Liberals are fond of calling the president a liar, which is just one of the things that makes our vibrant democracy such a monkey house. The only standard they have for measuring the truth is (apparently) the level of decibels. Lying at the top of one’s lungs is their idea of speaking the truth to …
Advice to God
A few entries ago, I posted an exhortation that noted that believers are friends of God, and that part of our duty in worship is to give Him counsel. I gather that this has excited comment in some quarters, and so perhaps I should develop a bit further what I mean. First, what I do …
N. T. Wright at Auburn 2005
The bulk of my review of N.T. Wright’s presentations at Auburn 2005 will be occupied with concerned observations and/or criticisms, so I need to establish the context of all this in the first couple of paragraphs. In all my years of listening to Christian speakers, I have to say that I have never heard anyone …
Richard Gaffin at Auburn 2005
Richard Gaffin is a gracious Christian gentleman, who really knows his subject. I learned a great deal from his talks, and appreciated how careful he was being. Some of this was no doubt because of the setting, for, after all, he was speaking at the Auburn Avenue Pastors’ Conference. This means that his words are …
Auburn 2005
The Auburn Avenue Pastors’ Conference 2005 just concluded this last Wednesday, and I just got back from Louisiana last night. I’d like to briefly review the conference in three posts. Here in the first one I would like to thank the conference organizers and the participants for a very helpful conference, both in terms of …
Creedal Language
We are not engaged in a fight to recover biblical language simpliciter, but rather in a fight to recover the right to use biblical language when necessary. The vocabulary of historic liturgies, systematics, the creeds, and so on are also most necessary, and we should have no interest in ditching them unless absolutely necessary. Our …
Wilson and Fesko
Dr. Fesko’s critique interacts mostly with Jim Jordan, Rich Lusk, and Ralph Smith. In his critique, he frequently misses the point being made by these men, although I also believe he raises some legitimate questions. But when he comes to summarize his concerns, he does so in a way that expands his critique to include …
Jordan and Fesko
Dr. Fesko also takes issue with Jim Jordan on the subject of death and maturity. Before defending Jordan’s point, let me agree with Dr. Fesko’s objection on his use of terms. To use the word death to describe the transformation/glorification/maturation of Adam, had he not sinned, is, in my judgment, prone to do nothing but …
Smith and Fesko
Dr. Fesko also objected to seeing the covenant as part of the triune life, and spent a good bit of time answering some of the points raised by Ralph Smith on that score. “The legal element in the covenant is not a problem unless one argues, as does the federal vision, that covenant is part …
Some Responses to Dr. Fesko
Dr. Fesko is an Adjunct Professor of Theology at RTS, Atlanta, and is serving on a study commission of the OPC, a group tasked check out the federal vision. He recently released a paper toward that end, entitled “The Federal Vision and the Covenant of Works.” To that paper, I offer a few comments. The …