The Shepherds’ Conference is going on this week at Grace Community Church, and with it is a deal on an excellent church resource. Purchase the entire DVD series for $995, regularly $4200 with this link. Here is what you will be getting:
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Archive for the ‘Theology’ Category
Theology DVD Series
Posted in Sale, Theology on March 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Overcommitted to the Bible
Posted in Bible, Theology on November 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Are evangelicals overcommitted to the Bible? J.P. Moreland asserted at the ETS conference that it is true, and his paper is available online to be downloaded and reviewed. You can find it here, entitled How Evangelicals Became Overcommitted to the Bible and What Can Be Done about It.
HT: Christianity Today and Justin Taylor
Pietism and Deism in America
Posted in Politics, Theology on November 16, 2007 | 1 Comment »
An interesting duality has set into the religious life of the United States such that most Christian denominations and the grassroots Christian spirituality of most people are strongly pietistic in flavor, while the public religions of politicians and government officials is marked by Deism. The very same people who speak publicly in cool, rational tones about God’s blessing on America without any mention of Jesus Christ or sin or salvation often revel in experiential religion in their private lives and churches. One late-twentieth0century United States president of strongly pietistic, evangelical leanings attempted to inject some of that language into his public life and was almost universally criticized for it. On the other hand, another presidential candidate of the 1980s may have lost the election in part for lack of any evidence of belief in God or spirituality. The ethos of the United States is deeply influenced by both Deism and Pietism. A politician who is not at least a deist is rejected. A politician who is too publicly pietistic is criticized.
Roger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology, 531
Hard and Soft Legalism
Posted in Theology on November 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
They appear to be thinking only in terms of hard legalism, which is the notion that either your works bribe God or that they are self-produced by your own effort. But, as you flesh it out, hard legalism does not exhaust the definition of legalism.
There is also soft legalism, which is the belief that your God-empowered obedience justifies you before God, or that you ‘become saved’ by faith but ‘remain saved’ by God-produced works (which includes the idea that final justification is based on obedience). In fact, Sanders acknowledged that the first century Jews believed that they got into the covenant by grace but ‘stayed in’ by works. But he failed to realize that this is legalism. The new perspective—and those taking their initial cues from it—typically conflate legalism and Pelagianism, seeming to think that because they (or the first century Jews) are not Pelagians, they therefore cannot be legalists. It needs to be made crystal-clear that these are distinct issues. You can utterly reject Pelagianism and yet be a legalist. You can be a Calvinist legalist, an Augustinian legalist, a believing-in-grace-empowered-works legalist. . . . This is perhaps the central issue of the debate and is probably a big part of the reason that they are going wrong. The essence of legalism is the belief that our right standing with God is based on, comes by means of, or is sustained by our works—regardless of whether those works are self-produced (hard legalism) or whether they are completely produced by God’s grace in us (soft legalism).
(Matt Perman, cited in John Piper, The Future of Justification (p. 152).
HT: Adrian Warnock
Ann Coulter, Offending with Truth
Posted in Interviews, Life, Politics, Theology on October 30, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I remember having a conversation a while back in which I offended someone, and then tried to explain why it was unreasonable that they were offended. Let’s just say it didn’t fly. That’s exactly what I thought of when I read the transcript of Ann Coulter on Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea. Well, read for yourself:
DEUTSCH: That there would be a bigger difference between the rich and the poor, a lot of other — tell me what — why this would be a better world? Let’s give you — I’m going to give you — say this is your show.
COULTER: Well, OK, take the Republican National Convention. People were happy. They’re Christian. They’re tolerant. They defend America, they —
DEUTSCH: Christian — so we should be Christian? It would be better if we were all Christian?
COULTER: Yes.
DEUTSCH: We should all be Christian?
COULTER: Yes. Would you like to come to church with me, Donny?
DEUTSCH: So I should not be a Jew, I should be a Christian, and this would be a better place?
COULTER: Well, you could be a practicing Jew, but you’re not.
DEUTSCH: I actually am. That’s not true. I really am. But — so we would be better if we were — if people — if there were no Jews, no Buddhists —
and later:
Book Sales!
