Last Minute Resurrection Sunday Thought

Resurrection Sunday is almost over but our worship of our Resurrected Lord and Savior doesn’t end.

Had a good service today and reflected much on our Rock of Salvation.

I’ve been reflecting on this verse: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” (John 19:34)

 

Something about that imagery is so painful to picture.  He did all that for the sins of those who would trust in Him.

What a provision He has provided for us.

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Bart Ehrman’s Fallacious Argument from Silence in his book, “Did Jesus Exist?”

As I slowly make my way through agnostic Bart Ehrman’s latest book, Did Jesus Exist?, I can’t help but to notice the logical fallacies.  For instance, about a week ago I posted on Bart Ehrman’s straw man and contradiction against the fundamentalists.  Three weeks ago I posted on his fallacy of a false dilemma.

Today’s post will focus on the fallacy of argument from silence.

Ehrman knows that an argument from silence is a fallacy.  That’s because he’s able to identify it as a fallacy when others commit it.  For instance, in talking about Rene Salm, who denies the historical existence of the town of Nazareth, Ehrman writes

The most recent critic to dispute the existence of Nazareth is Rene Salm, who has devoted an entire book to the question, called The Myth of Nazereth…Like so many mythicists before him, Salm emphasizes what scholars have long known: Nazareth is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the writings of Josephus, or in the Talmud.  It first shows up in the Gospels.  Salm is also impressed by the fact that the early generations of Christians did not seek out the place but rather ignored it and seem not to know where it was (this is actually hard to show; how would we know this about ‘every’ early Christian, unless all of them left us writings and told us everything they knew and did?).” (Page 193)

A Slam Dunk on Salm.  After all, silence only proves…silence. And don’t forget the difficulty of proving a universal negative.  Note how Ehrman calls out Salm that he does not know what every early Christian have done in their lives and therefore Salm can not establish his premise that no early Christians ever looked for Nazareth.

Does Ehrman commit the same fallacy?

Here’s an example of Bart Ehrman’s argument from silence in Did Jesus Exists? :

Before the Christian movement, there were no Jews who thought the messiah was going to suffer.” (Page 173; emphasis not in original)

No Jews?  To apply Ehrman’s own refutation quoted earlier against himself: “this is actually hard to show; how would we know…” “unless all of them left us writings and told us everything they knew and did?” (Page 193).

The same problem applies to the following:

According to Luke’s story, a tax was imposed on ‘all the world’ by Caesar Augustus, and everyone had to register for a census.  Since Joseph’s distant ancestor David was born in Bethlehem, that is where he had to register.  While he was there his betrothed, Mary, gave birth.  There is no way this can be historically correct.  There was no worldwide (or even empire-wide) census in the days of Augustus…” (Page 184; emphasis not in original)

And:

So too it is completely implausible that when Jesus was put on trial at the end of his life, Pilate offered to release one of his two chief prisoners  Barabbas or Jesus, as was allegedly his custom at Passover (see Mark 15:6-15).  We have no historical record of any such custom being carried out by Pilate or anyone else.” (Page 184)

Again, an argument from silence to prove a claim.  Ehrman should realize the difficulty of his position with the realities that he admitted earlier in the book that the Romans did not keep a detailed complete record of everything they did and that we should not interpret that to mean that something couldn’t have been historical if it’s cited elsewhere (see pages 44 through 46).  Keep in mind that an argument from silence here is further problematic when one consider the fact that the majority of the Roman imperial record did not survive the passage of time.

Can you spot other arguments from silence in Ehrman’s book?

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Free eBook: The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul

Here is a free ebook from Ligonier Ministries in regards to this Holy Week, Passion Week, where many Christians are celebrating Christ’s sacrifice.  The free ebook serves as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice.

Please click on this link for the free ebook: The Truth of the Cross

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The Scriptural Road of Emmaus: Messianic Types and Prophecies

Good Friday and Easter (Resurrection Sunday) is around the corner.  I think this would be appropriate.

Here is a four part audio series titled “The Scriptural Road of Emmaus” which covers Messianic Types and Prophecies found in the Old Testament:

Road to Emmaus: Sin, why we need a Savior

Messianic Type: Sacrificing Beloved Only Son

Messianic Prophecy: Psalm 22

Messianic Prophecy: Isaiah 53

The title of the series is playing on the account of the two disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus recorded in Luke 24 in which Jesus gives a study on the Old Testament predicting the Messiah.

Note: The last one is bi-lingual, it is preached in English but has another language that it’s being interpreted into.

As I have said previously in this blog, I believe Presuppositional apologetics’ stress on being biblical in approaching apologetics is a good thing; and like other Presuppostionalists I would agree that the Christian apologist must be Biblical in one’s worldview, epistemology and philosophy of evidence, etc.  But I would also say that it’s important for the Presuppositionalists to know their Bibles well enough in particular with their Old Testament: so that they can marshal Messianic Prophecies!  Afterall, Old Testament Messianic prophecies are the evidences that God has given directly in His Word pointing to and predicting the Messiah’s life and ministry that Jesus Christ has fulfilled.  It would be ironic for the apologist who stress so much about being Biblical to end up being weak in the Evidences that God’s direct special revelation has given.  That of course is not to downplay the importance of being conscious of the philosophy of evidence and presuppositions when dialoguing since these are not neutral (Presuppositionalists’ point) nor does that mean we should not master the actual details of the facts of Jesus’ life and ministry (often, the traditional Evidentialist’s big focus).  But if we believe it’s the hearing of God’s Word that produces faith then we best master it to expose His Word to those whom we are evangelizing and giving a defense towards.

Plus there is something about incorporating and studying Messianic prophecies that makes one’s apologetics doxological since it’s centered on Christ!

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Book Review: Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer

My view of evangelism is rooted in the sovereignty of God.  I believe that the Lord is in control of man’s destiny.  He has chosen His people before the foundation of the world.  In other words, His decision of His elect in salvation is not depended upon man’s existence or decision.  This concept was a bit difficult in my early Christian walk when trying to reconcile the sovereignty of God when dealing with Evangelism because they are pair of truths that forms an apparent antinomy in biblical thinking (pg. 93).  Based on my understanding of Scripture concerning this topic of God’s sovereignty, Apostle Paul illustrates this apparent antinomy when Paul writes to the church of Ephesus (pg. 94).  For example, when writing to the church of Ephesus, Paul says in the first chapter that God has chosen him and other fellow believers before the foundation of the world (pg. 94).  This is a bit hard to grapple with for some people because what they see is that God reveals His plan for sinners in regards to His election, but He also tells us to evangelize the lost.  I agree with Packer.  Both aspects of God’s will in election and for evangelism are facts; and how they are related in the mind of God is incomprehensible to us (pg. 94).

Although God has decreed before the foundation of the world who are saved along with his desire for His people to evangelize the lost, does not in anyway, affect my duty to evangelize.  There are a couple of reasons why I say this.  As a believer, I order my life by the law of God.  Even though this topic is a bit incomprehensible at times, I am still responsible to obey God’s law concerning evangelism.  Whatever one believes concerning the sovereignty of God in salvation, does not in any way, affect the necessity of evangelism.  Evangelism is vital to God’s plan because He made it clear that humans cannot be saved outside of the Gospel (pg. 97).  Paul echoes the importance of the Gospel in the book of Romans, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”  In other words, salvation depends on faith, and faith comes by knowing the Gospel (pg. 97).  His election should not stop us from evangelizing because just as he ordained the “end,” He also ordained the “means” to the “end.”

It is clear that the sovereignty of God does not stop me from evangelizing—that is clear, but the sovereignty of God does affect me in a positive way.  There are a couple of reasons for that statement.  For example, the sovereignty of God in evangelism gives me hope of excellence in evangelism; makes me bold, makes me patient, and prayerful, because I know that God is in control.  Since He is in control, I will not fret when it comes to excellence in evangelism.  I know that the Lord has chosen His elect before the foundation of the world.  As a result, that should give me a reason to search for His elect.  They are out there in the world.  The harvest is full, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37).  Moreover, His sovereignty makes me bold because God is powerful.  He kills and makes alive.

The Bible points to Christ as the captain of our salvation.  As a result, His sovereignty makes one patient.  Since He knows who will be born-again, it is sinful and fruitless to try to manipulate people into the kingdom of God.  Having patience will keep us biblical in evangelism too.  Another reason that I have learned about the sovereignty of God is that it pushes me to pray fervently.  Prayer keeps me in total dependence on God rather than in my self.

For a deeper discussion on God’s sovereignty and evangelism, please see this video that SLIMJIM posted earlier:

 

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Review: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism And Intelligent Design by Jonathan Wells

Purchase: Amazon 

Though Intelligent Design is not my cup of tea when it comes to apologetics argument for the Christian faith nevertheless I read this book in order to stay abreast with contemporary non-Presuppositionalist’s apologetics. The beginning of the book defined the term evolution, Darwinism, Creationism and intelligent design which is helpful so that readers can be more precise in their own use of the term. This section made me realize that I need to ask those I’m interacting with to define what they mean when they use those terms instead of assuming I know what they mean or giving them a free pass for any potential misunderstanding or error. The book noted rightly that evolution as a definition is too broad if it only refer to change, since everyone believes in some kind of change or another over time. Most people mean Darwinism when they talk about evolution and Darwinism is defined as the descent of organism with biological modification into other species. From time to time I hear atheists complain that Christians invented the term “Darwinism” as a prejorative for evolution but this is simply not true: The book traces the term “Darwinism” being first used by Darwinists themselves. Similarly, the term micro and macro evolution was also not a Creationist invention since the term was first used by Darwinists. Half of the book was focused on the problems of Darwinism while the second half focused on intelligent design. Those familiar with the problems of evolution and it’s evidences will see them rehearsed in this book. The author also noted an interesting dilemma concerning Darwinists who assert that something scientific must be falsifiable and then say they dismiss intelligent design since it’s not falsifiable but then these same critics write in peer review journal articles that “refute” intelligent design; yet how could they refute it if it is not something falsifiable to begin with? As the saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. As a presuppositionalists reading this book, I can’t help but to see the scary documented stories of Darwinist’ campaign of misinformation and persecution of non-Darwinists confirms the point that true religious neutrality is an impossibility. These stories are down right frightening for those who want to pursue a career in academia and happen to have even the slightest reservation concerning Darwinism. There’s the quote from Paul Z. Myers who talked about bringing out brass knuckles against those expounding intelligent design, and the campaign to harass and oust the Smithsonian’s editor who agreed to publish an ID paper. Readers must not forget the assorted danger of government enforced Darwinism. The book was not heavy on the philosophical side but I was pleasantly surprised with the author’s familiarity with Thomas Khun’s discussion about scientific revolution which is the source of the author’s optimism about the future of Intelligent Design.

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Greg Bahnsen lecture on foreordination and human responsibility

Greg Bahnsen was a prolific Christian apologist who has made a tremendous contribution in popularizing Presuppositional Apologetics before his untimely death in 1995.  He is probably Cornelius Van Til’s best known disciple.  Here is an audio lecture on the topic of foreordination and human responsibility found on Youtube.

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Bart Ehrman’s Schizophrenic Misrepresentation of Fundamentalists’ view of Inspiration and Bible’s Historicity

Two weeks ago I wrote about a problematic statement agnostic Bart Ehrman made in his recent book Did Jesus Exist?.  While I appreciate the main thrust of Ehrman’s work, which argues for the historical existence of Jesus, there are nevertheless logical problems such as the one we shall examine  below.

Here I want to focus specifically on his misrepresentation of the fundamentalists/conservative Christians’ position on inspiration and the Bible, and how Ehrman ends up contradicting himself when he criticizes the fundamentalists/conservative position on the Bible’s historicity/factuality.

