Archives for January 2008

I have posted an interview with Phillip Johnson over at Politics and Christianity. Go on over there to find out how Phil Responded to the following questions:

1. I have on occasion referred to you as the internet’s most famous Phil, to differentiate you from some other Phil Johnson’s. To help readers understand how you became the internet’s most famous Phil, can you explain the genesis of Pyromaniacs?

2. Regarding “politics” and Christianity, WWSS (What Would Spurgeon Say)?

3. Some months ago you wrote “evangelicalism right now is at least as much in need of Reformation as Medieval Roman Catholicism was before Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church.” Does this have implications for Christian efforts to reform and inform the cultural milieu? Do you think we must get our own house in order before we encourage Christian involvement in politics, government and public policy?

4. There is a reason why the word “political” prefaces political correctness. Do you think that if would be fair to say that a salient pragmatism and a twisted understanding of tolerance has resulted in a form of civil religion that is infecting Evangelicalism? Should we be concerned? What should we do about it?

5. You have written about the left-leaning politics of the emerging church and quote Scot McKnight who characterizes them as “a latte-drinking, backpack-lugging, Birkenstock-wearing group of 21st-century, left-wing, hippie wannabes. Put directly, they are Democrats.” Do you think this is another example of the emerging church asking the right questions but arriving at the wrong answers?

6. You make available a couple of audio downloads on postmodernism and the emerging church movement. Are there other resources on the emerging church to which you would point us?

7. What are you currently reading? Can can you recommend a few books that would help us to have a more Biblical understanding of the intersection of politics and Christianity?

8. And, Is it really true that your beagle Wrigley always agrees with you?

Can you guess who said the following?

“Hostile to the church, friendly to Jesus Christ.” These words describe large numbers of people, especially young people, today.

They are opposed to anything which savours of institutionalism. They detest the establishment and its entrenched privileges. And they reject the church—not without some justification—because they regard it as impossibly corrupted by such evils.

Yet what they have rejected is the contemporary church, not Jesus Christ himself. It is precisely because they see a contradiction between the founder of Christianity and the current state of the church he founded that they are so critical and aloof. The person and teaching of Jesus have not lost their appeal, however. For one thing, he was himself an antiestablishment figure, and some of his words had revolutionary overtones. His ideals appear to have been incorruptible. He breathed love and peace wherever he went. And, for another thing, he invariable practiced what he preached.

Dan Kimball wrote a book entitled They Like Jesus But Not The Church, but he was not the one who said these words. It sounds a little like Leonard Sweet, Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Erwin McManus, or maybe a quote from George Barna’s book Revolution… but it wasn’t any of them.

The quote above comes from the Preface to John R.W. Stott’s Basic Christianity written back in 1958. I re-read the book last weekend and was reminded that the current emerging church environment isn’t without precedent. I know that there are very real differences between “then” and “now” but still think that we have a lot to learn from those who have trod similar paths in previous generations.

As an old guy who spends a great deal of time with twentysomethings, I think that our nextgen folk are not so postmodern as the emergent folk would have us believe. They have found a marketing niche which works for them, but that does not mean that some of the older voices speaking into culture are passé. I think that Stott’s Basic Christianity still has much to offer and that any of the following would be well received by most young Christ followers.

True Christianity, by Francis Schaeffer

Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis

Growing In Christ, by J. I. Packer

Desiring God, by John Piper

Long Journey Home, by Os Guiness

The Valley of Vision

The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer, by Andrew Murray

The Best Things In Life, by Peter Kreeft

… and even

Religious Affections, by Jonathan Edwards

The Confessions of Augustine

Can you share some older titles, or older authors, that you think speak to the questions being asked by the emergent types?

When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.
~ Abraham Kuyper

For 35 years, I’ve been trying to defend the unborn child. And 19 years ago, in 1988, I came to Washington, and there were 400,000 people at the Washington Monument. And I stood up there on that day where I said, “I pledge hereby never for the rest of my life to vote for anyone who would kill innocent babies.” That’s been my life. That’s been my belief…I can’t now abandon that because we’ve got two bad choices here [in regards to the potential nominees of the 2008 Presidential Elections].
~ James Dobson in an interview on October 8, 2007.

Be to the world a sign that while we as Christians do not have all the answers, we do know and care about the questions.
~ Billy Graham

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
~ John Adams

There is not a significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintain a moral life without the aid of religion.
~ Will Durant

Every step towards Christ kills a doubt. Every thought, word, and deed for Him carries you away from discouragement.
~ T.L. Cuyler

I preach deliverance to others, I tell them there is freedom, while I hear my own chains clang.
~ John Bunyan

Certainly, in taking revenge a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a prince’s part to pardon.
~ Francis Bacon

Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.
~ James Thurber

It is a mistake often made by educated persons who happen to have but little knowledge of historical theology to suppose that fundamentalism is a new and strange form of thought. It is nothing of the kind; it is the partial and uneducated survival of a theology which was once universally held by all Christians. How many were there, for instance, in Christian churches in the eighteenth century who doubted the infallible inspiration of all Scripture? A few, perhaps, but very few. No, the fundamentalist may be wrong; I think that he is. But it is we who have departed from tradition, not he; and I am sorry for anyone who tries to argue with a fundamentalist on the basis of authority. The Bible and the corpus theologicum of the Church are on the fundamentalist side.
~ Kirsopp Lake, in The Religion of Yesterday and Tomorrow (Boston: Houghton, 1926), page 61

