Sunday, August 31, 2008

Palin: Fresh Air, But Don't Get Too Excited!

I think LP.org is RIGHT on when it says the following about Sarah Palin:

"Palin is certainly a breath of fresh air from the typical establishment candidates. However, Palin is also more of a political chess piece than a real sign of reform within the GOP...While the base of the GOP may be more prone to rallying behind Palin than McCain, it's still McCain that is heading the ticket, and it will be McCain that would be making the policy decisions in a McCain administration. Though Palin herself may not know it, and though newly excited conservatives may not be willing to believe it, Palin's role (and her views) will most likely be marginal at best.

Voting for McCain because of Palin is like buying a jalopy with a fresh paint job, and hoping it will perform like a car right out of the factory doors. The GOP is still heading down a bumpy path, and even a reformer like Palin isn't enough to get it back on the pavement. "

Of course, Palin is better than the other prospective VP: Biden. But that isn't saying anything at all! (I find it ironic that Obama talks so much about change, and then appoints, of all people, a man whose middle name ought to be ESTABLISHMENT)

Oh my! Here we go.. A period of either an ObamaNation or a fresh scoop of McStatism. What a lovely choice! Would you like to be stomped with the Left Boot or the Right Boot? Thankfully my hope is not placed in U.S. politics (or Canadian politics for that matter), because it would be lost long ago! I advise seeking something less wishy-washy to hang your hopes on than a McCain or an Obama. Otherwise, you'll be really disappointed. Call me a pessimist..but time has already told and there is no reason to think McCain or Obama have changed their tunes.

Labels:

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Amillennialism Described

Chris Hand, of Crich Baptist Church in England, has an excellent talk named Amillennialism Described & Defended. Its a very good plain/practical explanation of what Amillennialism is, and on a more trivial note he's got a real cool British accent as well! I'm not really a end-times connoisseur, but due to the dominance of premillennialism in North American Christianity, I think its important that the Amillennial and Postmillenial positions are explained clearly and succinctly. And this particular talk, while far from comprehensive, really does a fine job at setting out amillennialism.

Labels:

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Os Guinness Lectures

Check out these Os Guinness Lectures (HT: Douglas Groothuis)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Neither Here Nor There

  • "Web geeks" should note that PHP 4 is no longer being supported!
  • Republican senator and long-time friend of John McCain, Chuck Hagel refuses to endorse McCain or Obama. In my opinion, it is about time more people start refusing to pick between two bad options. It is about time we realize that statism, whether in the name of "liberal" or "conservative" values, still is statism.
  • Check out these two Douglas Wilson books coming out soon
  • LewRockwell.com has an intriguing column named Solzhenitsyn and the Russian Question
  • Parents will appreciate this guide to praying and doing devotions with their children (HT: 'Tim Challies)
  • The CATO institute has some thoughts on the Russia-Georgia conflict

What is Eschatology?

"Eschatology is 'the doctrine of the last things.' It deals with the teaching or belief, that the world-movement, religiously considered, tends towards a definite final goal, beyond which a new order of affairs will be established, frequently with the further implication, that this new order of affairs will not be subject to any further change, but will partake of the static character of the eternal." - Geerhardus Vos in The Pauline Eschatology

Labels: ,

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Baptist Catechism: Items 11 - 15

Q. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Q. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good (Gen. 1 throughout; Heb. 11:3).

Q. How did God create man?
A. God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures (Gen. 1:26, 27, 28; Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24).

Q. What are God's works of providence?
A. Gods works of providence are his most holy, (Ps. 145:17; 104:24) wise (Is. 28:29), and powerful preserving (Heb. 1:3) and governing all his creatures, and all their actions (Ps. 103:19; Mt. 10:29, 30, 31).

Q. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience: forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death (Gal. 3:12; Gen. 2:17).

Labels:

Monday, August 04, 2008

A Great Russian Author Passes Away..

Just yesterday the great Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn died. Alexander was the son of a well known composer/pianist. His writing was significant enough to earn him a Nobel Prize in Literature (1970) and deportation from Russia (1974). He was accused of anti-Soviet propaganda and was a prisoner in the the Gulag and also spent time in the Lubyanka prison and various labor camps. His life is a warning about the perils of statism. Later in life, he lived in the U.S.A. for a number of years, and gave a number of well-known lectures. He spoke of the dangers of communism, but was also a very outspoken critic of Western popular culture. In his view "the human soul longs for things higher, warmer, and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits ... by TV stupor and by intolerable music".

Solzhenitsyn's key works include One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Cancer Ward, and The Gulag Archipelago.

Labels:

Baptist Catechism: Items 6 - 10

Q. What things are chiefly contained in the holy scriptures?
A. The holy scriptures chiefly contain what man ought to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man (2 Tim. 1:13; 3:15,16).

Q. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit (John 4:24), infinite (Job 11:7, 8, 9), eternal (Ps. 110:2), and unchangeable (Jas. 1:17) in his being (Ex. 33:14), wisdom (Ps. 147:5), power (Rev. 4:8), holiness (Rev. 15:4), justice, goodness, and truth (Ex. 34:6).

Q. Are there more gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God (Deut. 6:4, 7; Jer 10:10).

Q. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory (1 John 5:7; Mt. 28:19).

Q. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass (Eph. 1:4, 11; Rom. 9:22-23; Is. 46:10; Lam. 3:37).

Labels:

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Baptist Catechism: Items 1 - 5

Q. Who is the first and chiefest being?
A. God is the first and chiefest being (Is. 44:6; 47:12; Ps. 97:9).

Q. Ought every one to believe there is a God?
A. Everyone ought to believe there is a God (Heb. 6:6); and it is their great sin and folly who do not (Ps. 14:1).

Q. How may we know there is a God?
A. The light of nature in man and the works of God plainly declare there is a God (Rom. 1:19,20; Ps. 19:1, 2, 3; Acts 17:24); but his word and Spirit only do it fully and effectually for the salvation of sinners (1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Tim. 3:15,16).

Q. What is the word of God?
A. The holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God, and the only certain rule of faith and obedience (2 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 2:20).

Q. May all men make use of the holy scriptures?
A. All men are not only permitted, but commanded and exhorted to read, hear, and understand the holy scriptures (John 5:38; Rev. 17:18, 19; 1:3; Acts 8:30).

Labels: