Discalced Baptist

"For detestable to Yahweh your God is everyone who is doing such things, everyone who is acting dishonestly."  Deut 25:16 LEB Today I took my 4 boys to the toy store. My wife was under the weather, so I sought ways to give her the opportunity to rest. A cup of tea and an empty house I thought would be an excellent way for her to rest. We did some necessary shopping in the morning, but I still needed something to do for the afternoon. Thus, we ended up at the toy store to give my children opportunity to find amusement with the toys on display and placed out as demos. Though my children were well behaved most of the day (as well as can be hoped for 4 boys 5 and under) by the time I let them go play with toys, they became quite unruly. They fought over toys and one had temper tantrum, throwing a toy to the ground. Finally, the last straw came for me when my eldest son broke a toy. It was a little plastic helicopter that had a functional rotor. In trying to force th...

Many years ago I was an art major for a time. It was because of being an art major that I had to take a philosophy class. That philosophy class was on the relationship of art & philosophy. It was a very intriguing class and I enjoyed it so much that it ultimately was the reason why I considered becoming an philosophy major. Where there were several things I enjoyed about the class, it was my final project (a presentation with a brief summary paper) that I think really pushed me into the field. The topic of worship & spirituality is one that matters deeply to me. Having served in worship bands for 15 years, and played music for almost 20 years, the subject strikes a chord that resonates deep within me (pun intended). Below is the summary paper I wrote which started me into philosophy. Where I could elaborate greatly on what I said, and there are some aspects of it I would probably change today, the overall gist of the paper I still agree with: Music matters. There is a reaso...

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 NASB In Matthew 4:1-11, we find Jesus being tempted by Satan. There is a specific part of this event I want to focus on. It is when Satan tempts Jesus to throw himself off of the pinnacle of the temple. Here is the passage in its entirety: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness  to be tempted by the devil.   And after He had  fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.   And  the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the  Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”   But He answered and said,  “It is written, ‘ Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God .’”   Then the devil took Him into  the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,   and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for ...

I was recently in a discussion on Facebook dealing with God's sovereignty. In it I was accused of being one of Job's friends, acting as a lousy comforter. I won't deny that I was a lousy comforter because I was in no way trying to be one. I didn't realize that the person with whom I was engaging was currently suffering. When I read what was stated, I simply saw an argument for a certain view of God's sovereignty, one that I couldn't rectify with clear statements regarding God's sovereignty in Scripture. My Reformed understanding is often considered cold by those of a different view, so again, it doesn't surprise me that my interlocutor felt like I was a terrible comforter. Many folks don't see how a Reformed understanding can bring comfort in times of evil or peril. The truth is though, it is only a Reformed understanding that can bring me peace in my current circumstances. To allow you into my life, here is what is going on: I'm a father of...

The first chapter of the 1689 London Baptist Confession sets the stage for the rest of the confession by establishing what the foundation is for it's doctrine, namely the Holy Scriptures. The first paragraph serves almost like a thesis statement for the rest of the chapter. Having made its point of the certain, infallible rule for faith and obedience, the Confession continues into paragraph 2 of the first chapter by identifying positively what precisely is the holy canon of Scripture. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testament, which are these: OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Ze...

If one thing is true, history will repeat itself.  Maybe it will repackage the idea into new practices and applications, but the same concept will be what drives it.  In an article from LifeNews.com we read about some United Methodists and Episcopalians joining together to "bless" abortion clinics.  In the article we read this statement: Young explained her acceptance of abortion like this: “Christianity, like most faiths, is founded on love. Watching protesters shouting judgment and hate based on what they call religion is horrible. Is that loving God? Is that loving your neighbor as yourself?” This "pastor" is supposedly claiming the message of the Gospel is to love and bless, therefore those who preach against the horror of abortion are nothing but people full of hate, proclaiming a religion of hate.  This idea is not new.  This heresy actually is one of the oldest in the church. Marcion was the leader of a heretical sect that ultimately taught that the ...

... Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased. What a statement!  It pleased the Lord to reveal Himself to us!  Amen!  But sadly, as Solomon said, "Men have sought out many devices."  Within the first paragraph we already see what is a hotly contested subject.  In short, the position posited here is that of what is commonly known as cessationism, or to say that the miraculous and revelatory gifts of the Spirit no longer exist today.  Even amongst modern Calvinistic folk the vie...