moving time

I moved! Yes, today, I went self-hosted, with the help of the super awesome Stevo Williams at Blindin Design. The new web address is http://reflectivemusings.com and here’s what you need to know:

1) All the previous content (including comments) was moved over to the new site. However, the user accounts are just pointers so if you registered on this blog, you’re going to have to register on the new blog now.

2) The site design is pretty much the same – it was the quickest way to get all the content in place, formatted, and live. A redesign is in the wings, but I need a bit more time.

3) All of this is to pave the way for two things. I want to have better access to track visits, learn what content people really dig and make more of it. And, I will be starting to post some audio in the New Year, so I needed room to grow.

If you have subscribed to this blog, thank you! Now go to the new blog at http://reflectivemusings.com and resubscribe!

On the Horizon

I’m working on a transition to take this from a wordpress.com site to a self-hosted site. The reasons are pretty simple. I want more flexibility for the design process, I want better stats for the site and, finally, I have intentions to start throwing down some audio on here in the new year. All of those things equate to the need to jump to the wordpress.org self-hosted platform.

All the content will come along for the ride, and the day of the transition I’ll post to redirect you. But that’s the scoop.

Much love and thanks to my mate Stevo at Blindin for his help.

Living In God’s Two Kingdoms

Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture by David VanDrunen was released recently by Crossway Books and presents a readable, comprehensive view of two-kingdom theology. I’m just a youngster in terms of theology, especially that of a reformed flavor, so I was excited to dive in with VanDrunen and stretch my brain.

The main premise is a counter to the “transformationalist” view of culture that seems to be pervasive with emergent theologians, those who ascribe to the New Perspective on Paul and neo-Calvinists (depending on your definition of neo-Calvinists). In transformational theologies, the church and Christians are about the work of restoration, as we march across creation and culture putting things back how they were meant to be before all this sin and death entered the world.

Whilst that can sound all well and good, the ramifications of that worldview are twofold:

1) When Scripture asserts that this world will be put away and a new heaven and a new earth will come, we have to reject any of the cataclysmic language that accompanies such claims. Instead, the new heaven and earth will come by a restoration to utopia.

2) VanDrunen states that when we embrace a transformationist view of culture, we cling to the work of Adam in the common kingdom rather than living in the grace of the redemptive kingdom which Christ has already won for us by living the life Adam, and each of us, should have lived.

This concept of resting in grace with regard to cultural activities was a refreshing exhortation, and one that could easily go unnoticed for many of us as we seek to understand the implications of the gospel in our everyday lives. Having been engaged with the idea of vocation recently on the blog, I was particularly keen to get to the end chapter wherein VanDrunen unpacks the theological foundations into meat for the daily life. But I will say that the book is best read from beginning to end.

As an attorney, he is skilled at building a case and it will provide more scope for discussion when approached in that linear fashion than if you were to pick and choose chapters. The defining of terms such as “church” and “Christian” are key to understanding his argument. Without these underpinnings, his passage on ministerial authority would be excessively contentious – and he knows already that some of his ideas will be met with opposition, especially when that final chapter deals with education and politics.

Apologetics for the 21st Century – Louis Markos – a review

I have long been a fan of the works of C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Norman Geisler and a multitude of other apologists who have worked hard to give a defense of the faith which we as Christians hold to. I was thus intrigued by Crossway’s recent release that acts as a primer on apologetics, both in terms of specific writers and specific arguments.

The book divides into two parts, focussing first on particular apologists and then in the second half moving to a broader view of the apologetics field. Markos is focussed on tracing out the evidentialist line of apologetics, as opposed to the presuppositionalist line. Evidentialists base their arguments on the evidence and build upwards towards a defense or reason, whilst presuppositionalists begin with the need for revelation and argue from the Scriptures.

I find myself to be most naturally in the presuppositional field, but with deep respect for and great love of the work of Christian evidentialists. At some point, in either camp, revelation is required. The arguments of the evidentialist apologist may convince a person that belief in God is not illogical, it may even satisfy that the testimony of the Bible to the person of Jesus is not fictitious, but it cannot cause a man to bend his knee to the Lord Jesus and repent of his own sins. Likewise, without revelation a person can follow the arguments of a presuppositionalist but they cannot receive them as really true unless some divine operation occurs.

That being said, I believe Markos has done a great service to the field of contemporary apologetics by drawing together what is essentially a brilliant introduction to the last 100 years of apologetics. Six chapters o the theology of Lewis are worth the asking price alone, as they provide a cohesive and insightful understanding of Lewis’ writing and thought. In amongst here is an outstanding chapter on the apologetics of myth, explaining the idea of True Myth and how it pertains to Lewis and his contemporaries. After this focus on C.S. Lewis comes a couple of chapters on G.K. Chesterton, one on the much overlooked Dorothy Sayers, an interesting one on Francis Schaeffer that is not all complementary (in fact it is here that Markos sounds a little put-out by presuppositionalists), and ends with a chapter on Josh McDowell.

Yes, Josh McDowell. I was somewhat surprised to find his name amongst such thinkers and writers. He is a man who has done much to spread the good news, but I’ve never considered him an apologist. Markos makes a good argument for his inclusion in the evidentialist tradition, and more so reveals my snobbery about apologetics.

After this we move to part two which we could essentially split into three sections. Section A deals with arguments for the existence of God, within the realms of logic, science and suffering. Section B looks at specific facets of the Christian faith and arguments in defense of those beliefs (the authority of the Scriptures, the historical Jesus, the resurrection) and then finally we turn to section C to look at contemporary issues (pluralism, postmodernity, neo-gnostics, creation and the new atheists). My favorite of this section was chapter 21, which deals with apologetics for postmoderns.

Markos writes well, is clearly widely read, and is able to present a huge amount of thought, argument and insight in a concise and understandable way. If you are just starting in your studies of apologetics, or you are looking for some clarification of the work of C.S. Lewis, or specific contemporary arguments, this book would be a great resource for your library.

 

A review copy was provided to me at no charge by Crossway Books. No attempt was made by the publisher to gain a favorable review, and all opinions and recommendations expressed are the author’s own.

 

Tags: apologetics, C.S. Lewis, Crossway Books, Louis Markos