Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

On Hebrews 11:6:

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Do we not sometimes fail in this matter? We try to come to God without believing that he is. We seem to pray to nothing, or to nobody, to a spectre, to a phantom. But that prayer which is accepted is prayer to a real God, of whom we are assured that he is. Do we not also fail in our belief as to the success of prayer? We do not fully recognize that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. He that prays, believing that God will be found by him, shall not pray in vain. Tonight we may well say, "Lord, increase our faith."

[Update: Kim from IL has posted a Charles Spurgeon quote today, too.

Update 2: And Marc posts a Spurgeon quote in the comments.]

Most Humiliating Church Moments

Tim's asking.

Hmmm....here's one. It involves my oldest child. (Don't most of our embarrassing moments involve our children?) She was two-ish--a very early talker, extremely energetic, and a handful to keep still and quiet in church. This particular morning she was sitting with Grandma during the sermon, and in answer to Grandma's whispered question about what that was on the end of granddaughter's finger, she answered quite forcefully, "It's snot!"

That would have been embarrassing enough all on it's own; however, the moment she chose to shout her answer also happened to be the preacher's pregnant pause after making a strong affirmative statement. So he said, in effect, "This is really so!" and she piped out, "It's snot!"

The preacher, by the way, didn't miss a beat. He responded, "Even though a voice from the congregation disagrees," and went right on with his sermon.

Sunday's Hymn

It's Reformation Sunday, so what else could you expect?

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

From God's Gospel Midis, listen to this hymn done by piano or organ.

Round the Sphere Again

This week's Christian Carnival can be found at White Ribbon Warriors.

On the church father's view of justification from Historia Ecclesiastica:

It is a commonplace to argue that the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith alone was immediately lost to the church at the end of the Apostolic era. Such is not the case, though.

Read the rest.

What must a true believer understand about Christ? Agonizomai tackles this question in The Fundamentals - Christ.

From the Founders Ministries Blog:

Christians sometimes debate the propriety of exposing the public errors of others. After all, love covers a multitude of sin and keeps no record of wrongs. Isn't it at least, then, unloving to call attention to the theological foibles of others? I do not think so, although I do think it can be a dangerous task.

Read all of Why point out attacks on truth?

Kim of Hiraeth considers the fall in Far As the Curse is Found.

There is no indication in scripture that Adam struggled with the temptation. It could not be for hunger's sake that he so quickly received the forbidden fruit from the outstretched hand of his wife, for he had been given abundant food from every tree in the garden except one. There seems to be no concern or conflict of the heart in his fall, nor even remembrance of God's admonition...

Real Clear Theology Blog quotes Carson and Moo on New Perspectivism.

Allthings2all on The Meaning of Success:

Doing my best with what I have, being true to the higher call, and knowing that I cannot measure the real value of my achievements - that is success.

What is a gracious person like? A Place For the God-Hungry helps answer that question: Ten Characteristics of a Gracious Person.
[HT: Transforming Sermons.]

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

How is it that the Father is God, that the Son is God, and that the Holy Ghost is God, and yet that there are not three Gods, but one God? I cannot tell you. I know it is so, for it is revealed; but how it is so is not for us to guess, because it is not revealed or explained. Our understanding can adventure as far as the testimony, and no farther. Many attempts have been made by divines to find parallels in Nature to the Unity and the Trinity of God, but they all seem to me to fail.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you'd better hop right to it, because there are only a few days left in the month. You can either put your quote in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during what's left of October. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

L. Ron and Me

You fit in with: Scientology Your ideals mostly resemble those of the Scientology faith. You strive to find the truth in all matters, but you also have a lot of faith in people and things. You are very logical, smart and charismatic and you value the truth above all else. 20% scientific. 20% faith-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Having seen David Heddle's results, too, I'd say the quizmeister might not understand Scientology.

Or Christianity. Notice how Christianity is completely separated--as far as you can get--from reason. Apparently, if you value reason, you won't be a Christian.

