My Top 10 Favorite Books I Read in 2012

I read about 55 books during 2012, some required for seminary and some that were not. This list is a mix of those two categories. Out of those 55 books, these are the 10 that I found most interesting, entertaining, edifying, enlightening, challenging, and/or simply enjoyable.

1. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky

• Worthy of the title of classic. Fascinating look at a murder and the psychological, sociological, and religious perspectives on the nature of sin. Some tough parts to get through due to the culture gaps, but very well worth the effort. 

2. The Meaning of Marriage – Tim Keller

• The best book on marriage I've ever read, hands down. Theological, practical, philosophical, pastoral, and eminently helpful. The book I really wish I had read 8 years ago before getting married and the one I will give to everyone I know who's getting married or plans to one day.

3. The Man Christ Jesus – Bruce Ware

• Simply fantastic look at the humanity of Jesus Christ. Ware takes on some of the most difficult questions about Jesus' humanity (When did he know he was God or the Messiah? How did he learn? Could he have sinned?) and answers them with stunning clarity. A few heavy theological passages, but written at the level of the layperson who wants to understand his savior's humanity more deeply. Really, really good.

4. God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment – Jim Hamilton

• Beautiful vision of the big, central theme of the Bible - God's glory - achieved by his salvation of us through judgment. Hamilton walks through each book of the Bible, developing these themes and connecting them to the whole. Grand vision of God as revealed in his word.

5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis

• So much better than the movie version. The "conversion" scene of Eustice alone makes the entire book worth reading.

6. The Gospel According to John – D.A. Carson

• D.A. Carson on the Gospel of John - a really good combination and probably my favorite commentary I've ever read.

7. When Sinners Say “I Do” – Dave Harvey

• Very practical and theologically sound picture of what marriage looks like when 2 sinners decide to live together in the covenant of marriage. His experience and examples are very helpful, as is the picture of marriage he attempts to build. 

8. Christianity and Liberalism – J. Gresham Machen

• Simply one of the best defenses of orthodox Christianity over and against Liberalism ever. Hard to believe it was published in 1923. Sounds like it could be talking about specific things today. Stellar.

9. Covenant of War – Cliff Graham

• Excellent second book in the Lion of War series from Cliff Graham. I'm really enjoying the balance he strikes between adherence to the Biblical story lines and a creative, theological interpretation of some of the events related David's "Mighty Men."

10. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible – Robert Plummer

• Excellent introduction to most of the topics involved in reading and understanding the bible. Accessible but not simplistic. Highly recommended. 

Others of note:

Gospel Deeps – Jared Wilson
Exegetical Fallacies – D.A. Carson
Fellowship with God – Martyn Lloyd-Jones
God's Greater Glory – Bruce Ware

My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2012

There are tons of these out there, but thought I'd go ahead and share my top 10 albums of 2012. These are not necessarily the best albums of 2012, and there are surely many good ones that I never even heard this year. I also don't claim to be a music expert, just a fan of lots of kinds of it. I tend to enjoy much of the music that the "music snobs" tell me I should, but I also like ones they tell me I shouldn't (see my #1, for example). Anyway, here are my favorites from this year.

1. Mumford and Sons - Babel

2. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

3. Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal

4. Andrew Peterson - Light for the Lost Boy

5. Beautiful Eulogy - Satellite Kite

6. Propaganda - Excellent

7. KB - Weight and Glory

8. The Lumineers - The Lumineers

9. Phillip Phillips - The World from the Side of the Moon

10. Jill Phillips - Kingdom Come

I Like Adoption

This is really good.

New Film Premiere - I Like Adoption. from ILikeGiving.com on Vimeo.

HT: Challies

Music Video of the Week: Sojourn

The guys from Sojourn - "Joy to the World"

Performance: "Joy to the World" from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Google's 2012 Year in Review Video

Raising Kids the World Will Hate

Adam Griffen:

In 2011 my dream of being a father came true when my son, Oscar, was born. Since that day my hopes and dreams have shifted to what Oscar will be when he grows up. Of course, I like to imagine him growing up handsome, talented, godly and kind, but there’s no way to really know yet. I can be fairly certain he’ll have an affinity for Texas A&M and the Green Bay Packers. There’s little doubt that he’ll have a disappointing hairline, love to eat and sweat even when it’s cold. For the most part, however, I’ll just have to wait and see who he grows up to be. 

I often daydream about what a great guy he might be and how well loved he’ll be by others. I daydream that coaches, teachers and pastors will approve of him and even be impressed by him. I envision his peers holding him in high esteem, wanting him around all the time. I imagine that the generation that follows him will admire him. I hold tightly to the thought that, as he becomes a man, he will grow in favor among any and all he comes into contact with. Some of these desires are healthy, and some are prideful. 

I have a strong, and certainly not uncommon, desire for my child to be validated by the love of other people. Most parents want their son or daughter to be a lovable person, and it’s that desire that makes John 15:19so important and so transformative when it comes to the way we prepare our children for the future. Christ tells His disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” It’s not just John 15:19, either. There are many Scriptures that describe the adversarial relationship that God’s followers will have with those who are not believers. 

Reading this, I realized that if God answers my prayer for my son to be a follower of Christ, people will hate him. People will absolutely, unquestionably be repulsed by my son. 

If God graciously saves my Oscar, people will call him a bigot and a homophobe. Some will ridicule him as a male chauvinist as they scorn his “sexist” beliefs. He’ll be despised as closed-minded for saying that Jesus Christ is not only God but the only God. He will probably meet a girl who insults his manhood or considers him old fashioned for waiting until marriage to have sex. His peers will think him a prude. Bullies will call him a coward. His integrity will draw insults like “goody two shoes” (I don’t even know what that means). 

Teachers will think that that my son ignores scientific facts about our origins, prompting his classmates to mark him an idiot. People will tell him he has been led astray by his parents down an ancient path of misguided morality masked as a relationship with God. Financial advisors will think he’s irresponsibly generous. When he takes a stand, there will be those who will not tolerate his intolerance. He will be judged as judgmental. He will have enemies, and I’ll be asking him to love them, and even for that he’ll look foolish. 

If you’re like me and hope for your kids to be fully devoted followers of Christ, then we need to be raising up a generation who is ready to be distinctly different from their peers. In a lot of ways, that’s the opposite of my natural inclination in how to raise my son. Raising kids who are ready to be hated means raising kids who unashamedly love God even in the face of loathing and alienation. Regardless if the insults of the world are naive or legitimate, I pray our children will be ready to stand firm in the midst of a world that hates them.

A Few Things to Remember Before Supporting Gay Marriage

Kevin DeYoung:

I’ve heard it many times. Last week was only the most recent. A pundit on the radio opined that opposing gay marriage is “Neanderthal” because he believes, “people should be able to marry whoever they want.” This was a well known talking head giving voice to a sentiment shared all across this fruited plain. On college campuses, around dining room tables, and in not a few of our churches, gay marriage marches on by the simple logic that says: what business do we have telling people who they can or can’t marry? 

As impressive as the argument sounds–barreling down at us with the strong force of moral superiority and the implicit charge of intolerance–the logic is less than meets the eye.
Let’s think about what is not at stake in our culture’s debate over gay marriage. 

• The state is not threatening to criminalize homosexual behavior. Though many Americans believe the behavior is wrong (and until fairly recently homosexual acts were against the law in some states), the debate at present is not about whether homosexuality is legal or not. No one questions that it is.

• The state is not going to prohibit homosexuals from committing themselves to each other in public ceremonies or religious celebrations.

• The state is not going to legislate whether two adults can live together or profess love for one another.

The issue is not about controlling “what people do in their bedrooms” or “who they can love.” The issue is about what sort of union the state will recognize as “marriage” and confer all the benefits thereof. The state doesn’t tell us who we can be friends with or who we can live with. You can have one friend or three friends or a hundred. You can live with your sister, your mother, your dog, or your buddy from work. You can celebrate your relationship with your grandma or your college roommate however you want. But none of these relationships–no matter how special–are marriages. The state’s refusal to recognize these relationships as “marriage” does not keep us from pursuing them, enjoying them, or counting them as significant. 

The debate is often cast as freedom (those who support anyone marrying anyone) versus oppression (those who want to tell you who you can marry). Conservatives are losing the debate because that’s the narrative being told in a thousand television episodes, in a thousand songs, and by an increasing number of politicians and educators. But in the long run, the triumph of gay marriage (should it triumph as a cultural and legal reality) will mean the restriction of freedoms for millions of Americans. 

This will happen in obvious ways at first–by ostracizing those who disagree, by bullying with political correctness, and by trampling on religious liberty. Surely, Christians must realize that no matter how many caveats we issue, not matter how much we nuance our stance, no matter how much we encourage or show compassion for homosexuals, it will not be enough to ward off the charges of hatred and homophobia. We will have many opportunities in the years ahead to walk in the steps of Jesus who when reviled, did not revile in return, and when he suffered, did not threaten but continued to entrust himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). 

But gay marriage will challenge our freedoms in others way too. It’s not just Evangelicals, traditional Catholics, and Mormons who will be threatened. Once the government gains new powers, it rarely relinquishes them. There will be a soft tyranny that grows as the power of the state increases, a growth that is intrinsic to the  notion of gay marriage itself.

Is the Culture at War with Christmas?

Russell Moore:

Flipping through magazines on an airplane the other day, I found myself sighing with irritation. An advertisement for Budweiser was tagged with the headline, “Silent Nights are Overrated.” A few minutes later, in a second magazine, I came across an ad for a high-end outdoor grill, which read: “Who says it’s better to give than to receive?” 

My first reaction was one that I’ve critiqued in others, to take some sort of personal, or at least tribal, offense: “Would they advertise in Turkey during Ramadan with the line, ‘Fasting is Overrated?’ or by asking in India, ‘Who says everything is one with the universe?’” 

I was missing the point—and that matters. 

Every year about this time, there’s a lot of hubbub about a so-called “war on Christmas.” In some instances, there are legitimate questions of religious liberty involved and complicated church/state questions that we ought to be concerned about. More commonly, though, the outrage is directed toward the commercial marketplace, for replacing “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” and so on. 

As Christians, we ought to recognize that a militant pull toward what Richard John Neuhaus called a “naked public square” is bad for people of any and all religious traditions. But there’s a difference between, for instance, standing against a school system penalizing a child for writing “Merry Christmas” on her “holiday card” and the kind of huffing and puffing we do when commercial marketers don’t “get” our Christian commitments. 

I should have thought about the fact that the advertising agencies behind this beer company and this grill corporation are trying to sell products, not to offend constituencies. Taking shots at any group’s religious beliefs isn’t good economics, and that’s just the point. I’m willing to bet whoever dreamed up these ad campaigns didn’t “get” at all that they might be making fun of Jesus Christ. 

Madison Avenue probably didn’t trace through that the song “Silent Night” is about the holy awe of the dawning Incarnation in Bethlehem. It’s just a Christmas song, part of the background music in our culture this time of year. Saying it’s overrated probably didn’t feel any more “insensitive” to these copywriters than making a joke about, say, decking the halls or reindeer games or Heat Miser and Cold Miser. 

And they probably never thought about the fact that the statement “It is better to give than to receive” is a quotation from Jesus (Acts 20:35). It probably just seems like a Benjamin Franklin-style aphorism. It’s the same kind of thing that happens when someone says “scarlet letter” without recognizing Hawthorne or “to be or not to be” while not knowing the difference between Hamlet and Shrek. 

We ought not to get outraged by all that, as though we were some protected class of victims. We ought to instead see the ways that our culture is less and less connected with the roots of basic knowledge about Christianity. Many, especially in the culture-making wing of American life, see Christmas in the same way they see Hanukkah. They know about Menorahs and dreidels, but not about the Maccabean fight. 

That ought not make us angry. It ought to instead give us an opportunity to understand how we look to our neighbors.

Matt Papa: The Story of God

The story of the Bible in 10 minutes. So completely and totally worth the time...



HT: Timmy Brister

D.A. Carson on the Chick-fil-A Fiasco

D.A. Carson has an article in the new Themelios where he details some more examples of the "intolerance of tolerance," following up on his latest book. He spends some time looking at the events surrounding Chick-fil-A this year.

By now, the bare narrative is well-known. When Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, a man known for his Christian commitments, declared that he supported traditional heterosexual marriage, he was soon attacked in the press, in blog posts, and in some talk shows as homophobic, a hate monger, and worse-despite the fact that he himself had never used the word "homosexual" and despite the fact that no one seemed able to tell of a credible instance when Chick-fil-A staff at any of their outlets had ever treated any class of customers with less than the courtesy in which the staff were trained. Protests by the LGBT crowd followed at some sites, while supporters bought countless tens of thousands of meals in a show of support. More interesting, perhaps, was the announcement by several big-city mayors, Washington D.C.'s Vincent Gray, Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, and San Francisco's Edwin Lee, that they would prevent Chick-fil-A outlets from opening in their cities since they did not want to encourage any business characterized by such intolerance. They were soon joined by the mayor of Boston and the mayor of Philadelphia. By contrast, Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, declared that however repellent he found Dan Cathy's views to be, government should stay clear of such pronouncements and interference with businesses that were not in any sense breaking the law. 

How should we think about this little drama? 

That some conservatives like Dan Cathy articulate their beliefs, while some liberals respond with their own voice, is not intrinsically problematic so far as issues of tolerance and intolerance are concerned. That the debate grabbed media attention and escalated into demonstrations against Chick-fil-A and counter movements that voiced approval for the organization by flooding the outlets with orders is part of the give-and-take of any society that cherishes free speech, no matter how much each side thinks the other is morally wrong. Somewhat troubling is the way several big-city mayors hopped on the band-wagon and declared that they would use their powers to keep Chick-fil-A out of their cities. By definition, that is a form of intolerance of the older kind, i.e., use of the coercive powers of the state to punish those who step outside the norms the state approves. Of course, these mayors could argue that Dan Cathy and those he influences or represents are trying to maintain or promote laws against those who practice homosexuality-for example, laws that refuse to assign the category of "marriage" to homosexual unions. In other words, conservatives no less than liberals want to use the powers of the state to exclude behavior of which they do not approve. 

There is, however, one fundamental difference. By and large the conservatives defend their position and try to advance it by arguing the merits of the case in the public arena. It must be said that in recent years, they have not made much headway, but that is what they try to do. On the other hand, the LGBT voices barely address the merits of their case or engage the substance of their opponents' arguments; rather, by and large they defend their position and try to advance it by dismissing their opponents as intolerant bigots, religious fanatics. That is one of the signs of the new tolerance. While the old tolerance was in some ways a parasitic virtue-that is, it depended for its life on decisions as to how much leeway might be allowed to a person who wished to advocate or take up a position outside the accepted norms and laws of a society, before state sanctions were imposed, and thus depended on the existence of a larger structure of accepted values and morals-the new tolerance is not parasitic on a larger structure. Rather, the new tolerance is itself the highest good, the ultimate virtue, trumping everything else, and therefore able to shunt to one side any serious moral discussion of important matters once the label "intolerant" has been attached to it.

Igniter Media: The Christmas Scale

Mark Driscoll's New Book: Who Do You Think You Are?

Excited to read this new one from Mark Driscoll:

The Schreiner Family: An Amazing Testimony to God's Grace

My wife and I moved down to Louisville, KY over the summer. I have been attending Southern Seminary since August of 2011, but had commuted from Cincinnati for the first year. In July of this year, we moved and planned to attend Clifton Baptist Church, where Dr. Tom Schreiner, whom I had taken for a New Testament class, is one of the preaching pastors.

One of our first Sundays at Clifton followed a tragic Friday. Tom Schreiner's wife, Diane, had been in a serious bike accident, and there were numerous unknowns, including whether or not she would fully recover and even whether or not she would live. It was a strange time to be new in a church, not really knowing anyone and observing a congregation suffering so much. We hadn't yet met Diane and feared we may never have the privilege.

Over the next months, my wife and I were immensely encouraged by the congregation of Clifton, the entire Schreiner family, and specifically Tom. Their confidence in God throughout the entire ordeal has been uplifting and powerful to see. Tom's updates on Diane's Caring Bridge site were some of the best devotional writings I have ever read. The congregational prayers for Diane on Sundays were filled with sadness and pain yet confidence in the love and glory of God, regardless of what might happen.

Miraculously (and from what I understand about the medical issues involved, there is clearly no other explanation), the updates continued to be positive and Diane has recovered quite well. She still has more to go ahead of her, but she was in chapel at Southern when Tom preached this Fall (an amazing event to be able to attend), and she has been attending Clifton again. Tom is back preaching and I feel amazingly blessed that my family gets to attend that church and hear him preach.

Tom is the best theological teacher I have ever had, and I praise God that he allowed Tom to demonstrate that theological, biblical knowledge is not simply an irrelevant, academic exercise. When suffering showed up, Tom had a biblical backbone and unshakable confidence in his God. It was simply beautiful to behold. I pray that I would approach theology this way, so that should God ever call me to suffering of that kind or another, I will be able to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Music Video of the Week: Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson - "Matthew's Begats"

Super-Slow-Mo Footage of Cheetah's Running

Piper: Avoiding 2 Errors in Gender/Sexuality

Craig Ferguson on Why Everything Sucks

A little bleeped out language at the end...



HT: 22 Words

Music Video of the Week: Pentatonix

Pentatonix - "Carol of the Bells"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andrew Peterson - "Don't You Want to Thank Someone"

Can’t you feel it in your bones
Something isn’t right here
Something that you’ve always known
But you don’t know why

‘Cause every time the sun goes down
We face another night here
Waiting for the world to spin around
Just to survive

But when you see the morning sun
Burning through a silver mist
Don’t you want to thank someone?
Don’t you want to thank someone for this?

Don’t you ever wonder why
In spite of all that’s wrong here
There’s still so much that goes so right
And beauty abounds?

‘Cause sometimes when you walk outside
The air is full of song here
The thunder rolls and the baby sighs
And the rain comes down

And when you see the spring has come
And it warms you like a mother’s kiss
Don’t you want to thank someone?
Don’t you want to thank someone for this?

