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Yearly Archives: 2008
More Anti-Calvinism Rhetoric: iMonk Responds
Ok … so I stumbled upon this quotation in a roundabout way while I was on the Thinklings blog. It’s the iMonk’s response to the John 3:16 conference. It’s important because I don’t think the iMonk is a Calvinist, so to hear him address the issues this way was enlightening and encouraging. Here’s the excerpt.
Really, this is silly. Just silly. Calvinists in the SBC are doing far more good than harm, and the truth is that the fundamentalists need someone to blame for the fact that Jerry Falwell-style Evangelicalism is falling apart. One live-blogger said that 90% of the audience was middle-aged and over. That’s your problem old white guys: younger SBCers aren’t even listening to you anymore. You are talking to yourselves.
—————————–HT: The Thinklings—————————-
James White’s Comical Response to Dr. David Allen
James White fired back from London after snipes from Georgia initiated hostilities. Here is an excerpt from his response:
Isn’t it ironic? I am in London, England, preparing to do public debates with Islamic apologists, seeking to present and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Lordship, and the Arminians are all gathered at Johnny Hunt’s church to try to convince folks not to listen to the Calvinists. Don’t you find something just a bit ironic in that? I’m out on the front lines pressing the claims of Christ and calling Muslims to bow to His lordship while those who will falsely accuse me of being a “hyper-Calvinist” are safely ensconced in the friendly environs of Georgia, sniping at Reformed folks—who, of course, were not invited to participate, debate, or discuss. … If you can evangelize, call men to Christ, believe in common grace, etc., and still end up smeared by the “hyper” name, then clearly the debate has devolved down to a level beneath what is proper for believers. … I did notice with some sadness that, as usual, the main thrust of the presentation was not biblical at all. And this will always remain the difference between the Reformed and those who cling to man’s sovereignty.
——————-HT: Alpha and Omega Ministries Apologetics Blog———————
David Platt the Next John Piper?
Whenever people talk about David Platt’s messages, their eyes light up, their head shakes, and they speak using extremities of language. As they recommend for other people to listen to him, they make no suggestions. They make only imperatives. “You have to listen to him. … I’m not kidding. You have to.”
If you don’t listen to David Platt, your skin will rot and your eyeballs will fall out of their sockets. You will be cursed forever. That’s what they say.
Could David Platt be the next John Piper?
———————————HT: Brook Hills———————————
Your Church is Too Small: Missional Ecumenism in the New Millennium
John H. Armstrong just released news that Zondervan has agreed to publish his book Your Church is Too Small, a book he wrote before ever seeking publication. He said he wrote the book before making a deal for publication so that he would not have any pressure to conform its content to the pressure of a publisher. He is writing on a controversial topic among evangelicals. Here is an excerpt from his post on the book.
The thesis of the book is that we need a new reformation rooted in what I call missional-ecumenism. This “new” ecumenism would unite us spiritually and relationally in fresh and personal ways that could well become an instrument of God to spread the message of Christ’s kingdom far and wide. All of this is developed in a narrative that tells my own story and interacts warmly with a number of people and events over the last twenty years or so. (The next to last chapter is filled with stories of people and churches that have followed the thesis I present in the book.) The reading level ofYour Church Is Too Small is not academic and what academic arguments are made in the book are simply defined and clearly written. My target audience is not professors and scholars butministers and church leaders of all backgrounds. The book targets evangelical Protestants directly but it will be read with much joy by many Roman Catholics who share the same vision. There is not a shred of anti-Catholicism in the book. I also interact with the Orthodox very respectfully and with profound appreciation, even using doctrinal ideas from the East to make several important points about the Trinity and the divine energies.
——————————-HT: John H Armstrong———————————
More Anti-Calvinism Rhetoric: John 3:16 Conference
Timmy Brister has blogged about the John 3:16 conference. He’s got all the highlights of the anti-Calvinism rhetoric listed on his blog.
Here is an excerpt from one of his lists:
4. The purpose of this conference was intended to be a “majoritarian response to the ‘Building Bridges’ and ‘Together for the Gospel’ conferences” (according to Lemke).
5. If there ever was a place and time that Southern Baptists would have discovered a counter-resurgence of non-Calvinists among younger Southern Baptists, this conference would have been it. However, live-blogging revealed that it was more comparable to the SBC Annual Meeting than Together for the Gospel. In other words, Vines and Co. are without generational succession.
—————————-HT: Provocations and Paintings———————————-
UPDATE: Timmy did not attend the conference as I had posted earlier. Rather, some friends of his did, and they sent him info via internet as they were there (see John Mark correct me in the comments thread).
Has the Emergent Conversation Been Beneficial in Any Way? Y e S
Evangelical Village asks the question, “Has the Emergent Church been beneficial in any way? How?”
I answer … Yes. They have forced me to wrestle with tons of theological questions. For example …
About culture … Is the American church out of touch with the postmodern culture and therefore failing to contextualize the gospel in a way that is faithful and relevant?
About sectarianism … Are theological conservatives too uptight about their theological differences amongst each other and especially with those outside their understanding of “conservative”?
About church … Do we do church the way we do church because it’s biblically commanded or because we are incredibly bias and legalistic in our preconceptions about the regulative principle?
About the genres of scripture … Are we reading the Bible more like a science book for theological information than like it’s supposed to be read? Is our approach to reading scripture with the purpose of systematizing its teachings a result of Western European rationalism rather than our commitment to follow its teaching? Are we reading the Bible in the way it was intended to be read, or are we forcing an alien grid upon the text and therefore misapplying it?
About what it means to be a Christian … Can a female pastor who believes in annihilationism or limited inerrancy or inclusivism still be a Christian because she still believes in the deity, redemptive death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?
That’s not an exhaustive list, but it should demonstrate that the Emergent Church has forced the church to ask really, really important questions.
(HT: Evangelical Village)
Underoath’s New Album Tops All
Underoath is one of those exceptional bands that pulls off the screamo style on an unprecedented level. Their new album (Lost in the Sound of Separation) came out some months ago, but I just now listened to it for the first time. I agree with the band that it has managed to somehow take them to a whole new level all over again. I don’t know how they do it. They don’t crank out albums every year. They take their time. Not sure how they’re going to beat this album next time. My guess is that they are at the peak of their career right now. T h r i l l e s t.
(HT: Underoath)
T h e o • p h i l o g u e 