Archives For Across the Web

A variety of things that I read from across the World Wide Web.

On John Piper’s Twister Tweet

Luke Geraty —  May 22, 2013 — 2 Comments

There’s quite the stir over a recent tweet that John Piper made:

I appreciate a lot of what Nate Pyle wrote. I think Piper’s tweet could certainly have been misunderstood, which is probably why Piper went on to remove the tweet and posted a more compassionate thought on the devastation experienced this past week. Pyle’s concerns about being sensitive are well worth your read, regardless of whether you are in the “neo-reformed” world or not. It’s far more constructive than what is found in Rachel Held Evan’s diatribe. I won’t even begin to point out the problems I have with her rant.

I was reading through some social media responses and saw that someone actually referred to Piper’s post as “ consistently cruel and unhelpful offerings” and other statements that addressed Piper as a “arrogant and insensitive” pastor. Others seem to think that Piper represents all Calvinists and, therefore, all are guilty of the same alleged “insensitivity.”

Perhaps I can share a few thoughts I have. They won’t probably mean much to some, but these are things that have been floating around in my head all morning…
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A Political Rant Born From a Deeper Theological Conviction than “Americanism”

Luke Geraty —  April 23, 2013 — 10 Comments

American FlagMake no mistake, when it comes to politics, I am not left leaning nor “liberal.” Those terms are fast losing meaning, but when I think about social issues and politics, I know that I do not fall in line with many of the ideas that my Democrat friends suggest. I am not going to list all of them, but I will simply say that I believe that many of the “freedoms” and “rights” that Democrats advocate are, in fact, enslaving people. And I’m equally concerned that many in this left-winged contingent talk a lot about “equal rights” but clearly intend to silence any and all voices suggesting some form of morality that transcends what is decided by popularity. There is, as I see it, a concerted effort to silence any voice that suggests there is a Creator who has sovereign rule over all of creation. Christians are not the only victims of this too. It’s fast becoming popular to talk out of both sides of the mouth. One side says people need to be equal and allowed the freedom of expression and out the other side of the mouth are made statements to reduce any and all influence from Jews, Christians, and Muslims (and others). So please do not accuse me of being a “liberal” by what I am about to say.

I’ve seen several posts on social media advocating a picture as a “way forward” in terms of political policy. It looks like this:
Continue Reading…

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D. A. Carson on Sale @ Logos!

Luke Geraty —  April 5, 2013 — Leave a comment

D. A. Carson won this year’s Logos March Madness. Many of his books are extremely cheap right now, so if you have Logos Software, you should pick some up. I highly recommend that everyone own copies of his Exegetical Fallacies, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Cor. 12-14, and his Pillar Commentary on The Gospel of John. These are some of the best books on the subjects addressed. You will not want to pass this by. You can save 75% off of his works!

You’ll also be pleased to find that you can save 50% off of N. T. Wright. I don’t know about you, but these are great savings!

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Reflecting on Dave Workman’s Thoughts on Pastoral Pretending

Luke Geraty —  February 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

Dave Workman is awesome. I haven’t personally met him, but I’ve greatly benefited from his book The Outward-Focused Life.  If you are interested in learning about being a servant or “servant evangelism” or aspects of missional theology, this book is a great starting point. A number of people who are a part of the church I serve recently attended a conference he spoke at and were greatly blessed by his ministry.

Recently, Dave wrote a blog post on the top five things pastors should stop pretending to be (reposted here). One of my friends, Brian Fulthorp, informed me that it was the subject of a fair amount of discussion among a number of pastors and theologians in a certain denomination’s Facebook group. Since Brian wanted to know my thoughts, I figured I’d elaborate a bit on what I think. So in light of these comments, I’d encourage everyone to read Dave’s blog.

My first impression of Dave’s thoughts were mixed. I found a lot to applaud and some that I want to respond to with some nuances. Of course, Dave’s post is just a short blog and not exhaustive, so I realize that this is just furthering the discussion here and not a complete disagreement by any means! I doubt Dave would probably disagree with most of what I write here. Anyway, for those of you who are not going to actually take the time to read Dave’s insightful blog, he states that his top five things that pastors should stop pretending to be are as follows:

  1. Bible Scholar
  2. Theologian
  3. Professional Counselor
  4. The Smartest Guy in the Room
  5. Prophet

Continue Reading…

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Misreading Statements, Jumping to Conclusions, & Selectively Leading Readers

Luke Geraty —  February 15, 2013 — 9 Comments

As some of you may know, Sovereign Grace Ministries, led by C.J. Mahaney, has been facing a lawsuit for a case of child abuse. For a quick recap, see here and here. Many have been calling for some sort of a clarification from those affiliated with SGM, but it appears that everyone close to SGM and Mahaney are being relatively silent. Maybe this is because there is some sort of a court order against comment or maybe this is a legal strategy. Only those involved know the answer to that question. But I’m not sure the silence is very helpful to many people in the public. There seems to be an increasing number of people who are wondering why there is such silence in regards to such serious accusations. I know that I’m deeply concerned about the possibility that child abuse has been mishandled and covered up.

In my opinion, there should be absolutely no hesitation to report these types of things to local authorities. I have a zero tolerance policy on the issue and believe strongly that church leaders can not be neutral on these types of issues. 

Continue Reading…

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Across the Web – 01/28/13

Luke Geraty —  January 28, 2013 — Leave a comment

Trevin Wax has a good article, “Why Did Jesus Say He Came Only for Israel?”  This is a good article on issues related to the Gospels and Jesus’ mission!

Joe Carter does a FAQ, from a perspective of a member of the Gospel Coalition, on Women in Combat. I tend to find it’s conclusions and general concerns to be similar to mine.

Michael Patton has good thoughts on Four Types of Faith over at the Reclaiming the Mind blog. Good conversation starters.

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Playing by a Different Set of Academic Standards: Responding to Mohler’s Comments on the Vineyard

Luke Geraty —  November 16, 2012 — 6 Comments

There are some commonly held “rules of engagement” when scholars interact with each other and opposing ideas. And if those scholars happen to be Christians, I would assume that more care would be taken to be loving, gracious, and humble in how one approaches others and their views. Christian Scripture indicates that those qualities are essential to what I would call being a Christlike scholar. This is eloquently explained by Andreas J. Köstenberger when he writes,

“Everything a Christian does should be characterized by grace. Grace should permeate our thoughts, words, and actions, and make a noticeable impression on those with whom we come in contact, both believers and unbelievers. Unfortunately, I suspect that many unbelievers would not immediately associate graciousness with Christians. More likely, they may think of a church bitterly splitting over petty issues, the bombing of abortion clinics, or how they’ve heard that Christians hate homosexuals. Such stereotypes cannot be changed overnight, but as scholars it is our responsibility to model graciousness in our interactions with one another and with those with whom we disagree.” (Excellence, p. 189; emphasis mine)

It’s with this concern that I write. Recently, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, interviewed Tanya Luhrmann. Luhrmann is a psychological anthropologist and teaches at Stanford University. Earlier this year she released her latest book, When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God. If you haven’t picked up a copy of the book, you should do so. There are a number of reasons why I found the book fascinating, not the least of which are that (1) Luhrmann is not an evangelical Christian and (2) her research was done within the Vineyard Movement. This means that if you are interested in what a “secular” anthropologist thinks about “charismatic” Christians, this is a good place to start.
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Confused by a Decision: LifeWay, What Gives?

Luke Geraty —  October 24, 2012 — 14 Comments

I’m not a huge fan of the methodology, arguments, and thinking of some of Rachel Held Evans. She is provocative and raises important issues, but I find her arguments sometimes less than compelling. She should still be read by anyone interested in issues related to gender, evangelicalism, progressive Christianity, etc.

That being said…
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The Chick-Fil-A Hoopla

Luke Geraty —  August 1, 2012 — 4 Comments

So I was going to write a long post about what I thought concerning today’s “Support Chick-Fil-A” reverse boycott. I planned on explaining that I’m sure the intentions of those who started this idea and promoted it and took part in it were probably nothing but good. I was going to say that if I were near a Chick-Fil-A, I might have even got myself a sandwich (maybe… not sure… I’d have thought that one through a bit). I was going to make sure to emphasize that I believe Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-Fil-A, should be able to share his opinion and not have to worry about some radical anti-constitutional politician threaten to keep his business out of a certain city. I thought I’d probably then spend some time writing about why I think Christians should avoid getting all public with their participation in this “Support Chick-Fil-A” day because I think it will end up hurting the cause of Christ, especially amongst the LGBTQ community, and others who are just supportive of that communities rights and feelings.

But then I read a recent post by Barnabas Piper, “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day: A bold mistake.”

Piper’s post has everything in it that I want to say, so I’m going to refer you readers to it. It’s excellent. For those of you who are too lazy or not yet convinced it’s worth your time, he writes,

“Homosexuality is one of the most defining, contentious, and complex issues facing this generation of the church. We cannot sacrifice our biblical convictions but neither can we sacrifice the church’s ability to serve people of opposing viewpoints and lifestyles. The 452,000 people supporting Chick-fil-A are delivering more than one message, and the message the homosexual community and its supporters see is “us versus you.” The event also sends a message of separatism and territorialism in the “reclaiming” of those restaurants that are being boycotted, a collective action easily seen as a shaking of the fist or a wagging of the finger.”

Continue Reading…

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Themelios is out!

Luke Geraty —  April 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

The latest issue of Themelios is out. Lots of excellent articles, essays, and book reviews. Stand outs include:

Check it out!

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Across the Web – 03/13/12

Luke Geraty —  March 13, 2012 — Leave a comment

Stanley E. Porter is blogging. This is huge news. If you are into theology and appreciate discussions about Greek, this needs to be added this to your Google Reader. He writes,

“In this blog, I will often be discussing—in no particular order and at no particular time—three areas of great concern to me. These are McMaster Divinity College, where I have the privilege of being President; theological education, which I take to include higher education in general and seminary education in particular; and New Testament and related studies, the reason I got into the situation I am in to start with.”

Blue Like Jazz: The Movie. For those who oppose all things related to Donald Miller, this was a good quote from the review:

“In the book and in his subsequent works, Miller has never claimed to be a theologian. He doesn’t labor at making precise theological statements; he labors at telling compelling stories, at being truthful about life. He’s a storyteller whose gift takes us into the uncomfortable world of Christians living in exile. I don’t get the sense that his stories are prescriptive; they describe his life and experience, and the success of the book demonstrates that something about his life resonates with readers.”

“Make Disciples”: Evangelism or Discipleship? These are good thoughts related to how evangelism and discipleship are often misunderstood and how they should properly be integrated in the life of Jesus followers.

“Entire organizations and churches are subtly divided by these two approaches to discipleship. Some organizations focus on maturing Christians, while others focus on making Christians.The former is about discipleship and the latter about evangelism.The evangelist proclaims the gospel to make converts, and the disciple maker teaches converts how to grow into disciples, hence the clarifying phrase, “evangelism and discipleship.””

Is it God-Centered to Praise People? Those who are thinking about affirming others will want to check this out. Sam Crabtree explains why building others up isn’t idolatry, necessarily! He writes,

“What keeps God’s praise of man from becoming man-centered idolatry? Answer: man’s immediate recognition that everything commendable in himself is owing to God, coupled with a humble, grateful, joyful desire to deflect that praise right back to God. When Paul boasts of his own work, saying, “I worked harder than any of them,” he immediately follows it up with “though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).”

Hope you enjoy these links and they foster thinking in your life…

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God’s Meticulous Sovereignty in Tornadoes

Luke Geraty —  March 11, 2012 — 1 Comment

When tornadoes, storms, floods, or other natural disasters and accidents happen, lots of questions get raised. John Piper, a man I greatly respect and have been blessed by, hasn’t been afraid to address the big questions that arise when they happen. In 2009 a tornado struck downtown Minneapolis and Piper addressed it. When the recent tornadoes went through the Midwest, again, Piper addressed it.

Theologically speaking, I agree with Piper’s assessment of God’s sovereignty over these issues. I simply take issue with how Piper discusses this subject as I don’t find his methods as helpful as others do. And of course, I’m not alone in being critical of his point, though that’s not the point of this post. Continue Reading…

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Geerhardus Vos’ Reformed Dogmatics is coming!

Luke Geraty —  March 8, 2012 — Leave a comment

Logos has announced that Geerhardus Vos’ Reformed Dogmatics is being translated into English under the watchful eye of Richard B. Gaffin (Westminster Theological Seminary). This should be pretty awesome. Vos’ Biblical Theology and Pauline Eschatology are excellent works from a pillar in the Reformed tradition. Vos taught at Princeton and Calvin Theological Seminary in the early 20th century.

I’m looking forward to getting this five volume series because I’d like to see how a biblical theologian does dogmatics… there don’t seem to be as many of these type of scholars out there!

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Across the Web – 02/18/12

Luke Geraty —  February 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

Marc Cortez is giving away a copy of William J. Webb’s Corporal Punishment in the Bible: A Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts. I’m liking Webb as of late. Not because I agree with him, but because I like him… a lot. Weird, I know. I want this book!

The Middle-Aged White Guy’s Guide to Christian Rap. Not sure what to think about this. I’m a middle-aged white guy who has been and is connected to hip hop culture. The current trend of folks jumping into the culture sometimes seems weird and… silly? Not sure. I think I’ll probably blog on this soon. But this is funny.

Outside the Church there is No Salvation…Sort of. Interesting.

What are the top 10 biblical priorities for every pastor? Hmmm. He has two… what do you think are the top 10 biblical priorities?

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This. Is. Blasphemy. *UPDATE*

Luke Geraty —  February 6, 2012 — 3 Comments

Apparently the original video I posted was taken down due to “copyright” issues. Let’s read between the lines and assume that it has been taken down because the content was so blasphemous. Joe Carter has a good blog on it (here). You can watch the video here (apparently it hasn’t been taken down yet).

This. Is. Blasphemy. Theological and historical. Use a few Hebrew words and make everything else up. BLASPHEMY.

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Across the Web – 12/08/11

Luke Geraty —  December 9, 2011 — Leave a comment

Getting Inerrancy Wrong.

First Piper Book to Be Legally Published in China (The Legacy of Sovereign Joy).

6 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Leading Small Groups.

The People Who Hate Tim Tiebow.

Who is John Bunyan?

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Across the Web – 11/17/11

Luke Geraty —  November 17, 2011 — Leave a comment

There’s a huge conversation going on right now regarding the mission of the church. It started when reviews started coming out for Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert’s new book, What is the Mission of the Church, was released (see Ed Stetzer’s brief roundup). Joel Willitts of North Park University has been writing a lengthy group of reviews that you will want to check out @ Euangelion. Anyway, Trevin Wax initially posed five questions, which the authors responded to. Ed Stetzer’s Themelios review is actually the most detailed review I have read, to which the authors also responded to… oh, and Stetzer responded to their response. Michael Horton also contributed an excellent piece on what is the church’s mission. For me, I’m inclined to really connect with Zach Nielsen’s posts (#1 and #2). For me, it seems like there’s some unneeded distinctions made between individual Christians and the corporate church. So I largely agree with basically everything that Zach is saying because our church here seems to be pretty similar to his.

Mark Driscoll makes a strong case for the necessity of a real Adam as the first person. This is an interesting post because it appears there are more and more Christians who are starting to read the Genesis narratives (and Paul!) in a way that, in my thinking, is clearly different than how they intended. It’s a bad hermeneutic, if you ask me.

Speaking of Kevin DeYoung, excellent article on church prayer meetings – How to Have a Church Prayer Meeting.

Greg Koukl has written three articles on the validity of “hearing from God” which are quite interesting. Koukl is not a cessationist, so we continuationists can’t write him off. We just need to interact with his exegesis, and if he’s correct, change some significant language! Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3 (HT: Justin Taylor).

Michael Gungor writes a piece on the Christian music sub-genre that is essentially exactly what I’ve experienced. If you love music and are also a Christian, I think you should read this. It begs for honesty.

Blue Ocean is coming to Minneapolis in January! There is much that we can interact with and learn from these ideas. There are some conclusions that I’m not sure about and I think there needs to be some more thinking through about the relationship between the Centered-Set approach and the issue of Justification, but over all this is a great opportunity to have ideas presented that are outside the box. I’ll be going, and will hopefully have a group from TCF also attending.

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Around the Web – 11/04/11

Luke Geraty —  November 4, 2011 — Leave a comment

I stumbled upon an explanation of how one church allows for both covenantal infant baptism and believer’s baptism by Jared Wilson. Much to agree with and certainly good to think through.

Shai Linne’s new album (“The Attributes of God”) has been released. It’s a great hip hop album, which I plan to review soon. At any rate, he’s added his lyrics online.

Michael Patton asks whether he and Roger Olson worship the same God (Patton is a Calvinist and Olson is an Arminian). It’s a good read.

Speaking of Calvinists, on more than one occasion I’ve heard people say that our theology should be Calvinistic but our preaching should be along the lines of an Arminian. Well, Eric Mckiddie wrote an excellent article (“How to Call for a Gospel Response Like a Calvinist”) that demonstrates that such thinking is ridiculous! Calvinists should absolutely call for sinners to respond to the gospel!

Scot McKnight gave a brief review of Michael Bird’s contribution to the new book Justification: Five Views. I really like Bird.

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Across the Web – 10/11/11

Luke Geraty —  October 11, 2011 — Leave a comment

If you haven’t heard, CNN has reported that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has ordained its first openly gay pastor. Let’s quickly acknowledge that the church has not interacted with homosexuals well, and that this issue is one that takes great humility, care, respect, and conviction… all which can coexist together! Homosexuals are people, just like heterosexuals, and all people suffer from sin, brokenness, and misunderstandings. But the PCUSA’s ordination of an openly gay pastor does not surprise me due to the changes that they have made in their understanding of biblical authority. I also get a sense that they have a desire to be “progressive” over and above maintaining catholicity. The now-ordained-openly-gay pastor, Scott Anderson, is quoted as saying,

“Our church is recognizing there are a variety of viewpoints on scripture. There’s no longer a right viewpoint and a wrong viewpoint but several faithful viewpoints, one of which includes me in terms of being a minister in the Presbyterian church. So we’re honoring a diversity of viewpoints in our church.”

Several questions that come to mind in response to this quote. What about viewpoints that are mutually exclusive? How do you honor such viewpoints? Or has PCUSA come to the conclusion that there simply are no mutually exclusive ideas? There are certainly a variety of viewpoints regarding subjects related to eschatology or ecclesiology, but when did simply ignoring passages of the Bible become a valid viewpoint?

CNN also reported that Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary, does not believe Mormonism is a cult. This is in response to some recent comments made by a pastor in TX regarding Mitt Romney’s Mormonism and whether or not it is a cult (the pastor said Romney’s Mormonism is a cult). First off, I’d like to state for the record that I think the rhetoric used by the Republicans who are making Mormonism their “hill to die on” as simply ridiculous. I have just as little trust for the “Christian” politicians as I do the “Mormon” politicians. Why? Simple: they are all politicians. Who knows if they are being honest or just trying to sell themselves. But that’s besides the point.

I think Mouw’s opinions are interesting regarding the way that Mormonism is now. But, as Denny Burk makes clear, Mormonism falls into cult status based on some very significant departures from historic orthodoxy (cf. Justin Taylor’s FAQ on the differences between Mormons and Christians). Burk says that it’s possible a better term than “cult” would be “organized heterodoxy,” though cult is still appropriate. Mouw seems to somewhat agree with the issue of heterodoxy, for he writes:

“My Mormon friends and I disagree on enough subjects that I am not prepared to say that their theology falls within the scope of historic Christian teaching… While I am not prepared to reclassify Mormonism as possessing undeniably Christian theology…”

Interesting, to say the least. On some levels, sad. On others, challenging.

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Across the Web – 10/05/11

Luke Geraty —  October 5, 2011 — Leave a comment

Numbers Matter – As you know, when some people are discussing church growth or issues related to worship gathering attendance, someone always throws in a “numbers don’t matter” response and point us to consider it as a “matter of the heart.” I think I’d make several distinguishing clarifications to what Harvey Turner says here, but this is a good reminder that it’s not as simple as saying numbers don’t matter. I think numbers do matter and that we need to just as forcefully recognize that numbers are not outright evidence of spiritual health or actual biblical conversion taking place. It can be, but not always. And it’s absolutely crazy to suggest that numbers don’t matter at all. The book of Acts suggests otherwise (cf. Acts 1:15; 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; etc.).

Should Pastors Have a Day Off Every Week? – Brian Croft of Practical Shepherding says, “YES!!!” *note to self*

Thinking Through Your Church’s Mercy Ministry – Excellent words of advice from Kevin DeYoung.

Koinonia Wednesday Give Away – Sign up to win a free book.

There is lots of controversy surrounding the recent invitation extended to T. D. Jakes from James MacDonald – MacDonald invited Jakes to The Elephant Room. Nathan Busenitz has addressed this. Carl Trueman has addressed this. Jonathan Moorhead has addressed this. Thabiti Anyabwile wrote what I think is probably the most detailed evaluation of why this is a significant issue, along with Anthony Carter’s. Of course, James MacDonald responded (twice). Mark Driscoll then added his support for the invitation. Tom Chantry wrote an “open letter” to MacDonald. No surprise that Phil Johnson considers this “playing nice with heretics.” Tim Challies raises really helpful questions. James MacDonald has requested prayer for this event. Finally, Justin Taylor has weighed in. Yeah, quite the controversy. In my opinion, I think Jakes is most certainly a heretic and that The Elephant Room needs to change it’s organization information if it is going to continue to have conversations like this, which I think is a good thing. Having Jakes for a discussion is great. Giving the impression that everyone is Christ-loving Christians is quite the opposite.

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Page CXVI’s new album is out – Hymns IV!

Luke Geraty —  October 4, 2011 — Leave a comment

Page CXVI has just dropped their new album, Hymns 4! We had them out for an evening of hymns about two months ago and it was fantastic. Go and pick up a copy of their album immediately! You can download the album or purchase CD’s. Either way, you’ll want to support this band and what they are doing. In fact, while you are sitting here, stream some of their new music…

Hymns IV by PageCXVI

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Across the Web – 08/25/11

Luke Geraty —  August 25, 2011 — Leave a comment

So You Want to Be a Senior Pastor – Seriously, if you are serving as an associate pastor or in any role other than the lead pastor role, read this. If you are serving as the lead pastor, this will be encourage you in that you are not alone!

Fred Sanders blogs on how John Wesley’s sermons covered Grace and then Law. Lots of good to take away from a short reflection on Wesley’s sermons (and some agreement from J. I. Packer).

Postmodernism: Dead But Not Gone – Collin Hansen makes the announcement. Wow. This will shock a lot of people out there!

Russell D. Moore provides a brief article on why closed communion is a sign of “mere Christianity.” Interesting.

 

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Across the Web – 08/18/11

Luke Geraty —  August 18, 2011 — Leave a comment

Ryan Lizza’s “fact check” on Michelle Bachmann is quite ridiculous – Joe Carter provides a helpful review of Lizza’s recent article. I am not one who is on the Bachmann band wagon, so this was just interesting because it interacts with Lizza’s clear misrepresentation of Schaeffer and as a reminder to actually take journalistic integrity seriously. Unfortunately, I am not sure many New Yorker readers will see this article. *sigh*

What is a Missional Community – I love this article. LOVE IT. Read it. Digest it. Live it.

How long should my sermons be when I preach? – Brian fleshes out three principles: (1) it should be based on where our people are, not where we think they should be; (2) it should be based on how good and seasoned a preacher you are; (3) it should leave your people long for more, not less. Great advice. Read the entire article!

J.R. Kirk has written a little about “bounded-set” and “centered-set” thinking (part 1 and part 2). This would probably give Dave Schmelzer a smile. While I continue to think “centered-set” thinking is probably the best visual for our thinking and interaction, the tensions related to the “in” the Kingdom of God and “out” of the Kingdom of God still need to be interacted with more. As with any system, there seems to be a few limitations if it isn’t a flexible model. Yet, compared to “bounded-set” and “fuzzy-set,” it’s the best option!

Why “Let Go and Let God” is a Bad Idea” – If you’ve ever said this phrase or heard this phrase, you need to understand why you shouldn’t use it again or accept it’s offer by others. It is really that good.

Is the Main Thing the Only Thing? – Joe Thorn answers the question, “is it possible that within the ‘gospel-centered movement’ some people are making the main thing the only thing?” Great article. Good reminder.

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Across the Web – 07/21/11

Luke Geraty —  July 21, 2011 — Leave a comment

Google+: The Complete Guide – If you have joined the social medium known as Google+, here’s a great place to start. From start to finish, this covers just about everything you’ll ever need.

One Big, Happy Polygamous Family – Jonathan Turley demonstrates that the same logic that leads towards allowing homosexual unions must allow for polygamous families. Though he’s not writing to illustrate that this logic is implicitly incorrect, he demonstrates what many Christians are concerned about. For instance, he writes,

“Homosexuals and polygamists do have a common interest: the right to be left alone as consenting adults.”

Those Dern Lutherans: An Interview with Paul T. McCain – Have you ever wondered why there is little relationship between Lutherans and Evangelicals even though they both share so many of the same concerns or theology? Kevin DeYoung interviews a leading Lutheran voice!

Primary Sources on The Two Wills of God: Grudem, Carson, Bavinck, Edwards, aBrakel, Turretin, Calvin, Luther – A survey of recent to Reformation voices regarding the “two wills” concept of God. If you’ve wondered how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are compatible, this is a good look to start with. From Grudem to Luther, Reformed theologians have often presented this as their explanation.

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