New Pauline Commentaries

“Many of us probably do not realize how spoiled we are these days with so many competent evangelical exegetical commentaries. Such was not the case 50 years ago. This is a grace — a gift — for the church that we should not take for granted…”

– Justin Taylor provides a brief rundown on some new Pauline commentaries, including the Pillar New Testament Commentary on 1 Corinthians, by Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner.

The Sarum Mass compared with the 1549 Prayer Book

Church Society has republished one of the old Church Association Tracts – this one comparing and contrasting the mediaeval Sarum mass and the 1549 Prayer Book.

“Compared with the Missal, the First Book was a highly Protestant production: yet it was, after all, ‘a compromise which satisfied nobody.’”

The 1549 Prayer Book (the First Prayer Book of Edward VI) is well recognised as an important step towards Cranmer’s enduring legacy in the much more reformed book of 1552.

Interested in learning more? The Tutorial Prayer Book by Neil and Willoughby – (reprints from various sources, including Book Depository, also second-hand – and online) – is worth a look.

Online bargains this weekend and Monday

This weekend, many online stores in the US are having sales (‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’).

Tim Challies has compiled a helpful list. Of interest will be downloadable albums from Andrew Peterson and others.

(Bear in mind Monday specials will extend into Tuesday Australian time.)

The hole in our holiness

Does Bishop J.C. Ryle’s call to holiness (example) seem a little quaint these days? Kevin DeYoung:

“I find it telling that you can find plenty of young Christians today who are really excited about justice and serving in their communities. You can find Christians fired up about evangelism. You can find lots of Generation XYZ believers passionate about precise theology. Yes and amen to all that. But where are the Christians known for their zeal for holiness? Where is the corresponding passion for honoring Christ with Christlike obedience? …

When is the last time we took a verse like Ephesians 5:4–“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving”–when is the last time we took a verse like this and even began to try to apply this to our conversation, our joking, our movies, our you tube clips, our t.v. and commercial intake?…”

– Kevin DeYoung is writing in a US context – doubtless with much relevance here too.

CBMW Responds to New NIV(2011)

“Over the past three weeks, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) has been conducting a review of the recently released and extensively revised new NIV(2011).

As of now, the translation is only available online.  Zondervan’s release of the TNIV in 2002 (New Testament) and 2005 (full Bible) brought about a significant controversy in the evangelical community over Bible translation philosophy in general and translation of gender-related passages in particular.

Given that the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) used the TNIV as their starting point, and that CBMW was deeply involved in opposing the TNIV, we feel a certain obligation to provide an assessment of the new NIV(2011)…”

– The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood takes a look at the New NIV, due out next year. (h/t Tim Challies.)

John Dyer also has some resources to help calatogue the changes being made to the NIV. (h/t Justin Taylor.)

47 years ago today

C. S. Lewis—one week shy of his 65th birthday—collapsed and died at 5:30 PM (GMT) at his residence at The Kilns, outside Oxford, England.

Two hours later, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX, pronounced dead at 1:21 PM (CST). He was only 46 years old.

Exactly six hours later, Aldous Huxley, the English writer and author of Brave New World, died at 5:21 PM (PST) in Los Angeles. He was 69.

– Justin Taylor reminds us of 23rd November 1963.

People learn what I’m excited about

“If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.

Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow.”

– Don Carson.

From Middle East to Home

“I have just finished my Middle East deployment after six months.

When I arrived in May 10, Nov 10 seemed a long way off but now it is here. I have moved out of my permanent room and into the Transit accommodation. I am finishing up my work here and cleaning my gear in preparation for the plane trip home. I can’t wait and am looking forward to being with my wife and adult sons and daughter again…”

– Moore College graduate Peter Friend is now back in Oz after being the Australian Coordinating Chaplain in the Middle East. Read his reflections at Defence Anglicans – and then for those concerned.

Evangelical Courage

“It is one of the many great sayings attributed to Luther, one which is often quoted in times of controversy or simply as an antidote to the loss of nerve that seems to overcome so many. It is quoted in popular magazine articles, posted on websites, and even referenced in more scholarly work. I know people who have it framed on their wall. If you are a fan of Luther at all, I’d be surprised if you haven’t read or heard of these words. Luther’s famous saying goes like this…”

– Mark Thompson writes about some great quotes, real and imagined, from Martin Luther.

SMBC 2011 Preaching Conference

Learn about plans for the 2011 SMBC Preaching Conference, May 2–5.

Ligon Duncan reflects on the Lausanne Congress

Watch Ligon Duncan’s interview on the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism. He argues for much greater engagement with Christians in the Global South.

Runs for 9’47”, he was interviewed by Derek Thomas and Jeremy Smith at Reformation21.

A Fatal Blend

“…the Presiding Bishop will be acting on her own in assuming the mantle of a metropolitan, with absolute authority over her fellow bishops. The Canons purporting to confer such powers are a nullity, because they contravene the powers given to the Presiding Bishop by the Constitution. They thus cannot be the source of any such claimed powers; the Presiding Bishop, if she so acts, will simply have assumed them by force of her will.”

– A S Haley at The Anglican Curmudgeon writes about two very different leadership styles – those of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the TEC Presiding Bishop.

(Photo: Jim DeLa, ENS.)

Heidelberg Conference on Reformed Theology audio

The 2010 Heidelberg Conference on Reformed Theology was held (in Heidelberg, of course) October 27–29.

Speakers were Derek Thomas, Carl Trueman, Jon Payne and Sebastian Heck.

The audio of the talks (and some video) is now available on their website.

Very helpful in thinking about what we do in church. h/t Thabiti Anyabwile.

Social Media and Digital Discernment

“Almost overnight, the budding world of social media has revolutionized the way our culture communicates. Even our vocabulary has been affected. Suddenly, people are “tagging” each other, “tweeting” about themselves, and “liking” everything they see.

For the first time, it’s possible to have “friends” you’ve never even met. Those conversant in the language of social media rarely use complete sentences or even complete words (since they are limited to 140 characters). All the while, words like “screenager,” “vlog,” and “cyberslacking,” are finding their way into dictionaries like Oxford and Webster’s. It’s funny to consider that, not too long ago, surfing was just a water sport and a yahoo was a crazy person. But not anymore…”

– John Macarthur has some very sensible advice.

‘Diocese of Niagara litigation costs’

“For the first time that I’m aware of, the Diocese of Niagara has included the cost of suing ANiC parishes in a financial statement. You can find the statement here and the relevant line shows that in 2009 the diocese, while not preoccupied with distributing free hugs, spent $395,895 on lawsuits…”

– from the Anglican Essentials Canada blog.

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