The Five Solas Theology Conference

Today is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany which is the beginning of the trajectory that led to the Reformation.

One of the important thing that came out of the Reformation is the recovery of the Gospel.  From the Reformation we also get the five Solas.  During the Fall 2015 Theology Conference at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary the five Solas was the topic that was discussed from some of evangelicalism’s finest scholars as they unpack for us the meaning and significance of each of these themes.  From these lectures they have also partnered with the publishers Zondervan to released “The 5 Solas Series.”  You might want to check out my review of one of the volume, Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification by Thomas Schreiner.

Here are the videos:

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Review: Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate

Benjamin Reaoch. Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate : a Complementarian Response to the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, August 17th 2012. 193 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Christian theologian John Frame once said that “The discussion of the man-woman relationship has greatly intensified since the 1970s.”  I think Frame is right.  Much discussion has been ongoing and many books have been written on the topic.  Different movements have also arise over the decades.  One such movement focuses more on the hermeneutics of how we approach the Scriptures and how we interpret passages concerning the relationship of man and woman.  It is called the redemptive-movement with William Webb being the notable leader of the group.  While different people affiliated with this movement may differ in some of their conclusion nevertheless we can safely say that their hermeneutics lead them to the conclusion of egalitarianism.  This is a book length critique of the movement from a Complementarian perspective.

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Genesis 2 and God’s Creation of marriage Part 6

This is part 5 of a series of post on God’s creation of marriage based upon His Word in Genesis 2.

For part 1 click here

For part 2 click here

For part 3 click here

For part 4 click here

For part 5 click here

For this series we will see 6 truths about marriage from Genesis 2 so that Christians who are married would live up to God’s design of marriage today and also for Christians who desire to marry to know what is their future roles in marriage.

Part 1 laid the foundation for the series and here in part six we want to look at the fifth truth we gleam from Genesis 2.

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How I Read 80 Books In 43 Weeks

It’s going to be a busy weekend of ministry for me with our annual church clean up on Saturday while on Sunday I’m also preaching at another church after I’m done with my local church’s own church service.  In the middle of it all that I need to finish my sermon preparation.  So this is a quick post.

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Weekend Light Reading Review: Gotham Central, Book Two: Jokers and Madmen

A weekend light reading review…because sometimes Pastors also need a break heavy reading.

Ed Brubaker.  Gotham Central, Book Two: Jokers and Madmen. New York, NY: DC Comics, September 15th 2009. 288 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a fun reading as a break from more serious reading.  To the end that it relaxes my mind and gave me a mental break I think it accomplished its purpose.  This is the second “Gotham Central” volume that I read.  “Gotham Central” is a series that feature stories of the police and detectives in the make-believe city of Gotham where many of the Batman stories takes place.  Specifically this series looks at the men and women who are part of the Major Crimes Unit, or MCU for short, who not only fight the typical crime one expect in a large urban city but also the “freaks,” who are the supervillains that Batman has to battle.  But what I like about this series is that it takes place in Batman’s world but it is not about Batman; in fact this volume has less appearance of Batman than in volume one.  I love how the characters that are often supporting casts for Batman comics are put front and center in this series while Batman and even the supervillains play a less prominent role.

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Free Historical Theology Seminary Lectures: Reformation onwards by Dr. Nathan Busenitz

All throughout the month I have posting resources and reviews of things related to the Reformation in light of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  Here’s another one of those resource posts!

The following below are seminary lectures by Nathan Busenitz for a course at the Master’s of Divinity level on historical theology from the Reformation onward.  There are 26 lectures total and 11 of them alone are on the Reformation.  Lectures 12-15 also cover the Puritans which those who love Reformation history and Reformed theology often enjoy also as well.  What a treat!

If you enjoy these kinds of lectures don’t miss also 2017 Seminary Lectures: The Reformation by Dr. Carl Trueman.

Here are the videos featuring Dr. Busenitz:

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Review: The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs

Jon C. Laansma and Randall X. Gauthier. The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs: AIDS for Readers of the Greek New Testament.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, September 26th 2017. 80 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

In my opinion one of the best thing I got from my education in seminary was picking up the original languages of the Scriptures; other places such as the church might be better to prepare for other skillset for those entering the ministry but for most people the languages is probably the most helpful thing one can get in seminary that isn’t as easy to learn “on the job” or through self-study alone.  However it is a skill that can easily be lost if one doesn’t engage in expository preaching or work with the biblical languages in other ways.  It is with this perspective that I appreciate this new resource from Kregel Academic titled The Handy Guide to Difficult and Irregular Greek Verbs: AIDS for Readers of the Greek New Testament.

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Bible Contradiction? At his baptism, did God address Jesus directly?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: At his baptism, did God address Jesus directly?

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

Yes

“and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”” ( Mark 1:11)

“and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”” (Luke 3:22)

No, God addressed those who witnessed his baptism.

“and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17)

(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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Review: The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith

I’m reviewing this children book!  Christian parents, though this is a little different than most children’s book this is worth considering!

Updated: Due to an observation from a friend who commented this review has been modified to reflect a theological concern.

Stephen J. Nichols. The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, June 30th 2010.  34 pp.

3 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is a rather fun book for children on church history.  The back of the book says it is for children ages three to six which were the age group of my kids when I read this book to them.  It’s not easy trying to write a church history book for kids that age and the author Stephen Nichols should be commended for his effort as well as his attempt to make it as easy to understand as much as possible!  In what follows in my review I will first discuss about the artistic elements of the book followed by a discussion about the content of the book.  My second to last paragraph also bring up a serious disappointment with a theological concern that I do have with the book which also calls for anyone reading this to beware of one of the individuals that was profiled as a hero.

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On Pharisees: Collection of Short Posts on Pharisees beyond the Cliche

I thought I put my short three posts on Pharisees all in one place plus one older post that is a diagnostic of whether one walking in legalism or God’s grace.

Are you a Pharisaical anti-Pharisee?

In opposing Pharisees, do not become a Sadducee

In opposing Sadducees, do not become a Pharisee

Quick Answer: How Do you know you are walking in Legalism instead of Grace?

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Presuppostional Apologetics’ Links: Third Week of October 2017

Here are the links related to Presuppositional apologetics gathered between October 15th-21st, 2017.

1.) Problems with Materialistic Evolution

2.) 50 Alleged Bible Contradictions Refuted

3.) Defeating Atheism at it’s Foundation

4.) How Biblical Creationists Are Refuted

5.) More Evidence the Bible is God’s Word

6.) Here’s My Answer to One of the Most Common Questions I Get about My Books

7.) On dogs, strangers, and atheism

8.) Herman Bavinck’s Trinitarian Theology and Organic Apologetic

 

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

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Review: Batman/The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition

This is a weekend leisure reading review…because sometimes Pastors need a break from heavy theological reading too.  This work by the way just came out this past Tuesday!

Tom King.  Batman/The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, October 17th 2017. 104 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is actually a continuation of DC Universe: Rebirth.  I wished this work could have told readers that it would be confusing reading this without first knowing what happened in that previous work.  Here in this present volume we see the continuation of the flashpoint event continuing in which time has been changed by someone or something in the DC Universe.  We see the hero Batman and the superhero the Flash team up to try to figure out what’s going on with everything and who is behind the deliberate and malicious changing of time.

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Review: The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life: Psalms 1–12

Dale Ralph Davis. The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life: Psalms 1–12.  Ross-Shire, UK: Christian Focus Publications, July 20th 2010. 144 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is a devotional Bible commentary on Psalm 1 through Psalm 12 written by Dale Ralph Davis, a Pastor and Professor of the Old Testament with Reformed Theological Seminary at Jackson, Mississippi.  I have previously enjoyed Davis’ commentary on the book of Judges and also his book titled The Word Became Fresh which the subtitle explained as “How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts.”  Both works were phenomenal and I think one can say that Davis’ commentaries on Old Testament historical narratives are phenomenal and is one that an expositor of the Bible must have if he is going to teach on Old Testament narratives.  So when I saw that Davis’ had written a devotional commentary on the beginning of the Psalms I had to purchase it though it took me a few years before I finally read it and finished it.

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New Blog: Reddit Christians Blog

There’s a new blog put together by the Reddit Community at /Christians.

You can check out the blog by clicking HERE.

You might ask: What’s up with the whale?  The link on the blog answers that.

Reddit has various Christian community and some are progressive/liberal and not as solid or Biblical.  The one that is biblical is /r/Christians/.  It’s that community that started this blog.

I’ll be contributing to some posts over there as well.

Check it out!

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Genesis 2 and God’s Creation of marriage Part 5

This is part 5 of a series of post on God’s creation of marriage based upon His Word in Genesis 2.

For part 1 click here

For part 2 click here

For part 3 click here

For part 4 click here

For this series we will see 6 truths about marriage from Genesis 2 so that Christians who are married would live up to God’s design of marriage today and also for Christians who desire to marry to know what is their future roles in marriage.

Part 1 laid the foundation for the series and here in part five we want to look at the fourth truth we gleam from Genesis 2.

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