1517 Has Moved!

While I will continue to keep this site for the sake of the many helpful links, I am now blogging at the new Mortification of Spin site hosted by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. There I am joined by my cohorts Carl Trueman and Aimee Byrd. Hope you enjoy the new site.

Block on Worship

The latest installment of Mortification of Spin: Bully Pulpit includes a discussion of Daniel Block's excellent new book on worship - For The Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship.

This week, the gang flips through the pages of Daniel Block's book, For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship. The team concurs: Block's ideas on today's fundamental elements of worship, such as singing and prayer, are thought-provoking and worth a read. The gang discusses what true worship is - does Old Testament ritual practice have a place in worship or are we just spinning our wheels? In usual fashion, they offer their two cents on today's catchy contemporary jingles juxtaposed to the rich psalms and hymns of old.

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I preached part 19 in our series through the Book of Acts. It is entitled "The Killing of the Righteous One" and is taken from Acts 7:44-53. You may listen to or download it HERE.

Also, Covenant Presbyterian is now podcasting the sermons.

Christless Christianity

“All the dogma and the death and resurrection of Jesus stuff was not the attraction.”
- Bart Campolo

And that's the problem.

In an interview with Jonathan Merritt, Bart Campolo, son of Tony Campolo, explains his coming out as an atheist.

It is a sad story. But Campolo's admitted ambivalence about doctrine goes a long way in explaining his current state. In his own words it was not the doctrines or truth claims of the Bible that drew him to Christianity but the struggle for justice. While justice, being an attribute of God, ought to be prized by Christians, the gospel is the matter of first importance. And according to Bart it is not the gospel which drew him to Christianity but the appeal of changing the world. However, Christianity is not a showcase for our good works. It is not a platform from which to pursue justice. Christianity is something in which to believe. Supremely it is believing upon Jesus by whose death and resurrection we are saved.

Campolo proves the words of the Apostle Paul that if not for the resurrection then our faith is in vain.

As an aside, Mr. Merritt's final sentence in the article is practically incomprehensible.

Why the Reformed Baptize Their Babies

The latest edition of Mortification of Spin addresses an issue that attracts no small amount of controversy: Paedobaptism. Carl, Aimee, and I discuss why Presbyterians baptize their babies. The other benefit is that it's going to drive Frank Turk absolutely crazy.

This week the gang's in deep water discussing the holy sacrament of baptism - How should we treat it? Who should administer it? Why does it even matter? They reveal key exegetical defenses, share helpful resources for those on the fence, and tell what convinced them to hang up their own credobaptist views for paedobaptist ones. Come on down to the river... the water’s fine!