Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Two Views on the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion at Southern Seminary

by

This week I enjoyed following the events at the SBC and SBTS from a distance and wish I would have been in Louisville to experience it. I’m encouraged by what I’ve heard. (Cf. summaries by Danny Akin, Tom Ascol, Timmy Brister, Denny Burk, Greg Gilbert, Owen Strachan, and the many articles by Southern Seminary’s news service.)

In the midst of many reasons for rejoicing in the positive advances made in the convention this year, one event stands out as confusing to Protestant fundamentalists: SBTS dedicated a building (cf. audio and video) to former president Duke McCall, a theological moderate who tolerated theological liberalism and opposed the Conservative Resurgence.

Doran’s Objection

Dave Doran (a graduate of TEDS, senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church, and president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary) reflects on this in these short articles:

  1. “Honor to Whom Dishonor Is Due” (He concludes, “I just don’t get it.”)
  2. “Is This an Application of Loving Your Enemies?“
  3. “We Report, You Decide” (a response to Greg Gilbert’s post)
  4. “Some (Final, I hope) Thoughts on the McCall Pavilion and Objections to My Questioning It” (a response to Mark Rogers’s post)
  5. “Missions, Pavilions, and Wives” (paragraph two responds to Owen Strachan’s post)
  6. “Seeing the Difference between Ideas and Individuals” (an implied response to Gilbert, Rogers, and Strachan)
  7. “Ideas and Individuals (Again)“
  8. “Sticking to the Point . . .“

Reponses to Doran

  1. Greg Gilbert (a graduate of SBTS, former assistant to Al Mohler, and assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church) respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Mohler, McCall, Truth, and History.”
  2. Mark Rogers (a graduate of SBTS, son of a pastor in the SBC, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and D. A. Carson’s administrative assistant) also respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Southern Seminary’s Anniversary and a Question of Honor.”
  3. Owen Strachan (a graduate of SBTS, former research assistant to Al Mohler, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and managing director of the Henry Center) also respectfully responds to Doran: “At SBTS, Fidelity Matters: A Friendly Response to Dave Doran.”

Mostly Dead vs. All Dead

by

This video clip from The Princess Bride is my favorite light-hearted illustration of the Arminian view of human depravity (an issue integrally related to prevenient grace):

http://vimeo.com/28442042

This is the notable part of the exchange:

“Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. . . . Now mostly dead is slightly alive. All dead—well, with all dead, there’s only usually one thing that you can do.”

“What’s that?”

“Go through his clothes and look for loose change.”

Another good illustration of the effectual call and regeneration:

Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out . . . . (John 11:43–44)

Recommended resources:

  1. William W. Combs, “Does the Bible Teach Prevenient Grace?” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 10 (2005): 3–18.
  2. John Piper, “Total Depravity,” in “TULIP” (a nine-part seminar available in audio and video), 2008.
  3. Thomas R. Schreiner, “Does Scripture Teach Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan Sense?” in Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace (ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), 229–46.

What Your Pastor Wishes You Knew About Him

by

Dan Burrell, a former pastor, offers what he calls “some things that I’m guessing your pastor wishes you knew about him” (part 1 | part 2).

He lists ten main points:

  1. Bible college and seminary weren’t enough.
  2. Good sermon preparation takes time.
  3. His family is important too.
  4. Be kind if you have a criticism.
  5. Give your pastor time to grow.
  6. Your pastor probably views you differently than you view him.
  7. Pastors sometimes find it difficult to have friendships.
  8. Your pastor may well be different out of the pulpit than when he’s in the pulpit and that doesn’t necessarily make him a hypocrite.
  9. Your pastor has bills too.
  10. Your pastor loves the work of the ministry.

Keeping Your Gmail Inbox at Zero throughout the Day

by

gmail

Matt Perman‘s “How to Get Your Email Inbox to Zero Every Day” is exceptionally helpful for redeeming the time. It’s a simple method (though it might not seem simple at first!) to help you manage your emails rather than let them manage you. (My wife suggested that I add a disclaimer that everyone’s brain doesn’t organize in exactly the same way!)

I process my email in Gmail, so I’ve tweaked Perman’s superb article in at least two places:

1. Archiving

Problem: Perman recommends deleting everything but never emptying your deleted items, but this advice does not apply to Gmail since Gmail automatically and permanently deletes 30-day-old items in your Trash.

Solution: Archive items that you think you may want to search on or read at any time in the future. (Gmail offers 5+ GB of free storage for messages and attachments.) Delete everything else.

2. Labels

Problem: Perman recommends using only three folders or labels: “Answer,” “Hold,” and “Read.”  But shrewdly using multiple “Labels” is more efficient. For example, I frequently search emails that are tagged with a particular label rather than searching all my emails.

Solution: Use more than the three labels “Answer,” “Hold,” and “Read.”  (I currently use over thirty labels.)

  • Create “Filters” that automatically tag emails (e.g., ones from certain people or from email addresses with certain domain names) with specific labels.
  • Color-code your labels. This can be visually helpful for processing emails efficiently. (For example, every email I receive from my wife is labeled “Jenni” and colored pink with black font.)
  • Add numbers in front of the first three labels so that they appear on top:  “1. Answer,” “2. Hold,” and “3. Read.”

Related:

  1. The latest post on the Gmail blog gives yet another reason to process your email in Gmail: “Tip: Check and reply from multiple email addresses in Gmail.”
  2. Gmail Tips

Pornography : Men :: Chick Flicks : Women

by

That’s what Beth Spraul argues (with appropriate nuance) in “You’ve Got Lies: Chick Flicks and the World’s Approach to Men and Marriage,” a six-page PDF hosted by Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C.

She proceeds to discsuss “three powerful lies communicated to and believed by women through this genre of ‘chick-flicks’ as well as ‘chick-lit’ (literature)”:

  • Lie #1: Men think of romance and relational intimacy exactly like women do!
  • Lie #2: If I marry the right man, all will be right in my life.
  • Lie #3: I will know that a man is right for me by feelings I get when I’m with him.

She closes by sharing her own courting experience.

Das ist gut, ja?

Guy Waters on Tom Wright

by

Guy Waters thoughtfully reviews N. T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision.

His conclusion:

Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision is the most comprehensive and current statement of N. T. Wright on justification to date. Justification is largely a restatement of Wright’s views, with some amplification and rhetorical refinement. It is not a detailed textual and theological interaction with his Reformational readers’ concerns and objections. To the degree that Justification summarizes and synthesizes nearly three decades of Wright’s publications on justification, the book is useful to the student of Wright’s work. To the degree that Justification has failed to engage criticisms of Wright’s formulations on justification in such a way as to advance the discussion, the work is a missed opportunity. What is clear from Justification is that the fundamental concern of Wright’s Reformational readers remains unallayed and firmly in place: Wright’s views on justification have parted company with the teaching of the apostle Paul.

Master Scripture Index for New Studies in Biblical Theology

by

I recently prepared a master Scripture index for the New Studies in Biblical Theology series edited by D. A. Carson. I combined the Scripture indexes into a single spreadsheet and placed an asterisk by each page number where there is a discussion rather than merely a reference or brief comment. This is an especially valuable resource for those who are working on individual texts and would like to consult substantive discussions in the NSBT series.

See the NSBT page hosted by The Gospel Coalition for the following:

  1. more information on how to use the master Scripture index (i.e., a massive Excel spreadsheet)
  2. Carson’s two-paragraph introduction to the NSBT series
  3. Carson’s introduction to each voulme in the NSBT series

Below are the volumes in the series thus far:

1. David Peterson, Possessed by God: A New Testament Theology of Sanctification and Holiness (1995).

[Read more…] about Master Scripture Index for New Studies in Biblical Theology