Think Wink.

Here is a link to Ben Witherington’s CNN interivew about the Gabriel stone. The interview will give some setup as to what the stone is but here is a very brief synopsis: the expectation of the messiah to be killed and then resurected by an archangel like Gabriel. BW3 says that the stone isn’t very conclusve, and James White agrees in this edition of the Dividing Line. BW3 says that the stone could say that. One scholar says that the fact that this stone predates Jesus and Christianity, it destroys the uniqueness of Jesus. The commentor at BW3’s site brings up a great point, texts like Isaiah 53 already pointed the Jewish/Hebrew people to the Messiah dying and being resurrected. But this isn’t all that makes Jesus and Christianity unique. It is also the fact that Yahweh incarnated himself into human form in the person of Jesus. God lived on earth as a man for 33 years. John 1:1-18 goes to great pains to makes this abundantly clear (as well as Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1-2). This scholar is definitely putting too much into this stone and not seeing the biblical account of who Jesus is and was.

Video Link to CNN

BW3’s blog post: BW3 ON CNN ON THE GABRIEL STONE

Are God’s glory and love at odds with each other?

“A Dead Sea Scroll in Stone”

BW3 and The Seer’s Tower

When trying to articulate my exact eschatological position, I often have a difficult time because I fall somewhere between amillennialism and postmillennialism. Here is Jason Robert’s position as he laments the problems with labels,

But here is the problem with labels:
I am postmillennarian when it comes to the nature of the kingdom. But I am amillennarian when it comes to the start of the kingdom and its length. I am postmillennarian when it comes understanding that Jesus will return at the end of the “millennium.” But I am amillennarian when it comes to understanding that the “millennium” is not actually a literal thousand years but is the biblical description of the New Covenant ministry of the Church in which we live. I am postmillennarian when it comes to understanding that the Bible is the sole source of human ethics, which is also known as theonomy. But I am amillennarian when it comes to fact that I do not believe that there will be some future “Golden Age” where this cursed world will someday operate according to Biblical law and be filled with a universal development of Biblical theocratic republics where unbelievers will be punished by death. Simply put, in the Covenantal sense I am generally postmillennial, with a historical amillennarian perspective of the starting point, nature and length of the “millennium,” and convinced of an early dating of Revelation.

While I do not ascribe to Covenant theology as Jason does, I like this paragraph on how I fall between the amil and postmil positions. Here is the full post: The Inadequacy of Labels

A Blissful Headache

When I think of “euaggelion” or “gospel”…

Another look into euaggelion

Having just gotten back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago, I find that two of my favorite Bible teachers are at odds with one another–in a very respectful manner of course–over the use of guns in self-defense. Read more

Islam, the Pope, and the Christian Response

He’s Back!

What to do?

Here is an excellent message by James White on John 3:16 and the fact that it does not debunk Calvinism and particular redemption but actually supports the Reformed doctrine. This is 43 minutes long so make sure you have the time to listen to it all the way through.

This is a reposting for those who didn’t have the audio player for the previous publication of this message.

James White on John 3:16-17

πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων

John 3:16 Should Unite, Not Divide

Justin Taylor provides links to some lectures by Michael Horton and D.A. Carson on Justification and Galatians. I look forward to listening to these lectures.

Carson and Horton on Galatians and Justification

An Excerpt from “The Future of Justification”

Preaching is a Means not an End.

Yeah, Kinda Sad

is Richard Bauckham’s 2006 book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. I read chapter 9 and why Papias was right to say that the primary source of the Gospel according to Mark is the apostle Peter. It was really good and the arguments are very persuasive. Based upon that chapter alone, I really recommend this book to defend the historical reliability of the four Gospels (not necessarily inerrancy).

A Hard Decision for Me

Free Book for November

The Future of Justificaiton

Here is an interesting article on Intelligent Design. It is fairly short and not extremely in depth. So please don’ think this is some kind of refutation of Evolution but like Ben Stein, a plea for ID to be allowed in the discussion as to the question of the origin(s) of life. Enjoy.

The Intelligent Design Controversy by Ray Bohlin Ph.D.

Captain America #38 Preview

Tolkien and Predestination

Original Sin and Infants

Tomorrow I will again meet with some missionaries from the LDS church. This makes my fourth pair since I have relocated here to KC-MO. I have since done some more research into Mormonism and specifically the Book of Mormon (here on out referred to as BoM). I noticed a massive inconsistency with what I heard from last week’s missionaries and what I read in BoM. I will briefly summarize what the missionaries stated about Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Ghost and compare it to the BoM.
Read more

Changing A Single Word…

Can a Person say that?

Two Unexpected Visitors

Here is the audio for the James White vs. Steve Gregg on Calvinism

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Follow up Dividing Line Phone Calls

James White on Steve Gregg

James White on MBTS Resurrection Debate

James White on John 3:16-17

Steve Gregg’s use of Scripture in these exchanges is sophistry, plain and simple.

Click here and here.

No related posts