James White on Church History

Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church has converted Dr. James White’s lectures on Church History from Real Audio to mp3.

RealPlayer sermons and Sunday school sessions by Don Fry and James White at Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church

HT: Reformata

Now if only Holy Trinity OPC would do the same…

Flew Critiques Dawkins

Professor Flew has recently written his forthright views on Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion. His article, reproduced below, shows Professor Flew’s key reasons for his belief in a Divine Intelligence. He also makes it clear in There is a God (page 213) that it is possible for an omnipotent being to choose to reveal himself to human beings, or to act in the world in other ways. Professor Flew’s article is offered here as testimony to the developing thinking of someone who is prepared to consider the evidence and follow its implications wherever it leads.

bethinking.org - Science + Christianity - Flew Speaks Out: Professor Antony Flew reviews The God Delusion

HT: William Dembski

Wicket Gate Magazine

The New Issue of  Wicket Gate Magazine is out. the Published by Reformed Baptist Church, Inverness, Scotland.

In this issue:

• William Cowper and Romanism
  

  William Cowper, like all the leaders of the great Evangelical awakening, believed that this “lie” was the Roman gospel.

• Augustus Toplady, “From Whence This Fear and Unbelief”
  

  The hymn appears to have been written following a time of trial in Augustus Toplady’s life. Strong Calvinist and all as our author was he, nevertheless, like every true saint of God, experienced those times in his life when his knees grew feeble and his arms weak.

God Is Not Dead Yet

You might think from the recent spate of atheist best-sellers that belief in God has become intellectually indefensible for thinking people today. But a look at these books by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, among others, quickly reveals that the so-called New Atheism lacks intellectual muscle. It is blissfully ignorant of the revolution that has taken place in Anglo-American philosophy. It reflects the scientism of a bygone generation rather than the contemporary intellectual scene.

Actually, some of us had sort of noticed that. Of particular interest … would be the “moral argument” for God’s existence,

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist.

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist.

3. Therefore, God exists.

By objective values and duties, one means values and duties that are valid and binding independent of human opinion. A good many atheists and theists alike concur with premise (1). For given a naturalistic worldview, human beings are just animals, and activity that we count as murder, torture, and rape is natural and morally neutral in the animal kingdom. Moreover, if there is no one to command or prohibit certain actions, how can we have moral obligations or prohibitions?

Premise (2) might seem more disputable, but it will probably come as a surprise to most laypeople to learn that (2) is widely accepted among philosophers. For any argument against objective morals will tend to be based on premises that are less evident than the reality of moral values themselves, as apprehended in our moral experience. Most philosophers therefore do recognize objective moral distinctions.

Mindful Hack: Philosophy: God is not dead yet - but some haven’t gotten the memo

For Josh Whedon Fans

Josh Whedon, creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly” starts internet-only musical-comiedy “Dr. Horrible” with Neil Patrich Harris, Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and Felicia Day (Buffy)

‘Buffy’ Creator Proves Doogie Howser Can Sing : NPR

Teaching the Bible vs. Preaching Christ?

A church is great, we will say, because ‘the bible teaching is excellent’. But, he said, the vocab change is significant: it represents a shift to a more cognitive, flat and explanatory style of discourse. The hearers will not be exhorted or edified so much as ‘taught’. What’s more, and perhaps more seriously, we talk less of preaching Christ, but of teaching the Bible.

the blue fish project: Teach The Bible, or Preach The Christ?

Double Dipping

Timmy: You were baptized a few years ago, weren’t you?

George: Yeah

Timmy: And you were just baptized again today?

George: Yeah

Timmy: Then you double dipped! You dipped in the baptismal. You back-slid… and you dipped again. Don’t you know you’re supposed to take one dip, and end it?

Tominthebox News Network - Religious Humor/Satire: Double Dipping

THE GREAT COMMISSION AS A MANIFESTO OF REFORMED BAPTIST FAITH AND PRACTICE

It is opposed to Arminianism: “All authority …”

It is opposed to hyper-Calvinism: “go … make disciples”

It is opposed to dispensationalism and antinomianism: “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”

It is opposed to paedobaptism: “baptizing them [those made disciples]“

I will build my church … in Ireland: THE GREAT COMMISSION AS A MANIFESTO OF REFORMED BAPTIST FAITH AND PRACTICE

Billy Graham on Technology, Faith and Human Shortcomings

Billy Graham says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Jesus. Recorded February 1998 in Monterey, California at the TED Conference.

Dr. Alan Cairns

Why aren’t you listening to Dr. Alan Cairns?

Dr. Cairns pastored Free Presbyterian churches in Dunmurry and Ballymoney, in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland where he also held the position Professor of Theology in the Whitefield College of the Bible.

Dr. Alan Cairns then served for 25 years as pastor of Faith Free Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC and lectured in what is now Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville.

Do you like Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones? Dr. Hywel Jones? Then subscribe to Dr. Cairns’ podcasts. You won’t be dissappointed.