RECOMMENDED: Tim Keller on the Erosion of the “Middle”
“Tim Keller on the Disappearing Umbrella over Conservative Christians” by Trevin Wax
– A great assessment on our shifting culture and evangelicals place within it.
The number of the devout people in the country is increasing, as well as the number of secular people. The big change is the erosion is in the middle. … You don’t so much see secularization as polarization, and what is really disappearing is the middle.
Similarly, see my sermon from around a year ago – Christian Living in a Post-Christendom America.
Advice to Students (Zondervan)
Recently, Zondervan has put out several “Advice to Student” videos featuring Bible and theological professors from around the world. As the school year begins, I thought I’d share some of these videos.
Keep the primary literature primary.
Learn to deal with the text 1) in terms of competency and 2) in terms of what questions you ask of it.
Goodreads Review of Integrative Psychotherapy: Toward a Comprehensive Christian Approach by Mark R. McMinn
Integrative Psychotherapy: Toward a Comprehensive Christian Approach by Mark R. McMinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The authors claim to present a (not “the”) Christian approach to psychotherapy. They are theologically sensitive. I appreciate this. However, it is less clear to me how their approach is DISTINCTIVELY Christian and not simply SENSITIVE to Christian truth-claims.
7 Principles Concerning Israel and the Land (John Piper)
Yesterday Matt Smethurst published a blog post on Israel, Gaza, and the idea of Israel’s ‘divine right’ to the land (originally posted Nov 22, 2012). In it Matt linked to and shared thoughts from one of John Piper’s sermons on that same topic. I was familiar with this sermon; I have listened to it once or twice previously. But I was reminded of it yesterday; and, like Matt, I thought it would be good to share his principles as well as some commentary.
In the sermon, John Piper provides 7 principles concerning Israel, Palestine, the land, ‘divine right,’ etc. I want to share these because 1) this is incredibly relevant right now and 2) I think Piper is spot on here.
1. God chose Israel from all the peoples of the world to be his own possession.
Deuteronomy 7:6 – The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
2. The Land was part of the inheritance he promised to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Genesis 15:18 – On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”
Genesis 17:7-8 – “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Kirk E. Miller 