This month marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of Alpha and Omega Ministries in October of 1983. We are not planning anything spectacular...just keeping our nose to the grindstone and preparing for London, Duke, and Bart Ehrman---the things we need to be doing. We are not big on blowing our own horn, but that doesn't mean we do not need encouragement and support like anyone else.

So we have set up an e-mail address, testimonies@aomin.org. I would like to invite our supporters to drop us a line about what Alpha and Omega Ministries has meant to you over the years. I'd like to read these notes myself, and then pass some along here on the blog during the course of the month. So if this ministry has been used of the Lord in your life, let us know. Drop us a line at testimonies@aomin.org!

I noticed him sitting off to my left. A photographer with a big camera and a big lens. I really did not give it much thought, though, it was a bit unusual. I was focused on other things, so by the time I got to my hotel that night, I had pretty much forgotten about it. Until he contacted me after I got home and directed me to a web page with his pictures on them. I've done a lot of debates, but I've never had a truly professional photographer there to take pictures. Or, if I did, I've forgotten all about it! In any case, Brandon Adams took some great shots during the debate. He managed to position himself so as to use the background perfectly. These are probably the best debate shots I've ever seen, so, I thought I'd share a few with you. They turned out a whole lot better than the debate itself did! Too bad he couldn't be at the debate the next day with Farhan Qureshi. In any case, here they are....

"Swan's attempts at scholarship may be posted here, but not his misrepresentation and outright falsehoods about the Catholic Church. He lacks any semblance of charity in his treatment of the original Christian faith, and seems intellectually dishonest on top of that. Yours in Christ, Patti"

62.5 The likeness of those who were charged with the Taurat, then they did not observe it, is as the likeness of the ass bearing books, evil is the likeness of the people who reject the communications of Allah; and Allah does not guide the unjust people.

[2.285] The apostle believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His apostles; We make no difference between any of His apostles; and they say: We hear and obey, our Lord! Thy forgiveness (do we crave), and to Thee is the eventual course.

Surah 2:285 The Apostle believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His apostles. "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His apostles." And they say: "We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

[20.133] And they say: Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord? Has not there come to them a clear evidence of what is in the previous books?

Surah 20:133 They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of revelation?

Today I started off with Osama Abdullah's allegation that Jesus "ran" from His own creation when He fled to Egypt. Of course, He was an infant in His mother's arms at the time, but hey, let's not let reality get in the way of a good argument! Then we took a call on the role of presuppositions in the study of Scripture, and then dedicated the last half hour to the 1993 sola scriptura debate with Patrick Madrid. Here's the program (free/high quality).

So this morning I see a shot of Mark Driscoll's sermon notes, found here. And so I thought it might be helpful to some folks if I posted my own. So, here is exactly what I had in the pulpit with me when I preached this sermon on John 3 a few weeks ago. Here's a PDF (ignore the blank second page---I did!). I attempt to preach from the original language text as often as I can, and I use color to indicate areas of focus. Just having the text colored differently is normally sufficient to remind me of a point I wished to make regarding that word, phrase, clause, etc. That is my entire contribution to the current discussion about sermon notes.

Call this fancy, if it is not actually the case that men all over the world have been led, to believe in Christ by reading these books.

Wherefore I exhort you both to obtain Bibles, and to retain together with the Bibles the sentiments they set forth, and to write them in your minds.

Moreover, since what a man procures in this life by reading or good works will be food of his soul forever, let no one try to excuse himself by saying he has not learned letters at all. If those who are illiterate love God in truth, they look for learned people who can read the sacred Scriptures to them.

I intended to get back into the sola scriptura debate but I first wanted to report on the debates this past weekend. That took the first half hour, then we took a call on the Granville Sharp Rule (see the video below), and then I wanted to work through Surah 5 in reference to the "people of the Gospel," and that took the rest of the time. Here's the program (free/high quality).

Starting with this program I am only posting a portion of the program. Nobody needs to watch a talking head for an hour, so I will post just portions that are particularly interesting...if there are any! Below is the call on Titus 2:13.

You know how Amazon has a "wish list"? I wish Solid Ground had a "wish list," because this volume would be right up at the top of mine. With such swill as The Shack being promoted by non-discerning "evangelicals" today, oh how wonderful it would be if Bunyan's work had a re-birth amongst those so desperate for sound reading and instruction! This 920 page behemoth looks like a real coffee-table edition that will beg to be read. So note to Mike at Solid Ground---you need a wish list!

The last debate of the weekend took place outside Escondido, California. I had the privilege of engaging young Farhan Qureshi. I hesitate, honestly, to speak of how much I respect this young man, and pray for this young man, simply because I know he might take heat for my doing so! But I truly did find in him a debater who, like Shabir Ally, actually listens to what I am saying and who seeks, as best he can within the parameters of the epistemology forced upon him by his religious faith, to respond to my position as I enunciate it. This is unusual in Islamic debaters, as my debates with Osama Abdullah showed, for I had to come to the conclusion that once I stood at the podium, Mr. Abdullah turned on his iPod and listened to music or...something, since one thing was obvious, he was not listening to me. Mr. Qureshi sought as best he could to respond to what I was actually saying, and that made this a worthwhile debate.

I only have the video clips from my now famous "audience cam," and those only of the rebuttals, cross-ex, and closing. The professional video will be available...when it is available. The recordings of the Jalal Abualrub debate took about five months to get to me, so, I hope these come more quickly, but I really have no control over that. Despite this, I can guarantee you that I will find in the comments on YouTube, "Why don't you play the Muslim debater's comments? You are deceptive! You are scared! Blah blah blah." Happens every time.

I will address the debates more fully in my comments on The Dividing Line tomorrow. Be listening!

I engaged in two debates today in Bellflower, California. I have never done two debates in one day before, so that was quite the interesting experience. David Wood likewise debated today. Just a quick clip of the second rebuttal I offered in the first debate on the crucifixion against Osama Abdullah.

As most of you know, this coming weekend will be filled with opportunities to proclaim the Gospel of our glorious Jesus Christ. I will be presenting and defending the Christian view of sin and redemption Friday evening, the atoning work of Christ and the accuracy of the New Testament documents on Saturday, and the deity of our Lord Jesus on Sunday. I am working day and night to get my presentations ready (please pray for me!), and I pray that the resultant debates will be useful to the people of God all around the world and in particular the persecuted believers who suffer under Islamic oppression. Pray that the recording of the debates will go well.

Of course, only a few weeks in the future is London, more debates and preaching, and then, just a few weeks after that, Florida and the encounter with Bart Ehrman and my defense of the inspiration of the New Testament.

Truly, the next four months will be a tremendous challenge, and a tremendous blessing. In just a few weeks we will celebrate twenty five years of ministry. Alpha and Omega Ministries started in October, 1983. We have seen many come and go during those years. We have been around a while now, but we are still a small ministry in the eyes of the world. We like to think of ourselves as "lean" rather than small, content with God's provision, not seeking the large facilities and all the attendant distractions. Yet, for such a small ministry, the opportunities before us are amazing. Truly, when two young married couples got together and started this ministry twenty five years ago we never could have dreamed of the outreach that would be accomplished. At the time, we just wanted to witness to Mormons. But the Lord had larger plans.

The irony of challenges is that in my experience, right as the pressure reaches maximum is when something else will come along that makes you realize your utter dependence upon God and your own self-limitations and incapacities. I would imagine we have been less impacted by the economic down-turn than most, simply because we do not have almost any "major" donors. Our support comes from people just like us who see the unique nature of this ministry and, after taking care of their duties to their local church, seek to help us as well. We don't have any high-flying Wall Street folks pouring money through our mailbox. So, when those high-fliers are getting shot down, that's not a major issue for us.

But $4 gas and $4 milk gets to everyone eventually, and so yes, we've felt it as well. Now unlike some, you won't be getting six copies of the same e-mail from me seeking to scare you into giving or all your children will end up in some kind of cult group. But we have new folks coming to our website and listening to The Dividing Line all the time, and since we almost never mention support and donations, sometimes they figure we are already "set." So let me explain that like most everyone else, we do what we do through the generosity of God's people. I take many very unpopular stands on tough topics, so it is hard to "market" a ministry like this in a compromising, frightened evangelical context. So we stay small so we can stay truthful. But even the smallest ministry needs support. So please remember us when you are considering your role in the support of Christ's kingdom. We are not a church, and we strongly believe that believers should support their local fellowship first before looking anywhere else. If that is all the Lord enables you to do financially, then would you please pray for us? And if, after doing what is right regarding the church, you choose to assist us in continuing our work in proclaiming and defending the Gospel, we would be deeply appreciative. We promise to use those funds to the glory of God and the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ. You can go here to help us as we move into this very challenging and exciting period of ministry and proclamation.

Sometimes I wonder at the level of theological dialogue and discourse today, especially when I have those precious few moments to rummage through the words of the giants of the past. One of those men was John Owen. I have been greatly blessed by his writings, and greatly challenged as well. He calls us to think far beyond the level that passes for "normal" in our day.

Logos is close to closing its pre-publication sale on the entire set of Owen's works. You can get the details here. If you have the Libronix library system, this is one set that is worth three modern sets of theological writings in worth, simply because Owen does not struggle with the mind-numbing, heaven-minimizing, earth-chaining burden of humanism that has so infected us today. He can speak of God's truth as a whole, God's purposes as true, and hence, he speaks with power and authority. I highly recommend his works, and as many of you are indeed building a library in Libronix format, this is a set to consider getting while it is still on sale.

