American Religion

The Calvinist deity, first brought to America by the Puritans, has remarkably little in common with the versions of God now apprehended by what calls itself Protestantism in the United States.

--Harold Bloom in The American Religion.

Lasting Beauty

Beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

(Pictured above: Pamela Anderson)

$$

"We must also dethrone mammon. I fear that many - probably most - Western Christians worship the god of materialism. If their behavior is any measure, they care more about accumulating things than obeying God. How else can we explain the fact that Christians living in the riches nation in human history give less and less to the church even though their annual incomes have increased substantially over the last three decades? Surely biblical people would have joyfully given progressively higher percentages of their income to evangelism and social ministry as they moved from unheard of wealth in terms of all earlier periods of history to even greater, more astounding levels of material abundance. Instead, we have doubled the size of our already spacious houses and the capacity of our garages while reducing the percentage of our giving. Long ago Jesus said, 'Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also' (Matt. 6:21). And evangelicals are piling up ever-greater treasures in their huge houses, growing vacation homes, and expanding investments."
--Ron Sider in The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, 117.

Best Reads of 09'

In no particular order:

• The Doctrine of God - John Frame: Frame is a beast. Everything he writes is worth reading. He is always thorough. This volume has some of the best treatments of sovereignty/responsibility, open theism, and aseity that I have read.
• Prodigal God - Tim Keller: Keller is a master of applying the gospel to the heart. He does this in this book by exposing the elder brother in us all (Luke 15). Great book. I will use this in small groups or SS fo sho.
• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God - J.I. Packer: I re-read this classic this year and was just as refreshed as the first time I read it. I think every Christian ought to read this short book. Here is a helpful summary.
• Learning from the Church Fathers - Bryan Litfin: Evangelicals tend to neglect "the Fathers." This is a very good intro to the shoulders upon which we stand. He has short chapters on Ignatius, Justin, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Augustine, and Cyril of Alexandria.
• A Call to Spiritual Reformation - D.A. Carson: Carson meditatively walks through the prayers of Paul. This book is excellent. You will learn the Bible, theology, how to pray, what to pray, and most of all you'll be spurred on to pray.
• Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God - Gordon Fee: This is basically the final section of Fee's massive work, God's Empowering Presence. It is a short theology of the Holy Spirit in Paul's letters. Fee is a Pentecostal NT scholar who is tied to the text.
• Fatherhood - Tony Payne: This is a practical theology of Fatherhood. Very easy and nourishing read. Payne paints the Father as life-giver, sustainer, and ruler. I will read this one again.
• The End of the Law - Jason Meyer: This is an important book! It is Meyer's dissertation (reworked for publication) on Paul's theology of the Mosaic law. Though Meyer does not label himself such, this is New Covenant Theology at its best in my judgment. It serves as a commentary on key passages dealing with continuity and discontinuity. Get it. Here are 3 questions on the law with Meyer.
• Galatians - Thomas R. Schreiner: This one is not out yet but we had to read it for his class on Galatians. I can see why Galatians was Luthers "Katie Von Bora." I love this book, so reading through Schreiner's exegesis was great. Each section ends with "Theology in Application." I think this was my favorite part. Pastors, be sure and grab it when it comes out.
• Perspectives New and Old on Paul - Stephen Westerholm: I had read sections of this one and noticed that it was referenced numerous times in any book I read on the law or justification so I finally sat down to read it. Wow. I came away thankful for Martin Luther. If you have questions on justification or the new perspective, go here first.

Here are the favs from 08', 07', and 06'.