Religious Blogs

New Year, New Blogsite (Books, Culture and the Gospel)

Books, Culture and the Gospel — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:34:30+0100

This will be my last post I suppose on this site. I am, with the help of a gifted student named Glenn, moving my website, blog, everything except facebook into one website under the name alvinreid.com. It is not quite finished, but I figured I would go ahead and mention it here since I have already started posting on it.
I am excited about this as it is a site I can manage with my own technologically challenged skills. I can also add podcasts, which is something I have wanted to do for some time.
Here's to 2007. A new year. A new blog. A renewed life.

It Is Time for Me to Step Aside from Blogging (Grace and Truth to You)

Grace and Truth to You — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:34:33+0100

This is my 670th post at Grace and Truth to You, and unless circumstances warrant an occasional post in the near future, I will be taking a blog sabbatical for at least the next six months. I believe that blogging is here to stay in the Southern Baptist Convention, and unlike some, I think it can be a very beneficial medium. There are three primary reasons for my decision to step aside:

(1). I believe the impetus for change in the SBC has begun, and there are others who will be able to carry on the needed dialogue, the exchange of information, and the much needed effort to facilitate increased cooperation among those in the Southern Baptist Convention with diverse backgrounds and theological views. The fact that there are six, maybe seven Presidential candidates for the SBC, all of whom are now focusing on the issues, is enough evidence to me that the stranglehold of a few is over. The more Southern Baptists who are in the mix of leadership, the better.

(2). I am working under deadlines for an additional two books and a contribution to a third. One book, an exposition of Jonah, is almost complete and awaits final edits before it can be published. The second book's manuscript is to be to the publisher by October 15th, 2008, and I must devote my time and energy to complete it. Blogging takes away from the time I need to write that manuscript.

(3). I have lost my enthusiasm for blogging. Either the absence will cause me to enjoy it again, or I will lay it down for good. A decision will be made in October. Again, I believe blogging is beneficial for the SBC when done in the spirit of Christian charity and for the good our cooperative efforts to reach people for Christ.

A couple of final words:

My friend and fellow pastor, Forrest Pollock, along with his 13 year old son Preston, died this past Monday in a plane crash outside Asheville, North Carolina. Both bodies were discovered in the wreckage yesterday. Forrest was born in Oklahoma City and graduated from the University of Oklahoma and became a successful businessman before entering the ministry. His death reminds me of the brevity of one's life and the need to be wise regarding one's time investments. This decision to step aside from blogging is best for me.

I have enjoyed becoming acquainted with many of you over the last two and one half years, and if you happen to be in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Southern Baptist Convention, I would love to have the opportunity to visit with you in person. Update: I would direct your attention to the rewritten Never Take for Granted the Freedom to Dissent

May God bless you, and may God bless the Southern Baptist Convention.

In His Grace,

Wade Burleson

The Church and Israel: Continuity and/or Discontinuity? (Sumo Theologica)

Sumo Theologica — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:34:31+0100

Since it seems we're coming to the end of our discussion on regenerate church membership (good choice, Evan), I thought I'd throw out another topic for us to kick around in hopes that we can keep the Sumo momentum going.

What I'd like to know is what your thoughts are on the relationship between the church and Israel. I've tried to do a little reading on this topic this summer, but I still have a number of unsettled questions. Here are a few points that may get us started in the discussion (if I am successful at baiting you all into it).

1. When Paul applies OT promises to Israel to the church (e.g. Jer. 31:31-34 and Heb. 8:8-12; Hosea 2:23 and Rom. 9:25, 1 Pet. 2:10), are we to understand this to teach that these promises have been fulfilled in the church? Or do they await a future fulfillment to their original recipients (the Jews)?

2. Have there been any promises made to Israel that still await fulfillment? (For instance, some dispensationalists refer to the promise of the land in Gen. 15:18-21 as still unfulfilled.)

