Thursday, September 28, 2006

Election & Evangelism


"Success in evangelism is not dependent on my persuasion, my skill, my programming, my personality.

Success in evangelism is in God's hands.

He alone can open a Lydia's heart. He alone can transform a Saul of Tarsus. He alone can bring repentance to a captive (II Timothy 2:25). We plant and water. It is God alone who gives the increase (I Corinthians 1:30).

It is solely of Him that we are in Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 1:30)-and nothing of ourselves. He makes His people willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3), and causes the man whom He has chosen to come to Him (Psalm 65:4).

Whether men reject or receive the gospel, the faithful gospel-sower is a victor (II Corinthians 2:14-17).

Our first and last duty is to be faithful in the sight of God as a diffuser of the fragrance of Christ to all around us. In this we triumph, not in the securing of results (decisions) ourselves.

What a great encouragement! We know that God will save His people."


Robert B. Selph
(Taken from the book: Southern Baptists and the Doctrine of Election)


http://www.gracesermons.com/robbeeee/selph.html

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Valley of Vision SONGS!!!

http://sovereigngraceministries.org/music/projects/valleyofvision/

Someone might ask, "Why produce a CD inspired by the prayers of a bunch of dead guys?" That's an easy one. Puritans like John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, and Isaac Watts knew their hearts, their Bibles, and their God much better than we do. Many of them wrote down their prayers not to be published, but to assess their own spiritual growth and to encourage themselves in times of spiritual dryness. These prayers reveal a personal, humble, passionate relationship with an awesome God, a living Savior, and an active Spirit. Reading their meditations inspires us to pursue the same level of reality as we worship God.


WOO!WOO!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

String theory is blather - Slate Magazine

Modern physics is troubled by the anthropocentric character of the universe. For instance, had gravity been only a teensy bit stronger or weaker, planets and stars could not have formed. So, does the fortuitous value of gravity for planets and stars show that a higher power is manipulating physical law?
....

In recent decades it has become essential at the top of academia to posit utter meaninglessness to all aspects of physics.
....

But string theory seems to contain significant helpings of blather designed to intimidate nonscientists from questioning the budgets of physics departments and tax-funded particle accelerator labs.
....

Yet the very sorts of elite-institution academics who snigger at creationists for revealing their ignorance of scientific terminology by calling evolution "just a theory" nonetheless uniformly say "string theory."
...

String theory is blather...Slate Magazine



Very interesting article...helps build my skepticism of scientific ideals.

-JD

Friday, September 8, 2006

The Essentials...

IN ESSENTIALS UNITY,

IN NON-ESSENTIALS LIBERTY,

IN ALL THINGS CHARITY.

On the Origin of the Sentence: "In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis
(or, dubiis) libertas, in utrisque (or, omnibus) caritas."

This famous motto of Christian Irenics, which I have slightly modified in the text, is often falsely attributed to St. Augustin (whose creed would not allow it, though his heart might have approved of it), but is of much later origin. It appears for the first time in Germany, A.D. 1627 and 1628, among peaceful divines of the Lutheran and German Reformed churches, and found a hearty welcome among moderate divines In England.

The authorship has recently been traced to RUPERTUS MELDENIUS an otherwise unknown divine, and author of a remarkable tract in which the sentence first occurs.
...

Necessary dogmas are,

(1) articles of faith necessary to salvation;

(2) articles derived from clear testimonies of the Bible;

(3) articles decided by the whole church in a synod or symbol;

(4) articles held by all orthodox divines as necessary.

Not necessary, are dogmas

(1) not contained in the Bible;

(2) not belonging to the common inheritance of faith;

(3) not unanimously taught by theologians;

(4) left doubtful by grave divines;

(5) not tending to piety, charity, and edification.


http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/quote.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.vii.viii.html

Paul (Romans 15: 1-13) - "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves."

Charles Hodge comments here that "Since the points of difference are not essential, as the law of love, the example of Christ, and the honor of religion require concession, we who are fully persuaded of the unimportance of these things about which our weaker brothers are so scrupulous ought to act in accordance with their opinions and not behave just to please ourselves."


http://www.tulip.org/ccr/rom15a.htm