The other day I posted an attempt at humor, drawing some scientific research into the free-will debate. Apparently Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon, picked up on that same research as well. His blog is alive with all types of comments with people drawing similar conclusions on this research and relating it to Calvinism.

This is not the first comic strip artist to attempt theology though:

Thanks Justin Taylor for being the first Google hit for this cartoon…

Together for the Gospel is going on right now in Louisville, KY. You can check out Tim Challies’ liveblogging of the event or wait for the talks to be posted on the T4G blog. This years’ speakers will be Ligon Duncan, Thabiti Anyabwile, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, RC Sproul, Al Mohler, John Piper and CJ Mahaney. Enjoy!

“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” 1 Timothy 1:3-11

There is a doctrine that is in accordance with the gospel and a teaching that is not. Jesus entrusted this teaching to the apostles to spread to the entire world (Matt. 28:20) and the other came about as a result of speculating and guessing. How do you tell the difference? How do you know what to listen to? One simple test is this: is it in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God? Teaching in accordance with the gospel will always be Christ-centered, Christ-exalting, Christ-loving, and Christ-glorifying. It will never add to the gospel or take away from it; proper doctrine is drawn from the gospel.

“And there they continued to preach the gospel” - Acts 14:7

Each Tuesday a different reflection on the gospel and its continual effect on our lives

In Christian circles, this debate has been going on for centuries. Both sides of the discussion bring plenty of Scripture references that prove, in their minds, that man does or does not have free-will. But neither side has ever brought in an argument from science….until now. Apparently a team of scientists was able to show that the brain has already made up its mind before the will even begins to think about the decision it has to make. From the article:

“The outcome of a decision is shaped very strongly by brain activity much earlier than the point in time when you feel to be making a decision.”

This was kind of a neat experiment. They put a few subjects in an MRI scanner and told them to randomly, whenever they felt like it, press a button in either their left or right hand. They scanned the areas of the brain that dealt with decision making and were able to form patterns and “predict” which button they were going to press with 60% accuracy up to 10 seconds before they actually pressed the button. So, I suppose anything better than 50% was good enough for them to say that the brain is working and affecting your will long before you feel like your will has kicked in and you make a decision and hence we don’t have free-will.

Fuel for Calvinists? Shame for Arminians? Not likely.

I stumbled upon Theodore Hildebrandt’s faculty website at Gordon College and was blown away by the list of great references he has there. Of particular interest to me right now are these short animated videos for studying NT Greek. Thank you Dr. Hildebrandt!

D.A. Carson spoke, along with Steve Lawson and Tim Challies, at the Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology. These are from back in February but I just now got around to listening to them. (HT: Andy Naselli)

• Keeping Up with the Conversation - D.A. Carson
• The Power of the Gospel - Steve Lawson
• The Gospel and Postmodern Minds  - D.A. Carson
• Bring the Book! - Steve Lawson
• Loving God With Your Mind - Tim Challies
• We Preach Christ Crucified - D.A. Carson
• The God Who Helps - D.A. Carson

I was particularly helped by Carson’s We Preach Christ Crucified which outlined the gospel very well.

Also, if I may, I’d just like to point out what a blessing it is for me to have sermons/lectures/conference audio to listen to while I’m in the car. I’m sure everyone has their methods for doing this but here is how I go about it, hopefully this encourages you to make good use of your time sitting in traffic:

1. Get yourself an MP3 player and a cassette adapter for your car stereo, it doesn’t have to be an iPod, any device will do
2. Find some preachers/teachers you enjoy listening to and download them to your computer (try here, here, or here for some help)
3. Create a playlist on your computer and call it “unheard sermons” add all the sermons you downloaded to that playlist
4. Sync your MP3 player with your computer and select your unheard sermons playlist next time you hop in your car
5. As you listen to sermons remove them from your playlist so that you know which ones you’ve listened to in the past
6. As you download more sermons, be sure to add them to the end of the list so that you don’t skip any

Please let me know if you have found a different or better way of doing this, I’d love to hear of better methods!

Ambient Corporation has developed and demonstrated a small device that, when worn by someone who does not have the ability to speak, is able to convert their thoughts into either audible speech or device control (wheelchairs for example). Simply think the thought, “wheelchair turn left; wheelchair move forward”, and the wheelchair obeys. At first I thought this was really cool, what a great help to those who don’t have the ability to control a wheelchair by touch or by voice. Then I thought about my thought life and how difficult it is to control my thoughts (Romans 7:15), terrible visions of wheelchairs running wildly down the streets raced into my head and my point was proven….

The Desiring God blog has a great post on 10 ways to make kids love missions (though it could easily be titled 10 ways to make yourself love missions). I’m looking forward, Lord willing, to being able to practice #5 more as my wife and I set out to look for a home to purchase. Enjoy!

Well, I will fully admit that I know nothing about this man or his poetry but I couldn’t resist posting something that appeared in Christian blogdom about my undergraduate place of learning (HT: Reformissionary). For those that know anything about UC Davis…we’re not in the spotlight much unless cow research is being discussed.

Click here if the above link does not work 

Jude 3 - …the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. There is something I have in common with Peter the apostle, and Paul the apostle, and Augustine, Justin Martyr, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley and George Whitefield. We all became believers of the gospel message. When I read about the sacrifices these men made to preach the gospel to people who had not believed, I feel a sense of unity with them, a common bond, because of the gospel message. The message hasn’t changed over the years. God hasn’t been refining the gospel since it was first preached as if it were something that means different things to different people. The truth that Peter believed is the same truth I now believe.

All of these men came from different backgrounds, lived in different cultures, spoke different languages and had different careers. Yet, each one believed he had sinned against God and that only Christ’s atoning death and resurrection could save him. The gospel is universal, it is not exclusive to certain races or educational backgrounds. The gospel is for everyone because all are guilty of sin. This message was entrusted to the apostles that they should teach it and pass it down from generation to generation regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, geographic location, or lifestyle. All those who believe are united in Christ according to the same gospel message.

“And there they continued to preach the gospel” - Acts 14:7

Each Tuesday a different reflection on the gospel and its continual effect on our lives