good selection of exotic liquor such as arak and absinthe, and I was able to find my preferred amaretto (Lazzaroni). They also have a humidor and wine tasting (which I have not had the opportunity to try).

How does this new liquor store compare to other liquor stores in Tucson? Plaza on Campbell has a distinct ethos created by narrow aisles and tight spaces. Although it may not be the case, Plaza seems like it has a larger selection of craft and imported beer. BevMo is another liquor mega-store chain and it seems on first visit the prices are comparable. BevMo (at least the one in town on Broadway and Wilmot) is somewhat smaller. Total Wine does have a larger selection of wine, but seems to have a somewhat smaller selection of spirits. Interestingly enough a new BevMo is being built a mile north of Total Wine.

Overall, I enjoyed my short visit and am sure I will be back again.

The first is Christ the Center from Castle Church I’m currently listening to their back issues; they’ve covered great issues such as the Federal Vision controversy and the atonement. The podcast also has episodes devoted to biographies of notable men such as Augustine and Machen. Helpfully, the beginning of each discussion includes commentaries on relevant or new books. Christ the Center is published every week.

The second, Saints and Sinners from URC Learning, features a panel of pastors from United Reformed Churches in So-Cal discussing various topics. The strength of these podcast is that they are not overly cerebral and are shorter, being between 10-30 minutes long. Sometimes, however, the panel seems less than compassionate at times.

Go check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

The Popes authorized the sale of indulgences to fund the cathedrals and other projects in Rome. By buying an indulgence one could reduce the amount of punishment for one’s sins, or one’s deceased relatives’ sins (by reducing one’s time in purgatory). By the sixteenth century many unscrupulous indulgence sellers preyed upon the ignorant and poor. Perhaps the most famous was Johann Teztel, to whom the lyric, “As a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs,” is attributed. In the Reformation, Martin Luther argued that true repentance is preferred over the selling of indulgences, and the purpose of good works is not to better ourselves or our relation with God but is to be directed toward our neighbours.

Likewise, in our day, individuals (and corporations) may buy carbon offsets to balance out their pollution. A vast storehouse filled with the merit of environmentally virtuous companies is available for those of us who pollute the earth. Disregarding how this merit is obtained, does this not encourage an easy solution to polluting entities? No longer is careful (and difficult) stewardship required, but our environmental sin is absolved with the stroke of a pen. The purchaser of the carbon credit is no longer required to live environmentally responsibly but may use the supererogatory works of the more pollution-responsible entities.

If Johann Tetzel were alive today would he write:

As the carbon offset is traded,
Air and water around are cleansèd.

and receive such response:

Carbon trading on the market
makes a profitable racket

(Well, I’m not going to win any prizes for poetry.)

Recently I ordered this book from Westminster Bookstore for our expected child.

I enjoy this book by Sally Lloyd-Jones immensely. Unlike many other collections of Bible stories for children, The Jesus Storybook Bible has as its predominant theme the account of Jesus and how God saves for himself a people. Even the subtitle alludes to this, Every Story Whispers His Name.

The introduction (cleverly titled ‘The Story and The Song’) begins with God declaring his love for us and implanting his image in us. The introduction continues to explain that the Bible is God’s revelation to mankind. Being God’s revelation to us, the Bible is not a book of rules or a book of heroes to emulate. Rather The Jesus Storybook states that the Bible is about God and what he has done (thus not about us and what we’re to do or rules to obey) and the so-called heroes of the Bible are flawed. In its own words, ‘The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne — everything — to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy that has com true in real life! ¶ You see the best thing about this Story is — it’s true. ¶ There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling on Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.’

Additionally, each episode includes a paragraph explaining how the chapter ties in with this metanarrative of the Bible.

The illustrations by Jago are wonderfully done in a unique [digital] coloured pencil style. The only caveat is that the book’s illustrations include depictions of Jesus. Although Jesus is (fortunately) not depicted as a handsome, blue-eyed, Anglo-Saxon male, the images run counter to historic (confessional) Reformed teaching on the matter*. However with the creative use of some self-adhesive paper notes, this problem should be rectified.

Overall, I’m sure Baby Hall will enjoy hearing and (eventually) reading this wonderful book.

* Future blog post, perhaps.

Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God.

—Institutes of Christian Religion: (I. vi. 1): John Calvin