Author: fundyreformed

So Joe Knows…

~ fundyreformed ~ 7 Comments

Regler Joe at the Big Orange Truck asked what people thought about having more than one service each week in church. He made it clear he does that and loves that, but wondered what people thought. I wrote this response, and as I was writing it I thought it’d make a good post for my blog. Well due to Blogger not displaying the word verification box properly on my computer tonight, that post is happening now. And that is why the post is “so Joe knows”. And now you know, and so I’ll stop while I’m ahead and give you that comment.

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Joe,

It would be interesting to know the Puritans well enought to hear their answer. I suspect it would have been one service a week and only on Sunday.

Sunday School originally was invented for the purposes of helping orphans and poor kids. They would have to work a 40+ hour week in the factories in horrible conditions, and on Sundays (their only day off), people would come and have school with them. They would teach them how to read and write and about arithemetic and etc. Of course the people doing this were Christians, and they would teach the Bible too. This eventually morphed into the modern day Bible lessons for kids on Sundays. Click here for more info.

Sunday evening service was not possible really, before the invention of oil lamps. And it actually was the invention of oil lamps which started Sunday evening services. Churches purchased oil lamps when they were still novel, and lit them on Sunday nights. This attracted a crowd, and an evangelisic service was held. So originally, it was Sunday evening services which were evangelistic in nature, and Sunday morning services were worshipful and geared toward the believing church members rather than lost attenders. It also may have been tied to the fact that in pioneering type days, people would travel miles to get to church and would not just turn around and leave, but would rather stay and fellowship. See more here.

I’m not sure about Wednesday night’s history, however.

Anyways, these are traditions. Tradition is great, and if you and the people want to do these services wonderful! But I said all that to say this, we should not needlessly tie ourselves into traditions of men merely for tradition’s sake. We shouldn’t look down our noses at people who don’t do it like us. And beyond that, we should take the time to learn church history better (and history in general, for that matter) so that we don’t live in an isolated 100 year time bubble.

And I plead guilty to having lived there at times, and of still needing to do more learning and researching myself.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on the matter. (Don’t mean to sound “preachy” or anything!)

Also, thanks for bringing this up, Joe. Great questions and great discussion so far.

Blessings in Christ to all,

Bob Hayton

Rom. 15:5-7

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I would really like to find some more authoritative internet sources for my history cited here. I did read this in another book, and I believe I’ve heard others mention it as well. So anyone reading this, please feel free to correct me or to add some further proof. Anyone read the Puritans more than I have? Can you attest to my claims?

Thanks!

Pondering Our Place in the Universe

~ fundyreformed ~ 9 Comments

click here to explore the relative size of Earth and the universe

If you haven’t guessed this about me already, I love learning. Whenever I am somewhere that has cable, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and others like them fascinate me.  

Recently, I received 2 emails with two similar presentations about the earth in relation to the universe. One of them compares the relative size of Earth to its sister planets and then in relation to the Sun and other stars. The other included a power point presentation which contained many pictures of the earth taken from space.

These pictures amaze me and thrill me at the same time. They remind me how vast the universe is, and therefore they point me to how absolutely indescrible is the God who made it all! As the Psalmist said:

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens….When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? …O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1, 3-4, 9 emphasis mine)

Another couple of verses which give us perspective as we ponder our planet’s place in the universe,  are found in Isaiah 40.

Behold, the nations [i.e. Earth] are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust….All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. (Is. 40:15, 17 emphasis mine)

I hope that you will be listening to the message that these pictures (that I’ll link to in a moment) will be preaching to you, just like this psalm teaches:

The heavens [think universe] declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world…. (Psalm 19:1-4a emphasis mine)

Well to see the pictures I am talking about, click on the picture above or this link. Also, you will need to click on this link to start the powerpoint presentation (you may want to save that to your computer rather than just opening it online). Hope you enjoy the pictures and the meditation time on the wonder of our God!

A KJV Only Manifesto?

~ fundyreformed ~ 67 Comments

I know that some of you are weary of the KJV Only debate. I am too. Especially today. But I think it is an important issue  as it keeps part of Christ’s body divided (needlessly in my opinion). And so much of it comes from misunderstandings and confusions. It isn’t a simple subject, to put it simply 🙂

Anyway, this month the men over at Jackhammer will be discussing the issue. And unlike Sharper Iron, they are willing to  allow a free-for-all debate, which seems to inevitably blossom wherever this issue is discussed. They, as the blog name implies, are not afraid to “hammer away” on this and any other issue. And their rules are quite simple.

Don’t understimate these men. I respect the fact that they are educated and honest, and most of all they respect Scripture. Nevertheless, I differ with them on this and other issues. But their side is worth hearing out. Particularly on this KJV Only debate. If only their position would rule the day for KJV Only folks… Then perhaps we would not have people question the salavation of those led to the Lord from non KJV versions. And other  equally nonsensical and dangerous postions would be avoided, too.

Well, in reading one of their posts, I saw a “manifesto” of sorts. And it is definitely not your average KJVO fare. And right now, they are getting comments and questions from two different sides concerning these points. So what do you think? If you want to know what I do, just go read the discussion at this post by Pastor Dave Mallinak, where these points were first given. I reproduce them in full here for your benefit. So if you’re afraid to join their discussion, just tell me what you think? As a KJV preferred guy,  Will Dudding gave his interesting  thoughts in a blogpost here that is definitely worth reading.

Call me crazy, but I’m interested to hear what you think.

1. We affirm that on the issue of versions, our most important duty is to be faithful to the Word and words of God.2. We deny that innerrancy for a particular English Version of the Bible is necessary. We neither affirm nor deny innerrancy of versions — it is a non-issue.

3. We affirm that perfection should be defined not as “without mistakes” but as “what God has given and preserved.”

4. We affirm that God promised to Providentially preserve His Word in the original languages.

5. We therefore affirm that whatever God has preserved can be said to be perfect, regardless of whatever “mistakes” someone might dredge up.

6. We deny that canonicity and preservation are separate issues. Canonicity refers to words, not merely books and chapters, and canonicity is a recognition of what God has preserved, rather than an establishing of what should be included.

7. We deny that preservation rests in any translation, including any English translation.

8. We affirm that translations should be chosen, not particularly for their “accuracy” as for their faithfulness.

9. We deny that any form of “dynamic equivalence” can be considered to be faithful. We deny that any modern version that utilized “dynamic equivalence” can be considered faithful.

10. We affirm that “formal equivalence” is the only faithful method of translation.

11. We deny that reliance upon the Critical Text could be considered faithful. We do not say, however, that the Critical Text could not be considered to be the Word of God on any level whatsoever. We deny that the Critical Text could be considered a faithful text of the Word of God.

12. We affirm that the body of texts known as the Received Text and the Majority Text have been proven through the years to be a faithful text of God’s Word.

13. We affirm that any version which attempts to translate either the Received Text or the Majority Text faithfully by means of Formal Equivalence can be considered a faithful translation.

14. We deny that it is a “sin” (i.e. “transgression of God’s law” ) to read an unfaithful version. (Mark 7:15)

15. We deny that there could never be any other English version of the Word of God that would be faithful.

16. We affirm that the 1769 edition of the King James Version should be updated. We affirm that plans should be made so that this can be accomplished in the not too distant future.

17. We deny that any publishing house, including Thomas Nelson, Inc. has any authority either to create a version of Scripture or to write a new edition of Scripture.

18. We affirm that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, and therefore the church itself (i.e. local churches) must take charge of the care and maintenance of the Bible.

19. We deny that any parachurch organization can be considered “the church,” and therefore we deny that parachurch organizations can or should have any part in the translation or care of Scripture. We include parachurch “Bible” colleges, no matter how scholarly their professors.

20. We affirm that an educated laity, skillful in languages, adept at handling Scripture, faithful to the written Word of God, and diligent in preserving, inasmuch as is humanly possible, can handle the Word of God and translation issues far more adequately and reliably than any other organization of man’s invention.

For more on this issue, check out my posts on the subject, or also my KJV Only Debate Resource Center.

A Mixed Bag of Trivial Info

~ fundyreformed ~ 7 Comments

This is going to be a disjointed, mixed up, post of unrelated and somewhat unimportant info. So if you are busy, you might want to go elsewhere.

First item: Today is my youngest daughter Amber’s birthday. She is now one year old! And because of this occasion (coupled with our busy schedule from Sat. and Sun.), all I have time for today is this mixed up post.

Second item: Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts. I’ve been more or less an  Indy fan since the time that Jim Harbaugh (who was the Chicago QB for a while), led them to an unprobable playoff run (which I believe ended with a loss in the AFC championship game). Harbaugh was called the “comeback kid” or something like that. And ever since Peyton Manning has been the QB, I have been impressed with the team and been rooting for them. So finally, Peyton and company get rewarded for their many seasons of offensive excellence. And I’ve always respected Tony Dungy, since his days as Def. Coordinator for the Vikings. Plus, I spent 5 years in IN, so I feel I can qualify as a bona fide fan.

Third item: Desiring God now has a blog! Check it out here.  

Fourth item: Check out my sidebar for some new feed lists. The lists include the 7 latest posts from some Christian newsy sites, as well as some of my favorite and more newsy blogs. I am most happy with having been able to tweak Thirsty Theologian‘s blogspotting feed (by using xFruits.com). Now all of Thirsty’s great blog-finds grace the sidebar of my blog too! Having these feed-lists help me spread good stuff from the blogosphere and the web, for my readers to enjoy. And they make it easy for me to follow all that’s interesting and important out there. I’m mentioning this to bring attention to the feed-lists incase you hadn’t noticed them before.

Fifth item: I probably need to clean up my sidebar, now that I’ve pointed it out to everyone. And I will, in time.

Sixth item: If anyone is interested in the whole KJVO (King James Version Only) debate, this month jackhammr.org will be discussing the issue. That blog represents the best KJVO position available within the  KJVO ranks. It should be an interesting discussion, and may open your eyes as to why serious minded people actually do prefer the KJV. I used to believe almost exactly like them, but have since come to understand some of the fatal flaws with their thinking. I will be interacting over there this month on the topic, so come on over and help me out! But your welcome to just lurk and learn, too. Again check out my KJV Only Debate Resource Center for a countering voice on the issue.

Seventh item: I enjoyed going to a song-writer’s forum at our church Friday night, where Keith Getty discussed his views on Christian music. Keith and his wife Kristyn also performed some songs for us at the Sunday morning worship service at our church’s north campus (the one we attend). Keith is the one who helped write In Christ Alone, and O Church Arise, among other great songs. I will probably blog more about this later in the week.

All right, the bag’s empty now. Go read a better post. Later….  

Calvinism, Pain, and Scrutiny

~ fundyreformed ~ 9 Comments

This is just a brief post to let you know Time magazine recently interviewed Al Mohler regarding his Calvinism, and his recent near-death hospital stay. He did recover fully, by the way. But Time’s interview gives a fascinating insight into how secularism looks at both Christianity and Calvinism. This is definitely worth a quick read.

Here it is. (HT: Ryan DeBarr)