Virtue Signaling: The New Evangelistic Strategy

Phil Johnson

Ranting about the Cold

Alan Kurschner sounds like my dad. My parents were born in the Italian Alps. I was three when we moved to Australia but I do remember their living conditions. And mum (or mom) and dad constantly reminded me if ever I forgot. Heck, they didn't even have Facebook. Anyhow, this rant is worth a read. Click Here.

Discerners & Rapture Wars

I recently wrote an article called Discernment Ministry Bullies. There was a lot more which could have been said. But, because of its inflammatory nature, I couldn't use a lot of the material I came across. We do need discernment ministries, though I worry that the nature of such a ministry lends itself to witch hunts. I see a bit of that. That said there are decent discernment ministries around. Justin Peters comes to mind.

Anyway, the process of researching led me down some dark alleys. One person came under attack over a variety of reasons, justifiably so in some cases. Yet some of the beefs people had with this fellow bordered on the cultic. One reason he was being vilified was for having a slightly different slant on the traditional pre-wrath rapture position.

It explained a lot. I saw names of people who commented on my blog over the years. I've deleted most if not all of them. They weren't real comments - just suggestions to Google Tommy Ice, Rapture Dishonesty etc, etc. I'd previously assumed they all came from preterists or posttribulationists. Nope! I traced some of it back to a viral UK blog where the main heresy contender is pretribulationism. But apparently the above-mentioned deviation from the accepted PW view runs a close second. It has been labeled a deception and an attack on the gospel.

Seriously! No wonder our more sober Reformed friends generally run away from discussions about eschatology. They see us as crackpots.

Insider Criticism of Dispensationalism

This excerpt is from an older article by Dr. Reluctant (Paul Henebury):

Because dispensationalists are often concerned with matters such as the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Antichrist, the accusation is that they attract a certain kind of crowd; one that is drawn to speculation and away from more pressing Christian concerns like, for example, the Person of Christ, or the impact of a creational outlook on Christian living. This is undoubtedly true as a limited proposition. But it is no more true than the fact that many of a sacramentalist disposition are drawn to episcopacy or that many of high brow inclination are attracted by Presbyterianism. Still, dispensationalist theologians must be careful not to scratch the speculators where they’re itching for fear of working against the broader work of the Holy Spirit in conforming people to Christ. There has always been and will always be a subset of futurists who can speak nothing of the Bible unless it is about the End Times.[5] But this party is not the clientele of the movement. At least it should not be!  If we have fully explicated the eschaton but have failed to explain it in relation to the Doctrine of God and His Plan. Too often we have not been faithful in presenting “the whole counsel of God.”[6] Dispensationalism as a movement has clearly made important contributions to the study of eschatology, but if these contributions are thought of by dispensationalists themselves as defining the movement, it is inevitable that it cannot survive as a vibrant theology in its own right.

Read the full article HERE

The Struggle for Social Justice is a Struggle with Ourselves

A very thoughtful article by Darrell B Harrison.

There is great emphasis being placed today by Christian social justice activists on remediating the adverse effects of historical and contemporary injustices, particularly as it relates to its generational impact on people of color in America...keep reading

Time to Tell the Truth about the Palestinian Issue

Alan Dershowitz is a liberal. Yet when it comes to Israel, he has it right. In the linked article below from Gatestone Institute, he responds to Michelle Alexander's NYT screed. At one point Alexander writes:

"Similarly, many students are fearful of expressing support for Palestinian rights because of the McCarthyite tactics of secret organizations like Canary Mission, which blacklists those who publicly dare to support boycotts against Israel, jeopardizing their employment prospects and future careers."

Well, what a lot of bologna! In fact in the few years that I've been reading, writing and commenting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I've seen quite the opposite. There's no fear in vilifying Israel. It's as common as dirt. And Canary Mission outs the most vile comments against Israel, and especially the Jewish people. If the shoe was on the other foot, people like Alexander would be screaming from rooftops.

Read Dershowitz's response HERE

The Valley of Vision - Longings After God

Prayer from Banner of Truth's Valley of Vision. There are more on this YouTube Channel

Spurgeon and Edwards on Kindle

Normally I prefer real hold-in-my hand books when I read. I like writing notes in the margins, extensively underlining, and I use a lot of sticky notes. I also like flipping back and forth through the pages. That said, I've built a small collection of Kindle books. They have their advantages. Many of the ones I own are for research, rather than pleasure. The great thing is that Kindle is generally cheaper.

If you don't mind Kindle books, there are some excellent bargains available. Some time ago I downloaded Jonathan Edwards' Works (Volume 1 & 2). It is fully searchable and only $1:99.

The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon Volume 1 (His sermon outlines) is also now available on Kindle for only $1:99.

Reeves on Spurgeon

Really enjoyed this. I suspect Reeves has some Italian in him, given he often speaks with his hands.

Social Justice and the Downgrade of SEBTS

HT James White

Answers by Tony Garland: Spirit & Truth

This is a great resource from Spirit and Truth:

Answers by Tony Garland

Some Miscellaneous Posts: Israel-Church, Rapture Wars, Reformed Eschatology

From Paul Henebury: A Response to Some Questions About Israel & the Church

A lot of my friends, myself included, are tired of the constant jabs against pretribulationism. Yes, there are bad examples from all sides. However, some have made it their mission statement to actively push their systems down people's throats - presumably, in order to save pretribbers from this dangerous demon-doctrine. For example:

If you’re a pastor that’s not preparing his people to face potentially the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation in that hour simply because your denomination teaches it [pretrib], personally I feel like you’re failing in your role as a shepherd and a pastor.” 

I've spoken about this before. More thoughts HERE 

I love reading the Puritans and Reformers. Everyone ought to read them. I just wish they'd stop citing OT verses relating to Israel and applying them to the church. I have this fantasy where some of my favorite modern Reformed preachers rethink their amillennialism and Reform their eschatology

Death to John MacArthur & James White

Death to John MacArthur & James White...oh, and dispensationalism, the pretrib rapture, Zionism, multiple gospels etc, etc. Hat tip James White. Click HERE

PS I still see non-pretribbers linking to Anderson's After the Great Tribulation video without warning people about the man. It kinda reminds me of non-pretribbers who lauded Adventist Steve Wohlberg's End Time Delusions. BTW, my article on Wohlberg by far gets the most hits on my blog. That tells you something.

Jonathan Edwards - Resolutions

I've come across Edwards' resolutions before. It's a new year and I guess this is germane. Even if you're not a great fan of Edwards there's some good reading HERE.