QOD

The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this
ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to
the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the
boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress,
is to take possession of a boundless field of power, not longer
susceptible of any definition."

-- Thomas Jefferson (Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National
Bank, 15 February 1791)

Reference: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Boyd, ed., vol. 19 (276)

Post Da Vinci Release

It's Not Just a Movie, It's a Revelation (About the Audience)

More Code Breakers

With all the hubbub of the Davinci Code film releasing today I thought these two articles by Dr. Mohler would help some of us be able to discuss the issues confidently with those we come into contact with. I would be interested in any thoughts of how you think Christians should respond to movies such as this and the issues that are raised.

About the book:
Deciphering 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dr. Albert Mohler.

About the movie:
A Christian Response to "The DaVinci Code": What’s the Problem? By Dr. Albert Mohler

Da Vinci via The Journal

I would like to point out a couple of articles on the Da Vinci Code over at OpinionJournal, the online editorial arm of The Wall Street Journal. I think these articles show it really doesn't take much to disarm the "facts" behind this fictional work.

Holy Sepulcre! "The Da Vinci Code" shows that conspiracy theories have no limits. BY DANIEL HENNINGER

Debunking the Debunkers. C.S. Lewis's message to "Da Vinci Code" fans. BY JOSEPH LOCONTE

Da Vinci Code vs. The Passion

Check out Cheering the Code after punching The Passion.

QOD

The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily

"The foundation of national morality must be laid in private
families. . . . How is it possible that Children can have any
just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if,
from their earliest Infancy, they learn their Mothers live in
habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as
constant Infidelity to their Mothers?"

-- John Adams (Diary, 2 June 1778)

Reference: The Works of John Adams, C.F. Adams, ed., vol. 3 (171)

143rd Anniversary of the death of Stonewall Jackson

Click here for a short blog on this anniversary.

Man in Black

My wife and I recently watched "Walk the Line", the film version of the Life, part of the life at least, of the late singer/songwriter and black wearing Johnny Cash. I remember growing up listening to country music from my parents radios, and vaguely recall the voice of Johnny Cash coming in over the speakers. I have always liked his music, but after seeing this movie and reading a bit more about "the man in black", I have developed quite an affinity for his music, and for the man. To me, it is just real. Cash, and his wife June Carter, lived lives of searching. There seemed to be something always in the way of happiness. Was was that something? Here is a commentary from Russell Moore after he saw the movie.

Walking the Line by Russell Moore

Walking the Line
Tuesday, November 15, 2005

I participated last night in a pre-release screening of Walk the Line, the film based on the autobiographies of singer/songwriter Johnny Cash. I anticipated hating the film, but found myself sitting through the credits with a silent "Amen," not only because the movie was so true to the Cash story, but because it was so true to the parable of the Prodigal Son and the Book of Proverbs.

My prejudice was based partly on my love for Cash and his music, so certain I was that the film would get it wrong. Joaquin Phoenix singing "Cry, Cry, Cry" in his own voice? Legally Blonde's Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash? I also though understood from other reviewers the film was yet another offering of the arc of humble beginnings, rise to fame, fall to the perils of fame, and renewal that we have seen in Ray and other films. At the same time, many Christian reviewers have noted that the faith aspect of Cash's life is muted, if not obliterated, in the film.

I was wrong.

First of all, Reese Witherspoon was completely convincing as June Carter. My dread of seeing June as a mall girl with a fake southern accent proved to be unfounded. Witherspoon portrayed June with a mystique and transparency that should earn her an Academy Award. Phoenix meanwhile seemed to start off the movie with an almost parodic rendering of Cash (think of all the bad Elvis Presley life story movies we've seen), but, as the film went on, seemed to morph into Cash.

Yes, the film is similar to Ray, complete with a loving mother and a dead brother, whose blood-guilt lay on the protagonist for the rest of his life. Yes, like Ray Charles and countless others, Cash falls to the allure of sex and addiction as his celebrity grows. And yet, this is precisely because Cash and Charles and other artists actually did live this kind of life. What makes Cash's story unique is the way his art was fired, not just by a sense of sadness, but by conviction of sin.

It is true that the film does not feature Cash's conversion to Christ. But it does feature Johnny and June walking into the First Baptist Church, a hint of something very biblical that evangelical conversion stories often miss: the prodigal doesn't just come to his senses and leave the pigpen; he returns to his family. It also demonstrates the allure and devastation of sin.

The Carter/Cash interaction is not a gushingly romantic love story. Their adulterous passion is portrayed as having devastating consequences of two families, and on their own souls. So often in our churches we pretend as though the temptation to adultery is found in the wiles of an evil, cunning harlot. And yet, Scripture tells us that the path to infidelity is much more deceptive than that (Prov 7). In the Carter/Cash love story we see less the rapacious womanizing of Ray Charles than we see the tortured affair of David and Bathsheba, an affair that ends in marriage. Like David, the singers are led to sing of the pain and guilt of the "Ring of Fire" (Psalm 51).

The film does not feature explicitly Cash's conversion, and that's a shame. One cannot understand the love into old age of Cash and Carter without understanding how they were able to transcend the "burning flame" of illicit guilt. And yet, the film does show something of redemption and mission. When Cash dons black and begins playing concerts for prisoners, he is told that his constituency on Christians and they don't want him playing music for murderers and rapists. "Then they're not Christians," the Cash character responds. The theater audience around me erupted into applause.

My sons know Johnny Cash quite well because they hear his music around them all the time. My infant son's lullaby each night is a Carter Family song. When they are older, we'll watch Walk the Line. But we'll follow it up with a reminder from Scripture that sums up Johnny and June more than celebrity can ever explain: They loved much for they were forgiven much. There was a Man in Black, not because of a marketing gimmick, but because he understood with lifelong pain what it means to descend into a "Ring of Fire" and to find a Deliverer on the other side.

I wish the movie would have delved deeper into the spiritual conversion that Johnny underwent. I wish it would have been more clear that the affects of adultery and addiction are lost lives and shattered dreams. But it did show that God's grace is always around the bend. That lives can be restored. And only God can rescue selfish sinners from the flames of fire.

Riddleblog

I have added a new blog to my bloglist on the right. Tis The Riddleblog: Devoted to Reformed Theology and Eschatology.

Lots of cool stuff, mostly from an Ammillenial position, which is of course, the Reformed Eschatological position. :)

Chrisitianity & Culture

Over at Reformed Baptist Thinker, aka John Devito, he has information on a 2 part lecture given by Gene Edward Veith on Christianity and Culture. This is a topic I am interested in and this lecture series looks pretty good. I look forward to listening to them in the near future.

John Adams: A Life

I just finished reading a great book and wanted to pass along some very brief thoughts on it. The book is John Adams: A Life by John Ferling. I was turned on to John Ferling after listening to another of his books on tape, Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800. As a newly admitted history buff, especially 17th-19th century America, I am trying to read a biography of each of the founding fathers. John Adams: A Life is a very detailed look (454 pages) at the entire life of the United States first Vice President (1792-1800) and our second President (1800-1804). This book delves into Adam's early life, his incredible drive to become a man of importance, his family life, especially his relationship with his wife Abigail, his rise to political prominence from a cautious advocate of independence from Great Britain to possibly the most outspoken advocate of independence when the fledgling movement needed leadership the most, especially among the New England States.

The book goes into much detail also on the attitudes of the citizens during the revolutionary era, and does a good job of over viewing the differences between the two main political parties which arose during the revolutionary war and after, namely, the Federalists and the Republicans. Adams was a federalist, though not a high federalist and Jefferson a republican, though Adams became more of a republican near the end of his lifetime. Between this book and Adams vs. Jefferson, you can get a pretty good picture of this man, and also of Jefferson.

There are so many quotes from the book that would be interesting, but for lack of time I am going to focus on one quote. I was interested in John Adam's religious views, as I am all the founding fathers. This topic was broached on a very surface level throughout most of the book, noting Adams would occasionlly discuss theological subjects and owned theological books in his large library. It also mentions him as a dedicated attender of the Congregational Church. Adam's led a long life and near the end many of his friends and family have died. This, naturally, has Adams contemplating death more often. Near the end of the book Ferling offers this analysis of Adam's religious beliefs:

"From this point on, Adams dwelt more than ever on the mysteries of life and death. During his early adult years, Adams had turned away from the strict Calvinism of his youth. He thereafter referred to himself as a "church-going animal" and as "a fellow disciple" to all Christians. In his final years, however, he moved toward a Unitarian position. He continued to believe in the existence of a Supreme Creator and in an afterlife, but he rejected the notion of Jesus' divinity and denounced institutional Christianity as a purveyor of fraud and superstition. The Christian church, he declared, was the cause of much pain and suffering on earth. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that Christ's teachings and his "universal Toleration" offered the best guide to human conduct. "My religion", he remarked in 1815, "is found on the love of God and my neighbor; on the hope of pardon for my offenses...I believe, too, in a future state of rewards and punishments, but not eternal." The one notion to which Adams remained committed was his belief that religion was necessary for the general populace; without some such belief system to constrain the masses, he said, "their World would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell." P. 433-435, John Adams: A Life by John Ferling.

Very interesting quote, and Adam's beliefs here seem to be more Jeffersonian than Christian. Although, I look forward to seeing if further reading on these men confirm or confuse the sentiments expressed here. Adams never lost his belief that mankind was not inherently good, but suffered a base nature, of which government must be contoured and shaped around. According to this book, this is the view that formed Adam's thoughts on government.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy history. It is long, but when I was done I felt I had accomplished a great deal! It was well worth it and I look forward to continuing to delve into the hearts and minds of the men who founded our country.

Interview with John Piper

There is a pretty good article over at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association web site which is an interview with John Piper. Here are a couple of quotes.

A: The fight to delight in God is a fight to see God in and through the Word, by the Spirit. Since revealing is a spiritual thing, and because the Lord is not visible, He reveals Himself to the eyes of our heart by the Word of God. This is the beauty of the Word, combined with the Spirit, so that when we read the Word a seeing happens. I'm not thinking of imagining pictures in the brain, I'm thinking of glory in and through the work of God depicted in the Bible. The glory streams forth out of God's character into our heart and we perceive it, we taste it spiritually; we apprehend it with the eyes of our heart. That's the way we fight for joy. In my own fight, I use the acronym IOUS, and I plead with the Lord:

Incline my heart to Your testimonies (Psalm 119:36), because there are days when I don't even want to pick up the Bible. If that feeling survives, I'm dead. So I plead, "Lord, don't let me not want to pick up the Bible. Incline my heart to Your Word."

Open the eyes of my heart to see wondrous things in the Word (Psalm 119:18), not just black marks on a page. Make Your truth glorious and beautiful and attractive and satisfying and delighting.

Unite my heart to fear Your Name (Psalm 86:11). My heart is fragmented and going every which way—I'm worried about the kids, I'm worried about the church, I'm worried about the car I need to fix. So I ask God to get my heart together to have a reverential demeanor toward Him.

Satisfy me with Your lovingkindness (Psalm 90:14). Make my heart so content in You that pornography is not attractive, money is not attractive, fame is not attractive. I want an attraction to You to dominate my life.

I've actually added one more "S" and that's Spread. Evangelism. The mission statement of our church is, "We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ."

Does anyone else connect with that? I do. Also this.

God is angry at sinners. It's not wrong to talk about sinners in the hands of an angry God. We just need to complete the picture by adding that He wants to get us out of His anger into His mercy. He couldn't do that as a just and Holy God by sweeping sins under the rug. They had to be carried by a substitute, and only the Son of God could bear them. So He sends Christ His Son to live a perfect life. His death is the consummation of two things. It's the consummation of His righteousness, so that I could have a righteousness imputed to me that's not my own. And it's the consummation of the sufferings that I should have borne because of my sin. I should have suffered in hell, but He suffered on the cross for me because He was the divine Son of God who came and took all my suffering. He provided all my righteousness so that Paul can say, "[God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV).

That, I believe, is the gospel ladies and gentlemen. As Justin Taylor said, the whole article is a good summary of John Piper's theology. Check it out.

(THFP: Justin Taylor)

Reporting on ARBCA

Two of my pastors are at the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America general assembly meeting this week at Heritage Baptist Church in Fayetteville, GA. For the schedule click here.

I am delighted that they have been able to attend this conference, and excited about the fact that Pastor Robert will be blogging from the conference. You can go ahead and click on it now and read about the first session. Keep checking in for further updates!

Russ

Ascol/White Vs. Caner/Caner

Ok, here is what you all have been waiting for.

Baptists and Calvinism: A Debate at the New Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia
Monday, October 16th, 2006, 7pm, at the New Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. A debate on Calvinism, featuring:
Speaking against "Calvinism" will be the Dean of Liberty Theological Seminary, Dr. Ergun Ehmet Caner. Dr. Caner has been a vocal critic of Reformed theology in Baptist life. He is the author of numerous books and a professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
Joining him will be his brother, Dr. Emir Caner of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Dallas. Dr. Caner is likewise an author, and both Caners are converts from Islam. You can visit Dr. Ergun Caner's website here, and Dr. Emir Caner's website here.
Speaking in defense of "Calvinism" will be the President of the Founder's Ministries, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, author and lecturer, Dr. Tom Ascol. In his role with the Founder's movement Dr. Ascol has often addressed the issue of the role of Reformed theology in historic Baptist life. Dr. Ascol has likewise spoken for us in our conferences, and will be part of our conference in November in Orlando as well.
And I have the great privilege of joining Dr. Ascol in defense of "Calvinism." This will be my fifth opportunity in sixty formal debates to specifically address the doctrines of grace and give a biblical defense of my faith.
There will be no cost for admission. The debate will be audio and video recorded and will be made available through the ministries of those involved.

Will you join me in praying for:

1. God's Word to be proclaimed and explained truthfully.
2. Open minds & hearts to be had by all in attendance.
3. A humble spirit to be exhibited by all involved.
4. For God's glory to be the ultimate aim of the evening.

It is doubtful I can make this trip, so I will be anxiously awaiting the recordings of this debate.

Without Excuse

Let me go ahead and set this article up exactly like Justin Taylor did.

You finally have that opportunity to explain the gospel to that co-worker who has been asking a few questions of late. She tells you that one of the things that keeps her from taking religion seriously is that each one claims absolute, final truth. Obviously, they can't all be right, since they contradict each other at key points. Can a Japanese Buddhist really be held accountable for accepting Christianity if Buddhism has been his only frame of reference? How then can we continue to say that Jesus is the only way? How can we say that God cannot be truly known, at least in a saving way, unless one has been exposed to the Christian Scriptures somehow? Religion all seems hopelessly naive and impossible. More than that, it seems to fuel the religious strife that drives intolerance around the world. As a result, your co-worker has simply adopted the cultural dogma of tolerance that assumes a pragmatic view of religion. Buddhism "works" for one person, Islam for another, and Christianity for still others. The belief that religion is therapy more than truth seems pervasive, in evangelicalism as everywhere else.

You'll have to read the article from Modern Reformation Magazine to see how Michael Horton answers these questions.

(Tar Heel Finger Point (hereafter THFP): Justin Taylor)

Final 4 Predicts

Keeping with the basketball theme.

As others have said, I am not a prophet or a son of a prophet, but here are my final 4 pics which I picked before the tournament began...I promise.

Atlanta Region: LSU (Still alive)
Oakland Region: UCLA (Still alive)
Washington D.C. Region: UCONN (Still alive)
Minneapolis Region: BC (Still alive)

Championship game: UCLA vs. UCONN
National Champ: UCONN

Its wait and see time!

Anyone else want to share their picks?

T4TG Blog

Those of you who have not been keeping up with the Together for The Gospel blog are missing out, especially you basketball fans. What I particulary am enjoying is CJ Mahaney's strong distaste for a particular basketball team located in Durham, NC. I share Pastor Mahaney's strong dislike for this team and also refuse to even type the name. What a wise man he is. Anyway, this combined with the pastoral encouragements, which all of us Christians can use whether we are pastors or not, is making this blog a great read.

USA Today Article on Franklin Graham

There is an interesting article on Franklin Graham over at USA Today. You can read it here.

Overall it seems good that Franklin stands firm for the Gospel, and my personal experience hearing him on the radio would back that up. I just hope his organization's Gospel presentations are the true Gospel and not the watered down imposter that is so rampant today. For more on that check out the Way of the Master link over on my list of sites.

Vocational Calling

On a discussion board I lurk at, one of the posters there brought to my attention an excellent article from the Westminister Theological Seminary Bulletin. I think it is dead on in how the American Church today divides vocational calling. I know I agree with the article and still have to fight my own tendancy to elevate "full-time Christian ministry" as the peak of Christian piety, maturity, and service before God. Here is the article. It is well worth the short read. I have put in bold the central paragraph. Comments are vociferously welcome.

Calling in Every Area of Life by William Edgar

Calling in Every Area of Life
by William Edgar
Professor of Apologetics, Moderator of the Faculty

Arguably the most significant book for late Medieval piety is Thomas à Kempis’ De Imitatione Christi. Still popular today, it contains many valuable teachings about sanctification. But it has a fundamental flaw. One can sense the problem by looking at the full title: On the Imitation of Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth. An even more brutal translation says: and Contempt for the World. According to this kind of piety, the world is altogether a distraction from our proper calling, which is to draw close to Christ.

At first, monasteries were crucial parts of the preserving and nurturing of civilization. But gradually monks and nuns became isolated from the world, unable to relate to the religious aspirations of the laity, nor to some of the innovations of the day, such as the printing press and nascent science. Calling, or vocation, was defined as “devotion,” meaning a narrow and intense dedication to the sacred.

The Protestant Reformation blasted through this split universe. Because of their robust understanding of creation and of the so-called cultural mandate (Genesis 1:24-31; Psalm 8:5-9), Luther, Calvin, then the Puritans, and other post-Reformation orthodox, proclaimed the vocation of every Christian. The idea of the priesthood of all believers issues in the conviction that we are all called to work in the everyday world. Thus, farming, artistry, parenting, citizenship—all are a part of our vocation before the Lord. Luther, who was given to extravagant statements, once declared that the work of the least householder was worth more than that of all the priests, monks, and nuns put together! He did not disparage the ordained ministry; quite the contrary. Yet he found much of the monastic life of no use in the Kingdom of God. He urged all clergy to marry and work with their hands.

This radical, biblical idea led to many results. When Calvin came to Geneva, some 400 people were in the employ of the church, yet the city was known for its corruption and degenerate life. After his arrival, church employees were reduced to a handful as other jobs were found for former clerics, and public morality improved. Work, according to Calvin, is not socially demeaning, but honorable, though toilsome. William Perkins wrote extensively on how to find one’s calling in life. He carefully compared the gifts of each person to the surrounding needs and opportunities. In countries where the Reformation took root, a higher standard of living could generally be found, since everyone was accountable to God for his or her livelihood.

Today we are in danger of returning to a Medieval model, not so much through the attraction of the monastic order, but in making evangelism or “soul-saving” such a priority that areas such as social justice, business, politics, science, or the arts, are neglected. Many evangelicals believe missions is the highest calling, followed by the pastorate, or other kinds of “full-time Christian service.”

To which we must say, No! Every kind of Christian service is full-time. The gospel applies to every sphere of life, as Abraham Kuyper would remind us. Of course, evangelism is important. But if we engage in it without at the same time recognizing the legitimacy of calling into every realm of life, we are becoming “so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.” Heaven, though, is the earth remade. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. But Jesus opens the door, now. Heaven is not a far away place, but the place where God reigns, and he reigns right here! The seventh angel of the Revelation blows the trumpet, and loud voices proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (11:15).

Sam Logan’s full time Christian service for over twenty years has been as dean of students, academic dean, and then president of Westminster. His calling today is to the chancellorship. In his administration we moved from being pre-technological to being “smart.” He inaugurated the Contemporary Issues Conferences, which exhibited the Kuyperian principle that says every sphere belongs to Christ. He stressed our impact around the world, not only by multiplying our campuses, but also by bringing world Christian leaders to them to be trained in the Reformed worldview and then return to strengthen the kingdom in their respective countries. In all of these areas, and many more, he refused the Medieval sacred-secular dichotomy, but instead led Westminster to equip leaders who could equip others in every walk of life. We wish Sam and Susan well in this new vocation. May they not only bring glory to God, but enjoy him thoroughly, and forever.

Shepherd's Conference

For those of us who could not attend the Shepherd's Conference out at John MacArthur's church, Grace Community, here is a link to Tim Challies' site where he is live blogging. Enjoy.

Russ