Sweet Tea & Theology

Good Books from Goodwill

A few years ago a couple of good friends turned me on to shopping for Christian books at Goodwill.  You can also find some good reference books for JWs and LDS too.

Above are my recent purchases (I hope my wife doesn’t read this) which I got for $1.50 each.

On top from left to right we have a 1971 edition of Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones and The Ever-Loving Truth by Voddie Baucham, Jr.

Strawman Theme

Straw-Man, Straw-Man,
Burns whatever straw he can.
Strikes a match, any size,
Burns and deceives when he fries.
Look Out! Here comes the Straw-Man.

Is he wrong? Listen bud,
He’s got intentional ignorance blood.
Can he start with a thread?
Smell the burn around your head.
Hey, there! There goes the Straw-Man.

In the chill of the write,
At the scene he’s the crime,
Like a spark in the night,
Starts a flame just in time!

Straw-Man, Straw-Man,
“Friendly” fallacy Straw-Man.
Words and banter, let’s ignore
Flaming is his reward.
To him,
Truth is a great big hang up,
Whenever there’s a burn up,
You’ll find the Straw-Man!

Courage to Be Protestant: Marketing the Gospel

“That is where this gospel really parts company from the way in which products and services are marketed in our modernized world. These products and services are nothing more than products and services. They are simply there for our use. The gospel is not. The gospel calls us not to use it but to submit to the God of the universe through his Son. A methodology for success that circumvents issues of truth is one that will rapidly emancipate itself from biblical Christianity or, to put it differently, will rapidly eviscerate biblical faith.

Dawkins Converts Corner

Richard Dawkins has a place on his website called Converts Corner. He states:

Please write in to Converts’ Corner if you have lost your religion (or have been encouraged to come out of the closet) as a result of reading The God Delusion or other Dawkins books.

If you read through the stories it seems there is an underlying common theme. People aren’t actually looking for a reason to believe in God, but for reason not to. If someone is buying a book that seeks to establish and encourage atheism to help convince themselves further, I propose they are already there and are merely strengthening their reasons not to believe. I don’t know that I’ll ever understand the desire to convince someone to not believe in what they don’t believe exists.

T4G 2008 MP3s - Together for the Gospel

T4G 2008 wishing I were there…

Session I - Ligon Duncan MP3 Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry: A Joyful Defense and Declaration of the Necessity and Practicality of Systematic Theology for the Life of Church

Session II - Thabiti Anyabwile MP3 Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church

Session III - John MacArthur MP3 The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability

Session IV - Mark Dever MP3 Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology

Session V - RC Sproul MP3 The Curse and Motif of the Atonement

Pope Says No More Pedophiles

In a Yahoo news release Pope Benedict XVI is quoted.

“It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the Church in general and for me personally that this could happen,” Benedict said. “It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission … to these children. “I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future,” the pope said.

Who Are They Really Angry At?

In James White’s debate this weekend against Muslim apologist Jalal Abualrub, Mr. Abualrub said the following:

So don’t think you can come here and act you’re angry, because we are angry. Because Allah doesn’t have a son. He told you so. Jesus never said I am Lord, I am divine, I am the God, the Creator, worship Me as you worship God, the Holy Ghost is God.

Was Abe Lincoln a Christian?

In a new book Did Lincoln Own Slaves? there is some unveiling of Lincoln’s religious beliefs.  Below is an excerpt from the Change of Subject blog.

Tim Keller on the Laura Ingraham Show

Today, Tim Keller was interviewed on the Laura Ingraham Show about his newest book The Reason for God. I only picked up the conversation towards the end so I will have to go back and listen to the podcast. I usually enjoy her show when she engages politics and such although sometimes that stuff just wears me out. She wears me out in her talk about the Pope, mass, confession, etc.

Become A Better Calvinist

Joel Osteen has decided to help out Calvinists, especially, the ones who miss the big picture.

Q: For Calvinists, what is your advice for how they can slow things down and find peaceful moments and smile?

A: What Calvinists need to realize is that their predestination is the key. See, what Victoria and I have realized is that when you pronounce the word “predestination” your mouth starts to naturally form a smile. They just need to learn to hold that smile throughout the whole word, claim it and take the smile with them where ever they go. It’s that easy!