An Apologetics Quiz

Who said this:

"Thus, the highest proof of scripture derives in general form the fact that God in person speaks in it. The prophets and apostles do not boast either of their keenness or of anything that obtains credit for them as they speak; nor do they dwell upon rational proofs. Rather, they bring forward God's holy name, that by it the whole world may be brought into obedience to Him."

"Since for unbelieving men religion seems to stand by opinion alone, they, in order not to believe anything foolish or lightly, both wish and demand rational proof that Moses and the prophets spoke divinely. But I reply: the testimony of the Spirit is more excellent that all reason. For as God alone is a fit witness of Himself in His Word, so also the Word will not find acceptance in men's hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit."

"Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught, truly rests upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated; hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning."

A) Van Til
B) Edwards
C) William Lane Craig
D) Calvin
E) Platinga

Church Planters Needed

My week in NH has confirmed the fact that some good church planters are needed in the good ole Granite State and surrounding regions. My wife and I visited an "emerging church" Sunday morning and I put the term in quotes because I felt like I was grossly underdressed in jeans and a button down with flip flops and badly in need of a shave when I walked thru the door. Seriously, the first few families we saw would have passed dress code at NBBC. Perhaps they engage the culture, but nobody engaged us, despite the fact we were desperately in need of determining if there was a nursery for the little one. I say all this not to bash them, but out of curiosity if the average visitor would stick around, let alone an unbeliever. Not your typical ec type of atmosphere. Futhermore, the dearth of reformed theology in my home state is staggering. Though the church we visited was connected to a reformed network, the speaker dropped the ball on both election and foreknowledge - two terms that appeared explicitly in the text. I felt like crying--or cussing since it was supposedly an emerging church :-)

Bottom line: Reformed guys willing to engage the culture are needed in the Northeast--badly from what I can see. However, the culture issue may be harder than you might expect. I think with the advent of technology particularly as it lends itself to globalization, the modern culture has made it's inroads into NH. Strange, because it wasn't so back when I was a teen, growing up here. A fundy church whose culture mirrored the 50's could survive and even thrive here. Yet, the young people I've seen cruising around Concord bear great resemblence to those of VA Beach. Likewise, the stores in the Mall have caught up with the rest of the world--heck, we even have a Starbucks! Nevertheless, the older generation is still stuck in it's modern (think worldview category here) ways. New Englanders hate change. AC is still not common in the houses (New Englanders don't need it--much to my chagrin :-). Likewise, though there may be a Starbucks (notice the singular), Dunkin Donuts still controls the masses. Everybody at church was sippin a D and D coffee - no iced grande quadshot etc. to be found. The cultural divide between the older and younger generations seems more exacerbated here in Concord than most places I've seen. Nevertheless, my global exposure is limited and my time here has been short. However, I'm convinced the region needs good reformed missional church planters.

Beale on Romans 9

If you didn't see this last week on Justin Taylor's blog, you may want to see this article on Romans 9 -- it may very well be one of the best things to come out of the '80s. Now I know after the Kostenberger debacle, I said I'd never post a link again until I'd read it; however, I think I can get away with this exception for 2 reasons: 1) Beale's a great exegete and I know his general disposition towards things reformed 2) Towards the end of the essay I read this sentence: "The results of this study lend support to the idea that there is an equal ultimacy or parallel between election and reprobation in terms of unconditionality." If that's the conclusion, the exegesis MUST be great :-)

That's a Darn Good Question

I recently came across a blog post that raised an issue I have been thinking through for the last year or so, but never had the guts to admit to anyone. The post encouraged me to go public with the question: Is Spiritual Formation Biblical? Sounds pretty unspiritual doesn't it? Take a look at the post; it's brief, but anticipates a series upcoming on sanctification. But I've wondered the same thing for some time now. With the exception of prayer, much of what we strongly encourage regarding spiritual disciplines finds little resonance in biblical texts. Mind you, that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong -- that's an entirely different question than whether or not it has biblical warrant. Some things are biblical, some unbiblical, but there is also the "abiblical" or extrabiblical category (and if you think this violates sola scriptura, Vanhoozer will take you over his knee and spank you with Drama). We need to be careful whenever we venture into the extrabiblical category that we don't minimize the pneumatological aspects of sanctification (about which the scriptures have a LOT to say) for the anthropological aspects that morph into 21st century keeping of Torah. Any thoughts?

Sola Scriptura

I'm still plodding through The Drama of Doctrine and loving every minute of it. Granted, I can go several pages at a time withouth knowing what Vanhoozer's saying, but when I hit the occaisional page I do understand, it makes it all worth while. He has some interesting things to say about the idea of sola scriptura, particularly as it relates to authorial intention (i.e. the intention of the reformers who coined [Luther] and used the phrase).

"Sola scriptura is not the answer to the question 'How many sources should one use in doing theology?'" (p. 232).

Instead,

"Sola scriptura is the answer to the question 'Where can we find the supreme norm by which to measure Christian deeds and Christian doctrine?' Construed positively, sola scriptura indicates how the church is to practice divine authority. Stated negatively , 'sola scriptura is the statement that the church can err'" (p. 232-233).

"Sola scriptura is not a protest against tradition as such, but against the presumption of coincidence between church teaching and tradition" (ibid).

"The Reformation emphasis on the priesthood of all believers has mutated in modernity into the notion that individuals can interpret the Bible for themselves, without the benefit of church tradition. The danger in such individualism, however is pride, yet another 'presumption of coincidence,' this time between one's own interpretation and the word of God. What one discovers in tradition is that Christianity is far rich than one's own personal and ecclesiastical experience" (ibid).

"The Reformation was not a matter of Scripture versus tradition but of reclaiming the ancient tradition as a correct interpretation of Scripture versus later distortions of that tradition. The Reformers regarded the early church councils by and large as true because they agreed with Scripture, not because they had authority in and of themselves" (ibid).

The last two quotes in particular still ring true today in somewhat of a parallel scenario. One could substitute Calvinism in for 'tradition' and the false dilemma masquerading in the name of Biblicism could be equally undone by Vanhoozer's critique. I hope I haven't worded that too subtly.

Piper at Nine Marks

The latest audio interview is up on the 9 Marks website here discussing the NPP and the infamous fifth point with Piper. Though I've yet to listen to it, I will be shortly. Piper's always good and his understanding of the particular redemption (at least as unfolded in his TULIP series) was one of the most helpful I've heard. However, on previous occaisions he has seemed a bit overly critical of the NPP; especially Tom Wright. Either way, with the volume he's doing on Justification, I'm sure his criticisms will be finely honed and informed...it ought to be good stuff.

Charismatic and Reformed

No, this isn't a three word summary of my theology (yet); rather I was thinking about the relatively recent connection between these two in the contemporary church. Typically these two have been at odds; charismatics were largely wesleyan/arminian and calvinists were historically cessasionists (with rare exceptions). Nevertheless, recent decades have demonstrated through the minstry of John Piper, the emergence and growth of Sovereign Grace ministries and the publication of Wayne Grudem's systematic, that these two may quite happily coexist.

Yesterday I was thinking out loud and talking to my wife about Longenecker's Apostolic Exegesis and stumbled upon a possible connection. I was informing her that most of my friends who had read the book agreed it was an awesome book with a sucky conclusion - that is, Longenecker makes a great case for christological/pneumatically dependent exegesis in the 1st Century but says we shouldn't do it today. While I haven't finished the book, I was reflecting on the fact that many I've spoken with adopt such a conclusion on the grounds that the NT authors were writing under inspiration and the Spirit was moving in a way different from the way that He does today (classic cessationism). To argue otherwise would hint of charismaticism; and then I thought, "wait a minute..." The reformed tradition has always argued for just such a christological hermeneutic. Yet, the charismatic emphasis on the continuity of the Spirit's working between the 1st and the 21st Century seems to be the best way to legitimize such a pneumatologically dependent exegetical approach. My conclusion: whether or not there is a genetic relationship between my observations and the modern connection between Reformed Theology and Charismaticism, the two may fit together more harmoniously than I had previously considered.