At St. Anne’s Public House that is. Psychiatric Drugs is the topic of their Spring discussion. In just listening to the beginning of the talk it seems that they agree with the Biblical/Nouthetic Counseling stance that drugs should not be a crutch and should not be a first resort for those with certain ‘mental disorders’ if they are used at all, especially for those in the church. Hopefully, I’ll have time to listen to the whole thing later and talk about it more here.
Should Christians only obey the red letter in the Bible? Only the words spoken by Christ himself?
That is what seems to be the case in an article at Sojourners.com. (Here is another article by Jim Wallis on it) Here is their goal…
“The goal of the group is to advance the message that our faith cannot be reduced to only two hot button social issues - abortion and homosexuality. Fighting poverty, caring for the environment, advancing peace, promoting strong families, and supporting a consistent ethic of life are all critical moral and biblical values.”
It is great that they are concerned about more than abortion and homosexuality but the concept of being ‘red letter only’ Christians leaves much to be desired and if truly followed can be dangerous. Are they embarrassed of the Old Testament where the Lord destroyed those who opposed him and his people? What about the rest of Scripture which is declared to be ‘profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness’ (II Tim 3:16)?
They are right in that there needs to be a voice for the other issues that the average evangelicals do not see or tend to care about. Hopefully in their quest they will not stop at social issues that are ignored but will realize that Jesus came to inaugurate the breaking in of the Kingdom of God on this earth and that the central goal of Christ is that all people repent of their sins and believe in him so that they may have life (John 20:31). When that happens social justice will naturally happen.
Those of you who are fans of Richard Sibbes (or the Puritans in general) here are a few resources I found on that are available on full view and PDF download at Google Books. If you haven’t read his The Bruised Reed I highly recommend it.
Richard Sibbes - The Complete Works, Vol. IV
It includes:
-A Christian’s Portion (a.k.a. The Christian’s Charter)
-The Spiritual Man’s Aim
-The Right Receiving
-Judgment’s Reason
-Yea and Amen (a.k.a. Precious Promises)
-A Glance of Heaven (a.k.a. A Precious Taste of a Glorious Feast)
-The Excellency of the Gospel Above the Law
-Exposition of II Corinthians chapter 4
-The Church’s Riches
Richard Sibbes - The Complete Works, Vol. V
It includes:
-The Christian Work
-Of The Providence of God
-Exposition Of Philippians 3
-The Redemption Of Bodies
-The Art of Contentment
-The Power of Christ’s Resurrection
-The Hidden Life
-The Spiritual Jubilee
-The Privileges of the Faithful
-The Christian’s End
-Christ’s Exaltation Purchased by Humiliation
-The Life of Faith
-Salvation Applied
-A Fountain Sealed
-The Fountain Opened
