Monday, April 30, 2007

Checking our presuppositions

You've seen the signs: My body, my choice.

J.P. Moreland says, "...The slogan is empty since it masks the real, fundamental issue: Is there a God who has ownership over our bodies, has he declared anything relevant to what renters can do regarding abortion, and how does one know the correct answers to these questions? This is where the debate should reside, not over misleading slogans about owning one’s body."

CS Lewis said that we get caught up in the point of view of our age and don't realize how much we have in common even with our opponents. We unknowingly share many of the same presuppositions.

In this piece, J.P. Moreland shows us where that has occurred in the abortion debate. We too often accept the basic premise when we shouldn't -- in this case, that it really is the woman's body. When this happens, we tend to try to answer the slogan. Professor Moreland shows us that it is sometimes better to pull the rug out from under the slogan.


As long as we journey through this world, there are going to be some opposed to the work of the Church. Some will oppose us with swords, some with tongues. The latter are the more dangerous. The blood of martyrs is the kingdom’s fertilizer, but an argument unanswered, or unwisely answered, will cause our work to lose face to those who need to see it at its best.

Verses I Wish Weren't in the Bible

Matt 7:21-23: Depart From Me

1 Cor 6:7: My Rights

Phil 1:29: Suffering for Christ

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Book reviews collection

I read quite a bit and try to share those books I have found useful. My reviews are posted periodically and collected here.

An extended summary and review of The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis

A brief summary and review of Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks – a book on Bible study methods

A brief summary and review of The Ever-loving Truth by Voddie Baucham – a book on Christian worldview and apologetics

A brief review of The Reason for God by Tim Keller, a popular Christian apologetic.

A briefs summary and review of The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight – a book on reading and applying the Bible.

Blogroll

My regularly scheduled blog stops:
Of First Importance
Between Two Worlds
SmartChristian.com
evangelical outpost
Jesus Creed
Scriptorium Daily
Mark D. Roberts.com

Other interesting blogs:
Average Joe
Voddie Baucham's Blog
Blogotional
Bock's blog
The Bumbling Genius
Challies Dot Com
The Christian Mind
Christian Thinker.net
The Constructive Curmudgeon (Douglas Groothuis)
Crossroads
Fide-O
First Things: On the Square
ID the Future
Mark O at Youth Specialties
Al Mohler's blog
Provocations & Pantings
RedBlue Christian
Right Reason
Stand to Reason blog
The Shepherd's Scrapbook
Tiger's Got My Back
Today's New Reason to Believe at RTB
Truth is Still Truth
Verum Serum
Ben Witherington's blog

Please let me know if you find dead links.

Useful Links

Bibles and Bible study resources:
Blue Letter Bible - You can search the Bible, use concordances in English or original languages, and access commentaries and other useful tools.

Bible Gateway - Most of the above plus audio of the Bible.

Crosswalk

ESV online

Other useful resources:

Stand to Reason - Apologetics organization with lots of free resources (plus materials you can purchase) including mp3 of the weekly radio show. Strongest on philosophical apologetics and abortion.

Reasons to Believe - Apologetics organization with lots of free resources (plus materials you can purchase) including audio. Strongest on design and cosmological arguments.

Biblical Training.org - Offers free audio of classes in theology, apologetics, biblical studies, original languages, and more.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library - Online library of useful texts ranging from the 1st century AD to the 20th century as diverse as Josephus, Augustine, Spurgeon, and Chesterton all available for free.

Veritas Forum - Audio lectures on various topics by some big names and some not so big names all available for free.

bethinking.org - Audio lectures on various topics by some big names and some not so big names all available for free.

Please let me know if you find dead links.