Castle Church Discussion on Jerry Falwell (1933-2007)

AboutFaceBook

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:35:37 GMT

Josh Harris writes on why he stopped doing FaceBook after one week:

But even if I weren't writing a book, I don't need another reason for staring at a computer screen. I'm constantly needing to evaluate is how much time I spend emailing, browsing and blogging. Now obviously a lot of that activity is good, useful work. But sometimes it can be a time-waster. I think God's been helping me improve at knowing when to unplug from cyberville and connect with the real, rich world of reality--playing with my kids, talking to my wife, taking a walk. Throwing Facebook in the mix of my online options is just a little too much for me right now. The other reason I feel right about making my time with Facebook just a visit is a little harder to explain. How do I put this? I found that it encouraged me to think about me even more than I already do--which is admittedly already quite a bit. Does that make any sense? Without any help from the internet I'm inclined to give way too much time to evaluating myself, thinking about myself and wondering what other people think of me. If that egocentrism is a little flame, than Facebook for me is a gasoline IV feeding the fire. I need to grow in self-forgetfulness. I need to worry more about what God is thinking of me. I need to be preoccupied with what he's written in his word, not what somebody just wrote on my "wall." And, finally, I need to read more. There are so many good books I want to read and so little time. If I added up the few minutes here and there that I spent checking Facebook this past week it wouldn't be an insignificant amount of time. I'd rather give that time to reading. Anyway, all of the above is totally personal and is in no way an indictment on other Facebookers. This is just where I'm at right now. Who knows...I might be back when the kids are grown and the book is written and I have more self-control.

You can read the whole thing.

Piper on Pragmatism, Pleasure, and Pride

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:35:35 GMT

John Piper warns against three P's: "The idolatry of pragmatism that ruins the church; the pleasure in unrighteousness that refuses to love the truth; and the pride of being strong that leads to destruction."

With regard to pride in particular, Piper writes:

1) Never let me be above criticism and correction. I invite you to give me constructive criticism whenever you see some attitude or words or actions that dishonor the Lord. 2) Stay close to the cross and never cease to be amazed and thankful that you are saved. People who are perpetually and thankfully amazed that God has saved them are not likely to be destroyed by pride.

Walter Kaiser on Suffering

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:05:31 GMT

In this article Walter Kaiser identifies eight kinds of suffering

retributive suffering, caused by sin and disobedience to God
educational or disciplinary suffering as in Proverbs 3:11 or Hebrews 12:5-6;
vicarious suffering, as in the case of our Lord's death on the cross;
empathetic suffering, where one person's grief affects many others, as Isaiah 63:9 illustrates;
evidential or testimonial suffering, as in the first two chapters of Job;
doxological suffering for the glory of God, as in the man born blind in John 9;
revelational suffering, as in the case of the prophet Hosea's wife abandoning him; and
apocalyptic or eschatological suffering that will come at the end of this age.

One of his points is that the error of Job's friends was in reducing all suffering to "retributive suffering" instead of recognizing that there are other forms.

In Pursuit of Truth

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:05:31 GMT

The C.S. Lewis Foundation (owners of the Kilns and the folks who run the program “Oxbridge”) have started a new online, peer-reviewed journal: In Pursuit of Truth. The online articles look very helpful.

Here's an outline of an article by Leland Ryken on bad ways--and good ways--to read Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Bad practice #1 is using The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe instead of receiving it.

Bad practice #2 is to value The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe primarily as a collection of ideas.

Misconception #3 is to assume that when Lewis composed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he started with a set of ideas and then created fictional details to embody them.

Good practice #1 is to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first as an escape from the real world to an imagined world.

Good practice#2 is to enter into the particulars of the imagined world that a writer creates.

Good practice #3 is to view the far-flung fantasies of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a window to reality and truth.

Good practice #4 is to value the artistry and technique of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a self-rewarding aesthetic experience.

Good practice #5 is to recognize and value the religious and moral viewpoints embodied in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Read the whole thing--and check out the rest of the journal.

(HT: Mere Orthodoxy)

Interview with Carson on Worship

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:05:25 GMT

In the year 2000 Tony Payne (Mathias Media) interviewed Don Carson about worship. They had a subsequent email exchange about it. Both are online.

(HT: Andy Naselli again!)

The Dangers of Culture Warfare Imagery

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:05:19 GMT

Jack Collins, Science and Faith, pp. 331-332:

It's pretty common to hear that we’re in a culture war—the traditionalists and the secularists are fighting over who will control the culture. There is a sense in which the image is right: as we will see in the next chapter, there are worldviews that are at odds with each other, and therefore it’s no surprise that we find conflict. The image is a dangerous one, though, because it can lead us to look at everything in combatant terms: people who disagree with us become our enemies, and we have to defeat them. If you are my enemy, and I am a Christian, then—even if you’re a Christian too—you must be morally defective.

Three further dangers follow from this warfare imagery. The first is that we can forget that worldviews involve not just philosophical positions but also moral commitments; and that back behind unbelief there lies a demonic enslaver. As Paul put it in Ephesians 6,
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. . . . 18 [Pray] at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . .
There is a spiritual component to this battle; and therefore, all our intellectual efforts must express our faithfulness to Christ and must be bathed in prayer. We must never use the weapons of unbelief—dishonesty, slander, name-calling, and so on. The second danger, related to the first, is that we can forget that the unbeliever is not the person we’re fighting against; rather, he is the person we are fighting for: that is, the purpose of all this is to free people from their slavery to the Devil. The third danger that arises is that we can forget that any Christian—and any Christian church—always has only a partial grasp of a fully Christian worldview; and even those parts that we grasp rightly, we practice only partly. So some of our “warfare” ought to be against our own imperfections!

The warfare image is a biblical one, to be sure; but we will do well to be careful how we use it.

Riddelbarger Reviews Hannegraaf

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:47:41 GMT

Here

Cross-centered obedience

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 16:21:08 GMT

From where I live the trickiest balance of the Christian life is maintaining Cross-centered heart in pursuit of personal obedience. On the one hand I am prone to self-righteousness and legalism, thinking God’s acceptance of me is rooted in personal obedience. This is spiritual suicide. But on the other side I am prone to thinking the Cross relegates personal obedience to the status of “minor importance.” This too is wrong.

In John 15:1-17 Christ gives us a radical alternative. Here He teaches us that the high calling of personal obedience presses us into the Cross-centered life. Let me explain.

