Perhaps atheism is an intellectual luxury for the wealthy

Quotes from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/24/atheism-richard-dawkins-challenge-beliefs-homeless

"Perhaps atheism is an intellectual luxury for the wealthy"

"Soon I saw my atheism for what it is: an intellectual belief most accessible to those who have done well."

"I also see Richard Dawkins differently. I see him as a grown up version of that 16-year-old kid, proud of being smart, unable to understand why anyone would believe or think differently from himself. I see a person so removed from humanity and so removed from the ambiguity of life that he finds himself judging those who think differently. I see someone doing what he claims to hate in others. Preaching from a selfish vantage point."

The Christian faith is NOT a leap into the dark...

The Bible never describes the Christian faith as a leap into the dark, but a step into the light.

@RZIMCanada

Rudolph Bultmann Reader's Guide

Rudolph Bultmann Reader's Guide - This is too important to lose, so I copied and pasted a portion of the following link below!

From http://fireandrose.blogspot.com/2013/11/rudolf-bultmann-readers-guide.html

Reading List for English Speakers

There are any number of reasons to read Bultmann. Those interested in New Testament biblical studies already know how important it is to understand his work. I am writing primarily for those who want to understand Bultmann as a theologian. He is widely underappreciated by those in the theological guild, and this is no doubt due, in part, to the influence of Barth. And yet Bultmann is a formidable theologian in his own right, someone who deserves to be taken much more seriously than he currently is. So for those English-speakers looking to dive into Bultmann’s theology, consider this a step-by-step reading list.

First, though, a tip on how to read Bultmann’s essays. Bultmann mastered a particular art of essay writing that may confuse American readers who are used to a rather different style. One has to remember that the majority of his essays were originally lectures, and thus they exhibit standard marks of classical rhetoric. In particular, readers will notice that some of his essays begin by establishing a certain rapport with a figure or text or idea that he wishes to problematize or criticize. And so he will make statements up front that may strike one as questionable. That is intentional on his part. At some point later, maybe at the midpoint, and sometimes not until near the end, Bultmann will pull a rhetorical twist that reveals his actual position. This is most apparent in polemical or controversial writings, such as those dealing with the natural theology or natural revelation.

Now for the list. I have arranged this in a very intentional order to facilitate the greatest possible understanding. I have also grouped them by theme, in the order in which they should be read.

Introduction

Two works in particular should be read and consulted constantly and thus don’t belong in a specific place in the reading list.

Karl Barth – Rudolf Bultmann Letters, 1922–1966. The translation of the first edition of the Barth-Bultmann correspondence is an invaluable resource. Many important insights into Bultmann’s own theology are revealed here. Unfortunately, this translation is only a selection. Many of the letters are only summarized by Bromiley in a brief paragraph, justified by him on the grounds that “many of them contain matters of practical or academic or political interest that do not directly advance the main argument.” Essential reading include the letters on the following dates: Dec. 31, 1922; June 8, 1928; Feb. 5, 1930; Nov. 11–15, 1952; Dec. 24, 1952.

This World and the Beyond: Marburg Sermons. Bultmann’s collected sermons from Marburg, delivered between 1936 and 1950, provide one of the best entryways into his theology. Bultmann’s entire theology serves the church’s proclamation. His sermons show what his talk of hermeneutics actually means for the life of the church. Most of these sermons were preached within the context of Nazi rule, and they should be read with that sociopolitical context in mind.

Part 1: Revelation

1. “Science and Existence” (1955) in NTM. This may seem an odd place to start. This essay, originally in GuV 3, is not well known or highly regarded, and yet it zeroes in on the key issue underpinning his entire theological project with admirable clarity. Here Bultmann focuses on the issue of “objectification” (Objektivierung) and the need for a nonobjectifying God-talk. The essay closes with one of the single best paragraphs in his entire corpus, presenting God as one who never stands still, who is always running ahead of us, whose futurity is transcendence.

2. “What Does It Mean to Speak of God?” (1925) in FaU. Among Bultmann’s most famous pieces of writing and deservedly so. It forms the perfect counterpart to “Science and Existence” and shows that Bultmann’s entire career orients around a single problem: How can we think and speak responsibly of God so that our God-talk is genuinely about God? Bultmann’s answer involves differentiating between “talk about God” (Reden über Gott) and “talk of God” (Reden von Gott); pay very close attention to the use of “about” and “of”! Also pay attention to the phrases “picture of the world” and “view of the world” or “worldview.” These are translations of Weltbild and Weltanschauung, respectively, and they ought to be consistently translated as “world-picture” and “worldview.” The terms must be strictly differentiated, a point that becomes very important if one is to understand the program of demythologizing. Finally, this essay is most famous for the oft-quoted but little understood line: “It is therefore clear that if one wishes to speak of God, one must evidently speak of oneself” (my translation). It is simply false to claim that Bultmann is here reducing theology to anthropology. A little later in the essay he adds the all-important zugleich (“at the same time”): “In any case, talking of God, if it were possible, would necessarily be talking at the same time of ourselves” (emphasis mine). The point is the inseparability of God and the self (not the reduction of God to the self), that is, the inability to talk of God outside of faith, outside of the relation of obedience to God. Moreover, for Bultmann, there is no natural existence that forms a given starting-point for theology outside of revelation, since “our existence is grounded in God and is nonexistent outside God.” The opposition to natural theology is a point established more clearly elsewhere, but it’s important to keep it in mind from the beginning.

3. “The Question of Natural Revelation” (1941) in EPT. In 1940 Bultmann gave this lecture before a group of theologians in the Confessing Church. The following year he published it along with his programmatic essay on demythologizing, which was given before the same group. The two essays together are a response to the political situation of Nazi Germany. One has to keep in mind this sociopolitical context when reading both essays. In the case of “The Question of Natural Revelation,” the context is explicit, since he embeds within the argument a strong criticism of those who would try to make German culture a criterion of revelation. Bultmann walks a very fine and nuanced line in this piece, arguing in the end that all appeals to nature and natural revelation are false. Christianity “asserts that all answers apart from the Christian answer are illusions,” and thus to speak of God outside of God’s revelation in Christ is “actually sin.” He concludes: “This finally is the significance, therefore, of the revelation in nature and history: it constantly refers us to the revelation of the forgiving grace of God in Christ. But it is only in doing this that it is revelation for us; and that means that, apart from Christ, it is not revelation for us. But when we do start from Christ, the whole of the world in nature and history can receive the illumination of revelation.” In this lecture, Bultmann reveals himself to be a consistent and unwavering theologian of the word of God.

4. “Theology as Science” (1941) in NTM. Having set down the foundation for understanding Bultmann through some choice appetizers, we can now turn to the main courses. We begin with “Theology as Science,” which I regard as the best of all Bultmann’s essays, and certainly my personal favorite. It is actually a lecture that he gave at the very same conference in Alpirsbach where he gave the famous demythologizing lecture, “New Testament and Mythology.” Unfortunately, he never published it, and it was only finally made publicly available in 1984. The essay constitutes a brief theological encyclopedia. The term encyclopedia in German refers to something that programmatically sets out the nature of a particular discipline. In theology the classic example is Schleiermacher’s Brief Outline of a Field of Study. This essay has two halves. The first summarizes his understanding of the object of theology, viz. God. The second examines the procedure of theology, as NT theology, systematic theology, OT theology, church history, and practical theology. This lecture rewards multiple readings and should be read carefully. Embedded within are many of his best insights.

5. “Liberal Theology and the Latest Theological Movement” (1924) in FaU. Bultmann’s first essay in GuV is also one of his most important. In this lecture he expresses his clearest agreement with the dialectical theology of Barth and Gogarten. The essay is a difficult read, which is why I did not put it earlier. It contains some of his trademark ideas, including his rejection of the quest for the historical Jesus on the basis that historical criticism as only negatively useful for theology, given that God is only revealed to faith in the word of God. The final section is the most important. That’s where he delivers his axiom: “God is not a given entity.”

6. “The Significance of ‘Dialectical Theology’ for the Scientific Study of the New Testament” (1928) in FaU. An excellent counterpart to the 1924 essay. This one is especially important for the insight it gives into Bultmann’s understanding of dialectical theology and of theology as such. He articulates his existential concept of truth, in which truth is not something timeless and static, but rather a response to the question posed by a concrete situation. Truth is an event—the event of God’s word heard in faith. One of the earliest instances of Bultmann’s use of the term “preunderstanding,” which he started using in the spring of 1927.

7. “On the Question of Christology” (1927) in FaU. Bultmann’s response to Emanuel Hirsch, and a good counterpart to “Theology as Science,” particularly with respect to the distinction and relation between the fides quae creditur (“the faith that is believed”) and the fides qua creditur (“the faith by which it is believed”). Provides important insight into Bultmann’s own theology.

8. What Is Theology? (1984). If I had to recommend one book to read by Bultmann to get a sense of his theology, it would be this one, the posthumously published edition of his lectures on theology that he gave between 1926 and 1936. In a way, this is the book-length version of “Theology as Science.” Some of the material can be found elsewhere—certain passages are repeated verbatim in “On the Question of Christology”—but much of this material is new and incredibly illuminating. I’ve long believed that had this material been in print during Bultmann’s lifetime, the debates about his theology would look very different today. In any case, people ought to read this book in its entirety, but the two key chapters are “Revelation as Historic Event” (§11) and “Faith as Historical Deed” (§14). I also recommend the discussion of the object of theology in §§4–6 and §9.

9. “The Question of ‘Dialectic’ Theology” (1926) in The Beginnings of Dialectic Theology. This essay will be harder for many to obtain, but it is well worth the effort. In 1925 a dispute broke out over Erik Peterson’s criticism of dialectical theology. Barth and Bultmann joined forces in the pages of Zwischen den Zeiten to respond to Peterson. Bultmann’s contribution is a marvelous synthesis (or anticipation) of many of the themes addressed in the above writings.

Part 2: Hermeneutics

10. “The Problem of Theological Exegesis” (1925), in The Beginnings of Dialectical Theology. Now that we have a basic understanding of Bultmann’s account of God and revelation, we can turn to look at his hermeneutics. The best place to begin is Bultmann’s 1925 lecture on Sachkritik/Sachexegese—“material [or content] criticism/exegesis,” terribly translated as “objective criticism/exegesis” for reasons that cannot be explained here—which is one of his most important statements about exegesis and hermeneutics. It’s important to note the year that this was written. Not only is 1925 a pivotal year in the Barth-Bultmann relationship, but it also precedes the turn to a more rigorous existentialist hermeneutic, initially in 1927 and fully in 1934. This means that many key concepts, such as preunderstanding, do not appear. The concept of self-understanding appears in the form of “self-interpretation” (Selbstauslegung). This article rewards repeated readings. I cannot help but think that the demythologizing debate would have looked rather different had more people paid attention to this lecture.

11. “Is Exegesis without Presuppositions Possible?” (1957) in NTM. While Bultmann was a hermeneutical theologian from the start, he only set out to systematically clarify his hermeneutical program in the 1950s. This involved a substantial amount of ground-clearing, and the best example of that is his little essay on whether presuppositionless exegesis is possible. Short answer: no. But exegesis should still be without prejudice. We cannot avoid presuppositions, but we can avoid dictating the outcome of the exegesis in advance.

12. “The Problem of Hermeneutics” (1950) in NTM. A classic treatment of the topic. Bultmann sets out the concept of preunderstanding here in more systematic detail, though this essay read in isolation from other writings can be misleading. It closes with one of Bultmann’s most important criticisms of Barth, a criticism that, to my knowledge, Barth never addressed.

13. History and Eschatology, chaps. 8 and 10. Bultmann’s Gifford Lectures are full of wonderful historical and theological insights and deserve to be read in their entirety. I have highlighted chapters 8 and 10 because there he summarizes his hermeneutical position. It is important to see that Bultmann differentiates between two aspects of historiography (p. 117): (a) the perspective of the historian who is situated within a particular historical situation and (b) the existential encounter with history. These two aspects correspond to Bultmann’s key concepts: preunderstanding (Vorverständnis) and self-understanding (Selbstverständnis). The 1957 essay (#10 above) only focuses on the first aspect, while Bultmann is very clear that an authentically Christian interpretation of scripture concerns the second aspect, a point that is often misunderstood.

14. “The Task and the Problems of New Testament Theology (the Relation between Theology and Proclamation)” (1950) in Theology of the New Testament, vol. 2 (epilogue). Every NT theology, hermeneutics, and systematic theology course should have this essay, or at least the first section of it, assigned as required reading. It was originally published in a 1950 Festschrift as “The Problem of the Relation of Theology and Proclamation in the New Testament,” and it constitutes his most important statement on the relation between theology and scripture. As he says, “there can be no normative Christian dogmatics.” This provides the ideal segue into demythologizing.

Part 3: Demythologizing, or, the Question of God’s Action in History

15. “New Testament and Mythology” (1941) in NTM. We turn, finally, to the programmatic lecture on demythologizing, the so-called Entmythologisierungsvortrag. I have put it off until now, because it is important to see that demythologizing is nothing new; it is the consistent outworking of basic theological convictions that he shares with Barth. Demythologizing is simply the hermeneutical extension of dialectical theology. This particular essay, however, is not the clearest or best expression of his program, but it launched the discussion, so I have placed it first in this section of the reading list. I already pointed out that Bultmann delivered this lecture before the Confessing Church, and that he published it with his 1940 lecture on natural revelation. We must see his demythologizing program as an attempt to oppose the contemporary political myths of Nazi Germany at their hermeneutical root.

16. “On the Problem of Demythologizing” (1952) in NTM. This is among the most important of all Bultmann’s writings, and it may be the single most significant thing he wrote regarding demythologizing. In this essay one finds a synthesis of his mature hermeneutical theology, arranged in three parts: (a) the concept of myth and the program of demythologizing, (b) the role of existentialist philosophy, and (c) the nature of divine action. Of these, the first and third are the most important. In the first section Bultmann gives his most extensive clarification of the concept of myth and defines demythologizing as a task with two aspects: negatively, critique of the mythical world-picture (for more on Weltbild, see below); positively, existentialist interpretation. Understanding what each of these mean is the subject of my own research and is a topic for another day, but it is significant how Bultmann frames his program in this essay. The third section is important for many reasons. There we find the most extensive description of “paradoxical identity,” one of his most important concepts. And, to cap it all off, we have the concluding paragraph, where he declares: “In point of fact, radical demythologizing is the parallel to the Pauline-Lutheran doctrine of justification through faith alone without the works of the law. Or, rather, it is the consistent application of this doctrine to the field of knowledge.” Study this essay carefully. NB: The 1961 essay with the same name is a kind of précis of the 1952 essay, though it has its own merits and is well worth reading on its own.

17. Jesus Christ and Mythology. In October and November 1951, Bultmann gave the Shaffer Lectures at Yale Divinity School and the Cole Lectures at Vanderbilt University. These were published in 1958 as Jesus Christ and Mythology, whose main text is really just an expansion of the material from the 1952 essay (or rather the 1952 essay is an abridgment of the 1951 lectures); chapters 3–5 cover the material in the 1952 essay, while chapters 1 and 2 add important historical and exegetical context for his program. This short book—the main text is only seventy-five trade-size pages—should be read cover to cover. One of its most important features is the way Bultmann situates demythologizing within the rediscovery of the apocalyptic eschatology of Jesus and the early church. Bultmann is often viewed as carrying on the legacy of Wilhelm Herrmann. There is some truth in that, but my own work contests this on the grounds that the most central aspect of Bultmann’s theology is the role of eschatology: his theology, and really dialectical theology as such, is eschatological theology. But this is precisely what Herrmann lacks, and Bultmann repeatedly criticizes him for it. This is why Bultmann is really the descendant of his earlier teacher and mentor, Johannes Weiss. And Jesus Christ and Mythology is significant for the way it emphasizes the importance of Weiss to his hermeneutical project. The last chapter on divine action also should be read with care, since it is so central to Bultmann’s theology.

18. “The Christian Hope and the Problem of Demythologizing” (1953), in Expository Times 65, nos. 8–9 (1954): 228–30, 276–78. This article may be hard to find, but it’s worth the effort. In July 1953, Bultmann, Günther Bornkamm, and Friedrich Karl Schumann gave papers on the question of Christian hope and demythologizing. These papers and a conversation between the three of them were published together. Bultmann’s contribution to this forum was translated for a journal. It is especially helpful for the way it makes explicit how demythologizing has been going on throughout the life of the church, and even in scripture itself.

19. “Theology for Freedom and Responsibility” in The Christian Century (August 27, 1958): 967–69. Another article worth the effort to find. This one extends demythologizing into the realm of sociopolitical responsibility. According to Bultmann, “Theology must be sharply on guard against any identification of the Christian faith with a political program.”

Part 4: Christology

We have already touched on christological themes many times in the above essays, but I want to close this list by tracing Bultmann’s thinking on this most central of theological topics. I’ve ordered the list in terms of whether the emphasis is on the “historical Jesus” or the kerygmatic Christ, beginning with the “historical Jesus” of Jesus and the Word and ending with the magnificent account of the kerygmatic Christ in The Gospel of John. I put historical Jesus in scare quotes because Bultmann does not believe we have direct access to the actual Jesus of history; what we have are the synoptic accounts of Jesus, accounts that originated in a later Hellenistic Christian community. That does not mean Bultmann thinks we have no knowledge whatsoever about the Jesus of history, simply that our access is entirely mediated through accounts shaped by later traditions and cultural conceptualities.

20. Jesus and the Word. Bultmann’s 1926 book, titled simply Jesus in the German, is one of his most beautiful and compelling documents. The methodology behind the book was set out in his earlier form-critical study, History of the Synoptic Tradition. Jesus and the Word presents the message of Jesus as we can discern it in the synoptic tradition. Bultmann presents us with a radically eschatological Jesus, who confronts his hearers with the demand of God’s coming future. One of the most important arguments of the book is that Jesus’ teaching of the coming reign of God does not conflict with but rather complements Jesus’ teaching of God’s will

21. “The Significance of the Historical Jesus for the Theology of Paul” (1929) in FaU. Bultmann’s essay on Paul and Jesus is a classic study on the topic and highlights one of his central theses: namely, that what Jesus expected as future, Paul confessed as something already past and present. In this distinction lies the differentiation between the Jewish Jesus and the Christian Paul, between the proclamation of Jesus and the kerygma of the church.

22. “The Primitive Christian Kerygma and the Historical Jesus” (1960) in The Historical Jesus and the Kerygmatic Christ: Essays on the New Quest of the Historical Jesus, edited by Carl E. Braaten and Roy A. Harrisville (Abingdon, 1964). In the late 1950s, Bultmann was facing criticism from his former students, in particular Ernst Käsemann, Gerhard Ebeling, Ernst Fuchs, Günther Bornkamm, and others. All of them in one way or another were arguing for a new quest for the historical Jesus on the grounds that Bultmann’s theology needs to show that kerygma is historically grounded in the Jesus of history. By 1960, Bultmann had had enough and decided to break his silence. His paper, technically titled “The Relation of the Early Christian Christ-Message to the Historical Jesus,” was a bombshell dropped on the new questers. It single-handedly brought the dispute to an end and forced his former students to recast their argument in a different manner. The essay remains one of Bultmann’s most important writings, in particular the remarkable concluding paragraphs, where he states that “there is no faith in Christ which would not also be faith in the church as the bearer of the kerygma; that is, using the terminology of dogmatics, faith in the Holy Spirit.” The final paragraph provides one of his clearest affirmations of the Christus praesens, that is to say, that Christ is genuinely and actively present in the kerygma.

23. “The Christological Confession of the World Council of Churches” (1951) in EPT. In 1951 Bultmann was asked to comment on the confessional statement of the World Council of Churches. His response is perhaps his most important writing on christology proper, i.e., on the theology of the kerygmatic Christ as opposed to the question of the historical Jesus. This ranks with the very best of his articles, combining exegetical reflection with creative and provocative theological judgments. In section 3 he presents one of his most important questions: “Does [Christ] help me because he is God’s Son, or is he the Son of God because he helps me?” Bultmann sides with the latter and puts forward what we might describe in retrospect an “actualistic ontology,” namely, that Christ is what he does. This becomes clear in the final section, where he develops his notion of Christ as an event and not as a metaphysical entity. Humanity and deity both are active events, not substances: “Humanity can be interpreted as a φύσις just as little as what we call ‘deity’ may be.” This article warrants close attention.

24. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, esp. “The Prologue,” “The Judge,” “The Hiddenness and Contingency of the Revelation,” “The Mystery of the Death of Jesus,” “The Community in the World,” and “The Believers’ Future as the Eschatological Situation.” I conclude this part of the reading list with what I consider to be Bultmann’s greatest work. Do not listen to those who would dismiss this commentary on the grounds that Bultmann’s source criticism is outdated, or that his claims about Gnosticism have been falsified. None of that is relevant to the theological significance of this commentary, which is enormous. I believe it is the greatest piece of theological exegesis since Barth’s Epistle to the Romans, and indeed The Gospel of John is to Bultmann what Epistle to the Romans is to Barth. I cannot begin to do it justice here, but let me give some context. The commentary was released in parts between 1937 and 1941, when it was finally released as a single volume. That this is the same year as his demythologizing lecture is no accident. In many respects, it is the commentary that drives the program, not the other way around. Nor is it accidental that Bultmann wrote this commentary in the context of Nazi Germany. Just as Barth’s Romans is an exegetical exorcism of the liberalism that led to the German church’s warmongering in 1914, so too Bultmann’s Gospel of John is an exegetical exorcism of the liberalism that led to the German church’s racist and nationalist propaganda in 1932 and beyond. Bultmann’s interpretation of the Jews in John as symbolic of the “unbelieving world” is part of his attempt to undermine the anti-Semitic ideology of his day. And his interpretation of Pilate as symbolic of the state is a thinly-veiled critique of the Nazi state. But the primary reason to read this commentary is for Bultmann’s profound and often beautiful theological exposition, particularly as it pertains to the eschatological invasion of the world in Christ and the eschatological existence of believers. Jesus is “the one who always breaks the given to pieces, who always destroys every security, who always irrupts from the beyond and calls into the future,” and consequently faith can never be stabilized and petrified as an element of culture, a philosophical theory, or a religious worldview.

Concluding Thoughts

There is so much more worth including on this list. The entire Theology of the New Testament should be read by anyone seriously interested in Bultmann, though I have left it off this list because much of the key material can be gleaned from other, shorter writings. His commentaries on the Johannine epistles and 2 Corinthians are also full of exegetical and theological gems, but they can be hard to find amidst the dense analysis of the Greek text. For those who wish to dive into the deep end of the pool, however, surprising treasures await.

I have not addressed matters of translation or the issue of Bultmann’s conceptuality, which may be foreign to most English readers. In the future I plan to put together a brief glossary of key terms that should prove useful to new readers. Unfortunately, much of the confusion regarding Bultmann’s theology is due to mistranslations and concepts that carry false connotations in English. But for those who approach with an open mind and a receptive spirit—for those who are prepared to encounter in Bultmann a powerful witness to the word and claim of God—the translations above should more than suffice.

G.K. Chesteron on Thanksgiving

From http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/11/28/g-k-chesteron-on-thanksgiving/

G.K. Chesteron on Thanksgiving

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”—G. K. Chesterton

“The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them.”—G. K. Chesterton

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”—G. K. Chesterton

“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”—G. K. Chesterton

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?”—G. K. Chesterton

C.S. Lewis on developing a style in writing

From http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/09/25/the-best-writing-advice-you-will-hear-today/

C.S. Lewis's last interview was on May 7, 1963—six months before he died. Sherwood Wirt (1911-2001) asked for his writing advice: "How would you suggest a young Christian writer go about developing a style?"

Lewis responded:

The way for a person to develop a style is

(a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and

(b) to be sure he is saying exactly that.

The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him.

I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go into it.

—C. S. Lewis, "Cross-Examination," in C.S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. Lesley Walmsley (London: HarperCollins, 2000), 555.

Think Critically & Creatively, communicate effectively, and be well-rounded

From http://chronicle.com/article/EmployersPublic-Favor/141679/

Americans adults and employers want colleges to produce graduates who can think critically and creatively, and can communicate orally and in writing, according to the results of a public-opinion survey released by Northeastern University here on Tuesday.

[N]early two-thirds of adults and three-quarters of employers agreed with the following statement: "Being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having industry expertise because job-specific skills can be learned at work."

A List of Important Sermons and Articles That Are Worth Reading

From: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/09/13/a-list-of-important-sermons-and-articles-that-are-worth-reading/

A List of Important Sermons and Articles That Are Worth Reading

A few days ago I was thinking back to a few classic sermons and essays that have made a significant impact on my own thinking and ministry. They are the sorts of pieces that can get lost in the shuffle in the midst of book recommendations, classic and contemporary. For example, a few that came to mind were:

• Thomas Chalmers, "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection"
• Jonathan Edwards, "The Excellency of Christ"
• B.B. Warfield, "The Religious Life of Theological Students"
• B.B. Warfield, "The Emotional Life of Our Lord"

So I thought it might be helpful to ask some pastors and theologians what they would recommend as sermons or essays that have had a special impact on them, or that they would seriously urge students and pastors to consider reading.

I'm thankful for all of the responses. I've tried to add as many links as possible to free versions online:

Bryan Chapell

• J.I. Packer, "What Did the Cross Achieve? The Logic of Penal Substitution"
• Francis Schaeffer, "A Day of Sober Rejoicing"
• Thomas Chalmers, "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection"

Graham Cole

• "The Martyrdom of Polycarp"
• Adolphe Monod, Adolphe Monod's Farewell to His Friends and to His Church
• B. B. Warfield, "Imitating the Incarnation"

Mark Dever

• Jonathan Edwards, "A Farewell Sermon"

Dever also mentioned three books:

• Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed
• John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress
• Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry

Kevin DeYoung

• John Piper, "Boasting Only in the Cross" (Passion OneDay 2000 sermon)
• C.S. Lewis, Introduction to Athanasius' On the Incarnation
• J.I. Packer, Introductory Essay to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
• Jonathan Edwards, "Heaven, a World of Love"
• D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "What Is Preaching?" (included in Knowing the Times)
• J. Gresham Machen, "What Is Christianity?" (in Selected Shorter Writings)
• J. Gresham Machen, "History and Faith" (in Selected Shorter Writings)
• J. Gresham Machen, "What Is the Gospel?" (in Selected Shorter Writings)

Stephen J. Nichols

• J. Gresham Machen, "The Good Fight of Faith"
• Jonathan Edwards, "The Most High, A Prayer-Hearing God"
• John Chrysostom, "Homily 21, On Ephesians 6:1-4"

Ray Ortlund

• Francis A. Schaeffer, "The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way"
• C. S. Lewis, "Three Kinds of Men"
• Martin Luther, Letter to Jerome Weller, in Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, edited by T. G. Tappert, pages 84-87.
• Jonathan Edwards, on spiritual pride, in "Thoughts on the Revival," in Works, I:398-403.

John Piper

• C.S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory" (first sermon in the book by that title)
• C.S. Lewis, Introduction to Athanasius' On the Incarnation
• J.I. Packer, Introductory Essay to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
• Jonathan Edwards, "A Divine and Supernatural Light Immediately Imparted to the Soul"
• Martin Luther, "Justification by Faith" (Luke 16:1-9) in The Protestant Pulpit, ed. by Andrew Blackwood
• Charles Spurgeon, "The Minister's Fainting Fits"
• Charles Spurgeon, "The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear"
• Geerhardus Vos, "The Scriptural Doctrine of the Love of God"

David Powlison

• B. B. Warfield, "Imitating the Incarnation"  ("The last page and a half offers the most riveting description of the goal of Christian living that I've ever read.")

Fred Sanders

• Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
• Athanasius, "Letter to Marcellinus on the Reading of the Psalms"
• Lancelot Andrewes, Private Devotions

R.C. Sproul

• Jonathan Edwards, "A Divine and Supernatural Light"
• This section of Luther's last sermon at Eisleben

Carl R. Trueman

• R. V. G. Tasker, "The Biblical Doctrine of the Wrath of God"
• Martin Luther, "Two Kinds of Righteousness"
• George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" [the most brilliant statement (and example) of clear prose—something which pastors and theologians need to grasp.]

Bruce Ware

• R.C. Sproul, Lecture on "The Locus of Astonishment" (A brief summary is available here. For a similar talk, listen to "When Towers Fall.")

Donald Whitney

• Charles Spurgeon, "The Minister's Fainting Fits," from Lectures to My Students.
• Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on "The Eternal Name," from Ps. 72:17, no. 27 (New Park Street Pulpit), May 27, 1855 PM
• Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on "Baptismal Regeneration"
• D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "'But God': The Christian Message" (Ephesians 2:4)

Calvin: Instruments In Public Worship Is The Restoration of Shadows [From the Heidelblog]

"For even now, if believers choose to cheer themselves with musical instruments, they should, I think, make it their object not to dissever their cheerfulness from the praises of God. But when they frequent their sacred assemblies, musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostle is far more pleasing to him. Paul allows us to bless God in the public assembly of the saints only in a known tongue. The voice of man, although not understood by the generality, assuredly excels all inanimate instruments of music; and yet we see what St Paul determines concerning speaking in an unknown tongue. What shall we then say of chanting, which fills the ears with nothing but an empty sound? Does any one object, that music is very useful for awakening the minds of men and moving their hearts? I own it; but we should always take care that no corruption creep in, which might both defile the pure worship of God and involve men in superstition. Moreover, since the Holy Spirit expressly warns us of this danger by the mouth of Paul, to proceed beyond what we are there warranted by him is not only, I must say, unadvised zeal, but wicked and perverse obstinacy."

—Calvin’s Lecture on Psalm 33:2

From http://heidelblog.net/2013/06/calvin-instruments-in-public-worship-is-the-restoration-of-shadows/

Depeche Mode, "Enjoy the Silence" lyrics

Words like violence break the silence Come crashing in into my little world Painful to me, pierce right through me Can't you understand, oh my little girl?

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed Is here in my arms Words are very unnecessary They can only do harm

Words are spoken to be broken Feelings are intense, words are trivial Pleasures remain, so does their pain Words are meaningless and forgettable

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed Is here in my arms Words are very unnecessary They can only do harm

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed Is here in my arms Words are very unnecessary They can only do harm

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed Is here in my arms Words are very unnecessary They can only do harm

Enjoy the silence, enjoy the silence Enjoy the silence

Read more: DEPECHE MODE - ENJOY THE SILENCE LYRICS

Thoughts are Free!

Thoughts are free, who can guess them?
They flee by like nocturnal shadows.
No man can know them, no hunter can shoot them
with powder and lead: Thoughts are free!

I think what I want, and what delights me,
still always reticent, and as it is suitable.
My wish and desire, no one can deny me
and so it will always be: Thoughts are free!

And if I am thrown into the darkest dungeon,
all this would be futile work,
because my thoughts tear all gates
and walls apart: Thoughts are free!

So I will renounce my sorrows forever,
and never again will torture myself with whimsies.
In one's heart, one can always laugh and joke
and think at the same time: Thoughts are free!

I love wine, and my girl even more,
Only her I like best of all.
I'm not alone with my glass of wine,
my girl is with me: Thoughts are free!

Recommended Theology Books

Theology: Turretin, Bavinck, aBrackel (Reasonable Service .pdf) are tops

Also Berkhof, Puritan Theology, Usher (Body of Divinity) Dabney

Quote: The True Object of Propaganda

The true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform pattern of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance.

Source unknown

Assurance: The Greatest of all Protestant Heresies

Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”

By Sinclair Ferguson
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-greatest-all-protestant-heresies/

Only in America...

Only in America can you be Pro-Death Penalty, Pro-War, Pro-Unmanned Drone Bombs, Pro-Nuclear Weapons, Pro-Guns, Pro-Torture, Pro-Land Mines, AND still call yourself 'Pro-Life'.

   - John Fugelsang