Theology Matters: Again

03/22/2010 - James White

What happens when a monotheistic religion that rejects 1) the revelation of God in Christ and 2) lacks the heart-changing power of the gospel gains power over a culture? History gives us many examples. Today you can read about the atrocities of such combinations of false religion and political power on a daily basis, especially coming from the Islamic world. Here are two recent ones that illustrate the point:

A student has died after being beaten to death by pro-Taliban radicals at a Pakistani university.
The beating, which occurred earlier in the week, culminated in the death of Anan Khan, who attended the University of Engineering & Technology in Peshawar.
He was severely beaten with several other students at the university by members of a student wing of the hard-line Jamiat-e Islami party.
Witnesses have said the IJT attacked Adnan for playing music.
Members of the IJT have a record of breaking up music appreciation functions and dance parties on the campus.

And much worse:

Arshed Masih is fighting for his life after he was nearly burned to death by Muslim militant leaders backed by police, sources tell BosNewsLife.

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN - A Christian man was fighting for his life in Pakistan's Punjab province Saturday, March 20, after Muslim leaders backed by police burned him alive for refusing to convert to Islam, while his wife was raped by police officers, Christian and hospital sources familiar with the case told BosNewsLife.

My Muslim friends should consider well why it is that Islam produces this kind of behavior on the part of its most devoted followers prior to engaging in the knee-jerk reaction so often heard, "Yeah, well, look at the Inquisition!" The fact is that the more closely one follows the teachings of Jesus the farther away from this kind of behavior you will be; but such is not the case for the Muslim, who finds all sorts of basis in Muhammad's actions and teachings for this kind of hatred of the "kafir." Theology matters.

00:01:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -

What Really Matters

03/21/2010 - James White

Lo! th'incarnate God, ascended,
Pleads the merit of his blood;
Venture on him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude:
None but Jesus,
None but Jesus,
None but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good.

We sang this hymn this morning right before I led in the pastoral prayer (hymn #393 in the Baptist Edition of the Trinity Hymnal). I re-read it before praying. There is more theology in that single stanza than in many books lining the shelves of Christian bookstores today, to be certain.

21:57:44 - Category: Godly Disciplines - Link to this article -

Review of Geisler's "Is Rome the True Church?"

03/21/2010 - Tur8infan

Is Rome the True Church? - a consideration of the Roman Catholic claim, by Norman Geisler and Joshua Bettancourt, explores a series of questions related to Rome's exclusive claim to be the true church. The book explores this topic by taking out several links in the chain of alleged authority. First, the book addresses the alleged primacy of the Apostle Peter. Next, the book addresses the alleged infallibility of Peter. Finally, the book examines the idea of Apostolic Succession or inheritance of the supposed primacy and infallibility of Peter. In the following review I've attempted to identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of the work, as well as to supply some errata, in case a second edition of the book is printed. ...
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14:51:33 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Live at Nine Television Program from London

03/20/2010 - James White

For those who did not get to watch live, here is the program we did in London on the reliability of Scripture on Genesis-Revelation TV.

08:26:36 - Category: General Apologetics - Link to this article -

The Canon as Infallible Sacred Tradition

03/20/2010 - James Swan

"How do you know that the Holy Scripture is all you need? What tells you that? Might you need a God-led authority (like the Roman Catholic Church) to tell you that?" This was a question I recently came across from the depths of cyberspace. It's a question sharply aimed against sola scriptura, but it's a false question attacking an incorrect understanding of sola scriptura. Underlying this question is the assumption that the Sacred Scriptures are not enough to function as the sole rule of faith for the church. There must be something else a believer needs, like an infallible magisterium.

One part of this question is indeed true: if God's voice of special revelation is found somewhere else besides the Bible, Christians are obligated to seek out that voice, and follow it with their entire heart, soul, mind, and strength. Protestants though argue the only extant record of God's infallible voice of special revelation is found in Sacred Scripture. The burden of proof then lies on those who claim God's infallible voice is somewhere else besides the Scriptures. If God's infallible voice is extant today somewhere else, sola scriptura is refuted. If God's voice is found in an infallible magisterium or unwritten traditions, sola scriptura is refuted.

This is why those of us defending sola scriptura constantly ask those attacking it to produce what they claim to have. If they have God's special revelation elsewhere, throw it on the table and let's get a good look at it. For those of you who've listened to Dr. White's debates on sola scriptura, this is his pen example. In his old debate with Patrick Madrid on sola scriptura, Dr. White held up his pen and said:

If our debate this evening was that I was going to stand here and say that this is the only pen of its kind in all the universe, how would I go about proving it? Well, the only way I could prove the statement "there is no other pen like this in all the universe," is if I looked in all of your purses, and all of your shirt pockets, and in all the stores in the world that carry pens, and look through all the houses, and all over the planet Earth, and the Moon, and the planets in the Solar System, and in the entire universe, looking for another pen like this. And, of course, I could not do that. But it would be very easy for Mr. Madrid to win that debate. All he needs to do is go out, get a Cross Medallist pen, walk up here, hold it right next to mine, and say, "See! Another pen, just like yours!" and he's won the debate.

In light of this, I would assert that Mr. Madrid must either recognize this reality, and not attempt to win this debate by doing nothing more than depending upon an illogical demand; or, he must demonstrate the existence of "the other pen." That is, he must prove to us what the Council of Trent said was true. I quote, "It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were, from hand to hand."

An argument like this is pointed directly at what Romanism claims to have: God's voice elsewhere besides the Sacred Scriptures. Most often those defending Romanism claim to have God's voice in Sacred Tradition. Getting them to throw this Tradition up on the table to take a look at is the problem. Typically only one thing is thrown up on the table as Sacred Tradition, the canon of Sacred Scripture. The canon is said to be an example of God's voice of special revelation outside the Bible.

The first problem with this argument is that it goes to battle alone. If I quote a verse from the Bible, I can also have that verse joined by the entire text from which the verse is found. When someone uses the canon as an example of God's voice in Sacred Tradition, the entire contents of Sacred Tradition still hides back up in the hills. Roman Catholics can't produce what they claim to have. They aren't even unified as to whether Sacred Tradition is simply the same material as found in the Bible, or if it's information of another kind. One bucket of water in a desert is not proof that a large lake is just over the mountain. ...
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08:23:11 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Yesterday on the Dividing Line

03/19/2010 - James White

A two-part program with no phone calls---not because no one called (two folks did), but because I opened a second tab in Safari and forgot to switch back to the phone control tab, so I did not even see that there were callers! So much for my vaunted infallibility (as if I had ever claimed it!). Anyway, two portions to the program: first half a review of William Lane Craig and Kevin Harris talking about developments in Mormonism, and their view that you don't call Mormons to repent of following a false prophet and come to the true and living God. No, the approach you should use is to encourage them to be...a little less heretical. In fact, we were told that we should help them to find ways to "finesse" the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young so that, well, they can still be "Mormon" but be more "orthodox" in the process! An incredible discussion.
Then I played the comments of Joseph M. Holden and Brian Brodersen regarding 1 John 5:1, 2:29, and 4:7, in their most concerted effort offered so far to defend their man-centered synergism. Here's the program.

13:51:49 - Category: The Dividing Line - Link to this article -

Today on the DL: William Lane Craig, Kevin Harris, Joseph M. Holden

03/18/2010 - James White

I have an ambitious schedule today as I want to play comments by William Lane Craig and Kevin Harris on the subject of Mormonism and the effort to help them become, well, "more orthodox." These comments came from the Reasonable Faith podcast of 2/16/2010. This is a classic example of abandoning a biblical paradigm, the apostolic example, and the use of a philosophically-oriented replacement, all the while painting those who would follow the biblical mandate as "anti-Mormons." Given that Alpha and Omega Ministries has been involved in this field of ministry years before these men, this is a must-do response. All those who work in evangelizing Mormons know how central these topics really are.

Hopefully that will not take more than twenty-five minutes or so, so that I will have time to address the comments of Joseph M. Holden, M.Div., president of Veritas Seminary, as he attempted to respond to the 1 John 5:1/ordo salutis discussion that has come up on the Pastor's Perspective program a few times over the past month. These comments were offered on a program with Brian Brodersen just a few weeks ago. This is the most serious attempt they have made to actually respond to my argumentation, and as such, provide an important opportunity for serious thinkers to examine the claims of both sides. Should be a helpful program, Lord willing! So listen in live!

Also, a quick word of correction (before we get the graphic fixed) about the upcoming Dividing Line episodes with Michael Brown. The dates are 3/25 and 4/1, as noted. However, 4/1 is a Thursday. Both will be an hour earlier than the normal Tuesday time so that Dr. Brown can do his own program at his regular time (we are much more flexible with webcasting than he can be with his network commitments), hence 10am PDT/1pm EDT. The program will run 90 minutes, no breaks, to get maximum presentation, discussion, and interaction. I have chosen three texts for us to discuss on one program (John 6:35-45, Romans 8:28-9:24, Eph. 1:1-14) and he gets to choose the texts for the other program (at the moment I only know the "all" passages will be included as a group). Our goal is to have a more textually oriented exchange, more focused than the programs we did before. I'm looking forward to them!

09:33:47 - Category: The Dividing Line - Link to this article -

The Way Back Machine is Running

03/17/2010 - James White

For those interested, we are digitizing old Dividing Line programs from around 2000 and live-streaming them at the regular DL link. Some folks are really enjoying the look back, so feel free to join in! Here's the link.

10:36:48 - Category: The Dividing Line - Link to this article -

Today on the Dividing Line: Ergun Caner Update, Robert Sungenis on Predestination, Calvary Chapel

03/16/2010 - James White

Did the DL live from Kansas today, covering a brief update on the Ergun Caner front, reading an e-mail sent to Robert Sungenis and his answer for most of the hour, and the closing with the caller who had called the Pastor's Perspective show and asked about Ezekiel 36 and the heart of stone and the heart of flesh (if you recall, he did not get even a pretended answer to his specific question). Here's the program.

13:43:27 - Category: The Dividing Line - Link to this article -

Unbelievable Programs Posted/Sungenis Comments on DL Today

03/16/2010 - James White

First, both programs I did with Justin Brierley on the Unbelievable Radio Program in London have now aired and are available for download. The first program was with Adnan Rashid, the second with Sir Anthony Buzzard. I think most of our readers will find both to be quite interesting. I really wish to pursue a full public debate with Anthony Buzzard in the future. Justin's programs can be found here. If you wish to subscribe to the podcast (as I do!), you can do so here. The specific programs are found here: Adnan Rashid and Sir Anthony Buzzard.

Next, on a live Dividing Line today (via Skype from my current location in sunless, grey Leavenworth Kansas) I will be reading and responding to this fascinating example of straw-man argumentation provided by Robert Sungenis et al, then taking your calls. The DL will air today at its normal time, 11am MST (11am PDT, 2pm EDT).

To all concerned about sola scriptura, patristics, Roman Catholicism, and related subjects. TurretinFan has posted a must-read article here.

Please remember to pray for this ministry and our upcoming opportunities of ministry, especially the May debate with Robert Price. Your support is vital.

07:34:55 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

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