Confessionism: Abusing 1 John 1:9
2009-12-10 16:14:00 I want to encourage my readers to take some time and read Jim Elliff’s recent blog post on a practice he calls “confessionism”. As a former independent fundamental Baptist, I still tend toward a legalism of sorts that stresses performance and action to a fault. And while I never reached the level of zeal and ...
Generational Patricide
2009-09-17 15:40:00 In a recent forums discussion at Sharper Iron, I came across some insightful and I thought quite helpful comments on what I call “generational patricide”. We were discussing Phil Johnson’s recent post explaining the demise of Neo-Evangelicalism. He wrote off the entire movement with nearly the same fervor he showed when declaring that the independent ...
Reforming Fundamentalism, Bob Bixby and Blogging
2009-08-27 16:09:00 If you have followed fundamentalist blogging at all, or if you consider yourself a bit of a reformed (or former) fundamentalist, in the IFB sense, listen up. Bob Bixby has a phenomenal post detailing the history and motivations behind his 7 years of blogging. He is hanging up the towel on Pensees, but this ...
A Fundamentalist Self-Critique
2009-08-24 05:11:00 The last few years have seen the world wide web do a number on fundamentalism. I speak particularly of the independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement, and the influence of blogs like Sharper Iron (SI). Jason Janz, SI’s founder, published his young fundamentalist survey, and soon thereafter Phil Johnson (of Pyromaniac fame), delivered his speech “Dead Right: ...
Problematic Polemic Puritanism
2009-07-29 15:30:00 You know I was stretching to come up with that title! Seriously though, I wanted to highlight D.A. Carson’s recent editorial on polemical theology, in the online (and free) theological journal Themelios (connected with The Gospel Coalition). Carson explains the inevitability of polemics: anyone “contending for a particular theological understanding” is practicing polemical theology. He then ...
To Drink, Or Not to Drink
2009-07-28 15:26:00 I was swept away (again), into a fundamentalist feud over alcoholic drink. My ears perked up when I came across a humorous post on teetotaling. I figured that the issue was a current hot button topic at Sharper Iron, and so I went digging. Turns out, Shelton Smith (The Sword of The Lord) and Robert Sumner ...
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Unity across Eschatological Positions
2009-07-20 16:44:00 We’ve been discussing whether eschatological positions should hinder our unity in a local church, or beyond. Mark Dever recently challenged pastors to not let this hinder unity, even calling doctrinal statements that detail a specific millennial position, sinful. In light of all this, I was struck when I read the following words from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ...
Unity and the End Times
2009-07-17 14:00:00 Should one’s end times’ views limit their unity with other Christian believers? Should churches and denominations spell out their particular end times’ theology, as a matter of their statement of faith? Should adherence to premillennialism, for instance, be considered a hallmark of the faith, a non-negotiable test of one’s submission to Christ? Mark Dever ...
In Case of Rapture, Check I.D.
2009-06-02 19:20:00 In Isaiah 46 the author talks of two of the ancient Babylonian Gods, Bel and Nebo: 1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. 2 They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity. I ...
By: Sharp Iron
The Bible on Hair Care
2009-05-08 13:49:00 No, I haven’t yet found a Biblical defense for using Pert’s Plus. I’m talking about what the Bible says about hair length. This may be a surprise to you, but listen to what Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:14-15. Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for ...
Announcing: Transformed by Grace
2009-04-28 15:00:00 Some reforming fundamentalist friends of mine and I have got together and founded a new online social media site called Transformed by Grace. We are a community of former legalists and reforming fundamentalists, continually allowing God’s grace to bring us closer to Christ. Using a free social media site provided by Ning.com, we have built a ...
Announcing: A New & Improved King James Only Blog
2009-04-15 19:35:00 Over the years I’ve toiled alone in trying to create a good KJV Only resource site. There are others out there, and I mainly wanted to publicize them. I also have an interest in the debate and have posted from time to time on the topic here. I’ve had my fair share of blog wars ...
Fundamentalist Profundity
2009-04-01 15:53:00 Pastor Steve Anderson is the embodiment of almost everything extreme about independent fundamental Baptists. It seems he enjoys posting his often abrasive and extreme preaching as a series of video clips on Youtube. I’ve posted a jaw-dropping clip of his before, and this one almost tops that. In it he defends the notion that Jesus actually ...
