Musings of a Former Fundamentalist (IFB) Renewed by Reformed Theology
yep, I recommend this link, article or whatever it is
This is just a brief post to let you know Time magazine recently interviewed Al Mohler regarding his Calvinism, and his recent near-death hospital stay. He did recover fully, by the way. But Time’s interview gives a fascinating insight into how secularism looks at both Christianity and Calvinism. This is definitely worth a quick read.
Here it is. (HT: Ryan DeBarr)
I love blogging, and recently I have started experiencing some of the unique benefits that blogging brings. One of these is the occasional free book. Of course in return, we bloggers are expected to showcase the book with a raving review, hopefully.
One of the first free books I received is Alone with God [Greenville, SC: Journey Forth/BJU Press, 2006] written by Jason Janz the site publisher of Sharper Iron. Don’t worry, the review is going to be good, because this book is both unique and exceptional.
If you are like me, you struggle with a good routine, not to mention consistency, in your devotions. And I’m sure you have experienced times when you read your Bible and pray and yet don’t feel like you really encountered God at all. Jason’s book was written with you and I in mind, so don’t worry there is hope!
Now I’m sure you are also aware that no book will prove to be the panacea for all of our spiritual maladies. No single book, short of the Bible, contains the cure-all for every spiritual problem. And as Jason admits, books written to help readers have meaningful times with God are a dime a dozen these days.
But Alone with God is different. It is not a devotional guide, nor is it a mystical, new age, “fresh” approach. Rather it is designed to be a book that both encourages us to press for a real and sustained relationship with God and gives us a practical approach or plan to make it happen. It is the combination of these two aims which make the book so unique and so valuable.
Now, nothing magical or brilliant is necessarily offered within its pages. Jason believes we should be reading the Bible and praying and that this will be the absolutely indispensable means for us to know and commune with God. But Jason (an assistant pastor for 10 years) also knows a little bit about how people tick. And so his book contains just the right mix of “preaching” and encouragement along with a do-able plan so that the average person will be empowered to consistently have a meaningful time “alone with God” each day.
The book is so helpful, because it was born out of Jason’s need to help himself. He faced his own struggles with consistency and vitality in devotions—faced them and won. Jason’s plan draws from his experience at beginning a disciplined work-out and exercise routine. He has found that planning out each step of what he is going to do was immensely helpful. Then he applied a similar approach to his personal time with God. The result is a simple and organized plan which frees a person to experience a deep and meaningful relationship with God.
The book is basically an explanation of his practical approach to planning out his quiet times with God. At times it seems to simple. In all it is only 148 pages (thirty or so from the appendix section). But who needs something complicated when it comes to revamping your walk with God?
This book challenged me about the seriousness and importance of time with God. But it also encouraged me and provided real hope. Jason doesn’t push for Bible reading or memorization so much as he pushes for encountering and knowing God through the Word. He claims, “We are not simply seeking facts about God; we are seeking to know Him personally.” This focus weaves its way throughout the book and is one of its greatest strengths. Jason also includes a very helpful chapter on meditation, a practice which modern Christians have all but abandoned. Jason also goes out of his way to dispel many myths which surround a daily time with God.
The book, as I said, is not much more than an explanation of the plan, and so you will want to know more about that plan. Again, like the book it is fairly simple, but it draws from insights from George Mueller and others (the book includes a fascinating four page excerpt written by Mueller describing his own habit of meditating and praying from Scripture). Jason has also given a timeline for his plan to be used in either a 20 or 30 minute session. The best thing about the plan is that it’s flexible and includes variety. It should keep you awake and also engaged in the Word and in prayer. What more could we ask? What follows below is my own explanation of Jason’s approach. [I keep using “Jason’s” rather than “Janz’s” because I think its easier. Hope you don’t mind, Jason.]
I would encourage you to get this book and read it. There is a companion journal available to purchase in conjunction with the book. Amazon even offers a deal when you buy both. The book certainly has helped put a fire in my heart again to really and truly know God personally each day. I want to be “alone with God”, and this book can help me actually do so by giving me a simple plan to aim for each day. With God’s help I intend to follow this plan for the remainder of this year (at least).
Before you go, you may be interested in reading Jason’s own review of his book. It includes his reasons for writing it.
Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Amazon.com or direct from BJU Press.
So, are you a critic? Or are you more than a critic. Tom Pryde wrote an excellent piece in which he explores how critics often do noone any good. They just create a “culture of criticism”. He challenges us to do more than just critique, but to reform and act.
As a “reforming” blogger myself, I admit it is very easy to criticize and very hard to act and reform. It can be fun to argue and easy to ignore or even despise/belittle opponents, but very hard to build and help people. So I needed this fresh reminder to have a Christian attitude when blogging.
Many of my readers are those who see things that need fixing in fundamentalism. I challenge you to read Tom’s post and pick up a hammer rather than just telling all the foreman what to do. This is a post worth marking well.
So here is the link to Tom’s post: “NeoFundamentalist, Remonstrans, and the Culture of Criticism“. And to get you more excited about it, let me post Seeker’s 6 point synthesis of Tom’s post. (You’ll want to read Seeker’s post too as it adds to Tom’s.)
[words in brackets above are my slight edits to Seeker’s points]
I’m quite busy today, but let me inform you of an interesting series of articles over at Pulpit, the blog of John MacArthur and company. They are taking on the subject of KJV onlyism, because (surprise, surprise!) some people have been bringing up the issue in the comments sections over on their blog. So they have begun “A Short KJV Detour”. See below for the links. Their interaction with KJV onlyism is more informed than most conservative evangelicals, as fundamentalists tend to cross their paths more often. These articles are informative yet simple—they will be helpful to many who are somewhat unfamiliar with this issue, so dive in!
Remember that debate we had around here on infant baptism vs. believer’s baptism? It was in Nov. and Dec. of 2005. (See this summary post on the debate.) Well there is a new book out which may prove helpful to anyone seriously considering the issue.
For most of my life I have just assumed believer’s baptism was correct, but when I began to seriously think and debate on the issue, I came to understand that the issue is not as hard and fast as I once thought. Part of this stems from my new understanding of Calvinism and Reformed doctrine. I am now much more open to the Reformed doctrine of infant baptism (which is not at all a baptismal regeneration view), but I remain Baptist still. However, I have determined I need to do more research in this area, and this book looks like it should be one I study.
There is an interesting interview of Tom Schreiner, one of the editors, on Justin Taylor’s blog which is worth reading if you are conversant with the debate (the comments are interesting as well). It also links to an interesting article written by Bob Stein on the subject as well.
I am going to list the chapters and contributors from the book below. Feel free to provide any feedback on the debate in general or this book in particular.
Author Preface
Foreword
Timothy GeorgeIntroduction
Thomas A. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright1. Baptism in the Gospels
Andreas J. Köstenberger2. Baptism in Luke-Acts
Robert H. Stein3. Baptism in the Epistles: An Initiation Rite for Believers
Thomas R. Schreiner4. Baptism and the Relationship between the Covenants
Stephen J. Wellum5. Baptism in the Patristic Writings
Steven A. McKinion6. “Confessor Baptism” : The Baptismal Doctrine of the Early Anabaptists
Jonathan H. Rainbow7. Baptism and the Logic of Reformed Paedobaptists
Shawn D. Wright8. Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism
Duane A. Garrett9. Baptism in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
A. B. Caneday10. Baptism in the Context of the Local Church
Mark E. Dever [HT: Justin Taylor]