Glancing Back

Lately many people around my school Emmaus Bible College have asked me why I dress in ties, suits, or at the very least a polo. I have to respond to them often that it is largely out of respect but there is another reason, a glorious reason.

When I was 17 this is what I looked like. That picture up there was taken at Camp Elim in Colorado 2 months before I got saved. The photo is a signification of the old life. It signifies all that has gone before and is a helpful reminder to the fact that I remain a sinner saved only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. At one point here on this walk with Jesus I went back to dressing like that and even acting like the guy you see up there. But I have to tell you the truth. The hardcore punk rocking snowboarder is dead. He is a dead man. The Ryan that obsessed every waking moment of every waking day about fresh tracks and the next lap through the park is dead. What do I mean when I say that? How can he be dead?

I believe the Bible is the inerrant infallible word of God and that it can be read objectively and authoritatively as the judge of all moral actions and is the bar that determines whether we are right with God or aren't so naturally, I refer to the Bible.

Romans 6:1-11
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised, is never to die again; death is no longer master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus Christ.

Some people have said to me, I believe both to my damage and to their own, that if it makes you happy it must be what God wants, therefore, do it often and whenever because God wants to see us happy. This is only a half truth. Snowboarding at one point in time made me happy and photograpy currently makes me happy, but they don't fill me. There was a day when what made me happy was snowboarding and I did it all the time. The above photo is an example of doing all that makes you happy whenever and however you want.

But I disagree with that last statement even. I do think that we should do what makes us happy all the time as much as possible. But when I was saved I found something out. All of the old happinesses as ends to themselves no longer make me happy. Photography doesn't make me happy eternally. Baseball, hockey, snwoboarding, whatever, no longer pleases every sense in me. Would you not say he is dead? That old man? But now I rejoice in salvation, I rejoice that God would save a wretch like myself stuck in a pit of a hole dying quickly and immanently cruising towards certain death on a snowboard.

And thus my saying it is only a half truth comes to light. If all you can do or if all I can do, is just to do stuff that has no saving value and is bathed in triviality, we are lost. If you or I would rather go "do something fun" than swim in the Bible our joys are in the wrong place. If the Bible and prayer aren't fulfilling and all of life isn't somehow saturated with God's word than we have lost the true focus and are in a terrifying situation and should expect the eternal judgement of hell. This is not to say that people aren't sinners. I forgot my Bible for many months at one point and had even forgotten most of what was in it. But when you are saved, true joy is found nowhere but in God. Even photography is pervaded with it now. When I turn to think that it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, then the value of what I do goes away rapidly and the value of who Jesus is comes to light. All I do is press the button when I photograph now. I didn't make the trees, birds, waterfalls, or anything in my photographs but Christ has made them. Therefore Christ's beauties are far greater. It is not longer I who live but Christ lives in me. I am no longer satisfied just to press the button on a camera, I must be satisfied in God or I will not be satisfied. Sure being satisfied in God has a lot to do with using our talents and enjoying a hobby, but they aren't everything. And I fear lest they should be.

So friends, the garb that I wear is respect towards adults it is true, but it also signifies a death. The ultimate death of sin that will occur when I die and am swept away to dwell with the living Christ.

Staring at the light of the gospel of the glory of God with you,
R.D. Thompson

New Blog Soon and Some New Books

I find it somewhat humorous that I am mostly only writing to myself in this blog. But hey its at least a journal or something. Anyway, shortly I will be posting a new article on one of two subjects either a) An Apologetic Answer To Homosexuality or b) A Brief Exegesis Of Hebrews 2:1-4. These both will stem from research projects which I am doing for school.

I bought two new books both of which look to be promising,

Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, Guy Prentiss Waters

Truth and the New Kind of Christian, R. Scott Smith

Right now my wife and I are on our 4 day sabbatical in the country (i.e. we're on thanksgiving break housesitting for a family that lives about 15 miles out of town.)

For His Glory,
R.D. Thompson

Reflecting On Being 1/4 Of The Way Home

Have you ever been in the mountains during summer? If you can find it in yourself to go outside of your tent into the feezing temperatures of early morning you will find that there is a gentle mist settled on everything. Over the fields of manzania bush, fields of rocks, and ponds and streams, there hangs a mist. It is beautiful. But when the sun comes up and the air warms up, the mist vanishes in seconds.