Hey, Paul; You Talkin? to Me?
2009-03-24 05:38:00 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who ...
By: Sharp Iron
Islamic fundamentalism promoted on websites at some Muslim schools
2009-02-23 06:14:00 Daily Telegraph'sTom Whitehead, reports on20 Feb 2009'.....warns the messages are threatening social cohesion and could fuel "ghettoization" and segregation. A site linked to one primary school said playing Monopoly or chess was forbidden and likened the latter to "one who dips his hands in the blood of swine". Another warned children in Britain were being exposed to a culture that was against everything Islam stands for, while a third school's website had electronic links to alleged extremist sites. Others had links to other sites or chatrooms that contain fundamental views such as forbidding the playing of cricket or even reading of Harry Potter books. Many of the messages, sites or links mentioned in the report have since been taken down, but the Department for Children, Schools and Families last night said it would investigate the allegations it contained. Representatives of Muslim schools angrily dismissed the study, labelling it "misleading, intolerant and divisive", but th...
By: Christian Quoter
Fundamentally Funny
2009-02-18 15:59:00 Recently I discovered a new blog which targets fundamentalist oddities for humor. So many of the posts cover things I remember, and most are just light hearted fun. Take a moment today and laugh about church basement Bible Colleges, honorary degrees, hair raising sermon illustrations, a million dollar bill gospel gimmick. Ponder the place of The ...
Racial Reconciliation at BJU
2008-11-25 15:24:00 A while back I heard about a movement among Bob Jones University alumni to confront the institution about its racist roots. At please-reconcile.org, various proofs of racist policies and actions in the history of the school were brought forth. Always the goal was to get the college to own up to their mistake, admit that ...
Jewish fundamentalism
2008-10-21 09:48:00 Jewish fundamentalism should be just that, a return to the fundamentals. Not the Reconstructionist creative reworking of the commandments to suit the today?s preferences. Not the Reformist wholesale abrogation of the commandments. Not the rabbinical substitution of wise and arcane for the divine. Karaites were initially close to the mark, but eventually developed a body ...
By: Samson Blinded
Question: Was Sarah Palin Stumped By Charles Gibson?s ABC Interview Questio
2008-09-13 02:09:00 Answer: Who In The Dickens, Standing In HER Shoes WOULDN’T Be? Hey now, folks — let’s be FAIR here — Sarah Palin is somewhat “new” to the whole “Bush Doctrine” thing; she’s more familiar, of course, with the “Señor Juan Sidney McCain Para... This is only a comment summary. Visit http://guntotingliberal.com to view the lastest content complete with some of the most outrageous original photoshops in the political blogosphere!
CONSERVATIVE Andrew Sullivan On Señor J. Sidney McCain Para Él Presidenté:
2008-09-11 00:34:00 Sarah Palin Just The Tip Of The Iceberg Of Sullivan’s Major Rant As regular readers know, I, The GTL?, is under a self-imposed “Go easy on Sarah and Todd Palin” rule due to the fact I kinda-sorta grew up in Alaska with these two people and aside from our (apparently VAST)... This is only a comment summary. Visit http://guntotingliberal.com to view the lastest content complete with some of the most outrageous original photoshops in the political blogosphere!
Fundamentalists and Music
2008-08-22 16:35:00 Will Dudding (the Reforming Baptist) has a great post on music. He challenges fundamentalists regarding their stance on music. I don’t agree 100% with everything he says, but his post is definitely worth a read if you are interested in reforming fundamentalism. I am happy for any who are reforming and growing ...
Free from the Box
2008-08-18 19:57:00 For a while now I’ve been meaning to highlight a new blog. Free from the Box is a great blog offering help to those in extreme fundamentalism. The authors seek to create a place for those still on the inside to explore issues and find help. They take pains to make sure ...
A Little Fundamentalist Fun
2008-08-05 17:17:00 Check out a hilarious thread at Sharper Iron: “You might be a fundamentalist if…” (HT: Paleoevangelical). Some of the responses are downright funny. And as one who grew up in fundamentalism, some come too close to home. Mostly this thread has fundamentalists picking on their own quirks and oddities. Enjoy. ...
Can Fundamentalists fellowship with Mark Dever?
