No Moderation

Interesting article from today's Boston Globe. I've yet to read that McCullough book on Truman, but it's on my short list.

Ex-presidents' big payday - The Boston Globe:

WHEN HARRY Truman left the White House in 1953, historian David McCullough records, "he had no income or support of any kind from the federal government other than his Army pension of $112.56 a month. He was provided with no government funds for secretarial help or office space, not a penny of expense money." To tide him over for the transition back to private life, Truman had to take out a bank loan. One of the reasons he and his wife moved back into their far-from-elegant old house in Independence, Mo., "was that financially they had little other choice."

Nevertheless, Truman refused to cash in on his celebrity and influence as a former president. He turned down lucrative offers, such as the one from a Florida real estate developer inviting him to become "chairman, officer, or stockholder, at a figure of not less than $100,000." He wouldn't make commercial endorsements, accept "consulting" fees, or engage in lobbying. He wouldn't even take the free car that Toyota offered him as a gesture of improved Japanese-American relations.

"I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable," Truman later wrote, "that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency." He did sell the rights to his memoirs for a handsome sum to Life magazine. But he turned down every other enticement to trade on his former position for private gain.

Half a century later, Truman's rectitude seems as quaint and obsolete as George Washington's wooden teeth.

I particularly liked Rick's connection between making the law-gospel distinction and the assurance of salvation. I can totally relate. If I look to my own performance (vs looking to the performance of Christ alone - on the cross) than I only become discouraged and doubting b/c I know I'll never pull it off.


Click for Rick Richtie's thoughts on Law - Gospel

"When I discovered Systematic Theology, and especially the distinction between Law and Gospel, I was able to recover the assurance I had lost earlier. I was able to return to my previous conviction that Christ's death could get me into heaven despite my sin, or flabby repentance. Let's be clear about this. There are probably not very many people who imagine that Christ's death didn't pay for all the sins of those he suffered for. What goes into question is whether faith in that is enough to keep the connection despite sins."

Thought I'd post this b/c it is such a good summary of glory theology vs. cross theology - - - Tom

A Theology of Glory and a Theology of the Cross by Don Matzat:

Living in a theology of the Cross never makes you any "better" than anyone else. Every day in every way you are not getting better and better. In fact, the preaching of Law and Gospel will not lead you to an awareness of your holiness, but rather to greater awareness of the depth of your sin. As a result, you will develop an ever-increasing faith in and appreciation for the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.

Your witness will focus upon the work of the Cross, not upon your experience of getting saved, sanctified, or becoming more spiritual. You have taken no step toward God or arrived at any higher level of holiness. You don’t talk about your spirituality. You talk about the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

When dealing with these issues on the radio, I often encounter opposition. People will fight to defend their theology of glory. I often challenge them to share their testimony without ever talking about themselves. I have developed the pet phrase, "This thing called Christianity – it’s not about you!"

Martin Luther accurately defined sin as man turning in on himself. While a theology of glory continues to turn you to yourself as you measure your growth in holiness against a plethora of spiritual experiences, the theology of the Cross turns you away from yourself. As a result of the conviction of the Law, you forsake your own good works and spiritual experiences and cling to the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Gotta love the Wii. Check this out from endgadet....

Horn Swoggled has some great Lutheran satire - think of it as the Onion for the Wittenberg crowd.

Nondenominational Church: "Did We Say Lutherans?"

A non-denominational church in St. Louis has fired its marketing director after a series of online advertisements featured the headline, "Lutherans welcome." Ever since the ads appeared on relevant blogs and other websites, the church has been beseiged by people who believe things. " We want to reach out to people of all denominations," said Pastor Don Shallows of Big Life Community Church. "We also have ads targeting unhappy Methodists, unhappy Baptists, and even unhappy Muslims.

"But when we say 'Lutherans welcome,' we're not actually referring to people who believe Lutheran teaching. That's going a bit too far."

Since the Google ads began appearing on Lutheran websites, the 1,000-member congregation has been plagued by controversy. It started when a small group of Lutherans grumbled about a 10-week message series on Biblical parenting, because it didn't center on the cross of Christ.

When church leaders ignored their complaints, the Lutherans enlisted several Roman Catholics, and began openly making the sign of the cross at the conclusion of prayers.

What advances the sinner on the way to righteousness? The utter futility of human work in contributing toward this advance has now been exposed....
- Gerhard Forde from On Being a Theologian of the Cross

Please be patient (not like anyone is reading anyway), b/c I'm not done editing this new template.

"The first commandment assumes that before you had God, He had you."
- - Patrick Miller via Pastor Priest.

Check out this amazing thread on one of my favorite sites - adventure rider. This guy is a fantastic storyteller. Short story - guy enters the Paris-Dakar rally, which for all you not in the know is a race across the North African desert and is prob. the most dangerous and thrilling road race on the planet. All types of vehicles race in this thing - motorcycles, rally cars, trucks, huge Unimogs, etc... Think Mad Max across the desert. These guys and girls are straight up Chuck Norris tough.

Anyway, Guy crashes. Guy gets airlifted to the Canary Islands and the medical adventure begins. Good times and a GREAT read.

Dakar crash - ADVrider

Buy this book. Amazing, and important - run don't walk to your nearest store or just click this link!

Interesting article from today's NY Times - makes me think of the old adage, "When you're pointing the finger, you've got 3 pointing back at you." I always hated that saying.

Click here for article

This is a great post by Uwe Simeon-Netto from Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis talking about the problems of Lutherans not stepping up in the public realm. He equates some of the problem a the loss of Two Kingdom theology. I think his criticism is fair and that often Lutherans huddle up too much.

Most non Lutherans I've talked with are blown away and hungry for the gospel and specifically for the Lutheran - biblical views on sin, the human condition and on the forgiveness of sins.

Simul Justus et Peccator

T

We Are Needed

I'm a Lutheran and theological junkie so I thought I'd wish all you guys a Happy Reformation Day! It's the day Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg setting in motion the Reformation which would reshape Western civilization. Amazing.



Reformation Day

Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and Reformed church communities. It takes place on October 31 and is an official holiday in many countries. It coincides with Halloween, the eve before All Saints' Day.

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran, Reformed and Anabaptist traditions were born.

Within the Lutheran church, Reformation Day is considered a minor festival, and is officially referred to as The Festival of the Reformation. Until the 20th Century, most Lutheran churches celebrated Reformation Day on October 31st, regardless of which day of the week it occurred. Today, most Lutheran churches transfer the festival, so that it falls on the Sunday (called Reformation Sunday) on or before October 31st and transfer All Saints' Day to the Sunday on or after November 1st.

The liturgical color of the day is red, which represents the Holy Spirit and the Martyrs of the Christian Church. Luther's hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God is traditionally sung on this day. Lutherans customarily stand during the hymn, in memory of its use in the religious wars of the Sixteenth Century.

It is also traditional in some Lutheran schools for schoolchildren to hold Reformation Day plays or pageants that re-enact scenes from the life of Martin Luther.

Great post over at Beggars All on Justification - -

Beggars All: The Crucial Creation/Justification Link

Cranach -- The blog of Gene Edward Veith: "Controlling the future/Changing the past

The discussion of vows reminded me of something I heard in a sermon long ago:

The one way to control the future is to make a promise.

The one way to change the past is to forgive."

I wonder why I post stuff up anymore anyway? I don't think ANYONE actually reads anything, but alas if someone stumbles here I'm attaching a link to a very interesting article in today's NYTIMES. It actually displaced that crazy what Shamu taught me about relationships article as the most viewed article today. There maybe a connection between that Shamu article and the one below and if there is it's probably got to do with low anthropology. Check it out.

He Who Cast the First Stone Probably Didn’t - New York Times

Arminianism & Semi-Pelagianism: "

'What the Arminian wants to do is to arouse man's activity: what we want to do is to kill it once for all---to show him that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not now at all equal to the work of conversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up: we seek to bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God, and that his business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, 'Lord, save, or we perish.' We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all. When he says, 'I can pray, I can believe, I can do this, and I can do the other,' marks of self-sufficiency and arrogance are on his brow.'
- C. H. Spurgeon"

I've been checking out the Mars Hill on the web for the better part of the last year. Mark Driscoll - their Senior Pastor is doing some great things - check out his interview in Chrisitanity Today. He's like a younger more profane Tim Keller out in Seattle.

Men Are from Mars Hill - Christianity Today Magazine:

"Are young people becoming more sympathetic to Reformed theology?
The two hot theologies today are Reformed and emerging. Reformed theology offers certainty, with a masculine God who names our sin, crushes Jesus on the Cross for it, and sends us to hell if we fail to repent. Emerging theology offers obscurity, with a neutered God who would not say an unkind word to us, did not crush Jesus for our sins, and would not send anyone to hell. I came to Reformed theology by preaching through books of the Bible such as Exodus, Romans, John, and Revelation, along with continually repenting of my sin. I am, however, a boxers, not briefs, Reformed guy. I am pretty laid back about it and not uptight and tidy like many Reformed guys."

The New Criterion — The forgotten founder: John Witherspoon:

"Who is the most unfairly neglected American Founding Father? You might think that none can be unfairly neglected, so many books about that distinguished coterie have been published lately. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington—whom have I left out? It has been a literary festival of Founders these last few years, and a good thing, too. But there is one figure, I believe, who has yet to get his due, and that is John Witherspoon (1723–1794). This Scotch Presbyterian divine came to America to preside over a distressed college in Princeton, New Jersey, and wound up transmitting to the colonies critical principles of the Scottish Enlightenment and helped to preside over the birth and consolidation of American independence."

Big Words of the Bible
As discussed on the 9/11/05 edition of The White Horse Inn

Repentance (Gk. meta-noia) Literally, the Greek word underlying repentance means "change of mind." Another similar Greek word is meta-melomai, which is best translated change of feeling, or "regret." Thus the underlying word for repentance is somewhat distinct from feeling sorry, etc., but primarily has to do with a change of mind which results in new actions. For example, in Luke 3:3 Jesus says to "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance." This statement does not make sense if repentance is interepreted as "doing acts of penance," for why would one need to add good works to the act of doing good works? The sense of this passage then is to bear fruit in keeping with a new outlook, having been converted to God's way of seeing the world. Finally, as with faith, repentance is spoken of in the NT as being a gift of God. See for example Acts 11:18, "to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Conversion (Gk. epistrophe). Turning, returning. From the New Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: "The noun (found in Acts 15:3) denotes both the act in which a man turns again to God and the Divine activity by virtue of which this takes place." See for example Jer. 31:18 "Turn thou me and I shall be turned."

Propitiation (Gk. hilasmos). To turn aside wrath. To appease. The word is a close cousin of the adjective hilaron, meaning "cheerful" (the Greek root of our modern English word "hilarious"). From Webster: "The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious." There are six primary NT texts in which a the term is found (Luke 18:13, Rom. 3:25, Heb. 2:17, 9:5, 1John 2:2, and 4:10). In the Romans 3 passage, the form of the noun Paul uses is hilasterion, which is the term used in Greek translations of the OT to translate "mercy-seat," the place on which the blood of sacrifice was to be sprinkled (Lev. 16:12-17) in the inner shrine of the ancient Jewish temple. In fact the only other place this form of the word occurs in the NT is Heb. 9:5, where it is generally translated "mercy-seat." Most therefore see hilasmos as the "act of propitiation" and hilasterion as "the place of propitiation." Paul, then, in Rom. 3:25 appears to be suggesting that Christ is the ultimate mercy-seat, or place in which God's wrath has been turned aside from us. The verbal form hilaskomai is found in Heb. 2:17 and Luke 18:13. The Luke 18 passage is generally translated "God be merciful to me a sinner," but though the concepts of mercy and propitiation are closely related, a more accurate translation would be, "God, be propitious to me, a sinner." Some modern translations have unfortunately replaced the term propitiation with words such as "atonement" (NIV) to simply some of the Biblical terminology.

Expiation (Gk. katarismos). Purification or cleansing. See Hebrews 1:3b, "After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (ESV). From Webster's: "The act of making satisfaction or atonement for any crime or fault; the extinguishing of guilt by suffering or penalty." We get our modern word "catharsis / cathartic" from this Greek word underlying expiation. The RSV unfortunately uses expiation to translate hilosmos and hilasterion, but those terms would better be translated as propitiation, because it communicates more than purification, but also the appeasement of a wrathful God.

Redemption (Gk. apolutrosis). From BDAG: "Buying back a slave or captive, i.e. making free by payment of a ransom." From Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: "The central theme of redemption in Scripture is that God has taken the initiative to act compassionately on behalf of those who are powerless to help themselves. The NT makes clear that divine redemption includes God's identification with humanity in its plight, and the securing of liberation of humankind through the obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection of the incarnate Son." See Heb. 9:12 and 1Cor. 6:19-20.

Imputation (Gk. logizomai). To credit, think, account or reckon. Though Christ was personally sinless, God treated him "as if" he were a sinner during his time on the cross. Thus, our sin was imputed or credited to his account. In the same way, we are personally sinful and unclean, but God credits us with the active and passive obedience of Christ, and treats us "as if" we are totally righteous. The means by which we receive this credit or imputation is not works, but simple trust in the finished work of Christ, as Paul teaches in Rom. 4:5, "to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Imputation then is the most crucial component of the doctrine of justification, which is itself the heart of the gospel.

Justification (Gk. dikaiow). To declare or pronounce righteous. God declares a sinner to be righteous the moment the sinner, despairing of his own inherent righteousness, clings to the righteousness of Christ as sufficient for presenting him to God as holy and without blame. It is a declaration, and not a process; it occurs at the beginning of the Christian life, not at the end; it is merited by Christ, not in any sense by the believer; it is complete, not partial; it is declared on the basis of Christs righteousness, not the believers, and it is received by faith alone, not by faith and obedience. The believing sinner is changed and will continue to change, but such changes effected by God in the soul are in no way the basis for justification. From Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: "The verb translated 'to justify' clearly means 'to declare righteous.' It is used of God in a quotation, which the NIV renders 'So that you may be proved right when you speak' (Rom. 3:4); the NRSV has more exactly, 'So that you may be justified in your words.' Now God cannot be 'made righteous'; the expression obviously means 'shown to be righteous' and this helps us see that when the word is applied to believers it does not mean 'made righteous.'"

Sanctification (Gk. hagiazein). To make holy. With justification, we are declared righteous by God, not on the basis of what we have done, but because we are linked to the righteousness Christ by faith. But sanctification is the process in which we improve in holiness here and now. The former is the basis of our standing before God in heaven, the latter is earthly and always imperfect. A clear passage making this distinction is Hebrews 10:14: "by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." From A.A. Hodge: "Sanctification is the work of God's grace by which those who believe in Christ are freed from sin and built up in holiness. In Protestant theology it is distinguished from justification and regeneration, both of which lie at its root, and from neither of which is it separable in fact...both regeneration and justification are momentary acts, and acts of God in which the sinner is passive; sanctification, on the other hand, is a progressive work of God, in which the sinner co-operates."

