The 930 Art Center is hosting Ra Ra Riot on December 11th @ 8 p.m. ($8 advance/$10 door). False gospels are those systems of thought that find our problem in any other place but the Fall and the solution anywhere other than the Cross of Jesus Christ. (Paraphrase)
“Brandon, God made you a boy for a special reason,” she told him before they said prayers one night when he was 5, the first part of a speech she’d prepared. But he cut her off: “God made a mistake,” he said.This is the heart of the issue. Does God have the right to tell me who I am? One of the clearest testimonies to the affirmative is our very existence as male or female. We have no part in our "being" - rather, God, according to his will alone, gave us life. The life he gives comes with parameters.
Once, when she was 6, her father, Mike, said out of the blue: “Chris, you’re a girl.” In response, he recalls, she “started screaming and freaking out,” closing her hand into a fist and punching herself between the legs, over and over.The transgendered movement is merely a more sophisticated permutation of this little girl's rage against her Creator. And it will no more change anything than her fruitless tactic did. What destruction do we sow by telling her otherwise?
Greg Beale is a great bible scholar. He manages to stay thorough and well-argued while pastorally sensitive. Both his The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGNT) and his seminal study, The Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God, will change how you read Scripture and how you see your world. So, needless to say, I was excited when I saw that he was writing a biblical theology on idolatry. And the title makes me more excited. We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry is now available from IVP Academic and should be very good. 
I have never read anything by Seyoon Kim, but have heard good things about his critique of the New Perspective on Paul. Now, he has a book on the New Testament engagement of Roman Imperialism. Christ and Caesar : The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke examines the perspective of Paul and Luke on Roman imperialism. From the publisher's blurb on the back, it seems to stand in criticism of anti-imperialist readings and applications of Christianity. Paul and Luke are not concerned with earthly empires, but are working towards the consummation of an altogether different kingdom. So, with this book and his book on the NPP, I guess we should see Kim as N. T. Wright's academic arch nemesis.
One of the most emotionally difficult, if not intellectually difficult, apologetic challenges faced by Christians is the presence of suffering in a world created by a wholly good God. A resource now available for this challenge is Suffering and the Goodness of God, a collection of essays (view titles here). Don't take my word for it, though: Blurbs are by Jerry Bridges, Bryan Chapell, Stephen Nichols, and Stephen Wellum. Dr. Wellum said, "Chapter by chapter, the authors root and ground their reflections in Scripture, modeling how to move from biblical exposition to a biblical theology. The reflections are not only theoretical and necessary but also practically engaging. There is much wisdom in this work." This book is the first of a series called "Theology in Community." If this is any indication of what's to follow, it will be a series to watch. For seven weeks I've listened to her, trying to understand if she is Bushian or Reaganite—a spender, to speak briefly, whose political decisions seem untethered to a political philosophy, and whose foreign policy is shaped by a certain emotionalism, or a conservative whose principles are rooted in philosophy, and whose foreign policy leans more toward what might be called romantic realism, and that is speak truth, know America, be America, move diplomatically, respect public opinion, and move within an awareness and appreciation of reality.
Today, I received my copy of the ESV Study Bible. It's always fun to get books in the mail, but this package was especially exciting. Tens of thousands of Christians have been awaiting its release for a long time. Nearly one hundred top-notch evangelical scholars have their hand in the project, and many more men and women whom I respect cannot seem to say enough good about it. In fact, I've almost been uncomfortable with the rave reviews -- from some comments, one gathers that the ESV Study Bible is to evangelical scholarship what High School Musical 3 is to tween girls and boys. The ESV Study Bible contains two kinds of words. The first kind is the actual words of the Bible, which are the very words of God to us. These are printed in the larger font at the top of each page. The second kind is the study notes, which are merely human words. These are printed in the smaller font at the bottom of each page. The difference in font sizes serves to remind readers that the words of the Bible itself are infinitely more valuable than the words of the notes. The words of the Bible are the words of our Creator speaking to us. They are completely truthful (Ps. 119:160; Prov. 30:5; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18); they are pure (Ps. 12:6); they are powerful (Jer. 23:29; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23); and they are wise and righteous (Ps. 19:7–11). God's people should read these words with reverence and awe (Deut. 28:58; Ps. 119:74; Isa. 66:2), and with joy and delight (Ps. 19:7–11; 119:14, 97, 103; Jer. 15:16). Through these words God gives us eternal life (John 6:68; 1 Pet. 1:23) and daily nourishes our spiritual lives in this present world (Deut. 32:46; Matt. 4:4). The words of the study notes are useful because they help to explain the words of the Bible, but they must never become a substitute for the Bible itself.
The best way to use a study Bible, therefore, is always to begin and end with the words of the Bible. We should always begin by reading the Bible's actual words, seeking with our hearts and our minds to understand these words and apply them to our lives. Then, after starting with the words of the Bible itself, we can turn to the study notes and many other study Bible resources for information about the background to the text, for the meaning of puzzling words or phrases, and for connections to other parts of the Bible. Finally, we should return again to the Bible itself, reading it with a new and deeper understanding, asking God to speak through his Word to the situation of our life and to draw us near to himself.
May I be so diligent.
Bill's got lots of friends, and that's because he is today a dedicated servant of those less fortunate than himself; because he is unfailingly generous to people who ask for his help; and because he is kind and affable and even humble. Moral qualities which, by the way, were celebrated boisterously on day one of the GOP convention in September.
I do not defend the things Mr. Ayers did in his Weatherman days. Nor will I quibble with those who find Mr. Ayers wanting in contrition. His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.
9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes
bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!" 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"18They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?" 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"
So now Pyongyang has what it wants, and Washington has a vague, inadequate
invitation to more [nuclear weapons] verification palavering.
Regardless of the definition chosen, clearly Bolton doesn't think the decision is a good one. North Korea has broken every international agreement it has made since 1953. With such an unimpressive history, Bolton is surely right that this will fare no better. The Bush Administration is grasping for anything they can spin as victory.
John Bolton is a polarizing figure for many, often branded as a warhawk and neocon. On North Korea, though, he is hard to argue with. Read the WSJ editorial here.
