Whilin' Away the Hours

It's snowing too hard to go to church.
I'm very disappointed because my niece was receiving communion for the first time this morning and I really wanted to be there. But, maybe her dad decided not to attempt the drive either.

I read a good sermon on baptism written by a cyber-friend instead. And, I took this test borrowed from Richard. I took one hit and bit one bullet. Here is what they said about me:
Battleground Analysis
Congratulations!
You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.
The fact that you progressed through this activity being hit only once and biting very few bullets suggests that your beliefs about God are well thought out and almost entirely internally consistent.
The direct hit you suffered occurred because one set of your answers implied a logical contradiction. The bitten bullets occurred because you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. At the bottom of this page, we have reproduced the analyses of your direct hit and bitten bullets.
Because you only suffered one direct hit and bit very few bullets, you qualify for our second highest award. A good achievement!

I remain mystified
as to why the Monroe 4 are flamed & maimed & labeled heretics while John Robbins continues on his merry way within the PCA. I recently learned that Robbins was not officially authorized to issue the RPCUS AAPC heresy documents in a mass emailing. If this is true, has anyone heard the RPCUS publicly rebuke Robbins and call on him to repent? Has anyone heard Robbins publicly repent of falsely obtaining RPCUS documents & disseminating them without authorization ?

Phil Johnson has a few things to say about John Robbins:
"Their position [the RPCUS] is not at all helped by the fact that they cite John Robbins's screeds as "evidence" against Doug. Robbins is well known for his reckless criticisms. As a matter of fact, he has for years tried to smear John MacArthur with similar charges, claiming MacArthur's stance in the Lordship debate is nothing more than covert Romanism. Robbins based those charges on a few incautious statements MacArthur made and subsequently recanted more than a decade and a half ago (long before the Lorship controversy). Although I personally gave Robbins MacArthur's retraction in writing several years ago, and although MacArthur has repeatedly clarified his position in numerous books where he has dealt in depth with the doctrine of justification, Robbins persists in repeating his spurious charges against MacArthur. He has stubbornly refused to acknowledge MacArthur's retraction or his numerous clarifications. I have a ream of correspondence with Robbins that demonstrates his dishonesty and his sinful recalcitrance on this issue.

Robbins has similarly accused John Piper and refused to budge even though Piper recently published a brilliant book-length defense of the imputation of Christ's righteousness, which makes it perfectly clear that Piper is sound, steadfast, and articulate on the doctrine of justification. But Robbins has shown that he is not at all concerned with the truth, by continuing to slander both MacArthur and Piper to this very day. His tactics are those of a backshooting gunslinger. His written diatribes are therefore no evidence at all against Doug Wilson.

Robbins and several of the PCUS [sic. RPCUS?] rabble-rousers are themselves badly tainted with sectarianism, hyper-Calvinist tendencies, antinomian views, and other serious imbalances. Their brand of narrow dogmatism would quickly anathematize you, me, and all other Baptists--and consign us to a hotter compartment of hell than they have tried to banish Doug Wilson to."

Has everyone gone insane? It's a sad day when Joey Pipa & Morton Smith take aim at Auburn Avenue but leave the intensely schismatic John Robbins' good standing as a RE in the PCA publicly unquestioned.

Before everyone lines up to tell me that Drs. Pipa & Smith were invited to get involved by the M4 speakers and that it's really up to Robbins' presbytery to initiate discipline let me say...I know but still... Isn't it a bizarre drum that the FOOH Fighters* march to?

*Fraternal Order Of Heresy Fighters

A reminder
for anyone interested: Thursday Jan.23rd at 12:30 p.m. EST there will be a live webcast from Calvin College featuring N.T. Wright. His lecture is titled St. Paul in the Big Picture: The Apostle and the Gospel in the 1st and 21st Century.

Be there or be square

An Old School Southern Presbyterian speaks:
"It is one thing to say that, in the Divine will, the result purposed is conditioned on the presence of its means, another thing to say that, God’s purpose about it is also conditioned or dependent on the presence of its means. The former is true, the latter false. And this because the presence of the means is itself efficaciously included in this same Divine purpose. Hence, a believer’s salvation is doubtless dependent on his repentance in the sense that, if he does not repent, he will not be saved."

Norman Shepherd:
"Faith and repentance are so inextricably intertwined with each other that there cannot exist a true and saving apprehension of the mercy of Christ without a grief for and hatred of sin, a turning unto God, and a purposing and endeavoring to walk with God in all the ways of his commandments (West. Conf. of Faith, XV,2).

Repentance, inclusive not only of grief for and hatred of sin but also of turning from sin and endeavoring to walk with God in all the ways of his commandments, although not the ground of forgiveness, is nevertheless so necessary for all sinners, that there is no pardon without it (West. Conf. of Faith XV, 3).

The forgiveness of sin for which repentance is an indispensable necessity is the forgiveness of sin included in justification, and therefore there is no justification without repentance.

Old School Presbyterian:
"So in faith, the distinctive exercise of the renewed soul (renewed as a soul, and not only as one faculty thereof,) it is more correct to regard the element of active moral propensity (now towards Christ and away from sin) as source, and the new state of opinion concerning gospel truth, as result....If that which the Bible represents as a single, may yet be a complex act of the soul, exerting itself in two capacities (which I have proved), then it is no argument to say the embracing of Christ by the will is no part of saving faith proper, but only a consequence; because it is a natural consequence of the law that the will follows the last dictate of the mind. Grant it. Yet why may not that very act of will, hence produced, be the very thing the Bible means by saving faith? (According to the Confession.) Then, to settle this, let us resort to the Bible itself. Be it remembered that, having distinguished the two elements of belief and embracing, it is simply a question of fact, whether the Scriptures mean to include the latter as a part of that exercise, by which the sinner is justified, or a result of it. Then,...
The very object proposed to faith implies that it must be an act as well as a notion; for that object is not merely truth but good, both natural and moral good. ...
The Scriptures describe faith by almost every imaginable active figure. It is a "looking," (Is. 45:22) a "receiving," (John 1:12-13) an "eating" of Him, (John 6:54), a "coming," (John 5:40), an "embracing," (Heb. 11:13,) a "fleeing unto, and laying hold of," (Heb. 6:18,) etc. Here it may be added, that every one of the illustrations of faith in Heb. 11(whose first verse some quote as against me) come up to the Apostle’s description in the 13th verse, containing an active element of trust and choice, as well as the mental one of belief.

The manner in which faith and repentance are coupled together in Scripture plainly shows that, as faith is implicitly present in repentance, so repentance is implicitly in faith. But if so, this gives to faith an active character. (Mark 1:15; Matt. 21:32; 2 Tim. 2:25)."

My cyber-friend Richard
needs a free comment system. Does anyone know of one? Haloscan is free but is refusing new accounts. Others?

Richard! I'm so pleased you will be adding comments (if, that is, you can find a system)!

Bye Joel
This makes me sad. I'll miss Joel's insight.

My favorite axe murderer
Some of you who read Valerie's blog may have noticed that I occasionally refer to Valerie as an axe murderer. I'm not making this up, believe me. I don't have that good of an imagination. Valerie's reputation is well known in certain regions and it's about time everyone knew just who Kyriosity really is!

It all started several years ago as she was planning a trip south to attend a conference. You see...

Valerie is a long-time participant on a very friendly internet forum, a forum that has a real sense of community. It seemed a natural and innocuous thing for her to inquire about the possibility of meeting fellow forumites and perhaps even obtaining overnight lodging. It happened that Valerie's Travels would place her very near the home of one of the gentlemen from the forum. Being a kind soul, he gladly offered overnight hospitality to Valerie. The gentleman's wife, upon hearing that her beloved had offered to let a total stranger spend the night in their home, was filled with terror! Who knew who this stranger was...or even WHAT this stranger was! An unknown internet entity. A faceless malevolence loomed in her imagination. They had invited a blood-lusting, psychotic miscreant to sleep in their guestroom! For all they knew, Valerie was an AXE MURDERER!!!

May they rest in peace.

An attempt to explain
I posted the two questions about faithfulness out of curiosity (not to be confused with Kyriosity). You see, this question has become a bit fuzzy in my mind. I know the correct systematic answer is no, my faithfulness is not the instrument by which I obtain or maintain my justification. I fully affirm that truth. But...

Can I live by that knowledge? No. Without faithfulness I have no faith. I cannot, at this point, separate faith from faithfulness in everyday living. So, when I was presented with the opportunity to choose an answer in an internet poll, I could not choose one over the other. I know that my inability to choose bought me a non-Reformed label in the eyes of some internet friends. But...

"Christ justifies no one whom He does not also at the same time sanctify. Therefore we are not justified 'by works,' but neither are we justified 'without works'." -A quote from Bavinck describing Calvin's view.

Whew, maybe I'm Reformed afterall.

"They said therefore to him, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you may believe in him whom he hath sent."

"They had spoken of works. Christ reminds them of one work, that is, faith; by which he means that all that men undertake without faith is vain and useless, but that faith alone is sufficient, because this alone does God require from us, that we believe. For there is here an implied contrast between faith and the works and efforts of men; as if he had said, Men toil to no purpose, when they endeavor to please God without faith, because, by running, as it were, out of the course, they do not advance towards the goal. This is a remarkable passage, showing that, though men torment themselves wretchedly throughout their whole life, still they lose their pains, if they have not faith in Christ as the rule of their life. Those who infer from this passage that faith is the gift of God are mistaken; for Christ does not now show what God produces in us, but what he wishes and requires from us.

But we may think it strange that God approves of nothing but faith alone; for the love of our neighbor ought not to be despised, and the other exercises of religion do not lose their place and honor. So then, though faith may hold the highest rank, still other works are not superfluous. The reply is easy; for faith does not exclude either the love of our neighbor or any other good work, because it contains them all within itself. Faith is called the only work of God, because by means of it we possess Christ, and thus become the sons of God, so that he governs us by his Spirit. So then, because Christ does not separate faith from its fruits, we need not wonder if he make it to be the first and the last."
Calvin's Commentary on John 6:28f

How dare real life
interfere with blogging!?!
So much to do & so little time to do it.

I'm going to a Jackson/Lee Confederacy party tonight...if I have time I'm going to print out the propaganda pieces written by J. Parnell McCarter - just for fun.

Following Mark's suggestion
Here is a link to Tim's post dealing with the place of faithfulness in salvation. Scroll to Jan. 15th at 4:15 As always, good stuff!

I'll try to explain why I posted the questions later today. I've had a busy couple of days and I'm afraid I'm so sleep deprived that I won't make sense. Yeah...that's it. I don't make sense because I'm sleep deprived!

How would you answer?
This question is "borrowed" from a source which shall remain un-named. I'm asking it here in the Hotel Blogosphera to escape some of the baggage it's carrying on it's home turf.

Which do you choose?
1. My faithfulness to Christ is the instrument by which I obtain/maintain justification.
2. My faithfulness to Christ is *not* the instrument by which I obtain/maintain justification.

How would you define faithfulness?

P.S. Comment box is still goofy. Just reload a time or two & it will appear. Consider it part of the test.

Sigh...
Internet forums aren't healthy for children and other living things.
Especially when they make one's blood pressure rise exponentially with each sortie.

It just keeps getting better!
I just read two articles exposing a conspiracy by Auburn to facilitate a Roman Catholic take-over of this country. I wish I could link the articles for you but, strangely, all the links are broken. They were written by By J. Parnell McCarter for the Puritan News Service.
The following are some snips from the two articles:
"So what should we think of this neo-Confederate connection to the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church Conferences?....
While I have no doubt that fine Christians have been caught up in such Confederate movements, in reality the main winner of such movements is the Romish Church. It is no accident that the only foreign head of state to recognize the Confederacy as a sovereign nation was Pope Pius IX, and that Romanist France made grand promises of support to the Confederacy before the war began. As ex-Roman Catholic priest Charles Chiniquy quoted of Lincoln: “Several members of the family of Jeff Davis belong to the Church of Rome. Even the Protestant ministers are under the influence of the Jesuits without suspecting it. To keep her ascendancy in the North, as she does in the South, Rome is doing here what she has done in Mexico, and in all the South American Republics; she is paralyzing, by civil war, the arms of the soldiers of liberty. She divides our nation in order to weaken, subdue and rule it“. Mainly Protestant blood was spilled on the battlefield, while hordes of Romanists continued to immigrate to America.....
(Indeed, I suspect that Washington, D.C.- which was originally owned and established by Romanists- is the mysterious Babylon of Revelation 17.)"

"There are many theological implications of including Romanism within the pale of orthodoxy, but certainly one is that we greatly diminish the serious nature of error in Romish soteriology and worship. It seems that sound doctrine is being compromised for purposes of theonomic goals. This is quite a contrast to the Protestant Reformation, where sound doctrine was central. It also contradicts the word of God.....But the political consequences are also significant. If the Roman Catholic Church is regarded as scripturally orthodox for political purposes in a “Christian” American nation, it will effectively dominate the explicitly “Christian” government. It is not without reason that we are warned: “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” And, frankly, if the Roman Catholic Church is involved, its presence will be anything but “little”. It will be a behemoth among pygmies....
Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church survives on ignorance and depravity. That means to stay in power it will persecute those who will seek to rid the people of their ignorance and who seek true Biblical reformation, as opposed to a Romanist revolution. F. Tupper Saussy has shown in his book Rulers of Evil the significant Romish involvement in the American Revolution and Civil War (see www.rulersofevil.com/ ). The Romish Church used these revolutions to accomplish its own purposes, including in the American Revolution to overthrow distinctively reformed Protestant rule in which Romanists were excluded from the franchise. We must fear what may result from what many American theonomists are styling a Second American Revolution ( see www.forerunner.com/revolution/ ), a revolution that Romanists like Patrick Buchanan would also relish. ...
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the theonomic speakers at AAPC are helping to pave the way for Roman Catholic doctrines to be considered within the pale of orthodoxy by American Protestants. Their statements blur lines which have been the rationale for strong Protestant rejection of Romanist errors. This in turn paves the way for an explicitly “Christian” government in America dominated by the Roman Catholic Church."

I've heard the speakers declare they are NOT returning to Rome nor are they facilitating Romish theology with my own ears! What more do they have to do to be heard?

An excellent apologetic
Tim has, once again, written a great analysis of the so called "Auburn Theology".

My comment box is acting goofy...
Since I just know everyone is dying to talk about Dabney,

I thought I'd mention that it seems to be taking a couple of reloads to get the comment system to work. I'm considering a change.

I haven't studied RL Dabney.
I've read a few things written by him but I have only a dim understanding of his views. I know, for example, that I disagree very strongly with his sacramentology. But, sometimes I find good things in Dabney. I like his treatment of The Five Points of Calvinism. I was just re-reading it and noticed something interesting. Under the heading of Perseverance:

"If any man is converted, it is because the Holy Ghost is come into him ; if any sinner lives for a time the divine life, it is because the Holy Ghost is dwelling in him."

A few brief lines later:

"The apostle (1 John ii. 19) explains final back slidings in the same way, and in words which simply close the debate: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

So, if what I read here is an accurate account of Dabney's view, he doesn't see the sharp dichotomy described as ivy on the olive tree that our half-way brothers insist upon. Apostates partake of Christ for a time yet, in the end, they prove they were not truly of the eschatologically elect.

If I've misinterpreted what Dabney is saying, someone please correct me. If I've understood this Southern gentleman correctly, I'm pretty dang excited about it! Pastor Carl Robbins? Call your office!

How many of you had a Google search hit
on your tracker for "Reformed Presbyterian Blogs"? I had one so for fun I checked out the search. LOL! It looks a lot like Valerie's blog roll!

Just a week ago
I worshiped at Auburn Avenue. The first comment I heard - from several people - was, "Wait 'till you hear the singing!" And that was very true. The singing at Auburn is like heaven. Imagine, Reformed people singing with abandon! They apparently don't realize they are the frozen chosen... At the close of a hymn in my church, we solemnly sing ahhh-mennn. At Auburn they nearly shout it. AMEN! There is a contagion of exuberance and warmth in the worship at Auburn and it's symptoms are manifest in the prayers, the singing, the congregational responses in the liturgy. But the thing that most impressed me was the celebration of the Lord's Supper. It is just that: a celebration! Because there has been a corporate confession of sin and assurance of pardon early in the service, there is no need for communion to be a morbid introspection-fest. After a brief introduction to the Supper, Pastor Wilkins asks the people to confess their faith. They stand and recite the Nicene Creed, then comes the institution of the Supper and prayer, then, instead of somber silence as the Supper is passed, they sing Psalms of thanksgiving and praise! The result is that the focus is Godward rather than on self. What a novel idea! ;-) I wish everyone could have the opportunity to worship with Auburn...at least once.

The hospitality of Auburners is just one more manifestation of the warm faith evident in that congregation. Lisa & Lamar and daughter Rebecca welcomed three strangers from Dayton into their home and made us feel like part of their family. We talked & laughed around the dinner table each evening, we prayed together, Lisa fed us suh-thern-style and washed a never ending procession of dishes. We discussed the conference and Lamar comforted us after a discouraging evening. My last evening there found Lamar at the table grading papers and Lisa & I each on a couch with a blanket watching "The Fellowship of the Ring" - a fitting evening in "the fellowship of God's people."

Because of scheduling, I spent some unexpected time with the Garners. Again, I was made to feel right at home. Sarah & Duane are wonderful people. Sarah is a joy to talk with (she says she's shy) and she is a sharp, talented lady. Duane's humor is comic relief (like a very tall, much more handsome - and clean cut - Gimli) for an inner intensity and love for the things of the Lord. Bailey is a bug as in cute as a... Thanks Garners. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you before I left for home.

It was great fun to meet John Barach. As I've said before, his lecture (the crazy Canadian lecture on election) set me on a course to learn a higher view of the covenant of grace. It's been a long, strange trip but so worth it. There's been much to study and wrestle over but I'm feeling the results in practical things having to do with being part of the body of Christ. Plus, I learned that John really is crazy.

All of this, plus the opportunity to hear (and meet) Barach, Schlissel, Wilkins and Wilson all in one place... I'll never forget it.

I apologize
I removed the post and the comments that were here. Some of what I wrote was spawned of frustration and amounted to nothing more than mud-slinging. I don't want to be a part of that. Please forgive me for succumbing to the temptation to slander an opponent.

I decided that some of my post may not have been intended for public consumption so it too bit the dust.

The remainder of my post was removed because I don't want to talk about it in such an accessible format.

I'm sorry for the confusion...

In spite of the rebuke
of the respondents for making last year's conference public and available in mp3 format online, in spite of the criticisms leveled against the Monroe 4 by the respondents for somehow being responsible for allowing this discussion to become an online brawl, in spite of the strong urging of the respondents to keep this a private debate and to keep this year's conference unavailable online...in spite of all this... it took Andrew Webb exactly one day to post a highly charged and accusatory summary on the Warfield list.

Ok, one funny moment
There was quite a bit of quick wit during the conference but this moment bears immediate repeating...

Rich Lusk introducing John Barach's 5 minute summation (which was absolutely stellar, BTW):
Rich looks at John and says (paraphrase),"You have 5 minutes....... and that's 5 minutes American!"

...The house guffaws!...

A quick 5 days
I'm home! I can't believe the conference flew by so quickly.

I'm also exhausted. I want to post about blogger schmoozing and about the amazing worship service at Auburn last Sunday, about meeting the infamous 4 and so many others, about my gracious hosts and some funny providences. All in good time.

For now I'll just say, I went to the conference to hear 4 men who have had a profound influence on me. I came home with a vastly deepened respect for these 4 men.

So, since I'm too tired & unorganized to post words, photos will have to do. I apologize for the lack of quality; I don't claim to be a photographer.

Click on Pastor's Conference 2003 and Blogger luncheon.

Well, I'm about to orbit
around to The Dark Side Of The Moon. I'll be On The Run until next Thursday. The Great Big Gig In The Sky begins at 3:30 am as I drive to Columbus to catch a 7 am flight to Monroe for the 2003 Pastor's Conference. Two friends from church with Brain Damage are leaving by car about the same time but they will be arriving in Monroe 12 exhausting hours later than I will. All to save a little Money! Hee hee...

I hope my fellow bloggers will Speak To Me, a mere Yankee. But don't forget, I lived in the South for a Time so I'm not as Yankeefied as as some of the speakers, by whom I am humbly Eclipsed in spite of my token Southern-ness. Besides, I know I can Breathe easy because, as Christians, we don't have an Us And Them mindset, right? Our flags come in Any Colour You Like. But, I would like to Reprise my question: I won't be required to eat Squirrel will I?

All kidding aside...
It is my hope & my prayer that this conference will be step toward resolution of many of the concerns that are circulating.

Hasta la vista!

I thought only Ohioans appreciated Briar jokes...
But it seems as though Jessie likes them. So, Jessie, this one is for you:
The Redneck Palm Pilot

Many thanks to my husband for sending this one to me. ;-)

I admit it
I'm not looking forward to flying this Saturday. I always have thoughts of "what if" during take & landing but they quickly fade to background noise. The window seat, on a clear day, provides a hypnotic panorama of passing cities, farms, mountain ranges and prairies. It's enjoyable and relaxing. So, it's not the nagging knowledge that what goes up must come down one way or another.

Valerie's post is the heart of the matter . Even though I'm thankful for it, I dread the hassel of tightened security. I'd be even more thankful for it if I thought it worked. My husband was permitted to board a flight out of Dulles carrying a Swiss Army knife in his backpack! He didn't know it had been left in one of the pockets and the security people didn't catch it. So, the hassel isn't the comfort it could be. Not that I expect a terrorist to be interested in a predawn flight to Monroe...but the wacko shoe bomber proves that terrorists aren't discriminating.