Predestination (Gk. pro-oridzow). To decide in advance. From the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: "Divine predestination means that God has a purpose that is determined long before it is brought to pass. It implies that God is infinitely capable of planning and then bringing about what he has planned, and Scripture speaks of him as doing this (Isa 14:24-27; 22:11; 37:26; 44:7-8; 46:8-10). Prophecy in its predictive mode is to be understood accordingly. God plans and makes his plans known, as he chooses, to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). God's purpose is one of love and grace (Deut 7:6-8; Isa 41:8-9), above all because in love he predestined what should come to pass in his plan to save and to restore sinful humanity through Christ (Eph 1:5). Colossians 1:26 speaks of this purpose as 'the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now is disclosed.' This implies that all that is in God's good purpose for us, individually or as part of the people of God, is by God's initiative and thus is a work of grace, something that we could never instigate or deserve (Deut 9:4-6; 2 Tim 1:9)." See also Acts 13:48, Rom 8:29 - 9:24, and Eph 1:1-11.

Regeneration From A.A. Hodge: "A theological term used to express the initial stage of the change experienced by one who enters upon the Christian life. It is derived from the New Testament, where the "new birth" (1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Titus 3:5; John 3:3-21) is the beginning of that "renewal" which produces the "new creature." See also Acts 16:14: "One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

Gospel (Gk. euangelion). A proclamation of good news (Rom. 1:15-16). The greek root of gospel is the source of the words evangelism (the spreading of good news) and evangelical (one who is gospel centered). It is important to bear in mind here that the word clearly indicates that actual historical events are at the core of the Christian faith. The original disciples were proclaiming good news and were reporting events that actually happened, not eternal principles or mystical speculations (see 2Pet 1:16, 1John 1-3, 1Cor. 15:1-17). From Louw & Nida: "In a number of languages the expression ‘the gospel’ or ‘the good news’ must be rendered by a phrase, for example, ‘news that makes one happy’ or ‘information that causes one joy’ or ‘words that bring smiles’ or ‘a message that causes the heart to be sweet.’"

Will Ferrell - Bush on Global Warming on Transbuddha

It's been a while since I've posted anything on this blog (not that anyone actually reads it anyway). I ran across this frightening yet not suprising article about Oprah and her cult following/cult influence. I think it is further evidence of what Stanly Bloom classified as the gnostic religion of America. Ugh.

USATODAY.com - The divine Miss Winfrey?

An interesting read from an old Issues, Etc. .. (if anyone actually reads this blog)

Issues, Etc. Journal - Spring 1998 - Vol. 3 No. 1

Hitting For The Cycle

What is sanctification? How is it produced? To grow in our Christian faith and life, do we simply go in circles and do the same things over and over again? You got it!

by Don Matzat

On a recent Issues, Etc. interview, we discussed the subject of sanctification. My guest, a Reformed theologian, compared the various views on sanctification with a wind-up doll. When you wind-up the Pentecostal doll, it speaks in tongues. The Reformed doll grabs the third use of the Law. The Holiness doll goes after perfect sanctification. And what about the Lutheran doll? Well, from his perspective, when you wind-up the Lutheran doll it simply goes in circles.

After giving some thought to what he had said, I came to the conclusion that he was right. Lutherans go in circles. Or, to put it into baseball parlance, we hit for the cycle. Let me explain. . .

Think of a baseball diamond. At home plate, put the Law. At first base, the Gospel. At second base, Faith. At third base, Good Works or the Christian Life.

Now then, when an unbeliever steps up to the plate, the first thing he is hit with is the Law. He becomes aware of his sin before God.

This drives him to first base where the Gospel confronts him with the Good News of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

As he rounds first base, the Holy Spirit produces faith causing him to grasp the Good News and rejoice in his salvation.

As he rounds second base, faith, being no idle notion, brings the Holy Spirit, and produces good works. His life is changed as he motors to the Good Works of third base.

In the third base coaching box there are a variety of coaches holding up the "stop" sign.

"Stop," they cry. "Come over here and speak in tongues to get really holy." Others offer the dream of perfect sanctification. Some promote their own evangelical house rules – don’t drink, smoke, dance, or go to movies. Some theologians of the Reformation group are debating the third use of the Law.

The Apostle Paul is also in the coaches box waving the runner through. "Get to home plate," he shouts. "Keep going! Don’t stop at third base."

So the runner rounds third and heads for home saying to himself, "Wow! I am really a good, holy Christian."

As he gets to home plate, he is in for a surprise. He gets nailed by the Law again. This time, though, it is not Romans 1 and 2, but rather Romans 7.

"So, you think you are really hot stuff," the Law says to him. "Quite a good Christian, eh? You are merely a wretched man born out of the wretched root of your father Adam."

Filled with sorrow and contrition, he wanders back up the first base line declaring, "Almighty God, merciful Father, I a poor, miserable sinner. . ." This time, as he gets to first base, he not only hears the Good News of forgiveness, but his pastor is waiting for him with words of absolution – "I forgive you!" He also hears Jesus saying to him, "Take and eat, this is my Body and Blood given for your forgiveness."

"This is fantastic," he cries as his faith is again built up and his heart is filled with great joy. He heads toward second base renewed in his faith. As a result, his behavior, actions, and attitudes are again being adjusted.

This time, as he arrives at third base, the coaches box is filled to overflowing. Everyone wants him to stop. One former football coach offers "Promise Keeping." Someone else wants to put a "What would Jesus do?" bracelet on his wrist. Bearded psychologists are there offering self-esteem, support groups, and help for his wounded inner child.

The apostle Paul is still there waving him home. But this time he is being backed up with some of the saints of the past – Martin Luther and C.F.W. Walther.

So our faithful baserunner heads back to home plate only to get clobbered with the Law again.

He continues to run the bases and his understanding of sin deepens. He grows in the knowledge of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. His Faith increases and good works freely flow from his life. Much to his amazement, as he reads the Bible, he discovers that this is exactly what God wants for him.

As he grows, he learns to love the worship of the Church. He discovers that various elements of the liturgy deal with either the Law, Gospel, Faith, or Good Works.

The traditional hymnody of the Church enhances his experience of Christian growth. He sings with enthusiasm "Alas, My God, My Sins are Great," "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness," "My Faith Looks Up to Thee," and "May We Thy Precepts Lord Fulfill." In so doing, he is running the bases again and growing.

So, we go in circles! Fight the good fight, and run the good race, but whatever you do – don’t stop at third base!

As a Park Sloper, I'm sad to say I'm not completely suprised by this nonsense, but it makes for an interesting read nonetheless. Check the below link to the article in Gawker.

The Park Slope Hat Spat: Read All the Emails - Gawker:

" few weeks ago, a member of the Park Slope Parents e-mail forum who’d encountered a stray piece of winterwear in the neighborhood posted a notice to the group titled “Found: boy’s hat.” … [S]ubscriber “Lisa” went public with her problems regarding the gender-specifying description of the hat. Wondering how such a categorization would feel to a spiky-hat-wearing girl, Lisa wrote, “It’s innocent little comments like this that I find the most hurtful.” A third member responded soon after, saying such political correctness drove her “up the wall,” and a heated discussion ensued. Lisa’s supporters questioned their opponents’ commitment to “the free interchange of ideas and questions” … while an opposing faction expressed facetious dismay that the original poster, who had described the hat as likely belonging to “an older child,” was not more considerate toward “younger children who happen to have large heads.” … [O]ne poster questioned the use of “hat,” asking if the object might be more sensitively labeled a “soft, porous bowl.”

It’s all pleasantly, kookily amusing, right? Not quite. In summarized form, yes, it’s amusing enough. But we had a chance to read the entire exchange — stretching on for days, with charges of political correctness and anti-political correctness, sexism and stereotyping — and we’re much less amused. The whole thing is after the jump; prepare to be intrigued, amazed, disgusted — and quite certain you could never, ever be paid enough to move out there."

The Park Slope Hat Spat: Read All the Emails - Gawker: