Here’s a great list of books to start chipping away at: Mohler’s Top Ten Christian Biographies.
An Open Letter to Susan Wise Bauer
Seeing the release of the first volume of Susan Wise Bauer’s History of the Ancient World prompted me to go back and read something she recently published in Books and Culture, which prompted me to leave the response below on her blog:
Dear Susan,
This comment is not related to the present post, sorry. Seeing your new book out (congratulations! and congrats on the Ph.D., too!) prompted me to go back and look at something that recently came to my inbox from Books and Culture.
So I’ve just read your piece on the book by John Stackhouse, and it seemed to me that you rested a lot in that piece on the analogy between what the Bible says about slavery and what it says about women. I’m sure someone has said something like this to you already, but my conscience constrains me to communicate this: complementarians hold that there is a major difference between what the Bible says about slavery and what it says about women.
The Bible says nothing about slavery being part of God’s created order. Nor does the Bible indicate that slavery was present in Eden. Every statement the Bible makes about slavery regulates a wicked practice of fallen people. I’m sure you’re aware of the differences between the humane treatment of slaves in the Bible and the more harsh conditions among other peoples of the ancient Near East. Moreover, in Philemon, Paul certainly sets Christians on a trajectory that moves them to think of slaves as brothers.
On gender, by contrast, we find distinctions set forth in the creation account. In Eden Adam’s role was to work and keep the garden, while Eve’s was to help the man. Just as God had exercised dominion over his creation by naming it, so Adam exercises dominion–a righteous, holy, God-intended, unfallen, perfect dominion–over his helper when he names her first “woman” then later “Eve.” God holds Adam responsible for the sin, even though Eve sinned first (“Adam, where are you?”), and Paul interprets this to mean that “through one MAN sin entered the world. . .” And then Paul’s appeal for female submission to male authority in 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2 is to this created order. There is no trajectory away from the pattern set for male-female relations in Genesis 1-2.
Therefore, I do not believe there is an analogy between what the Bible says about women and what it says about slaves that justifies a movement away from complementarian gender roles.
I would type more, but I have to prepare to lead a Seder meal tonight and preach a sermon tomorrow. I have an essay just out in a new book from IVP, the presentation form of which you can read here: http://www.swbts.edu/faculty/jhamilton/documents/4-12-05.pdf
I look forward to reading volume 1 of your history of the world.
Blessings!
Jim Hamilton
Only One Way?
What if you could hear from the likes of David Wells, D. A. Carson, Philip Ryken, and Ligon Duncan on engaging an increasingly pluralistic and relativistic culture with the exclusive truth claims of Christianity?
Here’s your opportunity! Praise God for Crossway’s commitment to the reproach of the cross.
The table of contents is here, and you can look at the endorsements, the preface, and Carson’s chapter here.
Prayer of the Month: Ephesians 6:14-20
May the Lord bless you this month in praying this for yourself and others:
ESV Ephesians 6:14-20 “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
B&H’s New Online Catalog
B&H Academic has launched a new fully searchable online catalog.
This is a nifty tool that allows you to browse the academic catalog online. It’s very intuitive, so no training is required.
You can check it out here.
God’s Indwelling Presence: Chapter 3 Online
What does the Old Testament have to say about the dwelling of God? Does it indicate that God indwelt members of the old covenant remnant? What about those figures in the OT that we read about having the Spirit? What about passages like Jeremiah 31 (law on the hearts) and Ezekiel 36 (“I will put my Spirit within you”)?
B&H has made the Table of Contents and chapter 3 of God’s Indwelling Presence available on this website. The chapter is titled “Not in but with in the Old Testament.” You can check it out by going to this page, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking “Read a Sample Chapter” (don’t right click and open in a new window or tab, just click it).
Enjoy!
Where Is B&H Going? A Word from the Director of Academic Publishing
Some time back I linked to an interview with Dr. Ray Clendenen at B&H Academic. You can now read a personal, compelling, insightful statement from Ray on what he hopes B&H Academic will provide and why he has those hopes. As some publishing houses seem eager to follow liberal protestantism in the flight from the faith once for all delivered to the saints, this is a very encouraging word.
Romania, Paris, Copper Mountain
If you check this blog regularly, you’ll have noticed that there were no posts through the middle of March. That’s because I was in Romania, then Paris, then Colorado.
My friend Gabriel Ianculovici has posted a video of me preaching at a church plant in Romania with his brother, Chris, translating my English into Romanian. This encouraging church plant has seen 120 people come to faith since the church was planted in the early 1990’s. I also taught at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Bucharest and was heartily encouraged by the brothers there.
Romania is a country that was long abused by communism, but the Lord preserved his people there. We should pray for the Word of God to continue to prosper in Romania.
After Romania, I visited some folks in Paris who are seeking to reach North Africans in that post-Christian place. On the subway in Paris, I listened to this interview with Thabiti Anyabwile on Islam and Muslims. If you know as little about Islam and Muslims as I do, you should avail yourself of this great conversation.
Upon my return to the States, I was blessed by some people obeying 1 Timothy 6:17-19. I won’t steal their reward by revealing their identity, but they blessed my sweet wife and me with an all expense paid ski vacation in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The Lord’s mercy and love through these folks is indescribable.
Powlison on Desire
Justin Taylor is posting important snippets of David Powlison’s book, Seeing with New Eyes.
The first post introduces the lusts of the flesh, and the second explores how the New Testament describes what is wrong with us. You should read these two posts.
This is important material for counseling ourselves and others in the fight of the faith.
The Faithful Preacher
The foreword from John Piper is here.
You can browse the table of contents here.
This book is a must read.
Here’s a description, followed by some weighty commendations from the publisher’s website:
The cliché is that those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. But Thabiti Anyabwile contends that it is not the mistakes we must study; it is the people who have overcome them. So he presents three of the most influential African-American pastors in American history who can teach us what faithful ministry entails.
Lemuel Haynes (1753–1833) reminds pastors that eternity must shape our ministry. Daniel A. Payne (1811–1893) stresses the importance of character and preparation to faithful shepherding. And Francis J. Grimké (1850–1937) provides a vision for engaging the world with the gospel. While they are from the African-American tradition, they, like all true saints, belong to all Christians of every background and era. Distinctive for its use of rare and out-of-print messages, Anaybwile’s work is valuable as a reference as well as a devotional resource.
“Do yourself a favor; read this book, and share it with others.”
Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church“Thabiti Anyabwile introduces us to past African-American voices calling pastors to faithfulness in life and doctrine. This is the kind of book we pastors need.”
C.J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries“Reading The Faithful Preacher is like being introduced to three long-lost spiritual grandfathers and their legacy of pastoral fidelity.”
Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS; Adjunct Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary“Stories of faithful men of God—puritans of the richest kind. This book is a splendid achievement.”
Derek W. H. Thomas, John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Minister of Teaching, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS; Editorial Director, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals“As an African-American I welcome this book with great enthusiasm. It reminds the broad evangelical world of the provocative, deeply theological, missional, and culturally engaging tradition of African-American gospel preaching. A must read for all church traditions.”
Anthony Bradley, Assistant Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary“With biblical and historical insight, Thabiti would have us admire and thank God for the labors and lives of three men—clear demonstrations of what the pastoral ministry should be, regardless of race, color, or nationality.”
Anthony Carter, Assistant Pastor of Southwest Christian Fellowship; author of On Being Black and Reformed“At last a great book that taps the fresh water that flows from the heart of three great African-American preachers of the past! We have much to learn from them.”
Joseph M. Stowell, Teaching Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel; former President, Moody Bible Institute
Calvin to a Fellow Pastor, and some good sermons on 1 Timothy
When John Calvin was exiled from Geneva in 1538, he wrote back to another Pastor still preaching in Geneva:
Above all, do you seriously consider that you are engaged in the discharge of an office, which, as it excels every other, so it is the most dangerous of all, if you do apply yourself with the utmost diligence and intensity to the duties belonging to it. If you care for my approval, I would forewarn you of this one thing, that I require no more of you than that you devote yourself sincerely and faithfully to the Lord.
