Hope in Suffering Series Table of Contents: Studies in Romans 5:3-5

This was our Sunday series on our blog from a few weeks back.  It was an exposition on Romans 5:3-4.  The three part series was on the topic of suffering.

Here are the links:

1. Hope in Suffering: Studies in Romans 5:3-5 Part I
2. Hope in Suffering: Studies in Romans 5:3-5 Part 2
3. Hope in Suffering: Studies in Romans 5:3-5 Part 3

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Review: All-Star Batman, Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy

A weekend light reading review.

Scott Synder.  All-Star Batman, Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, April 25^th, 2017. 192 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a volume that is a part of DC Comics’ recent “rebirth” reboot.  This particular work is on Batman.  I wanted to read this graphic novel largely due to the fact that Scott Synder wrote the story.  Synder’s previous stories has been good and I’m especially impressed with his Court of Owls.  While this particular work wasn’t as good as some of his previous works nevertheless you see the author’s creativity with how this story was told.

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Seminary on Saturday: Dr. Oliphint on Apologetics

First off thanks to Jeff Downs for letting me know about these lectures!

Westminster Theological Seminary have these “Seminary on Saturday” series and during April 2017 they had their professor of Apologetics Dr. Scott Oliphint teach.  For those of you who didn’t know Westminster Theological Seminary is the seminary where Cornelius Van Til taught at many years ago who was the founder of Presuppositional apologetics.  Christians must be informed by the Bible in how they do apologetics and that’s one of the plus of this method (among other things).

These lectures took place at Covenant Church in Nashville, TN.

Here are the lectures:

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Audio Book Review: They Are All My Family: A Daring Rescue in the Chaos of Saigon’s Fall

John P. Riordan.  They Are All My Family: A Daring Rescue in the Chaos of Saigon’s Fall.  New York, NY: PublicAffairs, April 7th 2015. 256 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

What an amazing story.  The author of this book tells us the true story of how he helped over a hundred South Vietnamese escaped from their country in April 1975 when the Communist North Vietnamese militarily brought about the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.  Again this is one incredible story and I am got to enjoy this story near the forty second anniversary of the fall of Saigon (the capital of South Vietnam).

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One Witty Ditty For Your Memory of Theology: Right Motive in Obedience

As I grow more in the Lord I discover the right motivation for obedience matters even more.

Actually wrong motivation for obedience can reveal a misunderstanding of the role of grace and works.  A wrong view of works can lead one to be arrogant and act like a Pharisee.

Here’s a witty ditty that keeps us remembering the right motivation for motivation:

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Guest Post: Do Not Be Like the Gentiles

Note: This is a guest post from our dear friend Michael Coughlin.

Matthew 7:1 (and other passages) instructs Christians to judge with righteous judgment and not hypocritically. The essence is this – be careful as you point out sin in another making sure you yourself are not committing the same error.

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Review: The Measure of a Man: Twenty Attributes of A Godly Man

Gene Getz. The Measure of a Man: Twenty Attributes of A Godly Man.  Ventura, CA: Regal, August 9th 2004. 256 pp.

3 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

I have seen this title a few times in different setting and I thought I give this a read.  Since I did not know what to expect I must say half way through the book I discovered I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it.

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New 2017 Marine Corps Commercial and the search for Transcendence

I’m not trying to promote nationalism and I have a spiritual point towards the end of this post.  I am not going to lie as a Marine veteran I am biased.  I think the United States Marine Corps make amazing commercials.  Even after all these years after seeing my first Marine commercial on TV as a kid every time I stumble upon a Marine ads it still manages to stop me and grab my full attention.

Here’s the latest Marines’ commercial that they have released:

I watched it several times.  Did you?

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Argument against the Trinity? Joe Ventilacion on Christ not Θεόν?

Last Saturday I posted Who Is God? Trinity Debate: Dr. James White vs Bro. Joe Ventilacion.  This was a debate between Christian apologist James White and a Joe Ventilacion defender of the cult Iglesia ni Cristo.  I thought Dr. James White did a good job.  I followed up that post with my own critique of one of Joe Ventilacion’s argument titled “Argument against the Trinity? Joe Ventilacion on the death of Christ.”  In this post I want to look at another of Mr. Ventilacion’s argument focusing on the Greek word Θεόν.

Ventilacion said:

So we cornered him on the Θεόν because he cannot deny that he had a book written about the Θεόν.  He said of the Θεόν that the Θεόν is describing the Almighty God, the Yahweh the Creator of all things.

(Minute 51:28 onwards)

And:

What did Dr. James White say about the Θεόν? He said that the Θεόν the Almighty God, the Yahweh, the Creator of all things.  So if John 1:1 the Θεόν the Almighty God where do you place the  Logos?  Where would you put the Logos?  The Logos is not the Almighty God.

(Minute 52:39 onwards)

Here’s my thoughts.

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Review: The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame

John Frame. The Doctrine of the Word of God.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, November 1st 2010. 684 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is the final volume in John Frame’s “A Theology of Lordship” series.  I recommend all four volumes.  In this volume theologian John Frame focus on a theology of the Bible. Readers who are familiar with his other works would appreciate the same rigor and clarity in the way Frame argues that is both sound and creative.  Frame is truly one of the most sophisticated and philosophical defender of the classical Protestant Conservative view of the Bible.

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Argument against the Trinity? Jose Ventilacion on the death of Christ

Yesterday I posted Who Is God? Trinity Debate: Dr. James White vs Bro. Joe Ventilacion.  This was a debate between Christian apologist James White and a defender of the cult Iglesia ni Cristo.  Iglesia ni Cristo denies the deity of Christ.

I want to address one of the arguments that Joe Ventilacion threw out there during his opening presentation for his anti-Trinitarian position.  He bases his argument from 1 Timothy 1:17 which states:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

From this verse’s statement that God is immortal this is what Ventilacion argues around the 59:30 minute mark:

When Christ died, did God die?  And if he were to say that the second person only died but not the first and third persons, so for three days your Trinity is incomplete!  Because two are alive and one is dead.  So how would you call that?  How would you call that?  Is it a Trinity or is it a ‘Two-inity?’  It’s up to you to make that decision.  But he has an incomplete God for the three days that Jesus died.  Why did Jesus die?  Because Jesus is not the God of the Bible.

Despite Joe Ventilacion’s smirk and laughter from the audience from Iglesia ni Cristo members in the audience to the question of “When Christ died, did God die?” it is not as strong of an argument against the Trinity as they think it is.

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Third Week of April 2017 Presuppositional Apologetics’ Links

Here are links related to the subject of Presuppositional apologetics gathered online between April 15th-21st, 2017.

1.) The Trinity is the Foundation for Math, Unity, and Truth

2.) Creation, the Resurrection, and Evidence

3.) The Trinity: The Potent Truth Many Ignore

4.) Calvinist Cartoon: Conflict and Resolution

5.) What’s presuppositionalism?

6.) Reconnect Podcast Show: Presuppositions and Evidence in Christian Apologetics

7.) CORNELIUS VAN TIL RUINED AMERICA? A RESPONSE TO MOLLY WORTHEN

8.) Book Review: Making Sense of God by Tim Keller 

9.) Divine hiddenness and evil

10.) Confronting The Myth Of Neutrality

11.) Calvinist Cartoon: Wasting Time

 

Missed the last round up?  Check out the re-blogged post from a friend OR that of Another REBLOG HERE

 

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Who Is God? Trinity Debate: Dr. James White vs Bro. Joe Ventilacion

This was a debate from last night that was streamed live on Youtube between Christian apologist James White and Joe Ventilacion.  Joe is advocating for the cult Iglesia ni Cristo.

Here’s the debate:

Here’s the description:

Dr. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries debates Bro. Joe Ventilacion of Iglesia ni Cristo, moderated by Dale Bartcher of Family Heritage Alliance. Dr. White defends the affirmative: “The Bible teaches that within the one Being that is God there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Bro. Joe Ventilacion argues the negative. This event is held in Rapid City, SD, in the Best Western Ramkota Convention Center at 6PM MST, on April 21st, 2017. This event was arranged and coordinated by the ministry of South Dakota Apologetics.

I plan to watch this after Sunday service.

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Review: Writing on the Wall by Tom Standage

A weekend nonfiction review!  Cause even ministers need breaks from heavy theological reading!

Tom Standage.  Writing on the Wall.  New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA, October 15th 2013. 288 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This was a fascinating book on social media.  As the subtitle states this book is on the first two thousand years of social media.  You might be scratching your head like I did at first with the idea of social media having been around for the last two millennium but I think the author Tom Standage made a good point that social media has been around for some time though it might not look like the social media we have today. We must not confuse our idea of social media that is based upon technologies such as the internet, websites and high speed connection with the social media that has been existent in the past.

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Bible Contradiction? When was heaven created?

For today’s post we will tackle another question from the Skeptic Annotated Bible: When was heaven created?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

When the earth was created.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)

Sometime after the ascension of Jesus.

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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