Today I turn 21. This is the age where most kids are legal to drink. Some Christian kids can finally drink, and most kids get bored with drinking because its not illegal anymore. This is the legal age where you more or less can do anything you want to do (except rent a car) and there are no legal repurcussions.

And here I sit. Not 10 months ago I would have gone and had a few drinks. But life has completely changed. Life is totally different.

James says, "You do not know what tomarrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14). I think I can say that I understand this quite a lot better now. I'm not an old and hardened life veteren, but I get it a little better. If I live my life like a fool, like most of the world is living it drowned in a cool pitcher of Coors, I will look up at 77.6 years old (the average american male life span) and realize I wasted it. I have instead a terrifying promise found in Matthew 24:45-51,

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his posessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant wil come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him to pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Life is a serious thing. We are not made to sit around and drink and get drunk and play poker and do little trivial things but to serve the Master. I was not made to waste hours surfing the internet for useless pieces of trivia. I was not made to shop at the mall for shoes hour after hour. I was not made to make a life built on the sinking sand of a high paying career. More than all things I must serve the Master. He has set us over His creation and now we must serve Him.

But then there also lies the promise of a wonderful eternity. Hebrews 6:11-12 says for "each one of you to show the same diligence to have full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." What is the hope laid out in that verse? Its in the end of the chapter in verse 19-20, "We have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone, as a forerunner on our behalf." Jesus promised by a God who cannot lie and has sworn and promised to us the hope of His Son. I have a hope for the end of my life. I have an anchor for the end of my life.

I may be 1/4 of the way to paradise today and if what James says is true I may be mere seconds from death. I may almost be home. James promises us that this is a wisp, a quickly passing life. I dare not get lazy and drunk and think that the Master is not coming home soon but I also dare to lay hold of the hope of an unchanging hopeful God who has promised us an eternity of happiness in Jesus.

For The Glory Of An Unchanging Swearing Promising God,
R.D. Thompson

Thomas Gataker and the Right Attitude About Humanity

I read recently in a quote from Thomas Gataker in the book Puritan Profiles by William Barker,

"I thirst for thirstiness; I weep for tears;
Well pleased am I to be displeased thus;
The thing I fear is want of fear;
Suspecting I am not suspicious.

I cannot choose but to live, because I die;
And when I am not dead, how glad am I;
Yet, when I am thus glad for sense of pain,
And careful am, lest I should careless be;
Then do I grieve for being glad again,
And fear lest carelessness take care from me.

Amid these restless thoughts this rest I find.
For those who rest not here, there's rest behind."

-Thomas Gataker

This is the life of a believer. This is how I feel half of the time. Torn between gladness and sorrow. Split between careful and careless. Thirsting to be thirsty and not get lacadaisical. Weeping because I cannot weep for what I ought to be weeping for. I cannot make myself love those whom I ought, give what I ought, serve as I ought, and it causes a rift between the flesh and the spirit. Oh thank God for Jesus, the only way to love, serve, and give. It is Jesus to whom we lift praises saying with Paul,

"Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25)

Exalting In The Hope Of His Glory,
R.D. Thompson

Borders, Reuters, and The Gospel

Yesterday I went to Borders just to get a view of things. I wish I hadn't. I am astounded at the state of our culture. Tonight I spent some time ever so briefly on Reuters (I am not too fanatical about news) because someone told me that in order to address issues in our culture you have to know what is going on. Once again, I am astounded at the state of things.

Homosexuality is pressed harder and harder. Ted Haggard got lost in sin. Democrats rule the house and senate. Richard Dawkins and and company continue the assault on God. The evangelical church is in disrepair. Episcopalians have a woman bishop.

And despite how much I profess and try to love Jesus, I still have sin problems.

It is sometimes depressing to look on and think, "They are winning the battle, it doesn't matter how many debates or cogent clear arguments we makes, we will lose". We still haven't cured cancer, AIDS, World Poverty, or Sin and they look on and triumphantly say, "There. See where your God goes?" In the case of Haggard we now face a massive charge of hypocrisy.

