Theo-Enthumology

What is New Covenant Theology?

2012-05-17T22:32:00.001+02:00

I received A. Blake White’s new introductory volume entitled, “What is New Covenant Theology? An Introduction,” today. The link to the book takes you to Blake’s blog, so you can read more from his side. The Table of Contents is as follows:

Introduction
Chapter 1 – One Plan of God Centered in Jesus Christ
Chapter 2 – The Old Testament Should Be Interpreted in Light of the New Testament
Chapter 3 – The Old Covenant Was Temporary by Divine Design
Chapter 4 – The Law Is a Unit
Chapter 5 – Christians Are Not Under the Law of Moses, but the ‘Law’ of Christ
Chapter 6 – All Members of the New Covenant Community Have the Holy Spirit
Chapter 7 – The Church Is the Eschatological Israel
Conclusion
Recommended Reading

It is not a thick book, and it is very easy to read. I am not a fast reader, yet I finished the book in 1.5 hours. It must be remembered that this is an introduction to New Covenant Theology (NCT), and not a PhD dissertation. As such, it may or may not answer all your questions, but it definitely gets you off on the right track.

One of the golden threads right through the book is to remind us that all of Scripture should be interpreted in the light of its main character, which is Jesus Christ and His saving work!

“The story of the Bible is not the story of the covenant of grace; nor is it the story of Israel. The Bible is the story of God’s work in history to sum up all things in Christ. New Covenant Theology strives to keep this one plan of God—centered in Jesus Christ—primary.” (p7)

It is well worth buying this book, as it uses the smallest amount of space, to pack an important subject as NCT, in language that is understandable to all.

To learn more about New Covenant Theology, please visit my blog series, NCT Friday, at my previous blog.

[VIDEO] Dr. Al Mohler speaks the truth on homosexuality and the Bible on CNN

2012-05-14T21:51:00.001+02:00

[VIDEO] The Mom Song, for Mother’s Day!

2012-05-11T15:51:00.001+02:00

Mormonism 101: Especially for Joel Osteen

2012-05-01T12:36:00.001+02:00

Much has been said in the blogosphere concerning Joel Osteen’s comments that Mormonism is basically Christian and that Mormons are his brothers. This post follows my previous two posts that can be found here.

James White, from Alpha and Omega Ministries, has preached the gospel to Mormons and also debated Mormons. He has also written a book on Mormonism and has made available at his blog a short course on Mormonism.

So, if you—or perhaps Joel Osteen—would like to find out what Mitt Romney and Mormons really believe, then read what James White has written concerning Mormonism.

[VIDEO] Joel Osteen is dangerous

2012-04-28T10:30:00.001+02:00

Related to my previous post on Joel Osteen, and his terrible a-discernment concerning the Mormon faith, here is a video by Todd Friel on this situation.

Joel Osteen does it again! Mormonism is Christian?

2012-04-25T22:13:00.001+02:00

It seems like Joel Osteen doesn’t just regularly put his foot in his mouth, he simply changes feet, all the time! The fact that this heretic has become Christianity’s spokesman at CNN is absolutely appalling!

In his latest blunder, Osteen reckons that “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints adherents do, indeed, fall into the Christian realm. Despite some differences, the pastor claims that he sees Mormons ‘as brothers in Christ.’”
“Some differences?!” Rather, these two religions are completely antithetical to one another!

As a Christian pastor this man has absolutely no discernment, and one wonders what he feeds his sheep every Sunday from the pulpit. Probably weed, cyanide and other lethal concoctions that bring destruction to people instead of life.

To find out a little more about Mormonism and how it differs from Christianity, you can read The FAQs: Are Mormons Christian?

A good book to read would be James R. White's book, Is the Mormon my Brother? Perhaps Osteen should read this!

Theological blind spots

2012-04-14T15:28:00.001+02:00

“The fact that many churches avoid uncomfortable topics, not only in the preaching of the Word but in Bible study as well, leads to the creation of blind spots in the theology of even the most devout Christians. These blind spots can then function as a door through which false teaching is introduced; hence the importance of doing as Paul said, preaching the ‘whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27 ESV).” (James White, Scripture Alone, Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN, 2004, p95)

Of course, this happens when a pastor does not have the confidence to preach through the Bible in an expository manner, and rather chooses topics to preach on each Sunday or maybe over a period of a few months. This way the pastor can easily skip difficult parts of the text, or passages of Scripture that he does not agree with.

Christianity without Christ?

2012-04-14T07:11:00.001+02:00

It is a preposterous thought. Christianity without Christ? Really? However, think about it. It seems to be going that way. All kinds of heretics are now getting centre stage within Christianity. Liberals are pushing their brand of Christianity and evangelicals are becoming evanjellycals.

"What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia, all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say, ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘No, Ma’am,’ and the churches would be full every Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.

“It is easy to become distracted from Christ as the only hope for sinners. Where everything is measured by our happiness rather than by God’s holiness, the sense of our being sinners becomes secondary, if not offensive. If we are good people who have lost our way but with the proper instructions and motivation can become a better person, we need a life coach, not a redeemer. We can still give assent to a high view of Christ and the centrality of his person and work, but in actual practice we are being distracted from ‘looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith’ (Heb. 12:2) A lot of the things that distract us from Christ these days are even good things. In order to push us off-point, all that Satan has to do is throw several spiritual fads, moral and spiritual crusades, and other ‘relevance’ operations into our field of vision. Focusing the conversation on us—our desires, needs, feelings, experience, activity, and aspirations—energizes us. At last, now we’re talking about something practical and relevant.” (Michael Horton, CHRISTLESS CHRISTIANITY: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2008, pp15-16)

[VIDEO] Why I love Jesus but reject Islam

2012-04-13T17:37:00.001+02:00

Apologist James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries and Christian rapper Ivey Conerly collaborated to make available the following video on Youtube. It is definitely worth watching and listening!

The Forgotten Resurrection

2012-04-07T21:52:00.001+02:00

“(13) The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (14) And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. (15) And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; (16) and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." (17) His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." (18) The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" (19) Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (20) The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" (21) But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (22) So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:13-22 NASB)

When Jesus walked this earth as the perfect God-man, fully God and fully man, His purpose was to die for the sins of His people. Yet, that was not all He came to do. First, when the Jews heard Jesus saying that He would “destroy this temple, and in three days” raise it up, they completely misunderstood what He was talking about. He was not talking about Herod’s temple at all—that destruction came in A.D. 70—but was speaking of His own body. He made it clear that He would die and in three days rise from the dead.

We are indeed faced with an empty tomb! This is great news! However, evangelicals have put a lot of emphasis on the penal substitutionary sacrifice that Christ made on behalf of sinners to such an extent, that I sometimes think they have forgotten about the resurrection. Then, once a year at Easter, they are reminded of the resurrection and then all over the world, pastors preach on the resurrection. A week later they are back to normal, with the normal scheduled communion Sundays when they once again commemorate the death of Christ in the Lord’s supper. Once again, the resurrection becomes like a faraway family member that we visit once a year.

Giveaway: The Basics of New Testament Syntax by Daniel Wallace

2012-04-04T17:50:00.001+02:00

Click the book cover
to join the giveaway!

If you are interested in an intermediate New Testament Greek grammar, then here is your chance to win a copy of Dan Wallace’s “The Basics of New Testament Syntax: An intermediate Greek grammar.”

To stand a chance to win a copy of this book, simply visit the Koinonia blog at their Wednesday Giveaway post and follow the directions.

Reading “Understanding the Trinity”

2012-03-24T09:18:00.001+02:00

March, being “Trinity month,” as called for by the Theology Network (see here), I have read “The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything” by Fred Sanders (see my short review here), and “The Good God: Enjoying Father, Son and Spirit” by Michael Reeves of the Theology Network (see my short review here). Right now I am reading “Understanding the Trinity” by Alister McGrath.