Bart Ehrman stated that there

are certain agnostics and atheists who claim that since, say, the Gospels are part of Christian sacred scripture, they have less value than other books for establishing historical information.  As odd as it might seem, the nonbelievers who argue this are making common cause with the fundamentalists who also argue it.  Both groups treat the Gospels as nonhistorical, the fundamentalists because the Gospels are inspired and the atheists (those who hold this view) because the Gospels are accepted by some people as sacred scripture and so are not historical.” (Page 72; Emphasis not in the original)

Note what is stated in bold.  Ehrman here is asserting that the fundamentalists’ understanding of the Gospel means:

Inspiration=nonhistorical

Ehrman really said this and it’s not just a quotation out of context.  Earlier in the previous page Erhman writes:

Sometimes the Gospels of the New Testament are separated from all other pieces of historical evidence and given a different kind of treatment because they happen to be found in the Bible, the collection of books that Christians gathered together and declared sacred scriptures.  The Gospels are treated in this way by two fundamentally opposed camps of readers, and my contention is that both of them are completely wrong.  However else the Gospels are used–for example, in communities of faith–they can and must be considered historical sources of information.” (Page 71;  Emphasis not in the original)

Here the two camps refer to the same polarizing groups of Christian fundamentalists and secularized skeptics mentioned on page 72.  Ehrman is going against the fundamentalists because he thinks the fundamentalists’ view of inspiration means the Bible is taken as nonhistorical.  Readers who are fundamentalists/conservatives or even familiar with the works of fundamentalists will no doubt find Ehrman’s claims rather strange.

Point 1: Ehrman should have footnoted and cited some example of fundamentalists who ” treat the Gospels as nonhistorical,” “because the Gospels are inspired.”  As a Reformed Conservative Evangelical, I am not familiar with any fundamentalists who holds to Ehrman’s claim that the Bible’s inspiration means it is nonhistorical.

Point 1a: The demand here in point 1 that Ehrman should provide some kind of citation for his claim is reasonable.  The burden of proof is on him to demonstrate a claim which he even acknowledge is counter-intuitive: “As odd as it might seem, the nonbelievers who argue this are making common cause with the fundamentalists who also argue it” (Page 72; emphasis not in the original).

Point 1b: Again, the demand that Ehrman should have provided a reference to support his description of fundamentalists’ view of inspiration is reasonable.  Throughout the book Bart Ehrman does a really good job documenting and footnoting the position of the Jesus mythicists he is refuting, even when he considers them “nonscholars.”  On page 132 Ehrman himself acknowledges that the fundamentalists camps does have capable scholars. If he is able and willing to footnote and cite the nonscholars he opposes, how much more so then, should he be able to document and give references to fundamentalist scholars and their view of inspiration that he is rejecting.

Point 2: A survey of fundamentalists’ literature would reveal that their doctrine of inspiration presupposes the Bible to be historical rather than nonhistorical in it’s truth claims.  A good case in point can be demonstrated by citing The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, a key document expounding a conservative bibliology.

Point 2a: “Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God’s acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God’s saving grace in individual lives.” (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Summary Statement 4; emphasis is not in the original).

Point 2b: “We deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood.” (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Article XII).

Point 2c: “When Adam fell, the Creator did not abandon mankind to final judgement, but promised salvation and began to reveal Himself as Redeemer in a sequence of historical events centering on Abraham’s family and culminating in the life, death, resurrection, present heavenly ministry and promised return of Jesus Christ.” (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Explanation A; emphasis is not in the original).

Point 2d: “No hermeneutic, therefore, of which the historical Christ is not the focal point is acceptable.” (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Explanation B; emphasis is not in the original).

Point 2e: The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy is concern with history, since the word history appears a total of 12 times throughout the document.

Point 3: Oddly enough elsewhere throughout the book Ehrman’s criticism of fundamentalists’ view of the Bible contradicts his claims that fundamentalists does not take the Bible to be historical.  In fact, whether explicitly or implicitly presupposed, Ehrman’s other criticisms of fundamentalists is that they take the Bible in it’s entirety to be historical rather than nonhistorical.  It’s as if Ehrman’s criticism of fundamentalists’ view of the Bible is Schizophrenic.

Point 3a:  After Ehrman claim that fundamentalists ” treat the Gospels as nonhistorical” on page 72, he then contradicts this understanding of what fundamentalist believes about the Bible just two pages later when he wrote: “Once it is conceded that the Gospels can and should be treated as historical sources, no different from other historical sources infused with their authors’ biases, it starts to become clear why historians have almost universally agreed that whatever else one might say about him, Jesus of Nazareth lived in first-century Palestine and was crucified by the prefect of Judea.  It is not because ‘the Gospels say so’ and that it therefore must be true (the view, of course, of fundamentalist Christians)” (Page 74; emphasis not in original).

Point 3b: If fundamentalism did not subscribe to the historicity of the Bible which includes the Gospels, how could he have said the following: “But in a historical and worldwide perspective, highly conservative Protestant Christianity, whether fundamentalism or hard-core evangelicalism, is a minority voice.  It is the voice that says that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, with no contradictions, discrepancies or mistakes of any kind.  I simply don’t think this is true” (Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exists?, 36; emphasis not in original)?

Point 3c: As mentioned in Point 1b, Ehrman acknowledges that scholars who are fundamentalists exists in the area of historical Jesus studies and Pauline studies.  In the chapter arguing that Paul’s epistles contain historical content concerning the historicity of Jesus, Ehrman notes the scholarly consensus about the contribution of the Apostle Paul’s writing to the study of the historicity of Jesus:  “I personally know scores of scholars who have spent twenty, thirty, forty, or more years of their lives working to understand Paul.  Some of these are fundamentalists, some are theologically moderate Christians, some are extremely liberal Christians, and some are agnostics and atheists.  Not one of them, to my knowledge, thinks that Paul did not believe there was a historical Jesus” (Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exists?, 132; emphasis not in original).  Yet if Ehrman is correct that the fundamentalists’ doctrine of inspiration means that Scripture (including the Pauline epistles) are nonhistorical in character, how can they participate in the consensus with other scholars that the Apostle Paul believe in the historical Jesus?

