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Thursday, August 30, 2007

  • CS Lewis said the Psalmists were "Homicidal and Fanatic"


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=zR-JN4JocTU




    CS Lewis in his book "Christian Reflections" (published in 1967), wrote, "The dominant impression I get from reading the Psalms is one of antiquity... In that momentary proximity they are almost shockingly alien; creatures of unrestrained emotion, wallowing in self-pity, sobbing, cursing, screaming in exultation (p114) ... we shall find in the Psalms expressions of a cruelty more vindictive and a self-righteousness more complete that anything in the [Greek] classics. If we ignore such passages and read only a few selected favourite Psalms, we miss the point. For the point is precisely this: that these same fanatic and homicidal Hebrews, and not the more enlightened peoples, again and again -- for brief moments -- reach a Christian level of spirituality. It is not that they are better or worse than the Pagans, but they are both better and worse." (p116, "Christian Reflections")

    Lewis is right about one thing. The Psalmist's claim that he is perfectly righteous is "shockingly alien" to us. We're sinners, but here the Psalmist is saying that he's without sin? Who can the Psalmist possibly be? Who can say the following?

    I will behave myself in a perfect way ... I will not know evil. Psa 101:2,4

    O Jehovah, judge me according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity in me. Psa 7:8.

    And Jehovah has returned to me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes. Psa 18:24

    Preserve my soul for I am holy. Psa 86:2

    My comment: Obviously either David was under a delusion or this is Christ speaking. The New Testament interpretation is that Christ is the Psalmist. Compare Hebrews 7:26 with Psalm 26...


    Hebrews 7:26
    For such a High Priest was fitting for us: holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners, and having become higher than the heavens;

    Psalm 26:6,9,11
    I will wash my hands in innocency; so I will go around Your altar, O Jehovah, Do not gather up my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of blood, But I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be gracious to me.

    My comment: Look at the similarity between Psalm 1 and messianic prophecies in Isaiah. Clearly, Christ is the tree -- the righteous man -- that bears fruit.


    Psalm 1:3
    And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of waters, which will give its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf will not wither, and all which he does will prosper.

    Isaiah 11:1
    And a Shoot goes out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch will bear fruit out of his roots.

    Isaiah 4:2
    In that day the Branch of Jehovah will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth for pride and for glory for the survivors of Israel.


    My comment: According to the Apostles, David was merely a mouthpiece that Christ spoke through...

    the Holy Spirit spoke before through David's mouth. Acts 1:15

    [God spoke] through the mouth of Your servant David. Acts 4:25

    [God was] saying in David. Heb 4:7

    David in Spirit [calls]. Mt 22:43

    My comment: This makes sense. But is there a double meaning in the Psalms -- one about Christ and one about David? Well, how can Psalm 75 have any application to David? Did David in any way sustain the earth?

    Psalm 75:3
    The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly.

    My comment: David was merely the tongue Christ wrote through. Christ does not share his glory in the Psalms with a man! "I will not give my glory to another". And is Christ completely arbritary? Did he just arbritarily pick and choose different diary entries from David's life? Not at all. When prophesying, the prophets were not writing about their own sufferings, but Christ's...

    And these are the last words of David ... The Spirit of Jehovah has spoken by me, and His Word is ON MY TONGUE. 2 Sam 23:1,3

    The prophets wrote concerning the sufferings of Christ. 1 Pet 1:11

    every prophecy of Scripture did not come into being of its own interpretation. 2 Pet 1:20

    For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Rev 19:10

    My comment: Many people try to use the Psalms to justify doubting. They say that in the Psalms, David was "forsaken" and "God hid his face from David". This is the very opposite of the New Testament interpretation. Christ was forsaken -- why? So that believers would never have to be forsaken...

    Hebrews 5:7
    [Christ] in the days of His flesh was offering both petitions and entreaties to Him being able to save Him from death, with strong crying and tears, and being heard from His godly fear;

    Psalm 6:9
    Jehovah has heard my plea; Jehovah will receive my prayer.

    My comment: The Psalms are the prayers of Christ under the wrath of God and pleading his perfect righteousness on behalf of His people.

    Note - CS Lewis is the author of such infamous works as "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape letters". As well as "Surprised by Joy" and "Reflections on the Psalms" etc

Sunday, August 26, 2007

  • John Piper's Agonizing Problem with Assurance of Salvation


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=9JzSPzPEI5c






    John Piper from "Desiring God" writes,

    "The most agonizing problem about the assurance of salvation is not the problem of whether the ... objective facts of Christianity are true (God exists, Christ is God, Christ died for sinners, Christ rose from the dead, Christ saves forever all who believe, etc.). Those facts are the utterly crucial bedrock of our faith. But the really agonizing problem of assurance is whether I personally am saved by those facts. This boils down to whether I have saving faith. What makes this agonizing - for many in the history of the church and today - is that there are people who think they have saving faith but don't ... So the agonizing question for some is: do I really have saving faith? Is my faith real? Am I self-deceived?" ("The Agonizing Problem of the Assurance of Salvation")

    This is absurd. It's like saying that people standing in the light would have an "agonizing problem" because some other people -- in darkness -- thought they were in the light.

    RC Sproul from "Ligonier Ministries" agrees with Piper and writes,

    "What complicates our quest for the assurance of salvation is we see that there are two categories of people here who are sure that they are in a state of salvation. The only problem is that one of them is, in fact, not in a state of salvation. And so those that are in a state of salvation now have to ask the question, "How can I be sure that my assurance is not like the false assurance of those who think they're being saved but are not?" (Lecture, "False Assurance")

    Again, this is ridiculous. So what if a bunch of five year olds thought they were mathematical geniuses after conquering kindergarten maths? Does that mean that a Newton or a Leibniz should doubt they are geniuses because a bunch of naive kids had a false assurance that they were? Does the false assurance and false confidence of the kids pose an "agonizing problem" for the Newtons and Leibnizs of this world? Of course not.

    So why do Sproul and Piper say that believers -- who CAN see -- have an "agonizing problem" because some unbelievers (who are blind) think they can see?

Saturday, August 25, 2007

  • Don Miller (Blue Like Jazz) -- Denies Christ Alone


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YqbkZN_q8kM



    Don Miller -- author of "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching For God Knows What" writes,

    "I think it is more safe and more beautiful and ... all  more true to believe that when a person dies he will go and be with God because, on earth, he had come to know Him, that he had a relational encounter with God not unlike meeting a friend or a lover or having a father or taking a bride, and that in order to engage God he gave up everything, repented and changed his life…" (p156, Searching For God Knows What) "The message is that ... if they ask forgiveness ... then God will forgive them. (p124, Blue Like Jazz) ... all ... he really needed to do was place all his love and faith in Christ... the early message of grace [was] of repentance toward dead works and immorality in exchange for a loving relationship with Christ." (p121, 190, Searching For God Knows What)

    This is clearly salvation by works.

    And when you believe salvation by works, you can never be sure if you've "done enough" to be saved. Thus, notice how uncertain Don Miller is...

    "At the end of the day, … I am lying in bed and I know the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million to one… (p206, Blue Like Jazz) Lately I have been thinking about the verse in Scripture that says to work out your salvation in fear and trembling (see Phil. 2:12). I take this to mean salvation isn’t something you go around feeling sure of…" (p204, Searching For God Knows What)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Monday, August 13, 2007

  • Al Mohler at Southern Seminary says Pagans Glorify God

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Q5J2ZzAhx8





    Albert Mohler, Jr. ("Al Mohler"), President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, KY, says pagans glorify God. He says when pagans obey their own hearts, they bring glory to God. Now, why are such liberal-sounding statements coming out of Louisville, Kentucky? Well, Mohler assumes that pagans have "truth in them" and "know God deep down". This forces him to say it's good for pagans to obey their own hearts -- because pagans "glorify God" when they obey "the structure of creation". In other words, Christ didn't need to come and "lighten the Gentiles", they were already glorifying God -- without Christ -- by obeying their own hearts!


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