"This is where the rubber meets the road" is what a good friend of mine Kyle Fink would say. This is where faith happens. This is where faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone proves the power of God. And what a glorious faith we have. Our God says,

"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18)
"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God" (Romans 14:11)
"Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me...even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?" (Isaiah 43:10-13)
"He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 17:26)
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principlaities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
"For the scripture says of Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth." (Romans 9:17)
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy able to destroy soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

The gospel goes marching on. No Richard Dawkins, Homosexual liberal, Democratic house, or fallen pastor can stop it. Like an imminent sunrise or a charging army the gospel of our our Lord Jesus Christ continues. Let the scientists speculate, Jesus is still Lord over all. Hebrews 2:8-9 says,

"For in subjecting all things to [man] he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone"

The glory of God makes all the knowledge of Richard Dawkins look like a child's picture book. It makes all of the information trafficking on the Internet and television look like a half sentence in a library of books. It makes all things everywhere small and insignificant. And for us humans to look at that and say, "I'd rather not believe in you, you are too small" and elevate themselves to a heightened position where they decide what they do in the bedroom and with whom, and where they decide who fights what war, and where they decide their ultimate destiny, is ultimately just noise over a microphone. Never will it stand, never will it succeed. Jesus has won all and will continue to win all.

As He placed Pharaoh He will place democrats in the house, senate, and most likely the presidency. And for what? For His glory! Was Pharaoh a good guy? No! He was a dictator and a terrible person. Did God place Him? YES!

As He has appointed all men and their habitations and boundaries, He is due all respect. No power or principality can steal His glory. No power or principality can stop this gospel. Jesus will prevail and there will be a day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus is Lord whether they think they rule their eternal destiny or not. And then there will be judgment. Richard Dawkins will answer the Almighty and perish in eternal fire. We must not fear those who can kill the body, our God is far greater. Our Jesus is far greater.

Existing for His glory,
R.D. Thompson

Two New Books

Picked up two new books in the last 2 days.

Reformed Expository Commentary: Hebrews . Phillips, Richard D. P&R: 2006.
Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism. Grudem, Wayne. Multnomah: 2006.

Fresh off the press for both of them. The Hebrews commentary is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone studying Hebrews. Especially preachers. A quick excerpt from his commentary on chapter 2:1-4 of Hebrews,

"We should fear to be separated from the anchor of God's Word, or to have any other hand on the wheel of our lives than the Captain of our salvation, who speaks in the Bible. To drift away is ultimately to invite the judgment God will inflict on those who neglect His saving message in Jesus Christ."

Grudem's book is equally as good. I haven't read any of it (I bought it 10 minutes ago) but this is what some of the men that blurbed it said,

"After the Bible, I cannot imagine a more useful book for finding reliable help in understanding God's will for manhood and womanhood in the church and the home" -John Piper

"This book belongs in the hands of every pastor, seminary student, and thinking layperson" -R. Albert Mohler Jr.

I have come to realize that generalizing when it comes to writing is a pretty solid way to buy books. If Rob Bell or Don Miller blurb a book, I either don't bother or know whats coming. Likewise when John Piper and Al Mohler both blurb on a book, it might be worth picking up. I don't have a very vast knowledge of who is who in this world but I know and trust both of them so it is well worth the money. I'll review both of those as I go along.

For Our Majestic God,
Ryan Thompson

ELF Meeting Recap and Thoughts

Last evening I attended a meeting of the ELF which is a Tri-States group that meets and listens to fairly famed teachers, authors, and pastors. ELF I found out stands for Evangelical Leadreship Fraternal. It was extremely enjoyable to meet and fellowship with local men. A group from Galena headed by Gary Kirst puts this meeting together and there has been some power packed guys there, among them,

- D.A. Carson (last time)
- Steve Wellum (last night)
- Leland Ryken (next time)

The food was excellent, I sat next to Ken Fleming and we talked for a while. More than the food and more than the fellowship was the glorious message of the gospel relayed to us by Dr. Steve Wellum speaking on the topic "Substitutionary Atonment: A Biblical Teaching Under Fire". Mark Stevenson invited me to come after he saw my response - to what I feel is one of the biggest ordeals in Evangelicalism right now - on this blog.

In short Dr. Wellum produced a well thought summary of the problem and the deeper problems within the problem. First : The Problem,

People are ditching Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA from here forward) all over the place for a variety of reasons. The most prominenet of which are a) A compromise with society, we are a society of "Whatever is good for you is good for you" otherwise known as pluralism. b) Theological Illiteracy, we do what feels good and doctrine just gets lost. Doctrine is not just a "bag of marbles" which is how many people view it today. The church and many people are tending to "tinker with God" and change some things around very cleverly in the doctrines of wrath and sin. Ultimately however the cross is a "test case" for our theology.

Dr. Wellum went on to explain the many problems people have with PSA among them being: a) it makes God an unrighteous violent judge which He expressly says we must not be, b) it is just a "western" theory of things (which is exactly what I was responding to on my blog), c) it makes our salvation a mechanical transaction, d) it makes God unethical. These views are held either in part or in whole depending on who you read and talk to. Men like Joel Greene and Steve Chalke say that a bloody atonement theory is just "cosmic child abuse" and God is just a wrathful devil if we follow this view. Dr. Wellum made an excellent comment when he said, "penal substitution is not just a theory of the atonement...it is that which makes sense of scripture...nothing in the Bible makes sense without it."

From here I had a hard time keeping up in the note taking fashion as I was exhausted and my hand hurt so I only took down quotes and brief ideas but oh they are glorious quotes and ideas. I will be getting the message in full shortly on audia and I will either try to make it available or will directly transpose it for your intellectual delight.

The most important and fresh ways of saying the real problems with having problems with God being wrathful that he said was the idea that God is a judge. Its there in scripture (Duet 32:4, Gen 18:24) and we must not forget it. But God is not like a judge in a way. Or at least like an earthly judge. Because an earthly judge judges based on a law far separated from himself. But when judges based on a law, He is the law. God is His law and when He comes down off of that seat to take the penalty for what the law requires, HE makes the law, HE is the law, and only HE can satisfy the law. And this He does when He kills His only Son and essentially kills Himself for our sakes. This IS the gospel! Ok there will be more later.

For Our Bloodied Savior's Glory
Ryan

New Books and A New Blog Soon

I bought a few new books yesterday. They are:

A Jonathan Edwards Reader
Becoming Conversant With The Emergent Church - Don Carson
Hymns of Truth and Praise (Also known as "The Black Book")
Evangelical Feminism - Wayne Grudem
Plain ESV Cross Reference Black Letter Bible - God

It was fun to buy books again. The Grudem book is making a stir so I figured I ought to get it and review it. As I read books, probably more during the summer, I will review them on here for your delight and for my memory. The more I read it seems the more I forget so I really need to keep a place for all of this stuff. I hope they are useful for you also.

I will have a new blog after today I am sure becuase I meet with Dave Glock to discuss the book we are reading Four Views on the Atonement ed. Eddy Beilby. Right now we are on the Christus Victor (Christ Our Victor) or Ransom view contributed by Greg Boyd. Its ok I guess, there are definitely some ransom verses in the Bible though I would be inclined to say that we are certainly not captive to Satan as God more or less has a leash on Satan when you read Job. It is good to note that it IS Greg Boyd our friendly neighborhood Open Theist that is writing this one so he levels down in my mind. It would be one thing if he were say, an Arminian and went with this one, I would at least feel like we are at least talking about something similar when I talk to Arminians.

Secondly I will be attending the local ELF (Evangelical L? Foundation) here in Dubuque and there is a speaker coming from Southern Seminary to talk about Substitution. I am sure this will evoke thought and a further blog. If you bother with this blog come back wednesday or thursday and I should have fresh thinking on here.

Sozetha!

Why Penal Substitutionary Atonement Cannot be a Remnant of the Western Legal System

I recently heard an Emergent leader say that the Penal Substitutionary Atonement view of Christ was an outpouring of the western judicial system. Following him saying that someone asked the question, "Show me a verse or passage in the Bible in support for Penal Substitutionary Atonement". [I made a slight mistake here and after going back and reading what he said I realized that he really was wanting to know, not attacking, however, I also realize that there are many people that may well say there are no texts for Substitution so the rest of ths blog still stands] This is astounding. It is one thing to say that you do not agree with a view, it is entirely another to say that there is absolutely no support for the view, especially the view in question.

