Monthly Archives: November 2010

Book Review: Decision Points by George W. Bush

I enthusiastically voted for George W. Bush in 2000, and did so again, happily if not quite as enthusiastically, in 2004. Like many Americans, I was ready for a change by the time 2008 rolled around, although it wasn’t the type of change either the Democratic or Republican Party was offering.

Now the former President has released a much-anticipated autobiography titled Decision Points, an unexhaustive, unchronological look at his life and presidency, presented thematically based on some of the biggest decisions he made. It is a refreshing approach and provides for a very interesting and informative read.

There are fourteen chapters in the book, at least six of which are heavily influenced by what transpired on 9/11 and the war of terror that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nine years have passed since that harrowing day and America at large has gone back to business as usual, or worse, they have willfully forgotten about it. It is clear from this book that President Bush not only never forgot, but it guided every decision he made for the remainder of his presidency. Continue reading →

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Life or death hanging by a mouse click (or) The most appalling thing I have ever seen

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants” Deuteronomy 30:19

If this is a hoax I’m not sure how less horrific this is. If this is reality it is probably the saddest and most appalling thing I’ve ever read. Pete and Alisha Arnold, both 30, living in Minneapolis, MN, have created a web site (which I will not link to as not to give them more web traffic) in which they are asking the public to vote on whether or not they should have an abortion.

You read that correctly.

According to the bio on their site, she works for a small software company and he for an IT consulting business. They married at age 21 after an unplanned pregnancy the previous year ended “unsuccessfully.” The bio makes mentions of their first house, their second house, their first cat, and their second cat, before mentioning that two planned pregnancies this year ended in miscarriages. Continue reading →

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What happens to babies that die?

It’s perhaps the most emotionally heart-tugging issue in all of biblical and theological debate: What happens to that child, born or unborn, that dies? What happens to the person who might be severely mentally handicapped from birth and not be able to process truth? The responses to these questions go to some of the core doctrines of the Bible.

Can parents find solace in the fact that their child is in the presence of the Lord? Is their child in the presence of the Lord? Or must parents live out the remainder of their days not knowing what happened to their dead child?

Like any good debate there are multiple views on this question. Very godly men disagree on what the right answer is. Some men a lot smarter than I am who love Jesus Christ have thrown their hands up and determined that we can’t know the answer. I don’t believe that’s the case. Continue reading →

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What about those who never hear the gospel?

It is necessary for us to examine a question which has far-reaching implications in what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, far-reaching implications for the church, and far-reaching implications for evangelism and missions. What about those who never hear the gospel?

You may have asked this question before. Maybe don’t really have an answer. On the other hand, you may already know the answer to the question. You may already believe correctly, that is to say, you may already believe what the Bible says about this question, but do you know how to defend the position from Scripture?

Believe it or not the answer to this question is one which has generated huge disagreement in the wider scope of the churches in America, even some who would contend they are conservative churches. So this question not only merits our time but it demands our time, because this does and will come up when you have an opportunity to proclaim the gospel, and our answer to the question says something about what we believe about God and the gospel.

My position, which I believe to be the clear biblical position, is that those who never hear the gospel die in their trespasses and sins, and are thus condemned to the wrath of God for all eternity. It isn’t the heartwarming position. It isn’t the position that gives you the warm and fuzzies. However, I believe it is what the Bible clearly teaches. Continue reading →

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Just How Old Is the Earth? – Part 2

In a previous post I began to examine the question “Just how old is the earth?” And if you’ve read it and didn’t think so already, I hope you came away with some appreciation of how important the question is. Our answer to the question, I believe, has a direct bearing with how consistent we are when we say that the Bible is without error, completely inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is the sufficient and authoritative revelation of God.

Many godly people waver on the doctrine of the authority of Scripture, I believe, when it comes to the question of how old the earth is and how the world came to be the way it is. In this post I want to dig a little deeper and think through some of the theological reasons for a young earth and literal six-day creation. I hope you’ll see what I believe to be the case: that when we move away from this view, there are questions that impact the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the assaults on the young earth as taught by Genesis is the study of geology and the belief by scientists that the soil and fossils and things like that were telling a story that contradicted Genesis. I concluded that their story was based on their assumptions, but creation is indeed telling a story. It’s just not the earth’s story, and it’s not geologists’ story. It’s God’s story, the story of creation, the fall, redemption, and finally, one day, the consummation of all things in Jesus Christ.

Creation is the theater of God’s glory.Have you ever wondered why God created the world?  Why did God bother going through with creating something, like people, whom He would save by pouring out wrath upon His own Son? Why did God bother with creating the world? Continue reading →

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What Democrats thought about JFK

I found this little leaflet in the church the other day. One of the kids must have been messing around in the church library, where it was probably stuffed in an old book. Anyway, I found some of the contents fascinating considering our current President and how his election in 2008 came to be.

The leaflet was published by the Republican National Committee in 1960, the year then Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy defeated then Republican Vice President Richard Nixon to become President of the United States.

Here are some of the quotations from Democrats regarding the man who would become President and, even in death, is an icon to this day of Democratic politics:

Harry Truman, former President (1945-1953), in the New York Herald Tribune on July 3, 1960,

Senator, are you certain that you are quite ready for the country or that the country is ready for you in the role of President in January, 1961? I am greatly concerned and trouble about the situation we are up against in the world now and in the immediate future. That is why I would hope that someone with the greatest possible maturity and experience would be available at this time.

Kennedy was, obviously, one of the youngest Presidents our country has ever had, and there were many questions about his experience. Continue reading →

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Just How Old Is the Earth? – Part 1

The age of the earth is a battleground today, a very volatile front in the war between truth and deadly error. The answer to how old our planet it, as I understand it, is young, as in thousands of years old, not millions or billions of years old.

But don’t take my word for it. As always, we must look to the word of God for our answers. I encourage you take a few moments to follow this link and read Genesis 1:1-2:3.

Even most of those who hold to some old earth view, or even some model of evolution, are willing to concede that a plain reading of Genesis says that God created the heavens and the earth in six sequential 24-hour days, and then there was one 24-hour day of divine rest. That’s what a plain reading tells us.

This was the overwhelming consensus of the church up until the early 19th century. There were challenges and other views that popped up from time to time. In fact, Augustine held to a different view. Nevertheless, the overwhelming consensus through church history has been the God created the world in six literal, 24-hour days. Continue reading →

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