2008-06-18 13:53:00 I’ve been distracted from my current series by some blog discussions regarding Mark Dever and fundamentalism. (I plan to bring my next post in the Land series tomorrow, Lord willing). Mark Dever recently interviewed Mark Minnick, who teaches at BJU and pastors in Greenville. I haven’t listened to the interview yet, but I ...
John Piper?s Respect for Fundamentalists
2008-06-02 23:42:00 Here are John Piper’s 20 reasons for not taking “potshots” at the fundamentalists. 1. They are humble and respectful and courteous and even funny (the ones I’ve met). 2. They believe in truth. 3. They believe that truth really matters. 4. They believe that the Bible is true, all of it. 5. They know that the Bible calls for some ...
From Orthodoxy to fundamentalism
2008-05-29 09:44:00 The current Judaism is an aberration. Rabbis introduced its most prominent concept, that of the fence around the law, when Jews went into the Exile. The gentile influence suddenly became great, the option of purifying oneself in the Temple was absent, and so the rabbis developed an immense body of legislation to protect against inadvertent ...
By: Samson Blinded
Set Your Watches for Medieval Time
2008-05-23 15:52:00 Well, it’s happened again. Another group of religious fundamentalists have zealously declared that the mysteries of science are explained by the words of Holy Scripture. I thank God that these folks have not been allowed to push their religious beliefs into our nation classrooms and laboratories (yet), relying as they are upon faulty science to ...
By: Sharp Iron
Remove Fat and Insert Tool
2008-04-23 23:06:00 In my younger days I was a bit of a motor head. I wasn’t into big American muscle but instead my tastes ran towards small European cars that handled well. (This was the seventies and the only Japanese cars that fit this bill were the Datsun 510 and Z cars). My preference was for German ...
By: Sharp Iron
Gravity: A theory in crisis. Enter Intelligent Falling.
2008-04-15 16:21:00 Evangelical scientists refute gravity with new “Intelligent Falling” Theory. Request for equal time in schools has been made.
Schism: A Muslim?s video response to Geert Wilders? anti-Qur?an film Fitna
2008-04-14 06:01:00 Barry Duke of The Freethinker writes: “IT had to happen ? a Saudi man has hit back at films criticising Islam in a Fitna-style video which portrays Christianity as a religion of violence. The film, entitled Schism, was made by Raed al-Saeed. It splices together Bible verses and Iraq war images - including British soldiers beating civilians. Other ...
Japan Focus: The New Face of Indonesia?s Islamic Fundamentalism
2008-04-09 10:23:00 Here it goes again. Uncles with harsh over-smoked voices from Indonesia?s House of Representatives - that is synonymous with corruption and laziness ? droning on about morality and about ?how to protect the nation? from the ills of pornography.This time they have succeeded. While the nation was off guard, distracted by soaring food prices, a collapsing road system and general hopelessness, the House of Representatives on March 25th 2008 passed a bill banning all pornographic websites, threatening to jail users and providers who will now face up to three years in prison or a substantial fine. To be sure, Indonesia is still ?softer? than Saudi Arabia, but the new bill is as tough or even tougher than anti-pornography laws in many other Muslim countries. What are the nation?s priorities?As Representatives were introducing the bill, the streets of Jakarta were clogged with traffic. The rainy season battered almost all transit arteries and there seemed to be no hurry to fix them. The dai...
Liberalism vs conservatism vs fundamentalism
2008-04-02 04:43:00 Liberal is the person who favors progress or reform; he or she is tolerant with other beliefs and views, and is free from prejudice. A liberal person must be generous and abundant, and not, in a stricter sense, literalist when interpreting texts, situations or experiences. He or she advocates for liberty seeking freedom from arbitrary government system, freedom from foreign rule or policy, freedom from captivity, and freedom from any forms of oppression and injustice. The liberal person adheres to the libertarian tradition where there is freedom of expression, thoughts and thought forms.But you can only distinguish or classify ?liberal? when you have identified what is ?conservative.? To be conservative is to spend your life preserving the status quo or the existing conditions of society, cultures, institutions, etc. Usually when the person is conservative, his or her tendency is to limit and moderate change. Major reforms should be avoided in order to preserve peace and order, and ...
Is Mainstream Science Dogmatic? (Repost from December)
2008-03-28 20:12:00 Given that the release of the crocumentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is right around the corner, and that its promotional team is showing the sorts of dogmatism that it is accusing the mainstream scientific community (or, “Big Science”) of (e.g., by expelling prominent critic, PZ Myers from a screening, attempting to bribe Christian schools to force their ...