Without attacking anyone, without patronizing anyone, and without being guilty of ad hominem in arguing vehemently for the wrath of God I want to defend this wonderful doctrine as outspokenly and biblically as possible.

First please notice that I do say wonderful doctrine. I am in a cultural minority when I say that, because right now it is un-trendy to say that God is wrathful enough and hates sin enough to kill Jesus on our behalf. I really am a wholehearted proponent of this doctrine being equated with the Gospel. It is true and I intend to explain why.

First: What is the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement?
I won't go too deep into answer here. Most of those reading this will know what goes into it. This is how it goes. Man is screwed up and ultimately sinful and deserve to die (depravity but thats a different blog, Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23, Isa. 64:6), God's righteousness must be satisfied and his righteous law must be satisfied so Jesus came and recieved the punishment (penal) we deserved (substitutionary) and satisfied God (atonement) with His blood for us so that we may have his righteousness for our own and be able to stand before God.

This definitely assumes some things. God hates sin being one of them, God will punish sinners being another of them. So without going to far and typing too much I want to place one of my key texts.

Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.
Leviticus 17:14a
For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life.

This is Old Testament law mind you, but the principle is there. Nothing has changed from Israel's time. We still need blood to atone for us. We still need sacrifice to be atoned for. This is also blatant proof that blood atonement has been a doctrine since well before the western judicial system was ever in practice as Leviticus dates to around 1450 BC which is 800 years before the Greek judicial system even came into practice.

So the second question is then, how will atonement be made for our souls? Will we have to sacrifice an animal on an altar in order to be atoned for? The answer to this question is simply, no. No, because Jesus was that atonement for our souls. How can I prove that? The Bible. Yes friends it certainly does say in the Bible that Jesus was a sacrifice for our sins and that he satisfied God. So where? That is what I intend to prove.

Isaiah 53:4-12
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judegment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deciet in His mouth. 10 But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By his knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors, yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

I do not know how anyone can possibly say that Jesus was not meant in the Leviticus 17 sense to be the atonement on our behalf. Please, please, please, look at the words in verse 10,

"But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering."

And please see the language in verse 11,

"As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied."

Jesus is the greatest guilt offering ever made and there is this text that says it loudly and clearly. I would further and emphatically like to note that there is loud and clear substitute language here and note the date of Isaiah, that being between 740 and 700 BC. This is again way before the western legal judicial system. I also doubt that Greek influence stretched at all into the Jewish way of life since the Greeks were pretty well taken with their own internal problems and Persia.

Finally for this blog I will note one last text. It isn't the only text and I promise that one day I will write a book that proves that there are far more than "seeds" of Penal Substitute ideas in Pauline Theology.

Romans 5:9-11
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now recieved the reconciliation.

This is merely a taste of the Pauline thought of Substitution throughout his writings. I want to ask just a few questions on this one.

1. How are we justified from Romans 5:9?
2. What are we being saved from in 9?
3. Through whom are we saved in 9?
4. Who are we being reconciled to in verse 10?
5. Through what are we being reconciled in 10?
6. What are we doing in verse 11?
7. Is this possible to do without verses 9 and 10?

They are simple answers are they not?

That said I love Jesus. I pray for their sake that those who will talk like this, that is saying there is no mention of Substitution in the Bible or worse that Penal Substitution is simply a remanant of Western legal thinking, will come to realize just how dangerous this type of talking is. I will go so far as to say that you lose Jesus if you lose this doctrine. The Old Testament set of sacrifices become incoherent, Isaiah 53 becomes babble, and Jesus blood becomes what? I really would like to know. What is the point of that whole cross thingie if it wasn't for our hope? He is Lord and He was indeed pierced for our transgressions.

