"True religion is not a series of guesses at truth..." -C.H. Spurgeon, as quoted by Phil Johnson in an excerpt posted at Pyromaniacs.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
It was Supposed to be a Walk in the Park
"True religion is not a series of guesses at truth..." -C.H. Spurgeon, as quoted by Phil Johnson in an excerpt posted at Pyromaniacs.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
In Essentials Unity
After a meeting that won't be confused with Wittenberg, It appears the Evangelical Theological Society has decided not to amend their doctrinal basis or include some recommended minimal propositional statements to sufficiently define the group as...well,...evangelical.
Such appears to be the state of a significant portion of evangelicalism today, or at least of many who want the label but don't always want to sign on to the essential doctrines. No doubt many members will offer divergent and varied rationales for their respective votes against an amendment which would have required a super-majority to pass, but ultimately failed to come close to even 50% in favor. Likely many nay-voters agree with the doctrinal points made in the amendment offered but for one reason or another don't want to require assent for membership purposes.
It's disappointing. These were not points that would have separated Calvinists from Arminians, charismatics from non-charismatics, premils from amils, or credo-baptists from paedo-baptists. They were just some basic statements affirming a basic definition of the gospel, and also clarifying what Evangelicals mean when they refer to the Bible (no, it does not include the book of Tobit). And they defined the authority of Scripture (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) as exceeding that of any earthly ecclesiastical leader or organization.
In voting down the amendment, the ETS lost an opportunity to affirm the truth with clarity.
Such appears to be the state of a significant portion of evangelicalism today, or at least of many who want the label but don't always want to sign on to the essential doctrines. No doubt many members will offer divergent and varied rationales for their respective votes against an amendment which would have required a super-majority to pass, but ultimately failed to come close to even 50% in favor. Likely many nay-voters agree with the doctrinal points made in the amendment offered but for one reason or another don't want to require assent for membership purposes.
It's disappointing. These were not points that would have separated Calvinists from Arminians, charismatics from non-charismatics, premils from amils, or credo-baptists from paedo-baptists. They were just some basic statements affirming a basic definition of the gospel, and also clarifying what Evangelicals mean when they refer to the Bible (no, it does not include the book of Tobit). And they defined the authority of Scripture (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) as exceeding that of any earthly ecclesiastical leader or organization.
In voting down the amendment, the ETS lost an opportunity to affirm the truth with clarity.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Various Opinions. One Truth.
The so-called "epistemological humility" of the postmodern herd seeks to renegotiate the unalterable truths delivered once and for all to the elect. Today at Phil Johnson's blog he posts a reminder from a famous 19th-century preacher that truth is not on the negotiating table.
People are free to believe what they want (I'm referring here to rights, not the subject of predestination). They are free to believe, or claim to believe, nothing if they want. They are free to be tossed to and fro by every new religious fad that erupts and to live their lives in a clueless haze. They can stick their fingers in their ears and sing "nanananana-I can't hear you-nanananana..." every time a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ tries to tell them the truth.
But the truth is the truth, and it does not become altered based on whether or not one believes it. It is not created through deliberation and not subject to committee vote. It does not change because the culture changes or because times change.
Even if no human on earth believed it, the truth would still be the truth. And anything other than the truth would still be untrue. And every human would still be accountable for the truth. Accountable to Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The truth of the gospel can be discovered and understood, but it can't be re-engineered, although people can delude themselves into thinking they can remake it.
Believe it or not.
People are free to believe what they want (I'm referring here to rights, not the subject of predestination). They are free to believe, or claim to believe, nothing if they want. They are free to be tossed to and fro by every new religious fad that erupts and to live their lives in a clueless haze. They can stick their fingers in their ears and sing "nanananana-I can't hear you-nanananana..." every time a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ tries to tell them the truth.
But the truth is the truth, and it does not become altered based on whether or not one believes it. It is not created through deliberation and not subject to committee vote. It does not change because the culture changes or because times change.
Even if no human on earth believed it, the truth would still be the truth. And anything other than the truth would still be untrue. And every human would still be accountable for the truth. Accountable to Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The truth of the gospel can be discovered and understood, but it can't be re-engineered, although people can delude themselves into thinking they can remake it.
Believe it or not.
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