Letter to the Editor: Point by point, I tracked everything you said. From the iconic and divinely orchestrated photo-op to the "different angle" about this kinda sorta being the American ...
July Letters, and Why the Heck Not?
The Lady is a Welterweight
“I do not propose that we do what our opponents did when various pronunciamentos were released by various Reformed denominations, denouncing what they thought were the tenets of what they thought was something called the Federal Vision. What that tactic was consisted of announcing that the whole thing was now settled, that all legit Reformed denominations were taking this stand, united in the true gospel, and that the only thing for us troublemakers to do was to shuffle off, suitably abashed. That wasn’t legitimate for them to do then, and it is not legitimate for us to do now. The only lady who has sung to this point is a welterweight.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 805
That Photo
Introduction: Let’s begin with that iconic photo, shall we? Fist raised to reassure his people, and the same fist raised in defiance of his enemies. Red, white, and blue. Red blood, white cuff, and blue jacket. American flag in the background. Blood on his face. The position of the fist makes it look like he …
Westminsterian Trick Shots
“When something starts to happen, all kinds of people are attracted to it, for various reasons. Not surprisingly, they want to help steer the movement in a direction consistent with why they showed up in the first place. But people are coming from all directions, including from some good directions, and this is why it takes some time for the whole thing to sort out and set up. Complicating the set-up period is the arrival of pistol-fanning heresy hunters, acting like they were Annie Oakley doing trick shots. Unfortunately, buying a gun is not the same thing as learning how to aim it, and waving the Westminster Confession overhead is not the same thing as reading it.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 803
Which Are Positive Traits . . .
Not Yet Clear
“Whenever you are dealing with a new movement, identification of what that movement is all about is a lot trickier than, say, analyzing some fossilized denomination. With the latter, all you have to do is read the little inscription next to the glass case, and you know exactly what they stand for. But when something new is happening, it can take a bit of time for the whole thing to ‘set up.’”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, pp. 802-803
Devil in a Blue Dress
From the Credenda Archives (1995)Volume 7/Number 3 Serious Christians have always had an uneasy relationship with popular entertainment, and the difficulty is certainly understandable. Presented with the problem of recreation and entertainment, we usually find Christians divided into two clusters. Some are entirely too comfortable with whatever the world dishes up in the name of …
Bricks and Capstone
“There is a vast hierarchy of instruments below that—many bricks come below the capstone. But there is only one capstone. But none of those lesser bricks, lesser instruments, result in salvation necessarily. True evangelical faith does.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 800
Letters That Arrived Later Than Previous Ones
Letter to the Editor: In your July 2 letters, you mentioned VidAngel as a possible solution for consuming video content that would otherwise be unwholesome. I've struggled a bit with the ...
Sole Instrument
“Faith is the sole instrument by which a person may receive the blessing of Christ’s righteousness imputed to him. Now when we say ‘sole instrument’ we do not mean that no other instruments are involved, but that no other instruments are involved in the way that faith is . . . the only instrumental cause of justification that leaves no remainder is faith.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, pp. 799-800