Podcast 31 Answering some listener mail. Very good questions on Creationism and Christian Morality.
The podcast website is Coffee Cup Apologetics.
All the episodes of Coffee Cup Apologetics are now on iTunes. Go to iTunes and search for “Apologetics.â€
I don’t know much about Sydney Anglicans, so I’m not in any position to say anything about the truthfulness of this interesting comment found on the Light of the World, A City on a Hill website. What I will say, however, is that the commenter is a bright fellow saying some very perceptive things about evangelicals these days. If you hear some echoes of Paul Metzger’s Consuming Jesus in those comments, then I’ll say “amen.”
It raises this question for me: When will evangelicals be ready to engage in a critique of their own movement? When will evangelicals be able to hear the truth about themselves and move forward in new directions as a result?
Is there a direction for evangelicals beyond going down the street, starting a new church with a new pastor and new gimmicks, then claiming that they have reinvented the “true” church yet again?Continue reading “Riffs: 12:31:07: Can Evangelicals Change?”
I preached this message- or a version of it- this morning at a church nearby.
“What Now?”
A Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas, December 30, 2007
First Presbyterian Church, London, Kentucky
Michael Spencer, preacher
Scripture: Matthew 2:12-19, John 1:1-18
As our students were preparing to leave school the Friday before Christmas, we had a power outage. There’s nothing like having a school full of students ready to burst the bonds of their educational incarceration in three hours being stuck in cold, dark classrooms without a working DVD player.
We survived, and I found myself thinking about what it would be like if there were a serious, nationwide loss of power. (My friend John Jaspersen is here today, and he just endured 12 days without electricity in Oklahoma!) What if we were thrown back into the world of our parents and grandparents when they were children, at least those that lived here in the mountains? Can we even begin to imagine how much each of our lives would change without the simple presence of electricity for lights, heat, appliances and entertainment?Continue reading ““What Now?” A Sermon for the First Sunday After Christmas”
How about some 2008 Predictions?
1. Barak Obama will defeat Mitt Romney for President and evangelicals who refused to vote for Romney will be blamed. The GOP’s conservative coalition will fragment significantly as a result. Democrats will accuse anyone who refuses to vote for Obama of being some kind of racist. Frightening racial incidents related to the campaign will raise fears of assassination.Continue reading “2008 Predictions”
Get out the ginger ale and order pizza. It’s time for the coveted Internet Monk “Favorite Blogs of the Year” list.
This year’s list majors on personal blogs by writers you need to be reading. These are bloggers I enjoy, look forward to and respect. They put together blogs that demonstrate what blogging can be when done well. Some you know; some you don’t.
Many big dog bloggers spend half their time lecturing us all on how to blog in a way that’s consistent with their view of Christian witness. These bloggers spend their time producing thoughtful, helpful, excellent writing. I don’t agree with any of them all the time, but I’m always glad I invested my time in reading their work.
So without further introduction, my Top Ten favorite blogs this year.Continue reading “It’s a Major Award: The IM “Top Ten” Blogs of 2007″
UPDATE: One of the reasons we go down this road every year is to laugh a bit and tell one another it’s OK. (Those of us in the evangelical wilderness need this. The rest of you talk amongst yourselves.) But we also do something else, which for a few is always difficult: we give ourselves permission to look at what’s just awful and to say so. We look at the eliminating of tradition in favor of innovation and we count the cost to our children and our faith. fundamentally, that’s a healthy exercise. But it might require a bit ‘o humor on your part.
It’s time for an Internet Monk tradition: the open thread where you, the reader, can share with us the stories of your experiences at Christmas Weekend “Worship.” Because this is the weekend many of our readers will be visiting various churches they don’t normally frequent, it’s a good weekend to be “surprised.”
Share what you like that’s on topic, but I’ll admit I’m looking for the following:Continue reading “Open Thread: The Good, the Bad and the Whatever in Christmas “Worship””
There’s been a bunch of detailed reviews of Multnomah Bible professor Paul Metzger’s book Consuming Jesus already out there. (Be sure and check out the Scot McKnight–Darryl Dash debate for one.) I’m not going to try and weigh in on the issues better people are discussing. I may sound a little “Joel Osteen on Larry King” on this one: “Well Larry, I really never thought about that…”
The fact is that Paul Metzger’s premise that evangelicalism has become a consumer movement and that consumer movement has made it a sick movement is about as fundamental a premise of the seven year history of the Internet Monk web site as anyone could state. I called evangelicalism a niche market the first year I started writing, 2000, and haven’t quit. Those of you who have appreciated my own critiques of evangelicalism will probably join me in underlining most of this book, standing up and cheering, dancing on furniture, weeping, cussing and generally having an old-fashioned revival meeting from cover to cover. In fact, if you are like me, you’ll be complaining that the book is too short and you’ll be asking Metzger to double the size of this baby in the next edition. (And those of you who call me a whiner should stop reading now and go have some egg nog.)Continue reading “Recommendation and Review: Consuming Jesus by Paul Metzger”
You are invited to add your insights on the similarities of these three stories.
Three stories. Three men in the second half of life.
Story one. An almost perfect man loses everything. Unknown to him, God is in a contest with Satan, proving that the this man’s righteousness is no fluke. He loses family, wealth and health. He is exiled from his community, watches his reputation dissolve, despairs of life and demands that God give him an opportunity to argue his innocence. Instead, he hears three friends and a young theologian repeat the conventional wisdom that his losses are punishment for his hidden sins. After insisting he has done nothing to cause God to punish him, the sufferer witnesses God’s arrival in a whirlwind to present the sufferer with a series of enigmatic questions. Does the sufferer know his place in the world? Is he competent to put God on trial? Does he know God’s purposes and perspectives? The sufferer abandons his case and embraces humility. God pronounces him innocent, condemns his friends for their theology and restores the man to his place of prosperity and blessing.Continue reading “Three Christmas Stories for the Second Half of Life”
John Armstrong questions the concept of Christian hedonism, and interestingly, is immediately told that conversation shouldn’t happen. Sound familiar to anyone?
BTW- I heard the confrontation of Colson’s talk on “Duty” by Piper that Armstrong refers to. It was at a Ligonier Conference years ago. The room went into shock at Piper calling out Colson, and at a Q & A session later, R.C. had to sooth a booing section of the crowd. I mention that to say that John Piper isn’t adverse to confrontation. Odd that those who identify strongly as his theological team regularly call out anyone critical of Piper as being needlessly divisive in the reformed faith. I’m sure that will all be clear if I just think about it enough.Continue reading “Noted: The Critical Conversation That Never Happens”
This is the season of “Best of” lists, and I’m sure Pierced For Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey and Andrew Sach will be on more than a few lists. In the past year, Pierced For Our Transgressions may be the best-reviewed, highest recommended book in the Reformed blogosphere.
It was also one of the most anticipated and well-recommended books of the year. Endorsements and recommendations for PFOT are a “Who’s Who” of Reformed theologians, pastors and authors. Clearly, someone felt this was going to be “the” book to toss into the simmering controversies about theories of the atonement.Continue reading “Recommendation and Review: Pierced For Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey and Andrew Sach”
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