The fundamentalist?s implicit acknowledgement of his own ridiculousness
2008-03-10 07:36:00 Dave Scot at Uncommon Descent [i.e., a ridiculous blog by and for Christian fundamentalists who like to delude themselves and each other into thinking that 1) Intelligent Design is a science rather than one big faith-based argument from ignorance; 2) that there is some grand dogmatic “Darwinist” conspiracy in the scientific community which is dedicated to ...
?A Persuasive to Unity in Things Indifferent? by Thomas Manton
2008-03-07 18:00:00 In light of Nine Marks‘ recent e-journal on unity and separation, and in light of recent discussions on my blog over the legitimacy of unifying around fundamentals of the faith, I thought I would share some lengthy extracts from a sermon by the Puritan Thomas Manton (1620-1677). I was directed to this sermon in this Sharper ...
Appreciating and Assessing Fundamentalism
2008-03-05 19:36:00 Nine Marks Ministries, a conservative evangelical ministry aiming to strengthen churches by emphasizing Biblical rather than pragmatic approaches to ministry, recently released their March/April 2008 e-journal. This month the topic was unity and separation, with an emphasis on fundamentalism. The journal was kind to fundamentalism. While it recognized a need to balance separation with ...
Calvin on Fundamental Doctrines
2008-03-04 21:16:00 In reading through Nine Mark’s e-journal on fundamentalism, I came across an audio lecture by Iain Murray (editor of Banner of Truth) on George Whitefield and Catholicity. Catholicity refers to a spirit of unity among the universal (i.e. Catholic) church, and not in any way to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. The lecture ...
Essential Reading on Fundamentalism
2008-02-29 21:12:00 I don’t have time now to get in depth, but I wanted to at least give you the link. 9 Marks Ministries‘ March/April e-journal is on the topic of fundamentalism and separation. Some of the very issues, I’ve been debating about recently here are covered (including article’s I’ve referenced by Albert Mohler and Wayne Grudem). There ...
Fundamentalism - christiansquoting.org.uk
2008-02-21 12:23:00 In every discipline but one, it is a compliment to be called a fundamentalist. A scientist who gets down to fundamentals is thought to exhibit good understanding. An engineer who gets down to fundamentals is thought to design and build sound structures. A military man who deals in fundamentals demonstrates sound strategy, tactics, and logistics. A business man who deals in fundamentals is thought to be able to demonstrate a goodbottom line. But in religion, a fundamentalist is looked upon with scorn and amusement. --- Charles ColsonBecause fundamentalism found itself under attack, it developed a defensive mentality. A harsh and uncharitable spirit came to predominate. . . . Within its own ranks, internal suspicion and bickering over minor points of doctrine increased. From a movement of genuine scholarship, positive statement, and a certain latitude of evangelical position, fundamentalism came to be increasingly a negative, defensive and reactionary movement ---." The New Evangelica...
By: Christian Quoter
I just received a poem from Rapture Alert about Darwin?s alleged recantatio
2008-02-18 22:50:00 For those of you who haven’t heard of Rapture Alert, it’s a website dedicated to the anticipation of the rapture. One of the website’s fans or administrators just sent in a poem in response an earlier post on a Florida school board which had voted to oppose the teaching of evolution as fact. Take a ...
The March of Unreason: Science, Democracy, and the New Fundamentalism
2008-02-15 16:42:00 Oxford University Press, USA 2005-04-07 ISBN: 0192804855 PDF 310 pages 3 MbOur daily news bulletins bring us tales of the wonder of science, from Mars rovers and intelligent robots to developments in cancer treatment, and yet often the emphasis is on the potential threats posed by science. It appears that irrationality is on the rise in western society, and public opinion is increasingly dominated by unreflecting prejudice and unwillingness to engage with factual evidence. From genetically modified crops and food, organic farming, the MMR vaccine, environmentalism, the precautionary principle and the new anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation movements, the rejection of the evidence-based approach nurtures a culture of suspicion, distrust, and cynicism, and leads to dogmatic assertion and intolerance. In this compelling and timely examination of science and society, Dick Taverne argues that science, with all the benefits it brings, is an essential part of civilised and democratic so...