God's Church Needs Desperate Prayer

Today our friends in the Presbyterians moved to "receive" a paper allowing new spinoffs of how to express "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" saying, "One reason is that language limited to the Father and Son 'has been used to support the idea that God is male and that men are superior to women'" View Here.
Here are some of the alternative ways that they have proposed a rephrase:

Mother, Child and Womb
Rock, Redeemer, Friend
Lover, Beloved, Love
Creator, Savior, Sanctifier
King of Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love

My personal favorite is the top one...it definitely doesn't make a vast turning of the tables or promote any sort of feminist agenda. Now the thing about this that Christians should have their ears perked to the most is, obviously, the Bible. What does the Bible say about these three? Well you could always turn to Jesus blatant use of Father in John 17,

"Father the hour has come..." (Vs1)
"Now, Father, glorify me..." (Vs5)
"Holy Father, keep them..." (Vs11)
"even as you, Father, are in me..." (Vs21)
"Father, I desire that they also..." (Vs24)
"O righteous Father, although the world..." (Vs25)

Strangely enough note male sonship language is used in the same passage,

"glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you" (Vs1)

Now this is strange that they would blatantly change a 2000 year tradition of not only people calling Jesus, Son, and calling God, Father but Jesus calling God "Father" and God calling Jesus "Son". Especially if it was indeed Jesus the Son of God who was Infinite Eternal Almighty Creator God and who in this passage and many, many, others seems to find it fitting to use the title Father and his own title Son. If Jesus called God, "Father" and even told us to pray, "Our Father..." to God why would some feminists in a fairly respectful denomination find the need to change his name. I would say that it is also interesting to note that the Greek word, "MAY - ter" is never once used of God but the word "PAH - ter" is used some 300 times and yes the Greek does matter but that is Textual Criticism not Trinity Name Change.
What a strange world this is we live in. Indeed, when approaching anyone you don't ever decide, "This person's gender is a threat to me so I will decide that He is really a She." If you walked up to president Bush and said, "Mrs. Bush how good to see you" and he saw that you were quite bent on making sure you thought he was a woman you would probably never meet him again or recieve a very happy anything from anyone. In fact, people would likely call you quite crazy. So lets start calling things what they are instead of changing their names to suit our purposes.
That said, we must pray for the church in America. The day has arrived and the hour is far passed when people started deciding to change a person's name, indeed the creator of the universes name, just because His gender is a threat to them. We must act in love, and it is not loving to let people walk around thinking it is OK or in any way permissable to call God "Mother" and Jesus "Womb". Stand for truth brothers. Stand for truth sisters. Stand for truth church.

Preview of Coming Attractions

Very soon there will be a full article about Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I read a comment on Tony Jones blog that angrified me somewhat. As someone asked, "Show me a verse, reference, or anywhere in the Bible for Substitutionary Atonement" Tony himself doesn't believe in it and calls it a "western legal system" remnant.

This is obviously misguided and I long for people not to say things like that. So look forward to the next blog answering the question, "Is God Wrathful Enough To Kill Jesus For Us?" To which I will unanimously say, "YOU BET!"

Desiring God NatCon Photos

Recently I photographed the Desiring God National Conference. It was a sheer privelege and joy to give to this amazing work of God. You can view the images at this link for Desiring God's website. As I said it was a privelege and one that I would repeat a thousand times over. I will soon be placing my own collection of DGM's NatCon images on this blog so come back soon!

Wells and Ryan

This is David Wells and I. Dr. Wells wrote the book Above All Earthly Pow'rs which is an incredible analysis of Postmodernism and western culture. I encourage you to go get his recent message from the Desiring God National Conference Here.

A brief Exposition of Hebrews 1:1-2

Hebrews 1:1-2 (NASB)

God after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His son.
I went for a walk as I meditated on this verse carefully thinking through its different parts. I think I am going to give a ten minute sermon on it so I will begin recording my observations and conclusions here.

As I walked some things resounded in my head. First,"God after He spoke" This in itself is wondrous. You have to convince so many people that God even exists but to convince them that He speaks is a whole different step. It is in fact a magnificent miracle that God spoke and that as we shall see God speaks period. When you take texts like "Then God said, 'Let there be light'" (Gen. i vs. iii), and, "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said...'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?'" (Job 38:1,4) Truly this is a magnificent God. One who speaks and the light of a sun a million times the size of the earth springs into being and shines light in an otherwise lightless existence, who asks us, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" So this God has spoken, but while God speaking is breathtaking, it isn't the main point in this passage. This leads us to ask what the word after is talking about so we move on, "Long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways". If God spoke long ago and this was all we had the 21st century man would have the right to ask the question "So what?" but it isn't all we have, however we will leave this question for a following verse. Let us begin this section with an observation. Observation: God spoke in prophets in many portions and in many ways. Question: What does it mean for God to speak in someone? I paced myself around the building of my school asking that question repeatedly. How did God speak in prophets? The first thing that came to my mind was Jonah (followed by Isaiah). Jonah went to Babylon and a) Pronounced judgement and b)Pronounced Solution. Isaiah a)Proclaimed a broken humanity b) Proclaimed a Glorious Sovereign Lord c) Proclaimed a coming solution to to the broken humanity. So essentially God spoke about Himself, about our falleness, and about how on earth that problem would be solved. If you read the Old Testement God was exceeding quick to speak (many times/portions) and spoke through prophets, dreams, catclysmic signs, and even donkeys (many ways). In summation, for God to speak in someone/thing was to reveal our need and His person in the ways that Heb 1:1 says (prophets, many portions, many ways) and He did it often.

Finally we come to "In these last days, has spoken to us in His Son" I mentioned earlier that it would be absolutely right to ask the question "So what?" if Long ago was all we had. This verse resoundingly smashes that question as it begins by speaking about these last days. Now the writer of Hebrews is writing to Hebrews right? And that was 2000 years ago right? So what in the world does last days mean? It means only this, that as the writer of Hebrews writes he has one thing in mind, What God did and what He is doing now. And while last days does have some significance of a catastrophic kind of last days that should be left for a different post. Suffice it to say that of greatest import here is that last days refers to the days we live in now. It is talking to us as the writer refers to a third generation of Christians when he uses the express word us. We are in the last days before Jesus comes back. We are the us he speaks about. This thought alone will prbably merit an offshoot blog but for now should remain unspoken. Last days quite resoundingly makes us see that this is it, this is the "last word" so to speak. God has spoken and that is it. It doesn't say, "In these last days God has spoken to us in His son and in our relative experience as autonomous individuals." It says, "[God] has spoken to us in His son".

So what does this mean to us? I'll tell you what it means to us. It means that there is no more revelation we need than that of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It means that Jesus is God's final and last word. It means that all of those things spoken in prophets and dreams is gone. Jesus stands brightly at the center of the universe as the last spoken word to us. John Piper says this, "There is a silent rebuke in these words and it says 'Why do you look for other words? Is Jesus not enough?'." How many times I have thought, "Oh if God would just speak to me Himself like He did to Abraham then I would be able to obey." or "If God would just send an angel to tell me what to do then I could do it." The writer of Hebrews speaks with absolute finality when he says, "[God] has spoken to us". Its over! We don't need any more words than Jesus words! We are sinning in looking for God to speak to us in dreams and miracles (though I believe He still does these things), in looking for God to speak again. If we have our faith and hope in Jesus Christ than Our chains haven fallen off and our hearts are free, free to worship God through Jesus His final word.

Sadly questions never cease to come to my skeptics brain. But I will seek to squash these when I write again. The question that blasted through my mind as I walked and later sat with my Bible in solitude meditating on these verses was, "So...why do we listen to the Apostles writings if Jesus was God's final spoken word?" This I will not answer now but suffice it to say that Jesus finality does not destroy the validity of the Bible, it backs it.

Taking my Joy in God's Last Word

Ryan

Me And The Man

This is a photo of Piper and I. It was glorious to talk to this great man of God. Had to remind myself repeatedly that he is no super star, only a man proclaiming the Gospel.

The Beginning

So here I am...blogging again. Life has changed dramatically since I last blogged. Once there was a Ryan who slandered and used the internet to speak passionately, but not passionately for Jesus Christ. I was saved then but wrong.

This blog will be used solely for spreading passion about Jesus and especially reformed theology. Occasionally after I have read an exceptionally horrible or heretical book I will absolutely expose it on the internet. I may also address problems I see in cultural mindsets. However, the only agenda here is speak loudly and publicly about the Glory of God and the loving intra-trinitarian relationship with His only son Jesus Christ. There will be many words you may not understand and occasionally I will differ from stands other reformed men may have, HOWEVER, Jesus is Lord and God is Sovereign and by God's grace that will never be strayed from.