I have so many issues with what Hunter is saying here, I do not even know where to begin. He is politely demeaning to literalists (like me!), suggesting that we, though sincere, are refusing to use our full mental capacity. Hunter, where are you going?
Things Not to Do in Biblical Debate
23 July 2010 By Leave a Comment
Dr. Richard Mayhue has admonished those of us who engage in debate (specifically, debates about the end times, but most of his points are applicable to general biblical debate) by exposing the following poor tactics in a what-not-to-do list:
1. Putting non-biblical, historical documents on an equal par with Scripture to gain a greater sense of authority for one’s conclusion or even to refute a biblical presentation.
2. Reading current events into the Scripture to prove one’s point.
3. Inserting one’s predetermined position, without first proving it, into a Scripture passage to gain apparent biblical support.
4. Attacking the character of one who holds a particular view in order to discredit the view.
5. Accusing an advocate of an opposing view of holding certain unacceptable interpretations or beliefs, when in fact he does not, in order to demonstrate falsely his apparent poor scholarship.
6. Employing selective data to make one’s point, when full disclosure would have actually weakened the conclusion.
7. Drawing unwarranted and erroneous implications from the Greek NT text that are used to override the more obvious and determinative conclusions derived from the passage’s context.
- Master’s Seminary Journal Volume 13, 2 (Sun Valley, CA: The Master’s Seminary, 2002), 239-42.
Sadly, I see these methods widely employed in debates and about most subjects (except for number 2, which is mostly reserved for eschatological debates). That is sad because controversy and debate can be decidedly good things, clarifying doctrines which would otherwise remain obscure. However, the above list contain the behaviors which often render a debate useless.
The Great Painter and His Brushes
19 July 2010 By Leave a Comment
“Picture in your mind a great, wise painter, painting on a huge canvas with many brushes, most of them very ordinary and messy. The painter is God, so you can’t picture him. He’s invisible. But he intends for his painting to be the visible display of his wisdom. He knows people can’t see him, but he wants his wisdom to be seen and admired. His canvas is huge. It’s the size of the created universe. I know you can’t really imagine looking at that canvas because you are in it. But do your best.
And God is painting with thousands and thousands of colors and shades and textures—a picture as big as the universe and as old as creation and as lasting as eternity—a picture we call history, with the central drama being the preparation, salvation, and formation of the church of Jesus Christ. And he is using thousands of different brushes, most of them very ordinary and very small because every minute detail is crucial in this painting, to display the wisdom of the Painter. These brushes are God’s missionaries. “
– John Piper 2004
Spurgeon on Reading
16 July 2010 By Leave a Comment
We will look at Paul’s books. We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them.
Even an apostle must read. Some of our very ultra-Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot and talks any quantity of nonsense is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men’s brains – oh, that is the preacher!
How rebuked they are by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching for at least thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet wants books!
He had been caught up into the Third Heaven and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy, and so he says to every preacher, “Give attendance to reading” (1 Tim. 4:13).
The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves that he has no brains of his own.
Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers and expositions of the Bible.
Radical; Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
9 July 2010 By 5 Comments
I am so encouraged with the ministry of David Platt. He has challenged and encouraged me since I began to pay attention to his preaching and teaching. He is bold, unpretentious and deadly serious about the glory of God among the nations.
That is why this book did not shock me. It challenged me, but I knew where he was going with it from the first few pages. Nevertheless, it was an extremely profitable book for me at this stage in my life. Often it is necessary to examine our lives and root out our subtle idols; and then to question whether or not our priorities are in line with God’s. Since God’s ambition is his glory among the nations, we ought to be about that task with all of our beings. This book will challenge you to do just that.
Read this book today.
The Man Who Moved a Mountian
7 July 2010 By Leave a Comment
Bob Childress was a rough mountaineer from the Blue Ridge Mountains who turned from a life of revelry, bootlegging and violence when he met Jesus. Through the discipleship of a Presbyterian minister, Bob gave up drinking and sought hard (and fought hard) to become a minister himself. Against everyone’s expectations, he completed seminary and was ordained to the ministry in his early 30′s, with a wife and several children in tow.
Childress became a sought-after preacher. Several big-city churches offered him their prestigious pulpits, but Bob felt the call of the Blue Ridge. For decades he labored, starting churches and schools, and preaching the gospel. He tried to steer the mountains from their backward ways. Scorned and often in danger, Childress never gave up. In the end, he moved the mountain.
The Man Who Moved a Mountain, by Richard C. Davids is an inspiring story of faith and faithfulness. I was challenged by Bob’s stubbornness; his willingness to trust God and walk into danger with a warm smile and a genuine love.
It is a great book and I highly recommend it. Order it here from Amazon.com.
Interesting Words
2 July 2010 By Leave a Comment
It has been a while since I’ve posted about Bible study software. I am still an avid user of Logos Bible Software. In fact, I use it nearly daily to prepare for sermons and Bible lessons, and to do research for the book I am trying to write.
Currently, New Beginnings (that is the Sunday Morning Bible Study that I lead) is working through 1 Thessalonians. I am preparing for 1 Thes. 2.1-12, and I ran a feature of Logos 4 called ‘interesting words‘. Here is what it generated for this text in English (click for the full image).