I used to be a little boy
As golden as a sunrise
Breaking over Illinois
When the corn was tall

Yeah, but every little boy grows up
And he’s haunted by the heart that died
Longing for the world that was
Before the Fall

Oh, but then forgiveness comes
A grace that I cannot resist
And I just want to thank someone
I just want to thank someone for this

Now I can see the world is charged
It’s glimmering with promises
Written in a script of stars
Dripping from prophets’ lips

But still, my thirst is never slaked
I am hounded by a restlessness
Eaten by this endless ache
But still I will give thanks for this

‘Cause I can see it in the seas of wheat
I can feel it when the horses run
It’s howling in the snowy peaks
It’s blazing in the midnight sun

Just behind a veil of wind
A million angels waiting in the wings
A swirling storm of cherubim
Making ready for the Reckoning

Oh, how long, how long?
Oh, sing on, sing on

And when the world is new again
And the children of the King
Are ancient in their youth again
Maybe it’s a better thing

A better thing

To be more than merely innocent
But to be broken then redeemed by love
Maybe this old world is bent

But it’s waking up
And I’m waking up

‘Cause I can hear the voice of one
He’s crying in the wilderness

“Make ready for the Kingdom Come”
Don’t you want to thank someone for this?

2 New Albums You'll Definitely Want to Check Out

Pride and Humility

Mark Driscoll:

The worst decisions in my life, the times my anger has gotten the best of me, and the instances of my greatest regret were all the result of my pride. Pride never helped anything. Pride never improved anything. 

I’m not qualified to write about humility, but you’re not either. Therefore, as the chief hypocrite, I’ll take the liberty. Here are seven things about pride and humility that I’ve learned, mostly the hard way. 

1. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble 

The most haunting verse in Scripture is found in both James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” If we insist on our way, our best, our fame, our glory, our best interest, the living God of the universe will work against us in direct opposition. Our pride puts us in this dreadful position. 

2. Humility means knowing your place 

Some of the earliest instances of the word "humble" refer to the position a person occupies. The Apostle Paul writes, “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). Do you crave glory, recognition, reward, or attention that is beyond your present station? 

3. Everyone is proud, just in different ways 

You’re proud. They’re proud. I’m proud. But we’re all proud in different ways. It’s easy to point out pride in others while remaining oblivious to our own blind spots. Some of us think we deserve more money. Some of us think we deserve more respect. Some of us think we deserve more comfort. Before we judge and condemn other people for their pride, we need to ask, “How am I blind to my own?” 

4. Humility is a direction, not a destination 

None of us can say, “I used to be proud. Glad that’s over!” That would be proud. In his book Humility , C. J. Mahaney describes himself as “a proud man pursuing humility by the grace of God.” The same could be said for all of us. As Christians, we venture in the direction of humility, by the grace of God. The question is not, “Have you arrived?” but rather, “Are you even trying?” 

5. Pride is about my glory, humility is about God’s glory 

Once the question of glory is settled, everything is settled. Resolve to give God the glory, and you’ll know the answer to the vast majority of the decisions in your life. 

If you’re fighting with your spouse, what should you do? Whatever brings God the most glory. 

If you’re disobeying your parents, what should you do? Whatever brings God the most glory. If you’re disagreeing with leadership, how should you conduct yourself? In a manner that brings God the most glory. If you have aspirations, what should you pursue? Whatever brings God the most glory. 

What you do, why you do it, how you do it, when you do it—humility considers every decision by asking, “Who gets the glory?” 

6. Pride bends inward, but humility turns out to God and others 

Martin Luther described sin as the self bending in on the self. Pride makes it all about “me.” That’s why at Mars Hill we love to say, “It’s all about Jesus.” Humility turns our affections and energies toward God’s glory and others’ good. We start to ask how we can help. We start thinking about ways we could serve or bless other people. We start to forget our own needs. Pride leads us to focus on ourselves. Humility leads us back out to God and others. 

7. Pride births death, humility births life 

Augustine, the great church father, likened pride to a mother who is pregnant with all other sins. In pride, Satan rebelled against God because he desired to be God. In pride, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit because they wanted to be like God. In pride, we reject God’s wisdom, will, and Word because we think we know better. All sin comes out of pride—and all virtue, all holiness, and all glory to God are birthed out of humility. Is your heart pregnant with pride, or is it pregnant with humility? 

The bad news: we will lose the battle of pride vs. humility every day. The good news: we have perfect humility in Jesus. Unlike Satan, unlike Adam and Eve, and unlike us, 

"[Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."Philippians 2:6–11 

Jesus was humble, and God glorifies him as a result. Likewise, if we repent of our pride and pursue humility in Jesus instead, by God’s grace we will be glorified with him as well. We war against our pride not by focusing on our humility—which is just another way of focusing on ourselves)—but rather, the humility of Jesus Christ.

Do You Love Controversy or People?

Jim Hamilton:

There is no conflict between loving truth and loving people. You really can love people as you obeyTitus 1:9, which says an elder should “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict.” You can even love people as you follow Jude’s appeal that you “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). 

A few years ago I would have been suspicious of anyone who mentioned the need to engage in theological controversy in a loving way. I would have done one of those mental clucks of the tongue and inched the person toward the “needs-to-firm-up-conviction” column. 

As time has passed, though, I’ve participated in a few controversies (many connected to the sovereignty of God in salvation or the roles of men and women) and I’ve watched some controversialists take issue with views that I hold. Obviously I haven’t been in all these battles, only a skirmish or two, and sometimes I found myself wondering if those involved loved God, people, and truth, or just loved controversy. 

I don’t muse on that possibility because of a softening of my own convictions, nor because I don’t like to mix it up, because I’m tired of the fight, or because I think my views worsted. The question arises because some of the caricatures have seemed so obvious I wondered whether they were intentional. The controversialists surely should have known they were fighting misrepresentations, and I am certain that they would not want their views treated the way they treat those they attack. 

I found myself thinking things like this: You’re using the name of the view I hold, but you’re not describing anything like my understanding of it. Only an idiot or a monster would hold it the way you describe it. You know you’re attacking a straw man, right? 

This line of though led me to wonder whether the controversialists were concerned for me as a brother in Christ. I began to ask whether they loved me, because if they really loved me, they would want to help me see the benightedness of a position they thought was so awful, they would want to liberate me from the bondage of bad ideas, and their desire to help me in these ways would surely cause them to use a different tone of voice and a better method of argumentation.

Bruce Ware's New Book: The Man Christ Jesus

Really excited to read this new book from Dr. Bruce Ware, The Man Christ Jesus. Dr. Ware's book are amazingly clear and cogent. Love reading him, and this is a really great topic to dig into.

Here's a video he did with Dane Orlund at Crossway:

Dr. Bruce Ware introduces his forthcoming book, "The Man Christ Jesus" from Crossway on Vimeo.

Timestamps:

00:30: What drove you (Bruce Ware) to write this book?

01:50: You start the book with a discussion of Philippians 2. Why did you choose to reference Philippians?  Help us especially understand what it means when Paul says that Jesus “emptied himself” and became a servant.

03:57: When I (Dane Ortlund) think about the supernatural things Jesus did, my default mode is to think that Jesus is “falling back on his deity.” Help us understand the way you deconstruct and provide a corrective to that logic.

06:23: You have a chapter in the book that discusses Christ’s impeccability. What does it mean that Jesus was impeccable and how does that connect to his humanity? What does that mean for believers today?

09:25: Why did Jesus have to come as a man and not a woman?

11:43: What would you say to a woman who says to you, “Ok Dr. Ware, Jesus came as a male. Is it not true then that Jesus doesn’t really understand me as a woman?”

14:00: Why did Jesus have to come and be a man to save us? I can understand why only God could save me, but why did the second person of the trinity also need to become fully human and, it seems, do what Psalm 49 says can’t be done?

18:13: Is Jesus still a man today?

20:08: Why is knowing that Jesus’s incarnation is not a “parenthesis” cause for worship?

Music Video of the Week: Gaslight Anthem

Gaslight Anthem - "Here Comes My Man"

Let's Honor the President

Russell Moore:

The American people have decided that Barack Obama should have a second term. And, behind them, in the mystery of providence, God has decided that Barack Obama would be re-elected. So how should Christians respond to our once and future President? 

Many of us have some disagreements with the President. As a conservative Christian, I believe unborn children have certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, and I wish President Obama would work to protect them. I believe freedom of conscience is the preeminent right in a civil society, and the Administration’s incursions on religious liberty are troubling. I don’t plan to back down one bit on these matters, even as our forefathers Isaac Backus and John Leland relentlessly stood up to the founding generation of leaders on behalf of religious freedom and human dignity. 

We are going to disagree with the President on some (important) things; there will be other areas where we can work with the President. But whether in agreement or disagreement, we can honor. Honor doesn’t mean blanket endorsement. 

I am always amazed by those Christians who will dispute the command to honor, arguing that “kings” in our system are the people, and therefore we’re called to honor the Constitution but not elected officials. But the Scripture doesn’t command honor simply for the ultimate authority (which is, of course, ultimately God, in any case). Humanly speaking, the ultimate political authority in the New Testament context was the Emperor. 

And yet, the Apostle Peter specifically calls the people of Christ not only to show submission to the emperor “as supreme” but also to “governors” (1 Pet. 2:13-14). The Apostle Paul calls on the churches to pray and to show thanksgiving for “kings” (plural) and for “all who are in high positions” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). 

Paul imitated this when he showed due respect to the governor Felix, referring to him with the honorific title “his Excellency, the governor” (Acts 23:26) and “most excellent Felix” (Acts 24:2), even as he appealed his way up through the political process of the Roman Empire of his time. Paul showed thanksgiving for Felix, despite his part in a system with which Paul disagreed at some important points, for his “reforms” for the common good (24:3). 

Behind that is a more general command to “honor everyone” (1 Pet. 2:17), to pray for “all people” (1 Tim. 2:1). We are to not only pay our taxes but give “respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Rom. 13:7). 

Christians, above all people, should pray for and show respect for our President and all of our elected officials. After all, unlike those who see politics as ultimate, we recognize that our political structures are important, but temporal, before an inbreaking kingdom of Christ. We don’t then need to be fomented into the kind of faux outrage that passes for much of contemporary political discourse. And, unlike those who see history as impersonal or capricious, we see behind everything a God who is sovereign over his universe. 

So let’s pray for President Obama. Let’s not give ourselves to terms of disrespect, or every crazy conspiracy theory that floats across the Internet. 

That doesn’t mean slavish obedience. In a democratic republic, the President and the Congress govern by the consent of the governed. We appeal to our elected officials, and lobby them for the common good, expressing disagreement when we must. But we do this, as Paul does before Felix and Agrippa, with respect and honor, even as he seeks to persuade them of the need for religious liberty and as he preaches “righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment” (Acts 24:25). 

However we voted in the election, let’s pray for God to bless our President. We can pray for him to be granted wisdom and health. We can pray that God would prosper his good ideas, and change his mind on his bad ideas. Moreover, we can teach our children to respect our President, starting with referring to him as “President Obama” or “Our President,” not as “Obama” or “the guy our parents voted against” or what have you. 

There’s a time to vote. There’s a time to campaign. And there’s a time to petition. But, through it all, let’s be the people who, even as we speak with conviction, are marked by kindness and respect. When we have to differ with President Obama, let’s do that, with backbone. But let’s make sure we do all this with honor, with respect, with prayer, and, most of all, with love. 

Let’s render unto Caesar, as free people with natural rights. Because we know as believers that we will eternally say “Jesus is Lord,” we can as citizens temporally say, “Hail to the chief.”

A Prayer For America on Election Day

Al Mohler:

Americans will soon head for the voting precincts as the 2012 election is at hand. Already, millions of our fellow citizens have voted through early voting options. Millions more are soon to be headed to polling places across the land.  In any event, millions of citizens will participate in the first duty of freedom — the freedom to vote. 

There is so much at stake.  We hear every election cycle that the stakes have never been higher. In one sense, this is usually also true.  There is always the sense that there is more at stake this year than last, and, given the way issues unfold, that perception often seems validated by the times. 

