Two Blogs of Interest Today

I found this interesting analysis of some recent dust-up over Dr. Ben Carson and the keynote speech he gave at the commencement ceremonies for Emory University.  It's always amusing to watch academics poop in their own nest, then try to pretend nothing happened as the lie in the filth they've deposited.  (As an academic, I've watched this game played out for years.  It doesn't seem to change, in spite of the mess.)  I'd love to hear the message he delivered.

 Dr. Ben Carson

Also, Tim Challies reviewed Michael Kelley's book today.  I reviewed it a couple days ago, and came to pretty similar conclusions.  It is always encouraging when someone you admire thinks like you do.

Some More on Age-Segregation in the Church

I've posted on this topic, age-segregation in the church, in both April and August of 2010.

Now, Tim Challies has posted this very interesting review of a movie made by a group opposed to age-segregation in churches.  Its a great example of how to take a good idea and add an 'ism' and make it a bad philosophy.

It is also clear from the comments posted after Tim's article that a lot of people think the division of the church by age is a bad idea.  I agree.  But dividing the church over a division in the church is also a bad idea.  Making age-integrated church an exclusive thing, with no separate programs ever for kids, teens, moms, middle-aged vegetarian lego-lovers, etc., is a form of legalism* that will be as destructive, long-run, as teen-exclusive worship services have been in the recent past. 

It was also a nice eye-opener to me about how things I say could be taken to an extreme, even unintentionally.  We all have a bit of that fundamentalist thought pattern rooted into us, even liberals, and I'm no different.  So I hope what I've said about this in public isn't so extreme as to make it a test of faith or fellowship.  Its not.  It is important, but not a test of faith or fellowship.

All things in moderation, as they say.


*Legalism- making firm prohibitions where there are no biblical prohibitions...R. C. Sproul's definition.

A Couple Worth Repeating

I noted a couple of excellent blog posts this weekend, and I'll pass them along.

If you are worried you might be addicted to Facebook, Twitter, et al., this blog from Tim Challies is a must-read (it's worth a read even if you aren't addicted).

Then, this post from Trevin Wax on Humility and Humor was just outstanding.  If you only read one blog a day, read Challies'.  If you read two, read Challies' and Wax's.  (Of course, you can always read mine as well!)

Of course, if you read Challies, you've already seen the next one.  But if not, it is worth looking at.

This is an article on why Genesis 1 and 2 are not poetry, but historical narrative.  (Yes, this is important.)

Good reading!

A Few Tidbits

I just got copies of both The Next Story by Tim Challies and Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax.  Which to read first?  I started them both...I have a bad habit of reading four or ten books at once, a little at a time.  I wonder how it affects my retention...

I think I'll read Counterfeit Gospels first...I may outline it and try to make a short (three-to-six week) Sunday School curriculum out of it. 

I enjoyed this post on the 'Gagafication of the Church'.  It's kind of weird to think about...but a valid concern.

A thought gleaned from Michael Horton- "Today's fundamentalists are tomorrow's liberals."  How so?  I think he might be right, but I need a lot more info before I go around saying it.

Finally, here's a quote from Horton's Gospel Driven Life that I love-

“The last thing we need is a church that keeps us sealed up in our own compartment with others of similar experiences in life.  We need to be integrated into the body of Christ.  Younger believers don’t need another speaker to come in and tell them about dating, self-esteem, and relationships.  They need to have relationships with saints who have put on a few miles in the Christian life and have faced challenges to their faith and practice that younger believers have not.”  (p. 197)

->

Update on the Hell Issue (Or, One Hell of an Update)

After I posted my note a couple days ago, Al Mohler posted a two-part series on the controversy.

Here's part one. 

Here's part two.

R. C. Sproul, Jr., added this interesting article called, Can a Person Be Evangelical and Not Believe in Hell?

Then Justin Taylor added this excerpt and description called, Rob Bell on Martin Luther and Salvation in Hell. (Bell claims Luther believed one could be saved from hell after death.)

Finally, we have a review of the book itself (still not released yet) via a pre-release PDF version granted for review purposes.  One of the most talented Christian book reviewers around has done that review for us.

Here's Tim Challies' review of Bell's book, Love Wins.

Monday's Meanderings- What do Sex and Salvation Have in Common? What about the Puritans?

Today's blog by Tim Challies is an excellent look at what sex and salvation have in common, and how they relate to each other.  It is much more useful stuff for defending traditional marriage than the usual fare like, "it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve".

Ever consider reading Puritan literature?  I didn't think so.  Neither did I, until I started seeing how much many of the pastors I respect were reading it.  Ligonier has a neat article on why we should, at least occasionally, read the Puritans.

Joe Carter had this funny, but true, quote a while back- "Whether they are Lutheran, Methodists, or Presbyterian, when it comes to religious engagement online, all bloggers act like Baptists."

Yes, I know this is a day late for a Monday post, but in the interest of being truly meandering, I meandered into Tuesday.

My plan is to start some regular features on this blog.  Here's the idea-

Monday's Meanderings (Mondays, of course)
Tuesday Twos (interesting posts or articles of interest that pair up, by chance or Providence...some Tuesdays)
Thursday Thuggery (some Thursdays...point out the nasty, mean evidence of total depravity in our society)
Friday Follies (humor, Fridays, of course)

I haven't decided what to do on Wednesdays.  Since I'm already a day behind, maybe I should make Wednesdays, Wednesday Wiggle-room, to get caught up.

:-)

The Inherent Danger of Consensus as the Arbiter of Truth

Does using Wikipedia ever bother you?

It bothers me sometimes.  I use it quite a bit...because it is so convenient.  But when I use it, I always take what I find there with a grain of salt. (What will we use when the FDA bans salt from out diets???)

As is the norm, no one says deep philosophical things about culture quite as understandably as Tim Challies.  (Well, I guess Al Mohler does, but who's counting.  And don't forget R. C. Sproul and his peeps at Ligonier Ministries.)  In this article, Tim talks about the problems with wikis (he uses Wikipedia as the example of all wikis).  In a previous article, Tim spoke about what Wikipedia does well, and it does do some things well.  But the second article is the one of import.  Read the first for balance, or to get perspective on the second, but the second is the important one.

Everybody with a kid in school, especially the younger kids in (say) fourth grade through high school, should zip off a copy of this blog and let their kids read it.  Or read it to them, if they can't read (you know how our education system is).  This is a tremendously important concept that reaches over from the cultural into the spiritual sphere.  Please don't go wandering through life without this perspective!