Review: Who Ate the First Oyster?

A weekend non-fiction fun read as a break from heavy theological reading: Because Pastors need a break also!  Haven’t done one of these in a while!

Cody Cassidy.  Who Ate the First Oyster?. New York, NY: Penguin Books, May 5th 2020. 240 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Who ate the first oyster?  Who discovered Hawaii?  (And how?) And who painted the world’s first masterpiece?  These questions and others are answered in this book.  Written in an accessible manner the answers that author Cody Cassidy gave are informative, fascinating and interesting with the reasoning he gives of why scientists, historians and other experts come to the conclusion they arrived at.  If you like asking questions and learning people’s attempt to answer those questions then this book is for you.

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What are you planning to read for May 2021?

So here’s a lighter post that I wanted to ask readers the following question: What are you planning to read for May 2021?

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Apologetics Sermon Illustration #61: Water Connect Puzzle and Harmonization of Doctrines and Bible Contradictions

GO TO PART 60

Point: A few days ago I wrote Quick Thoughts on the Inter-relationship of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology in which I mentioned there is a place for Systematic Theology in terms of looking at the inter-relationship of a biblical doctrine with other biblical doctrines.  How does various doctrines which are clearly taught in Scripture inter-relate with one another?  That’s the place of systematic theology.  Also when we look at the Bible and an apologist works on harmonizing alleged Bible contradictions it involves seeing how various passages “fit” with one another.  How can we illustrate the endeavor of harmonizing biblical doctrines and biblical passages?

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God’s attribute: The Sovereignty of God Part 4

This is a series on the attributes of God.

Review of last lesson: In the previous lesson we explored the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, specifically how human responsibility does not make sense unless God is sovereign.

Purpose: In this lesson we will continue to explore the relationship of God’s sovereignty with man’s responsibility specifically with the two aspects of the will of God in relationship to man’s will and responsibility.

Method of study: We will look at two aspects of God’s will, then examine some biblical data that shows the relationship between man’s responsibility and the two aspect of God’s will.

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Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Carl R. Trueman. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, November 24th 2020.  432 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster |Amazon

Does it seem that too many things that is trending in our post-2020 world seems rather crazy?  This book is an important work that explore how some of the pathologies we are currently seeing in society and culture today is the result of the modern view of the self.  Christian historian Carl Trueman authored this important and phenomenal work that have the attention of others as well in regards to its significance, with this book having received The Gospel Coalition Book Award for 2020 and as of today in April 27^th, 2021 it remains the number one Best Seller in Religion & Philosophy on Amazon, which is incredible given that this is six months after the book was published.  I felt this book is similar to Francis Schaeffer’s How Then Shall We Live? with how the book present readers a penetrating analysis of cultural development of how we got to where we are now from the past although it is with much more academic rigor and footnotes to make the case for the book’s thesis than Schaeffer’s classic.  I felt this book is probably Trueman’s best work thus far.

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Apologetics in the Workplace: 3 Lectures by Greg Bahnsen

A few months ago our blog mentioned that all of Apologist Greg Bahnsen’s MP3 Lectures now free for download!

He’s my favorite apologist and has shaped me in so many ways.  He’s one of my role models with his example of scholarship, intellect, boldness to defend the faith, his desire to be biblical and also his pastoral heart.  And everything he did was so intense.

Here is a quick bio of Bahnsen:

Greg L. Bahnsen, (1948-1995), was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California, specializing in the theory of knowledge. He previously received the B.A. (magna cum laude, philosophy) from Westmont College, and then simultaneously earned the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. Dr. Bahnsen lectured to a broad range of evangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences. He was an experienced apologist and debater, a clear and cogent teacher of the Christian worldview who was devoted to training believers in understanding and applying the Christian faith to every area of life. He published numerous scholarly articles, a number of well-known books, and has over 1,500 recorded lectures and sermons.

Among those 1,500 lectures Bahnsen taught a three part series titled “Apologetics in the Workplace.” These were originally taught to lay people in Grand Rapids. He emphasized in opening this series he wants to teach and equip God’s people with knowing how to defend the faith in every day life.

Here’s the MP3s:

1 – Apologetics in the Workplace, Part 1 (1 of 3)

2 – Apologetics in the Workplace, Part 2 (2 of 3)

3 – Apologetics in the Workplace, Part 3 (3 of 3)

Enjoy!

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This Sunday at Church: Pray for the Scripture Reading During Church Service

For this Sunday here’s what you can do: Pray for the Scripture Reading During Church Service.

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Bible Contradiction? Did Paul visit all of the disciples when he went to Jerusalem after his conversion?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Did Paul visit all of the disciples when he went to Jerusalem after his conversion?

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

Yes.

“When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. ²⁸ And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 9:26-28)

No.

“Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 But I did not see another one of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.” (Galatians 1:18-19)

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

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Is Psalm 29 absurd? Answering the skeptic’s claim

This is a guest post by Mandy. She blogs here. I appreciate how knowledge of the Old Testament, OT background and Scripture. Check out her blog!

A few months ago, I was looking at The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible (SAB) in light of Jimmy’s post “Who Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart?”  In my browsing, I happened to see the SAB said that Psalm 29 was “absurd.”

From the NASB95:

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name;

Worship the Lord in holy array.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,

The Lord is over many waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,

The voice of the Lord is majestic.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

And Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.

8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sat as King at the flood;

Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.

11 The Lord will give strength to His people;

The Lord will bless His people with peace (NASB95).

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Third Week of April 2021 Presuppositional Apologetics’ Links

Here are links related to the subject of Presuppositional apologetics gathered online between April 15th-21st, 2021.

1.) Cave to the Cross: Ep. 120 – Why Should I Believe Christianity – The Big Picture – Part 2

2.) Bible Contradiction? How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?

3.) Does Morality Come from God? by Jordan Ravanes

4.) Does Logic Presuppose Christianity? — Part 1: Introduction

5.) Extrapolation and Generalization

6.) What if the Laws of Logic goes Unjustified?

7.) Does Logic Presuppose Christianity? — Part 2: What Is Logic?

8.) Free PDF Apologetics’ Thesis: The Effect of Ethnic Identity on Biblical Unity in Its Role as an Apologetic

9.) Humanists Being Humanists….

10.) The Improper Use of Theologian Herman Bavinck for a Political Agenda

Missed the last round up?  Check out the re-blogged post from a friend 

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God’s attribute: The Sovereignty of God Part 3

This is a series on the attributes of God.

Purpose: In this lesson we will continue to explore the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, specifically how human responsibility does not make sense unless God is sovereign.

A Dilemma?

1. Some people see a dilemma: If God is sovereign and is as in control as the Bible says, then why is man responsible?
2. However, a biblical understanding of human responsibility actually presupposes God’s sovereignty

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Free PDF Apologetics’ Thesis: The Effect of Ethnic Identity on Biblical Unity in Its Role as an Apologetic

Here’s a master’s thesis that Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity has made available titled “The Effect of Ethnic Identity on Biblical Unity in Its Role as an Apologetic.”  I haven’t read the whole thing but I scanned through the table of contents, pages here and there and the conclusion.  I appreciate seeing the writer tackling on key verses related to ethnicity, unity and reconciliation.  I imagine this would be a treat and food for thought for those into apologetics, church unity and a biblical view of ethnicities.  The thesis was written by Caroline Boozer and was completed on May 2019 as part of her completion of her degree in Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics (MA).  This topic seems even more important now in our post 2020 world.  I am thankful Liberty University has made this thesis available online for free.

Here’s an abstract:

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The Improper Use of Theologian Herman Bavinck for a Political Agenda

The meme below is a defense of Timothy Keller by drawing a comparison with Keller to Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck (1854–1921).

There is so much going on in this meme. I won’t be able to speak about everything stated. Nor is this post going to be attacking Timothy Keller though I sometimes feel his tweet on Twitter is too generalized and/or cryptic and they can be understood both by Christians and non-Christians in their own ways and therefore cheered by all. Instead I want to focus on this meme saying these all these claims above can be attributed to Herman Bavinck. My post is narrowly focusing on the claim that Bavinck would see himself as a political liberal. I do have some serious reservation when people invoke someone esteemed to improperly and inaccurately support a partisan political cause. This is true of those who can make Jesus into a rifle owning, card carrying NRA member Republican or the other spectrum where Jesus is portrayed as this beta male Vegan hippy pacifist who drink latte soy milk and is a woke SJW New Age Eastern mysticism guru. While not as egregious still I think Bavinck is being misrepresented for a political agenda here. Let me explain.

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The Church during 2021: Pray for Churches Facing Legal Matters

For this Sunday here’s what you can do: Pray for Churches Pray for Churches Facing Legal Matters with this Pandemic.

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Quick Thoughts on the Inter-relationship of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology

Someone asked a question about thoughts of Biblical Theology versus Systematic Theology. I don’t see the two should be against one another but rather both are important, though sometimes some see one is more important than the other in such a way that one is neglected or looked down upon.

Before going further, what is systematic theology and Biblical Theology?

Systematic Theology (I shall use the acronym ST) as defined by popular Systematic Theologian Wayne Grudem is Theology that “focuses on the collection and summary of all biblical passages on a subject, and attempts to summarize the teachings of Scripture in brief, understandable, and carefully formulated statements” (Source).

Biblical Theology (I shall use the acronym BT) as defined by Biblical Theologian Geerhardus Vos “is that branch of Exegetical Theology which deals with the process of the self-revelation of God deposited in the Bible” (Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1948), 13).

Biblical Theology is not a term to say right theology that is from the Bible (hopefully one’s Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology is based upon truths from the Bible). Rather Biblical is focus on the process and progress of how God revealed Himself and other truths while Systematic Theology often focus on the finished and completed revelation of God in the Bible and tries to organize these truths logically.

Here’s my thought:

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