Vos – Biblical Theology.
July 31, 2008 at 11:13 am | In Biblical Theology, Covenant Theology, Reading | 2 CommentsTags: Biblical Thology, Covenant Theology, Geerhardus Vos, Knowing God, Making God Known
God’s self-revelation to us was not made for a primarily intellectual purpose. It is not to be overlooked, of course, that the truly pious mind may through an intellectual contemplation of the divine perfections glorify God. This would be just as truly religious as the intensest occupation of the will in the service of God. But it would not be the full-orbed religion at which, as a whole, revelation aims. It is true, the Gospel teaches that to know God is life eternal. But the concept of ‘knowledge’ here is not to be understood in its Hellenic sense, but in the Shemitic sense. According to the former, ‘to know’ means to mirror the reality of a thing in one’s consciousness. The Shemitic and Biblical idea is to have the reality of something practically interwoven with the inner experience of life. Hence ‘to know’ can stand in the Biblical idiom for ‘to love’, ‘to single out in love’. Because God desires to be known after this fashion, He has caused His revelation to take place in the milieu of the historical life of a people. The circle of revelation is not a school, but a ‘covenant’. To speak of revelation as an ‘education’ of humanity is a rationalistic and utterly un-scriptural way of speaking. All that God disclosed of Himself has come in response to the practical religious needs of His people as these emerged in the course of history.
Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology p. 8-9ish.
BlackBerry Tips Tuesday on Thursday – BlackBerry Javelin
July 31, 2008 at 11:04 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
MMM… can’t wait for this one.
The Well
July 30, 2008 at 11:06 am | In Desert Springs Church | Leave a CommentTags: Coming Soon, Desert Springs Church, The Well
Stay Tuned….
BlackBerry Tips Tuesday: iPhone Review… so far.
July 30, 2008 at 8:49 am | In BlackBerry, Technology | 2 CommentsTags: BlackBerry Tips Tuesday, iPhone Review
So, as stated a few months back I am testing out an iPhone and so far I am not too excited about it, this is what I don’t and do like so far:
Don’t likes -
1. Typing is hard to do on it.
2. 3G is not as fast as it is hyped up to be.
3. You can’t receive MMS unless you have AT&T make some “changes” on your account.
4. It’s not great for corporate environments (well at least in the field that I work in).
5. It’s only 16 gigs and it’s not expandable.
6. Fingerprints.
Likes -
1. The browser is better than any other browser I have ever seen on a mobile device.
2. Great graphical interface.
3. Great apps available.
Don’t Waste Your Kids.
July 30, 2008 at 8:16 am | In Biblical Parenting | Leave a CommentTags: Parenting, Sermons, Youth, Youth Ministry
Van Til Review
July 30, 2008 at 8:07 am | In Historical Theology, Reading | 2 CommentsTags: John Muether, Reading, Van Til
Discerning Reader recently put up a review of Muether’s new book on Van Til here is what they had to say:
Although Cornelius Van Til is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century he remains relatively unknown outside of Reformed circles. A number of books have been written on Van Til’s thought, yet the only full treatment of his life and ministry has been William White’s memoir of 1979. While many insights can be gleaned from White his book is largely uncritical of its subject. Thankfully, John Muether has written Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman. In this biography the author treads new ground by providing a detailed look at Van Til within the context of the church at the local, denominational and trans-denominational level. Muether’s interpretation of Van Til is well rounded and paints a portrait “warts and all.” Such historical honesty frees readers to appropriate Van Til – positively and negatively – within his immediate context of American Reformed Christianity and in the larger contexts of Christian history and contemporary thought.
John R. Muether is librarian and associate professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. Muether has published a number of scholarly works including two volumes that he co-wrote with Darryl G. Hart. The first is a history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the second is an examination of Reformed worship. His Cornelius Van Til is the third volume in American Reformed Biographies which is a relatively new series edited by Hart and Sean Michael Lucas…. Read More.
Quotable Quotes Greg Bahnsen – Always Ready.
July 24, 2008 at 7:42 am | In Apologetics | Leave a CommentTags: Apologetics, Atheism, Defending the Faith, Greg Bahnsen, Quotes
The unbeliever opposes the Christian faith with a whole, antithetical system of thought-not simply with piecemeal criticisms. His attack is aimed not merely at certain random points of Christian teaching, but at its foundation. The particular criticisms utilized by the unbeliever rest upon basic key assumptions which unify and inform his thinking. It is this presuppositional root which the apologist must aim to eradicate if his defense of the faith is to be effective.
Because the unbeliever has such an implicit system of thought directing his attack on the faith the Christian can never be satisfied to defend the hope that is in him by merely stringing together isolated evidences which offer a slight probability of the Bible’s veracity. Each particular item of evidence will be evaluatedby the unbeliever’s tacit assumptions; his general worldview will provide the context in which the evidential claim is understood and weighed. What one presupposes as to possibility will even determine how he rates ‘probability’”
An unbeliever is not simply an unbeliever at separate points; his antagonism is rooted in an overall philosophy which is according to the world’s tradition; thus is an enemy of God in his mind and uses his mind to nullify or obviate God’s word .
The Christian can then teach the unbeliever that all wisdom and knowledge must take Jesus Christ as its reference point . The believer’s thinking, just as the unbeliever’s is grounded in a self-validating starting-point. This ultimate truth must be an expression of God’s mind; He alone speaks with unquestionable authority and self-attesting veracity. Thus Jesus categorically claimed to be the truth
G. Bahnsen, Always Ready, pp. 67-69
God Worships Himself.
July 23, 2008 at 4:52 am | In Theology, Worship | 7 CommentsTags: Covenant Theology, Theology, Worship
Danny writes a great post about some thoughts on a Edwards quote he writes:
“And if it be thus fit that God should have a supreme regard to himself, then it is fit that this supreme regard should appear in those things by which he makes himself known, or by his word and works, i.e. in what he says, and in what he does. If it be an infinitely amiable thing in God that he should have a supreme regard to himself, then it is an amiable thing that he should act as having a chief regard to himself, or act in such a manner as to show that he has such a regard: that what is highest in God’s heart may be highest in his actions and conduct” (Jonathan Edwards: The End for Which God Created the World).
This penetrating thought from Edwards can be summed up as this: since the chief and ultimate affection and end in everything is Himself (God), His actions show that He treasures Himself first and foremost (and might I add, infinitely above anything else). This has an immediate implication for the worshipper of God. Writing earlier in this book, Edwards remarks,
“The moral rectitude of the disposition, inclination, or affection of God CHIEFLY consists in a regard to HIMSELF, infinitely above his regard to all other beings”
Since the chief affection of God is Himself, He shows it through His actions and conduct, viz. creation, providence, redemption, etc. As worshippers of God, if we say that God is the chief affection and object of our heart, mind, and life, how do we act upon that affection daily showing that God is our chief end in all things? Are we consistent in claiming that God is our chief affection and showing through our actions that He is our chief affection and end in all that we do?
Bye, Bye, Bye Peter Enns
July 23, 2008 at 4:47 am | In News | 1 CommentTags: Inspiration and Incarnation, Peter Enns, Westminster Theological Seminary
Peter Enns and Westminster Theological Seminary have released a joint statement announcing Dr. Enns’ departure from WTS:
The administration and Prof. Peter Enns wish to announce that they have arrived at mutually agreeable terms, and that, as of 31 July, 2008, Prof. Enns will discontinue his service to Westminster Theological Seminary after fourteen years.
The administration wishes to acknowledge the valued role Prof. Enns has played in the life of the institution, and that his teaching and writings fall within the purview of Evangelical thought. The Seminary wishes Prof. Enns well in his future endeavors to serve the Lord.
Prof. Enns wishes to acknowledge that the leaders of the Seminary (administration and board) are charged with the responsibility of leading the seminary in ways that are deemed most faithful to the institution’s mission as a confessional Reformed Seminary.
Prof. Enns expresses his deep and sincere gratitude to the Lord for his education and years of service at Westminster Theological Seminary.”
HT: DB
BlackBerry Tips Tuesday – BES 4.1.6
July 22, 2008 at 9:43 am | In BES, BlackBerry | 1 CommentTags: BES 4.1.6, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Upgrades
I recently installed 4.1.6 on our BlackBerry Enterprise Server and found a few things that might be of interest:
1. HTML emails do work if you are running 4.5 OS. If you are saying to yourself… where do I get that, google it and I am sure you will find some results.
2. It breaks the LCS application so, if your company is a big user of the Live Communicator Service app, you are out of luck. I also tried the OCS app, but found that it will not work on this update either. I am sure it will be fixed on the next release.
3. It did fix the security vulnerability associated with .pdf documents.
4. It runs pretty smooth.
Have a good day!
BlackBerry Tips Tuesday: Live Pics of the Thunder Emerge
July 22, 2008 at 9:36 am | In BlackBerry | Leave a Comment
Just thought I would give you a sneak peak at this guy. Also, just a FYI for those who are about to say “I don’t like that interface” well, this is not the final product… just wait.
Breaking News: Live Pics of the Thunder Emerge | BlackBerryNews.com
Phil Wickham
July 22, 2008 at 9:21 am | In Music | Leave a Comment
I can’t wait for this Album to come out. Here is a question though, can you find me in all these pictures? I can.
Tags: PhilWickham, Singalong, Free Album, Live Recording.
30 Days of Coldplay.
July 21, 2008 at 3:52 am | In Music | Leave a CommentTags: Coldplay, Interviews, Live Music, Music, XM radio
I was station flipping while driving home on Friday and caught a really cool version of Yellow on XM51. After the song Chris Martin introduced the next song and stated that XM channel 51 will be doing 30 days of Coldplay. I have been listening every time I get into my car. They are playing some of their sets from concerts, stuff recorded that is not on any of their albums, and recording from “before they were famous”.
If you have XM it is worth tuning into…
Well, I’m off to go…
July 19, 2008 at 8:17 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentWell, I’m off to go get a haircut and I thought I would try out my new application called Jott. Jott converts whatever you speak into your phone into text and puts it up on your blog for you. So, you can blog on the go. We’re off to wedding today so I’ll probably post some more tomorrow but I wanted to say have a great day. listen
Powered by Jott
Easy Hermeneutics – New Attitude.
July 18, 2008 at 10:45 am | In Hermeneutics | Leave a CommentTags: Biblical Interpreting, Hermeneutics, Textual Criticism
NA posted this up last month and I find this to be a very basic yet helpful approach to interpreting scripture:
Hermeneutics (hur-muh-noo-tiks) n. [Grk.]: the craft of interpreting Scripture
7 Questions to Ask Every Passage*
1. Who is the author and who is his audience?
2. Why is the author writing and what is his burden for his audience?
3. How does this verse connect to the rest of the chapter and the book the
whole storyline of the Bible?
4. What does the language of the passage highlight and draw attention to?
(e.g., parallels, word pictures, specific details, repetitive words/phrases)
5. What does this reveal about the nature of God and the nature of
mankind?
6. How does this passage reveal our need for a Savior and Godʼs
disposition to provide a Savior?
7. What response or action does this passage call for?
A Starter Bibliography: For Further Study
•Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul: Short and sweet. Start here.
•The Message of the Old Testament & The Message of the New
Testament by Mark Dever: One chapter for each book of the Bible.
•Godʼs Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts: A helpful introduction to
storyline of the Bible.
•The ESV Study Bible: Our favorite study Bible (or it will be when it
releases this fall).
•Your Pastorʼs Sermonʼs: Every week your pastor helps you interpret
Scripture and apply it. Listen closely.
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