January 31, 2007 by iMonk
Teaching from the Psalms. How to know you are in left field.
I am now removing one podcast each week. #14 died today.
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January 29, 2007 by iMonk
For one last post on the issue of Christians and Antidepressants, I’ve asked former BHT fellow Mike Benoit to share his perspective from within the discipline of psychology.
Mike Benoit is finishing a Ph.D. dissertation in Counseling Psychology and looking for an academic position somewhere. His new venture is a podcast called Giving Psychology Away found at http://givingpsychologyaway.podomatic.com/ or at iTunes. He and his wife have two children (one unborn) and live in Ohio.
All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World on the effects of soma.
I want to publicly applaud Michael and Denise for their honesty and willingness to disclose their personal struggles to the benefit of the Body of Christ. The stigma of depression has been steadily declining in our culture, yet in the Church there remains a strong reticence to discuss any mental health issue. We need to avoid the extremes of theological discussion devoid of compassion and entirely anecdotal accounts that claim to be the last word on the issue. What follows is a reaction to my experience with many Christians struggling with depression, not just to what Michael and Denise have written. [Continue reading]
January 25, 2007 by iMonk
I’ve been asked to give my view on the use of antidepressant medication, and I assume especially as it relates to the Christian community.
I’ve written about growing up with my dad’s severe depression, and I’ve written an entire series on “The Christian and Mental Illness.” I’m currently reading “Darkness is My Only Companion” and I hope to review it soon along with John Piper’s “When The Darkness Will Not Lift.”
Here in my ministry with students, I am surrounded by students who take psychiatric medications. Reviewing medications and their effectiveness with a student is part of the contribution I make to our admissions process. I often read letters from parents stating that they want their child in a school where there will be no place given to medications. While many of our students no longer take medications, we support the use of some medications with some students. We occasionally request a student be reviewed for possible diagnosis and prescriptions. [Continue reading]
January 24, 2007 by iMonk
Teaching from Luke 4. An illustration of the locked door. Traditional churches and culture. A bit of news update.
I am now removing one podcast each week. #13 died today.
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January 23, 2007 by iMonk
Baptist Elder and BHT Fellow Bill Mackinnon has written some of the most interesting and provocative essays ever to appear at InternetMonk.com. That tradition continues as Bill asks some inevitable questions raised by Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson’s interpretation of I Timothy 2:12. Welcome to the stage, Professor Mackinnon.
Certain portions of the internet are abuzz with discussions regarding the termination of Dr. Sheri Klouda from her position as assistant professor of Old Testament languages at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She was terminated, ostensibly, because she is female, and according to seminary president Paige Patterson’s interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:12, not qualified to teach men the Hebrew language. You can read about it here, and here. There is some question as to whether the termination was both ethical and legal, but that’s not what this article is about. It is about 1 Timothy 2:12, and what a consistent application of that verse (however you interpret it) means in real life. [Continue reading]
January 23, 2007 by iMonk
I’ve been involved in some good discussions recently on the role of subjective, personal spiritual experiences. How should we deal with personal experiences of God “speaking” or otherwise relating to Christians on the subjective levels of feeling and sensing? Because there is such abuse and misuse in this area, it’s very easy to create a kind of “classroom” Christianity, where everyone is a theologian and a note-taker, but those who have experiences with God are viewed as off the rails and abandoning the Bible.
Jonathan Edwards can write about overwhelming sensations of God’s presence, but such talk today will get you looked at as one of those “touchy-feely” contemplative types.
Is subjective Christian experience one of those areas we have to throw away in order to hold on to Biblical authority and reasonable, non-fanatical balance in the Christian life? Or is there a way to look at subjective experiences that is positive, balanced and healthy enough to honor the Biblical material, the reality of the Spirit and our own humanness?
Here are some of the main points in these recent discussions, followed by a case study. Your comments are welcome. [Continue reading]
January 22, 2007 by iMonk
One of my all time favorite Internet Monk essays is this one: “Our Problem with Grace.” If you know my admiration for the writing of Robert Capon, you’ll recognize his influence on this piece. I’m convinced that grace is one of the most difficult concepts for Christians to live with and live by. But if we understand that the grace of God is the great transforming power in the Gospel, we’ll always want to hear more about it. I hope this essay will create in you the desire to be where the grace of God is celebrated, not turned into legalism or manipulation.
This essay represents what I believe most deeply in my faith. This is what holds me together. I hope it encourages you.
My apologies for the change in type-face in the second half of the essay. Maybe I’ll clean it up later.
READ: “Our Problem With Grace.”
January 19, 2007 by iMonk
Upon finishing N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian, I found myself comparing it to the classic C.S. Lewis book, Mere Christianity. Wright, the publishers and many readers have invited the comparisons as well.
I’ve read Mere Christianity many times with my Advanced Bible students. I’m impressed with the durability of Mere Christianity. The chapters were originally delivered as wartime radio talks on the essence of the Christian faith, explained in layman’s language. Lewis made some editorial changes in creating the book, but Mere Christianity retains its vigor, brevity and focus as a book.
Millions have read Mere Christianity, and its reputation as an apologetic is hailed among Christians of every denomination. Lewis’s low churchmanship–a key to his popularity with contemporary evangelicals–kept his focus on topics other than contentious denominational issues. Many of us who have admired his “merely Christian” posture have found it much more difficult to avoid the intrusion of “churchly” issues into any discussion of the faith. Mere Christianity would have been a great blog, especially with the comments open. [Continue reading]
January 18, 2007 by iMonk
The Wedding at Cana. Book recommendations. Bible overviews. A bit o’ news.
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January 18, 2007 by iMonk
These Lives and Deaths Were No Tragedy
In April 2000, Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon, West Africa. Ruby was over eighty. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing eighty years old, and serving at Ruby’s side in Cameroon. The brakes failed, the car went over a cliff, and they were both killed instantly. I asked my congregation: Was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great passion, namely, to be spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ—even two decades after most of their American counterparts had retired to throw away their lives on trifles. No, that is not a tragedy. That is a glory. These lives were not wasted. And these lives were not lost. “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).
I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life.
-John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, Crossway Books, pp 45-46.
Our “Men’s Mornings With God” group gathered today and continued our discussion of John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life. In chapter 3 of that book are the two stories excerpted above. I’d ended the previous study with this section, and now was beginning this morning’s study with an unusual angle: I was going to disagree with Dr. Piper. [Continue reading]
January 16, 2007 by iMonk
One of these days I am going to write a tribute post to the wonderful reformed historian and biographer, Iain Murray. Murray has created a legacy of something we desperately need in Christianity: the lives of the “saints” that surround us on the journey. That’s a valuable and powerful gift to the church. Consider how scripture points us to the crowd of witnesses around, behind and ahead of us. [Continue reading]
January 15, 2007 by iMonk
UPDATE: Phillip Yancey on How MLK positively impacted his faith. A must-read.
For the 15 years I’ve worked in a private Christian school, I’ve been exposed to thousands of public school kids who bring their understanding and expectations of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to the school experience. I’ve learned a lot from these kids, and I’ve learned a lot about how they’ve come to understand this civil rights holiday in their youth culture, media, families and public schools.
In addition, every year I have preached on Dr. King, I receive feedback from the faculty and staff of our school. From them, I understand a bit of how evangelicals view this day. I listen to what evangelicals say in print and on the web.
And, of course, I live in the same information age as everyone else. I read, watch, listen and take in the many things said about MLK, Jr. and his legacy.
My conclusion: Here’s Five Reasons I Don’t Like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. [Continue reading]
January 14, 2007 by iMonk
On being in denial about our controversies vs learning how to differ as members of the same family. Some newsy bits.
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January 13, 2007 by iMonk
Ground Rules is a series of posts on some of the issues raised in my interactions with my critics in the blogosphere.
Imagine with me, if you will, the following strange story.
Imagine that I make a blog post taking issue with some point made by Ravi Zacharias. I rarely disagree with Ravi, but let’s say I take some issue with him on the issue of inerrancy. I devote a post to it. [Continue reading]
January 12, 2007 by iMonk
I’m not one of those constantly offended, hand-wringing bloggers who has to run a monthly post complaining about the Christian blogosphere or tell you ten rules for the Christian blogger. That may be because, as some frequently note, I’m part of “the problem” in the Christian blogosphere. (Yawn) Well too bad. I’m happy to do my phampleteering and pirate radio in my way and for you to do whatever you do in yours. Talk hard, as we say around here. [Continue reading]
