Practical Theology

What Friends Are For

January 3, 2012 by Andy Naselli

“I was sixty years old when this story began—when I was forced to have friends,” admits introvert Noël Piper, wife of John Piper. She explains why and what happened in this Tabletalk article.

Advancing the Gospel in the World’s Difficult Places

December 20, 2011 by Andy Naselli

Watch and pray:

Why Pastors Should Bless Interracial Marriage

December 14, 2011 by Andy Naselli

An 8-minute video by John Piper:

http://vimeo.com/32973970

An Edifying Vision of Marriage

December 12, 2011 by Andy Naselli

In October 2011 I reviewed this book for the forthcoming edition of JBMW, and the CBMW Blog has posted the review. [Update on 12/4/2012: The review is now available as a PDF.]

Timothy Keller, with Kathy Keller. The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. New York: Dutton, 2011.

Conclusion:

I could apply many adjectives to the book:

insightful,

shrewd,

disarming,

realistic,

convicting,

pastoral,

warm,

gracious,

penetrating,

theological,

relevant,

faithful,

incisive,

accessible,

clear,

compelling.

But perhaps best of all (because of those traits), it’s edifying.

It has inspired me to glorify God by loving and leading my wife like Ephesians 5:21-33 commands.

Related: I blogged on this book three times in October:

Money quote from Keller in an interview:

In the long run, the more superficial things that made a person sexually attractive will move to the background, and matters of character, humility, grace, courage, faithfulness, and love will come to the foreground. So companionship, duty, and mutual sacrifice are, in the end, the sexiest things of all.

And here are three videos:

1. An interview with Tim and Kathy Keller:

2. Tim Keller presents the book to Google employees:

3. Tim and Kathy Keller present the book at The Gospel Coalition’s 2012 National Women’s Conference:

Gospel Meditations for Missions

December 5, 2011 by Andy Naselli

This booklet becomes available this week:

Chris Anderson, ed. Gospel Meditations for Missions: Thirty-One Daily Readings to Help You Be Gospel-Saturated All Day, Every Day. Madison, OH: Church Works, 2011.

You can read the introduction and two meditations in this PDF sample.

I love the authors. They’re faithful servants.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the meditations (day 31): [Read more…] about Gospel Meditations for Missions

Are Profits Moral?

November 25, 2011 by Andy Naselli

Four men—two businessmen and two theologians—coauthor an answer to that question and reach this conclusion:

Clearly, in the biblical system of ethics, profit is godly if it is gained in God’s way. And surprisingly, this means that not making a profit may also be a sin against God, one’s neighbor and oneself!

Adam Smith established by rational evaluation that profit making was an inherent part of human conduct as it worked itself out in the social environment of human culture. What Adam Smith described was actually a traditional perspective of the Reformed tradition as evidenced by Max Weber. This is not only evident in Weber’s analysis, however. It is in fact established by a careful reading of the Reformed tradition’s classic ethical treatise, the Westminster Larger Catechism. And this serves to underscore how an inherent hostility to profits gained in a just manner is actually an expression of the socialistic spirit that emanates from Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

While there clearly can be “obscene profits” under the Calvinistic system, that is, a violation of one’s duty to God and man in acquiring profits, it must also be maintained that profit making itself is not inherently obscene. If such were not the case, the parable of the talents given by our Lord could not righteously include the words to the faithful steward in Matthew 25:26–27, “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” (NIV).

—Philip J. Clements, Peter Lillback, Wayne Grudem, and John Weiser, “Are Profits Moral? Answers from a Comparison of Adam Smith, Max Weber, Karl Marx, and the Westminster Larger Catechism,” in Business Ethics Today: Foundations (ed. Philip J. Clements; Philadelphia: Westminster Seminary Press, 2011), 160–61.

1. Phil Clements interviews Peter Lillback about the Reformed faith and capitalism:

2. Wayne Grudem begins to answer the question, “What is at risk for business if we lose a Christian worldview?”

3. “If I Become Rich, Won’t Someone Else Become Poor?”

If I Become Rich, Won’t Someone Else Become Poor?

November 18, 2011 by Andy Naselli

This is the most readable defense of capitalism I’ve read (and it’s more relevant than ever with the recent “Occupy Wall Street”-type protests):

Jay W. Richards. Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem. New York: HarperOne, 2009.

Richards debunks eight myths, which are listed in the book’s table of contents:

Can’t We Build a Just Society? Myth no. 1: The Nirvana Myth (contrasting capitalism with an unrealizable ideal rather than with its live alternatives)
What Would Jesus Do? Myth no. 2: The Piety Myth (focusing on our good intentions rather than the unintended consequences of our actions)
Doesn’t Capitalism Foster Unfair Competition? Myth no. 3: The Zero-sum Game Myth (believing that trade requires a winner and a loser)
If I Become Rich, Won’t Someone Else Become Poor? Myth no. 4: The Materialist Myth (believing that intellect cannot create new wealth)
Isn’t Capitalism Based on Greed? Myth no. 5: The Greed Myth (believing that the essence of capitalism is greed)
Hasn’t Christianity Always Opposed Capitalism? Myth no. 6: The Usury Myth (believing that charging interest on money is always exploitive)
Doesn’t Capitalism Always Lead to an Ugly Consumerist Culture? Myth no. 7: The Artsy Myth (confusing aesthetic judgments with economic arguments)
Are We Going to Use Up All the Resources? Myth no. 8: The Freeze Frame Myth (believing that things always stay the same—for example, assuming population trends will continue indefinitely or treating “rich” and “poor” as static categories)
Conclusion: Working All Things Together for Good
Appendix: Is the “Spontaneous Order” of the Market Evidence of a Universe without Purpose?

Here are some excerpts from chapter 4:

Winston Churchill summed up the dilemma with characteristic wit: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” Most of us know perfectly well that socialist solutions are worse than the disease. (p. 83)

The Church’s Mission

November 16, 2011 by Andy Naselli

I read this book several months ago, and I’ve enjoyed subsequent discussions about it:

Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert. What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011.

Here’s how D. A. Carson recommends it:

Among the many books that have recently appeared on mission, this is the best one if you are looking for sensible definitions, clear thinking, readable writing, and the ability to handle the Bible in more than proof-texting ways. I pray that God will use it to bring many to a renewed grasp of what the gospel is and how that gospel relates, on the one hand, to biblical theology and, on the other, to what we are called to do.

Ed Stetzer’s Themelios review is critical, but I generally agree with DeYoung and Gilbert on this one.

1. TGC discussion (11:43)