Why is Calvin Controversial?

Doug Wilson, Mark Talbot and Sam Storms share their thoughts over at DesiringGod.

He saved me from religion

The more I come to understand people who come out of Mormonism, the more I get glimpses of what my life was like as a so-called Evangelical Christian. There are some very obvious differences between Evangelical Christianity and Mormonism, but I think what links the two (certainly with how I perceived Christianity to be at the time), is my own movement away from religion to relationship; a movement away from having a head-knowledge of sin, to an experiential understanding that I am thoroughly sinful standing before a wrathful God. And a movement away from works toward grace.

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? " ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness..."

(Romans 4)

I will die today with gladness...

On this day in 1415, Jan Hus, a Czech Catholic Priest was burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church for his heretical views on ecclesiology. Considered to be Martin Luther's fore-runner, he stood against the abuse of power of 'the Church' and even at the stake, refused to recant.

"An Italian prelate pronounced the sentence of condemnation upon Hus and his writings. Hus protested, saying that even at this hour he did not wish anything, but to be convinced from Holy Scripture. He fell upon his knees and asked God with a low voice to forgive all his enemies.

Then followed his degradation — he was enrobed in priestly vestments and again asked to recant; again he refused. With curses his ornaments were taken from him, his priestly tonsure was destroyed, and the sentence was pronounced that the Church had deprived him of all rights and delivered him to the secular powers. Then a high paper hat was put upon his head, with the inscription "Haeresiarcha" (meaning the leader of a heretical movement). Hus was led away to the stake under a strong guard of armed men.

At the place of execution he knelt down, spread out his hands, and prayed aloud. Some of the people asked that a confessor should be given him, but one priest exclaimed that a heretic should neither be heard nor given a confessor. The executioners undressed Hus and tied his hands behind his back with ropes, and his neck with a chain to a stake around which wood and straw had been piled up so that it covered him to the neck.

At the last moment, the imperial marshal, Von Pappenheim, in the presence of the Count Palatine, asked him to recant and thus save his own life, but Hus declined with the words "God is my witness that I have never taught that of which I have by false witnesses been accused. In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I will die today with gladness." He was then burnt at the stake."

(Wikipedia)

Hus' scholarship and teachings:

"...The book on the Church and on the power of the pope contains the essence of the doctrine of Hus. According to it, the Church is not that hierarchy which is generally designated as Church; the Church is the entire body of those who from eternity have been predestined for salvation. Christ, not the pope, is its head. It is no article of faith that one must obey the pope to be saved. Neither external membership in the Church nor churchly offices and dignities are a surety that the persons in question are members of the true Church.

To some, Hus's efforts were predominantly designed to rid the Church of its ethical abuses, rather than a campaign of sweeping theological change. To others, the seeds of the reformation are clear in Hus's and Wycliffe's writings. It is interesting to note that in the time of Luther, Wycliffe was considered the beginning, Hus the middle and Luther the end of the Reformation movement."

(Wikipedia)

Be Content to be Nothing

"Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

I find it very difficult to understand this idea of 'nothingness'. We pay lip-service to it - uttered usually as part of one's lofty prayer within a performance-motivated church-gathering. On another level, it is treated as a mere philosophical exercise - with people flirting with it as though it were part of an academic discussion. Either way, I think, by and large, the concept of 'nothingness' is held at a distance - because proper engagement of it holds the potential to expose our ever-present sense of despair.

A good friend of mine, who in the past made a profession to follow Jesus, is currently feeling this same sense of despair. Diagnosed three months ago with severe depression, he has come to an understanding, through means of counselling that his depression is rooted in unresolved conflict between himself and his own father. Being the fourth child, the pressure to perform has been ingrained for the most part of his twenty-eight years and with this, he feels a sense of constant failure in relation to his brother and sisters' excellent achievements. With constant digs from his father about his under-achievements, he feels stuck and cannot cope with life without feeling the effect of any slight negatively-charged opinion from other people. He knows that in order to resolve this conflict, he must talk to his father in the most sensitive manner (for fear of hurting him) - and more than this is that he needs, ultimately, to forgive him in order to move on. He struggles with sleep and excessive weight-gain; with a decreasing self-esteem, and increasingly becoming recluse, he has considered taking his own life.

