What the Thunder Said...

Amateur
source

Labels: Art | Culture, City of Man, Technology

Reading: Still, William The Work of the Pastor
Enjoying: being in our apartment! (and ginger ale)
Listening: Reindeer Section

We are so thankful to be home, and my wife faithfully recorded a synopsis of our recent trials. Thank you to so many of you who prayed for our safety. God was incredibly kind to us, and we hope to recount more of His faithfulness in future posts.

We'll try to get things back to "normal" as much as possible.

Labels: bio, Events, WtTS Stuff

This is Sam again. We're home! Most of Escondido opened back up on Wednesday morning and that is when we made our way back. We are so thankful to the Lord for his merciful protection. He was so good to us. The closest home burned 2 miles to the west and another less than 3 miles to the south. The firemen worked so hard, preventing it from coming into more urbanized areas. And the Lord made the Santa Ana winds slow down. Our running trails are totally burned up! Both of our schools resume this week. We will continue to keep those who lost much in our thoughts and prayers.

This is Sam. Just wanted to let you know that we've evacuated our Escondido apartment and are now in Temecula. We made it up here just before another small fire jumped Hwy 15 and they closed the freeway. We were thankful! Our cars are loaded with some very special and necessary items. Some very gracious families from church have offered us a place to sleep. Westminster has canceled classes for the week (the guys are getting out of midterms...at least for a week!) and my school, Heritage K-8 Charter, is closed at least through tomorrow. We've been jumping coffee shops (with free wifi!) all day with the Haecks, Recios, Brittons and Justin Eckert. We just got an update and the fires are directly south of our apartment by a few miles heading northwest. We covet your prayers! We are enjoying our day, though, with our friends. And just trusting that the Lord knows what's best. "When you walk through fire you shall not be burned...For I am the Lord your God..." Love you all...thanks so much for thinking of and praying for us (and our little apartment!)

Reading: Dunahoo Making Kingdom Disciples
Enjoying: York mints
Listening: Muse Black Holes and Revelations

In this edition (/pretentious):
Politics | Technology | Books | Theology | Financial | Links

Iraq and Ideology
The number one reason for the way things are going in Iraq is a difference of mettle: Islam has it, and materialistic narcissists don't. This is especially demonstrated in the united front Islam shows in its contempt for Western ideology. Cranach's Dr. Veith notes Mr. Steyn on the lack of resolve from Uncle Sam.

Financial
Two blogs I sometimes swing buy are The Simple Dollar and Get Rich Slowly. There is often a variety of ideas, from budget suggestions, coupons and saving ploys, and financial organization in the big picture. One tool that may help on the small scale is Xpen$er, a Web 2.0-ish app to help record every purchase. I'm going to be looking into putting this one into practice in the near future.

Links
Philosophos
For students, teachers, and lovers of philosophy.

Vicipaedia
Wikipedia for the Latin inclined.

Top 10 Needs of a Theological Institution
I think WSC is a grand slam on all of these, except with a little more clarification on how they do #2. (Hint: church planting with ordained ministers)

Books
Speaking of making purchases, a few new titles have been on my horizon. Bavinck's anticipated fourth and final installment of his Dogmatics is up for pre-order, and I've seen similar offers for the upcoming ETS & AAR/SBL catalogs. (The conferences are in San Diego this year; come hang out!) Also, John Piper's newest title on N.T. Wright and justification is available for $5. Meanwhile, WSC Bookstore recently made Vos' Grace & Glory available... and I've got gift certificates. Watch out.

I was recently opining with Ben that Carl Trueman's latest temptation John Owen: Reformed Catholic, Renaissance Man is exorbitantly priced. This just in - What the Thunder Said... will now be published by Paternoster, Ashgate, and Wipf & Stock. You've just been charged $9.99 for reading this. Your ISP will be billed accordingly. (Even though the Owen book figures at about $.15 a page, I'm still tempted. I need help.)

Technology
For those of you rocking the pocket pc/smarthphone devices, check Handango, which is offering a Free App every Friday. (This is especially nice if you had your wild hopes set on the HTC Kaiser being given away for free from Gear Diary. Clearly, only a hypothetical.) The Nokia 810 came out, and received a positive review from Oliver Starr.

I'm into my second month on our HP Pavilion dv9600t laptop, and overall, I'm pleased. I'm still not completely sold on Vista. The beautiful Altec Lansing speakers sit below the screen and above the keyboard, so they are muffled if you play music with the screen closed. I'm pleased with responsiveness. Its working out well.

Bucer on Marks of Unity

Those who call upon our Lord Jesus Christ in truth, whatever their outward customs and identity may be, we wish to acknowledge and love as our members in Christ the Lord. And they will also treat us in the same way, irrespective of the fact that we may not share the same ceremonies and church practices. For the fellowship of the Christian church consists not in ceremonies and outward practices, but in true faith, in obedience to the pure gospel, and in the right use of the sacraments as the Lord has ordained them. Everything else each church has to arrange as it finds best for itself. In any case this is something which the old holy fathers recognized and maintained.

Concerning the True Care of Souls and Genuine Pastoral Ministry
(HT: Jonathan)

Labels: blogging, books, City of Man, Philosophy, Technology, theology

Reading: Ridderbos Coming of the Kingdom
Enjoying: waffles
Listening: Kanye West "Stronger"

Peter Leithart argues that Adam was to build a city, foreshadowed in Eve. Is he echoing Kline and the Megapolis?

Labels: Exegesis, theology

Whoa, talk about a blast from my past. This weekend etnies is sponsoring the Goofy vs. Regular Surf Competition, and Bremerton's finest will be playing.Check the site for tickets. The event goes from 8 - 4 this Saturday.

I think MxPx was my first mosh pit, and my buddy Cody was thrown into a guy so hard he knocked the 300 lb stranger's pants off. Seriously.

Labels: Art | Culture, City of Man, Events

Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry
R. Scott Clark



Review: No Reformed Doctrine of Justification?
Mark Garcia



"The New Perspective on Calvin: Responding to Recent Calvin Interpretations" (.doc file)
Thomas Wenger



Review of Wenger | Wenger Responds in Comments

Labels: theology

Does getting Messianic consciousness wrong ultimately lead to Adoptionism, Nestorianism, and Trinitarian heresy?

Wright, Chalcedon, and Nestorius

N.T. Wright on Person and Nature

From New Horizons

...my ongoing reading of Dr. Wright leaves me with growing concerns about his Christology, especially his view that the messianic consciousness of Jesus during his ministry on earth was no higher than that of an eschatological prophet, without a consciousness of his essential deity (e.g., his Jesus and the Victory of God, pp. 651-62). This troubling view appears to imply something less than Trinitarian orthodoxy... the Fesko review raises concerns that at the very least point to the need for Dr. Wright to be clearer than he has [been] about the doctrine of the Trinity.

R. Gaffin, Jr.
Blue Bell, Pa.

NH (May 2007) p. 20.

Finally, while G. Vos recognizes the prophetic aspect to the office of Messiah, he dismisses it in two sentences. Possibly, this is because Vos recongizes the prophetic role of Christ in His delivering up the New Covenant documents, all 27 books of the NT. His earthly role accomplished the kingly and priestly aspects, and any sense in which Christ is eschatological prophet occupies His heavenly reign. See his The Self-Disclosure of Jesus p. 112, 117.

Labels: theology

snicker

Labels: blogging, City of Man, Events

Having noted his previous work before, we here at What the Thunder Said... would be remiss not to point out what slid across our desk this morning.

Thate, Michael J. "Conditionality in John's Gospel: A Critique and Examination of Time and Reality as Classically Conceived in Conditional Constructions" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Vol. 50, No. 3 (September 2007) 561 - 72.

Michael Thate is a Ph.D. student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Kudos, Mike.

Labels: books, Events, Exegesis

Sunday night, CBS "60 Minutes" did a piece on Joel Osteen, which involved WSC's own Dr. Michael Horton. Apparently, Joel Osteen can bench 300 lbs. Best quote from the fallout:

If angels rejoice over sinners who repent, then please note that Osteen believes both terms - "sinners" and "repent" - are overly negative.
- Michael Spencer

There is already far too much bandwagon to jump on, so to mutilate manipulate from another context, if Osteen is right and his message is true, then pastors need to get a useful job, like truck driving.

Watch the whole segment: Preacher to the Masses - Osteen Answers His Critics

Labels: City of Man, Events, theology

Labels: Art | Culture, City of Man, Technology, WtTS Stuff

Reading: Wall Street Journal
Enjoying: chips & salsa
Listening: The Stereophonics "Dakota"

I've had the privilege of spending the past couple of weeks looking at a few of the lines of the Apostle's Creed with our Sunday School class - "I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary..." Here's a few of the works I've found useful in studying on the subject.

On the creed in general:

Heidelberg Catechism

Ursinus, Zacharius Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism trans. Williard (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1852).

Witsius, Herman Dissertations on the Apostle's Creed (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1993).

On Christology in particular:

Athanasius De Incarnatione Verbi Dei (New York, NY: Macmillan Company, 1946).
(With an Intro by C. S. Lewis!!)

Daniels, Richard The Christology of John Owen (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004).

Dunn, James D.G. Christology in the Making: A NT Inquiry into The Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1980).

Evans, C. Stephen "The Self-Emptying of Love: Some Thoughts on Kenotic Christology" ed. Davis, Kendall & Collins The Incarnation (Oxford University Press, 2002).

Horton, Michael S. Lord and Servant: A Covenant Christology (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005).

Macleod, Donald The Person of Christ ed. G. Bray Contours of Christian Theology Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998).

Peterson, David The Word Became Flesh: Evangelicals and the Incarnation (Paternoster Press, 2003).

Spencer, Stephen Roberts Reformed Scholasticism in Medieval Perspective: Thomas Aquinas and Francois Turretini on the Incarnation (Ph.D. Dissertation, Michigan State University, 1988).

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon Good Tidings of Great Joy: Christ's Incarnation (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1901).

Wright, N. T. "Jesus' Self-Understanding" ed. Davis, Kendall & Collins The Incarnation (Oxford University Press, 2002).

Vos, Geerhardus The Self-Disclosure of Jesus (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publications, 1953).

Labels: books, theology, WtTS Stuff

Who says studying theology isn't dangerous? This thing had like 30 legs and jaws/fangs the size of Oregon. The pictures totally don't do it justice. I was in a fight for my life.


For the PETA friendly and animal conscious, I can assure you that no spiders were harmed in the making of this documentary. However, one spider was significantly killed in opening my textbook. My bad.

Ben, you can't use this as an excuse to go East.

Labels: bio, books, theology, WtTS Stuff