And here it is in Greek…
It is a pretty slick visual presentation. If you click on a word, Logos will generate an occurrence list for that text. Handy and pretty. I love it.
Liberty’s Unbelievable Response to Ergun Caner
26 June 2010 By Leave a Comment
I was dismayed when I learned today that the Liberty University committee organized to investigate the habitual exaggerations of Dr. Ergun Caner has given him more or less a pass, demoting him from President and Dean to Professor of Global Apologetics. The committee found that Caner “made factual statements which were self-contradictory.” Not only is the verb-age extremely unclear, it is appears to be a cop-out. For one, Liberty did not even bother to answer whether the statements Caner made were true or false, or which story is true – only that they failed the consistency test. Of course, they have long stated that this is not an ethical or moral issue (right – since when is lying a moral issue?). SBC Today even declared that Caner was exonerated!
Unbelievable. I am very disappointed in LU today, and grieving for Ergun Caner. While Caner has apologized to the board for ‘misstatements’ which caused the investigation, he has not apologized to anyone for publicly lying or exaggerating about his upbringing (I listened to Caner jaw on for 20 minutes about his life as a teenager in Turkey – all completely made up), his knowledge of Islam, his supposed linguistic ability (claiming to know Turkish and Arabic, faking an Arabic accent, and pretending that English is his second language), and his attempt to smooth the whole thing over by claiming a right-wing Calvinistic conspiracy. Instead of repenting on the day the report was issued, Caner was tweeting things like, “Donuts R holy“.
I’m not hoping for blood. But the world is watching this, and this must be handled in a biblical way; not swept under a rug. Very sad.
Humble, Carefree Living
22 June 2010 By Leave a Comment
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5.6-7
It looks like there are two exhortations in the passage above. In fact, there is only one: “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” In verse 7, Peter tells us how to do that—casting all your anxieties on him.
We don’t normally think of anxiety as something that is rooted in pride. In fact, when we are most anxious, we often feel least confident (and we think that is humility). Yet, the truth of the matter is that we feel anxious because we refuse to trust God, and refusing to trust God is the proudest act.
Casting our anxieties on him humbles us because we are acknowledging our need and dependence upon the Lord. We are confessing that we cannot handle the issues that are causing our worry. “Lord, I need you in this today. Without you, I can do nothing.” That is the plea of the humble.
Notice two more things from this text. First, God’s hand is mighty. There are no circumstances which he cannot handle. There is absolutely nothing you are facing or could possibly face that God cannot handle. Second, God cares for you. He is not unconcerned about our suffering. You are not insignificant to God.
With all that in mind, can you be humble enough to live carefree? Cast your anxieties on Him today!
A New Dawn for the Southern Baptist Convention?
15 June 2010 By Leave a Comment
I am hopeful that today will be regarded as an historic day for the Southern Baptist Convention. I was at the 2010 Annual Meeting when they passed the Great Commission Resurgence. After a lengthy and spirited debate (complete with some obstructionist activities), the majority of 10,000+ Southern Baptist messengers voted to approve the GCR task-force recommendations.
Will this be a new dawn for the SBC? For the sake of untold thousands of unreached people, I certainly pray that it will be.
Thinking – Upcoming Desiring God Conference
2 June 2010 By Leave a Comment
Here is a conference that I would love to attend; and an impressive video to boot.
Kindle vs. iPad
28 May 2010 By Leave a Comment
Wikipedia and the Cities/Towns That I’ve Called Home
17 May 2010 By Leave a Comment
There is so much wrong with Wikipedia that it is difficult for me to admit it has some usefulness. 
. For example, one can provide links on his blog to every city he has ever called home. Here are all the cities/towns that I have called home (and the length of time I lived there):
1. Geneva, FL (10 years)
2. Anchorage, AK (6 years)
3. Mount Vernon, IL (9 months)
4. Orlando, FL (2 years)
5. Jackson, MI (2 years)
6. Durham, ON (2 years)
7. Sanford, FL (5 years)
8. Ulan-Ude, Siberia (5 years)
9. Gorno-Altaisk, Siberia (3 years)
Dr. Ergun Caner on Fraud and Deception
11 May 2010 By 1 Comment
In this sermon, Dr. Ergun Caner states that fraud is “one who looks like something but is actually something else.” I would modify the definition a bit. A fraud is one who pretends to be something that he is not.
In words that will ironically come to back to haunt him, Caner said, “You can’t start an evangelistic enterprise based on deception… I just can’t imagine that type of lying, and that’s exactly what I call it.” Of course, he was commenting on the IMB’s Camel evangelism method to Muslims (and I think his assessment of Camel is completely off). But it now characterizes exactly what he himself has done.
I’ve examined a lot of audio and video evidence as to Caner’s claims, and my conclusion is that Caner has fabricated the entire story on which he has sold hundreds of thousands of books and which has propelled him to celebrity status. I grieve for Caner and for the damage this will do to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, his students and to Christianity. My prayer is that there will be genuine repentance, followed by a gracious restoration to fellowship (though not to a position of leadership at any level at the Seminary or within the church).
Great Song – All I Have is Christ
4 May 2010 By Leave a Comment
