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.Reading List for the 500th Anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses
I put together over at Credo a reading list for the Reformation celebration this 500th anniversary year. These, for the most part, are recent, well-written books by seasoned scholars but written at a introductory level suitable for pastors who need a refresher class or church members interested in the Reformation. All are available digitally and all provide good places to start thinking about the legacy of the Reformation.
Seven Goofy Academic Papers
The College Fix lists “Seven of the Most Absurd ‘Academic’ Studies of 2016.” My favorite is a paper at the University of Toronto on cupcake appropriation: according to this study, men are taking over cupcakes from women. Of course, that would explain the appearance of maple-bacon frosting. For the record, I’d still rather eat a big square of cake than to have to peel away the little paper cup.
Reviews of N. T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began
N. T. Wright’s new book, The Day the Revolution Began, is attracting a bit of attention. Back in October Michael Horton reviewed the volume for the Gospel Coalition. More recently, Dane Ortlund has added a few extra criticisms. Here’s Ortlund:
At the end of the day here’s the question to ask of a book that claims to be a popular level book on Christ’s crucifixion. A street-level test for someone trying to track with Wright in this book would be: If your college-aged son or daughter came to you in abject distress at their idolatry or sinfulness or addictive behavior or enslavement to the world’s priorities, and sought your counsel, what comfort would you have for them according to this book? Beneath all the clever cuteness about how all reformed evangelicals have been asking the wrong questions, after all the ornate assembling of the Bible’s storyline, what is the actual comfort of Christianity for your beloved child? What can you give them? What can you say? This book does not give you much to latch onto. And that is a problem, a problem of a fundamental and not peripheral nature, especially for a book pitched at a general Christian population.
No Muslim Prime Minister for Romania
The Social Democratic Party won Romania’s elections on December 11. The party has put forward a Muslim, Sevil Shhaida, for Prime Minister. In the Romanian system, the President must nominate the Prime Minister, and (according to Nuova Europa) President Klaus Iohannis is refusing to do that.
While President Iohannis has not commented on his reasons, it is worth remembering that the territories now occupied by Romania were either under Muslim control or in a struggle to free themselves from Muslim dominance until the time of the American Civil War. The same is true of Hungary. Some Balkan states broke free of Muslim control even later.
In Romania, Dracula is remembered as a national hero, and his claim to fame is that he fought Muslims. Romanians and other Eastern Europeans have a relatively recent memory of what life was like under Muslim domination. Most of them do not want to return to that way of life. They hate and fear Muslim control. Certainly this sensibility is one element in President Iohannis’s decision.
The New Criterion
The New Criterion is a monthly journal of opinion that reviews the arts and intellectual life. It’s been around since the early 80s and is almost always worth reading. It is not at all a Christian publication; it is not even religious. It is, however, written by people who take art, culture, and the life of the mind seriously: people who stand in the tradition of, say, Matthew Arnold or Jacques Barzun. They are genuine humanists (as opposed to the pretenders who publish The Humanist) in the sense that they value the humanities. Because of their rejection of Christianity, they get some things wrong. Because of common grace and the Imago Dei, they get a good bit right. This month’s edition is particularly worthwhile, and I’ll be posting links to individual articles over the next several days.
Available Online: January Edition of CCEF NOW
The Christian Counseling and Education Foundation publishes CCEF NOW as a popular magazine. The lead article in the January number is “How Do We Pray?” by David Powlison. Download the PDF here.
LSSU’s List of Words That Ought To Be Banished, 2017
Every year Lake Superior State University publishes a list of words and phrases that ought to be banished from the English language. Here’s the list for 2017.
Archibald Alexander on the Substitutionary Atonement
The sufferings of Christ were, therefore, of a strictly vicarious nature. “He bare our sins in his own body, on the tree.” “He died, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.” “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” “Our iniquities were laid upon him.” No doubt he set us a glorious example of perfect patience and fortitude, in enduring so much pain and ignominy; but example was not the main end of these sufferings, which would place them on the same level with those of other martyrs. And, it is not disputed that the death of Christ is calculated to produce a moral impression on all intelligent minds, but even this was not the direct end of Christ’s sufferings, according to the Scriptures; but he died as an expiatory victim, a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, as atonement for all the sins of his chosen, as a ransom to redeem them from their bondage; yea, as a curse, to redeem them that were under the curse. And this view of the atonement is vital to the Christian system. It is plainly the doctrine of the Old as well as the New Testament; and it ever has been the doctrine of every sound part of the Christian church; and it would be easy to show, that the objections to it are either frivolous, or they are such as subvert the gospel of Christ, and bring in another gospel, which exposes the abettors of it to the anathema of Paul. (Gal. 1:8.)
Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 111.
Douglas Wilson on the US, the UN, and Israel
You sure can’t blame it on his dispensationalism, but Wilson gets it just about right.
John Kerry said that Israel had to choose between being Jewish and being democratic. Over one and a half million Israeli citizens are Arab. Most are Muslim, and some are Christian. If Kerry were to get his second state, the Palestinian one, what percentage of the citizenry in that state would be Jewish? Ah, I see. It is all coming clear to me now.
Fascinating Reflection about ELP
When I used to buy rock albums, my favorite band was Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. They were pioneers of what eventually came to be called Prog, or “Progressive Rock.” The idea was that they combined rock rhythms with classical structures–easy enough for them, since they were all classically trained musicians.
I quit listening to rock because I found that it both reflected and evoked my own worst sensibilities–and I don’t think that I’m unique in this respect. I saw in its musical language a rejection of the moral order of the universe, a rejection that I could not continue to cultivate as I came to increasingly conservative convictions. Imagine my surprise, therefore, to discover that one of my favorite conservative blogs has run a retrospective on Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Here’s a bit of it:
What made ELP different from other rock groups was not that it was “progressive”—whatever that term might mean. Rather, it was that the members viewed their vocation as creating things of beauty. Such a motivation is a rare gift; to have it shared by three such brilliant musicians was a once in a generation gift for us all.
When I heard about Keith Emerson’s suicide last year, I went back and listened through ELP’s live album, “Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends.” What surprised me most was how thin it all sounded. The three guys made plenty of noise, but after thirty-odd years it sounded like soup with too much water in it. Greg Lake’s voicing of the Blake/Parry “Jerusalem” was just awful, and I don’t recall that it was any better on “Brain Salad Surgery.” I can no longer imagine having to listen to a steady musical diet of this stuff.
Tozer on Disrespect for God
No religion in the world that I know of would treat its God the way we Christians treat our God. We have the true God, yet we do not treat Him with the respect and dignity that the heathen treat their gods.
Tozer, A.W. Delighting in God (Kindle Locations 569-570). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
There’s Money in Diploma Mills
The U. S. Attorney in Manhattan has charged Umair Hamid with “wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft” in a diploma mill scheme. Hamid is alleged to have netted some $140 million. Wow.
Barrick’s Recommendations for OT Commentaries
Bill Barrick teaches at The Masters Seminary. He has just updated his recommendations for Old Testament commentaries. See them here.
How to Tie a Four-in-Hand Knot
Since gentlemen tie their own ties, and since ties are not always the same length or shape, every gentleman should master at least three knots. The full Windsor is the most basic, the half Windsor is the most versatile, but the four-in-hand is actually the simplest. It is the most casual of the three basic knots, but it is also the easiest to tie. Here’s a tutorial from The Art of Manliness.
Why God Can’t Overlook Sin
The reason why an atonement was necessary, was the inflexible nature of divine justice. This attribute leads the Ruler of the universe to render to every one his due; to treat every one according to his character. The justice of God was manifested in giving to man a righteous law, and annexing a penalty exactly proportioned to the demerit of every transgression. Such a penalty being annexed to the law, it is evident that to execute it is a righteous thing; and when this penalty is incurred by transgression, the Judge of all the earth, acting justly, must inflict it. He cannot deny himself. “He is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent.” If the penalty of the law might be set aside in one instance, it might in all, and then government would be at an end. Indeed, no reason can be assigned for a difference; if one sinner is exempted from punishment, the same treatment should be extended to all; for, in the administration of law and justice, there should be uniformity….
Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 109.
Ohio Legalizes Guns on University Campuses
Governor Kasich just signed the bill into law. Schools may still ban firearms, but the law no longer prohibits them. See the report in Inside Higher Ed.
Or Ben-Yehuda’s Rifle
A few have asked about the weapon pictured with Israeli hero Or Ben-Yehuda. It appears to be a variation of the IWI TAR-21, probably an X-95 in 5.56×45.
Archibald Alexander on the Goodness of God
Man is formed with such a nature, that he cannot open his eyes on the beautiful world which he inhabits, without pleasure. The glory of the firmament, the beauty of the landscape, and the sublimity of the lofty mountains and vast ocean, fill the rational mind with pure delight. The various works of nature or of art, perceived by the eye or ear, furnish a feast to the mind. The food which nourishes us is pleasant to the taste, and the water which gushes from the earth, affords a sweet refreshment. The light is pleasant to the eyes, and the air is felt to be invigorating to the lungs. Action is pleasant, and so is repose. Sleep, though it is the image of death, is sweet and refreshing to the labouring man. There are to man, thousands of sources of pleasure. If he were only innocent, even the world as it is, though labouring under a curse for sin, would still furnish many of the delights of paradise. Truly God is good.
–Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 26.
It’s Worse Now
The awesomeness and beauty and perfection of our God need to be the focus in our evangelical churches today. All efforts need to be directed here. I know the temptation is to correlate the church with the world in our misguided attempt to reach the world. But you cannot reach the world by becoming like the world. The only way to reach the world is to become something altogether other than the world. That is what we have in Christianity.
Tozer, A.W. Delighting in God (Kindle Locations 640-643). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
New Issue of Credo Magazine
This one is about Sola Scripture. Download as a PDF here.
APPLICATION & AID