Getting Overwhelmed…

Tomorrow I have a debate in my history class on the nature of Islam. I will be defending the proposition that Islam is inherently violent. It is a 25 minute presentation and then a Q&A. I have spent a substantial amount of time working on it, but not as in-depth as I would like. Of course, Islam is almost as diverse as Christianity in terms of different sects.

Coming up I also have a 15 page paper on Baptism in the Early Church. I am not quite sure what route I will take. I have considered doing an analysis of the east vs. west view on baptism in the first four centuries of the church. I was inspired after reading a paper Greg Johnson did on a similar topic at Covenant Seminary.

I also have about 100 pages to read from Robert Raymond’s Systematic Theology and compare his view on the order of salvation with Sinclair Ferguson’s view, which he espoused in his book The Holy Spirit. With all that in mind, as time permits I wish to post some of my research for your benefit.

Keith Mathison on Why Evangelicals Must Recover sola Scriptura

The Evangelical church has not awakened readily to a fact that many Roman Catholic apologists have been quick to notice. The simple fact of the matter is this: the modern Evangelical doctrine of Scripture-solo Scriptura-is self-contradictory and fundamentally absurd. If applied consistently it is fatal to Christianity. A growing number of Evangelicals are realizing this, and because they have been told that solo Scriptura is the Reformation and Protestant doctrine, they are flocking to Rome and Constantinople in an attempt to maintain a coherent faith.If Evangelical Protestantism is to survive, if it is to regain its calling, it must reject the essentially man-centered doctrine of solo Scriptura. The Evangelical church cannot call Christendom to reform and to a return to apostolic Christianity by rejecting one of the fundamental tenets of apostolic Christianity. Why should we expect or even want those within Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy to reject institutional autonomy in favor of individual autonomy? Solo scriptura cannot result in anything other than doctrinal chaos.Instead of advocating chaos, the Evangelical church must regain an understanding of the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura, which is essentially nothing more than the early Church’s doctrine of Scripture and tradition framed within a different historical context. The Church must affirm that Scripture is the sole, final, and infallible norm of faith and practice. And the Church must affirm that Scripture is to be interpreted in and by the communion of saints within the theological context of the rule of faith. Only by rejecting all forms of autonomy, institutional or individual, can any branch of the Church be in obedience to Jesus Christ the Lord. (Keith Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura [Moscow, ID: Canon, 2001], pp.346-47)

JUSTICE!

Scott Peterson is sentenced to death!
As I suspected this would not be an OJ Simpson case. This time justice prevailed, even amidst many setbacks.

A California judge Wednesday sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection for killing his pregnant wife and her fetus, calling the deaths “cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous.”

San Mateo Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi noted that Peterson’s unborn child never had a chance to draw a breath.

Delucchi made the remarks as he denied an automatic motion to mitigate Peterson’s sentence. The judge also denied a motion filed by defense attorney Mark Geragos seeking a new trial for Peterson.

Wednesday’s sentencing included dramatic moments from the slain woman’s family, who vented their anger at Scott Peterson and his family.

A Guide to Movie Watching – My Top Five

I will attempt to put together a list of five movies that have made a lasting impression on me. My choice is based on a series of factors. Hopefully, you will consider these as well. 1) Redemptive themes, 2) Symbolizes Courage and Sacrifice, 3) Espouses a Biblical Worldview without having to be explicitly Christian, 4) Speaks of the existential and inner struggles of man, 5) Reveals the despair of mankind without Christ, 6) Illustrates the justice of God, 7) Portrays the Bible as a Book that is more than a Book, 8) Values human life, 9) Philosophically stimulating, and 10) Reveals a Cosmic Battle between good and evil.
With that in mind, here is a list of my top five with no particular order:
1) The Passion ( Historical ) R
2) To End All Wars ( War ) R
3) Amistad ( Slavery during the 1800’s) R
4) Magnolia ( Existential ) R
5) Braveheart (Historical) R

Peter Leithart on Justification

I have thoroughly enjoyed Peter Leithart’s blog the last few months. He has been by far my favorite sacramental theologian. Here are his thoughts on justification:

Justification is not the end of a story, but the beginning.

Consider Noah, who was righteous in his generations, and who was seen/judged righteous before Yahweh.

To be justified is to be distinguished from the wicked generation.
To be justified is to be preserved when the judgment falls.
To be justified is to be set up on Mount Ararat to offer thank offerings.
To be justified is to be renewed in the Adamic commission, to enter a new creation to rule and subdue it.

Justification is not the end of a story, but the beginning. And the story is the story of new creation.

