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.Andreas J. Köstenberger on Christmas
A leading New Testament scholar writes “10 Things You Should Know About Christmas” for the Crossway blog. Here’s number seven:
Andrew Lincoln, in his book Born of a Virgin?, has argued that the virgin birth is unhistorical while asserting that the incarnation could still be true in a spiritual sense. This, however, is contrary to scriptural teaching, which keeps the virgin birth and the incarnation together as two sides of one and the same coin. Only a virgin birth allows Jesus to be the God-man who combines two natures—human and divine—into one person as the early church councils went on record as affirming.
“The Night Before Christmas” in Celebrity Impersonations
Yup.
India Seminary Library Needs
Sam De is an Indian national and Central Seminary graduate. He is also the founder of Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary in south India. Sam recently put out a plea for help with the college and seminary library.
Books for the college: Our library needs an expansion. Bethany Baptist Church in Michigan has agreed to work as a collection centre for used books for our college. Periodically, they will send books to us by container shipment. If you want to donate books to our college, you may send them to this address:
Bethany Baptist Church
Attn: Sam De Book Collection
2353 East Grand Blanc Rd.
Grand Blanc, MI 48439
The contact person is Pastor Jonathan Wass; Email: pastorjon@bbgb.org; Church phone: (810) 694-6854.
Pastor Wass is also a graduate of Central Seminary.
Christmas Pizza Delivery by Reindeer?
Domino’s tried. It didn’t work.
No Short Skirts in Knesset
Several female parliamentary aides were recently refused entry to the plenum of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The reasons? Short skirts. The episode has touched off a bit of a controversy. You can read about it at Israel Hayom.
Dogs Aren’t Children
In a refreshingly sensible decision, a Canadian judge has ruled that dogs are property and not family members.
How to Tie a Half Windsor Knot
A gentleman never resorts to clip-on neckties (an oxymoron if ever there was one). Instead, a gentleman ties his own ties. The most basic knot is the full Windsor, but the most useful knot may be the half Windsor. It’s especially useful for big men who want to wear ties of ordinary length. Remember, the tip of your tie should come to your belt but not hang below it. Here’s a guide from The Art of Manliness.
A Conservative Reading List
Joseph Cunningham lists “7 Books You Need to Read to Craft a Compelling Case for Liberty.”
Dutch Oven Recipes
Because outdoor cooking is a manly art. Go here.
Thinking about a PhD?
Trevin Wax is a recent PhD graduate. Here he offers his counsel concerning things to think about “Before You Go for a PhD.” It’s good advice.
Congratulations to Jeff Straub
Wipf and Stock has agreed to publish Jeff Straub’s doctoral dissertation, “The Making of a Battle Royal: The Rise of Liberalism in Northern Baptist Life, 1870-1920.” Dr. Straub’s dissertation, written for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is the most complete explanation to date of how liberal theologians captured control of the Northern Baptist Convention. The published work should appear during the late summer of 2017.
Don We Now our Ge Apparel…
Christmas came early for me this year. After several years of desire, my parents bought me prints of two of my favorite paintings: “Quid veritas est?” and ” Last Supper,” both painted by my Russian realist, Nikolai Ge (1831-1894). Ge is well-known for his friendship with Tolstoy and dissenting views of the Russian Orthodox Church. His religious works garnered first fame, then revile, even producing an governmental charge of blasphemy. He attacked the Christo-Iconography of the Russian Church and painted the God/Man as a man; ugly, abused, forlorn, and often in darkness. For Ge, Jesus’s humanity reflected his primary purpose; to be the propitiation of the world.
Carolyn Pirtle, of Notre Dame, brilliantly explained Ge’s “Last Support here.
Jefferson Gatrall wrote a good piece on Tolstoy and Ge’s vision of Christ here.
Sadly, the Eutychianism of 18th century Russian Iconism is alive and well today. Mainly in terrible art, poor worship, and proper Evangelicalism. Images of the Messiah have become so ubiquitous that he has, ironically, become unrecognizable. Remember the child born of the young Theotokos. Remember the homeless vagabond, remember the suffering Saviour, true God and true Man.
Spot On
Noah Livingston addresses an urgent problem in “Saving the Funeral from an Untimely Death.” He’s right–very right–in most of what he says.
When the funeral becomes a cordoned family affair, it degenerates into a matter of personal preference. it becomes a vehicle for self-expression, one last gasp at leaving one’s mark on the world. When it ceases to be congregational worship, it ceases to be an event where God’s people are formed. Too often, pastors lead the way.
The only point at which I would (mildly) disagree with Livingston is where he suggests having someone “tell a story or two” about the deceased. Not the I object to stories about the deceased if they are rightly done. The problem is that they are rightly done so seldom. Except in rare and special instances, the minister should be the only one to speak at a funeral.
Collin Hansen’s Top Stories
Here are Collin Hansen’s “Top 10 Theology Stories of 2016.”
Tozer on What We Need
I do not believe we need more religion; we need a better kind of religion. My great burden these days and for many years has not been for an extension of the kind of religion we have now. It has to be an improvement of the kind we have and then an extension of that. The one great loss we have suffered in the evangelical world, the one great overwhelming, calamitous loss that has been the cause of all these other losses is one: a loss of God. The most high God, maker of heaven and earth— that awesome God before whom our fathers fell— that God has left us, and in His place has come that God of the half-saved, who want to get chummy with God and treat Him like the chairman of some committee.
Tozer, A.W. Delighting in God (Kindle Locations 578-583). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
What Is a Conservative?
No one has improved on the description originally provided by Russell Kirk, who summarized the conservative perspective in six core principles. The list appears in plenty of places: here is one.
Kevin De Young’s Top Ten Books List
I like to know what people are reading, and I like to know what they liked. Here’s Kevin De Young’s “Top Ten Books of 2016.”
Sylvester Stalone to Become Arts Czar?
Is this fake news?
The Daily Mail is reporting that Donald Trump has picked movie star Sylvester Stallone for a government post. The most likely position is head of the National Endowment for the Arts. Predictably, the arts community is hyperventilating.
On the one hand, I can sympathize with their distress. The thought of Rocky and Rambo deciding who gets funding to make art leaves me dumbfounded. But then, the NEA’s choices already leave me dumbfounded. This is the outfit that funded Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorp (old news, now, dating back to the 80s and 90s). Most recently, the NEA has been accused of directing artists to produce works that promoted President Obama’s domestic agenda.
So taken on balance, maybe Rambo would be an improvement. At an rate, it should deflate some of the self-importance of those who consider themselves artistic gatekeepers.
Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
Paraphrased from Isaiah 40:1-5
By Johann Olearius
Tr. by Catherine Winkworth
Comfort, comfort, ye my people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Bowed beneath their sorrows’ load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over.
Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.
Hark, the Herald’s voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance
Since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o’er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
Questions:
This paraphrase is usually sung as a Psalm during Advent, typically to lively music.What sensibility does it primarily express? Why is this appropriate during the Advent season?
Still Don’t Get It?
I suppose I don’t blame you. If you’re from anywhere south of the 4oth parallel, you panic when you look at this kind of snow. You wonder how people can live in weather like that. You think they must freeze all winter long.
Well, I took this picture about a mile into this afternoon’s walk. As you can tell from the angle of the snow, there was a good bit of wind. The temperatures weren’t polar, but they were cold. And I was enjoying myself.
What’s the secret? Just this: you dress for where you’re at. If you go out rambling in the Arizona desert, you wear a hat. If you go out walking in Minnesota snow, you wear a good coat. A quality pair of long johns and a lined pair of jeans will help.
My winter coat is the old N3B military parka. It’s kept me warm in temps down to about 35 below, which is about as cold as it gets in Minnesota. But it’s also comfortable in weather like I was in when I took this picture. If I pull up the hood over my stocking cap, I’m more than warm, even with the wind blowing.
About a mile later, I was chased by a pack of dogs. There were four of them, and I could see them coming through the snow, barking as they ran. They were wiener dogs, and it was a sight. The snow was higher than their legs, so they had to jump to make progress. They looked like four walleyes leaping and splashing through the lake as they hove toward me.
Their owner had just let them out of doors and they wanted to play. You’ve never really lived until you’ve been mobbed by a pack of dachshunds in the snow. It was a riot.
Winter is nothing to fear. It is fun–just a different kind of fun than lying around the beach. The nice thing about Minnesota is that you can do both. You have the beach for part of the year and the winter for part of the year. Not to mention the brilliance of fall and the sudden burst of spring. In Minnesota they talk about what they call the “theater of seasons,” and it’s quite a show.
When you look at that picture, don’t shiver. In Minnesota, it’s no big deal. In fact, it’s even a cause to celebrate. In the northern part of the state, parents don’t think twice about sending their kids out to play when the temp is -10 or even colder. It’s a way of life that brings its own compensations.
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