Timmy Brister over at P&P proposed a Puritan challenge this year to read 12 Puritan Paperbacks in 2008. I’ve already read a few of these but hope to finish the challenge by reading the rest. Though this year will be busy I hope to post my favorite quotes from each book during the month they being read.
Here’s the schedule:
January: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (128 pp)
February: The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel (221 pp)
March: The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson (252 pp)
April: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks (253 pp)
May: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (225 pp)
June: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (130 pp)
July: A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (287 pp)
August: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (228 pp)
September: The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton (224 pp)
October: The Christian’s Great Interest by William Guthrie (207 pp)
November: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (256 pp)
December: A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph Alleine (148 pp)
For more visit Timmy Brister at P&P.
There once was a time in my naive mind when a Christian bookstore was a sanctuary, a bastion of truth. But then I started to realize that if one reads carefully some of the many books peddled at these stores their thought and ideas of God are not the same. I’m not talking about less essential issues such as baptism, church government, and gifts of the spirit. This stuff is about God himself.
This interests me a lot for I keep wondering what exactly unifies Christians under the phrase ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:5,6) For especially here I wonder what are the qualifications under ‘one God’ for I do not think it is a empty statement. It needs to be qualified. I have not made a decision whether this should be a bar to accepting one as a brother in Christ but by the fact that it raises some serious questions I think it needs to be discussed and thought over.
I am speaking of the Open Theism. Basically Open Theism says that God does not know the future.
There aren’t a lot of books out there that talk directly about open theism, it’s not a real hot topic unless you’re in seminary. But the problem comes when new Christians read ‘Christian’ books by authors that hold to Open Theism because they don’t know what to look for in their books that might not square with the Bible (or some might say my interpretation of it). These books may have great qualities about them but the theology of the person behind the book is nearly as important as the book itself for it often if framed from his perspective of truth. But truth isn’t a perspective, truth is what it is no matter whether I or anyone else recognizes it or not. And these persons are so smart and articulate that it is often difficult to see what might be questionable, they sincerely think they are right and they are not to be faulted for that but nevertheless all Christian readers must be aware that one is likely to find questionable ideas in a bookstore or even something that is completely wrong. This is what I ran into when I read from Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy,
“Indeed, the social and political realm, along with the individual heart, is the only place in all of creation where the kingdom of God, or his effective will, is currently permitted to be absent.” p.25
This quote jumped out at me for at this time I was reading stuff by John Piper, Martin Luther, and about Edwards beliefs and it does not match up with any of their beliefs, which were becoming my own for I was agreeing with them that scripture indicated that God not only knows the future but sovereignly controls it also. But this quote did not fit in my mind with Daniel 5:21, II Peter 2:13-14, and Romans 13:1-2 (God rules over the politics of the world), and Exodus 4:21, Ephesians 2:1-8, Proverbs 19:21, and 21:1 (God rules over the hearts of men to harden them or pour out his saving grace on them).
According to the Open Theism site mentioned below Richard Foster and Dallas Willard are Open Theists, but Greg Boyd might possibly be the most well known and vocal about it. I can’t say this definitively but I do not see why the link above would be wrong, also one of my professors here at seminary mentioned that they were Open Theists so the weight does lean in that direction. But I don’t think this would be something they are ashamed about for they think they are rescuing God and Christianity from certain problems such as evil and prayer.
I am not saying that these guys have nothing good to say but I will say that if you don’t want to have to take the time to look for and move the flies in the punch bowl around to get a clean drink tpo often then I say get another book that has a more true, glorifying view of God. I guess Open Theists could say that about the books I read from the Puritans, Edwards, Piper, Luther, and Calvin but I doubt that will happen.
Soli Deo Gloria
Site advocating Open Theism: http://www.opentheism.info/
Site that has articles that refute and poses problems to Open Theism: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/foreknowledge.html
I am taking a Spiritual Discipline class here at seminary and a few days ago Dr. Whitney talked about Journaling and the pro’s to it. But also before the semester started I read an article about William Kiffin (a baptist in the 17th century) and a part of it mentioned how virtually all we know about him is through a short autobiography that he left for his family.
There are many reasons to keep a journal but I think one of the heaviest would be to preserve your faith for your family in the future. After reading about William Kiffin I thought about how incredible it would be to be able to have a small library of the graces that God has given your family from the previous generations. Even while you are alive your own journal from past events may remind you of God’s faithfulness during times of darkness.
There is nothing spiritual about a journal, nor is there anything specific that must go in it. It is what you make it. But a journal is probably the only way to preserve your testimony to for your family whenever you are gone. So I encourage everyone to start a journal and write in it once at least every two weeks about whatever you want that is going on in your life. Who knows what greatgrandchild of yours might be reading of your faith a hundred years from now and be encouraged or come to faith because of it.
How is your posterity supposed to know how the Lord ‘delighted’ in you in times past if you do not write it down and leave it for them, or at the least tell it to them verbally? (Psalm 44:1-3)
Here is the book of my teacher’s that I have to read that has a chapter about Journaling: Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life
by Donald Whitney