Obedience and comfort

I’ll begin with a hypothetical. What if you somehow discovered that your friend was going to endure, over the next week, the most horrible experience of their life? They will learn another close and beloved friend has experienced a ghastly and painful death. What words today would you leave with your friend to prepare them for the coming pain?

My guess is that we would speak only words of comfort. We would weep with those about to weep. God is faithful, we would say. He will be with you. He will not leave you even in the darkest times.

I think we would agree that – on this brink of tragedy – it would be odd and out of place to call our friend to pursue personal obedience.

Yet on the brink of the crucifixion this is exactly what Christ does. As the disciples are about to forsake the Son and see Him crucified, Christ prepares them by calling them to pursue obedience and fruitfulness (John 15:1-17).

‘Abide in my love’

“Abide in my love” Jesus tells the remaining 11 disciples (v. 9). The Cross will forever exhibit the greatest expression of love ever displayed (v. 13). It’s here, on the Cross, that Christ gives His Body to be murdered to bear the wrath of God’s judgement as the Substitute. He will bear our guilt. He will bear our sins. The wrath we deserve will be redirected into the perfect Son. This is the greatest love. So rest, delight, dwell, find your life, “abide” in this love.

This is to say the spiritual life of the Christian is sustained by the Cross. “Abide in my love” is Jesus’ call to live and breathe and find all nourishment and life in the Cross. Paul says it well, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The Christian life is now sustained “by faith” in the Cross of Christ!

All my righteousness before God and all my spiritual vibrancy derive from this love, this Cross!

Fruit for the Father

In light of the Cross I think it is natural (though not accurate) to de-value personal obedience. Quite the opposite! By giving us the spiritual life necessary, the Cross actually strengthens the call of Christian obedience.

For the Christian (those with “new life”) only abiding in the life-giving Cross makes fruitfulness possible! Previously, the sinner outside the Christ was nothing more than a dead branch seeking to bear fruit but dehydrated from all spiritual life. Christ is our life.

Tucked in verse 8 we glimpse at the very heart of the Trinitarian motivations behind the Cross. Jesus says His Father is glorified when we bear fruit. The fruitfulness of the saint is a direct growth from the life and nourishment of the Cross. Think of it this way: We bear fruit by abiding in the Cross, the fruit of the branches is plucked by the Son and then carried to the Father in a bushel basket as an offering of glorification from the Son to the Father. Here we see the profound motives of Christ to glorify the Father.

In this cycle of the saints feeding off the Cross and bearing fruit, of the Son plucking the fruit and offering His Father the glory, we see Cross-centered thinking and diligent obedience come together. It’s important that we fight the tendency to emphasize works over the Cross and the tendency to think the Cross makes obedience an optional or secondary pursuit.

The calling to pursue diligent obedience and bear fruit came packaged with a stern warning that fruitless branches are thrown into the fire (v. 6). So why the hard demands of Jesus to bear fruit? How can He get away with such strong words? Here’s why: His Cross can sustain the weight of these high demands.

The point!

Here is what I’m getting at. In light of the coming tragedy, Christ raises the bar of obedience and fruit-bearing expectations for His disciples. This is how Jesus saw fit to comfort His disciples in the coming storm. He knew the higher the bar was raised in personal obedience the deeper He would drive the disciples into Himself!

Pressing us hard into the vine (the Cross) is the high call of obedience. We cannot miss this point. The high calling to pursue personal obedience will (graciously) press the saint tighter into Christ and into the Cross. At a profound level, the Cross-centered life is undermined by laziness in the pursuit of personal obedience.

Athanasius on “The Divine Songs”

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:05:13 GMT

Among all the books [of Scripture], the Psalter has certainly a very special grace, a choiceness of quality well worthy to be pondered; for, besides the characteristics which it shares with others, it has this peculiar marvel of its own, that within it are represented and portrayed in all their great variety the movements of the human soul.

It is like a picture, in which you see yourself portrayed, and seeing, may understand and consequently form yourself upon the pattern given.

Elsewhere in the Bible you read only that the Law commands this or that to be done, you listen to the Prophets to learn about the Saviour’s coming, or you turn to the historical books to learn the doings of the kings and holy men; but in the Psalter, besides all these things, you learn about yourself. You find depicted in it all the movements of your soul, all its changes, its ups and downs, its failures and recoveries. Moreover, whatever your particular need or trouble, from this same book you can select a form of words to fit it, so that you do not merely hear and then pass on, but learn the way to remedy your ill. Prohibitions of evil-doing are plentiful in Scripture, but only the Psalter tells you how to obey these orders and abstain from sin.

(more…)

Communion with the Triune God by John Owen

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:05:12 GMT

Lauterbach’s Gospel Driven Life blog

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:06:56 GMT

Mark Lauterbach is a pastor and author of Gospel Driven Life, the best Cross centered blog on the Internet. In our search for the very best Cross-centered resources we consider this blog essential reading and proudly stamp it “TSS Certified Cross-Centered.”

Just recently Lauterbach wrote: “I have wondered for a couple of years where the Gospel intersects modern American life — and I think it is here. The Gospel calls us to stop trying to improve ourselves.” Read more.

A full list of “TSS Certified Cross-Centered” blogs, books, music, movies and other resources is in the works. Stay tuned …

Church Planting in Chicago: The Creed or Chaos Interview

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 01:20:48 GMT

Phil Sipe at Creed or Chaos inteviews Westminster Seminary California grad and OPC pastor Chris Sandoval who is busy planting a church in Chicago.

If you know someone in Chicago looking for a Spanish-speaking congregation contact Pastor Sandoval at sandoval.1@opc.org

ps. As you can see, Chris and I share the same excellent barber!

Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry: The Creed or Chaos Interview Pt 3

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 01:20:46 GMT

Here is part 3 of the extended interview with Brannan Ellis at Creed or Chaos.

QA: Family worship and unattentive children

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:19:57 GMT

The TSS mailbag is filled with excellent questions from readers. One such question comes from Phil, a man striving for a consistent family worship schedule despite an unattentive little child. What to do? Dr. J. Ligon Duncan has written about family worship and so I passed the question along to him for his advice. He kindly responded with this excellent perspective:

My own answer is you start family worship as soon as possible, as soon as one is married, and continue it after children come along, no matter how young the children are (and the younger the better). The point is not for the youngest children to be able to comprehend (or even to sit still during it!). The point is impress upon them, by paternal example the priority of God and his word in all of life. They learn this, even if they comprehend nothing in the reading, praying and singing, simply by seeing a father pausing day after day to read the word with his family.

Here is what I said in Give Praise to God (P&R):

“Now there is a whole host of practical questions and problems that come to mind once we determine to begin family worship. How long should it last? It should be regularly brief, as little as 10 minutes when the children are very young. Gradually, it will run a little longer as they grow older and conversations strike up. Don’t kill it by trying to go too long. Pace yourself. Regularity and repetition is the key. When should we do family worship? When it works – morning/breakfast, suppertime or bedtime are the three most common times.

“… There are dozens of potential hindrances: a lack of discipline, a lack of sense of the importance of family worship, a lack of experience of family worship in one’s own upbringing and more.

“But above all, there is the enemy of idealism. You have this picture of a Puritan family sitting around the table attentively and reverently reading the whole book of 1 Chronicles at a sitting, singing half the Psalter from memory, and praying for ninety minutes, and then you look around your table and your wife is rolling her eyes, your two-year old is throwing left-over spaghetti around the kitchen, your eight-year old is making faces at her sister and your teenager would rather do calculus. Don’t let the gap between the ideal and the reality stop you! Those unattentive children will grow up and thank you for persevering, and the memories of a father who loved them enough to make that kind of an effort will etch a permanent affection in their hearts.”

J. Ligon Duncan
First Presbyterian Church

Excellent advice! Thank you Dr. Duncan. For more insight on family worship see Duncan’s chapter in Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship (P&R: 2003). Duncan lays the foundation for family worship – Scripture reading, song and prayer – and then addresses several other common hurdles to success.

————

Have a question to throw in the TSS mailbag? Pass it along via email (tony AT takeupandread DOT com). Thanks for reading! Tony

For Us and for Our Salvation by Stephen Nichols

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:19:54 GMT

Book announcement
For Us and for Our Salvation by Stephen Nichols

Conservative Evangelical publishers are placing a greater emphasis on patristics, the study of the early church fathers. It’s no surprise. Prominent figures have been jumping off the Evangelical bus to walk to Rome and frequently (we are told) because Rome better stresses the church fathers. In particular, the Reformed community is reclaiming its rich patristic heritage. For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church (Crossway: 2007) by Stephen J. Nichols is one great example.

At 37 years old, Nichols has written everything but a cookbook. He is known as a master storyteller and a prolific writer, the author of several biographies and a lively overview of the Reformation – The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World – the most exciting book we’ve seen in 2007! On top of patristic theology and the Reformation history, Nichols recently published an excellent essay on J. Gresham Machen, B.B. Warfield and Fundamentalism and is now working on a book connecting theology and the blues.

Due out on August 13th, Nichols’ latest release is yet another of his excellent historical studies. Now Nichols travels back into the first five centuries to rediscover the debates and characters who fought and defended a true understanding of Christ in His glory.

“Perhaps in no area of theology is this more necessary or beneficial than in the doctrine of Christ in the early church. … The early church fathers wrestled with the same problems presented by The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and its fanciful speculations about Jesus. They wrestled with the same problems presented by Islam and its adamant denial of the deity of Christ. And they wrestled with the same problems presented by the scholars working in the Jesus Seminar or in Gnostic texts like the Gospel of Judas who quickly dismiss the four canonical Gospels as God’s true revelation to humanity. In the days of the early church, the names of the opponents were different from those faced by us today, but the underlying issues bear a striking resemblance. When the church fathers responded with the orthodox view of Christ, they did the church of all ages a great service” (p. 14).

Contents

The book development is split into three historical eras: the first three centuries, the fourth century, and the fifth century. Nichols is a master tour guide through the significant theological works of Church history and a significant place is provided to quote the church fathers in their own words. Nichols provides an concise breakdown of the content:

“This book explores these controversies over Christ faced by the early church. This book also looks to tell the story of the people involved – Arius and Eutyches, Ignatius and Irenaeus, Athanasius and Leo. These may or may not be known to contemporary evangelicals, but they should be. The following chapters unfold this struggle in the early church chronologically. Chapter 1 starts with one foot in the pages of the New Testament and stretches to the first decade of the 300s. Chapter 3 tells the story of Athanasius and his arch-nemesis Arius, the two figures behind the Nicene Council in 325 and the Council of Constantinople in 381. Chapter 5 unfolds the events of the 400s, focusing on Leo I and the Chalcedonian Council in 451. In an unprecedented event, no fewer than 520 bishops met and actually agreed on a very nuanced and sophisticated theological statement that we know as the Chalcedonian Creed. The intervening chapters, 2, 4, and 6, all break from the narrative to provide primary source documents, allowing the major figures in this struggle to tell the story in their own words. A brief epilogue explores the variations on these themes that have occurred in the life of the church since Chalcedon in 451” (pp. 15-16).

TSS Certified Cross-Centered

Nichols’ historical illumination on the church fathers is excellent but more excellent is the Cross-centered focus of its content. Nichols is not content sharpening orthodox Christology until the Cross is brought into focus. At each point Nichols reminds us that the greatest danger in misunderstanding Christ is a misunderstanding of the Cross. It’s because of this repeated emphasis that we stamp this book “TSS Certified Cross-Centered.”

Conclusion

In The Glory of Christ, John Owen said a hearty gaze at the glory of Christ is exactly what we need to cure our spiritual declension and spur us to new levels of Christian maturity. Owen was right (see 2 Cor. 3:18). In For Us and for Our Salvation, Nichols has given us a great view overlooking the valley of patristic Christology, but more importantly he has led us to a place where we can better behold the life-transforming glory of Christ.

———–

Title: For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church
Author: Stephen J. Nichols
Reading level: 2.0/5.0 > very readable
Boards: paperback
Pages: 172
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: no
Binding: ? (reviewed electronically)
Paper: ?
Topical index: ?
Scriptural index: ?
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Crossway
Year: 2007
Price USD: $14.99 (w/free PDF edition)
ISBNs: 9781581348675

Better Things to Do Than Transforming the World? CT Gets it Right

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:30:37 GMT

I've been critical of CT so I try to give credit when the editorial staff gets it right. There's a nice editorial online from Mark Galli today regarding "transforming" the world. There are no references to Darryl Hart, but one wonders if Mark hasn't been reading Darryl?

Giving and receiving correction

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:01:29 GMT

sermon delivered on July 29, 2007
by Pastor Mark Alderton
Sovereign Grace Fellowship
Bloomington, MN

INTRODUCTION

We continue our series on topics that affect our fellowship – our life together – and which are vital to biblical and effective fellowship that builds up the church and the individuals in it. The topic of this message is correction.

