2.27.2007

Dead Horses In Need Of More Beating

I've been thinking about issues I should harp on more, such as the regulative principle of worship, and that I should write more about their implications for an understanding of Christian life. For now, I just leave you with the archived link.

I recently finished D. G. Hart's biography of John Williamson Nevin, and I recommend it. I found the conclusion particularly good (although not in the antikuyperian way Hart intended it, I'm sure), and I will provide a link to an excerpt at some point. The gist is that the success of the church should not be measured by the extent of her influence with those outside her communion in extra-ecclesial matters, but rather by the degree of her faithfulness in administering her ordinances. It might not sound controversial when I put it like that. However, evangelicals operate by contrary "ecclesiastically defining" principles (and so contrary standards of faithfulness) to those of the reformed church.

In a recent email exchange Russ Reeves, associate prof in History at Providence Christian College, offered a concise critique of David VanDrunen's protestant neoscholastic "two-kingdom" theory.
Robert Lotzer styles his own two-kingdom position as "anti-antithesis," confusedly suggesting that the 'antithesis' which he abjures is between special (redemptive) and common (preserving) grace! There is no such antithesis, so this misconception is a tragedy, especially since Klinean theology employeed by VanDrunen, Lotzer, and others is actually anti-scholastic and more conducive to neocalvinist (kuyperian) social theory.
This is a horse for future overflogging.

Monergism has a face lift.

The Reformational Publishing Project is now in motion.

2.14.2007

I Still Like Love

Eros and all that jazz.... it's a gift from God*. So, I enthusiastically and sincerely wish you a Happy Valentine's Day. I know it's a "made up" commercial holiday ripped-off from a saintsday on an ecclesiastical calendar that I don't even acknowledge. But that's not the point. I know my own dating life has been fairly lackluster for the past few years. That's not the point either.

The point is that even if romance never comes my way again, I still like love. I enjoy it when people can find some lasting companionship and intimacy. Why would I want to poo-poo that? I'm love's biggest fan, and you should be too. Love is good. If we can't find any for ourselves, that's no reason to be a hater. C'mon, join me in supporting love!

On another note, last night this blog reached 50,000 visits. The fifty-thousandth visitor is apparently from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and uses bloglines. If that was you, leave me a note.

There's lots of snow here in middle PA. It's the multi-layered kind of compacted powder and frozen sleet. The thigh-high street-plow induced drift at the end of the driveway was insane... so I managed half of it, enough to get the car out. If this stuff was a little thicker, you could chop it into blocks and build an igloo.

*The true and living God, that is, YHWH --Creator of all there is who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Not the Greek deity named "Eros".

2.04.2007

Sin Shall Have No Dominion*

How does the Christian grow in genuine maturity?
Better yet: how is Christ maturing His church?

Married to Another
the Law and Christocentric sanctification with special reference to Romans 7:1-6
MP3s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,
Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11
PDF Text of all 11 above

Sanctification
through faith in Christ by the Spirit using the means of grace
mp3 1, pdf Handout 1
mp3 2, pdf Handout 2
mp3 3, pdf Handout 3

Referred to in the above lectures: Walter Marshall's Gospel Mystery of Sanctification
[pdf here] You can purchase a contemporary English version at monergism books, and you'll want to download Fonville's Notes too.

And the God of thy Seed
a biblical case for Infant Baptism and Covenant Nurture
MP3s Intro, pedobaptism 1, pedobaptism 2, pedobaptism 3,
nurture 1, nurture 2, nurture 3, nurture 4