From Lester De Koster’s Light for the City: Calvin’s Preaching, Source of Life and Liberty, 14.
1 Timothy has much to say about the church and its pastors, and I commend to you the sermons that Travis Cardwell has preached on Paul’s first letter to Timothy. You can find them here.
Different By Design Audio
You can download some significant addresses on biblical manhood and womanhood from Russ Moore, Lig Duncan, Wayne Grudem, and C. J. Mahaney here. Enjoy!
Are You Ready to Meet God?
With One Voice, by Alex Chediak
Alex Chediak has done a great service for anyone seeking guidance on how to handle singleness, dating, and marriage for the glory of God.
If you’re a parent thinking about how to guide your kids through the dating years or a single person navigating those waters, the one voice of this book speaks with sanity, clarity, and godliness.
The book’s endorsements are here, the author’s blog on the book is here, and Challies’ review is here. This is a short, wise, helpful book. Enjoy!
Prayer of the Month: 2 Corinthians 13:7-9
2 Corinthians 13:7-9 (NAU) Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete.
Suffer Hardship . . . as a Good Soldier of Christ Jesus. . .
In these words of 2 Timothy 2:3 Paul exhorts Timothy to bear up under suffering for Christ the way that soldiers stand in battle. A beautiful picture of a soldier standing in battle is given today in the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal essay by Daniel Henninger, “The Real American Idol.” Henninger describes the Medal of Honor given to Major Bruce Crandall for his valorous action 42 years ago during the Vietnam War. Henninger describes what Crandall did as follows:
Mr. Crandall, then a major, commanded a company with the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, carrying soldiers to a landing zone, called X-ray, in the la Drang Valley. An assault from the North Vietnamese army erupted, as described at the White House ceremony Monday. Three soldiers on Maj. Crandall’s helicopter were killed. He kept it on the ground while four wounded were taken aboard. Back at base, he asked for a volunteer to return with him to X-ray. Capt. Ed Freeman came forward. Through smoke and bullets, they flew in and out 14 times, spent 14 hours in the air and used three helicopters. They evacuated 70 wounded. The battalion survived.
A Medal of Honor requires eyewitness accounts, and an officer there attested, “Maj. Crandall’s actions were without question the most valorous I’ve observed of any helicopter pilot in Vietnam.”
Henninger then quotes General Peter Schoomaker, the Army Chief of Staff, who said,
“The words of the warrior ethos that we have today–I will always place the mission first; I will never accept defeat; I will never quit; and I will never leave a fallen comrade–were made real that day in the la Drang Valley.”
This should inspire those of us who seek to join with the Apostle Paul and his “fellow soldiers” (Phil 2:25; Philem 1:2), avoiding entanglements in civilian pursuits (2 Tim 2:4), as we fight the good fight (1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7).
In the words of one of my favorite songs, the King will come “on a white horse wearing a crown.” Let us be warriors for the Gospel by the power of the Spirit.
The Beauty, Dignity, and Comfort of Formality
This is a helpful meditation on the funeral deportment of a casual pastor as compared with the dignity of the Marines who also had a part.
HT: Ray Van Neste
Why Preach?
Here’s a great question that beatifully describes the Word given us to proclaim:
What if you were led to believe, as profoundly as you believe yourself to exist, that God has spoken . . . that within the covers of the Bible there on your table, incarnate in the syllables of our own language, throbs the living Word of God?
From Lester De Koster’s Light for the City: Calvin’s Preaching, Source of Life and Liberty, 11.
Sexual Purity
Here’s a great word from NT Prof. Dr. Rob Plummer of SBTS on the dangers of sexual sin.
Baptist Identity Audio
Union University recently hosted a Baptist Identity conference, and the audio is here.
Here’s the lineup:
Session X – Timothy George
Session IX – Ed Stetzer
Session VIII – Jim Shaddix
Session VII – Gregory A. Thornbury
Session VI – David S. Dockery
Session IV – Paige Patterson
Session III – Mike Day
Session II – Thom Rainer
Session I – Frank Page