It is in these situations that remind us we are nothing. And it is exactly in these times where the challenge to be content in being nothing is the hardest thing to do. Can we, through the despair still utter, "Jesus, I really am nothing without you. In my emptiness, I am content."?

My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow'r upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev'ry promise is enough
For ev'ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev'ry thought is love.
For ev'ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.

Mark D. Champneys' testimony...

...out of Mormonism, through reading Paul's letter to the church in Rome, and into grace...

*ahem*

Name-dropping, in an attempt to move up the social-strata, is just plain sad.

It's what saddos do.

All things considered, look who's written this book!? They only happen to be two of my previous mentors, during my time at the Psychotherapy Unit, three years ago.

Trained by the best the Midlands has to offer, me.

SAD

In mental-health, the above is an acronym for the term, 'Seasonal Affective Disorder'. Also known as 'winter depression', it is a mood disorder that affects people during the winter and early-spring seasons, year after year.

One of its primary treatments include light therapy. Light, as we know it, in relation to our health is responsible for producing Vitamin D. Along with its properties in maintaining bone health in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and its role in helping with the immune system, it also has beneficial effects upon one's cognitive functioning.

Whatever it is that happens, I think God has a clever way of revealing to us, through this parable of man's physical dependence upon light, of our even bigger spiritual need for him, The Light.

Justification by faith

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

(Romans 4: 1-8)

"Christian Psychotherapist"

...is an oxymoron.

Although admittedly, psychotherapy and the gospel-message do share some things in common. Before healing can take place, both adhere to, and must facilitate a person to reach a point where he realises that his life and life, in general, is shit ('sinful', to us religious-types).

The difference between the two is what happens afterwards. A Christian is someone who finds healing through the forgiveness of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel proclaims "His-help". A psychotherapist, by-and-large, promotes "Self-help".

Notice the difference between these two prayers. The first being the 'Gestalt Prayer', by Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt Therapy, which is based upon existential and phenomenological thought.

"I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped."

The second, being the psalmist's prayer,

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar."

Grace Revisited

After three years, I'm still in awe by the grace God showed, and continues to show, to me. I will never forget what happened in May 2006 when God, in an act of severe mercy gave me freedom and a miraculous sense of peace amidst a very dark period in my life. If it was anybody or anything else, I would today be singing its praises. But it seems that it was Jesus who heard my plea and answered mercifully with more than anything I ever could imagine.

I remember the event all too well, as I uttered the words, "Jesus, I can't do this anymore, I need you to save me from myself.", God answered and all my anxieties simply vanished. I remember going home that afternoon feeling for the first time in years a sense of peace. The depression had lifted. That night, I slept like a baby; no more nightmares, no more dark impressions, which used to keep me awake till dawn. God changed something inside of me - which will take a life-time to understand.

Little by little, I have come to understand something of the foolishness of the gospel - that Paul wrote about. Like many others, it was at a point of brokenness that God graciously revealed himself to me. More and more, I am coming to understand that God's ultimate intention, through the atoning sacrifice of his Son, is to bring glory to Himself. Like Mr. Piper often says, "He gets the glory, we get the joy".

Amidst all the rants, this blog, in my own little way, serves a testimony of my new-found and only true source: God's saving grace.

Amazing Grace - That Saved a Wretch Like Me

John Newton (1725-1807) was a slave ship captain who was changed by God and went on to become an Anglican pastor, hymn-writer, and opponent of slavery. As a young man, he was pressed into service on board a ship working in the slave trade, and he lived a debauched life as a sailor. Then during a voyage his ship encountered a terrible storm. Newton called out to God in desperation... (More from TheResurgence)

The Great Reversal

“Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness and service, comes to wealth via giving all away. And those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost.”

- Timothy Keller

HT: Of First Importance

Treasuring Him

More from DesiringGod.org

Sola Scriptura

Mr. James White [in his earlier years!], in his closing statement on the topic of sola scriptura.

How can God simply pass over David's sin?

David lusts after Bathsheba. David is so bent on wanting her that he then sends her husband, Uriah, in the front line, where the fighting is fiercest. Word gets back to David that Uriah, along with some of his own men, are dead. Bathsheba mourns her husband's death...

The prophet Nathan then comes along and rebukes David.

"Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD " And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. "

David, because of his gross sin, deserved death. Instead, God simply passed over it...



"...God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" Romans 3: 25-26.

To sin or not to sin

"We do not sin out of duty-driven, stoic motivation. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, "I really don't want to, but I ought to sin today." (Future Grace)

By way of pointing out the absurd, Mr. Piper sheds light into what makes you and I tick. We sin because we desire in it; we sin because we delight in its false promises; we sin because we succumb to momentary titillations. So, in order to sever the tie of our delight in sin, our eyes must be opened in order to see greater promises set before us in him.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“It is always the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us pay attention to ourselves instead of to Christ. He insinuates, ‘Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a weak hold of Jesus.’ All these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self. He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is all in all.’”

- Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning

HT:Of First Importance

Roy Smoothe - What Drug Dealers Won't Tell You

My mate Roy is very a very talented guy; he mixes interesting talks with kickin' tunes. Roy kindly gave permission for me to share the track.

The video is from the album 'Overdose: what the drug-dealer won't tell you'.

http://www.smothetalk.moonfruit.com

How do antipsychotic drugs work?

Psychoses involve serious disturbances of brain function in thinking, behaviour, social relationships, speech, sensation and mood; with schizophrenia being the most serious of the psychoses.

The dopamine theory of schizophrenia rests mainly on indirect (and conflicting) evidence that schizophrenic patients have more than double the normal concentration of dopamine in certain brain nuclei, such as the amygdala. The second theory of schizophrenia is the glutamate theory - resting on the observations that drugs which block glutamate receptors in humans cause psychotic symptoms, and also, that there are reduced glutamate concentrations in schizophrenic brains.

While the two theories sound as if they are grounded firmly on solid biological evidence, they are not. Granted, modern-day anti-psychotic drugs are effective, but its pharmacodynamics are based largely on speculation. It is worth noting that evidence of biological changes correlating with environmental stressors is vastly different from evidence that mental illnesses are 'caused' by biological deficits.

Hugh McGavock, the author of 'How Drugs Work' states,

"Although we have effective drug treatments for schizophrenia, depression and epilepsy and we know what receptors these target in animal preparations, we can only guess what they may do in the human brain. This book is about 'how drugs work', and if that is not known, all that is needed is a summary of what is known and what current theories are. That is not without value, because new antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs are usually marketed by a trumpeting of their supposed pharmacodynamics. Do not be misled! And always challenge such animal-study assertions. Perhaps in a decade or two, we may have some 'hard evidence' of their action in man. For the present, we must be very grateful to have antipsychotic, antidepressant and antiepileptic drugs, which yearly transform the lives of many millions around the globe"

So, how do antipsychotic (or even antidepressants, anti-epileptic, and 'recreational') drugs work? Given that what we have is research (asserted by multi-billion dollar drug companies) that conflict with one another, we haven't a clue.

Sin, grace and the limits of psychiatry

An excellent excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, 'Life Together', addressing the limitations of psychiatry:

" The most experienced psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus.

The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp this one thing: what sin is.

Worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the godlessness of man. And so it does not know that man is destroyed only by his sin and can be healed only by forgiveness. Only the Christian knows this.

In the presence of a psychiatrist I can only be a sick man; in the presence of a Christian brother I can dare to be a sinner.

The psychiatrist must first search my heart and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth. The Christian brother knows when I come to him: here is a sinner like myself, a godless man who wants to confess and yearns for God’s forgiveness.

The psychiatrist views me as if there were no God. The brother views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the Cross of Jesus Christ. (118-119)"

Hat Tip: Tim Chester

Doug Eaton on Substitutionary Atonement

Folie à deux and a momentary bout of cynicism

'Folie à deux' is a psychiatric diagnosis, given to two people who share a symptom of psychosis (hallucinatory, delusional and paranoid belief) within its immediate context.

Were Paul present in today's Western and overtly secular society: he and his companions, who on their way to Damascus and upon witnessing this bright light accompanied by the voice of Jesus(?!), would probably have been diagnosed with folie à deux/trois. They, obviously, all had a stressful few weeks, prior to this event, what with Paul in particular who had just consented to Stephen's (and probably a few others') killing . The guilt that hung around their necks would inevitably have pushed them all to experience massive amounts of stress, which induced this shared psychotic episode....

...don't you just love how the DSMIV and ICD10 has all its bases covered? Not only have they come up with psychiatric diagnoses for an individual's extra-ordinary experiences, but also for other people who happen to share in it.

Oh, and the hundreds of people who supposedly witnessed Jesus after his supposed resurrection? Sadly, a mere folie à plusieurs.

Christians are nutters. The lot o' you.

Depression with Ed Welch

...over at 9Marks.

“...Ed Welch, a biblical counselor at CCEF and author of the books Depression and When People are Big and God is Small. Mark Dever asks Ed about his background and testimony, as well the topics of co-dependency, substance abuse groups like A.A., medicating depression, “integrationism, ” “nouthetic” counseling, the role of counseling in the local church, and much more."

Misanthrophy

'Misanthropy' is a word that describes a person's general distrust of humanity. Upon reading its meaning, I couldn't help but be reminded of the character Meursault, from Albert Camus' novel, 'The Stranger'. Meursault, like most of Camus' other fictional characters is a person, who at his trial for murder, encounters the absurdity and meaninglessness of life in a God-less world. Neither suicide, nor faith in God, nor regret of one's past can be suitable realities for Meursault. And like most other characters, although unaware of the absurdity of human existence, can only embrace the here-and-now, a gentle (yet choking) indifference and impending death as the only true realities. Misanthropy, should an existentialist choose to stay alive, is the only way to live; every encounter with another person is to question his interpretation of the social, cultural, psychological, anthropological and philosophical norms.

While most existentialists find freedom in this way of thinking, it's all pretty bleak to me.

I guess, it could be argued that the Christian (who has encountered Jesus' substitutionary atonement) is also a misanthrope - but unlike the existentialist, his humble distrust of humanity is a result of seeing His awesome and explosive reality in grace.

The existentialist, seeing the absurdity and brokenness of life, clings to self, while the Christian, who is also met by the absurdity and brokenness of life, clings to him.

Nursing

I really like my job. Admittedly, the day-to-day grind certainly has its downers... just ask my wife, and she'll tell anyone that for almost everyday when I return from work, how close I am to quitting the job! Putting all of my quibbles aside, I do enjoy it. Historically, the role has its roots as one [the lady] to assist the medical doctor. It is traditionally, a role equated not with leadership, but with service.

And I really like that.

The job is simple. It requires basic skills in being able to show practical and emotional care. Mental-health nursing, at its core, is about listening to others who need help and then to act upon it. As a Christian, nursing certainly ticks many Christ-like boxes.

Simple really.

One specific aspect of mental-health nursing that I look forward to developing is spiritual care. Traditionally, an area shunned by most mental-health professionals, but I'm confident it is gaining increased awareness by many Trust employees. It seems we're beginning to see 'spirituality' as something necessary for individuals' path toward recovery.

I'd like to implement this at work and highlight this maybe as a role that I can contribute to the team...but I just don't know how to do it. Colleagues at work have their specialisms and lead roles in autism, self-harm, psychosis, depression and specific interventions in play/family/cognitive-behavioural therapies. So surely, 'spirituality' could be seen as a lead role and certainly something that needs developing, maybe?

...hmm...

When the joy fades...

Another excellent [FREE] book, written by Mark Driscoll - 'Porn-Again Christian'.

Death By Love - Mark Driscoll

Death By Love

No, Mr. President

More here

The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Post Modern World - Voddie Baucham

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