And Tom Cruise, of course, is way more reasonable and scientific than any Christian, right?

Anyway, I give you my solemn oath never to jump on Oprah's sofa.

[Update: Believe it or not, someone just accessed this blog by doing a blogsearch for scientology.]

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

....providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ That is clear enough. So it would have been if he had added, ‘and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.’ No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him. Then again, ‘He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry.’ Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

---From Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you'd better hop right to it, because there are only a few days left in the month. You can either put your quote in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during what's left of October. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Today you get to pop on over to Reflections of the Times to see what Carla has quoted. This quote is about good old solid doctrine, one of my favorite subjects.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you'd better hop right to it, because there's less than a week left in the month. You can either put your quote in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during what's left of October. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Wrestling with a Question in the New Study Guide Edition of Total Truth

by Nancy Pearcey.

Last week I reviewed Total Truth and promised that I was going to post a bit on one of the questions found in the Study Guide at the end of the latest edition. Hopefully, this will give you an idea what the added study guide is like and how it might be used.

The question I'm going to comment on is found on pages 492-493 in the Study Guide section, in the questions on Chapter 4. Here is an excerpt from the real-life set up to the question

Today abortion advocates are perfectly willing to say that the fetus is physiologically human--but that is regarded as irrelevant to it's moral status, and does not warrant legal protection. The deciding factor is "personhood," typically defined in terms of self-awareness, self-conciousness, or the ability to chose.

The two-story approach to life issues:

PERSONHOOD
Warrants Legal Protection
______________________________

PHYSIOLOGICALLY HUMAN
Irrelevant to Moral Status

For example, in the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry surprised everyone by agreeing that "life begins at conception." Then why did he support abortion? Because, he explained in an interview with Peter Jennings, the fetus is "not the form of life that takes personhood in the terms we have judged it to be in the past." (ABC News, July 22, 2004)

This is not the whole of the lead up to the question, but it's enough to set the stage. Throughout Total Truth, Pearcy points us to the two-story division of life that is pervasive in our society. For instance, we have a value/fact split--values being supposedly personal and not arrived at based on objective evidence, and they stand over against facts, which are objectively verifiable. This same sort of split shows up in many different ways, including in the pro-choice/pro-life argument, as is laid out for us above.

Now, here's the study guide question:

Critics say the pro-life position is based on mere faith that life begins at conception--yet the beginning of life is a biological fact. By contrast, arguments for abortion rest on the concept of "personhood," a non-empirical, non-scientific philosophical concept. Does this suggest a way for pro-lifers to turn the table on their critics?

Let me start wrestling with the question by suggesting that many Christians hold a similar two-story split in how they think about life issues, even though they may not have let the split influence their ideas on abortion...yet. Instead of a top level that reads "PERSONHOOD," they may have a top level that reads "IMAGE OF GOD." How does "IMAGE OF GOD" get put up there in the upper story? It's carried up there when it's defined only as something beyond and other than being physiologically human.

When you list the things that make up our image-of-Godness, what do you list? What things have you been told are included in being made in the image of God? Usually we think of things like our ability to make choices, our dominion over creation, or our personality. I bet these are similar to the things John Kerry is thinking of when he defines "personhood." And they are all things that someone who is physiologically human (like a fetus, for instance, or someone severely brain-damaged) might not have.

Scripture doesn't spell out all that being made in God's image includes. There's probably a reason for that. Wayne Grudem says that "no list could do justice to the subject" of what it is to be made in the image of God, because "[t]he expression refers to every way in which man is like God."* When we draw up our little lists, we'd do well to remind ourselves that our defining points may be limiting our thinking as much as they are enlightening it.

If we define the image of God as not including mere human physiology, then we are withdrawing the only objective grounds we have for protecting some human life (like the recently conceived, for example), and in doing so, we've raised the protection of that human life to the realm of second-story truth. It becomes mere value separated from fact, or subjective truth as opposed to objective truth.

The objective grounds for protecting human life is given to us by God himself. Human life is like God and represents him in a way that animal life does not. After the flood, any living moving thing was given to humankind to kill for food, but the killing of other human beings was forbidden, "for in God's image God has made mankind." ** When we maintain the rightful prohibition against the killing of an already conceived life, we must do it on the grounds that those few living human cells are made in God's image, because that is the reason God has given us for the prohibition against taking human life.

Do we have scriptural warrant for believing that a few living human cells represent God? I believe we do. God saw, knew and loved our unformed substance, and had already formed days for us when we were only an unturned lump in our mother's womb.*** He was already in relationship with you as his image bearer before you had form. You might say you were still an "unformed image," but in God's eyes and his plans you had a firm reality as an image bearer, even though your own physical reality was just a few living human cells.

Another way to look at things is to recognize that human beings are being redeemed in a way the rest of living creation is not. Human life has special significance that comes from our bearing God's image, and God is redeeming humanity because he created us in his own image. The redemption process is little by little restoring more and more of God's image within us, "from one degree of glory to another..."**** When we are finally glorified, we will be made perfect image bearers: "We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."***** Since no human life is beyond the reach of God's redemption, all human life, at least in some small way, must reflect God's image.

Did I answer the question from the study guide? Not really, but I think I started the ball rolling. What would you add? What would you disagree with? Does all physiologically human life carry God's image? Why or why not? What say ye?

[Note: I read this interesting piece this morning, and thought it relates in some way to this subject, but I didn't work it into my post: Historia ecclesiastica: THE ETERNALITY OF THE BODY.]

[Update, October 27: So what about DNA? Might it carry our image-of-Godness?]

*Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology, page 443.
**Genesis 9:6, NET Bible
***Psalm 139:16
****2 Corinthians 3:18, NET Bible
*****1 John 3:2, KJV

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

The finite mind of man cannot constantly be occupied, if it is to engage in other pursuits, with any one thought; but the gigantic mind of God can allow a million trains of thought at once. He is not confined to thinking of one thing, or working out one problem at a time. He is the great many-handed, many-eyed God, he doeth all things, and meditateth upon all things, and worketh all things at the same time; therefore he never is called away by any urgent business so that he can forget you.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you'd better hop right to it, because there's less than a week left in the month. You can either put your quote in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during what's left of October. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Christian Carnival Reminder

Remember that tonight (October 25) is the deadline for entries to this week's Christian Carnival. Yep, midnight EST is it. Submit your entry to ChristianCarnival [ATT] gmail [DOTT] com. Include

• The name of your blog
• The URL of your blog
• The title of your post
• The URL of your post
• A short description of the post
• The trackback link if you have one

Then look for your entry in Wednesday's (October 26) carnival at White Ribbon Warriors. You'll find more complete information on the Christian Carnival here.

Watch the Wildlife

with the National Geographic Magazine Wildcam Africa.

When nothing much is happening on the live cam, you can watch video clips.

HT: Buried Treasure.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

My choice is to go to Phil's blog for today's bit o' Spurgeon: Spurgeon on substitutionary atonement.

And for a bit o' fun with Spurgeon and Phil, see this.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Thanks to Scott of Magic Statistics for sending this one. To students preparing for gospel ministry, Spurgeon said:

If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Saviour, while they are still wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Help! Need Fashion Advice!

No, not for me! I'm a little taken aback that you'd even think it.

It's for Jollyblogger, and it's Terry that's asking.

Sunday's Hymn: Come, Christians, Join to Sing

This hymn was first used as a children's hymn. It's written by Christian Bateman, and sung to a traditional Spanish melody.

Come, Christians, Join to Sing

Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He'll condescend;
His love shall never end.
Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again,
Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven's blissful shore,
His goodness we'll adore,
Singing forevermore,
"Alleluia! Amen!"

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Chris chooses this one for you:

When I have found intense pain relieved,
a weary brain soothed,
and calm, refreshing sleep obtained by a cigar,
I have felt grateful to God, and have blessed His name...

Read the post Unregenerate behavior for of bit of the background for this choice.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Ant of Homeward Bound post a quote from Spugeon on his blog: Dear Mr. Dead Guy... what keeps us going?

Check out Ant's blog to find more quotes from the dead guys in his regular feature, 'Dear Mr. Dead Guy'.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

This quote is one of Rey's favorites.

What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ—the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.

Round the Sphere Again

This week's Christian Carnival can be found at Theology and Biblical Studies.

From Blogotional on the need for us to do something to help the victims of the earthquake in Asia:

Never forget that the Good Samaritan and the person he helped were enemies.

Read more.

From The Constructive Curmudgeon:

Reality demands an attentiveness that multi-tasking does not allow. Human beings especially tend to be opaque and mysterious beings, whose inner recesses are not easily discerned. We can push a key and make the computer or cell phone do something. We cannot push a key and understand or help change a human being.

Read more.

From Jollyblogger:

Noting that the apostle Paul planted churches in such moral cesspools as Rome, Corinth and Ephesus, it strikes me that the Christians of the first generation had a faith that was assumed to be able to withstand temptation. In my own experience, it seems that Christians today assume we can't withstand temptation, that none of us has the moral fortitude to do so.

Read more.

From Under the Acacias:

....pastor Suley wanted to baptise Yusuf, but his denomination wouldn't baptise polygamists. They insisted that only the first wife was truly the man's wife, and that he should get rid of any subsequent ones.

Read more.

From Postscript Posthaste on children at the Lord's Table.

The age of a child being admitted to the Lord’s Table will differ. Some children will be older...some younger. Much of the decision with regard to timing will be in the hands of the father as he discerns his child’s faith and the elders as they question both the child and the father’s decision to bring the child. If a child shows a love for church, knowledge of personal sin, belief in God, and faith in Christ, they have discerned the body and should not be turned away.

Read more.

From Reformation Theology, the new blog of Monergism.com:

God ordains both the ends and the means. The ends are His chosen sheep who will hear Christ's voice. The means are prayer, and the preaching of the Gospel to all. And all who are ordained to eternal life will believe.

Read more.

From La Shawn Barber's Corner:

Unbelievers (and not a few Christians) may scoff at us for taking The Da Vinci Code phenomenon so seriously. But pop culture is powerful, and although we surely have more productive things to do, setting the record straight and offering a reasoned defense of the faith and correcting historical inaccuracies are also important, even when the subject is fiction.

Read more.

Yes, the photo above was taken from my front door this morning. Will it last? Maybe, but there's a possibility it'll melt, too.

By Faith the Rest, Part 2

This is the seventeenth post in a series from Hebrews 11. You'll find all the posts done so far in this series listed here.

In the previous post, we looked at the happy half of the summary list of things that happened to people of faith given at the end of Hebrews 11. Those people received some good things in this life because of their faith; now our list moves on to examine hardships endured because of faith.

But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. (Hebrews 11:35b-38 NET)

I suppose the writer, knowing that those to whom Hebrews was written would face persecution and hardship, wanted to remind them that their faith did not assure them that they would escape all trouble. If he didn't remind them that God sometimes calls on those who have faith to show that faith in the way they endure difficulties, they might grow discouraged when they weren't delivered from difficulty like those in the previous verses.

There were those of faith, he says, who were tortured and refused to turn away from their God in order to be released. They kept their resurrection to a better life in view, and they could stay true to their faith during torture and execution. Are you wondering exactly which people of faith are referred to here? These were probably historical Hebrew people who were tortured and killed during the Maccabean revolt. These events can be found recorded in 2 Maccabees 6 and 7. Others were mocked and flogged and imprisoned. Once again, the Maccabean troubles are probably in view.

Some of the faithful were stoned. Since stoning is a distinctively Jewish form of execution, this may be referring to Christians, like Stephen, for instance, who were executed in that way. Some faithful ones, the writer reminds us, were sawed apart; and according to tradition, the prophet Isaiah died in this way. Some were murdered with the sword. This is an interesting inclusion in light of verse 34, where it says that some, through faith, escaped the edge of the sword. The writer is careful to remind his readers that having faith is not a guarantee of deliverance from death.

There were also those of faith who were destitute, wandering in the open dressed in sheepskins and goatskins, continually ill-treated and afflicted. They would have been sorry sights in the eyes of those around them, and yet the writer tells us "the world was not worthy of them." The world around would not have seen them as people of value, yet they were God's own people. They were people without earthly homes, yet they were people for whom God had prepared a city (verse 16).

And of course, for all of those of faith who endured hardships like the ones listed in these verses, remaining faithful was a result valuing the heavenly rewards God had promised. They knew that God was a rewarder of those who seek him, and because they understood this, they could remain faithful in dire circumstances.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

Coming to Christ is the very first act of regeneration. No sooner is the soul quickened, than it at once discovers it's lost estate, is horrified thereat, looks for a refuge, and believing Christ to be a suitable one, flies to him and reposes in him. 

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Last Night I Found Out

that my nephew was killed instantly yesterday morning on his way to work when he hit a deer and it went through the windshield of his vehicle. He was the youngest son of my husband's sister, and one day older than my oldest daughter. His mom is a widow as well.

I don't know whether I'll post anything else today or not. This morning I've felt too scattered to put anything together.

[Update: Thank all for the kind comments. I went out for the afternoon, and I'm more focused now. I came to an embarassing revelation though: I was feeling bad more for myself--the "this could happen to me too" thing--than I was feeling bad for those more closely involved. And yes, this revelation is shocking even to me.]

Enlightenment and Other Needs

Following the meme trail from Marla to Jared to Jollyblogger and now to me.

Instructions: Type "[your first name] needs" into Google's search engine and list the first ten results. Nearly all will be amusing, but you're supposed to underline the ones that are actually true about you.

So here we go:

1. Rebecca needs enlightenment! (This one is actually about me personally. It's a statement Adrian Warnock made about me back in February of 2004. I couldn't not underline it, right?)
2. Rebecca needs to find out...
3. Rebecca needs to get out and find a boyfriend.
4. Rebecca needs support around her eduacational goals... (The misspelling is theirs, BTW.)
5. Rebecca needs just one good, meaty, dramatic role...
6. Rebecca needs a family that is structured and consistent. (Okay, I underlined it. It would sure save me a lot of work if I could count on my kids to provide the structure and consistency around here.)
7. Rebecca needs to have that ankle operated on...
8. Rebecca needs her food to be soft, or cut into small pieces...
9. Rebecca needs to call Susan Jane Williams to find out the details of how to proceed.
10. Rebecca needs help to enable her to come to terms with both her past and present.

Christian Carnival Reminder

Don't forget that entries for this week's Christian Carnival are due tonight (October 18) at midnight EST. Submit your entry to ChristianCarnival [ATT] gmail [DOTT] com. Include

• The name of your blog
• The URL of your blog
• The title of your post
• The URL of your post
• A short description of the post
• The trackback link if you have one

Expect to see your entry posted in Wednesday's (October 19) carnival at Sven's Theology and Biblical Studies blog.

You'll find more complete information on the Christian Carnival here.

Today's Narnia Nonsense Quote

"....the Narnia books are racist and misogynist. They also are derisive about vegetarianism and liberal education."

---Drew Herzig, Taos, New Mexico, USA, in the responses to this article, in which author Phillip Pullman criticizes the Narnia series for being utterly lacking in love.

I know you thought that Stone Table scene was all about love. So did I. But how can you argue with clear thinkers like Mr. Pullman and Mr. Herzig?

And just in case you haven't had your daily fill of careful criticism, the stat guy has links to a couple more equally thoughtful comments on the upcoming movie.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Hiraeth gives us today's Spurgeon quote. This gem is about the doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice.

And while you're over there, you might want to check out the daily prayers from a little book called God's Minute that Kim's been posting. Today's prayer is from George F. Pentecost, D.D., LL.D.; and yesterday's was from Charles R. Flanders, D.D., of London, Ont., Canada.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Book Review: Total Truth

Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Study Guide Edition), by Nancy Pearcey, reviewed as part of a program at The Diet of Bookworms.

I was supposed to have this book reviewed a couple of weeks ago. I left plenty of time to read the book before the review was due--plenty of time, that is, if this were an ordinary book. But Total Truth is an extraordinary book, a dense book, and I could only read a few pages at a time before I had to stop to digest what I'd already read. I'd underestimated the book and underestimated the time it would take to finish it.

I hope that my calling Total Truth dense won't scare you away from it, because what Nancy Pearcey has given us in this book is too valuable to avoid just because it's not a quick read. Besides, in this case, dense doesn't mean difficult to understand, only that there's lots to take in.

Why should you care about this book? Why will you find it valuable? Well, unless you've been living under a bridge in Norway eating billy goats, you've heard the word worldview bandied about lately. We've all got one, you know. What is your worldview? How did you get it? How do you evaluate a worldview? How do you apply your worldview practically and personally? These are all questions that this book will help you answer.

I'm not going to review the book by doing a summary of it. There are several other reviews at the Diet of Bookworms, so if you need a summary, you can hop over there and read one of the other reviews. I am going to focus my remarks more on the study guide that comes with this book, since I'm reviewing the new study guide edition, and the study guide is what makes this edition different from the previous--and already widely reviewed--edition of Total Truth.

The purpose for the study guide is to help the reader "gain practical experience in applying what [they] have learned." It consists of discussion questions, many of them arising from real-life situations or quotes from real-life people.

Like me, you will probably find some of the questions of more interest to you than others. That's to be expected, because we all have our special areas of expertise and our own favorite things to think about. Several of the questions were taken from statements made in the 2004 U.S. election, for instance, and those tended to make my eyes glaze over before I'd even finished reading them. I've got U.S. politics fatigue, I think. But there were still plenty of questions that I found compelling, and one in particular that I stewed over all day yesterday. I plan to write on it later in the week, and that'll give you a little more idea what the discussion questions in the study guide are like.

The sort of questions in the study guide are probably more useful for group discussion than for someone just reading through it on their own. However, if you are buying Total Truth (and you should!), I'd suggest getting the study guide edition even if you plan to just read the book by yourself and never discuss it with anyone. I guarantee there'll be a question or two in there that'll get you going and help expand your understanding of the principles in the book.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: My Choice

For there is some danger of falling into a soft and effeminate Christianity, under the plea of a lofty and ethereal theology. Christianity was born for endurance; not an exotic, but a hardy plant, braced by the keen wind; not languid, nor childish, nor cowardly. It walks with strong step and erect frame; it is kindly, but firm; it is gentle, but honest; it is calm, but not facile; obliging, but not imbecile; decided, but not churlish. It does not fear to speak the stern word of condemnation against error, nor to raise its voice against surrounding evils, under the pretext it is not of this world; it does not shrink from giving honest reproof, lest it come under the charge of displaying an unchristian spirit. It calls sin sin, on whomsoever it is found, and would rather risk the accusation of being actuated by a bad spirit than not discharge an explicit duty. Let us not misjudge strong words used in honest controversy.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Sunday's Hymn: Savior Breathe an Evening Blessing

Savior, breathe an evening blessing
Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing:
Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.

Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow past us fly,
Angel guards from Thee surround us;
We are safe if Thou art nigh.

Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.

Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom.

Father, to thy holy keeping
Humbly we ourselves resign;
Savior, who hast slept our sleeping,
Make our slumbers pure as thine

Blessed Spirit, brooding o'er us,
Chase the darkness of our night,
Till the perfect day before us
Breaks in everlasting light.

Since I didn't post my Sunday's Hymn until late, I thought I'd post a hymn for the night time. The words to this one are written by James Edmeston. The Cyber Hymnal even gives us a little story to go with this hymn. During the Boxer Rebellion it was sung by a group of missionaries in China who had gathered together one evening at a time when they were fearful of specific threats to burn their homes that same night. From one of the missionaries, Miss Helen Knox Strain:

Separated from home and friends, facing death in a far-off land, and full of tenderest feeling, we lifted our hearts in song...

Out of the storm each soul, renewing its strength, mounted up with wings as eagles and found peace in the secret of His presence.

Our Saviour breathed, in very deed, an "evening blessing" upon us...

It Was A Good Morning

...to stay indoors. And now I'm off to walk the dog in the crisp fall air.

Round the Sphere Again

This week's Christian Carnival can be found at Random Acts of Verbiage. Hop on over there right now and read up.

What's the best way to translate hilasmos (propitiation)? And what does propitiation mean anyway? Better Bibles Blog discusses this issue.

This one's not a blog post, but it's good anyway, and although it's not written in the past week, I found it in the past week: James White has a short and useful Guide to Biblical Interpretation.

The Constructive Curmudgeon posted thoughts on The Crucifixion.

Al Mohler's just finished a series on Apologetics in a Postmodern Age: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Amy humbly points out one more reason to love the study of theology.

In the weird search query category, there's one on the proper usage of mayonaise. I have to admit that I'm not really up on salad dressing etiquette, but I do think it's more correct to use two ns in mayonnaise.

Scott adds to his ever bulging statistician humour file.

I wonder what a statistician would have to say about this? Hat tip to Postscript Posthaste.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Two quotes on prayer suggested by Bob:

Spurgeon concluded a sermon on prayer with these words: "Come, dear friends, the Lord hath been mindful of us as a church, and he will bless us. We have obtained, through our Lord Jesus and his Spirit, blessings so large that I can say in your name, we are not worthy of the least of all these mercies. Shall we not use them to God's glory? Yes, more than ever: for we are determined to pray more, and to believe more, and to work more, and to be more full of courage and dauntless resolve that the name and the truth of Jesus shall be made known wherever our voice can be heard. As long as tongues can speak and hearts can beat, God helping us, we will live for Jesus our Lord. We are what Rutherford would call 'drowned debtors'; let us be living lovers. Our ships have gone down in a sea of love till mercy rolls over our topmasts. So be it. So be it. We are swallowed up in an abyss of love. My figure describes us as sinking, but in very truth it is thus we rise by being filled with all the fullness of God."

And more Spurgeon on prayer: "Do we not all find ourselves at times in a cold state in reference to prayer? Brothers, I believe that when we cannot pray it is time that we prayed more than ever; and if you answer, 'But how can that be?; I would say- pray to pray, pray for prayer, pray for the spirit of supplication. Do not be content to say, 'I would pray if I could'; no, but if you cannot pray, pray till you can. He who can row down stream with a flowing tide and a fair wind is but a poor oarsman compared with the man who can pull against wind and tide, and nevertheless make headway. This our soul must endeavor to do. But, beloved, how delicious it is when you can pray, and cannot leave off; when your heart pours forth devotion as the roses shed their odours, or the sun gives his light. I love to feel my soul on the wing like the birds in spring, which are always singing and flitting from bough to bough, full of life and vigor. Oh to have the soul mounting on eagle's wings, and no longer groping in the earth like a mole. To be instant, constant, eager at prayer-this is health, vigor, and delight. To feel the heart in prayer like the chariots of Amminadib, outstripping the wind-this is a joy worth worlds."

Bob has some great quotes from others on prayer, too, but for those you'll have to go read at Gratitude & Hoopla.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Peering Down The Corridors of Time

One common view of election (or predestination) to salvation is called prescient election or conditional predestination. In this view, God's election of individuals to salvation is based on God foreseeing their future faith. Before creating, God looked forward down the corridors of time, as it were, to see what sort of response to the gospel each individual would make within time, and then predestined to salvation those whom he foresaw would respond in faith to the call of the gospel.

The arguments given to support this view are mainly philosophical. There is one scriptural text used as support for prescient election, but it involves a bit of reading into what's written to get support for conditional predestination from it.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29 ESV)

This verse is read to say something more like this:

Those individuals whom God foresaw would come to faith he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.

Standing alone, this text is fairly weak support for several reasons that I'll not go into here. Since the main support for this argument is not scriptural but philosophical, I'm going to go straight to examining the philosophical argument.

The argument of the prescient electionist is that if God's predestination of individuals to salvation was not based on his foresight of their own choice to believe, then human choice for or against salvation cannot be real choice, and individual human beings cannot rightly be held culpable for that choice. The individual's choice, rather than being wholly their own, and thus one for which they are responsible, would be ultimately caused by God's free choice of them for salvation. The prescient electionist sees election based on foresight as the only sort of precreation election that can coexist with real human choice and responsibility, and since scripture obviously speaks of precreation election, then this is the sort of election it must be.

What I'm going to argue in this post is that it's logically impossible for God's predestination of someone to salvation before time began to be based on foresight of their choice. Prescient election simply can't be.

When we use the terms "before the foundation of the world" or "before time began", the idea we're getting at is not that there was any sort of time before creation, but rather, that time and creation have a starting point. They came out of something else, and that something else is someone else--our eternal God. The corridor of time itself comes out of God's creative imagination, along with all the people and events and choices that can be found within it.

Before the starting point of creation, you existed only in God's thought of you. Your choice for or against faith existed only in God's thought about you. God didn't take in information about you. He couldn't have, because there was no information existing about you or your choices that wasn't his own original thought. He certainly knew you before the foundation of the world, and he knew your future choices before the foundation of the world. However, he didn't know them because he foresaw them, but rather, he knew them because he forethought them.

God isn't merely someone who sees the story boards of his history of creation movie and can take in the whole story all at once--beginning and end and everything in between in one glance. He's the one who imagined the story and wrote the script and drew up the story boards, too. Does he know beforehand? Of course, he does! Can he see all the story boards at once? Of course, but he doesn't take in information from them, because the information on the boards originated inside his own designing mind.

God's foresight of events or people, then, can only be based on what he's decided will be; and conversely, what God has determined (or predestined) can't be based on who or what he foresees will be.

Charles Spurgeon Quote: Reader's Choice

Another great quote suggested by Georgene:

...my whole soul has agonized over men,
every nerve of my body has been strained
and I could have wept my very being out of my eyes
and carried my whole frame away in a flood of tears,
if I could but win souls.

October has been officially declared Charles Spurgeon Quote Month on this blog. Do you have a favorite quote from the "Prince of Preachers" that you'd like to see featured? If you do, you can either put it in the comments or email it to me and I'll post it sometime during the month. Better yet, post it on your blog and send me the link and I'll link back to you.

Blog Talk: Backlinks

Blogger Knowledge explains what backlinks are and how to get them. I suspect this is the same thing as the G-trackbacks Adrian's been writing about.

I've enabled them, as you can see. [Update:Well, you would have seen them if I'd actually enabled them on this post. Now they should be there.] You'll find them right under the post, next to the permalink and over the Haloscan comments and trackbacks, which I'm going to leave, at least until I see how this system works.

[More update: Carla's enabled them. Let's see if hers work.]

[Yet another update: Adrian says you have to have your feed set to full feed rather than the short one in order for your links to be picked up.]

[The final update, I promise: Oooh, oooh, oooh! They are working. If you're on the main page, you'll have to click on the links to this post to see them.]

[Okay, now you can sue me for going back on my promise: Darren installed backlinks, too.]