Then we discover what the spiritual life really is. It is not a matter of doing one good thing rather than another, of praying in one way rather than in another. It is not a matter of any special psychological effect in our own soul. It is the silence of our whole being in compunction and adoration before God, in the habitual realization that He is everything and we are nothing, that He is the Center to which all things tend, and to Whom all our actions must be directed. That our life and strength proceed from Him, that both in life and in death we depend entirely on Him, that the whole course of our life is foreknown by Him and falls into the plan of His wise and merciful Providence; that it is absurd to live as though without Him, for ourselves, by ourselves; that all our plans and spiritual ambitions are useless unless they come from Him and that, in the end, the only thing that matters is His glory. -Thomas Merton [Continue reading]

UPDATE: Dr. Mohler posted on Osteen in June of ‘05. Thanks for the correction.

More than a year after this blog called for the “outing” of Joel Osteen as a motivational speaker pretending to be a Christian pastor, Al Mohler raises questions about Osteen. I say “amen,” and hope many other evangelicals take the time to look at the information I gathered in this post and decide for themselves what Osteen is and is not. [Continue reading]

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4. Determine to be part of a community where the concept of leadership is fully New Testament in its understanding of the relation of clergy and laity, and is free from the exaggerated and harmful adoration/veneration of personalities so common in unhealthy groups.

How do you know that a community of Christians has the right attitude toward leadership? Here’s an example. Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll recently posted this at his blog: [Continue reading]

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3. Be honest: Does the logic of a group eventually conclude that other Christians are, in fact, not true believers at all?

The Arminian God is not “worshipable.” If you believe the doctrines of Arminius, you are idolater who hates God. If you give up your idolatry and embrace the God of the Bible, revealed in Calvinism’s true Christ, you can be saved. Among those who promote this idolatrous hatred and empty religious lie about God are: Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll and Chuck Smith. Their only hope of being saved is to turn from the God of Arminianism to the God of the Bible. (Calvinism.) [Continue reading]

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2. Be suspicious of guilt that comes from crossing the perceived boundaries of a group.

In between the lines of these epistles from young theologians, there is a common emotion. It is not a front-burner emotion, nor is it entirely absent. It is the emotion of nagging, background guilt. Guilt related to deviating from the approved path of the group in thought and belief.

These are young men who have read- and liked- N.T. Wright, Brian Mclaren or Karl Barth. They are men who have questioned unquestioned hermeneutical assumptions. They are men who have suggested that revered leaders may be wrong. They are men who have gone, in their minds and in their teaching, outside the boundary lines that define the group’s self-perception and worldview. They have raised questions, and sometimes affirmed answers, that have put them outside the traditions and identity of the group. [Continue reading]

Denise is blogging about the recent “cancer scare” at her blog. I want to link here so that IM readers can experience her excellent writing and benefit from her honest reflections on this experience. Since many of you prayed for us during this time, I hope you will find these posts a sign that God did answer your prayers for Christ to be glorified during this time.

Real life is a very grounding thing. It’s good for us. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend it.

Like The Night My House Was Burning Part 1
Like The Night My House Was Burning Part 2
Like The Night My House Was Burning Part 3
Epilogue

I’m fortunate to be trusted with many letters chronicling the spiritual journeys of some of my readers. Currently, I have several of these letters in my mailbox that I need to answer. I have a particular group, however, that are different from the norm; they are letters with several things in common:

-They are from young Calvinists.
-They are from men associated with reformed churches and schools.
-They are from men who admire many of the same leaders, books and blogs.
-All of the letter writers have deviated from the theology, reading and beliefs of the group that they belong to, and have articulated their deviations in some way.
-All of the letter writers are experiencing some level of criticism and a resulting rejection and isolation for their beliefs.
-Each writer, in a different way, is feeling guilt, a disconnection from the church and discontent in their Christian experience as a result of their deviations from the norm of the movement. [Continue reading]

UPDATE: Welcome Fide-O readers. I invite you to read this post and tell me why Jason Robertson thinks it’s about him. Good luck.

Guess Who said it?

“I am troubled by the tendency of some – often young people newly infatuated with Reformed doctrine – who insist that God cannon possibly love those who never repent and believe. I encounter this view, it seems, with increasing frequency. The argument inevitably goes like this: Psalm 7:11 tells us “God is angry with the wicked every day”. It seems reasonable to assume that if God loved everyone, He would have chosen everyone unto salvation. Therefore, God does not love the non-elect. Those who hold this view often go to great lengths to argue that John 3:16 cannot really mean God loves the whole world.”� [Continue reading]

Listen. I am not an Arminian. I’m not an opponent of reformed theology. I haven’t taken a notion to “mock” someone’s sermons. My issues with the “L” go back at least 15 years, maybe more, to my first reading of Pink. I’m very well aware of the whole “L” defense. Listen to Piper’s “TULIP” series. I don’t buy it, but I completely respect it and I respect those who believe it.

No, I’m a happy disciple of Robert Capon. No one in the world has brought me a more life-altering, energizing, wonderful and satisfying appreciation of the grace of God than Robert Farrar Capon. This isn’t news to many of you, but I’m trying to asplode a few new heads today.

I know that almost none of you have read an essay I wrote two years ago called “Out of Business With God” in which I took some beginning steps towards abandoning what I see as a theology of transactions and embracing a sacramental view of salvation in the one final Word and mediator, Jesus. Anyone who reads this will begin to understand why I am not participating in debates about “the extent of the atonement.” The entire mathematical model of understanding the work of Christ is no longer a part of my understanding of Jesus.

