Tuesday, June 20, 2017

A Younger Generation Will Sit in Judgement on Our's

It should be clear to us that future generations do sit in judgment on those that preceded them. We do it with the horrific issues of slavery, racism, and the holocaust. We do it when we look back on generations that did amazing things as evidenced by books like The Greatest Generation.

How might future generations reflect on ours when it comes to the issue of abortion? I don't know the immediate future. I know that ultimately God is our judge, and, so, we must fear him and not what others think. Popular opinion in our generation or future generations is not our benchmark. That being said, I found this quote from Frederica Matthewes - Green to be thought provoking.
The pro-life cause is perennially unpopular, and pro-lifers get used to being misrepresented and wrongly accused. There are only a limited number of people who are going to be brave enough to stand up on the side of an unpopular cause. But sometimes a cause is so urgent, is so dramatically clear, that it’s worth it. What cause could be more outrageous than violence — fatal violence — against the most helpless members of our human community? If that doesn’t move us, how hard are our hearts? If that doesn’t move us, what will ever move us? 
In time, it’s going to be impossible to deny that abortion is violence against children. Future generations, as they look back, are not necessarily going to go easy on ours. Our bland acceptance of abortion is not going to look like an understandable goof. In fact, the kind of hatred that people now level at Nazis and slave-owners may well fall upon our era. Future generations can accurately say, “It’s not like they didn’t know.” They can say, “After all, they had sonograms.” They may consider this bloodshed to be a form of genocide. They might judge our generation to be monsters. 
One day, the tide is going to turn. With that Supreme Court decision 43 years ago, one of the sides in the abortion debate won the day. But sooner or later, that day will end. No generation can rule from the grave. The time is coming when a younger generation will sit in judgment of ours. And they are not obligated to be kind. 
The quote is from an article published at the National Review on January 22, 2016. It is entitled "Roe v. Wade -- Abortion Won the Day, but Sooner or Later That Day Will End." I came across it while listening to a Gospel Coalition Podcast message by Justin Taylor entitled  How Should we Think about Abortion? 

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

"6 Ways to Avoid Delayed Adulthood"

Here is a helpful article at The Gospel Coalition by 'Gunner' Gundersen. He offers some good challenges to college age men and women (though it can apply to all of us). The whole thing is worth a read. Here is a quote to get entice you
"You can’t lead if you’re not around. You can’t serve if you don’t come. You can’t help if you’re not here. So if you want to mature, start by making wise commitments, and then follow through on those commitments." 
Below is his outline:

  1. Desire
  2. Commitment 
  3. Faithfulness
  4. Humility
  5. Courage
  6. Resilience 
Read his article to find out more... 

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Get a Handle on the Canon: Is the Canon Closed?

My series, "Get a Handle on the Canon" is coming to a close. So it is fitting to think about whether the canon is closed. That is, should we expect more inspired writings to come to us from God? 

Should we Expect More Writings from God?
No. There are at least two reasons we can say this is the case. The first is practical and the second is theological. 

First, 
“[a]ccording to the church’s categories for canonicity (apostolic, catholic [wide use by the church], orthodox…), it would be impossible to have any additions to the canon. For example, even if a genuine and orthodox letter of the apostle Paul were discovered, that letter would not have had widespread usage in the early church (that is, it could never claim catholicity). The canon of Scripture is closed” (Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, pg 66).
Second, we expect no new revelation from God since Jesus has come as the final and fullest revelation of God. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, 
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...
The NT ends with a view of the complete fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. The Old Testament contained many promises, the New Testament contains the fulfillment. The NT gives us a picture of redemptive history that takes us all the way to the New Heaven's and New Earth (the eternal state). Thus, there is nothing more to add. We are waiting for the return of the King, Jesus, who will bring in the fullness of the Kingdom. The only revealing that awaits is the Son of Man returning in the clouds (Mark 13:26, Rev. 1:7).