I am a Reluctant Dispensationalist. If someone wants to know what my general outlook on the Bible is I will tell them it is Traditional or Classic Dispensational. I then feel compelled to qualify this confession by making it clear that I do not follow the Tim LaHaye’s and Hal Lindsey’s of this world. Where our theological paths cross I might find myself in agreement with them a fair bit of the time. I would not agree with their Arminianism …
Category: Personal Stuff
I like reading John Byl’s material. He is a first rate Christian thinker in the “Bible and Science” debate in the presuppositional mold. He doesn’t post too often, but his writing is always interesting. He has recently posted a piece on theologian Wayne Grudem’s rejection of evolution while accepting the “scientific evidence” undergirding so as to believe in Old Earth Creationism. This position, so popular among evangelical scholars, is, as Byl shows, inconsistent. Moreover, it violates the principle of the …
Just a few days ago I shared on Facebook a fine article on the biblical view of homosexuality. It is written by Kevin DeYoung, and, if you have not yet read it, is well worth your time: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/05/16/what-the-bible-really-still-says-about-homosexuality/ As you can see, the article carries the title “What the Bible Really Still Says About Homosexuality.” Without detracting one iota from DeYoung’s piece, I want to use it to drive home an important truth which we need to meditate on carefully. …
Niels Peter Lemche is not exactly anybody’s idea of a Bible believer. He is a leading light of the radical minimalist “Copenhagen School” which denies the historicity of the vast majority of Old Testament Israel. He is reported in the latest Biblical Archaeology Review (May/June 2012), 20, as saying: “To ordinary archaeologists, Biblical archaeologists are lowlife.” Let’s hear it again for secularism and open-mindedness! …
The link below concerns the Ending to Mark’s Gospel. Does that Gospel end with the words of verse 8, “for they were afraid”? Were the last verses somehow lost? Or has the methodology of Textual Criticism, with its preoccupation with “the oldest and most reliable manuscripts” ignored large amounts of textual evidence for these verse? Call me naive (many will), but I am convinced of the authenticity of the last twelve verse of Mark as traditionally understood – i.e. verses …
http://www.confessionalsbytes.com/2010/03/fighting-for-faith-beth-moores-false.html The link above goes to Chris Rosebrough’s “Fighting for the Faith” radio program. It’s worthwhile dropping by there once in a while to see what’s going on in the crazy world that is “American Evangelicalism.” Recently, for example, Rosebrough and a friend were escorted out of Elephant Room 2 before even getting a chance to sit down. It seems some of the elephants didn’t want Rosebrough in the room! Anyway, this piece is about the nonsense regularly spewed out …
Despite exhibiting many positive traits Reformed covenant theologians can usually be relied upon to do two things. The first is to misrepresent Classic Arminianism, and the second is to misrepresent Classic Dispensationalism. They often misrepresent Classic Arminianism by calling it Semi-Pelagianism and claiming the driving force behind the theology is “freewill.” Neither of those claims is remotely true as anyone who has read Jacob Arminius is well aware. Now I am not among the devotees of the former, but am …
Dan Phillips has been getting a few mentions here recently, but I couldn’t refrain from recommending to you his review of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s Spiritual Depression; a book which has had a huge influence on me. First, like Dan, this book gave me solid meaty counsel when I was depressed (for many years). It gave me more than a few fluffy proof-texts and made me see that God knows! Second, it showed me how powerfully the Bible could be expounded …
I like John Byl’s stuff. He doesn’t post often, but he is worth following. Here is an informative post about the spread of evolutionism in the PCA in the form of two books about Adam; one by Peter Enns, the other by C. John Collins. As someone who “naively” believes what the Bible says, I want to say, “Are you guys kidding?” PCA Divided On Biblical Adam While not as good as Byl’s piece, a while back I wrote …
I regard myself as pretty old school. I don’t much care for the evangelicalism of the 21st Century. I feel much more at home with D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones or J. C. Ryle than I do with John Piper and Wayne Grudem. I know many people don’t see much of a difference, but I believe (like Peter Masters) that Lloyd-Jones and Ryle would. For one thing there is the charismatic emphasis: something older evangelicals would have had no truck with. Then …
