Machen Monday

The following excerpt is from an address entitled, “Consolations in the Midst of Battle,” given by J. Gresham Machen to the graduates of Westminster Theological Seminary in 1931.

Remember this, at least – the things in which the world is now interested are the things that are seen; but the things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are not seen are eternal.  You, as ministers of Christ, are called to deal with the unseen things.  You are stewards of the mysteries of God.  You alone can lead men, by the proclamation of God’s word, out of the crash and jazz and noise and rattle and smoke of this weary age into the green pastures and beside the still waters; you alone, as ministers of reconciliation, can give what the world with all its boasting and pride can never give – the infinite sweetness of the communion of the redeemed soul with the living God.

Source: J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, Edited by D.G. Hart

a good word as I work on my papers…

I found this quote from Carl Trueman to be quite sobering as I feverishly work to finish my final papers of the semester:

A theologian who cannot communicate is a theologian who cannot teach; and a theologian who cannot teach is a theologian who perhaps missed his real calling as the writer of those 2 000 page user-friendly word processor manuals.

a word on the political future of evangelicals…

Owen Strachan’s blog is one of the few blogs that I actually read on a consistent basis.  His stuff is thought-provoking, compelling, and serves as a fitting example of how Christians should interact with cultural ideals through the lense of Scripture.

One of his more recent posts, “Is There a Wilberforce Out There,” is no exception, as he writes:

Is there a Wilberforce out there, a person whom God may use to do something titanic like overturn Roe v. Wade or end sex-trafficking?  Are there bright young Christians who are not called to the ministry but who can use their gifts in the political realm in service to Christ?  Do we sometimes teach young Christians that only lesser believers enter the political realm?  We must not.  We must celebrate the ministry, but we must also recognize that many–most–are not called to it, and that there is a tremendous need in America and many other countries for courageous Christian statesmanship.  Politicians can be self-serving, and politics cannot inaugurate the salvation of the world, but so too can a righteous person accomplish tremendous good in the public square.  We must not forget this, and we must not fail to teach it to our children.

You can read the entire post here.

A test case in why your hermeneutics class matters

“Sez Who?”

I’m reading through Keller’s Reason for God and came upon this quote from the “late Yale law professor Arthur Leff” that perked my interest as Keller discusses the conundrum of human dignity:

When would it be impermissible to make the formal intellectual equivalent of what is known in barrooms and schoolyards as “the grand Sez Who?” In the absence of God…each…ethical and legal system…wil be differentiated by the answer it chooses to give to one key question: who among us…ought to be able to declare “law” that ought to be obeyed? Stated that baldly, the question is so intellectually unsettling that one would expect to find a noticeable number of legal and ethical thinkers trying not to come to grips with it…Either God exists or He does not, but if He does not, nothing and no one else can take his place…

The Problem with the World

In Philip Yancey’s introduction to G.K. Chesterton’s classic work, Orthodoxy, he writes:

When the London Times asked a number of writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” Chesterton sent in the reply shortest and most to the point:

Dear Sirs:

I am.

Sincerely Yours,
G.K. Chesterton

 

Facebook Fallout

Dr. Mohler provides an insightful and convicting post on how the digitally savvy student suffers the life of the mind for the sake of maintaining his Facebook status, keeping track of how many cups of coffee Walter has had on Twitter, all the while trying to listen to a lecture on the horrors of suffering in India.  Here is his conclusion:

People who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer, and God does not maintain a Facebook page. Our ability to focus attention is not just about the mind, for it is also a reflection of the soul. Our Christian discipleship demands that we give attention to our attention.

Read the whole thing.

Side-note: Ironically I both read and posted this article during class.  Ouch.

GINOBLI!!!

So you love technology…

Owen Strachan provides some helpful insights concerning the affects of technology upon the life of the Christian.  Here is his conclusion:

Enjoy your gadgets, then; use the incredible medical care available to many of us in this age; benefit from the advances that sprout up every day in our world. Use your GPS to find that elusive movie theater, your iPhone to order subs, your computer to find the Bible verse for your sermon, the email list to urge prayer for foreign missionaries. But do all of these things aware that you must shape your approach to technology, and that you must let permanent things, things originating beyond the age of the earth, to direct your life. Otherwise, it will not only be our gadgets that are impermanent. It will be, perhaps, our faith.

Read the whole post.

Is it really?

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 5:25)

Reading these words, I found myself coming to the realization that based on how I manage my life, my answer would have to be, “Umm…no.”  No, more often than not, I am much more content to trifle with food, clothing, the new Mac laptops, my GPA, and on and on, rather than realizing the reality of the kingdom and seeking after it.

No my friends, life is much more than the food we digest and the clothes we adorn.  When we get dressed, there is the kingdom.  When we eat, there is the kingdom.  When we work, when we study, when we talk with our wives and fellowship with our friends, there is the kingdom.  So let us be first mindful of the kingdom and God’s righteousness, knowing that it is within the context of the kingdom that we live.

“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  I ask you, is it really?