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.A Worship Catechism
David De Bruyn has been publishing “A Worship Catechism” at Churches Without Chests. It is well worth a look. I’ve linked to the first installment, but there are several.
1. What is the great priority and purpose of man?
Man’s great priority and purpose is to love God with his entire being: heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:29-30).
2. Why is this man’s great priority and purpose?
Loving with the entire being is worship: expressing the worth and value due to God (Ps 29:1-2). Man was created to express this glory (Is 43:3), as image-bearers (Gen 1:26-27), just as the entire created order is to reflect and magnify the worth of God (Psa 150, Rev 4:11).
3. Why should all creatures magnify God’s worth?
God is Beauty (Job 40:9-10). The Triune God is the perfection of all excellence in Being, the most delightful conjunction of all attributes of Deity, the quintessence of truth and goodness, and the most admirable and sweetest expression of this loveliness. This glory calls for the appropriate response of highest enjoyment and admiration (Psa 113:3).
4. Why should God delight in this worship?
God delights in His own glory above all things, knowing that the magnification of His glory is the greater good of all (Joh 17:24-26)
To Mock Or Not To Mock
Jordan Standridge is concerned about political idolatry in the church. Pastor Standridge sees evidence of this idolatry in the attitudes of some evangelicals as they comment on political matters. Here is the core of his argument:
And the mocking has begun. My Facebook is filled with comments about snowflakes, hypocrites and lefties who supposedly are so evil and so despicable that they need to be ridiculed for their tears. The problem is that these snowflakes we’re mocking are my mission field. I talk to so many of them on a weekly basis. Despite Scripture’s warnings about letting no unwholesome words out of our mouths, and only using words that are able to build others up (Eph. 4:29), we think that because some wanted to push abortion and gay marriage that we’re allowed to speak of them any way we choose.
I think that Pastor Standridge is trying very hard to make a moral issue out of a prudential one. He has not established that all mockery is incompatible with either loving or witnessing to the lost. In fact, the Bible certainly seems to indicate that some mockery is essential to biblical witness. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal. Isaiah dished out scorn to idolaters. Jesus excoriated the Jewish leadership of his day, and He didn’t even spare His own disciples (“Get thou behind me, Satan”).
Pastor Standridge prays that, “we repent and start treating them as Paul would, like people who will spend eternity in heaven or hell.” He appears not to remember that Paul was not above a bit of castigat ridendo mores, especially in the Corinthian epistles. Here is an example from 2 Corinthians 11:
Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.
To be sure, not all uses of mockery are good uses. Mockery can be a form of abuse, and when it is, it is evil. But not all mockery is either abusive or evil. Sometimes it is precisely the tool that is necessary to show people who they really are.
The trouble is that mockery is difficult to do well. It may repel people unnecessarily (there is such a thing as necessary repulsion). Furthermore, when we mock, we can easily permit the fleshly attitudes to assert themselves. We can give way to pride, bitterness, and vengeance. Nevertheless, it is just as possible that a refusal to engage in sharp discourse–including mockery–can also betray fleshly attitudes such as cowardice, concessiveness, or a desire to be thought well of by worldly people.
Some tears need to be ridiculed. So does some laughter. And some indifference. A blanket denunciation of ridicule does not serve the interests of truth.
Church History: Two Reference Tools for Cheap (Kindle)
You should own (and read) both of these.
The New England Soul by Harry Stout. $2.99
Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley. $3.99
![Church History in Plain Language: Fourth Edition by [Shelley, Dr. Bruce L.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51A4L2hhaIL.jpg)
Best Books List for Boys
The Art of Manliness lists the “50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men.” Some I’ve read, some I’ve haven’t. I’ll have to work my way through the list.
The Doctrine of Providence
Kevin DeYoung has an excellent discussion of the doctrine of God’s Providence.
You can look at providence through the lens of human autonomy and our idolatrous notions of freedom and see a mean God moving tsunamis and kings like chess pieces in some kind of perverse divine play-time. Or you can look at providence through the lens of Scripture and see a loving God counting the hairs on our heads and directing the sparrows in the sky so that we might live life unafraid.
Westminster Seminary Founding Faculty
Justin Taylor displays a newly colorized photo and explains how and by whom the work was done. For historians and Machen fans, this picture is just about priceless. Among other things, it includes a young Alan MacRae, who would side with McIntire against Machen, become one of the founders of Faith Theological Seminary, and then break with Machen to found Biblical Theological Seminary. MacRae is a largely forgotten figure and a bit of a paradox. He insisted until his death that he was a faithful covenant theologian, but served as one of the editors for the New Scofield Reference Bible. MacRae was also active in the American Council of Christian Churches–he was a genuine fundamentalist in the best sense of the term.