3. Passages like Eph. 2:11-22; Gal. 3:6-7, 29; Rom. 2:28-29 seem to teach that there is continuity between the church and Israel, while Rom. 11:25-32 seems to indicate that God still has a plan to save "all Israel" after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, indicating that there may be some discontinuity between the two groups, which do not entirely overlap. One solution I found to this may be to consider the relationship between the church and Israel on two different planes: spiritual and institutional. Lewis and Demarest seem to argue for something along these lines. They say that there is great spiritual continuity between the church and Israel, but great institutional discontinuity. Does this solution help us in any way to make sense of what we see in Scripture?

4. This topic seems to bleed over considerably into the way we look at eschatology, particularly the time of Christ's return in relation to the Tribulation. At the risk of opening multiple cans of fishing bait at once, I'd like to know for each of you whether your conclusions about eschatology influenced your conclusions about the church and Israel, whether the opposite is true (your understanding of the church and Israel informed your eschatology), or whether you came to these conclusions separately.

5. Finally, I'm hoping you each could recommend some good resources that have been helpful to you on this topic.

Hopefully, we'll be so fortunate as to have a pluarlity of opinions on here and some good dialogue will ensue.

Thanks,
Kyle

Why Secularism Will Not Work (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The Equal Parenting Movement Meets Reality — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:32:39+0100

"As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for," warns Katha Pollitt. Writing in The Nation, Pollitt is warning Democrats that their embrace of religious leaders and symbols will lead to embarrassment and disaster. Her proposal -- embrace secularism.

Pollitt is one of the most predictably liberal columnists in America. Her periodic articles in The Nation offer a window into the logic of a liberal mind unconstrained by political considerations. She does not trim her sails or pull punches.

Religious Blogs

New Year, New Blogsite (Books, Culture and the Gospel)

It Is Time for Me to Step Aside from Blogging (Grace and Truth to You)

The Church and Israel: Continuity and/or Discontinuity? (Sumo Theologica)

Why Secularism Will Not Work (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Where Are Europe's Babies? (Albert Mohler's Blog)

When Deaths Outnumber Births -- The Parable of Pittsburgh (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The Gospel of Judas -- The Betrayal of Truth (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The Equal Parenting Movement Meets Reality (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The End of History -- The Moral Necessity of Eschatology (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The Coming Great Divide -- There Is No Place to Hide (Albert Mohler's Blog)

The Citadel and the Open Space -- Will the Library Survive in the Internet Age? (Albert ...

The Challenge of Attention in the Digital Age (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Ten for the History Books -- Summer Reading [Part 2] (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Ten for the History Books -- Summer Reading [Part 1] (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Salvation through Christ Alone? -- A Moment of Decision (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Remembering the Fallen and the Brave -- Memorial Day 2008 (Albert Mohler's Blog)

New Attitude 2008 (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Life Without Father (Albert Mohler's Blog)

In Error and Apostate -- The Anglican Division Looms (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Full Citizens at Last? Who is Next? (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Fatherhood and the Future of Civilization (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Coming to a Mall Near You -- Planned Parenthood's New Strategy (Albert Mohler's Blog)

California Supreme Court Redefines Marriage (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Books for Guys -- Maybe for Dad, Maybe for Son, Maybe for You (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Are Humans Unique? -- The Question Secular Science Can't Answer (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Another Chilling Precedent -- A Court Undermines a Parent (Albert Mohler's Blog)

An Argument Worth Defending (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Albert Einstein's God -- The "Product of Human Weaknesses" (Albert Mohler's Blog)

Adventures in Misleading Argument (Albert Mohler's Blog)

A Worldview Gone to the Dogs . . . Literally (Albert Mohler's Blog)

A Tale of Two Bishops (Albert Mohler's Blog)

A New Search and Destroy Mission (Albert Mohler's Blog)

A Date with Disaster -- Presbyterians Approve Homosexual Clergy (Albert Mohler's Blog)