Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Voddie Baucham: What He Must Be

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Crossway has just published a provocative book:

Voddie T. Baucham Jr. What He Must Be: …If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. [PDF of chapter 1]

Baucham explains what this book is about (p. 9):

My desire in this book is to kill two birds with one stone. First, I want to lay out a clear, balanced, realistic, biblical picture of what moms and dads should be looking for on behalf of their daughters and seeking to produce in their sons. . . .

In addition, I want to provide a road map for men who have a desire to lead their families biblically but simply do not know how.

He concludes (p. 206),

I intend to walk my daughter down the aisle one day. When I do, the minister is going to ask, “Who gives this woman to be married?” If I am going to answer, “I do” with a clear conscience, then I simply have no choice but to invest significant time into vetting any potential suitor. I cannot give my approval of a man whom God’s Word disqualifies. I love my daughter too much. I love my grandchildren too much. But most importantly, I love my Lord too much to settle for less.

The book is provocative in at least two ways: content and tone.

  1. Content: Baucham holds no punches when he describes what he thinks biblical manhood involves.
  2. Tone: Baucham is bold, confident, and direct. This is often refreshing, but to people in some contexts, this dogmatism will not be well received.

[Read more…] about Voddie Baucham: What He Must Be

Five Conclusions about Material Possessions

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Here’s how D. A. Carson introduces Craig L. Blomberg‘s Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions (ed. D. A. Carson; New Studies in Biblical Theology 7; Downers Grove: IVP, 2001) in the series preface (p. 9):

Dr Blomberg’s volume is an extraordinary achievement. With remarkable compression, this book not only guides the reader through almost all the biblical passages that have a bearing on poverty and wealth, but weaves the exegesis into a biblical theology that is simultaneously faithful to the historic texts and pastorally sensitive to the immense issues facing today’s church. Dr Blomberg cannot simplistically condemn wealth: he has learned from Abraham, Job and Philemon. Nor can he exonerate acquisitiveness: he has learned from Amos, Jesus and James. The result is a book that is, quite frankly, the best one on the subject. It will not make its readers comfortable, but neither will it make them feel manipulated. Read it and pass it on.

[Read more…] about Five Conclusions about Material Possessions

Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid

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That’s the thesis of Randy Alcorn‘s The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2003).

I read through this little 94-page volume in one sitting this evening. It’s outstanding. Alcorn’s approach to the issue of purity is biblically informed, sobering, wise, refreshing, and motivating.

Related: Alcorn lists the following resources on his website:

  1. The Purity Principle Study Guide
  2. articles on sexual purity: page 1 | page 2
  3. Alcorn’s MP3s, PDFs, and PowerPoint presentation on sexual purity
  4. Guidelines for sexual purity (Alcorn originally prepared this for his daughters.)
  5. Links to resources for sexual purity
  6. Selected Scriptures related to sexual purity

Meatatarian Prooftext

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Proverbs 15:17

  • NET: Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
    than a fattened ox where there is hatred.
  • NASB: Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
    Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
  • ESV: Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
    than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
  • NIV: Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
    than a fattened calf with hatred.
  • TNIV: Better a small serving of vegetables with love
    than a fattened calf with hatred.
  • NLT: A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better
    than steak with someone you hate.

Five Myths About Dispensationalism

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It seems fashionable in at least some pockets of academia to marginalize and ridicule dispensationalists. Before one criticizes dispensationalism, however, one must accurately understand what it is. (Perhaps the best test of whether one has represented another view accurately is when a leading proponent of that view agrees that their view has been represented accurately.) The following 73-page paperback is a primer on dispensationalism that may serve non-dispensationalists in this regard:

Michael J. Vlach [personal website]. Dispensationalism: Essential Beliefs and Common Myths. Los Angeles: Theological Studies Press, 2008.

Vlach highlights five common myths about dispensationalism (pp. 32–49):

  • Myth 1: Dispensationalism teaches multiple ways of salvation.
  • Myth 2: Dispensationalism is inherently linked with Arminianism.
  • Myth 3: Dispensationalism is inherently antinomian.
  • Myth 4: Dispensationalism leads to non-Lordship salvation.
  • Myth 5: Dispensationalism is primarily about believing in seven dispensations.

Ergo, critiques of dispensationalism (particularly of leading contemporary dispensationalists, whether they are traditional, revised, or progressive) should not perpetuate these myths.

Just to be clear: I am not arguing here that dispensationalism is correct. I am arguing that evaluations of it should accurately represent it.

T4G Live

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My soul has feasted on the Together for the Gospel Live CD many times in the last couple of months. It features the rich hymns that over 5,000 of us sang at T4G in April 2008.

This CD is on sale this month for only $6 with free shipping in the continental US. (Sovereign Grace Ministries is also selling other books and CDs at reduced prices this month.)

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