Point 3d: There are more examples one can cite in Ehrman’s book and the corpus of his work of his criticism that fundamentalists believes in the literal and total historicity of the Bible.

Conclusion

Ehrman’s criticism that the fundamentalists’ doctrine of inspiration makes them view the Gospels as nonhistorical suffer from the problem of (1) not being proven by Ehrman, being asserted despite the absent of evidence, (2) is contrary to the evidence found in fundamentalists’ literature and (3) contradicts Ehrman’s own criticism of fundamentalists’ view of inspiration for assuming the Bible to be thoroughly true and historical.  In essence, his misrepresentation of the fundamentalists’ view of inspiration and historicity of the Bible is unfounded and irrational.

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Book Review: Keep Your Greek, Strategies for Busy People

This 90 page book, written by Constantine R. Campbell was a light and enjoyable book for anyone who aspires to learn Greek. I think that beginning Greek students, graduates of the Greek language, teachers, and preachers, will find this book edifying and enjoyable.   After reading this book, I am going to recommend this to some people in my church who just started learning the Koine Greek.  I hope that it will be an invaluable tool for them during their Greek endeavor.

This book will help them learn the Greek vocabulary, paradigms, grammar, syntax–to name but a few, better.  If I could give you one summary about this book so that you could remember at least one thing for the future long-haul, it would be this: “Maintain your Greek now because it will save you pain in the long run.”  This book has good strategies; and will provide an effective battle plan against this temptation: “I will stop learning Greek because it is too hard.”

On another note, invaluable insights of this book can be found in these ten main points which are broken down into 10 different chapters: “Read Every Day, Burn Your Interlinear, Use Software Tools Wisely, Make Vocabulary Your Friend, Practice Your Parsing, Read Fast, Read Slow, Use Your Senses, Get Your Greek Back, Putting It All Together.”  Since there are some great quotes concerning those points I mentioned above, I will gather some excerpts.  Let’s start with the first chapter: “Read Every Day.”

Read Every Day:

• “Reading reminds, refreshes, and reinforces.”
• “Long ago I learned a trick that can help the pastor–on four or five days a week spend ten to fifteen minutes in the Greek text just reading.  Open up your Greek New Testament, have a translation to its side and a lexicon to consult, use a parsing guide for words you can’t parse, and just read the text itself.”
• “Learning Greek vocabulary, practicing paradigms, and other such things have their place, and I’ll discuss them later in this book.  But they are no substitute for reading Greek, and for busy people who can only afford to do one thing related to Greek each day, it must be this.  There are several reasons for this.
  • First, reading Greek is our goal.  It’s why we’ve learned Greek in the first place: to read and understand the Greek New Testament.  There’s nothing like practicing to achieve your goal.
  • Second, reading Greek brings all the other skills into play: vocabulary, grammar, and syntax are all required for reading, and the reading reminds, refreshes, and reinforces all those things.
  • Third, there is no substitute for getting the vibe of Greek besides reading it.”
• “…begin with ‘easy’ Greek, like John’s gospel.  The vocabulary is limited and the syntax is straightforward (while the theology is profound!).  This will help your confidence and get you into the swing of things.”
• Summary: “Reading Greek is not only effective for maintaining and developing your Greek skills; it can also be done regularly without a huge time commitment.”

Burn Your Interlinear: Here in this chapter, the author says to burn your interlinear because it is a tool of the devil.  That statement itself will light up questions all over your mind.  Why does he urge one to burn it?  This is his answer:

• “A tool of the devil?  I’m kidding, of course–interlinears have their place.  If you don’t know much Greek, and have no intention of getting good at it, then an interlinear can be useful to check a word here or there and see what Greek word underlies an English translation.  But if you want to keep your Greek, if you want to read the Greek New Testament, then take your interlinear outside, douse it with gasoline, and light a match.”

It may sound like an extreme suggestion from the author, but he does make a good point.  More of his explanation can be found in chapter 2

• Summary: “Reading Greek=good.  Interlinear=bad.  Bicep curls=ouch!”

Use Software Tools Wisely: The author does not cast anathemas to individuals who use Bible softwares; nor is he against its use, but he does exhort one to not abuse it.  The author does mention that during his doctorate program, the aid of BibleWorks helped him.  Without it, he would have taken ten years to finish the program.

• “Bible software can be a blessing or a curse–it’s up to you.”
• Here are some tips he gives in order for one to keep his or her Greek rather than to kill one:
  • “When you are doing your ten to thirty minutes per day of Greek reading (see chapter  1), do not  have an English translation open to the screen.  Make sure you can see only the Greek (all the software programs enable this).  Feel free to check an English translation once you’ve done some reading (perhaps after each verse, or after a paragraph), but don’t look at it while you’re trying to read the Greek.  In this way, you’ll be replicating the experience of reading a (paper) Greek New Testament, though the advantages of the software are still close to hand.”
• Summary: “If you’re disciplined, go ahead and use software for your Greek reading.  But if you can’t be trusted not to cheat, then close your laptop and get out a paper Greek New Testament.  If you can find one.”

Make Vocabulary Your Friend:

• “Clearly one of the hardest elements of keeping your Greek is vocabulary.  Even if you remember your paradigms and recall the syntax, without knowing what the words mean, it is all for nought!  Not only is vocabulary easily forgotten, there are many words that only appear once or twice in the New Testament.  All of this means that vocabulary acquisition and retention can become a major hurdle for keeping your Greek.”
  • What the author said above is in accordance with my experience.  I found Greek challenging during some of the Greek quizzes, because there were moments where I was not saturated with some of the vocabulary words.
• Some tips the author provides in order to retain the vocabulary words is to have a memory hook, make the words fun to remember, pronounce each word, listen to the vocabs, write out the vocabs, try translating the vocabs from English to Greek; and make Greek a passionate, long-term pursuit.
• Summary: “By making words your friends, you will take a lot of the frustration out of reading Greek, and instead you’ll enjoy more quality time with buddies!”

Practice Your Parsing:

• Unlike the Greek, the English translation of the Bible does not make a difference between the singular “you” and plural “you.”  If it fails to make the distinction, just imagine what are some of the implications entails for verb tenses.  As a result, practicing your parsing is critical.
• “You don’t want to end of sort of recognizing verb forms, but not being able to spell out what they are–that’s a sign of unkeeping your Greek!

Read Fast: Most people will tell you read slow so that you will be able to comprehend the material better.  This is not just for Greek, but for all reading in any language.  Reading slow is critical as many are aware, but so is reading fast.

• “Reading quickly will also help you to ‘internalize’ the language in a way that slow and careful reading may not.  To internalize a langauage means that you no longer treat it as an abstract ‘code’ to be deciphered.  Rather, it becomes more like a song you know really well.”
• Summary: “Read Greek quickly and dig the vibe, man.”
• Try reading this verse quickly: Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

Read Slow: Reading fast is one good strategy, but so is reading slow.  According to the author, you will need to mix it up.

• “The best Greek students are the ones who get the ‘vibe’ of the language and also have a strong grip on the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.  The key way to reinforce and sharpen your grasp of the ‘details’ of Greek is to practice reading slowly.”
• “Reading slowly with care can be rewarding, since it is through this kind of reading that we can find in the Greek text the sorts of things that many of us learned Greek for in the first place: little hidden nuances and exegetical insights that are conveyed by the Greek, but are so often lost in the English translation; the richer, deeper comprehension of the text; and appreciation of the structure of sentences.  Such insights don’t normally occur without slow and careful reading.”
• Summary: Reading Greek slowly will not be easy at first, but overtime, your skills will increase if you practice this method.

Use Your Senses: In this chapter, the author mentions that Greek is not a language that you just merely see on a page, but it is a language that requires the use of your senses in the area of speaking and hearing if you want to maximize your learning.

• “Speaking Greek out loud can be a useful way to internalize the language.  Hearing Greek spoken aloud causes us to process the information in a different way to reading, and therefore strengthens our overall comprehension.  This will be the case for most people, but especially for aural learners.”
• Accents at times are a neglected area from students learning Greek.  Some will tell you it is not necessary or important to learn them, but here is what the author says, “Accents are often ignored by students, as we’re told that they’re not important for the meaning of the text.  But in pronunciation we need to stress one of the syllables of each word, so why not stress the syllable that is supposed to be stressed?”
• Please visit this site if you want to hear the Greek being spoken: http://www.greeklatinaudio.com.  Have your Greek Bible with you when doing this exercise.
• Try singling songs when trying to learn the Greek paradigms.
• Another good exercise is to reproduce the Greek vocab and paradigms on paper.

Get Your Greek Back: “If you did it once, you can do it again.  And it will be easier this time.”

• “Take heart!  It will come to you more quickly than it did the first time.  It’s easier to remember the Greek you’ve forgotten than it was to learn it in the first place. This is true for most learned skills; once you get back into the swing of things, your memory starts to access that old information more and more quickly.”
• “Its a bit like muscle-training.  It hurts at first and can be quite a shock to the system.  There may not be any visible results right away.  But with perseverance, you will make progress, once step at a time…those muscles need to be strained in order to enhance their development.”

Putting it All Together:

• In this chapter, the author summarizes what was said in the earlier chapters and provides examples of how he implements them in his daily life.

I hope this review was somewhat helpful.  What I can tell you is that knowing Greek is like watching HD television.  Greek will provide you discernment when reading commentaries.  You will not be at their mercy.  Greek will help you become more astute when you are interacting with journal articles.  Moreover, Greek will enhance your preaching and teaching skills, and will strengthen your relationship with the Lord. I hope that is enough to motivate you to pursue Greek.

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2013 Faculty Lecture: Trinitarianism by The Master’s Seminary

 

Every year The Master’s Seminary has a Spring Semester Faculty Lecture Series that is meant to be an in-depth focus on a particular issue or doctrine.  This year’s focus is on the doctrine of the Trinity.  Here is the lists of the lectures and below it are the videos:

Trinitarianism & Creationism by Dr. Bryan Murphy (Old Testament Associate Professor)

Trinitarianism & Inspiration by Dr. William Barrick (Old Testament Professor)

Trinitarianism & Salvation/Sanctification by Dr. Andrew Snider (Associate Professor of Theology)

Trinitarianism & Eschatology by Dr. Michael Vlach (Associate Professor of Theology)

Trinitarianism & Church History by Professor Nathan Busenitz (Historical Theology)

The videos:

Enjoy!

 

 

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The Domain for Truth Interviews Pastor Edward Caballero Concerning His Thoughts on Pornography

Dear Pastor Edward Caballero,

First of all, we would like to thank you and express our appreciation for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do an interview with The Domain for Truth.  The topic that we would like to venture into is pornography.  We really believe that your pastoral experience and knowledge concerning this issue is invaluable.

As you are already aware, pornography is a great epidemic in the world; and is even penetrating the lives of God’s people.  As a pastor, it is our understanding that you have seen its effects via your surroundings, your discussions with others, and your counseling sessions with those who struggled with this monster.

Since this is an important topic, we believe that you will help shed some invaluable information and insights on this issue so that believers will understand that being set-apart/sanctified in Christ is an imperative for all Christians.  In order to do that, here are some questions below that we think will help contribute to the Christian community.

For those of you who do not know Pastor Caballero, he pastors a church in Southern, CA called Anaheim Community Church.  For more information, please visit the church’s website: http://www.anaheimcommunitychurch.org/

Now, without further interruption, let’s get back to our interview.

1) Is the word pornography composed of any Hebrew or Greek words in the Bible?

Our English word “pornography” comes from the Greek word porneia (also porne, porneuo, and pornos). In many New Testament passages, porneia is defined as fornication or immorality (other forms are defined as fornicator, harlot, whore, and whoremonger).

2) How would you define pornography and what does the Bible say about it?

One contemporary definition of pornography is..

1) writings, pictures, films, etc., designed to stimulate sexual excitement

2) the production of such material sometimes (informal) shortened to porn, porno

(Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003)

Most people, when hearing the word pornography, will think of sexually explicit and perverted material (video, print, photos, etc.). However, our view of pornography (as a nation) is constantly changing (with many now labeling pornography as many things other than perversion).

The Bible however, makes it very clear that pornography (immorality, fornication, and other perverse and immoral acts) is a sin and should be avoided at all costs.

Leviticus 20:14 – ‘If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no immorality in your midst.”

1 Corinthians 5:1 – “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.”

1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.”

2 Corinthians 12:21 – “I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.”

Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Ephesians 5:3 – “But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints…”

Colossians 3:5-6 – “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come…”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 – “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God…”

Jude 1:7 – “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

3) What causes one to pursue pornography?

I believe that at the root of all sin pride is found. When Satan rebelled against God, he did so because he wanted to be equal (if not, superior) to God. All sins are categorized in the Bible as falling into one of three “lusts” (1 John 2:16 – “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”). Pornography is a prideful desire / action that is an expression / manifestation of the “lust of the eyes.”

When a person sees something that they desire (sinfully) and pursues that desire (by whatever means necessary) they are willfully demonstrating a prideful attitude (“I want that and nothing will convince me otherwise”). Pornography is no different. The pursuit of pornography is a prideful act of sin. Though pride is at the root of the pursuit of pornography, there are many other factors that will drive one to pursue pornographic material.

If a husband feels that he is not being satisfied by his wife (sexually, intimately), he may see pornography as a means of fulfilling his perceived void and feelings of disappointment. Likewise, a wife who does not feel fulfilled (loved, cherished, attractive) to and by her husband, may pursue pornography as a means of fulfillment. In both cases, the husband or wife lives out their desires (prideful) through pornography.

This example is not limited to married couples. Many single individuals have a sinful idea of what “love” is and should be and will use pornography as a way to experience those flawed and sinful desires. The vast majority of media outlets – movies, music, magazines, video games, etc. – promote sex (all forms of sex) as natural, fulfilling, an expression of self, and healthy. Any attempt to speak out against sexual impropriety (especially when using the Bible as a source of measure) is quickly viewed as archaic, oppressive, and phobic. It is no wonder that our nation as a whole has become so in love with perverted forms of “love.”

God made men and women both a spiritual and physical being. Included in the physical aspect of being human is a desire for a sexual / intimate relationship. Desiring sex is not in and of itself a sin. However, when Satan and this world system distort the plan that God has determined for a sexual relationship it then becomes sinful (when acted upon by individuals). This is a huge problem when struggling with the sin of pornography. Men and women naturally desire intimate physical relationships and the world is offering a buffet of sexual delicacies.

4) What are some of the effects of pornography that you see in the lives of Christians/counselees?

Many people that I have counseled in this area experience the same effects (guilt, anger, loneliness, marital strife, etc.). Some have even found themselves in legal trouble as they took their private sin and made it public. In our congregation alone, I have seen two marriages crumble because of immoral desires (not simply pornography). Not only does the sin destroy the marriage (spouse and children) but it makes a huge impact (negatively) on the congregation. When members of a local congregation submit to the sin of pornography, the body of Christ suffers.

As part of one united body of Christ, individual sin can quickly become a corporate dilemma. Those who are in ministry and are caught, exposed, and disciplined, will leave a gaping wound in the body. Feelings are hurt; responsibilities are shifted to others (making their already busy ministerial and personal lives even busier and more difficult). Not to mention seeing the ones that you love as brethren in Christ being torn apart because of their prideful desire to pursue sexual perversion.

In the attempt to finding fulfillment, the person who is entrenched in pornography finds the exact opposite. The craving is never fully satisfied; there is always a longing for more. What nicotine is to smokers, pornography is to the sexually perverse.

5) Could you describe a sample of an excellent battle-plan against pornography?

I believe that the Bible teaches that we as Christians are adequately equipped for our lives here on earth (sinful struggles included). Peter said it well, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:2-3).

For the person struggling with sin (pornography), I would suggest the following:

Prayer – This cannot be emphasized enough. Many see prayer as a last resort when it should be a first strike against sin (Luke 22:31-32 – “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”). Jesus prayed for His disciples (cf. John 17) knowing that they would be put to the test. We as Christians must pray for ourselves and others to win the war against sin (though Jesus is victorious over sin, death, and Satan, we as Christians are daily waging war on sin as we strive for our sanctification).

Bible – Read the Bible! It seems like a no-brainer but so many will neglect the Word of God and then scratch their heads and wonder why they are struggling with their physical and spiritual lives. (Psalm 119:9 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.’). Study the Bible regularly. Focus on passages that address your specific areas of temptation. Focus on the Godhead and see why the Bible makes it very clear that man needs God more than God needs man. Develop a healthy diet of the Word and your spiritual vitality will increase.

Fellowship – One of the things that Christians who are struggling with sin will often do is to cut other off / become introverts. In an attempt to deal with their sin in a secret and individual manner, they actually cut off one of the resources that God has provided for the health of every individual member in the church. The New Testament is filled with what are known as “one anothers” (instructions to the church about how to minister to one another). Included in the one anothers are instructions to pray for, weep with, rejoice with, restore, counsel, and bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”). Those who neglect being around their brethren are on the way to failure (Hebrews 10:24-25 – “…and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.”). Those in sin need to be accountable to God and their brethren, when a person forsakes fellowship, there is no accountability.

The Holy Spirit – Many Christians have mixed views of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian (from extreme Charismatics to extreme Cessationists). Unfortunately, a wrong view of the Holy Spirit will be a hindrance to one’s life as a Christian striving to grow in their spiritual walk. Many non-charismatic Christians have done a disservice to the Holy Spirit and themselves by minimizing the role of the Spirit in the life of a Christian. Make no mistake, no Christian can win a war with sin if they do not rely on the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). To walk by the Spirit is to pray (ask for strength and protection), study (the Word of God), and apply the truths of Scripture (James 1:22 – “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.’). Only those who rely on the Spirit to intercede for them in prayer and give them understanding and wisdom will successfully resist Satan’s sinful onslaught.

6) Could you describe a faulty battle-plan against pornography?

Yes – Ignore the above plan.

7) For those who are parents, when do you think is the best age to start warning their children about pornography/sexual immorality?

Keep them young and innocent as long as you can. As a father of four children (19, 17. 9 and 3), one of my concerns for them is their purity. As parents, my wife and I would not let our children watch many movies that their friends (in Christian schools I might add) were watching on a regular basis; R-rated movies that had explicit sexual, violent content. This world will do all it can to force them to “grow up” according to its standards, I don’t want to be part of that assault on my Children.

With that said, I think that a parent must exercise discretion when discussing certain issues with their children. It reminds me of the father who was driving his kinder son home from school. His son asked, “Dad, what is sex?” Needless to say, the boy’s father quickly became uncomfortable and wondered how he was going to best give his son “the talk.” After about a 45 minute explanation of the birds and the bees, the father looked into the mirror and saw his son with wide eyes and jaw dropped. “Why did you ask that question son?” said the father. The boy replied, “On my permission slip for next week’s field trip is says ‘sex, M or F.’” Talk about TMI.

Personally, I had a discussion with my boys (the two oldest) around fourth or fifth grade. They were already hearing about questionable things from friends and I wanted to make sure that we as parents set their foundation on Scripture before they were exposed to too much. I gave a very general explanation of men, women, sexuality and God’s plan. I think that I placed more emphasis on God’s plan than anything else. I wanted them to know that there was right and wrong when it came to sex and that there were no grey areas.

Every parent / family has to make this decision based on their child’s social and intellectual level. With that said, I sadly feel that we as parents in 2013 need to have this discussion with our children earlier than previous generations.

8) With the rise of technology and the constant advertisement of sexual context like never before, it is very easy for one’s eyes to wander on immoral content. It can be easily accessed with a click of a mouse or a push of a button on one’s cell phone. How can Christians deal with this problem? Are there any practical tips to deal with this problem?

Watchfulness – To say that pornography is everywhere is an understatement. In years past, people seeking sexual perversion had to travel to the dark side of town and find a seedy joint that is under constant surveillance by the local vice squad; no so today. With our advancements in technology, social embracing of all forms of perversions and the widespread display of unbiblical ideas of sexual relationships on just about every channel from Disney to HBO, is promoting immorality. For those who struggle with pornography, the mentality of watchfulness and pre-emptive strikes must be part of the daily battle. I know a brother in Christ who won’t go to the beach under certain circumstances because he does not want to fall into thoughts of lust; I applaud him for this extreme course of action. A visit to the local beach, seeing what women are wearing (or barely wearing) will justify his concern. A leisurely stroll through the mall can trigger thoughts of lust as there are larger than life posters of women in lingerie plastered along the walkways. Not to mention the ever-present danger of computers, smart-phones and tablets. Pornography is just a swipe of the screen away. Every person will have different situations that trigger their sinful desires. The person who is struggling with pornography must carefully and honestly identify what those “lust triggers” are and avoid them at all costs. If that means a password on a computer that someone else has to enter, so be it. If that mean installing Covenant Eyes on your iPhone and disabling Safari, do it. IMDB is a great tool. Movies are filled with sexual material; make it a practice to check the Parental Guide on IMDB for each movie that you want to see. If the movie has sexual content that will cause you to lust, don’t watch the movie. I can go on and on but hopefully you get the point. Satan is out there and he wants to see Christians fall into sin. Be alert and be ready to resist (1 Peter 5:8 – “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”).

9) Some Christians who overcome this sin, still face thoughts of condemnation from time to time. They feel like a grey cloud is casted upon them. How would you encourage them?

My encouragement to them would be to understand that their worth before God is not contingent upon their earthly successes or failures. Their standing (justification) before God is contingent upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. Christians who struggle with / overcome pornography are not loved more or less by God because of their victories or defeats. They are loved by God because God the Father loves Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ has made provision for all of His people. (Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” and 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”)

Christians struggling with sin have, in Jesus, someone who knows what they are going through. They can stand before Him knowing that He has “walked in their shoes” and knows what is best for them to live victorious lives. (Hebrews 4:14-16 – “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”)

I would also encourage them to aggressively continue to wage war against sin. It is easy to fall into the mentality of cheap grace (sinning at will because, after all, Jesus paid the price for my sins). I would remind them that though they are to do their best to resist sin, when they fall (and they will, we all will from time to time), Jesus is their Advocate. (1 John 2:1-2 – “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins…”)

10) Do you any have concluding thoughts for Christians who are struggling with pornography/sexual immorality right now?

Don’t wait another day to begin to kill your sin. Don’t try to fight the battle on your own. Don’t neglect the Word of God, prayer, fellowship and the work of the Holy Spirit. And, fix your eyes on Jesus and run the race to win (Hebrews 12:1-2, – Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”)

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Appendix

For those of you interested in other resources related to the danger of lust, please see these links:

Sexual Detox

Secret Sex Wars

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Review: Philippians by James Montgomery Boice

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Good commentary on Philippians. I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt it was a good commentary to accompany my own personal devotional through Philippians. Insightful observations were given from the text, especially when Boice makes observations from Greek word studies, things that the general reading audience would not pick up themselves. Examples include his explanation about the Praetorian Guard are only in Rome, what citizenship meant to the Philippians who were loyal to the Roman Empire and also the Greek word for form in Philippians 2 refer to the inward true nature of something (thus form does not just mean “image” but that Jesus was truly God in essence). I appreciated this commentary a lot. The first 96 pages was devoted to the first chapter alone, though towards the end of the book Boice picked up the pace; I would have appreciated if he would have been able to give the same attention and care of slowly going through the text towards the last half of the book just as he did in the first half. I recommend this commentary for the expositor and the lay reader.

