A Quaker Response

In reading thorough some various works from the Early English Baptists I came across a Quaker reply to a declaration written by some Baptists against the Quakers. Although the piece is full of caricatures characteristic of the period the following quotation I found to be sobering. The desire of these early Baptists was to be biblical and to champion truth, something I hope we all as Christians desire. However, perhaps some of them only caught half of the message, that of religion and not of faith. The quotation below should be a reminder to all of us of the ethical demands upon believers and how an unlawful, disobedient lifestyle can render any work for the truth void.

And in your Post-script you say, you have under your hands sent forth your Declaration in behalf of your selves, and others of your Judgement; but I must tell you, I do believe there are some even of those called Anabaptists which will reject your work, and to them my answer is not, for I spare them: but to you fearful hypocrites in a time of danger, that have in this juncture of time renounced us without ground or reason in the sight of God, but for your ends, as if you would gain the favour of the Nation and City by denyal of us, and looking upon your selves to be reproached because of us, when as you are a company of unworthy men, even unworthy of our reproaches, and to escape them have denied us, as seeming to clear your selves, but you are deceived in this matter, and it shall turn to work against you in the Nation, and in the City; for we have a more surer witness in their Consciences, even in the Consciences of all people that we are of God, then you have; for take but away your outward water, and bread and wine, and some few outward practices, & what do you differ from the worst sort of men in the Nation; for doth not pride and hypocrisie, and self-love, and covetousness, and the love of this world abound amongst you, as much as amongst any others? the witness in peoples Consciences knows it, which shall be a witness for us against you. You may indeed have gained League with the worst sort of men in the Nation, but you have not gained the sincerity in people, and while we have that on our side to witness for us, take you the rude multitude, for we are not discouraged at all concerning this thing, but the rater do glory in the Lord though we be denied of all, for though men forsake us, yet the Lord careth for us; and your own doing shall return upon your own heads: and thus much is sufficient to the substance of your Declaration, and if I receive any reply, I shall expect it under the hands of you all, that I many further search and discover you unto your selves, and to the Nation. (Richard Hubberthorn, An Answer to a Declaration (London, n.p.: 1659), 19–20.)

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13).

Adoption as the Crowing Blessing

This Easter let us once again reflect upon our Great and Good God who sent his Son to become our sacrificial lamb. By this sacrifice we can, as Paul says, "cry Abba! Father!" That is only through our adoption as children of God (Rom 8:15). I am in complete agreement with Packer quote by Cole:

Believers have not received the spirit of slavery but the Spirit of adoption (pneuma huiothesias, v. 15). This exalted status is "the crowning blessing" of the gospel, as J.I. Packer argues, while justification is "the basic blessing." This adoption not only brings status, it also brings a future.

Graham Cole, He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Foundations of Evangelical Theology. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007), 269.

3:00 AM

In honor of national poetry month:

Nightmares at 3:00 am

Make not good bedtime friends

Knowing what caused the child to weep

Consoles not my loss of sleep

Contemplating Christ

The new year is well underway. My schedule has already been quite busy with no view of lessening in sight. However, today as I worked and Pandora was playing I realized I need to stop and contemplate Christ.

Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and
power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were
created. (Rev 4:11, ESV)

Forgive me Lord for not contemplating your majesty more often.

Social Networking: A Tool not a World

I am not a tech junkie. However, I have not been one to chagrin some new fancy gadget. This is the reason I have an iPod and it is also the reason that iPod is the mini from 2004. Some of my friends get the newest when they come out, I just like to have the best I can afford until it breaks. These serve me as tools for how I live my life and not the realm within I live my life.

Yesterday Facebook celebrated its 5 year birthday. I suppose that is something that is momentous for the social networking guru. I am sure it spawned quite a bit of conversation in praise for its success and I know it was a moment to draw criticism for its flaws. However here is my take on Facebook and its friends.

I joined Facebook about a year or two ago just because plenty of the youth and college students we worked with constantly on it. It soon became a daily ritual for me to check my account and see if I received a wall post or if someone had posted something new. Here I was able to reconnect with childhood friends as well as share the lives of my friends now. For me it became, and is, a medium in which I can extend the relationships in my life a little further.

Since this is how I use it of course I think it is the balanced view of this site and those like it. However, I have friends (I think we all do) whose usage of it goes far beyond a medium for extending relationships to a world in which relationships exist. We have seen them holding their blackberry’s, and iPhones waiting for the next status update or Tweet to come through oblivious to the world around them. In an instant they can “relate” to a variety of people in ways normal communication cannot.

This ability seems like it should be lauded. It is a momentous day in information. It is like reaching the new world, taking the first flight, landing on the Moon. It is a great advance to be able to communicate so rapidly and broadly. However in its advancement it has left the substance of what it was enhancing behind and created a world of shallow relationships and meaningless tripe, a second life prone to fantasy.

New Evangelicals

Recently I have had numerous conversations about the term "Evangelical." It seems that there is a variety of definitions out there. All of which are molded by the ministries undertaken by the definers. Much has been said about this term, However allow me to point you to two resources:

http://www.civitate.org/2009/01/the-new-evangelical-scandal/ is an article from Houston Baptist University's Journal The City.

The other is a sermon by Dr. Jason Lee at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. http://www.swbts.edu/events/chapel_archive.cfm In this sermon Lee does not specifically address "Evangelical" but, through an exposition of 1 Cor 8, he addresses the libertarianism ascrbibed by some of these "New Evangelicals."

Materialism Kills

Black Friday will forever have a different meaning for a man's family on Long Island. Read the Story here