Correction is another word for adjustment or changing course. It doesn’t have to be about sin. It can be about improving something like how a team is organized or how a person plays guitar. But the focus of this message is going to be about bringing correction to the sin in our lives, about moving from sin to obedience to God.

There are many, many things that could be said about correction – about methods of correction, about the different levels of correction like counsel, reproof and rebuke, and so forth. Our focus this morning is going to be on one thing: how to give and receive correction for sin in a hopeful and grace-motivated way. We’re going to learn how to speak into one another’s lives about our sin.

Now, most of us are probably not thinking at this point, “How excellent! We’re going to talk about how to confront sin in my life. I’ve been feeling the need to have more correction. Why don’t we have a whole series on this?!”

More likely the idea of correcting one another provokes a feeling somewhere between tolerance and dread, unless you’re hoping that someone else who is hearing this will be more open to your correction after this message.

We generally don’t like correction. We like to get it over with as soon as possible and would be glad to avoid it altogether. It can seem so unfriendly and oftentimes it is brought with sinful attitudes and we respond to it in similar fashion.

Well, by God’s grace we’ll have a more favorable and faith-filled understanding of correction after this morning. Correction does not need to be a bad experience. In fact it should not be. There is a way to give and receive correction in a hopeful and grace motivated way. The Scriptures show us how.

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Derek Thomas on John Owen

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:56:55 GMT

John Owen’s Pastoral Theology
Lectures by Dr. Derek Thomas

Here are the valuable lectures of Dr. Derek Thomas on the Pastoral Theology of John Owen delivered at the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary this past Spring. They are here posted with the kind permission of Dr. Thomas and the President of PRTS, Dr. Joel Beeke. Here you can stream the audio through this page or download the lecture audio files. The course description and objectives are below.

Audio

Lecture 1 (1:39:49, 45.7 MB) download

Lecture 2 (1:21:15, 37.3 MB) download

Lecture 3 (1:33:58, 43.1 MB) download

Lecture 4 (1:27:10, 40.0 MB) download

Lecture 5 (1:20:11, 36.8 MB) download

Lecture 6 (1:28:23, 40.5 MB) download

Lecture 7 (1:23:48, 38.4 MB) download

Lecture 8 (1:31:14, 41.8 MB) download

Course Description

“I owe more, I think, to John Owen than to any other theologian, ancient or modern” (J.I. Packer).

John Owen (1616-1683) was perhaps the weightiest of the Puritan theologians, often mentioned in the same breath as John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards as one of three greatest reformed theologians of all time. Remarkable though it is that he lived through the period of the Westminster Assembly without ever having been asked to take part in it, Owen nevertheless towers over this period, rising to the post of Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.

His thoughts are massive, even intimidating; but a closer reflection reveals a man absorbed by the demands of piety and Christ-likeness, a truly humble man who could say “I hold myself bound in conscience and in honour, not even to imagine that I have attained a proper knowledge of anyone article of truth, much less to publish it, unless through the Holy Spirit I have had such a taste of it, in its spiritual sense, that I may be able, from the heart, to say with the psalmist, ‘I have believed, and therefore have I spoken.’”

The course will focus on those aspects of his theology which relate immediately to concerns of spiritual piety, including Owen’s view of the Christian life and the demands of mortification.

Initially lectures on Owenian theology will be given in order to introduce the student to the finer points of Owenian/Puritan theology and distinctives. At some point (to be determined) the format will assume the form of a seminar where participation (involving some preparation) will be expected.

Course objectives

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Owen on the whole is difficult to read” (Preaching and Preachers, London, 1971, p. 175). Similar sentiments are expressed by J. I Packer when he says, “There is no denying that Owen is heavy and hard to read” (Introductory Essay to The Death of Death, London, 1959, p. 25). But this need not be the case. Recalling that Owen wrote for teenagers at Oxford university, and that, in the main, his concerns were pastoral and eminently practical, Owen can be read, if not with ease, then with profit. A rule of thumb here may be to avoid beginning at the beginning! Several volumes contain some of Owen’s sermons (and it needs to be recalled that much of Owen was at one time sermonic in nature before being committed to writing); these might seem an ideal place to start. Choosing volumes for special study for this course has been difficult since there is a desire perhaps to obtain some knowledge of the whole range of Owen’s corpus. But we shall concentrate on a little with a view to the student gaining sufficient skill and interest to make the rest of Owen a lifetime’s study.

In a nutshell, you are to enjoy this course. Owen is one of those figures that will take a lifetime to master (and then some!). My hope is that I will whet your appetite to make him a companion who will accompany you on the journey of service for our Master.

Christ’s Servant Among Sheep & Wolves

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:05:19 GMT

This Saturday’s Featured Toolbox is a link to an excellent interview conducted over at the “Against Heresies” blog. Joel Beeke, who pastors Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation and is president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, speaks to the vital issue of identifying heresy in the church today. Here are the three segments of the interview.

* Christ’s Servant Among Sheep and Wolves (part one)
* Christ’s Servant Among Sheep and Wolves (part two)
* Christ’s Servant Among Sheep and Wolves (part three)

Personally, I especially appreciated Beeke’s three suggestions for younger ministers in dealing with error:

1. Become and stay well versed in the Scriptures, in confessional Reformed theology, and in the great classics of Reformed, experiential theology.

2. Summarize the errors of various movements succinctly from the pulpit when the scriptural text you are expounding pertains to them. Enlarge upon your exposure of error, perhaps, in catechism classes (because young people are the church’s future) or weekday classes (because those who attend have, in general, greater appreciation for apologetics than does your average Sabbath attendee and because your teaching situation is less formal).

3. Remember that you cannot study every false movement in depth, nor should you. Study in depth for yourself those that directly affect your congregation. Otherwise, read the best book from an evangelical perspective that refutes a particular error. In some cases, reading one good article may suffice.

Younger ministers should beware of being so caught up with the trends, debates, and crises of the present that they neglect to reinforce their knowledge of Christian history and Christian doctrine.

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Other Toolbox This Week
* Lay Level Systematic Theology Class: Bruce Ware
* Video: What is the Gospel - Don Carson
* The Mereness of the Church: Preaching (Thabiti Anyabwile)
* Using Illustrations to Preach With Power
* Ever Wanted to Do This to Your Computer?
* New - Nine Marks Blog
* Differences Between Justification and Sanctification
* 25 Things I’ve Learned About Sin - Team Pyro
* Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible To Be the Word of God: RA Torrey
* Steve Lawson: Five Talks on Augustine of Hippo
* Interesting Site: American Rhetoric
* Don’t Short Change the Conclusion
* Style or Substance: What’s the Biggest Problem With Contemporary Church Music?
* Tips for Preaching Multiple Times a Week
* Sermon Titles: Tricky Little Things
* Mwebe’s Favourite Books for Preachers
* Six Lessons We Learn From Luther: JI Packer

Thousands Attend Funeral of Rev. Jerry Falwell

Wed, 23 May 2007 13:30:10 GMT

One News Now has the story of:

Thousands of mourners [which] arrived Tuesday for the funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the folksy evangelist who built the Moral Majority into a conservative Christian empire that influenced national politics. The funeral returns Falwell to his roots - the Thomas Road Baptist Church, where he started as a young preacher in 1956 with just 35 parishioners in an old abandoned soda bottling plant.

A Farewell to Falwell: by Liberty U. Grad

Tue, 22 May 2007 17:20:10 GMT

A spiritual giant has fallen, and when giants fall, the impact shakes the ground of people near and afar. The news of Dr. Jerry Falwell’s death on May 15, 2007, at age 73, came as a surprise to me, as it did to everyone else. But his homegoing may have shaken my ground a little more than others.

Few people—friend or foe alike—would dispute that he was a controversial figure. In fact, he gravitated toward controversy, which led him to occasionally utter statements that alarmed some in both camps. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has long been intent on recycling his less-than-flattering comments, leaving Americans and others throughout the world with a false impression of his true character.

I came to have the utmost respect for Dr. Falwell as I regularly saw him up close and personal while a student at Liberty University. He was a man of conviction, a man of prayer, a man of vision, a man with a heart for winning souls to faith in Jesus Christ, and a man who recognized the importance of the Christian’s voice in the public square.

As the son of a well-to-do alcoholic, agnostic father, he was an unlikely candidate to become an impassioned preacher and political activist for biblical values. But God never places qualifications on those He can use mightily. Dr. Falwell’s mother, a committed Christian who took him weekly to Sunday School, can be credited greatly in leading him toward his salvation experience on January 20, 1952, and lifelong service to Christ.

Though he never served as a youth pastor, “Uncle Jerry,” as his Liberty students endearingly knew him, described himself as a youth pastor at heart. Perhaps that stems from his first experience in ministry as a student at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., when a Sunday School superintendent reluctantly gave him one 11-year-old as a student. That one multiplied to more than 50 in a single year, with more than 100 showing up for special activities. To shuttle the young boys to church, he squeezed as many as 14 in his 1948 Plymouth coupe and recruited fellow college students to pick up the others. It was during those years that he really learned to pray, routinely locking himself in an empty dorm room for several hours following classes to get in tune with God. He also began a lifelong habit of blocking 30 minutes to an hour each morning solely for Bible study and prayer.

Returning to his quiet hometown of Lynchburg, Va., following graduation in 1956, he soon founded Thomas Road Baptist Church with 35 adults in an old Donald Duck Bottling Company plant. He again labored to build a body of believers. In those initial days, he went door-to-door throughout the surrounding neighborhoods from 9 a.m. until sometimes 10 p.m. to introduce himself and invite those individuals and their families to his new church, if they were not already involved in another church. His goal was to knock on 100 doors daily, Monday through Saturday, and by the church’s one-year anniversary attendance had swelled to 864. He ultimately saw the church grow to 22,000 members.

God soon expanded Dr. Falwell’s vision beyond the church and burdened him to found an unashamedly Christian educational system in Lynchburg, beginning with K-12 grades and later a university, seminary, and law school. And he wanted all those schools, along with his church, to share the same campus. He drew inspiration from the Old Testament’s Caleb and prayer-walked—with deliberate, short steps—the wooded mountain on which he hunted as a boy, asking God to “give me that mountain” (see Joshua 14).

However, God led him from the mountaintop into the valley before eventually giving him all 4,400 acres of Liberty Mountain and adjacent land. Facing financial troubles several years ago, Dr. Falwell embarked on a 40-day fast, asking God to provide the money necessary to keep the university from sinking into bankruptcy and losing its accreditation. After 40 days without food, he had received no additional money. He resumed eating for 25 days before God led him to fast for another 40 days and pray for God’s intervention. As a result, Dr. Falwell dropped 82 pounds, but grew to be more of a spiritual heavyweight, and God gave the university $27 million to prevent bankruptcy and loss of accreditation.

Through the valleys and on the mountaintops, his vision for Liberty always remained the same: to train young champions for Christ to serve in every sphere—from pastors to attorneys to businessmen to physicians to journalists to U.S. Supreme Court justices.

With his booming voice, large stature, and trademark black suit and red tie, Dr. Falwell’s presence on the campus of Liberty was unmistakable. He barreled down campus streets and occasionally tested the roadworthiness of sidewalks in his black Suburban, with tires and fenders often caked in red clay—evidence that he’d been surveying new construction or just out to talk to God. While a visitor might mistake his driving as an attempt to mow down students on foot, we all knew he just wanted to give us a scare and himself a laugh. No casualties or bodily injuries ever resulted, only fond memories.

Some 50 years into his ministry, his presence in the pulpit each Wednesday morning for Liberty’s convocation services drew, almost without exception, extended cheers and applause from the nearly 10,000 students packed into the basketball arena.

Part of the reason he was used so greatly by the Lord was his refusal to allow setbacks to discourage him. He reminded his students and congregation frequently, “You do not determine a man’s greatness by his talent or wealth, as the world does, but rather by what it takes to discourage him.”

He didn’t let age slow him down or dampen his wonderful sense of humor. He often joked, “If you hear I’ve died, don’t believe it. I’m opposed to dying.” Unfortunately, reports of his death this time were true. He was known to have petitioned God for another 15 years, as God granted to Hezekiah. But we are reminded in Psalm 90:10 that “Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.” The Lord saw fit to give Dr. Falwell three extra years; but for a reason we will never know this side of eternity, He gave him an unexpected graduation—just four days before several thousand of his Liberty students would have their own graduation of a different sort.

During the not too distant funeral of Dr. Adrian Rogers, another spiritual giant who greatly impacted my life, his successor, Dr. Steve Gaines said, “You don’t follow Adrian Rogers. You just show up and say, ‘May the grace of God help me.’” Dr. Rogers, at age 74, was called home to be with Jesus 18 months to the day prior to Dr. Falwell’s death. Dr. Falwell, like Dr. Rogers, will not be replaced. His two sons, buttressed by others, will carry on the work he began more than 50 years ago, but the ministry—Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty University, the Elim Home for Alcoholics, the Liberty Godparent Home for Unwed Mothers, and so on—will inevitably take a different shape. He would only hope that the message, summed up in the lapel pin he often wore, remains the same: “Jesus First.”

Fortunately, our faith does not rest in a man, such as Jerry Falwell, but in the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Dr. Falwell’s life serves as a reminder that God calls each of us to stand in the gap for Him. That gap grew much wider, however, with Dr. Falwell’s departure from this temporary home.

I am honored to have known him, to have learned from his teaching and example, and to have graduated from his university built by much prayer, faith, and fasting. It is doubtful I would find myself serving the Lord today with the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Washington, D.C., were it not for his godly example and call for Christians to be salt and light in the culture.

As Dr. Falwell entered the final quarter of his life, his earnest desire was to finish well, having witnessed several godly men before him shipwreck their faith in momentary lapses of judgment.

Dr. Falwell, you did finish the course well. May God give us the grace to do the same.

Post-Falwell Crossroads for Evangelicals?

Tue, 22 May 2007 16:05:10 GMT

The Washington Post sees a crossroads among Evangelical political activism with the passing of Jerry Falwell in THIS ARTICLE.

Rev. Jerry Falwell: A Leader

Tue, 22 May 2007 12:40:07 GMT

Over at Christianity Today’s Live Blog we read:

Today’s memorial service for the Rev. Jerry Falwell brings to a close one of the most interesting chapters of recent American political and religious history. Falwell, a recovering fundamentalist, made evangelical political involvement the norm, no matter how many toes he stepped on both inside and outside the camp.

Jerry Falwell Funeral to be Available Live via Internet Streaming

Tue, 22 May 2007 08:20:06 GMT

Funeral services for Liberty University Chancelor Jerry Falwell will begin at 1:00 EST. Details HERE.

On the Passing of Jerry Falwell

Tue, 22 May 2007 04:05:14 GMT

Reporters are not given to apologizing. They are the sort of people who can stick a microphone in the face of a mother as she is being notified of her child’s death. They like controversy, they delight in conflict, and they love any event that will make a story. For reporters to apologize is the [...]

Falwell’s Family Speaks

Fri, 18 May 2007 13:45:03 GMT

Family members of Dr. Jerry Falwell speak about their father’s influence here.

The Impact of Jerry Falwell

Fri, 18 May 2007 12:35:09 GMT

The Impact of Jerry Falwell by Mike McManus

Falwell and King: Domesticating and Sanitizing, Grace and Truth, with Condolences

Thu, 17 May 2007 12:15:03 GMT

In our natural tendency to look for historical figures we can claim as our own, we face the twin dangers of domestication and sanitization. That is, when the historical figure’s entire belief system, including early views later discarded or recanted, are so radically different from our own philosophy (or theology), we tone down or clean up what was said in order to make our hero look like one of us and share our views. Equally so, when we have angst with one of the heroes of others, we tend to vilify that personality, as in the case of many who vilify Calvin in order to support their rejection of Calvinism.

As I read of the death of Jerry Falwell, I wonder how history will view him. For many evangelicals and social conservatives, Falwell is a hero who held to conservative family values and challenged our country to do the same, for which I am thankful. But as I read commentary and tributes on the life of Falwell, such as the one by Al Mohler (whom I highly respect), I feel almost sickened by the lack of acknowledgment of Falwell’s early racism and racial-separatist views.

As an evangelical Christian, I firmly believe in the grace of God to conform saints to the image of his Son. This is the process of sanctification. So I believe that a Jerry Falwell, though once overtly racially-separatist, could see the error of his thinking by being confronted by the word of God, repent from that sin, and learn to embrace African Americans in love, as I believe he did. However, does the work of grace mean that we who hail heroes tone down, ignore, or attempt to clean up the early picture of Falwell or anyone else?

If so, I believe evangelicals, by and large, will need to change their rhetoric about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yes, King denied the Virgin Birth of Christ (although it would seem that he compartmentalized the Virgin Birth and Christ’s deity, still holding to the latter); King dabbled in communist thought; King was an adulterer; and the list goes on. But does that mean that King should not be thought of as a hero to Americans, to evangelical Americans, and not just to African Americans, especially since King held to a conservative view of justice and challenged our country do the same? Although I enjoy what Dyson has written on King, I would not go as far as to say that it is the flaws of King that make him worth hero or icon status. But as the rhetoric on King tends to be vilification, I think Dyson proposes some things that can help lovers of the Truth make good correctives.

A few years ago, I remember reading Sherard Burns on Jonathan Edwards the slave owner. (It is what it is.) I was struck by these comments toward the end of his paper about the tension of seeking to make sense of our history (particularly as African Americans) in light of the word of God:

“The reality of this tension is captured in a provocative statement by a friend of mine, Ken Jones, pastor of Greater Missionary Union Baptist Church in Compton, California. In a discussion we had regarding this issue some years ago, Pastor Jones commented that ‘the challenge of the African American within the Reformed context is that we are called to embrace the theology of our oppressors and to reject the theology of our liberators.’ This means that the odd and ironic position of the African American who seeks to be shaped by orthodox theology must reject, in many respects, the theology of a Martin Luther King, Jr., and embrace the theology of a Jonathan Edwards or Robert Dabney. While I admire Dr. King for his work and efforts in fighting for the freedom of African Americans in this country (my freedom), I am not hesitant to note that he will not offer much help in theological precision. While, on the other hand, Edwards never held the mantle as a social liberator, his theology will saturate a man in orthodoxy.”

After reading Burns comments, I scribbled these notes in the margin of my book: “Was King’s theology of justice correct? Was Edwards’? We are still exonerating Edwards by selectively emphasizing one aspect of his theology (i.e, theology proper and/or soteriology), over another (ecclesiology (and the ‘diakonology’ of King, cf. James 2, 5)).”

I am grateful for the work of Falwell and the work of King. But I am concerned about sanitizing and domesticating. What do such attempts say about us? Are we domesticating and sanitizing the errors within ourselves as we muzzle and spray-wash our heroes, making ourselves feel good about ourselves and not just our heroes? Are we deceiving ourselves about our own error when push our heroes’ skeletons into the closets of forgetfulness? Are we vilifying those we hate because their opposing views challenge (or allow us to ignore) the criminal-like thoughts in each of us?

I believe we need to be people of grace: The flawed Falwell, King, and Calvin are transformed by the free grace of Christ alone. Yet we also need to be a people of truth: In God’s grace, like all of us, our heroes preached the truth as men with the stains of sin.

Thank you for indulging my musings without feeling the need to sanitize a saint named Burns. For he, like me, is being sanctified by the One who is faithful. That same Faithful One has completely sanctified Falwell, King and Calvin. I can imagine them standing next to one another around the throne of grace shouting “Hallelujah to the Lamb of God, vilified for my sins!” (Ed Gilbreath, Carl Ellis, Anthony Carter, and John Piper have given good props to hold up our fallen hero, King. My condolences to the family of his daughter, Yolanda, about whom I hope to see some good blog comments. My condolences also to the family of Jerry Falwell.)

Jerry Falwell, R.I.P.

Thu, 17 May 2007 01:25:08 GMT

Passionate and Restless
Rabbi Daniel Lapin Mourns the Passing of Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007
Three Reasons to Honor Jerry Falwell
A Holy Warrior, Wholly Committed
Educated, Inspired Conservative Christians
The Moral Majority of the Story
Power to the People

Farewell Falwell

Wed, 16 May 2007 15:15:03 GMT

Ben Cole provides a helpful, balanced reflection on Jerry Falwell and his legacy.

(HT: Sam Storms)

Promoted to His Heavenly Home...Jerry Falwell, a tribute

Wed, 16 May 2007 12:30:16 GMT

"The Bible is the inerrant... Word of the living God. It is absolutely infallible, without error in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as well as in areas such as geography, science, history, etc." -Jerry Falwell

The Mark of a Man of God

"Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ,
and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover,
it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." -1 Cor. 4:1-2-

V1- A godly man is such a rarity today
So many start, strong and true, and quickly fall away
A godly man will take his stand-he can't be bought or sold
Hand to the plow, he won't look back-though other hearts turn cold

He keeps the faith and keeps his conscience clear
He lives this life of grace through all his years

Chorus
THE MARK OF A MAN OF GOD
IS WHAT HE'S FAITHFUL TO
AND WHAT HE'S FLEEING FROM
AND WHAT HE'S FIGHTING FOR

THE HEART OF A MAN OF GOD
IS WHAT HE DAILY PURSUES
HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS, THE WORD, THE CHURCH
AND WORSHIP OF THE LORD

THE GODLY MAN DAILY TAKES UP THE CROSS OF CHRIST
AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOWS HIM AS A LIVING SACRIFICE

V2 - He’s not ashamed of the gospel, his sufficiency's in Christ
The power of integrity is the passion of his life
Instead of reckless faith, he has proven that his faith works
The ultimate priority, the Master's plan for the church

Saved without a doubt because his first love is the Lord
And the gospel according to Jesus is the truth he would die for

(Chorus)

Bridge
He lives his life to teach the Word, in season and in not
For he fears more than any man, the approval of his God
He lovingly, yet firmly leads those placed under his care
The power of his ministry is that he is a man of prayer

(Chorus)

Tag
THE GODLY MAN TAKES A YOUNG TIMOTHY LIKE ME
AND TEACHES ME TO RUN THE RACE
TO CARRY ON THIS LIFE OF GRACE
HE SETS THE MARK AND WE KEEP THE PACE
WITH THIS MAN OF GOD

Falwell’s Impact on Modern American Politics

Wed, 16 May 2007 10:05:06 GMT

Newsweek’s Fineman reflects in this article on how Jerry Falwell changed the face of American politics.

Read Cal Thomas on Jerry Falwell's Legacy

Wed, 16 May 2007 00:15:09 GMT

The rest of this post will make little sense unless you check out Cal Thomas' On Faith post first. It's a worthy read.

When the Moral Majority organized in 1979, I was just old enough to realize that Jimmy Carter was a horrible president—not quite savvy enough to have any awareness of the ramifications of Jerry Falwell's new movement. But from what I can tell from reading various accounts over the years and several today, Falwell's great genius was his ability to convince isolated fundamentalists to engage politically.

For his tactics of cobelligerence with non-separatist evangelicals, Falwell was excoriated by separatist fundamentalists. But Falwell still won. Almost 30 years later, a great irony is the fact that some separatist fundamentalists are politically engaged as well, often as cobelligerents with the heirs of Falwell's coalition of evangelicals and Roman Catholics.

The other irony is that though Falwell recognized the unhealthy disengagement from the world on the part of the separatist fundamentalists, he re-engaged Christians in for what I believe were the wrong objectives. No matter whether evangelicals have found or will at some point find political success (even what has arguably been accomplished is pretty sparse at best for 30 years of work), such success will be minimal and brief apart from a transformation of American culture that results from the work of the gospel.

History will judge, but on this day, as we remember one man's sincere and influential labor and legacy, I think we'd be foolish not to consider what legacy we want to leave for those who come behind us. Cal Thomas instructs us well. Let's labor for the world that employs "tactics and tools that [can] change lives."

P.S. If you want some encouragement, read some of the other On Faith posts and comments that spew venom about Falwell. Why is this encouragement? Well, it seems like these folks who despise all moral absolutes finally found a man they're convinced represented absolute moral evil. I'm not sure whether that's a silver lining, or just more sad irony.

On the Death of Jerry Falwell

Tue, 15 May 2007 21:10:04 GMT

Let me add my words of condolence to those who knew and loved Jerry Falwell in his passing today. Over the years I have run hot and cold on him, at least in regard to his political practices, but today is a day to remember and give thanks for what God did through him.

I came to Christ at a time when he was first becoming known nationally and his influence was being felt. As a college student I became interested in politics for the first time and became a part of the Reagan revolution in 1984. Although I can't remember a speech or anything else from Falwell that directly led to this, there is no doubt that he put politics on the radar of Christians and was instrumental in motivating many of us to engage politically for the first time.

In recent years I have gravitated away from Falwell's style of political engagement, embracing more an approach which is something of a mixture of Abraham Kuyper and Cal Thomas. But even for us who may have moved some in our political views we can largely thank Jerry Falwell for motivating us to even consider the importance of politics.

I do have a couple of remembrances. At some time in the late 80's or early 90's I was in my Baptist phase and attended the famed Pastors Conference at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL.. Falwell was a speaker that year and I remember him walking out of the auditorium through an upstairs hallway and he was surrounded by quite an entourage. I had a fleeting thought of suddenly jumping in with my arm extended and saying "hi Jerr!" - just for fun. But the guys surrounding him looked like secret service agents and I had the distinct impression that if I had made a sudden move like that toward him, they would have mailed my arm back to me. But it made an impression on me of what his life must be like - needing bodyguards like that.

Another thing that has stuck out came at a conference I heard him speak at, and I wouldn't doubt that this had more to do with the success of his ministry than anything else. He was just telling the story of his life and mentioned off-hand that, in the early days of his pastorate he was in the habit of memorizing up to a chapter of Scripture a week. I think that could largely explain his fruitfulness in ministry.

So, on this day of loss, I do again extend condolences to those who know and love Jerry Falwell.

Jerry Falwell Will Be Remembered for Spiritual, Educational and Political Activism

Tue, 15 May 2007 20:40:06 GMT

This story by One New Now also contains a biography of, "Rev. Jerry Falwell, who died Tuesday, [and] is probably best known for his political activism, as founder of the Moral Majority in 1979. But Falwell will be remembered for his spiritual, educational and political activism. Dr. Jerry Laymon Falwell, Sr. was the founding pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the founder and Chancellor of Liberty University, both in Lynchburg, Virginia, along with numerous other ministries and organizations."

The Measure Of The Man: The Legacy Of Dr. Jerry Falwell

Tue, 15 May 2007 19:35:23 GMT

The death of Dr. Jerry Falwell brings an end to one of the most fascinating lives of the 20th century. In so many ways, Jerry Falwell became one of the most recognizable faces for conservative Christianity in America. On today's program Dr. Mohler speaks with a number of guests who knew Dr. Falwell and hears from listeners whose lives were influenced by his leadership.

Falwell: He Lived What He Preached

Tue, 15 May 2007 19:30:06 GMT

I had the privilege of personally knowing Dr. Falwell for several years when I attended Liberty University. I received a work scholarship that required of me, among other things, to call donors and thank them. Through this job, I was able to get a behind the scenes look of a man who was not money-driven but ministry-driven, asking for money only because his vision required great financial expenses. It takes a strong man of moral integrity to handle ministry budgets as large as Dr. Falwell did -- for decades -- and not be corrupted by it. In fact, in the last 73 years we have seen a terrible amount of preachers who have fallen into sin and moral scandals -- but not Dr. Falwell. Though constantly attacked by critics and constantly scrutinized by his own colleagues and students, Dr. Falwell was truly a man who lived what he preached.

There are several occasions where he and I shared some personal experiences. I will always cherish those times -- their impacts on my young life in the ministry were character-forming and wells of wisdom from which I have often drank.

Although for most of the world he will only be known for his political views, I will remember Dr. Falwell for his passionate determination to accomplish that for which God had called him and equipped him to do. I will remember him as an extremely busy minister who found a way to be faithful to his family first, to pastor a church through good times and bad, to be completely devoted to young ministers, and to never waver in his convictions and gospel preaching.

I thank God for gracing His church with Jerry Falwell.

The Legacy of Dr. Jerry Falwell

Tue, 15 May 2007 17:25:13 GMT

The death of Dr. Jerry Falwell today brings an end to one of the largest lives of our times. I have written a commentary on Dr. Falwell for "On Faith" at The Washington Post and Newsweek magazine [read here]. We will discuss Dr. Falwell's legacy on today's edition of The Albert Mohler Program.

Read Full Blog...

Our Condolences to the Liberty Family

Tue, 15 May 2007 16:40:10 GMT

I am on my way to London and am blogging via my BlackBerry at the gate at the airport. We extend our condolences to the family of Jerry Falwell, the members of TRBC, and the Liberty University family upon Dr. Falwell's passing. May we all learn to number our days and redeem the time for indeed our lives are like a vapor. -- James R. White

Jerry Falwell, R.I.P.

Tue, 15 May 2007 16:35:09 GMT

Whatever can be said about how this man represented Christ in the public realm, for good or ill, I think it’s safe to say that an era has passed.

Dr. Falwell Goes to Be with the Lord

Tue, 15 May 2007 16:10:07 GMT

www.foxnews.com

Thanks to Dr. Falwell for his ministry and impact he had on the greater good for the kingdom of God. He will be missed.

Jerry Falwell (1933 - 2007)

Tue, 15 May 2007 15:55:09 GMT

I don't often post small news items except in A La Carte, but this one seems especially significant. Jerry Falwell died today shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73. It would take some time (and greater expertise than I can offer) to analyze Falwell's often troubling legacy, though surely we will hear a lot about it in the coming days. I trust (and hope) others will do this work of analysis and will do it fairly. His bio at Wikipedia provides a long list of his more infamous quotes, many of which I'm sure you will remember.

Falwell was a controversial subject for his theological, political and social beliefs. After the September 11, 2001, attacks Falwell said on the 700 Club, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" After heavy criticism, Falwell apologized. As for homosexuality, Falwell remarked, "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals." Falwell's ghostwriter, Mel White, said Falwell remarked about gay protesters, "Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn't have them, I'd have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need."
During the Civil Rights Movement Falwell was a supporter of racial segregation. He said this about Martin Luther King, "I do question the sincerity of people like the Reverend Martin Luther King..."

Falwell often attributed political affiliation to the divine, claiming that God "is a Republican" and Jesus "was the First American."

Concerning President George Bush's global terror war, Falwell was an enthusiastic supporter: "Blow them all away in the name of the lord."

Falwell was was often the target of the wrath of the media and of those who despise Christianity. Sadly he often did much to provoke these people. He is less well-known for contributions he made such as founding the Elam Home for alcohol and drug dependent men, and the Liberty Godparent Home. You can read a short biography at Wikipedia and can read articles about this death in all the major news outlets.

My sincere condolences go out to Falwell's family and to the Liberty University family which must be reeling from this unexpected news.

Jerry Falwell With The Lord

Tue, 15 May 2007 15:50:04 GMT

Read here.

Jerry Falwell (1933-2007)

Tue, 15 May 2007 15:45:18 GMT

The Associated Press reports: "The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died, a Liberty University executive said Tuesday. He was 73."

Jerry Falwell Dies at Age 73

Tue, 15 May 2007 15:40:05 GMT

CNN News is reporting:

The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died, a Liberty University executive said Tuesday. He was 73.

Earlier, the executive said Falwell was hospitalized in "gravely serious" condition after being found unconscious in his office.

Ron Godwin, the executive vice president of Falwell’s Liberty University, said Falwell was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but "he has a history of heart challenges."