No one knows with any certainty whether any act of friendship or love is real or simply a calculated ploy to get something from someone else.
~ David Dorsey, in The Force

We should ever conduct ourselves towards our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend.
~ John Henry Newman

I am always fascinated by what people purchase at Amazon.com after clicking through from a link here. The readers of Encyclopedia Kevinannica are very discerning readers as you can see by looking at the list below of books purchased since September 8, 2007.

A Christian view of history?

A History of Christianity, Volume 1: Beginnings to 1500 (Revised)

A modern study in the Book of Proverbs: Charles Bridges’ classic

Battle For The Church

Book Of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15. (New International Commentary on the Old Testament)

Bridge of Sighs

Classical Apologetics

Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments

Ethical Theory: Classical and Contemporary Readings

Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong

Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues

Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues

Ethics: Theory and Practice (9th Edition)

Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help People Experience the Good News

Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style

General Washington’s Christmas

Farewell: A Mount Vernon Homecoming, 1783

History, Criticism, and Faith: Four Explanatory Studies

Introduction to the New Testament, An

Madame Bovary (Oxford World’s Classics)

My Story Your Story His Story: A Memory Journal

Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free

Proverbs

Reason for the Hope Within

Reimagining Evangelism: Inviting Friends on a Spiritual Journey

Sam Houston

The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament)

The Moral Philosophers: An Introduction to Ethics

The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920

The Way of the Master

The Wit & Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow

WORDS THAT WORK: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S WHAT PEOPLE HEAR

Warranted Christian Belief

Witch Grass

And here is a list of the music that was purchased after clicking through from Encyclopedia Kevinannica

Songs of Mass Destruction (Deluxe Edition)

The Ringing Bell

Whatever and Ever Amen

Several semesters ago I taught a class on “The Words of Jesus of Nazareth.” The following are a couple of great quotes I wish I would have had when I taught the class.

“His words were so completely parts and utterances of Himself, that they had no meaning as abstract statements of truth uttered by Him as a Divine oracle or prophet. Take away Himself as the primary (though not the ultimate) subject of every statement and they all fall to pieces.” (F.J.A. Hort)

“It is not his teachings which make Jesus so remarkable, although these would be enough to give him distinction. It is a combination of the teachings with the man himself. The two cannot be separated…. It must be obvious to any thoughtful reader of the Gospel records that Jesus regarded himself and his message as inseparable. he was a great teacher, but he was more. his teachings about the kingdom of God, about human conduct, and about God were important, but they could not be divorced from him without, from his standpoint, being vitiated.” (Kenneth Scott Latourette)

__________

RELATED POSTS

SWBTS Christology Bibliography

Five Things I Dig About Jesus

Prayers of Jesus

Textbooks – Words of Jesus of Nazareth

What Language Did Jesus Speak?

Union With Christ In Calvin

It all starts today. In just a few hours Republican voters will begin casting ballots for their preferred candidates.

Who will eventually be the Republican candidate who faces off against the Democrat candidate and against Michael Bloomberg? The race is close enough that the pundits are refusing to offer predictions. If you don’t make a prediction you don’t have to worry about looking silly when you are wrong. Well, we don’t mind looking silly, so below you will find our state by state predictions as we think they will fall (dominoe style).

Iowa [January 3 – 40 delegates]: Polls have Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney neck and neck in what everyone is expecting to be a photo finish. However, there is a significant difference between the supporters of Huckabee and Romney. Huckabee supporters are true believers, whereas Romney supporters tend to be pragmatists who are simply voting for the candidate they think can win. This is Iowa, not New Jersey, and in Iowa hearts trump dollar signs. Huckabee walks away with a close but comfortable lead. Romney comes in second and declares himself a winner for having received the silver medal. Everyone expected John McCain’s momentum to carry him into third place, which it does, however the Fredheads which have not yet abandoned Thompson for other candidates and the Ron Paul fanatics are all very committed and they both come in only 1 point behind McCain. Giuliani and Hunter pull a few votes but not many. Fallout: Hunter drops from the race. He does not endorse another candidate, but is quoted by several sources as saying nice things about Mike Huckabee. Fred Thompson waits until after Wyoming (January 5) then drops from the race and endorses his old friend John McCain. Rudy drops two more points in the national tracking polls.

Wyoming [January 5 – 14 delegates] – A very close race between Huckabee, Giuliani, and Romney. Wyoming voters are impressed with Huckabee’s performance on Jay Leno’s show and his win in Iowa gets him lots of press. That makes the difference and Huckabee wins Wyoming. No one notices.

New Hampshire [January 8 – 12 delegates]: New Hampshire voters take pride in not allowing Iowa results to determine for whom they will cast their ballots. In the last 25 years the winners of Iowa have never gone on to win in New Hampshire. However, Iowa results may not be determinative but they do have an influence. The winner in Iowa typically gets a 10-15 point bump-up in New Hampshire. But not this year. Huckabee’s win in Iowa is tempered by McCain’s 3rd place showing. McCain exceeded expectations and in doing so is also considered a winner. Huckabee gets a 6 point bounce, McCain a 7 point bounce. McCain also gets air under his wings from Thompson’s endorsement and crushes all other candidates in a landslide victory.

Michigan [January 15 – 30 delegates]: Michigan is supposed to be an easy win for Romney. After all, it is one of his many “home states.” However, he has been damaged by losses in Iowa and New Hampshire and Michigan voters have started to question his integrity. Huckabee’s identification with voters as being someone like those they work with, rather than the boss who fired them is well received and Huckabee wins Michigan to everyone’s surprise. The media is shocked and “establishment” Republicans bombard the print media and air-waves with every negative Huckabee comment that can be said.

South Carolina [January 19 – 24 delegates]: Huckabee has had a big lead in South Carolina for some time. His wins in Iowa, Wyoming, and Michigan propel him to a landslide of the type that McCain had in New Hampshire.

Nevada [January 19 – 34 delegates]: Romney wins in Nevada. The Republican establishment does everything it can to focus attention on Nevada rather than South Carolina, but the margin of victory in South Carolina ultimately wins the attention of voters.

Florida [January 29 – 57 delegates]: Huckabee’s landslide victory in South Carolina propels him to victory in Florida which was supposed to be Rudy Giuliani’s firewall state. Giuliani has been campaigning in Florida almost exclusively for the last month and the Republican establishment is shocked and scared. Unless something drastic happens on Super Tuesday they are going to be stuck with this evangelical as their candidate. Horrors! Romney’s hopes are crushed at this point, but he refuses to get out of the race because he spent his entire time as Governor of Massachusetts preparing to run for President and he has spent so much of his own money. There are rumors that Ron Paul is considering getting out of the Republican Race now and moving to another party. However, nothing like that happens…yet.

Super Tuesday – February 5

Louisiana [47 delegates] – The folk in Louisianna remember the person who was one of their best friends in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Huckabee wins BIG!

Alabama [48 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Alaska [29 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Arizona [53 delegates] – John McCain

Arkansas [48 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

California [173 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Colorado [46 delegates] – John McCain

Connecticut [30 delegates] – John McCain

Delaware [18 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Georgia [72 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Illinois [70 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Maine [21 delegates] – Mitt Romney

Massachusetts [43 delegates] – John McCain. Yes, that’s right. Mitt Romney cannot carry the state of which he was a governor.

Minnesota [41 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Missouri [58 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Montana [25 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

New Jersey [52 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

New York [101 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

North Dakota [26 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Oklahoma [41 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Tennessee [55 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Utah [36 delegates] – Mitt Romney

The states use a weird algorithm for designating delegates so it is difficult to figure out exactly what the delegate total is, but by the end of Super Tuesday the candidates have approximately the following number of delegates:

Mike Huckabee – 702
Mitt Romney – 91
John McCain – 186
Rudy Giuliani – 367

With just a little more than 1,000 delegates in the remaining states Mitt Romney realizes he cannot win the nomination. Attempting to salvage his bid, he approaches Rudy Giuliani about the possibility of a VP slot if he throws his support by Giuliani and helps him win enough delegates to take the lead away from Mike Huckabee. Giuliani promises Romney nothing but welcomes his support.

McCain also gets out of the race at this point and give his explicit nod to Huckabee but without a formal endorsement.

Huckabee and Giuliani look to the final 23 states.

Kansas [February 9 – 39 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Washington [February 9/19 – 40 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

District of Columbia [February 12 – 19 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Maryland [February 12 – 37 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Virginia [February 12 – 63 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Wisconsin [February 19 – 4o delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Ohio [March 4 – 88 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Rhode Island [March 4 – 20 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

Texas [March 4 – 140 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Vermont [March 4 – 17 delegates] – Rudy Giuliani

By March 4 it appears that there is no way that Rudy Giuliani can win enough delegates to win the nomination. However, he does not drop out and rumors run wild about a coup that will take place at the Republican convention. The Republican Party appears to be about to tear itself apart and there are calls for an agreement to be made for both Huckabee and Giuliani to be on the ticket. However, Huckabee supporters are concerned about a candidate with Giuliani’s social positions and there is a minor uprising. The process goes on.

Mississippi [March 11 – 39 delegates] – Mike Huckabee

Rudy meets with Mike Huckabee and promises to support him in whatever roll Mike Huckabee sees fit. Huckabee does not promise him a place on the ticket, but does indicate his respect for Giuliani and encourages him saying that America will need him in the coming days.

Most of the Republican Party begins to work at pulling itself together for the general election.

However, Mitt Romney announces that after an epiphany he has now become pro-choice. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich work together to form a new political party called United For Ourselves which becomes known as the UFO Party. And, Rush Limbaugh claims that he is responsible for Mike Huckabee’s win.

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