Posts Tagged ‘Kevin DeYoung’
Best Links of the Week
Great fake travel posters made by artist Ali Xenos. There are some great ones of Rivendell, Tatooine, Dagobah, and Winterfell.
Kevin DeYoung on the New-Calvinism
‘Gravity’ Spinoff: Watch the Other Side of Sandra Bullock’s Distress Call – Jonas Cuaron’s seven-minute companion short, filmed in Greenland and featuring Bullock’s voice
Brutal personal piece on about one young man’s battle with our present culture of death – “I Lost My Daughter to the Culture of Death”
Modalimy – Co-parenting for those that want children but not a relationship or marriage. You really cannot make this stuff up.
“Nelson Mandela: A Candid Assessment” – from Catholic site Crisis Magazine
Interesting piece from personal finance blog Mr. Money Mustache entitled, “Get Rich With: The Position of Strength.” Makes some salient points.
Woofmaker.com – just click on it, especially if you are a Home Alone fan.
Interesting piece in the Atlantic dealing with Clickbait and UpWorthy’s game changing headlines
Best Links of the Week
The World if There Were Only 100 People
Fight Club sequel plot revealed
Great article by J. Budziszewski entitled, “Why Hooking Up is Letting You Down”
Article from the Polaris Project on “Human Trafficking Trends in the United States”
Great long-form piece from Sports Illustrated entitled, “The Book of Tebow”
Solid article from Kevin DeYoung entitled, “Seven Thoughts on Pastors Writing Books”
Best Links of the Week
Love, Forgiveness and Basketball – some backstory on Chris Paul and his relationship with his grandfather
How Taxpayers Subsidize March Madness – pretty fascinating article
Dissension growing between Putin and Medvedev as Medvedev wants to stay on as President in Russia. This is a more important story than meets the eye. Most Americans think Russia is irrelevant but they really ought to pay attention to what is going on there. In my estimation, Russia is making a major comeback and is completely flying underneath the radar in the shadow of India, China, and the usual Mid East drama.
Kevin DeYoung has a nice piece on, Money and Possessions in Proverbs
21 Disturbing Statistics Regarding Student Loans
Seth Godin on the difference between hard work and long work – definitely a helpful distinction
WSJ Article, 1 in 7 americans on food stamps
Feds suing more anti-abortion activists
Osama Bin Laden articles:
Gave rabbits to 12 year old neighbor (kinda creepy and reminds me a bit of Benjamin Linus)
Some breakdown of the compound and some more here
Probably the best write-up of the raid I’ve seen yet is from NPR
Bin Laden compound gets bad reviews on Google Places
Part Two of the Keynes vs. Hayek Rap Videos:
Purdue’s record setting Rude Goldberg machine:
Best Links of the Week
Forbes, of all places, has a really interesting piece entitled, “The Seminary Bubble,” which points out some real weaknesses to the seminary model of ministerial preparation.
IMF forecast shows Chinese economy eclipsing the U.S. economy in 2016
Cold War era abandoned monuments in Yugoslavia – some pretty incredible photos of some fascinating pieces
Trevin Wax deconstructs a good number of widely promulgated but fictitious/dubious sermon illustrations/factoids – of note: Gehenna as a burning trash dump outside of Jerusalem, the high priest rope around the ankle bit, NASA accounting for the missing day
Kevin DeYoung has a real nice piece on Business (Profit, Product, People, Principles)
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones weighs in on video preaching (in a way) – there is a certain metaphysics of presence that I think Lloyd-Jones is onto here – it may be empirically difficult to state what is lost, but there is certainly an opportunity cost worth weighing
California has over 100,000 illegal immigrants in it’s prison system at a cost of $34,000 per year per person (Texas spends an average of $12,000 per inmate)
Waiting times at a three year high in England for healthcare – still want a government 14 trillion in debt becoming your health insurance company and provider? Diseconomy of scale!
Some beginning to call for Uncle Sam to raid your Roth IRAs for more tax revenue
Durham, NC man who sold fake “gluten free” products sentenced to eleven years in prison
David Brooks has a nice op-ed in NYT entitled “Creed or Chaos” giving some nice analysis to Africa
William Buckley interview of Hugh Heffner on Judeo-Christian Sexual Ethics (1966):
(HT: 22 Words)
Pretty intense video of Tuscaloosa tornado as it goes over University Mall:
Best Links of the Week
38% of Americans fail the U.S. Citizenship test
Strange circumstances surrounding Obama administration policy on action in Libya
Some interesting analysis of cash-only doctors practices
Pastor Accused of Denying Communion to Churchgoers who Didn’t Give Tax Refunds
Scott Walker explains in WSJ Why I’m Fighting in Wisconsin
Chad Ochocinco trying out for Kansas City’s MLS soccer club
There Aren’t Enough Millionaires… (to cover our fiscal/deficit woes)
Hedge Funds had large plays against Japanese economy before earthquake/tsunami
Alan Greenspan says Obama Administration is “Too Active” in Economy.
Possible use of Large Hadron Collider as a time machine?
Obama Budget Underestimates Deficits by $2 Trillion
Kevin DeYoung has a thorough review of Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”
Devastating article examining the essay grading industry
Kindle to be free by the 4th Quarter of 2011?
Journalist grills Rob Bell:
Best Links of the Week
Kevin DeYoung has a brief writeup of Keswick Theology (from Andy Naselli). This is the “let go and let God” theology and the divorcing of salvation from Lordship (ie. I got saved when I was ______ old and I accepted God as Lord/re-dedicated when I was ________ old). This kind of language was par for the course in my Dispensational upbringing and its view of sanctification is quite problematic. The writeup has a nice brief history and summary of Keswick theology.
Avoiding Missional Idolatries. Some lucid and thoughtful analysis of some pitfalls of missional church thinking.
The problem of groundwood paper vs. archival quality paper in modern book publishing.
Technology is re-wiring our brains. I have felt the pinch of technology on myself. Compulsive e-mail checking and always being on the grid actually stinks. In the same vein is this article: “Does the Internet Make us Dumber?”
Some thoughtful analysis of Two Kingdom Theology and Neo-Calvinism.
The culture of narcissism among millennials.
Our National Debt is about to overtake our GDP.
Rahm Emmanuel and Joe Biden supersoaker fight on the White House lawn (you can’t make this stuff up).
If you don’t know what UVB-76 is, you may find this wikipedia article interesting. It ceased broadcasting this week.
Apparently the financier of the much-maligned Gaza bound Flotilla is also the same financier of the proposed Ground Zero Mosque.
Obama’s trifecta of policy failure.
What in the world does “Spiritual But Not Religious” mean?
Video of the expansion of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam over time. Its a bit reductionistic, but worth a watch.
Adidas World Cup Commercial = Star Wars Cantina Scene + David Beckham + Snoop Dogg + Lightsabre = Awesome
Two videos this week: Neat time lapse video, shot .1fps on motion track, and set to some Jonsi:
Why Socialized Health Care… is Unbiblical
Bronze Serpent in Wilderness
I have heard a lot of talk and conjecture here recently about social justice and national health care. I agree with Kevin DeYoung when he says the term “social justice” should never be used unless it is defined. Perhaps a lot of the discussions concerning a national health care plan are futile with the “Ted Kennedy” seat going to Scott Brown. However, it is important for Christians to be able to think about everything from a Christian worldview.
Are we thinking with a Christian or Republican worldview (aren’t they the same)?
I have been a bit saddened by the lack of evangelical disagreement with the socialized healthcare debate. For the most part, all I hear is that I am a conservative and/or republican… and my party disagrees with that. This may be true but it does not get at the heart of a Christian view of government. Now, there is substantial disagreement of what the proper relationship of government is to the church and vice versa. Much of this disagreement comes down to one’s eschatological position (some Postmillenialists favor theonomy, Dispensational Premillenialists favor Neoconservativism and pro-Israel).
Why do we have human kings?
Before we delve into what the Scriptural principles given to non-theocratic governance, we must first look at the history of the Hebrew people. Up until Saul, Israel was a theocracy where God was King and the Mosaic Law was its governance. God’s people rejected YHWH’s kingship and instead wanted a human king like the cultures around them. God warned them of the error in asking for this but granted them Saul. Saul’s regime was oppressive and tyrannical (especially in comparison with his predecessor YHWH). He imposed hefty taxes on Israel. The question of church and state was not a question until Israel asked for Saul, ever since, it has been an issue. We shall examine the issue of church and state at more length in a later post. However, suffice to say that I think it good for the state to keep their nose out of the church and for the church/Christians to have a worldview – a worldview that includes political thought.