Posted in Books, Lists, Relationships, Sale, Theology on October 26, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Ligonier is commemorating Reformation Day this Wednesday by offering their Reformation Study Bible for $15.17.
Meanwhile, WTS Books decided to put on one last sale of their staff-recommended books, special pricing ending Friday Nov. 2nd:
Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution
Jeffery, Ovey, & Sach (foreword by John Piper) $25.00 $15.00 (Intro price – 1 week only!)
And..
Jim Weidenaar’s Picks |
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Randall Pederson’s Picks |
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Mark Traphagen’s Picks |
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Micah Bickford’s Picks Chun Lai’s Pick |
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Daniel Willson’s Picks |
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Jeffrey Shamess’ Pick Janice Mason’s Pick |
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Six Rules of Cultural Engagement
Posted in Culture, Theology on October 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Joe Thorn shares with us his six rules (be sure to see his post for the entire text):
What do people mean when they say “cultural engagement?” That phrase is often spurned as if it means thoughtless syncretism between the church and culture. In my reading it rarely means that. It is certainly not what I mean. I am a fan of that three-fold approach to engaging culture: reject what is evil, receive what is good, and redeem what is broken/lost.
6 Rules of Cultural Engagement
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Tabloid Theology
Posted in Blogs, Theology on October 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen has a thought provoking post entitled “Are You a Tabloid Theologian?“ I think that a deep consideration will explain many of the errors and misinformation that is being spread around. Unfortunately too many people are looking for soundbytes, for quick answers, and shallow understanding so that while the truth is out there, it appears difficult to discern. If the phenomenon of tabloid theology is anything like tabloid journalism, then this is something that will be around for a while:
Tabloid journalism. You know what this is. It is sensationalistic journalism. It is a billion dollar business. It preys on our naivety to believe something unbelievable. It exists because we like to let down our critical guard and indulge our minds by believing that which naturally would be rejected. From alien abductions to pregnant men, the tabloids have it all.
Review – Putting Jesus in His Place
Posted in Books, Reviews, Theology on October 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
For our inaugural book review, I am pleased to consider Putting Jesus in His Place by authors Robert Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski and published by Kregel. 
It is compellingly written to encourage the uninitiated, academically exhaustive to satisfy the intellectual, and thoroughly enjoyable in its style and format. Of particular benefit were its clear tables, plainly illustrating and reinforcing the points of each chapter.
Weighing in at some 366 pages including generous footnotes, Putting Jesus in His Place manages to walk the line between readability and scholarship with nary a misstep. It explains through Scripture the identity of Jesus, namely His deity and rightful place of worship, and is both approachable and exhaustive in its work. Using the acronym HANDS, the authors demonstrate that Jesus is God evidenced by what they share: Honors due to God, Attributes of God, Names of God, Deeds that God does, and the Seat of God’s throne.
The battle for the deity of Jesus and for the Trinity did not end with the church fathers but is alive today. And for those who take Scripture as their authority this book presents a clear explanation of the truth that is Jesus’ identity. Whether you read this book for personal edification, to instruct a Sunday School class, or as a resource for a theology class, it is a biblical reference on the identity of Jesus that you will want to own.
For more information online, click here. Excerpts from the book:
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Piper Logos PrePub, Rosscup Logos Pre-PrePub
Posted in Files, Resources, Seminary, Sermons, Software, Theology on September 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday Logos started taking orders for the John Piper Collection which contains 24 of his books. With an MSRP of $360, it will most likely sell for $170 when it comes out and is available for preorder at $150. Production will begin when enough preorders have been made. Note, this is different from the previous announcement of the his sermon manuscript library , which should be shipping on 10/2/2007. Both seem like wonderful tools, and if you don’t already own the printed versions I highly recommend this new prepub.
Also, and you’ve heard it first here: James Rosscup’s monumental exposition of prayer will be coming to the Logos PrePup program soon, within the next week or two. [edit: It is now available for $160] for It is an effort of 15 years that resulted in nearly a 3,000 page work covering more than 1,000 references. A detailed index can help users quickly get to verses, ideas, words, etc.
Among the highlights:
