Satan Has No Joy

Date October 6, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Augustine noted that “All sin, then, is also pride, even as
Scripture says, Pride is the beginning of all sin…’Pride is the commencement of
all sin;’ because it was this which overthrew the devil, from whom arose the
origin of sin; and afterwards, when his malice and envy.” (Anti-Pelagian
Writings, Chapter 33)

Every act with which we place something above God is a sin.
Most commonly, it is ourselves we exalt above our Creator. Instead of
recognizing His superiority, we seek to establish our own. Instead of
submitting to His authority, we demand that He bends His rules in submission to
us. Our arrogance has no boundaries until reality crushes it.

Satan was the original sinner. It was his pride that led him
to be cast out of heaven. He thought himself superior and sought to proclaim
his own authority. He did not and will never willfully submit to God’s
authority. In his refusal to submit to proper authority, Satan is a theological
liberal.

Theological liberalism questions the authority and supremacy
of God as revealed through His Word. Instead of holding high God’s Word, it
holds high materialistic naturalism and “higher criticism.” Instead of
believing our Creator, it charges Him as a liar in its denial of inerrancy1.
Instead of genuinely applying God’s Word to faith and practice, it twists it to
promote universalism, egalitarianism and homosexuality2. Instead of seeking to
understand the Words of God, liberalism questions if we can know anything at
all. Satan, the original sinner, was also the original liberal when he asked,
“Did God really say…?” Rather than listening and obeying, liberalism tells us
we should have a conversation about it.

To deny the authority and supremacy of God is to deny a
fundamental aspect of who we are. When we put ourselves above God and refuse to
submit to His Word as liberalism does3, we cut ourselves off from out true source of joy. John
Piper argued this powerfully last Sunday:

What words might the Holy Spirit
use to open someone to the truth that their inferiority to God is good news?
Perhaps this: What if we asked someone, “Would you want to watch a football
game where all the players were no better than you? Or watch a movie where the
actors could act no better than you and were no better looking than you? Or go
to a museum to see pictures by painters who could paint no better than you?”
Why are we willing to be exposed in all these places as utterly inferior? How
can we get so much joy out of watching people magnify their superiority over
us? The biblical answer is that we were made by God to get our deepest joys
not from being superior ourselves but from enjoying God’s superiority. All
these other experiences are parables. God’s superiority is absolute in every
way, which means our joy in it may be greater than we could ever imagine.

Throughout the Scriptures we are told to rejoice along
with the angels who rejoice. Men and angels were created to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever. God will ultimately be glorified regardless of what happens,
but due to the devastating consequences of his pride, Satan has no joy. My
prayer for us is that we retreat from the liberal rejection of God’s authority
in our faith and practice, so that rather than joining Satan in his lack of
joy, we join the angels in joy abundant.

Footnotes:
1. Francis Schaeffer argued that inerrancy is a watershed issue, and denial of it is a form of liberalism.
2. Andrew Sullivan is a prime example of this. He refuses to submit other religious views and his homosexuality to the authority of God's Word, and argues that lack of knowledge is the Christian for faith.
3. Earlier this year, George Will discussed a survery showing that conservatives are generally happier than liberals. The survey relates to politcal liberalism rather than theological, and I believe there is a strong correlation between the two, but for reasons not really addressed here.

Category Posted in Main Page, Roger's Posts, Theology Comments 6 Comments »

Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence

Date October 5, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

I was moved by the Desiring God Conference to read Hebrews, a book focusing on the supremacy of Christ and His covenant, and I found in Hebrews 10:32-36 a very relevant exhortation for our postmodern times:

 

But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened [“after receiving the knowledge of the truth” (v. 26)], you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.  For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.  Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 

 

This confidence in the supremacy of the person of Christ and in His reconciling sacrifice for our sins (the focus of the beginning of Chapter 10)–the kind of confidence and “knowing” that brings the reward of endurance through reproaches and tribulations…can this thrive in a person with a postmodern worldview? 