It’s also interesting to me that Machen is wearing boots instead of dress shoes in this photograph. They’re well worn, indicating that this was probably his standard footwear. But then, Machen was a mountaineer. Maybe that has something to do with it.
The photos also includes the Ned Stonehouse, Paul Wooley, and Cornelius Van Til–all very young men at the time. It does not include Carl McIntire, who was still a student. Van Til once remarked, however, that there would have been no Westminster Theological Seminary had it not been for Carl McIntire.
Time To Limit Executive Power?
Trevor Burrus says yes. For his putative conservatism, George W. Bush amassed significant power for the executive branch. Barack Obama has arrogated even more. Religious freedom depends, in part, upon the ability of the congress and the courts to restrain that kind of power. Here’s Burrus:
Here’s a basic principle of good government: Don’t endorse a government power that you wouldn’t want wielded by your worst political enemy. Democrats will soon be learning that painful lesson.
Ideally, the appointment of originalist judges will work against an unrestrained executive branch.
What President Trump Can Do About Religious Freedom
Ryan Anderson offers a cogent set of recommendations in “Make Religious Freedom Great Again.”
Whether it be harassing an order of nuns, forcing doctors to perform sex-reassignment therapies, or preventing local schools from finding win-win compromise solutions that would respect all students’ bodily privacy, the Obama administration has waged an aggressive and unnecessary culture war. Because it has done so almost exclusively through executive action, a Trump administration can quickly undo this damage. And Congress can then ratify it permanently in law. That’ll go a long way toward protecting peaceful coexistence, making American truly great again.
“Charitas Nimia” by Richard Crashaw
Charitas Nimia; Or, The Dear Bargain
Richard Crashaw
Lord, what is man? why should he cost Thee
So dear? what had his ruin lost Thee?
Lord, what is man, that Thou hast over-bought
So much a thing of naught?
Love is too kind, I see, and can
Make but a simple merchant-man.
‘Twas for such sorry merchandise
Bold painters have put out his eyes.
Alas, sweet Lord! what were’t to Thee
If there were no such worms as we?
Heav’n ne’er the less still Heav’n would be,
Should mankind dwell
In the deep hell.
What have his woes to do with Thee?
Let him go weep
O’er his own wounds;
Seraphims will not sleep,
Nor spheres let fall their faithful rounds.
Still would the youthful spirits sing,
And still Thy spacious palace ring;
Still would those beauteous ministers of light
Burn all as bright,
And bow their flaming heads before Thee;
Still thrones and dominations would adore Thee.
Still would those ever-wakeful sons of fire
Keep warm Thy praise
Both nights and days,
And teach Thy loved name to their noble lyre.
Let froward dust then do its kind,
And give itself for sport to the proud wind.
Why should a piece of peevish clay plead shares
In the eternity of Thy old cares?
Why shouldst Thou bow Thy awful breast to see
What mine own madnesses have done with me?
Should not the king still keep his throne
Because some desperate fool’s undone?
Or will the world’s illustrious eyes
Weep for every worm that dies?
Will the gallant sun
E’er the less glorious run?
Will he hang down his golden head,
Or e’er the sooner seek his western bed,
Because of some foolish fly
Grows wanton, and will die?
If I were lost in misery,
What was it to Thy heaven and Thee?
What was it to Thy precious blood
If my foul heart called for a flood?
What if my faithless soul and I
Would needs fall in
With guilt and sin;
What did the Lamb that He should die?
What did the Lamb that He should need,
When the wolf sins, Himself to bleed?
If my base lust
Bargained with death and well-beseeming dust,
Why should the white
Lamb’s bosom write
The purple name
Of my sin’s shame?
Why should His unstrained breast make good
My blushes with His own heart-blood?
O my Saviour, make me see
How dearly Thou has paid for me;
That, lost again, my life may prove,
As then in death, so now in love.
- What does Crashaw mean by a “dear” bargain?
- Who made this bargain? For what or whom?
- What makes the bargain dear?
- What contrasts does Crashaw employ to emphasize the dearness of the bargain?
- What images does Crashaw use to illustrate the bargain?
- What is the appropriate response to a poem of this sort?
Signs of a Hipster Church?
Miguel Ruiz offers “10 Signs a Church May Be Trying Too Hard to Be Hipster.” He includes suggestions for “better ideas.” Here’s a sample:
7. Everything is super casual.
We dress comfortable to feel comfortable. People like being comfortable, and we want them to like being in church, so let’s make church comfortable! After all, if God accepts us as we are, why bother getting all fancy? We wouldn’t want to project the impression that our good work of formality makes our worship more valid, right?
If people think they have to straighten up before God will accept them, they will probably never come to him. And for Pete’s sake, please don’t conduct the liturgy like Pope Frankenstein the third! Let’s be lively, warm, and welcoming so that people feel like the sanctuary is their second home.
It’s not like God is really present when we come together!
A better idea: What if we made worship, in presentation and conduct, look like it was the most important thing that happened in our week?
There’s No Fundamentalist Like an Ex-Fundamentalist
If you’re not acquainted with the transgender silliness that’s been taking place at Nova Classical Academy in Minnesota, “Transgender Conformity” in First Things offers a good primer. It’s worth noting that the father whose child is at the center of this controversy was reared in a fundamental Baptist home. As is not unusual, one fundamentalism has been replaced by another, stranger fundamentalism.
David Van Drunen on False Dualisms
Scripture requires a high view of creation and of cultural activity, but it also requires a distinction between the holy things of Christ’s heavenly kingdom and the common things of the present world. It requires a distinction between God’s providential sustaining of human culture for the whole of the human race and his glorious redemption of a chosen people that he has gathered into a church now and will gather into the new creation for eternity. Some people indeed fall into unwarranted “dualisms,” but dualism-phobia must not override our ability to make clear and necessary distinctions. Some people indeed are guilty of promoting a godless and amoral “secular” realm, but the fear of a godless secularism should not eliminate our ability to speak of a divinely-ordained common kingdom that is legitimate but not holy.
VanDrunen, David. Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture (Kindle Locations 292-298). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
Kostenberger’s “Lion and the Lamb” Is 99 Cents
The Kindle edition, that is. At Amazon.
![The Lion and the Lamb by [Köstenberger, Andreas J., Kellum, L. Scott, Quarles, Charles L]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BPv5RuhFL.jpg)
Our Blessed Hope
David Huffstutler writes about our expectation of Jesus’ coming. Here is his conclusion:
[W]e do not doubt but patiently wait for Christ to come again. Until then, we should abide in Him, suffer as God sees necessary, and live blamelessly before Him. Our hope is not just in Christ Himself, but also the many blessings His coming brings. We are reunited with the believing dead and raptured together to Him. Our faith is then praised, and we are rewarded for our service to God. What an amazing return this will be! This truly is our blessed hope!
The whole essay is worth reading.
D.Min. Course on Preaching Narrative
Registration is open for Dr. Steve Thomas’s Doctor of Ministry course on “Preaching Narrative,” January 24-27. Most of us know how to preach epistolary literature, but we struggle with narrative and poetry. The Central Seminary D.Min. in public ministry aims to correct that deficiency. Here is what Dr. Thomas says about his course:
This course is intended to help the student develop deeper commitment to and enhanced abilities in the work of expository preaching. This is achieved by 1) exploring theological and historical data that shape understanding of the preacher’s role, 2) identifying hermeneutical issues specific to narrative preaching, and 3) practicing exegetical and homiletical skills key to faithful exposition.
Dr. Thomas has studied at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Reformed Theological Seminary.
The class will meet from 7:30 on Tuesday morning until 5:00 on Friday afternoon. We have adopted a Tuesday through Friday schedule to allow travel time for pastors who wish to be in their own pulpits on Sunday.
The Central Seminary D.Min. in public ministry offers courses in preaching narrative, preaching imaginative literature (poetry, wisdom, and parable), public worship, and public defense of the faith. If you are interested in pursuing the D.Min., you can contact Kevin Bauder. Tuition for the first course is free for every qualified D.Min. applicant!
MacArthur’s “Standing Strong” For Kindle On Sale
At Amazon. 99 cents. This is a good book on spiritual warfare. It balances out the nonsense in evangelicalism today.
![Standing Strong: How to Resist the Enemy of Your Soul (John MacArthur Study) by [MacArthur Jr., John]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41KRdFzUS3L.jpg)
Zacharias’s “Recapture the Wonder” For Kindle On Sale
At Amazon. For $1.99.
![Recapture the Wonder by [Zacharias, Ravi]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/417pqafRBpL.jpg)
Clerihew on the Passing of Janet Reno
Attorney General Janet Reno
Brought an early end to many a bambino.
Let’s be frank:
She sent the tank.
MacArthur’s “Parables” for Kindle On Sale
At Amazon for $1.99.
![Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told by [MacArthur, John F.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511OPQt8FEL.jpg)
Anthony Esolen, Providence College, and Vanishing Freedom
You really need to know about the uproar at Providence College. Professor Anthony Esolen had the effrontery to publish against the diversity agenda that’s showing up in most schools of higher learning. He is paying the price. If you think that you don’t need to worry because, after all, Providence is a Catholic institution, think again. There are plenty of people who would like to see this same thing happening at fundamentalist schools. Here’s part of Esolen’s response:
It is time to rebuild. There can be no more pretense of a culture around us that is Christian or that is even content with Christianity being in its midst. We must be for the world by being against the world: Athanasius contra mundum. The world is leveling every cultural institution in its path — we must save them or rebuild them from the dust, for the world’s own sake, and for God’s.
APPLICATION & AID