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Early through Mid March 2013 Van Tillian Links

I have not been recently able to keep abreast with Presuppositional apologetics links around the web due to important milestone events in my family’s life hence the delay in our regular installment of Presuppositional apologetics links.  Well, here are some links around the web that I noted.

Reference: God–Do Christians and non-Christians have a basis to refer to the same referent when they talk about “God”?

New Apologetics eBook – “Christianity Supreme—Defeating Non-Christian Worldviews”— Mike Robinson’s latest book!

What About the Heathen?–Very good article by Fred Butler examining the presuppositions of this common object and also evaluating this objection in light of a non-Christian worldview.

Original Sin and Depravity— This is one message from the Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Spring Conference on Theology of Man that is up!

Christianity and Barthianism–Jared Oliphint on Van Til’s take on Karl Barth.

Profiles in apostasy–Steve Hays insightful thoughts.

Problems With Authority in Classical and Evidentialist Apologetics–The guys over at Choosing Hats have something to say about this.

Interview on Logic: A God-Centered Approach–An interview with Vern Poythress on his latest book!

Our Genes are Like ‘Ruthless Chicago Gangsters’— Gary DeMar on the problem of a materialistic worldview taken to it’s logical conclusion and it’s lack of ability to account for morality.

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Christian Theology on Reading Series– Audio Mp3s and PDF available free

Do you struggle with Christian reading?  Reading is an important component in Christian discipleship–and not just for “devotional” flavor but the development of a Christian worldview and being equipped for apologetics, evangelism and Lordship of Christ in all spheres.  In light of this a Christian theology on reading is foundational for the Christian life of the mind and practice.  Here is a series by a Calvinistic Alliance Church on “A Christian Theology on Reading” covering the reading of Canonical and Non-canonical books.  A good Christian theology of reading is the basis to properly motivate Christians to pursue spiritual reading, how to get the most out of their reading and discernment when reading non-canonical books.

The syllablus is available in PDF if you click on the following: Christian theology of Reading Syllabus (Property of TCAC)

Here are the 9 part audio messages in MP3s for this series:

Session 1: Why Read the Bible (Pages 2-4 of Syllabus)

Session 2: Why Read Other Books Part 1 of 2 (Pages 5-6 of Syllabus)

Session 3: Why Read Other Books Part 2 of 2 (Pages 5-10 of Syllabus)

Session 4: Historical Theology Case Study: Strong Christians Read (Pages 11-15 of Syllabus)

Session 5: Selecting Biblical Passages to Read (Pages 16-18 of Syllabus)

Session 6:Discernment in Selecting Books Wisely (Pages 19-21 of Syllabus)

Session 7: Discernment in reading Non-Canonical Books (Pages 22-25 of Syllabus)

Session 8: Twenty Five Recommended Christian books for the Christian (Pages 25)

Session 9: Christian Discipline of Reading (Pages 26-28)

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Book Review: Calvin for Armchair Theologians by Christopher Elwood,

Purchase: Amazon

This is the fourth book I read in the “Armchair Theologians” series, and one of the better ones I would say though my favorite was on Martin Luther. This work does a good job in explaining John Calvin’s biography–how he started out as a humanist and lawyer and eventually a pastor and theologian. Calvin’s story of how he got to Geneva is a testimony of God’s providence–for Calvin was originally taking a detour to another place and happened to visit the city only to be persuaded (well threatened with God’s Wrath) to stay–an important decision that made tremendous impact in history. I appreciated the author’s discussion about the Institutes of Christian religion, and the background for why Calvin wrote this book along with the author’s observation of how Calvin organized his theology. What I appreciate the most about this book is the fact that the author tackled some of the controversies surrounding Calvin with the consideration of Calvin in his historical situation. Evaluating Calvin in this light removes some of the objections people have stated against him or his theology. For instance, in the Predestination debate with Bolsec, the author revealed that Bolsec was the one who initiated attacking Calvin’s view first and also reminded the reader that Bolsec’s negative biography had an ax to grind. It seems that there cannot be any discussion about Calvin’s controversial life without the mention of Michael Servetus. Contrary to some myths, Michael Servetus was not killed by John Calvin since he was a pastor/theologian and not a member of the magistrate. In addition, the book pointed out that Calvin at that time didn’t enjoy a particularly good relationship with the rulers of Geneva so it’s doubtful how much pull Calvin had on the officials during that time. Calvin’s involvement at first was to correct Servetus and he was even originally not in favor of any punishment against Servetus. The book also considered the Servetus controversy in it’s historical setting, and while it does not necessarily excuse what happened it should slow down the modern critic from ignorantly assuming Geneva was a hotbed of Calvinistic tyranny. Geneva at that time had already a reputation for being too tolerant for sheltering what some perceived to be too many theological wild cats and when Servetus came along the officials in Geneva even consulted with other cities as to what to do with him.  Thus, Geneva was under mounting pressure to do something. Readers must remember that this was not a time period in which religious tolerance was at a premium; yet Geneva’s only religious execution was Servetus in contrasts to the multitudes the Roman Catholics managed to kill in religious wars or burn at the stakes those who were Protestants, etc. The most problematic part of the book was the last chapter on the heirs of Calvin, where the author’s careful and thoughtful reflection gets unhinged and his theologically more liberal perspective shows. Elwood thinks that theological Liberals, Barthians, Neo-Orthodox and Liberation Theologians are legitimate heirs to Calvin’s legacy while seeing Conservative Reformed Christians such as those of Old Princeton as the wacky right wing extremists of Calvin’s theological lineage. This would seems strange to most people and no doubt this reveals more of Elwood’s theological paradigm than it does about Calvin’s legacy. Elwood here assumes that Semper Reformanda gives license for him to assume that whatever have changed over time can be rightly called “Calvinistic.”  However I don’t think that’s true to the spirit of Semper Reformanda–Calvin’s principle of “always reforming” assumes a high view of Scripture and the Word of God as normative–something that some of Calvin’s alleged heirs that Elwood asserts in this book have failed to subscribe to.

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