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Emerging / Emergent Church, Main Page Comments 2 Comments »

Jerald Tanner in Memoriam

Date October 4, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton


A member of the Tanner team has passed away. Jerald Tanner,
great-great-grandson of John Tanner (a financial supporter of Joseph Smith,
Jr.), died Sunday evening from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Jerald was husband to Sandra Tanner, a fifth-generation
descendent of Brigham Young. They were both raised in the LDS Church, but early
in their lives (independently) they each found reasons to seriously question
their beliefs. Eventually they met, converted to Christianity, and were
married. The result has been, among other things, 40 years of dedicated
research critiquing the historicity and theology of the LDS Church.

The legacy of Jerald and Sandra Tanner cannot be
understated. Through their work countless lives have been impacted, both within
Mormonism and without. While they’re often the target of “anti-Mormon”
rejections by Mormons, the Tanners have marked their work with a high dose of
honesty and integrity. This is reflected in their early criticisms of the
Hofmann forgeries and their response to fellow-Christian Ed Decker’s misrepresentations
of Mormonism in The Godmakers.

No doubt, God will continue to effectively use their
ministry, The Utah Lighthouse Ministry, for His glory long after Jerald’s
passing.

Our friend Rob Sivulka is maintaining a list of links
related to Jerald’s passing:
MormonInfo.org: Jerald Tanner

Here is a thoughtful obituary written by Mormon David
King Landrith (some of the comments are not so thoughtful).

A few of the Tanner's many titles:

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? (their most popular book)
Joseph Smith's Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar
Major Problems of Mormonism
Mormon Scriptures and the Bible
Mormonism, Magic, and Masonry
3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon

Category Posted in Main Page, Mormonism, Roger's Posts Comments No Comments »

The Supremacy of Christ in the Postmodern World

Date October 4, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

I still haven’t had a chance to unpack from the conference, but I’m eager to share some thoughts with you. This year’s Desiring God National Conference was awesome. It was the first time I’d heard any of the speakers live, and each one of them was outstanding. I came away encouraged and hopeful about where God is taking His church.

It was a pleasure, as always, to spend some time with Justin Taylor. Amy and I also got to meet Tim Challies pf Challies (finally), Pastor Paul Martin of Keruz Noemata, and Marc Heinrich of Purgatorio.

Here are Challies’ reflections on the conference. I pretty much agree with him, especially in that it was a success by any standard. I’ll offer some criticisms, however, to balance out all the good things we’re saying:

With an audience of over 3,100, I understand it’s somewhat difficult to allow audience interaction. However, it would have been great if they provided some opportunity for us to meet the speakers. It consistently felt like there was a huge gulf between us “lay people” and the guys on stage- especially when they were rushed out after the sessions.

I’m not sure what it would look like, but it’d be great if they facilitated a better atmosphere for fellowship. I didn’t really meet or talk with anyone I hadn’t planned on meeting. Even better, a Desiring God Singles Network would be awesome. Seems like that’d be a great place to meet someone! :)

Below I’ve linked to the audio and blog summaries of the session. These are followed by some brief reflections on each:

David Wells: The Supremacy of Christ in the Postmodern World
Audio
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, Josh Harris, New Attitude
Thoughts: His foundational lecture succeeded in setting the stage for the rest of the lectures. The bottom line is that God wishes for His Son to be acknowledged for who He is. But regardless of if He is acknowledged in this world, Christ is supreme overall. He is incomparable and in His own category. He is the same Christ to Abraham, Pilate, Augustine, Calvin, Descartes, and Derrida. We have no other Christ to worship, follow, and represent to the postmodern world.

John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Justin Taylor: A Conversation with Pastors
Audio
Summaries: Paul Martin
Thoughts: Most striking about this session was the comments about Emergent. John Piper recently met with Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt. Piper noted that there are deep epistemological issues dividing them and therefore no common ground for conversation. In essence, the message of Emergent Village is a different gospel. Keller believes Emergent is a fad because it has no institutions.

Voddie Bauchum: The Supremacy of Christ in the Postmodern World
Audio
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, New Attitude
Thoughts: Bauchum dealt primarily with Secular Humanism. He contrasted its empty view of humanity with the value found in the Christian worldview. The philosophies of man will not satisfy, only Christ will.

Tim Keller: The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in the Postmodern World
Audio
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, New Attitude
Thoughts: Based on a sermon by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Keller spoke of the demon being too deep. The demon is secularism, and we now live in an ex-Christian culture. He offered six points for evangelism and noted that our expectations are typically too low when we preach of the Gospel.

Mark Driscoll: The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in the Postmodern World
Audio
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, New Attitude
Thoughts: There is no reason for his talk to have been controversial; it should be noted well by all. Among other things, Driscoll called for Christians to stop worshiping a girly Jesus (why worship a guy you can beat up?). Driscoll also noted the drifting away of Emergent from orthodoxy. They are creating new kinds of Christians: non-Christians. The question is, will we be able to tell the difference?

Voddie Bauchum, John Piper, D.A. Carson, David Wells, Justin Taylor: Speaker Panel
Audio
Summaries: Paul Martin, Josh Harris
Thoughts: One of the funniest moments was in the session: In response to Justin’s question about being contextual and missional, Wells said “I want to be hip, man!” Also, one of the most touching moments: Justin asked about small churches and small populations. In response, Dr. Carson with tears told of the church building work his father had done in Canada.

D.A. Carson: The Supremacy of Christ and Love in the Postmodern World
Audio
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, New Attitude
Thoughts: After being there and looking back over the summaries, I’m still not sure his talk had much to do with postmodernism specifically. Still, Dr. Carson did a powerful exposition of John 17 relating to the intra-trinitarian love that we witness in Jesus Christ.

John Piper: The Supremacy of Joy in a Postmodern World
Audio and Text
Summaries: Challies, Paul Martin, New Attitude
Thoughts: Piper’s sermon was an eloquent defense of Christian orthodoxy and critique of postmodern theology. The great joy Christ has in His Father’s glory is shared with us through objective and understandable propositions. To abandon them or question their merit is to bring down the Gospel itself.

I was planning to write another post tonight reflecting on a couple of points from Piper’s message, but something else has come up. So look forward to Thursday when I’ll be posting that.

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts Comments 9 Comments »

Desiring the Supremacy of Christ

Date September 30, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

This weekend, The A-Team is on a field trip to the Desiring God National Conference.





The theme this
year is “Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a
Postmodern World.” The theme is based on David Wells' excellent book,
The Supremacy of Christ. He kicked off the conference tonight with
powerful message about the supremacy of Christ based on the book of
Hebrews.



You can keep up with the talks through Tim Challies, who did an amazing job of covering Well's lecture, and I'm sure he'll keep it up. Also stop by Between Two Worlds
for updates. Tomorrow (Saturday) we'll hear from Voddie Baucham, Tim
Keller, Mark Driscoll, and D.A. Carson. John Piper will close out the
conference on Sunday morning.



We won't be live blogging, but I'm sure we'll have some thoughts to post when its all over.

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts Comments No Comments »

Should Christians BE Celebrities?

Date September 29, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Some people are just too bored with their own
lives- they have to latch on to the lives of celebrities. The world watches
everywhere celebrities go, who they're with, what they eat, when they drop
their children, etc. All this pressure can be hard on a celebrity. They didn't
ask for the attention, just a big fat pay check for name recognition. To escape
the pressure, some celebrities form alter egos. These alter egos are basically
seperate lives that some maintain to a highly detailed degree. But what happens
when these celebrities become Christian ministers? Here at the A-Team Blog, we
see the need to expose the truth about some these celebrities. You judge for
yourself if you should trust them:


Greg Koukl, President of Stand to Reason, is really Mr. Burns from The Simpsons




Kim Riddlebarger, Pastor of Christ Reformed Church, is really The Video
Professor



And while I'm at it, I should come clean myself…
Roger Overton, blogger at The A-Team Blog, is really Ben Stein



Now that the truth about the three of us is out, I'll also tell you another
secret. We'll all be continuing the charade at Christ Reformed Church in
Anaheim next Friday night (October 6th). “Greg Koukl” will be talking about his book on
Relativism. The event is free, but a $5 donation is suggested. Though we’ll be
disguised, you should consider joining us from 7:30 to 9:00.

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts Comments No Comments »

WWJD Or CTR?

Date September 26, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Last night I had a dream that involved Mormons. I’m sure
it’s further proof of my nerdiness, but we were talking about doctrine and
discussing each others’ faiths. For some reason, the Mormons kept emphasizing
“CTR”. Even when they were singing it came up over and over again.

What is “CTR”? It’s a popular Mormon acronym (in real life,
not just my dream) for Choose the Right. One way of looking at it is that “CTR”
is for Mormons as “WWJD” is for Christians. When faced with a difficult decision,
the popular evangelical line is to ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? For
Mormons, they are taught to choose to do the right thing.

I’ll be the first to admit to not always being a big fan of
“WWJD.” It’s kind of an odd question to ask in some situations seeing as I’m
not God and therefore lack the knowledge and power to make the best decisions.
But I have owned at least one of those bracelets in my days and I’ve decided
now to defend it.

Why? Because “WWJD” is better than “CTR.” What’s the
focus of “WWJD”? Jesus. What’s the focus of “CTR”? Whatever I can do. These
popular little acronyms symbolize a deeper issue that divides Christians from
Mormons. The Christian is drawn back to our great Lord and Savior so that we
can model ourselves after Him. The Mormon is drawn to look at his or her good
works. On its own, “CTR” is innocent enough. But within the Mormon worldview,
it is the summation of salvation by our their works. If they do enough of them,
then they pass God’s test for this life and go on to the highest of Mormon
glories.

I’ve lived enough to know that I can’t do enough good
works to come close to the perfection that God requires. Say what you will
about “WWJD,” at least the cheesy slogan draws me back to Jesus. You can have
this world and whatever good works you can accomplish in it, but give me Jesus.

Category Posted in Main Page, Mormonism, Roger's Posts Comments 10 Comments »

Logos Books Galore!

Date September 25, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Justin Taylor linked to an awesome blog yesterday: Truth is Still Truth. These guys post, among other things, books that are available in Logos software format. These are all public domain books, mostly theological classics. Check out the 18 volume John Owen collection, Thomas Aquinas Collection, Works of Jonathan Edwards (2 vol.), John Flavel collection, and many more. I spent a good amount of time downloading everything I could find last night. Talk about being a nerd- it made me rather giddy.

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts Comments No Comments »

Nerd Test

Date September 23, 2006 Posted by Amy Hall

The following is a simple test you can take at home to determine your nerdiness level.

 

In the Weird Al video White and Nerdy, the nerd purchases a black market item on the street.  Watch the video and then compare your reaction to this rare item with the following categories to determine your nerdity. 

 

If you guessed what was in the paper bag before he opened it, your nerd quotient is freakishly high.  You are a “Nerd Commander.”

 

If you knew about
the existence of this item and, at some point in your life, actually
took steps to obtain one of these for yourself, you are a “Nerd Jedi.” 

 

If you just said,
“Hey, Nerd Jedi should be above Nerd Commander!” you are a “Super-Nerd”
and will henceforth receive no sci-fi reference in your title.

 

If, after obtaining the item, you walked away from it after no more than 40 minutes, you are a “Nerd Apprentice.”

 

If you knew this item existed but you never tried to see it for yourself, you are a “Red-Shirt-Nerd.”  You have occasional forays into nerddom, but it's not a place where everybody knows your name.

 

If you know what “red-shirt” refers to, go back up to “nerd apprentice.”

 

If this is the
first you've heard of this item and you are, even now, opening a new
browser window to search through eBay, you are a “Secret
Nerd”–otherwise, your nerd pack would have informed you of its
existence long ago.  [Also, I must warn you that you think you want to see this item, but you really, really don't.  Please trust me on this.  Please.]

 

If you've never heard of what was inside that bag, and furthermore, you have no curiosity regarding it, then congratulations!  You are nerd-free!

 

I have no category for the nerdiness level of someone who would create a test out of this video. 

 

(HT and my eternal gratitude to Deborah Graff for sending me the link to this video.  Live long and prosper, Deborah.)

Category Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, Miscellaneous Comments 17 Comments »

Congrats to Dr. Francis Beckwith

Date September 22, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

Hot off the press: Dr. Francis Beckwith was awarded tenure today by Baylor University. Earlier this year, Baylor's denial of tenure for Dr. Beckwith brought on quite a heap of criticism. Congratulations to Dr. Beckwith for his accomplishment, as he most certainly deserves it!

Category Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts Comments 3 Comments »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »