“Whatever has been rightly said by the heathen, we must appropriate to our uses.”

A couple of posts ago we discussed the utility of the academic discipline of philosophy in the study of theology.  I mentioned that the minister of God…

…has a responsibility to have the subjects of his calling and profession well in hand.  And there IS a role for having at least a rudimentary understanding of important philosophical concepts as they apply to doctrine and theology.  This can be demonstrated from church history, as some of the most important ecumenical councils of the church applied philosophical language and concepts in settling important matters of doctrine in opposition to heretical teachings being introduced into the church.

One of the greatest theologians of the church, Augustine (354-430 A.D.), said that Christians should in a sense “plunder the Egyptians.” In other words, now that they are Christians they should not be afraid to take the “gold and silver” from the pagan world of learning and appropriate them to God’s purposes. All such disciplines should, where appropriate, be devoted such ”to their proper use in preaching the gospel.”  Here’s an excerpt from one of Augustine’s writings, On Christian Doctrine:

WHATEVER HAS BEEN RIGHTLY SAID BY THE HEATHEN, WE MUST APPROPRIATE TO OUR USES:

Moreover, if those who are called philosophers… have said aught that is true and in harmony with our faith, we are not only not to shrink from it, but to claim it for our own use from those who have unlawful possession of it. For, as the Egyptians had not only the idols and heavy burdens which the people of Israel hated and fled from, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and garments, which the same people when going out of Egypt appropriated to themselves, designing them for a better use, not doing this on their own authority, but by the command of God, the Egyptians themselves, in their ignorance, providing them with things which they themselves were not making a good use of; in the same way all branches of heathen learning have not only false and superstitious fancies and heavy burdens of unnecessary toil, which every one of us, when going out under the leadership of Christ from the fellowship of the heathen, ought to abhor and avoid; but they contain also liberal instruction which is better adapted to the use of the truth, and some most excellent precepts of morality; and some truths in regard even to the worship of the One God are found among them. Now these are, so to speak, their gold and silver, which they did not create themselves, but dug out of the mines of God’s providence which are everywhere scattered abroad, and are perversely and unlawfully prostituting to the worship of devils. These, therefore, the Christian, when he separates himself in spirit from the miserable fellowship of these men, ought to take away from them, and to devote to their proper use in preaching the gospel. Their garments, also,–that is, human institutions such as are adapted to that intercourse with men which is indispensable in this life,–we must take and turn to a Christian use. (Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, translated by DW Robertson, Jr.)

What do you think?  I welcome your comments… (SEK)

This is the testimony of my friend and brother in Christ, Joel Upton, concerning his mother’s battle with cancer. Powerful. Watch it!

‘Inquiry should be made more strictly after his other learning, and whether he hath skill in logic and philosophy’.
- Directory for the Ordination of Ministers,

Westminster Assembly of Divines, 1643

Recently I was talking with a friend in the ministry, and we were exchanging thoughts about coursework in our ongoing seminary studies.  In the course of our discussion I happened to mention that one of the books I was having to read for an upcoming course on the doctrine of God was very philosophical.  I told him I was finding it ”over my head” in respect to its discussion of modal logic and its application to the classic evangelical understanding of God’s nature.  I was taken back when he shrugged it off and said, “Aaah, that stuff’s not useful or important… the average Christian isn’t interested.” 

Perhaps, but does that render it unimportant?  As a pharmacist, I was required to study in great detail the pharmacological mechanisms, toxicities, adverse effects, medical uses, etc., of drugs in pharmacy school.  The vast majority of persons who are prescribed the drugs I dispense couldn’t care less about most of these things.  They just want it to work.  They want it to do what it’s supposed to do.  But does that mean that I wasted my time studying these things in such detail?  Hardly.  As an expert in medicine, my patients expect me to know these things.  Indeed, I have an ethical and legal RESPONSIBILITY to know these things.  They are relying on my knowledge to keep them safe.

Similarly, a theolgian/minister (any minister worth his salt will also be a theologian) has a responsibility to have the subjects of his calling and profession well in hand.  And there IS a role for having at least a rudimentary understanding of important philosophical concepts as they apply to doctrine and theology.  This can be demonstrated from church history, as some of the most important ecumenical councils of the church applied philosophical language and concepts in settling important matters of doctrine in opposition to heretical teachings being introduced into the church.

To illustrate this, Paul Helm, one of my favorite professors of all time writes the following:

 A BIT OF LOGIC

There are important differences between:(1) (p and q), and
(2) not both (p and not-p) and
(3) (p entails q).

