Fear and Trembling

Justin Taylor weights in on the conquest of Canaan here . This is a careful and sober analysis.

Follow the conversation between Charles Simeon and John Wesley here .

God establishes reason, and without Him, we have no reason to be reasonable. We reason by the laws of logic combined with facts we observe. For example, the Law of Non-contradiction, that A cannot be both A and non-A at the same time and in the same relationship. These abstract, conceptual principles must be accounted for if any discussion on any topic is to take place. Only God can account for these laws. His thinking upholds ours. If the laws of logic are based on human thinking, then we have to realize that people are different and the laws may differ from person to person. They are no longer absolute. Some particular examples follow. If the laws of logic are just social conventions, then they are not absolute, and they can be ignored at will. My social network is, after all, different from yours. How do we avoid the conclusion that all of our thinking is not the result of mere instinctive reactions to our environment? Since our environments are all different, we would all reach dif...

Just by telling me that I am a miserable, great sinner you are placing a sword and a weapon into my hand with which I can decisively overcome you; yea, with your own weapon I can kill and floor you. For if you tell me that I am a poor sinner, I, on the other hand, can tell you that Christ dies for sinners and is their Intercessor… You remind me of the boundless, great faithfulness and benefaction of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The burden of my sins and all the trouble and misery that were to oppress me eternally He very gladly took upon His shoulders and suffered the bitter death on the cross for them. To Him I direct you. You may accuse and condemn Him. Let me rest in peace, for on His shoulders, not on mine, lie all my sins and the sins of all the world. Martin Luther

John Calvin, a Sixteenth Century leader of the Protestant Reformation, is a well-known theologian. Calvin is well known for his teaching on divine election, the idea that God sovereignty chooses who will have faith in Christ. In many churches, Calvin is an arch villain who tried to stop evangelism. After all, if God chooses, why should we witness? That is John Calvin as many know him: the stern teacher of election. But what they probably do not know is that Calvin was the leader of one of the largest, most successful church-planting movements in history. Calvin became a Protestant in 1531 at age 22. He soon left his native Paris, France, because of persecution. Most of Calvin’s work was performed in his new home of Geneva, Switzerland. Calvin and The City Council of Geneva had many conflicts. At one point, Calvin was even run out of town. He was asked to return, and after a few years most of his reforms were accepted by The City Council in about 1554. Protestants from all over Europe f...

This is the second in a short series of posts that give arguments for God’s existence. These arguments complement each other. That is, one proves one aspect of God’s nature; another proves another aspect, and so on. My area of professional expertise is industrial engineering, also called “process engineering.” I have spent most of my life in the pursuit of process improvement. I have professionally applied myself to manufacturing processes in several industries. I have looked at ways to improve equipment, organization of jobs, the way human beings interact with machines, and the way humans interact with each other. The purpose of a manufacturing process is to produce quality products, when needed by customers, at minimal cost, in a safe manner. There is one thing I know: a process left to itself does not produce products like that. If we take our hands off the controls, neglect the equipment, or ignore the people doing the work, we get bad products, late shipments, high costs, and incr...

Thanks to In Light of the Gospel for posting a video introduction for Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham. This book is an excellent exploration of the historical evidence for the reliability of the New Testament Gospels. It contains up-to-date scholarly references and Bauckham’s own fresh approach. See an additional review of the book by Ben Witherington here . Witherington applies Backham’s research to various current historical issues here . Another review can be found here . Some endorsements and a less critical review can be found here . Background on Bauckham can be found here .