As I have done in my previous post on March being Trinity month, here are a couple of quotes from McGrath’s book:

“God obstinately refuses to show any signs of rigor mortis.” p12 (emphasis by the author)

“What do we mean when we talk about ‘God’ anyway? There is a tendency on the part of many—especially those of a more philosophical inclination—to talk about God as if he was some sort of concept. But it is much more accurate to think of God as someone we experience or encounter. God isn’t an idea we can kick about in seminar rooms—he is a living reality who enters into our experience and transforms it. Our experience of God is something which we talk about with others, and our encounter with him is something which we can try to put into words, but behind our ideas and words lies the greater reality of God himself.” p13 (emphasis by the author)

“Atheism is, in fact, nor more ‘scientific’ than Christian faith, despite the attempts of atheists to convince us otherwise. Both atheism and Christianity are, then, matters of faith—whereas agnosticism is just a matter of indifference.” p19

“The suggestion that ‘God exists because Christians want him to’ is just as logically plausible as the suggestion ‘God doesn’t exist because atheists don’t want him to’. This no proof that God doesn’t exist, it is simply an assertion that he doesn’t.” p21 (emphasis by the author)

“The great reformer John Calvin is often thought of as being a rather stern theologian, but he has his tender moments as well. One of those moments lies in his famous assertion that ‘God accommodates himself to our weakness’—in other words, God knows the limitations of our intellects and deliberately reveals himself in such a way that we can cope with him.” p47

UPDATE:
See my short review on "Understanding the Trinity" here.

Reading “The Good God”

2012-03-18T12:33:00.001+02:00

I announced in my previous post that March is Trinity month and that the Theology Network ran a competition to win a copy of Michael Reeves’ new book, “The Good God: Enjoying Father, Son and Spirit.”

Well, in God’s providence I was a winner of the book and it arrived this last Friday. I have started reading it already, although I have only finished the ten pages of the introduction so far.

March, being Trinity month, I started and finished Fred Sanders’ book “The Deep things of God: how the Trinity changes everything.” I also went back to James White’s book, “The Forgotten Trinity: Recovering the heart of Christian belief” and had a look at some of the things in the book that I highlighted. Out of these two books, I appreciated White’s book more because he shows exegetically how he got to his belief in the Trinity, and not so much philosophical talk (not that I am against philosophy, but as Christians, our belief is based first on the Bible’s declarations). I am also not saying that Sanders did not go to Scripture either. I just found that White’s exegesis was more thorough. White’s book is more a why-we-believe-in-the-Trinity book, whereas Sanders’ book shows how the belief in the Trinity touches our lives as Christians.

I will finish “The Good God” as soon as possible, and then I will tackle Alister McGrath’s book, “Understanding the Trinity.”

Here are a few good quotes from “The Good God”:

“[T]he truth is that God is love because God is a Trinity.” p vii

“Christianity is not primarily about lifestyle change; it is about knowing God.” p vii

“’... it would be madness to settle for any presupposed idea of God. Without being specific about which God is God, which God will we worship? Which God will we ever call others to worship? Given all the different preconceptions people have about ‘God’, it simply will not do for us to speak abstractly about some general ‘God’. And where would doing so leave us? If we content ourselves with being mere monotheists, and speak of God only in terms so vague they could apply to Allah as much as the Trinity, then we will never enjoy or share what is so fundamentally and delightfully different about Christianity.” pp xv-xvi

March is Trinity month!

2012-02-18T13:20:00.001+02:00

Every now and again the doctrine of the Trinity comes under attack from all kinds of quarters, such as from Arians (modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses) and Modalists (such as T.D. Jakes—despite his latest remarks in Elephant Room 2). Historic Christianity has seen these types of teachers as heretics, and as falling outside of Christianity, and henceforth need the gospel preached to them.

The doctrine of the Trinity tells us who God is. If we worship any other God, we worship a false ‘god.’ We have to worship God and who He is, in the way that He revealed Himself. If God has revealed Himself as a Trinity, in which the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and in which the Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit, and the Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father nor the Son, then that is who we must worship Him as! We cannot of ourselves concoct a ‘god’ of our own choosing, because that would not be the true God that revealed Himself in Scripture!

It is true that the Trinity isn’t always the easiest historical Christian doctrine to wrap our minds around, but the fact remains, that is how God revealed Himself to us, and that is what Scripture demands from us to believe and worship.

The Theology Network is calling for March to be celebrated as “Trinity Month.” So, there are probably going to be many bloggers out there blogging on some or all aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity during March 2012. So, get ready with the Theology Network and other bloggers to celebrate “Trinity Month.”

You could perhaps purchase one or two, or more, books on the Trinity. Here are some ideas for you:

The Forgotten Trinity by Dr. James White.
The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders.
The Good God: Enjoying Father, Son and Spirit? which is a brand new book on the Trinity by Mike Reeves. You could perhaps win a copy of this book by visiting this page at the Theology Network.

There some other books that I recommend here.

You could perhaps start so long by reading my article “God and Jesus Christ in Orthodoxy” which touches on the Trinity.

The Dividing Line program in MP3 format with Dr. James White's
analysis of where T.D. Jakes stands concerning the doctrine of the Trinity.

Personality and Belief in God Survey

2012-02-14T19:59:00.001+02:00

Matthew Baker, a PhD student at the University of Warwick, is doing research about the personality, beliefs and life experiences of atheists and theists alike. His survey ended up being posted on a top atheist’s website, and he has received over 25,000 responses that way. However, the large majority of responses have been from atheists, and to get a more balanced result from this survey, Baker needs more Christians also take part in the survey.

So, in order for you to be part of this survey, simply visit God Survey.

HT: Tom Gilson

The Elephant Room and Paul’s letter to the Galatians

2012-02-07T12:30:00.001+02:00

In light of the latest brouhaha concerning the responses of evangelicals to the inclusion and kid-gloves-treatment of T.D. Jakes’ modalist beliefs concerning the Trinity in Elephant Room 2, here are imaginary responses to that darn letter that Paul the apostle wrote to the Galatians. How dare he?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Christianity Today:

In response to Paul D. Apostle’s article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I’ve ever met.

Phyllis Snodgrass; Ann Arbor, MI

A.W. Pink on the new birth

2012-01-29T17:57:00.001+02:00

“The new birth is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears due to a temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practising of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf but is the inception and reception of a new life. It is no mere reformation but a complete transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle, the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting.

Here then is the first thing, in time, which God does in His own elect. He lays hold of those who are spiritually dead and quickens them into newness of life. He takes up one who was shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, and conforms him to the image of His Son. He seizes a captive of the Devil and makes him a member of the household of faith. He picks up a beggar and makes him joint-heir with Christ. He comes to one who is full of enmity against Him and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him. He stoops to one who by nature is a rebel and works in him both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. By His irresistible power He transforms a sinner into a saint, an enemy into a friend, a slave of the Devil into a child of God.” (A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 21st printing, 2004, p114)

A.W. Pink on modern theology and the sovereignty of God

2012-01-21T07:45:00.001+02:00

“It would be foolish for us to expect that this work will meet with general approval. The trend of modern theology-if theology it can be called-is ever toward the deification of the creature rather than the glorification of the Creator, and the leaven of present-day Rationalism is rapidly permeating the whole of Christendom. The malevolent effects of Darwinianism are more far reaching than most are aware. Many of those among our religious leaders who are still regarded as orthodox would, we fear, be found to be very heterodox if they were weighed in the balances of the Sanctuary. Even those who are clear intellectually, upon other truths, are rarely sound in doctrine. Few, very few, today, really believe in the complete ruin and total depravity of man. Those who speak of man's "free will," and insist upon his inherent power to either accept or reject the Saviour, do but voice their ignorance of the real condition of Adam's fallen children. And if there are few who believe that, so far as he is concerned, the condition of the sinner is entirely hopeless, there are fewer still who really believe in the absolute Sovereignty of God.” (A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, p6, Twenty-First Printing, 2004)

Why Christians need to study theology

2012-01-21T07:20:00.001+02:00

Studying theology is important on many levels. First, we study theology to get to know God better. Studying the Bible forms in us the truth about God. The Scriptures give us clear objective truth about God. We also study theology to be able to stand against false doctrine and heresies.

But, be that as it may, watch the next video to see in just over 2 minutes why studying theology is important.

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

HT: Todd Braye

What is Christmas all about?

2011-12-23T09:41:00.001+02:00

Image Courtesy of The Christmas Station Europe

When asking people what Christmas is all about, you can be sure that there would be a variety of answers. Some would say that it is about family and healing broken relationships, and that can be seen in many Christmas movies. Others would say that it is the season for giving. Of course, both answers are only partially right. These types of answers lack the most important element of Christmas, though. An essential element without which Christmas would have no meaning, in fact, wouldn’t even exist!

You see, Christmas is not essentially about doing nice things and saying nice things per se. Christmas is about Jesus Christ. Without the incarnation of Christ, Him coming in the flesh of a human being, Christmas would be meaningless.

In fact, Christmas is not only about the birth of Christ either. It is way bigger than just the appearance of God on earth. The first Christmas had a purpose in mind. A purpose decreed in eternity past.

“(18) knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, (19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (20) For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (1 Peter 1:18-20)

Heresies in the church - Part 8

2011-12-05T23:13:00.001+02:00

Previous posts in the series

Heresies in the church – Part 1

Heresies in the church – Part 2

Heresies in the church – Part 3

Heresies in the church – Part 4

Heresies in the church – Part 5

Heresies in the church – Part 6

Heresies in the church – Part 7

I wrote the initial posts in this series back in 2005. This post will be about Joyce Meyer specifically, since she has infiltrated the evangelical church to an alarming extent. She has even made inroads among members of Reformed churches. Although, I have to say, the only Reformed church I personally know of where this heretic has made inroads into is among some of the members (not officially) of a Reformed-Charismatic church. From this I assume others among Reformed churches could also have been hoodwinked by her.

To make this post simple, I would recommend to you the reader to read the first seven posts in this series to see what the Word-of-Faith crowd believe, and why they should be labelled as heretics. Once you have read those parts, I want you to understand that Joyce Meyer is part of that crowd, and should along with them, be labelled as a heretic.

Spiritual gifts do not guarantee the perfect church

2011-11-15T05:40:00.001+02:00

"If only we could get the gifts of the Spirit to flow freely in our church, then our church will be just like it was in the New Testament times and everything will be perfect for us!"

This is what many a charismatic has thought before, and I was there myself many years ago. Charismatics seem to think that everything will become perfect when they can just "flow" in the gifts of the Spirit. I am a charismatic myself (I prefer to call myself a continuationist or non-cessationist), so I know what I am talking about. At some point a charismatic will think that the gifts are the answer to everything. Most of them never move on from this point because they have been duped into believing this by their church leadership.

The fact is that no-one knows how the New Testament church really "flowed" in the gifts of the Spirit. Look at tongues, for example. Almost every charismatic/pentecostal church I have been to sees tongues as God speaking to us in some mystical way. However, 1 Cor 14:2 says clearly that "one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God." The thing is that charismatics have an idea of what that "flowing" in the gifts should be like even when no-one knows what it looked like in New Testament times. This is one of the reasons why I have held onto a healthy scepticism concerning the gifts.

Read more »

Bible translation philosophy: Which Bible translation should I use?

2011-11-14T22:52:00.001+02:00

I downloaded and watched a series of videos on the question, Which Bible Translation Should I Use? I found this Biblical Studies Symposium presented by Liberty University very helpful. Three scholars presented their case of why their translation philosophy was best. Dr. Wayne Grudem represented the “essentially literal” philosophy of translation of the English Standard Version (ESV). Dr. Doug Moo contended for the dynamic equivalence philosophy of the 2011 New International Version (NIV2011) on the other side, and Dr. Ray Clendenen represented the optimal equivalence philosophy of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) somewhere in the middle between the ESV and NIV2011.

Dave Croteau invited these three men to contend for their philosophies of translation and their respective translations.

I felt that each representative did a good job in airing their views. There are 5 videos to watch, and they vary from about 36 minutes to around 48 minutes in length. They are:

Video 1: Dr. Ray Clendenen and the Holman Christian Standard Bible
Video 2: Dr. Wayne Grudem and the English Standard Version
Video 3: Dr. Doug Moo and the New International Version
Video 4: Responses and Q&A
Video 5: Dr. Wayne Grudem's Morning Session: "The Trustworthiness of Scripture"

Something quite unrelated to the philosophy of translation is the fact that in the Q&A session, a few students found it very difficult to put together a coherent statement and/or question to ask.

Some time ago I wrote a blog post called Which Bible translation should I use? I compared the ESV/NIV2011/NASB/HCSB. It could be helpful. I also wrote a blog post on why The Message is not a trustworthy Bible to use.

The Lost Tools of (Bible) Learning

2011-11-14T21:22:00.001+02:00

“When we think about the remarkably early age at which the young men went up to university in, let us say, Tudor times, and thereafter were held fit to assume responsibility for the conduct of their own affairs, are we altogether comfortable about that artificial prolongation of intellectual childhood and adolescence into the years of physical maturity which is so marked in our own day? To postpone the acceptance of responsibility to a late date brings with it a number of psychological complications which, while they may interest the psychiatrist, are scarcely beneficial either to the individual or to society. The stock argument in favor of postponing the school- leaving age and prolonging the period of education generally is that there is now so much more to learn than there was in the Middle Ages. This is partly true, but not wholly. The modern boy and girl are certainly taught more subjects – but does that always mean that they actually know more?

Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy throughout Western Europe is higher than it has ever been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of and unimagined? Do you put this down to the mere mechanical fact that the press and the radio and so on have made propaganda much easier to distribute over a wide area? Or do you sometimes have an uneasy suspicion that the product of modern educational methods is less good than he or she might be at disentangling fact from opinion and the proven from the plausible?

Have you ever, in listening to a debate among adult and presumably responsible people, been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of speakers on the other side? Or have you ever pondered upon the extremely high incidence of irrelevant matter which crops up at committee meetings, and upon the very great rarity of persons capable of acting as chairmen of committees? And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart?

Have you ever followed a discussion in the newspapers or elsewhere and noticed how frequently writers fail to define the terms they use? Or how often, if one man does define his terms, another will assume in his reply that he was using the terms in precisely the opposite sense to that in which he has already defined them? Have you ever been faintly troubled by the amount of slipshod syntax going about? And, if so, are you troubled because it is inelegant or because it may lead to dangerous misunderstanding?

Do you ever find that young people, when they have left school, not only forget most of what they have learnt (that is only to be expected), but forget also, or betray that they have never really known, how to tackle a new subject for themselves? Are you often bothered by coming across grown-up men and women who seem unable to distinguish between a book that is sound, scholarly, and properly documented, and one that is, to any trained eye, very conspicuously none of these things? Or who cannot handle a library catalogue? Or who, when faced with a book of reference, betray a curious inability to extract from it the passages relevant to the particular question which interests them?” (Dorothy Sayers, The Lost Tools of Learning)

Does God Whisper? or Finding the will of God

2011-11-05T10:37:00.001+02:00

This is a playlist of all three the introductory videos to the 3 Solid Grounds dealing with today’s topic.