That’s the bit of logic. What it is says is that there’s a significant logical difference between two propositions being consistent (1) , two propositions being inconsistent by being self-contradictory (2), and one proposition entailing another proposition, such that if the first proposition is true, then the second proposition must be true (3).

This may seem abstract and remote. Abstract it is, but not remote. By neglecting such simple, basic logical distinctions some are led to some ludicrous ideas about systematic theology.

In our Sunday morning my Connection Group I am teaching a series entitled, “God in the Old Testament.”  This week we looked at God’s revelation of Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3).  The very first thing Moses encountered in this experience was God’s holiness:

Then He said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (verse 5)

God is a holy God.  In his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges writes:

God is often called in Scripture by such names as the Holy One, or the Holy One of Israel.  Holy…is used more often as a prefix to His name than any other attribute.  Holiness is God’s crown.

We see this in Isaiah 6, where Isaiah records his vision of the LORD in His temple.  The seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).  Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree, and that is His holiness. 

But there is more.  We must not only recognize God’s holiness, but we are to be holy ourselves.  Quoting from the Old Testament book of Leviticus, the apostle Peter writes:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

Meditate with me on the holiness of God today.  Consider Peter’s admonition of the Lord’s command to, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  Will you pursue God’s holiness today?

With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health.  We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the embecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of everyone to the last moment.  There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution formerly would have succumbed to small-pox.  Thus the weak members of civilized societies propogate their kind.  No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.  It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant ast to allow his worst animals to breed…. We must therefore bear the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind…”  (Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1879, London: Penguin Books, p. 159)

Outline:

1. Womanhood
2. Race
3. Abortion
4. Prophetic perspective
5. Sovereignty of God
6. Gospel

NOTE: In this video you will note that Piper does not attempt to tell you who to vote for.

A news article from the UK Telegraph reports that infamous atheist Richard Dawkins is stepping down from his post at Oxford University to study the effect of fairy tales on children and write a book aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in “anti-scientific” fairytales.  

Dawkins, the bestselling author of The God Delusion, who this week agreed to fund a series of atheist adverts on London buses, states that his new book will also set out to demolish what he calls the “Judeo-Christian myth.” 

Blogger Justin Taylor states, “For a Christian perspective on fairy stories, I know of nothing better than Tolkien’s essay, On Fairy-Stories.”  Here’s the essay in PDF.

Watch and listen carefully to this song and video from Casting Crowns entitled, “Slow Fade.”

Here are the lyrics…

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you’re thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

A very helpful article by Dr. John Piper…

1. Can you earnestly do all the parts of this job “to the glory of God,” that is, in a way that highlights his superior value over all other things? “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

2. Is taking this job part of a strategy to grow in personal holiness? “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

3. Will this job help or hinder your progress in esteeming the value of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord? “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7).

4. Will this job result in inappropriate pressures on you to think or feel or act against your King, Jesus? “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23).

5. Will this job help establish an overall life-pattern that will yield a significant involvement in fulfilling God’s great purpose of exalting Christ among all the unreached peoples of the world? “Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

6. Will this job be worthy of your best energies? “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

7. Will the activities and environment of this job tend to shape you or will you be able to shape it for the Christ-magnifying purposes of God? “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

8. Will this job provide an occasion for you to be radically Christian so as to let your light shine for your Father’s sake, or will your participation in the vision of the firm tend by definition to snuff your wick? “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

9. Does the aim of this job cohere with a growing intensity in your life to be radically, publicly, fruitfully devoted to Christ at any cost? “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

10. Will the job feel like a good investment of your life when these “two seconds” of preparation for eternity are over? “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

11. Does this job fit with why you believe you were created and purchased by Christ? “Everyone who is called by my name…I have created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6-7). “You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

12. Does this fit together with the ultimate truth that all things exist for Christ? “For by him all…have been created by [Christ] and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

A final post to round out last week’s discussion of the ancient debate over the nature of human freedom. In this clip, Dr. Bruce Ware discusses the differences between the compatiblist view and the libertarian view.

Read James, chapter 3, then watch this video.  Perhaps you’ll find it as convicting as I did…

A continuation of yesterday’s post on the “domino” effect of our views of divine sovereignty and human freedom.  In this case, how does our theological understanding of these issues effect our view of the absolute inerrancy of Scripture? Watch this clip of one of my very favorite professors at Southern Seminary, Dr. Bruce Ware, speak to this issue…

What is the nature of human freedom? Some of the most important debates in the history of the Church have centered on questions like this: Augustine vs. Pelagius, Luther vs. Erasmus, Calvin vs. Pighius, the Remonstrants vs. the Synod of Dort, Wesley vs. Whitefield, to mention a few. It is unquestionably true that how one understands free agency and its relation to divine sovereignty will affect large areas of his theology, worldview, faith and practice.  As Robert Louis Dabney so well expressed:

The nature of free agency constitutes much the most important problem in the whole range of philosophy. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to claim for it an importance greater than all the rest of philosophy together, after man’s rationality is admitted. The connections of this problem with theology are manifold and vital. As is one’s philosophy of the will, such, if he is a consistent thinker, must be his theory of providence, of foreknowledge, of the decree, of original sin, of regeneration, of the perseverance of the saints, of responsibility. The most momentous things to man, in all the universe of space and time, are responsibility, sin, penalty, and redemption. But one of the clearest of our intuitions tells us that free agency is essential to a just responsibility, to guilt and merit, to reward and penalty. What, then, is free agency? What are its real conditions? This must ever be the question of questions. (Robert Louis Dabney, “Discussions”)

Much of the controversy over free will in the contemporary church is perpetuated by misunderstandings and caricatures of the issues rather than on true understanding of the issues. 

“It is strange how people, when talking about free-will, talk of things which they do not at all understand,” Charles Spurgeon once said.  This certainly seems to be true of many Southern Baptists today. Unfortunately, some of the most popular “expositions” on the subjects of free will, Calvinism, Hyper-Calvinism, and Arminianism have also been some of the most inaccurate and misleading, and have therefore served only to muddy the waters that much more. Incredibly, many of these inaccurate and misleading assessments have come from persons who have earned doctoral degrees and/or faculty appointments at Southern Baptist seminaries. D.A. Carson in his book, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension, makes the following observation concerning the way in which denominational leaders handle these issues which, ultimately, boil down to one’s views on what he calls the ‘sovereignty-responsibility tension’:

I would be prepared to argue that any Christian leader’s handling of the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility will affect large areas of his theological understanding, evangelistic practices, and ecclesiastical methods. This is not to say that the tension by itself is determinative, still less the camp of one ecclesiastical or theological tradition. Nevertheless, the sovereignty-responsibility tension certainly affects the outlook of the individual. More significantly, the local church, or some larger identifiable group such as a denomination or a segment of a denomination, is massively influenced by the shape of the sovereignty-responsibility tension which is promulgated (implicitly or explicitly) within its borders and believed to be true.

Carson is exactly right, and we can see evidence of the truth of this assertion both today, and throughout the history of the church.  Truly, how we understand one doctrine can have a far-reaching ”domino effect” on how we ultimately understand other doctrines. 

Here’s a video from Paul Tripp relating to his book, Lost in the Middle: Mid-Life Crisis and the Grace of God.  As a forty-six year old, I can assure you this book is on my “to read” list…

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes:

The evolutionist is locked into an intellectual box from which there is no rescue.  Evolutionary theory is naturalistic by necessity — everything must be explained in purely naturalistic terms.  Only nature can explain nature, and there is no other source of meaning or truth.  Thus, in the end the theory of evolution — and the theory of evolution alone — must explain everything about humanity.

This predicament was made clear in a lecture recently given by geneticist Steve Jones at University College London.  Speaking on his chosen topic, “Evolution is Over,” Jones argued that human evolution has reached an end because of changes in human health and human behavior…

Read the entire article here.

“To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect.”

– John Owen (17th century Puritan)

Several weeks ago I went out on a limb and recommended a book I hadn’t even read yet:  Mark Driscoll’s book, Death by Love: Letters from the Cross.  If you didn’t catch that piece, you can read it by clicking here.  Well, I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive, but one of my favorite reviewer’s, Tim Challies, has read it, and writes:

“Death by Love is unique among Driscoll’s books in that it is serious in tone from the first page to the last; gone is the sometimes-irreverent humor and gone is the biographical theme. In place comes a deadly-serious look at deadly-serious theology. . . . . While I have struggled in the past to recommend Driscoll’s books, I have little hesitation in recommending this one.”

If you want to read Challies’ entire review, you can do so by clicking here.  In the meantime I’ll continue to wait for my copy to arrive!

“If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.” — Martin Luther

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God…”  (1 Peter 4:10-11a)

O that we would all model our speech in this way…after the very pattern of Scripture!