Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Don’t Be a Loner

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Paul writes Timothy in 2 Tim 2:22,

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (NIV)

But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (NET)

Ray Van Neste observes in the ESV Study Bible,

The pursuit of right is not to be done alone but along with other believers. Connection with the community of faith is essential for both progress in sanctification and perseverance in the faith.

Similarly, the NET Bible note observes,

In company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart alludes to the value of the community of believers for the development of Christian virtues.

Related:

  1. Accountability
  2. Pitfalls and Benefits of Small Group Bible Study

Resources on Worldview

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The book I highlighted last Friday concludes with an annotated bibliography:

Douglas S. Huffman and Philip E. Lueck. “For the Biblical Worldview on Academic Disciplines.” Pages 171–223 in Christian Contours: How a Biblical Worldview Shapes the Mind and Heart. Edited by Douglas S. Huffman. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011.

The first part is entitled “General Reading on the Biblical Worldview”  (pp. 172–76), and Kregel gave me permission to share it here. They explain, “The books we mark as classics in their fields (‡) need not represent what we think is the best perspective. Our goal for this bibliography is to encourage interactive reflection on the biblical worldview and not merely to list books we agree with.”

Bertrand, J. Mark. (Re)Thinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in this World. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007.

A seminar leader on Christian worldview, Bertrand covers worldview as the story of creation, fall, and redemption (part 1). He focuses on wisdom (part 2) and witness (part 3) as essential for intentional living, including treatments on critical reading, apologetics, and cultural contribution. [Read more…] about Resources on Worldview

Worldview

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This book came out this month:

Douglas S. Huffman, ed. Christian Contours: How a Biblical Worldview Shapes the Mind and Heart. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011.

Huffman explains,

For several decades, the integration of faith and learning has been a major topic for Christian higher education. Robert Harris argues correctly that Christians need to think about this intentionally. But such intentionality is actually artificial, made necessary only by our sinfulness. Humans naturally integrate everything, trying to make things fit into a coherent system.

If I told you that I had breakfast on Mars this morning, you would try to fit this claim into the beliefs you already hold about the universe. Perhaps you would select one of these options:

  • (a) Huffman had breakfast at a new restaurant called “Mars”;
  • (b) Huffman had breakfast while riding a horse named “Mars”; or
  • (c) Huffman is deluded.

Your set of beliefs about the world as you know it would not allow you to believe that I actually had breakfast on the planet called Mars.

This illustrates our propensity to combine all of our knowledge and beliefs into one overarching system. [Read more…] about Worldview

A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

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Three years ago this month I blogged about a seminar that the gifted OT department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School gave on this book:

Kenton L. Sparks. God’s Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008.

Kent Sparks himself commented on that blog post 23 times throughout three pages of direct and sometimes intense comments (pages 1 | 2 |3).

I’m grateful that next week a scholarly book-length response comes out:

James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, eds. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

[Read more…] about A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

Motive

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Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?’” (Zech 7:4–6)

John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets (translated by John Owen), 5:172–73 (formatting added):

God reproved the Jews, who had returned to their own country, for ingratitude, as they had already begun to pollute themselves.

He therefore brings this charge against them, [Read more…] about Motive

MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

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I have a soft spot for The MacArthur Study Bible because it’s one of the first I read through (after this and then this a few times). I thank God for it—though I frequently wished that it was available in more translations than the NKJV. I was delighted when it expanded to the NASB and then the ESV.

Next year it will also be available in the NIV.

Thomas Nelson and Zondervan announced this yesterday:

For the first time, the world-renowned MacArthur Study Bible will be available in the 2011 updated New International Version (NIV) translation text. The Bible will feature John MacArthur’s original 20,000 study notes; an extensive topical index; and numerous charts, maps, outlines and articles.

Publishers Thomas Nelson Inc. and Zondervan are partnering on the project, with Zondervan licensing the NIV translation to Thomas Nelson, which will publish the Bible. The Bible is scheduled to release in Fall 2013.

“I’m delighted that The MacArthur Study Bible notes will now be easily accessible to NIV readers,” MacArthur says. “My prayer is [Read more…] about MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

The Priest with Dirty Clothes

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Michael P. V. Barrett, Complete in Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel (Greenville, SC: Ambassador-Emerald International, 2000), 141–42 (formatting added):

A vivid, divinely given illustration of this [i.e., God’s positively imputing Christ’s righteousness to us] occurs in Zechariah 3.

  • The passage begins with a judicial scene in which Joshua, the high priest, is standing before the Angel of the Lord and is being accused by Satan.
  • As the high priest he is serving as man’s representative, an accurate picture of how every man on his own stands before God.
  • He stands silently, dressed in detestably filthy garments with no self-defense before the Judge. This scene graphically pictures how man appears before God in all the filthy rags of his own righteousness.
  • Seemingly out of the blue God rebukes Satan and rescues Joshua as a brand plucked from the burning. Joshua is accepted before the Lord and allowed to stand in His presence.

The text highlights two essential elements of that acceptance. [Read more…] about The Priest with Dirty Clothes