The Legacy Of Modern Christian Fundamentalism
2008-02-15 00:50:00 The word fundamentalism conjures up all kinds of images in the 21st century mind. Many equate fundamentalism with religious extremists who use violence to suppress or eradicate dissenting views. There was a day, however, when fundamentalism, in the Christian sense, simply meant to believe in the basics of the faith. In an effort to stem the growing liberal theological tolerance of some of its leaders, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1910 adopted a list of 5 core beliefs that were "necessary and essential" to the Christian faith:The inerrancy of Scripture.The virgin birth of Christ.The belief that Christ's death was an atonement for sin.The bodily resurrection of Christ.The historical reality of Christ's miracles. If the fundamentalist movement had remained bound to these ideals and had not gotten swept away by other issues, there is no doubt that most if not all orthodox Christians would proudly wear the label fundamentalist today. Fundamentalism, like any ...
By: Two Institutions
The Legacy Of Modern Christian Fundamentalism
2008-02-15 00:50:00 The word fundamentalism conjures up all kinds of images in the 21st century mind. Many equate fundamentalism with religious extremists who use violence to suppress or eradicate dissenting views. There was a day, however, when fundamentalism, in the Christian sense, simply meant to believe in the basics of the faith. In an effort to stem the growing liberal theological tolerance of some of its leaders, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1910 adopted a list of 5 core beliefs that were “necessary and essential” to the Christian faith: The inerrancy of Scripture.The virgin birth of Christ.The belief that Christ’s death was an atonement for sin.The bodily resurrection of Christ.The historical reality of Christ’s miracles. If the fundamentalist movement had remained bound to these ideals and had not gotten swept away by other issues, there is no doubt that most if not all orthodox Christians would proudly wear the label fundamentalist today. ...
By: Two Institutions
The Concept of ?Fundamental Doctrines?: Modern Reductionism or Historic Pro
2008-02-14 18:36:00 Often I labor to reply to important questions in the comments on my blog, only to have my thoughts buried and hidden in the weeds, so to speak. So I thought I would craft today’s reply into a post. I’ve been debating with Pastor Kent Brandenburg on the appropriateness of ranking doctrines as fundamental/essential and ...
Murder plot against Danish cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard
2008-02-13 00:31:00 JP.DK reports that Early this morning Danish police arrested several individuals of Muslim background suspected of conspiring to kill Kurt Westergaard, one of the 12 Danish cartoonists who on September 30, 2005 published cartoons of alleged Muslim prophet. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service had been tracking three of the arrested suspects for a number of ...
Piper & Carson on Essential Doctrines
2008-02-12 21:46:00 Recently we’ve been debating the idea of whether certain doctrines should be considered fundamental or essential, and others merely secondary. Most Christians and even fundamentalists do admit that there are essential doctrines that are more important than others. However, as my last installment of my church’s elder confession of faith shows, this doesn’t ...
Essential Doctrines
2008-02-09 16:23:00 Recently we’ve been discussing whether doctrines can be secondary, or if they should all be essential. In my post “Minimizing the Gospel through Excessive Separation“, I argue that only fundamental doctrines are essential, and when we separate over secondary doctrines, we are belittling the Gospel. John MacArthur agrees with me it seems. On Pulpit Live there ...
Minimizing the Gospel through Excessive Separation
2008-01-30 21:59:00 In extreme fundamentalism, every doctrine is a hill to die on. Music (worship), dress, Bible versions (KJVO), personal separation (i.e. no movie attendance, alcohol, tobacco, gambling), believer’s baptism, pre-tribulational rapture — all of these are lined up right next to the Trinity, justification by grace through faith alone, inspiration, inerrancy, the virgin birth, etc. ...
Comments, Kind and Otherwise
2008-01-28 23:38:00 I suppose my blog is controversial enough to attract extra attention. Unlike some blogs, the comments around here aren’t limited to props from my group of online friends. You don’t have to look far to find debates and places where my own friends disagree with me, too. And then there are those ...
Sharia banking: Not unsecular, but deceitful to Muslims?
2008-01-28 17:41:00 I first heard of the introduction of sharia loan programs at North American banks this past summer. It didn’t bother me, and why should it have? It’s not like having sharia banking options is going to affect the options of others. It’s not like we are all going to have to engage in sharia banking. Some ... |
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