Three Quick Updates

Update #1 – John Ashcroft resigns! This was not a big shock since the rumors had been going on in DC for quite some time now. Who will replace him and the new changes in the administration will be the topic of interest in the next few weeks.
Update #2 – According to Covenant News, it appears that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is dead, senior Palestinian political sources said on Tuesday. “He is dead,” a senior political source close to Arafat told Reuters in Paris, where the 75-year-old leader has been lying in a coma at a French military hospital. Of course, it may be a few days until we receive confirmation.
Update #3 – Doug Wilson and James White debated on the 6th of November on the topic: Are Roman Catholics My Brothers? For updates on the debate here are the links to both sites:
Douglas Wilson
James White

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Holy Father, you are Just. When we deserved punishment, you gave us rewards. When we deserved death, you gave us life. Lord God of all creation, you have redeemed us as your people to love. And we your people continually forsake your ways. God, you grant us mercy everyday of our lives and you forgive us even when our dearest friends will not.
Today, we thank you for bringing us out of Egypt into the Promise Land where Your Son is King. In this kingdom, you give us wine and bread. You give us brothers and sisters. And you are sure to protect us from those who betray your Covenant.
In this great day which you have made, you have supplied the earth with air so that we may breathe; with water that we may drink; with beauty that we may cherish and religion so we may worship You.
Thank you our Father.

Justification by Faith Alone

This morning at St. Andrew’s Chapel Dr. R.C. Sproul delivered an excellent summary of the Reformed position on Justification by Faith Alone. In his series on the book of Acts, he has reached the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) where James presides as head presbyter. The discussion centers around the issue the Judaizers have brought forth. The Judaizers were highly concerned that allowing Gentiles into the community of saints would infringe upon their perspective on salvation. Of course, to them grace and circumcision composed the proper ingredients to salvation. Dr. Sproul was conspicuously concerned in alerting the church of the dangers the gospel has faced in the last centuries and continues to face even in our day. Quoting Luther he said that “justification by faith is the article of the standing or falling church.”
RC made a brief reference to the New Perspective on Paul controversy. It appears that in last week’s Pastor’s Conference, a majority of the pastors were utterly in awe of the devastation the NPP has caused in some of the Reformed Churches in the US. The New Perspective on Paul does not see justification as a necessary declaration to enter the Christian community, rather it is the means by which they are maintained. In simple terms, it sees justification as ecclesiastical rather than soteriological.

My brief thoughts on this issue has yet to be confirmed by my studies. I have done some work but not extensive work on NPP. However, I concur with Doug Wilson who stated in the end of his book, “Reformed is Not Enough”, that the Christian Church needs to give N.T. Wright and others a fair hearing.

One of my primary concerns with this issue is that the church despise this perspective as another attack on the gospel and not seek to understand it. If this occurs, she will become ignorant of the facts and not be able to engage major theological issues of the day, thereby losing even more credibility. If the Reformation urged us to “always reform” (Semper Reformanda), it would be foolish to not examine this perspective. I am quite aware that the term “new” causes immediate fear in some, but we are well reminded that the Reformation itself was a new work of God in the church. Another fear commonly expressed is that NPP has its origins in the work of E.P. Sanders, a liberal scholar, to say the least. However, once again another reminder of the history of the church is necessary. It was through the efforts of heretics and excommunicated fathers that the church refined its ideas and came to supreme conclusions on doctrinal matters.

I am not quite sure we can say with certainty that “justification” has a narrow meaning or rather, if it can be defined more broadly as some suggest. It is my contention that there still is much work to be done not only on the usage of the term “justification” but also on its broader application to the community.

Overall, this seems to be a healthy debate and not worthy of separation. Whether NPP is a correct method of interpreting Paul or if Luther had it right to begin with, or even if both of these positions are not mutually exclusive, as I tend to believe, the church is still bound and held by the great creeds, not solely on Lutheran or Calvinistic doctrines, but one that encompasses all Orthodox denominations. One final observation deserves our attention, and that is, that the Creeds of the church for the first 1600 years do not include “justification by faith alone.” Now, what does this mean? I am still not sure. For your convenience here is the greatest of all Creeds in my opinion. Read it and meditate on that which is really essential.

THE APOSTLE’S CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell. [see Calvin]

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

*The word “catholic” refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Democrats’ Message

The overall theme of all major stations, radio programs, and news around the country has been on the question of “How can Democrats recover from the recent blow?” I have read Bill Clinton’s answer. He said Democrats need to put out a clear message. I read Rev. (whatever this title means) Al Sharpton’s interview with Bill O’Reilly when he said Democrats need to put out a clear message to the people. It seems that Democrats are agreed on one thing: We need to put out a clear message to the people!

But what kind of message does the people want to hear? I will tell you what they don’t want to hear. They don’t want to hear about the Democrats seeking reconciliation in the country. It won’t happen when you have no moral principles. And further, they don’t want to hear more whining. This I can’t guarantee won’t happen throughout the next four years. However, there is one thing they do want to hear, and that is, Hillary Clinton for 2008. Hey, if you want to go ahead and claim another defeat ahead of time, have at it!