fundamentalism by blunt instrument
I had someone request the audio from some messages I preached four years ago on the subject of Christian music. They are now posted on our church site, I thought I would make the links available here also.
First, an article on our church site that introduces our music philosophy.
Can you identify the source of this quote? What about the date and publication?
Today, fundamentalism is said to be in an identity crisis. It is allegedly trying to discover what it is. New self-definitions are being heard which say that a fundamentalist is one who is faithful to expository preaching, practices church discipline, repudiates easy believism, and is aggressive in evangelism. Or some imply that a fundamentalist is one who believes in inerrancy and does not cooperate with Roman Catholics, or is one who believes the “fundamentals” but is less militant and separatistic than formerly thought. The truth is that these are things that new evangelicals and self-proclaimed non-fundamentalists also believe and practice, leaving a distinctly fundamentalist self-identity completely vacuous. This all points up the fact that many are simply confused, and this includes would-be leaders as well as followers and well-wishers. Judging by some of the prevalent ambiguity, one is sometimes tempted to ask, Will the real fundamentalist please stand up?
I am working away on Sunday’s sermon. I come across a line in Keil & Delitzsch… a parte ante. Alas, my classical education is severely lacking. What to do?
I search on the internet for a Latin-English dictionary. I find a nifty little program that (I think) gives me the correct translation.
Is there a more defining evangelical organization than the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)? Some might say that the quintessential Evangelical organization would be the National Association of Evangelicals, but would that really be true? One key area of comparison is the doctrinal standards of each organization. The NAE requires members to affirm their statement of faith. The ETS requires members to hold to their doctrinal basis. (Of course, the ETS requires a level of scholarly attainment for membership as well, due to its differing nature. We are not comparing that aspect of these organizations.)
Now, which organization requires the more exclusive standard of doctrinal agreement as its foundational basis?
While I am laid up, I’m going to try to catch up on a few things I have noticed but not given any commentary on over the last few months. These comments are going to come in the order that they appear in my Bloglines reader.
First item: a little something from 9marks back in October, Three Books Church Planters Should Read, and A Lesson in Not Following Instructions. The point of interest to me in this post is Dever’s recommendation of J. I. Packer’s Fundamentalism and The Word of God. Packer’s thesis concerning fundamentalism in this book essentially goes this way: “Fundamentalists were useful idiots in their day, but thank God, this isn’t their day.” So much for the hopes of influencing conservative evangelicals towards fundamentalism.
I am typing one-handed, my right arm in a sling. They told me I can’t use my puter for two days! That’s almost as bad as no Timmies!
The concern was possibility of blocked heart arteries, today’s procedure was an angiogram. They discovered some minor buildup in an area that doesn’t concern them, so treatment is medication, diet, and exercise. Thanks for your prayers.
Maranatha!
don j
jer 33.3
[This update is by Duncan Johnson, written at his father’s behest.]
KJV Psalm 34:1-8 <A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.> I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
I found out yesterday about the medical procedure that my Dad underwent today. Dad called me at my home in South Carolina to tell me about it because it did involve some risk. The risk involved a very, very small percentage, but our family tries to avoid even the smallest risks, maybe because my grandfather sold insurance during his working days.
I wasn’t quite sure what to say, and my brothers (who were at my house at the time) weren’t either. We assured him of our prayers, and then we all tried to think of more pleasant things to discuss.
My sister kept us updated throughout the day today, first sending us an email at 2 PM Eastern time to tell us that Dad’s treatment had been delayed. Nothing serious, just part of life with Canadian socialized medicine. There was a possibility that Dad’s procedure would be delayed until tomorrow because of limited treatment space.
Fortunately, Dad was able to be treated today anyway, and the results of his test came back far better than we expected. Dad is doing fine, and no surgery is required — but no more Tim Horton’s donuts.
I’m so glad that even if the test results had returned with more serious news, our prayers would be addressed to the same God who helped David when he fled from Saul. Our weakness and distress today may not seem as dramatic as David’s trouble, but our God is always the same. We can still trust Him.
I am scheduling this to post at the same time I will be checking in to our local hospital for a medical procedure. I anticipate that I will be back at it later in the day. The procedure has some risk attached to it, but the risk is quite small. I am confident in the Lord, wherever this journey takes me… but I am probably going to have to give up doughnuts. Alas!
If you have a moment, your prayers would be appreciated.
Our concluding message for the second chapter of Romans concludes Paul’s main argument against the Religious man. The Religious man thinks he is exempt from God’s judgement because he has divinely revealed Rites and special judgement escaping Power because of his superior morality and way of life. These notions misunderstand the nature of true acceptance by God, a regeneration of the inner man by the power of the Spirit instead of the works of the flesh.
We conclude the first half of The Pilgrim’s Progress as we see Christian and Hopeful finally reach the destination of all believers, the Celestial City. We see them linger first in Beulah land, the land where the seasoned saint is partly in this world and partly in the next, then they cross the river of death, entering into the joy of their Lord. Bunyan says (as in his vision the gates to the City close) “After that they shut up the gates; which, when I had seen, I wished myself among them.”
In our own ministry, we have seen many saints go on ahead of us. I can sincerely say that I wish myself among them. Our folks gave what I thought were moving testimonies at the end of this session on that subject. I amplified their words so that you can hear them also, hopefully the distortions at that amplification will not be too distracting.
We begin our Christmas season with an introductory message. The Moravians have a Christmas ornament that is a multi-pointed star. It began as an educational project but quickly became a beloved symbol of Christmas. Four passages are associated with its meaning, these will form our theme for the month of December, all related to the ’star’ and its association with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our first message introduced this theme by taking a look first at the rich young ruler and the spiritual investment to which the Lord called him – give up everything. Then the Lord taught his disciples the principle of multiplied returns – give up everything and get one hundred fold in this life and in the life to come, everlasting life! Exactly what the rich young ruler asked for.
We compared these themes to the spiritual investment Count Zinzendorf made in the 1700s. He was the spiritual leader of the Moravian movement, called by some ‘the rich young ruler who said Yes!’ When Zinzendorf died, his Moravians and their mission sent out over 228 missionaries, seeing many thousands come to Christ, simply because they made the right spiritual investment.
Unfortunately, the modern Moravian church does not match the orthodoxy of former days, but the missionary efforts of the 18th century Moravians are an inspiration to us today.
~~~
My apologies for the delay in posting this! (I know the world was waiting with bated breath.) We had a blessed day yesterday and a busy day today.
Back in May, Scott Aniol posted Leading Music at the Conference on the Church for God’s Glory on his site, Religious Affections.
In the article, he commented on the music at the Together for the Gospel conference he had attended earlier in the year. Among other things he said this:
Although every hymn choice for that conference was in and of itself conservative, and although the accompaniment was simple in theory, a completely different underlying philosophy bled through. The leader of the singing, who led from the piano, was a master at emotional manipulation stimulation. How he accompanied the hymns moved and swayed the audience in certain emotional directions. He constantly shouted out unintelligible exclamations that further roused the audience. And the audience did respond. Hands waving in the air, enthusiastic shouting, vigorous singing, and even some jumping around.
I would recommend you read Scott’s entire article. There is some discussion following, but the article is the main thing. Now, I don’t have the time, the $$$, nor the interest to attend such conferences. I didn’t really have a full picture of what Scott was describing, but I had an idea what it was like. Now you can get a sense of exactly what Scott is describing…
The latest audio from the GBCvic
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