[A fuller explanation of a sacramental view of salvation in Jesus comes from the works of Robert Capon. Many of my recent readers missed the many excellent discussions on Capon's work on my previous blogs. His views on salvation in Jesus are in all of his later books, and I would suggest two books: The Mystery of Christ....and Why We Don't Get It, and The Fingerprints of God: Tracking the Divine Suspect Through A History of Images. All of Capon's books are what Christian books ought to be- fresh, surprising, controversial and worldview changing.] [Continue reading]

Doing some research on how reformed preachers deal with John 3:16, I was really surprised at how few resources there are on the web giving any real balanced, serious and fair discussion of the subject of the extent of the atonement.

As long as I have been around reformed theology, I have been adverse- to say the least- to the idea of presenting the Gospel as in any way “limited.” This goes deeply into my understanding of Jesus, my opposition to transactionalism, and my suspicion that the result of some theological constructs is a complete reversal of the intention of Jesus. From the first time I read A.W. Pink turning John 3:16 into a text that meant Jesus didn’t love all the little children of the world, I’ve disliked the “L.”

I did find two resources I wanted to pass along. Dr. Ron Rhodes has an extensive essay at “Reasoning From The Scriptures” examining and critiquing the theology of “Limited Atonement.” Well worth your time and very complete. The Case For Unlimited Atonement.

UPDATE: Randy Alcorn, who isn’t a Biblical scholar, but is well respected in reformed circles, is also unconvinced by “Limited” views of the work of Christ. He writes about his views here, and gives special attention to several reformed teachers.

Dr. Bruce Ware, a professor at Southern Seminary, also rejects the “Limited” notion of the work of Jesus in his “four point” Calvinism. I discovered an excellent outline where Dr. Ware overviews all the major options on this subject, looks at Biblical passages for each one, summarizes the theological arguments, and advocates his “unlimited” position.

I am reproducing the entire outline here. I will have little to say on this, because debating these points is no longer my interest. But you are welcome to the comment threads if you want to discuss Ware and Rhodes. [Continue reading]

I’ve had two major Bible study projects this year. The first was a men’s Bible study/chapel preaching series on marriage. The second is a careful study of the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, which I’m teaching to the same group of men two mornings a week, and also using as the basis for my current preaching series at my church.

The Colossians material has proven to be some of the richest experiences in Bible study I’ve ever enjoyed. Helped by my recent reading of N.T. Wright’s introduction to the New Testament, and especially by the provocative Colossians Remixed, I’ve derived more enjoyment and helpful teaching from this study than from any previous study of Paul’s letters.

Though I have been studying Colossians for several months, I am just now halfway through the book. Still, I would like to share some of what I am learning in Colossians here at Internetmonk.com. These posts will take more of the form of abbreviated versions of my preaching from Colossians than the more exegetical Bible studies. The exegetical work is an important part of my study, but in preaching I am working more toward application, which I hope will be of value to my readers. There will be no particular order to the posts. [Continue reading]

Because my son is a fan of the original graphic novel, “V for Vendetta,” my drive home from the theater this afternoon was a seminar in all the ways the new film differed from the novel. Those observations cemented my impression that the film I’d seen not only differed from the original book in ways that were important, but that the vision of this film had been gaudily painted with the heavy-handed strokes of the Bush-loathing left. Such tampering created a flawed, but a not quite ruined, piece of entertainment. [Continue reading]

The Minister, receiving the Woman at her father’s or friend’s hands, shall cause the Man with his right hand to take the Woman by her right hand, and to say after him as followeth.

I, M. take thee, N. to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth. -Solemnization of Holy Matrimony, Book of Common Prayer

When I first came to OBI, we had two widowers on staff. We had several widows, but two widowers. Both were older men, teachers, who had come to our school with their wives, and never thought they would lose them to cancer while here. [Continue reading]

I’m not like you. I’ve got a mongrel library.

I don’t like to be told what to read.

One of my characteristic behaviors in high school was to be constantly reading….reading something that was not my assignment. I moderated this a bit in college- an English degree generally comes with reading lists that can’t be totally ignored, and this in the day before the internet- but I still managed to spend the largest part of my time reading what I wanted to read, not what was on the reading list.

Call it an only child behavior. Call it my stubborn and resistant nature. Call it ADD or curiosity or a love of the library. Whatever it was, it continues to this day.

I don’t like to be told what to read. I like to read what I like to read. I make my choices myself. I am not trying to imitate the intellectual life of some hero, guru, preacher or professor. My reading is eclectic, independent, and all centered around my faith in the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, as the key to all knowledge. (Colossians 2:1-3) [Continue reading]

Avoiding A Theology To Kill Your Devotional Life

I wrote about devotional resources that have proven meaningful to me in “An iMonkish Quiet Time.”

Don Whitney is an unusual person. Not to meet or hear him, but unusual in what he’s doing with his life. Whitney is a Founder’s Movement Calvinist, who has built a superb and respected ministry in the area of spiritual direction/formation and teaching classical spiritual disciplines. Dr. Whitney has authored books like Spiritual Disciplines In The Christian Life, Spiritual Disciplines In The Church and Simplify Your Spiritual Life. [Continue reading]