I was noticing news reports concerning the rise in violence against Ahmadi Muslims in the news this morning. Evidently, an Islamic scholar, Dr. Aamer Liaqat Hussain, during a television program commemorating the 1974 act by Pakistan's parliament that declared Ahmadis "non-Muslims," argued that the murder of Ahmadis is a "religious duty." This sparked violence and murder, including the shooting of Abdul Manan Siddiqui, an American medical doctor, while he was seeing patients.

The violence spawned by "heresy" on the part of orthodox Muslims stands in stark contrast to how believing, Biblical Christians respond to heresy. Compare and contrast the Ahmadis with, say, Jehovah's Witnesses. How do we respond to those who deny central aspects of our faith? We surely identify their error. We refuse fellowship with them as well. And we train our people to proclaim the truth to them. We write books, produce pamphlets and tracts, even post YouTube videos refuting their claims. But we do not walk into their homes or offices and shoot them dead on the spot. We do not burn down Kingdom Halls and destroy the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses. But this is exactly what orthodox Islam does when its adherents are excited by the religious rhetoric of their leaders.

It is important to note that as soon as this observation is made, Islamic apologists---rather than condemning the violence against Ahmadis---will instead point to historical events like the Spanish Inquisition. Of course, some of you noted that I specified "Biblical Christians" above, and of course, I reject the Roman system as a Christian system in the first place. But even here the Inquisition did not work like the rampaging fanatics in Pakistan. As wrong and heretical as the inquisitors themselves were, they had rules and guidelines, and what is more (and frankly, what is scary), many of those inquisitor believed they were doing God's will by "aiding" in the repentance of their victims! All of this goes to show the importance of recognizing that God did not give to the Church the sword, but gave to the Church the Gospel, by which men's hearts are changed.

So as you see the violence raging yet again in Islamic countries, reflect on how this arises from the religion itself, and how we must be thankful that God has changed our hearts by grace, not because we are better than those rampaging through the streets in Pakistan, screaming out their religious hatred. We are not better than they. They follow a man of war, we follow the Prince of Peace.

I am speaking at the Discern 08 Conference in Santa Fe, and we just had a Q&A section. Some of the panel included Rob Bowman, Bill McKeever, Ron Rhodes, and myself. At one point Ron Rhodes was asked about Calvinism and Arminianism. Since the question was not addressed to me, I did not intrude upon the response. But toward the end of our time Ron Rhodes had to leave to catch his flight. So, after he said his goodbyes but was still walking down the aisle toward the back of the sanctuary, I quipped on the microphone, "Now that Ron is gone...can I talk about Calvinism?" Thankfully, everyone laughed, nothing was thrown toward the stage, and Ron seemed to appreciate the humor as well.

One of Bob Ross' devotees, a fellow named Stephen Garrett, posted this on his blog today:

How many know of the famous debate that James White had with Bob Wilkins in Oklahoma City on April 22, 2005? How many know that James White tried to defend his "born again before faith" heresy in this debate? Does James sell the video of this debate on his web site? Does he promote this debate like he does the others?

I had to chuckle when I read this. I would very much like to have the video available, just like I'd like to have the video of the debate with Crossan and Borg available, but when there are production and editing issues with the video, that puts it at the end of the line, at least until the others, that have no such problems, are finished. We don't have big donors to pour money through our doors so that we can hire folks to do these things. It is especially time consuming to attempt to drop powerpoints into the videos, which will be needed for this one. But since Mr. Garrett doesn't think we've been pushing the debate hard enough (exactly how that is to be measured, we are not told), maybe I will have to cover it after the Madrid debate? I have, in fact, commented on it a number of times, but Garrett conveniently forgets to mention that. He does, however, demonstrate that he is a bit challenged in the use of a search engine:

From the comments by Bob Wilkins, it seems the debate was supposed to be made available to the public through Alpha and Omega, but if it is available, I have not seen it.

If Mr. Garrett would open the "store" link at aomin.org, go to the search section, click on "advanced," enter "Wilkin" and check the "search descriptions" box, he would find this. That will display for him 444MP3, which, as you can see here, contains a rather extensive description of the debate. One will note that this was not just inserted or something, it has been available since shortly after the debate itself.

Later Garrett reproduces a quote from a "disappointed James White supporter." Oh my! Anonymous "supporters"! Goodness. Pick up the mp3. Listen and be amazed. And wonder at someone like Garrett who claims to be a "Calvinist" and yet would support the Hodges/Wilkins position, as he does in this entry.