Christians face the responsibility to vote, not only as citizens, but as Christians who seek to honor and follow Christ in all things.  But, beyond the vote, we also bear responsibility to pray for our nation.

First, we should pray that God will bless America with leaders better than we deserve.  Democratic systems inevitably reflect the electorate’s decisions, and these decisions reveal underlying worldviews.  And, truth be told, all we can expect from democracy is the government we deserve.  We must pray for a government and for leaders better than we deserve.  May God grant us mercy as he reigns and rules over all things, including this election.

Second, we should pray that Americans will be motivated to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship, yet also that we will be stripped of an unhealthy and idolatrous confidence in the power of government to save us.  God has given us the gift of rulers and governments in order to restrain evil, uphold righteousness, and provide for civil order.  No human ruler can save.  No government official or office holder can heal the human heart, solve the sin problem, or accomplish final justice.  These powers belong to God and God alone. 

Third, we must pray that Americans will vote by conscience, not merely on the basis of celebrity or emotion.  Christian citizens must vote to uphold righteousness and contend for righteous and just laws.  But, at the same time, we must repent of moralism and the tacit assumption that better laws would produce better people. 

Fourth, we must pray that Americans will vote to defend the least among us — and especially those who have no vote.  This starts, but does not end, with concern for the unborn and for the recovery of respect for the dignity and sanctity of every single human life at every stage of development, from conception until natural death. 

Fifth, we should pray that God will prick the conscience of the nation on issues of morality, righteousness, and respect for marriage as the central institution of human civilization.  So much ground appears to have been lost on these issues.  We need to pray that much ground can be regained. Marriage itself is on the ballot this year, both in the presidential election and in specific measures in four states. There is much work to be done, and so much is at stake. 

Sixth, we should pray that God will protect these candidates and their families.  They have been through an arduous ordeal and now face the deadline of the vote.  They are physically exhausted and now face the judgment of the people.  They are public figures, but they are also flesh and blood human beings, who are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters.  Their families have withstood much.  We should pray for their marriages and their children.  May God protect them. 

Seventh, we should pray that the election is conducted with honor, civility, respect, and justice.  We must pray that we do not face another round of litigation after an election.  This brings democracy into disrepute.  May there be a clear winner, not a contested result. 

Eighth, we must pray that Americans will be prepared to accept the results of the election with respect and kindness.  This will be no time for rancor, condemnations, and conspiracy theories.  Instead, we must pray that God will settle the hearts of the people.  May Christians be ready to respond with prayer, respect for office, and a gentle spirit.  Others will be watching. 

Ninth, we should pray that this election would lead to even greater opportunities to preach the Gospel, and that the freedom of the church will be respected, honored, and protected. 

Tenth, we must pray for the church, praying that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be strengthened in the truth, grounded in the faith, and empowered for witness and ministry.  May the church, the sign of the coming kingdom, be faithful to declare the Gospel — knowing that this is the only message that will save. 

May God grant us mercy and grace as we seek to fulfill our responsibilities as citizens — and our responsibilities as Christians.  This world is not our home, but we do bear responsibilities as followers of Christ as we are living here. 

May God bless America, not because this nation deserves to be blessed, but because He is a God of grace and mercy.  Oh God . . . save us from ourselves.

Music Video of the Week: Mumford and Sons

Mumford and Sons - "Lover of the Light"

Propaganda: Be Present.

Having Some Empathy for Politicians

Kevin DeYoung:

Imagine your life were an open book. 

Every conversation recorded. Every errant word written down. Every gaffe broadcast before all. 

What if everything you ever did was fair game? 

What if every action and every decision were held up to the severest scrutiny? 

What if all your last minute apologies failed to satisfy? 

How would you feel to realize someone knew everything about your past? And someone was chronicling everything about your present? 

How would you like to face a barrage of questions for every inconsistency in your life? 

What a fearful proposition: anything you ever say or ever do can, and often will, be held against you. If an adversary so desired, he could paint an ugly picture of any of us. And without resorting to lies. 

It’s a scary thought to think that your whole life could be an open book. With defenses that do not hold, and sorry’s that do not stick, and excuses which only make things worse. 

That’s politics. 

And that’s the day of judgment without the blood of Christ.

"I'm not much of a reader..."

Jared Wilson:

In pastoring, in discipling, I’ve heard it more than I care to count. When exhorting a fellow spiritual journeyman to “Take up and read” the Bible as part of a regular discipline of growth in the Spirit, I will sometimes get this excuse: “I’m not much of a reader.” 

“I don’t read,” these folks are saying. “I don’t really read anything. Nothing personal against the Bible itself; I just don’t learn that way.” 

This book, they tend to agree, is the place where God is speaking. The one true living God of the Universe reveals what he wants us to know to be complete for every good work in this book called the Bible. In this day and age, when the Scriptures are available in the West at the click of a link or the touch of an iPod, excuses to remain biblically illiterate aren’t just silly — they are sinful. 

Imagine I showed you a tent across the yard. You can see a glow emanating from its zippered door. “Inside that tent,” I said, “is God himself. He has something to say to you. You just have to go inside the tent, and the God of the Universe will reveal the mystery of the ages to you.” And then imagine you were to say, “I’m not much of a walker. I prefer sitting to walking.” 

Makes about as much sense. 

“What great toil and effort it cost the church fathers to gather up a few crumbs, while we with half the labor – with almost no labor at all – can acquire the whole loaf. O how their efforts put our indolence to shame!”– Martin Luther

Music Video of the Week: Lecrae

Lecrae - "Tell The World (Billboard)"

Russell Moore: The Pastor and Politics

I had the privilege of hearing this discussion live the other day on campus, and I found it very helpful. Russell Moore answers some questions about how Christians should relate to politics, and more specifically, how pastors should relate to these areas.

The Pastor and Politics from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.

Who Jesus Was vs. Who They Thought He Was

Kevin DeYoung:

This Jesus of Nazareth—the one you saw, the one you knew, the one you crucified—he is more than you know. Jesus may not be what you expected, but he is better. He may not be what you were looking for, but he is bigger. Have you ever considered that what you saw in Jesus is not what God sees in Jesus? 

You thought he was a false prophet, but according to Moses, he was the Prophet. 

You spoke against him, but Samuel spoke of him. 

You said his father was the Devil, but he was the promised son of Abraham. 

You had no ears to hear his gospel, but the Lord God said to listen to him in whatever he tells you. 

You considered him a blasphemer, but he was the Holy One of Israel. 

You treated him wickedly, but he was the Righteous One of God. 

You gave life to a murderer and murdered the Author of Life. 

You handed him over to die; God raised him up from the dead. 

You denied him before Pilate; God glorified him in heaven. 

The One you delivered to the Romans, God has made your Deliverer. 

Have you ever heard of a man like this? Can’t you hear him calling your name? Can’t you hear him speaking to you now through his word? If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Now is the time to repent and believe. For the Savior you would not set free is mighty to save, even for you.

The Best Sermon of Christianity and Politics

Matt Smethurst:

The Story: While preaching his way through the Gospel of Mark, Mark Dever came to that section where Jesus is questioned about paying taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13-17). 

Despite standing in a pulpit five blocks from the Capitol, Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., doesn't often plunge into politics from the pulpit. He doesn't believe that to be his calling. The text that September 2010 morning, however, demanded reflection on how believers should think about and relate to the political realm. 

Collin Hansen, who attended the service, later wrote that it was "the best sermon I know on Christianity and government." Likewise, Thabiti Anyabwile described it as "a biblical theology of Christians and the state, at once full of unction, intellectually challenging, and affecting the heart. I've heard a lot of Mark's preaching, but I don't know that I've ever heard him better." 

Dever offered three simple points from Mark 12:13-17. First, Christians are good citizens. Second, no earthly kingdom can be identified with God's people. Third, Christians are finally accountable to God. 

Why It Matters: With election day just around the corner, Dever's message bears fresh relevance. By listening to the sermon and reading Hansen's copious summary, you will be well served. 

As Americans, it's often helpful to be reminded that the epicenter of Christ's kingdom is not located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And the purposes of God have never been thwarted at the hands of men---a streak that's not about to end on November 6. Such a recognition isn't quietism or escapism---just biblical Christianity. 

President Obama and Governor Romney are, like you and me, feeble creatures of dust. They're worthy of our honor (Eccl. 10:20; 1 Pet. 2:17), but never our hope. 

So pay your taxes, choose your candidate, and cast your vote (politics does matter, after all), but do so as one whose trust is anchored in another world. As citizens of "a better country" (Heb. 11:16; cf. Phil. 3:20), we the people of the risen King await "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13). 

Whatever comes of our quadrennial sojourn to the ballot box, we can rest in the sovereign goodness of a Father who sits enthroned in the heavens and, with majesty and mystery, does whatever he pleases.

Music Video of the Week: The Killers

The Killers - "Runaways"

Do Faithful Christian Read the Bible Literally?

Glenn Stanton:

I know of no serious, Bible-believing Christian who actually takes the Bible literally. I doubt you do either. And if there were any at our Bible-studies or Sunday schools, all would look at them as either an uninformed simpleton or mentally unstable. 

If we open the scriptures to any random page, as I have just done, we will easily find an example to disprove this myth. Here I am at Ecclesiastes 10:2: 

The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. 

Besides the interesting political connotations for contemporary Americans reading this text, are we to take literally that my heart---this four-chambered, muscular organ beating in my chest---physically inclines to the left part of my body because I'm a fool? If I take a literal view of scripture it does. But if I take these words seriously and truthfully, they mean my internal self---who I really am---is inclined in a direction exactly opposite of the one who is wise. Scripture's lesson for me? Being wise or a fool has dramatic and polar opposite consequences. 

I randomly flip over a few books and find myself in Psalms 62. I read here, in verse 2 that God is my rock, my salvation and my fortress. This is very good, comforting news. 

As we read it seriously and truthfully, we don't believe that God is literally a rock, much lessmy rock. If so, how big is He? Is He igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic? God says He's my fortress. Is he stone or wooden? How tall are his walls? What's his configuration? Am I being disrespectful to God with such questions?  It seems like it. And that's the point. We dishonor God and much of His Word by trying to take it literally. 

But is God literally my salvation? Oh my, YES! And I tremble at the literal truth of it.
You see, these words we just read work as powerful and dramatic symbolism to drive home the literal truth that God is our firm, immovable foundation, our strong, impenetrable protector, and our salvation... 

...You see, Scripture communicates the truth of God in multiple, beautiful and creative, ways. Faithful readers of Scripture know it speaks: 

• Literally - Jesus is God's Son, physically rose from the dead, bodily ascended to the Father and will return, literally.

• Poetically - As in much of Psalms and Song of Solomon, even in Christ's teaching.

• Metaphorically - Many of Jesus' parables and illustrations.

• Rhetorically - Acts 1:18-19. Did all---every last bit---of Judas' intestines spill out? Did everyone in Jerusalem hear about this---to a person? Or is Luke saying the news was widespread, difficult to have missed?

• Descriptively - "Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill these jars with water' so they filled them to brim."

This is not mere quibbling. These are important points, because it demonstrates a more serious appreciation and faithful understanding of God's Word than merely accenting to a flimsy ill-informed belief about scripture merely because of what it implies.

Honorable Leadership: A Take on Biden's Debate Actions

Joel Beeke:

I stared in disbelief at my laptop last night as our Vice President interrupted Congressman Paul Ryan 96 times in about as many minutes of debate. When I observed his arrogance, his degrading laughter, his angry responses, and his dismissive attitude, I was deeply troubled.  

These debates are first and foremost about policy. But when one’s attitude is so belligerent an honest dialogue of substantial issues can scarcely take place. It is not enough to excuse our Vice President by simply saying that he was trying to overwhelm the congressman like a tsunami, or to say, “That’s just the way Joe Biden is.” No one should act that way. 

A burning issue was raised last night that is not on a party’s political platform, nor on a moderator’s list of questions, but is crucial for our nation. That’s the issue of relating to each other with dignity. Titus 3:2 reminds us “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” Even if we believe that another person is wrong and must be publicly corrected (as in a debate), we should do it in a way that shows courtesy and respect (2 Tim. 2:24; 1 Pet. 3:15–16). 

In a word, you might boil it down to honor. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:17, “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” We have a special responsibility to give honor and respect to those in authority. But we have a general responsibility to honor all human beings. If for no other reason, we should honor them because man was created in the image of God (James 3:9). 

Honor is especially crucial for leadership. God requires that leaders in the church be “grave” (Titus 3:8), which means dignified or honorable. When God commands us to honor those in authority, He implicitly commands leaders to act in a manner worthy of honor. Leaders should not let people despise them (Titus 2:15). But how? They must be examples of honorable character (1 Tim. 4:12). 

Sadly, we live in an age without honor. Our culture neither gives honor nor does it know how to act in an honorable manner. Our heroes are insolent rebels who demand honor but do not deserve it. Disrespect is fashionable, and dignity is discounted as stuffy pride... 

...The Vice President’s behavior last night was anything but honorable, precisely because he refused to give due honor to a fellow human being and a fellow government official. He has brought shame to the office he bears and to the American people. Vice President Biden should repent and publicly apologize for his conduct. 

However, Mr. Biden’s behavior points to a broader need for honorable leadership in America. When George Washington completed his job as commander of the American army during the Revolutionary War, many people expected him to make himself the king of the American colonies. In fact, some people urged him to do so. When the news spread that instead of reaching for a crown, he resigned his military powers and humbly yielded to the civilian government, King George exclaimed, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” This is true greatness: humbly serving others (Matt. 20:25–28).

"Seeker Sensitive's" All Bait and No Switch

Jared Wilson:

A few days ago I tweeted the following: “At our church we want our music to be as good as it can be without having people come to our church because of it.” Some of the responses were rather telling, some folks reading what I didn’t write, asking me why I want to promote bad music and why I’m against people finding music attractive. For the record, I’m not a fan of bad music (in lyric or tune or style), and I’m not against people being attracted to music (and the arts in general). 

Taking a step back, though, I find a lot of the leaping to hearing what I didn’t say indicative of the fundamental problem. It happens whenever one decries pragmatism and is asked why they want to be impractical. But pragmatism and practicality aren’t the same thing. And neither is the attractional paradigm of “doing church” identical to wanting an attractive church. 

There is something fundamentally wrong with the attractional church paradigm — biblically and therefore theologically — but these days I think there is a very real practical dysfunction in the “fog and lasers” and silly movie tie-ins and all the rest that people discipled within the system don’t even notice (any more). At its beginning, the attractional church (or “seeker church” or whatever you want to call it) was about getting people in the doors to then hear the gospel of Christ’s finished work. It was what we might call “the ol’ bait and switch.” Only, increasingly, the gospel of Christ’s finished work became relegated to the end of a sermon, then the end of a series, then saved just for special occasions, ultimately replaced by the shiny legalism of moralistic therapeutic deism and lost altogether. 

Eventually the attractional church became all bait, no switch. The approach of today’s attractional church is like the Trojan Rabbit of Monty Python’s Arthurian nincompoops — smuggled inside the castle walls with nobody inside. 

And it’s because of this, that so many inside the system, shepherded under this system and joined to it, can’t distinguish between attractive and attractional, practical and pragmatic. When we lose the centrality of the gospel, we lose the ability to think straight.

Music Video of the Week: Matt Redman

Matt Redman - "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)"

No One Understands Like Jesus

I really needed this today...

Rob Ventura:

On Sunday morning I plan to preach on Christ as a compassionate High Priest from the words of Hebrews 4:14-15. As I put the final touches on that sermon, I was reading a commentary where I came across a beautiful hymn that I had never heard before. Here are the words:  

No one understands like Jesus,
He's a friend beyond compare;
Meet Him at the throne of mercy,
He is waiting for you there.  

No one understands like Jesus,
Every woe He sees and feels;
Tenderly He whispers comfort,
And the broken heart He heals.  

No one understands like Jesus,
When the foes of life assail;
You should never be discouraged,
Jesus cares and will not fail.  

No one understands like Jesus,
When you falter on the way;
Tho' you fail Him, sadly fail Him
He will pardon you today.  

Chorus:
No one understands like Jesus,
When the days are dark and grim;
No one is so near, so dear as Jesus,
Cast your every care on Him.

How Our Fathers Shape our View of God

Really good stuff from Jeremy Pierre:

Unreasonable, dissatisfied men roam this world. And many of them have children along the way. This is no surprise to our culture. The terrible father is a recurring motif in our literature and a common feature in our experience. You can read Mark Twain and Richard Wright, or you can talk to your child's classmate or a friend from church. A good dad is hard to find. 

People have generally lost the sense of what a strong, self-sacrificing father looks like, largely because they've never seen one. Anyone with a listening ear and a speck of empathy can see the unique difficulty that growing up under a crummy father can cause. 

Our early relational experiences---particularly with those entrusted with our care---are incredibly shaping. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it's part of God's design for human development. Through fathers and mothers, children receive a framework for understanding the world and everything in it, from important things like morality to relatively trivial things like clothing styles. Why else would God be so adamant that parents teach their children the knowledge of him in the context of the everyday activities of life (Deut 6:7; 11:19)? And alongside the words they speak, parents model the character of God in their affection for, generosity to, and patience with their children. This should be particularly true of fathers (Psalm 103:13,Matt 7:9-11, Eph 5:4, Col 3:21, 1 Thes 2:7-12). 

So how can ministers of the gospel help people whose fathers were bad role models?

His 4 Ways:

• First, we recognize that earthly fathers can lie to their children about the nature of fatherhood. 
• Second, we recognize that these false beliefs about fatherhood can hinder a person from trusting the fatherhood of God. 
• Third, we recognize that God's revelation of himself as Father is ultimately the only way to undermine false beliefs about fatherhood. 
• Fourth, we help men to be earthly fathers who reflect their heavenly Father.

Read the whole post to see these fleshed out.

Bad Lip-Reading Interpretation of the First Presidential Debate

I've seen this multiple places, and just had to post. Hysterical.