Blogging Theologically

Theology for real life

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Links I like

Abstinence is unrealistic and old fashioned

Matt Walsh:

Yes, it’s weird for you to want to wait until marriage. In spite of the hyper-sexualization of our culture; in spite of society’s decaying moral sensibility; in spite of all of the messages that bombard you every day through every available medium; in spite of the pressure from your classmates; in spite of the bullying from that fool of a “health teacher,” you STILL stand tall and resolve to save yourself for your future wife.

Man, that is weird. It’s also awesome, inspiring, courageous, and extraordinary. Not to mention, Jeremy, you’re doing the RIGHT thing. You’ve got more character than most adults in this country, and you should be commended for it.

Cruciform Press Pre-Holiday Sale

Cruciform Press is offering 50% off everything (provided you purchase one of the five featured titles) through 11/18, plus free shipping through 11/13, unlimited quantities. If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for book lovers, this where you’ll want to start.

50 shades of white

Simone Richardson:

Romance novels have always been popular amongst women, and over the years their sexual content has been steadily increasing. In 2005 erotic romance as a sub-genre was recognized as an under-tapped market, and since then booksellers have flooded their shelves with content to meet the growing demands of readers. It is now normal for romances (even those not classed as erotic) to take readers beyond the living room and let them witness and vicariously participate in the heated and messy goings on of the bedroom. The recent flourishing of ebooks has hastened the spread of this kind of thing, leading to the infamous rise of the Fifty Shades series, which became popular enough to merit huge display spaces in supermarkets. And you could read it on the train, and no-one would know.

So what do we make of this as Christians?

Psalm of the Hipster Worship Leader

Aaron Earls with a nice bit of satire:

…I thought it was time to add a new psalm to the Bible. Somehow, no one seemed to agree with me. They made up silly phrases like “closed canon” and threatened to “bring back heresy trials.” Whatever.

They are missing out, but you don’t have to. Here is Psalm 151: A psalm of the hipster worship leader.

5 Things to Consider Before Rebuking a Christian Celebrity

Daniel Darling:

The new online world has flattened leadership. Most of the time this is good, increasing accountability and allowing undiscovered talent to rise. But there is a downside. Criticism now comes easier, with the click of a “send” button on a variety of media tools, you can “call out” Christians with whom you disagree. I would argue that a few rules should guide our online rebukes. Here are five questions I try to ask myself before writing critically about someone.

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Advice for seekers

spurgeon

The Gospel is preached to you, and God has not sent it with the intention that after you have heard it you should seek mercy and not find it. God does not tantalize, He does not mock the sons of men. He asks you to come to Him. Repent and believe, and you shall be saved. If you come with a broken heart, trusting in Christ, there is no possibility that He will reject you; otherwise He would not have sent the Gospel to you. There is nothing that so delights Jesus Christ as to save sinners. We never find that Jesus was in a huff because the people pressed about Him to touch Him. No, it gave Him divine pleasure to give out His healing power.

You who are in a trade are never happier than when business is brisk; and my Lord Jesus, who follows the trade of soul-winning, is never happier than when His great business is moving on rapidly. What pleasure it gives a physician when at last he brings a person through a severe illness into health! I think the medical profession must be one of the happiest engagements in the world when a man is skilful in it. Our Lord Jesus feels a most divine pleasure as He bends over a broken heart and binds it up. It is the very heaven of Christ’s soul to be doing good to the sons of men. You misjudge Him if you think He wants to be argued with and persuaded to have mercy; He gives it as freely as the sun pours out light, as the heavens drop with dew and as clouds yield their rain. It is His honour to bless sinners; it makes Him a name, and an everlasting sign that shall never be removed.

Charles H. Spurgeon, Advice for Seekers

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True believers practice obedience

Jesus-Reaching-Out
photo: iStock

What, then, is the essential characteristic of the true believer, the genuine disciple of Jesus Christ? It is not loud profession, nor spectacular spiritual triumphs, nor protestations of great spiritual experience. Rather, his chief characteristic is obedience. True believers perform the will of their Father, consistent with their prayer, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” They cannot forget that at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:19f.). And so they practice obedience. The Father’s will is not simply admired, discussed, praised, debated; it is done. It is not theologically analyzed, nor congratulated for its high ethical tones; it is done. The test is rephrased by a famous second-century document, the Didache, which says, “But not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet, except he have the behavior of the Lord.”

D.A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew 5-10, p. 138