May 15, 2008
It’s quite the buzz, Rev. John Hagee, has sent a letter of apology to the Catholic League for his alleged anti-Catholic views.
Hagee had been criticized for reportedly calling the Catholic Church “The Great Whore,” an “apostate church,” the “anti-Christ,” and a “false cult system.” He had also accused the Catholic Church of nurturing anti-Semitism. Hagee repeated allegations of Pope Pius XII’s indifference to Nazism and linked Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitism to his Catholic education.
In the May 12 letter to the Catholic League and its president Bill Donohue, Rev. Hagee said he was writing to “clarify my views” and “advance greater unity between Catholics and Evangelicals.” Link to the letter can be found here.
Apparently Hagee is OK with ignoring Galatians 1:6-9. I suppose Hagee thinks the Roman Catholic Church preaches a biblical gospel.
Gospel preachers of old like Spurgeon and M. Lloyd-Jones held that Rome does not preach a biblical gospel.
Links of Interest:
- Catholic League declares end to Rev. Hagee controversy
- Meeting Reverend John Hagee
- Hagee’s Letter of Apology (PDF)
- League accepts Hagee apology - 2008 Presidential Campaign
- McCain Backer John Hagee Apologizes to Catholics
- Pastor John Hagee says he’s sorry for anti-Catholic remarks
Posted in Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church, John Hagee 
1 Comment »
May 14, 2008
In a recent posting by John Piper on how he decides which books to read, he ends by saying this…
I don’t think we ought to be reading new books all the time. I think we should read old books. And then the question is whether time and history has proven them. There are some books that have been around forever, and they are, generation after generation, witnessed to as being very shaping to people’s lives. So I think we should constantly be exposing ourselves to those classics and not always reading the latest thing.
So I recommend reading 1) things that relate to the passions of your life, 2) recommendations from people that are responsible and that you respect, and 3) time-proven, classic, deep works on various issues.
What are two or three classics that you would recommend to just about anyone?
The Bible, the most proven and most useful book, should be in your reading list every day.
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Everybody, I think, who can read English can benefit from working their way through that. In my own life I put The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards very high up the list. And for those with a really strong theological bent, The Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards. [Some other] massively influential books in my life:
Bondage of the Will, by Martin Luther.
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin.
The Mortification of Sin and Communion with God by John Owen.
(HT: Reformation Theology)
Posted in John Piper, Desiring God, Book No Comments »
May 14, 2008
On April 24, 2008, Dr. Doug Sweeney and Collin Hansen discussed Hansen’s Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).
An MP3 of this discussion, sponsored by the Henry Center, is now available from the Henry Center’s media archive (MP3 | video).
Publisher’s Description: From places like John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, and Jonathan Edwards’s college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today’s young Calvinists tick.
Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today’s twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence.
For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow’s church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors.
Related Links:
- Mike Corley interviewed Collin Hansen
- Collin Hansen’s article in the Sept. 2006 edition of Christianity Today
- Amazing Grace - The History and Theology of Calvinism
This is the first video documentary that answers many of the questions asked about Calvinism or the Reformed Faith. This three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. Rich in graphics, dramatic vignettes, and biblical analogies, it also features many of the finest reformed thinkers and pastors of our time: Dr. R.C. Sproul, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Dr. George Grant, Dr. Stephen Mansfield, Dr. Thomas Ascol, Dr. Thomas Nettles and more.
Visit The Apologetics Group Now to Order! |
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Posted in Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, Book, Calvinism, Reformed Theology No Comments »
May 13, 2008
Next year the church will celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin. Be prepared to see a glut of books on the man for the next year. This newest volume, out soon from P&R, looks great.
A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis (Hardcover)
Read inside (PDFs): Sample Pages
Publisher: P&R Publishing Company
Author: Hall, David W., Lillback, Peter
ISBN-13: 9781596380912
Binding: Hardcover
List Price: $25.99
Westminster Bookstore: $16.89
Expected arrival: June 2008
(HT: The Shepherd’s Scrapbook)
Posted in Theology, Book, John Calvin No Comments »
May 13, 2008
On Friday, May 2, Cyclone Nargis and the 12-foot-high storm surge that followed flooded coastal Myanmar (Burma), leaving up to 100,000 dead and 1 million or more without shelter. Still recovering from the 2004 Christmas tsunami, the military junta in Myanmar was ill equipped to feed, shelter, and care for the storm’s countless victims.
GFA missionaries serve at about 400 churches and 250 mission stations in Burma. In 2006, the military-run government of Burma forbade foreign non-government organizations from doing aid work in the country. In the face of this disaster, the government is now relenting and allowing outside aid.
Since GFA missionaries are already in the country and have found favor with the government, they are one of the few groups able to offer immediate help to the people as they begin the recovery process.
Please consider helping GFA in their relief efforts with your best financial gift by going to this link.
We are facing at least six months of continuous work ministering to the people. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach out in love to them just like we did after the tsunami in 2004.
Posted in Gospel for Asia No Comments »
May 2, 2008
Check out May’s free download from ChristianAudio.com.
Martin Luther: In His Own Words (Unabridged) by Martin Luther
Most all Christians know the name Martin Luther. Less familiar, however, are his words. This compilation of many of Luther’s most important writings serves as an excellent introduction to those new to Luther. It also provides a fresh medium for people familiar with his writing. 2 Hrs. 45 Mins.
Use the coupon code MAY2008 to redeem this download. You can listen to sample audio here. Here is a list of the contents:
The Small Catechism
- 95 Theses
- On Faith and Coming to Christ
- On Confession and the Lord’s Supper
- Of the Office of Preaching
- Excerpt from Luther’s Tower Experience
- The Last Written Words of Luther
Posted in Audio, Media, MP3, Martin Luther No Comments »
May 2, 2008
No one can read the Gospels without being struck by the centrality of “the kingdom of God,” especially in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. But unfortunately, in spite of its importance, over the years there has been a lot of confusion regarding what the kingdom of God precisely is, how the kingdom relates to the church, and how we should live in light of the coming of the kingdom.
Two insightful articles from the Spring 2008 Edition of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology are available for download in PDF format. The Spring 2008 Edition is devoted exclusively to the topic of “The Kingdom of God”.
Here are the two online articles:
- “Reflecting on the Kingdom of God”
- “The Kingdom of God in Paul’s Gospel”
Posted in Bible, Theology, Kingdom of God No Comments »
April 30, 2008
This month, Matt and Shaun get replaced by Ligon Duncan. Okay, so we just let him do the talking. This month’s message is the opening talk from this year’s Twin Lakes Fellowship on the heart of an ordinary means ministry. Have a listen.
Let your friends know you can listen over at ordinarymeans.com, download directly from this link (right click and save), or as always subscribe to our iTunes feed.
Posted in Ligon Duncan No Comments »
April 29, 2008
All of the MP3s for the general sessions and panel discussions are now available for free downloads. Brief bios of the speakers are available here.
I’d recommend listening to these in order:
- Ligon Duncan: Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry
- Panel Discussion 1: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
- Thabiti Anyabwile: Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church
- Panel Discussion 2: Anyabwile, Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
- John MacArthur: The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability
- Mark Dever: Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology
- Panel Discussion 3: Dever, Duncan, MacArthur, Mahaney, Mohler
- R.C. Sproul: The Curse Motif of the Atonement
- Panel Discussion 4: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler, Sproul
- Albert Mohler: Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution
- Panel Discussion 5: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
- John Piper: How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice
- Panel Discussion 6: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler, Piper
- C.J. Mahaney: Sustaining a Pastor’s Soul
Posted in T4G, Together For The Gospel No Comments »
April 26, 2008
For a limited time only, Westminster Bookstore is offering Timothy Keller’s new book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism at a very special “Give It Away” price of $13.72 — 45% off.
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio CD)
Related Resource:
On March 11 Westminster Bookstore and the Westminster Gospel & Culture Project were pleased to present Tim Keller in two events speaking about his bestselling book The Reason for God. Now you may watch both events in their entirety with our compliments.
- Keller Roundtable with WTS Faculty
- Keller at U Penn “Reason for God”
- Keller at U Penn Q & A
Posted in Apologetics, Timothy Keller No Comments »
April 25, 2008
Mark A. Noll, perhaps the most prominent Christian Historian in America, gave a series of lecture on “Race, Religion, and American Politics from Nat Turner to George W. Bush” at Princeton University. A three-part lecture series by Mark A. Noll, professor of History, Notre Dame University
Part 1: “The Bible, Slavery, and the Irrepressible Conflict”
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Part 2: “The Churches, ‘Redemption,’ and Jim Crow”
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Part 3: “Civil Rights, the Republican Alliance, and the Endurance of Evil in the Land of the Free”
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for Broadcast Quality mpeg2 files, please contact
uc@princeton.edu
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(Oct 17, 18, 19, 2006 at Princeton University)
Posted in Religion, Politics and Religion, Mark Noll, Politics No Comments »
April 22, 2008
From the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 89:
How is the word made effectual to salvation?
Answer 89:
The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.
Proof Text:
Neh. 8:8; 1 Cor. 14:24-25; Acts 26:18; Ps. 19:8; Acts 20:32; Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Rom. 10:13-17; 1:16.
Posted in Catechism No Comments »
April 21, 2008
John Piper speaks at the 2008 New Word Alive Conference in Pwellheli, Wales on the topic “Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer”.
Part 1.
Part 2.
Helpful resource:
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God: Read this book online (927KB PDF).
Posted in John Piper, Suffering No Comments »
April 21, 2008
D.A. Carson’s Christ and Culture Revisited is now available. This is one you’ll definitely want to pick up. In the preface he provides a helpful summary of the book:
My own effort in this book begins by summarizing Niebuhr, since Niebuhr has become an icon to which everyone refers, though few today still read him closely. Apart from some initial evaluation of Niebuhr on his own terms, I then try to lay out the rudiments of a responsible biblical theology that any Christian will want to acknowledge, and begin to show how these turning points in the history of redemption must shape Christian thinking about the relationship between Christ and culture (chaps. 1 and 2). The structures generated by such biblical theology are robust enough to allow the many differing emphases within Scripture to find their voices, so that to speak of different “models” of the Christ-and-culture relationship begins to look misleading. Such reflection requires more probing, not only with respect to current debates over “culture” and “postmodernism” (chap. 3), but also with respect to some of the dominant cultural forces of our time (chap. 4). One of the dimensions of this ongoing debate is the relation between church and state (chap. 5). Here I have sketched the very different cultural stances associated with the notion of separation of church and state found in France and in the United States, with glances at a few other countries, so that we can more clearly detect the kinds of cultural spectacles we inevitably bring to the task of reading Scripture, and how even the application of the balance of Scripture will almost inevitably shift in different cultures. The final chapter raises a selection of perennial temptations Christians face as they work through these issues. It is a modest attempt to forge a stable and flexible stance that is immune to various siren calls.
Here are the two blurbs for the book:
“There is no more crucial issue facing us today than the relationship of the church and the gospel to contemporary culture. Don Carson’s treatment of this issue is the most balanced one out there. Rather than grinding an ax or pushing his own paradigm, he listens carefully to the Scripture and brings us in the end to a ‘sophisticated simplicity’ about these matters. I highly recommend this book.”
— Tim Keller
“Don Carson here writes clearly, carefully, and helpfully about the timely topic of how Christians should engage culture. Well-suited to write such a volume, Carson exposes and explodes ‘egregious reductionisms’ which he says too often afflict Christians. We can’t reduce the relationship of Christ and culture to one model (Niebuhrian or otherwise). Reading this book has sharpened my own understanding. So buy the book you’re holding. Read it. Pass it along to folks in your congregation. And reduce ‘egregious reductionisms’!”
— Mark Dever
Browse other titles by D. A. Carson.
Posted in Books, Book, D.A. Carson, Book Review No Comments »
April 20, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to America as Pope will not be his introduction to this country, but it will be the first opportunity for Americans to see this Pope up close – three years after his election as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Along with others, many evangelical Christians will be watching with interest. The long pontificate of the globe-trotting John Paul II is all an entire generation of evangelicals now remember as background, and Benedict is a comparatively unknown figure.
Writing immediately after Benedict’s election, I wrote these words, referencing the Pope’s previous role in the Vatican as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger:
Yet, there is no reason to believe that the election of Pope Benedict XVI will do anything to breach the divide between evangelicals and Roman Catholics on issues related to biblical authority, the Gospel, and a host of other essential theological questions. We hold no expectation that this pope holds views of justification and the Gospel that are any more harmonious with evangelical conviction than those held by his predecessors. Indeed, Ratzinger’s theological brilliance may be deployed in ways that will cause evangelicals even greater frustration.
As the Vatican’s most influential theologian, Cardinal Ratzinger was already known for his brilliant and incisive critiques of modern secularism and postmodernism’s retreat from truth. At the same time, he was also a staunch defender of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church – doctrine he had defined and defended as Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Thus, I did not expect that Pope Benedict would move to breach the theological divide between evangelicals and Roman Catholics. Indeed, I would have been most surprised if, now elected as Pope, Benedict would reveal himself as someone other than who he had been as Cardinal Ratzinger.
I have not been surprised. Pope Benedict has continued his incisive work on the challenge of modern secularism. His speech at Regensburg, Germany in 2006 and his baptism of a prominent Muslim convert this past Easter were clear signs that this is not a Pope primarily concerned with ecumenical relations. Even so, his statements about the address and the baptism – and the general question of Islam – were perfectly in keeping with Catholic doctrine since Vatican II. Evangelicals can admire his boldness without appreciating his inclusivism.
Perhaps the most clarifying moment since his election came last July when the Vatican released the document known as “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church” – a document that reasserted the claim that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church.
The secular press and a good many non-Catholic church leaders expressed outrage and offense at the Pope’s comments – assuming that such teachings were simply out of place in the modern world. But Benedict was restating the tradition and teaching of his church – and he did so because he cared for those he believes are outside the blessings of grace he is certain are given to those in the communion of his church – and to that communion alone.
I actually appreciated the Pope’s concern. If he is right, we are endangering our souls and the souls of our church members. Yet, I am convinced that he is not right — n