What does the Bible say about human governments?
Romans 13 is clear that God’s sets up and takes down rulers. They are not somehow outside his providence. This does not mean that human rulers are just, righteous, or equitable. This does mean that they are accountable to God for their actions and that God will use their actions, moral good or moral evil, for His purposes. The Scriptures do establish a non-theocratic (civil) government’s authority to establish certain rights for its citizens. The Scriptures establish a civil government’s authority to protect negative rights. Negative rights are rights that prevent harmful or morally evil things from happening to its citizens. For example, the civil government is obliged to protect its citizens from murder, theft… etc. It does so by establishing and enforcing laws that punish moral evil. In my view, the Scriptures do not establish a civil government’s authority to protect/assert positive rights. Positive rights are rights that affirm that some beneficial thing ought to be provided for its citizens. In other words, Scripture does not affirm that it is a civil government’s responsibility to care for the sick. Scripture does not affirm that it is the civil government’s responsibility to give alms to the poor.
If not the civil government, then whom?
It is principally the church’s responsibility to care for the sick and the poor amongst us. During some points in our history Protestants have been good at doing this through the establishment of hospitals and such. However increasingly these hospitals have come out from under the care of denominations and become secularized and institutionalized… succumbing to all of the ails of reactive health care, pharmacological manipulation… etc.
Final Thoughts
The church needs to take better care of the widow and the orphan. Our churches have become so narcissistic and inward. Caring for others is a blessing. If someone is truly in need (and not all with an open hand are…) then we ought to be caring for them. I would strongly recommend reading When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Ourselves. I would also recommend forming a partnership with organizations that have experience in Biblical community development (vocational, health, counseling…). One such organization for Biblical vocational community development is Jobs For Life. I can wholeheartedly affirm their ministry firsthand. I would also recommend reading Marvin Olasky’s books The Tragedy of American Compassion and Compassionate Conservativism.
I think it is also important for us to remember that human kings will always be imperfect and will never be fully just. Human kings ought to make us long for the perfect king in Christ whose kingdom is righteous, just, and perfect. His administration is flawless. His world, Universe, and creation redeemed. His Kingdom and His government need no alms. His Kingdom and His government needs no health care.
Post-Script
For point of clarification, the church (nor the people of God) does not have a monopoly on common grace. The government can be an agent of common grace in a culture, society, or world. However, civil governments are not Biblically mandated to be the institution that provides all the “good” things in that culture. If anything, the Biblical narrative presents civil governments in a very negative light that is nearly universal: The Egyptians, the Canaanites, Saul, Jeroboam/Rehoboam, Judah/Israel and almost every king in the divided Kingdom period, the Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Roman occupation. The few kings that are presented with any measure of high regard are David, who prefigures Christ, at points Solomon, and Cyrus, who God raises up to release Israel from exile. But even those kings all had major blunders that hurt both their people and the perception of those people. I do not think it is a huge interpretive jump to say that the Biblical narrative supports smaller government. It is really quite simple, if civil government is run by fallen humans and the Biblical/historical record shows a pattern of oppression and tyranny, then we can expect tyranny from human governments unless we afford for checks and balances to their power.
Another point of clarification, I think socialized health care is unbiblical in our present American context. The church and the private sector have the ability to provide these means of common grace. There is no reason to cross pollinate our hospitals with the ills of the DMV or the Postal Service. In entirely different, largely secular contexts, pragmatism will win the day (for better or for worse). If a country has the economy to support it, then health care will/ought to be taken care of by the private sector. If a country is small enough a social health care system could theoretically ‘work.’ Least common denominator services help no one. Hospitals already don’t turn people away.
Things such as roads, or city infrastructure (water, sewer…) are drastically different cases than health care. The U.S. Interstate system was built initially primarily for military purposes. Sometimes roads are built by the private sector also though (toll roads, turnpikes, some bridges…). Pragmatism can dictate (and this is not always evil) that the government, local or federal, take on some project that is beneficial to all of the society. The critical distinction between these infrastructural elements to society and a socialized health care system is that no one is ‘hurt’ if a new interstate is built, or you now have water/sewer access to your home/business that was not their before. Whereas, with health care, substantial harm could be done to the quality of one’s own health on the altar of “social justice” or “equality.” Laying pavement is much different that a quadruple bypass. Laying pipe is much different than cancer removal. In my view, federal-government has the anti-Midas touch. We all like our roads, but even the DOT is quite a mess. If the private sector can provide a product that the federal government is monopolizing and disallowing competition, I think a strong case be made (both through sound reason and moral principles) that privitization is the right thing. Further, I think the burden of proof rests on big government folks and not small government folks. I see no Bible verses commanding that government be large and tyrannical. The Biblical burden of proof is on those who play the ever-so-vague “social justice” card.
Evangelicals have shirked and punted many responsibilities to the federal government. Previously (here and here), I have traced this habit back to the split of Protestantism into liberalism and conservativism (the fundamentalists originally, who are now called evangelicals) . I do not think it would be all that massive of an undertaking for evangelicals in the country to completely eliminate the foster care system. This would take 250,000 families adopting one child into their family. I think this is feasible. Elders at local churches would vet potential families, and the deacons at those local churches would oversee the transfer of children out of government foster care and into adoption into elder-approved families. I think the whole process could take less than 10 years. It is highly idealistic with regards to the current status of American evangelicalism but, in my view, entirely possible.
Unless, non-governmental institutions step-in to provide value-added social care for a nation-state, one runs the risk of the endless march of bigger government and tyranny, as its government continues to expand its power and control by nationalizing previously private businesses and service sectors. It is one thing to keep a wealthy nation with a small military of 10 million people in check… it is entirely another thing to keep a nation of 350 million (with a strong monopoly of violence) in check. Evangelicals cannot think that merely voting will stem the tide of bigger government and/or socialism. If you do not want to see this happen, then I suggest we corporately affirm James 1:27:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Only 11 Minutes of Actual Football in an NFL Game
Kevin DeYoung has a fascinating post on how there is only 11 minutes of actual football in an NFL game.
11 Minutes of Football per NFL Game
A Comprehensive List of Top 10 Book Lists of 2009
Let me know if I have missed anyone (or yours) in the comments section.
Top 40 Books to Read While in College
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
You will never have more discretionary time than while in college. This is a critical time for you to develop your character and mind. This is a list of what I think are the most important books to work through during your time as an undergrad. These books focus on developing your heart to affection (orthopathos), renewing your mind to truth (orthodoxy), and provoking your hands to kingdom work (orthopraxis). Take 10 books a year and devote 30 minutes a day – you’ll finish the list, perhaps even early.
Note: I have listed them in order of how I think they should be read and not necessarily in order of how good they are. For sake of space, I am not going to do a writeup on each of these. If you have a question(s) about a book(s), just post in the comments.
1. Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
2. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
3. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
4. Designed for Dignity by Richard Pratt
5. The Fuel and the Flame by Steve Shadrach
6. Tell the Truth by Will Metzger
7. The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman
8. Holiness by J.C. Ryle
9. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable by F.F. Bruce
10. Universe Next Door by James Sire
11. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
12. Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
13. Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
14. Pensees by Blaise Pascal
15. No Place for Truth by David Wells
16. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
17. Culture Wars by James Hunter
18. Let The Nations Be Glad by John Piper
19. Salvation Belongs to the Lord by John Frame
20. Desiring God (or something else more substantial) by John Piper
21. The John Frame Trilogy: Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, Doctrine of God, Doctrine of the Christian Life by John Frame
22. The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
23. Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson
24. Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe
25. Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
26. Love the Lord Your God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland
27. Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson
28. Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark
29. Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley
30. Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
31. How to Read the Bible for All its Worth by Fee and Stuart
32. He Gave us Stories by Richard Pratt [there is a nice summary here]
33. Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin
34. Confessions by St. Augustine
35. Warranted Christian Belief by Alvin Plantinga
36. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (I included this book because it is important for us to study antithetical works, I will make a list of books like this one later)
37. What is a Healthy Church Member by Thabiti Anyabwile
38. Habits of the Mind by James Sire
39. Why We’re Not Emergent: From Two Guys That Should Be by Ted Kluck and Kevin Deyoung
40. Baptism and Fullness by John Stott
What books would you add?
Modern Pensées 