Theology Central
Theology Central exists as a place of conversation and information for faculty and friends of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Posts include seminary news, information, and opinion pieces about ministry, theology, and scholarship.Narnia As a Template for Good Government?
That’s what Eric Sammons suggests at The Federalist.
At any rate, near the end of the book Lewis describes Narnia under the rule of the Pevensies: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. It’s a Golden Age, and all is well. So how does Lewis envision the rulers of this ideal society? “And they made good laws and kept the peace and saved good trees from being unnecessarily cut down, and liberated young dwarfs and young satyrs from being sent to school, and generally stopped busybodies and interferers and encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live.”
In other words, the Narnian government was the opposite in almost every aspect to modern forms of government. Let’s look at Lewis’s suggestions for an ideal government, working backwards.
Understanding the Alt-Right
Confused about the Alt-Right? Wonder how it’s different from conservatism? Here’s an explanation by Joe Carter for the Acton Institute: “5 Facts about the Alt-Right.” It’s the best short explanation I’ve seen.
George Leef on “Specialist Degrees”
The idea is to cut, or cut back on, general education and to give students what they want in the fields in which they want it. George Leef gives his opinion at National Review.
While Leef isn’t thinking about ministerial education in particular, it’s worth noting that seminaries are facing exactly this problem as an increasing number of schools are trying to collapse the traditional B.A.-through-M.Div. cycle into a quick, methods-oriented program.
The Essence of Idolatry
When I break God’s law, I stand above God’s law, and I feel like I am God, the one in control. Seeing myself as one who lives under the law is a constant reminder to me that I am not God but a creature, subject to his rule. The sheer delight Augustine found in stealing the mediocre and bitter pears was not a delight in the intrinsic merits of pears themselves. It was the pleasure of pretending to himself that he was God.
Trueman, Carl R.; Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 60). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Instead of Falling On Your Sword . . .
. . . Swallow it. Here’s how, according to the Scientific American. Lesson One:
Essentially, sword swallowers have to figure out how to carefully align a sword with their upper esophageal sphincter — a ring of muscle at the top end of the throat– and straighten the pharynx, commonly achieved by hyper-extending the neck by tipping the head waaay back.
Matthew Barrett on the Sufficiency of Scripture
[W]e should not approach the Bible as if it addresses all information in the world. One cannot look up 2 + 2 in the Bible and discover that the answer is 4. The Bible is not an encyclopedia, a dictionary, or a textbook. Nor did God mean for it to be treated in this way. Yet while the Bible does not address all information or all fields of practice (hence the “light of nature”), this does not mean that the Bible fails to provide God’s people with general biblical principles applicable regardless of one’s vocation. Indeed, the Bible provides us with a theological and moral framework and worldview that extends to all of life.
Barrett, Matthew. God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 339). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Are Emotions Morally Significant?
Peter Leithart contrasts the answers given by Kant and Aristotle.
In Aristotelian ethics, the passions aren’t a matter of choice, not in the moment when we experience them. Yet, emotions can be trained. . . . We aren’t responsible for the momentary experience, but we are responsible for how we respond and how we have trained our emotional character.
Infographic: The Richest Person in Every State
If you’re interested, you can see it at the Daily Timewaster.
Voluntarism Divine and Human
Voluntarism is the priority of will (and, on a right understanding, affection) over intellect. Joel Zartman explains why we should believe in human voluntarism but reject divine voluntarism.
The Value of Accreditation
People sometimes wonder why schools spend so much time and money achieving and maintaining accreditation. CHEA–the Council on Higher Education Accreditation–is the organization that accredits the accreditors. CHEA has recently released two documents explaining the value of accreditation and defending accreditation as a private rather than governmental enterprise. The two are:
Ten Ways in Which Accreditation Serves Students, Society, and the Public Interest.
Like You’ve Never Seen Them
I’d never really thought about how taxidermists learn their craft. I’d never considered what amateur or failed attempts at taxidermy look like. What happens to taxidermy gone wrong? It gets posted to “Bad Taxidermy.” Yup, there’s even a blog about that.
Carl Trueman Defines Grace
Grace is that aspect of divine action by which God blesses his rebellious creatures, whether through preservation (common grace) or salvation (special grace). It characterizes the manner in which he deals with those who through their rejection of him as their Creator and sovereign deserve nothing from him and yet whom he still chooses to bless.
Trueman, Carl R.; Trueman, Carl R.. Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taughts…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 25). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Only in Minnesota
Every February the city of Walker, Minnesota hosts the International Eelpout Festival on the frozen surface of Leech Lake. An eelpout, also known as a burbot or lingcod, isn’t pretty, but it’s good eating.
In the Nick of Time
Kevin Bauder continues his response to Roger Olson by contrasting Edward John Carnell’s definitions of Christianity and Christian fellowship with J. Gresham Machen’s.
The Legend of Bass Reeves
He was an amazing U. S. Marshall who patrolled the Indian Territory. He was African American, an escaped slave. He was illiterate but highly intelligent. The story’s at Atlas Obscura.
Matthew Barrett’s Definition of Inspiration
The inspiration of Scripture refers to that act whereby the Holy Spirit came upon the authors of Scripture, causing them to write exactly what God intended, while simultaneously preserving each author’s writing style and personality. This supernatural work of the Holy Spirit upon the human authors means that the author’s words are God’s words and therefore are reliable, trustworthy, and authoritative.
Barrett, Matthew. God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 229). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
If You Don’t Know John Dewey . . .
. . . You should. No one has exerted a greater influence over American education. The Imaginative Conservative has reprinted a fine introduction to Dewey’s thought: “Theology and Liberal Education in John Dewey.”
Michael Kruger on the “Miniature Codex”
Kruger discusses these tiny books as a “curious example of early Christian devotion to Scripture.” At Cannon Fodder.
The “Game of Thrones” Controversy
Let’s be clear. Game of Thrones is vile. I read pretty widely, even among writers I disagree with. But there are some things I won’t read. I couldn’t get more than a few chapters into Game of Thrones; I threw the entire series away.
I haven’t tried to watch the series. Why should I? I get enough pollution driving down the highway. But I can’t imagine that the graphic reenactment of the books is any more edifying or less destructive.
So why is there a controversy?
It started when John Piper proposed “Twelve Questions to Ask Before You Watch ‘Game of Thrones.'” He pulled no punches, but lots of good, evangelical people weren’t happy. Here’s a sample:
The world does not need more cool, hip, culturally savvy, irrelevant copies of itself. That is a hoax that has duped thousands of young Christians. They think they have to be hip, cool, savvy, culturally aware, watching everything in order not to be freakish. And that is undoing them morally and undoing their witness.
Exactly.
And that’s one of the reasons I love Piper.
Then Kevin DeYoung at the Gospel Coalition spoke out with, “I Don’t Understand Christians Watching Game of Thrones.” DeYoung is not a theological lightweight, nor is he a prude. But he understands how destructive pornography can be–and Game of Thrones is pornography, whatever else it is.
Talk about a reaction! The comment string after his post is a hoot! If you want to know what’s wrong with contemporary Christianity, you might begin your research with the responses to DeYoung.
Now Nick Batzig has weighed in with “Game of Dethroning Sexual Sin.” He rightly acknowledges the pornographic nature of Game of Thrones.By the time this post appears, the commenters will be all over him.
Apparently many evangelicals just don’t get it. The question isn’t whether sex is a good gift of God; the question is whether pornography is a good use of that gift. The question isn’t whether the Bible narrates lewd and violent acts; the question is whether lewdness and violence should be vividly reenacted for pleasure.
People find reasons to justify what they already love. In this case, what they love is indescribably base.
What Titus Found
South African Pastor David DeBruyn draws a comparison between what Titus found in the holy place and what lies behind forms, customs, and manners. He even includes an extended quotation from Weaver. Here’s DeBruyn:
What the sincerity-junkie cannot see is that there are reasons for formality other than posturing, hypocrisy or evasion. A suit and tie at a funeral, a wedding-dress and vows at a wedding, opening a door for a lady, using titles for people in authority, table manners, an eloquent love-letter, or a poem are not exercises in deception. They are the ways we “dress-up” physical reality to signify greater realities. A form may not be hiding reality, it may in fact be clothing it with beauty and significance. That is, formality is often a way of improving something ordinary, adorning it with beauty, so that we now see something more than just the physical thing. We see what it represents, what it envisions. We see man made in God’s image, not merely physical man of the dust.
APPLICATION & AID