There’s a very useful discussion on the Theology of Culture over at The Reformed Forum.
Month: February 2010
Paul Cook – New Book on Revival
At the recent Faith Cook lecture I was able to purchase – and get signed – the new book by Paul Cook ‘Fire From Heaven – Times of Extraordinary Revival’. It’s a book that very nearly wasn’t as I recall speaking to him last year as he expressed doubts about having it published. The last chapter caused him great difficulty and was in fact the substance of a lecture given at Rugby with the title ‘Have we lost interest in Revival?(download it HERE).
As it’s a new purchase a review will have to wait until I can get around to reading it. However, it’s worth noting at least two highly commendable aspects of the book. It has notes at the back (end notes) and an index to facilitate further study. It also has a brief selected bibliography in addition to books in the end notes.
Here’s the blurb from the EP Books website:
This work has a history. Since giving a paper on ‘The Forgotten Revival’ at the Westminster Conference in 1984, and subsequently a number of addresses in various places on different aspects of that revival movement, friends have urged me to write up the material in book form to ensure a more permanent record of these revivals. My calling as a preacher has kept me from doing this. However, further exhortations have finally prevailed and this book is the result, with occasional evidences of the preacher still present.
1 Remembering former days
2 The God who hears prayer
3 Early revivals in the North of England
4 Days of the Son of Man in Yorkshire
5 Cornwall and the great revival of 1814
6 The Cornish revivals
7 How the Wesleyans regarded the work of God
8 Rethinking our doctrine of revivalPaul Cook was the pastor of three churches, Hull, Shepshed and Northallerton. Paul and his wife, Faith have five grown up children. Paul and Faith now live in Breaston, Derbyshire.
The book may be purchased through the EP Books website or from all good book-stores.
Weather Report – Birdland
For a change of pace here’s one of my favourite pieces of music from the amazing Weather Report. Sadly Jaco Pastorious and Joe Zawinul are no longer with us but their music lives on – enjoy.
Throned Upon the Awful Tree
Throned upon the awful tree,
Lamb of God, Your grief I see.
Darkness veils Your anguished face;
None its lines of woe can trace.
None can tell what pangs unknown
Hold You silent and alone.
Silent through those three dread hours,
Wrestling with the evil powers,
Left alone with human sin,
Gloom around You and within,
Till the appointed time is nigh,
Til the Lamb of God may die.
Hark, that cry that peals aloud
Upward through the whelming cloud!
You, the Father’s only Son,
You, His own anointed One,
You are asking “can it be”
“Why have You forsaken Me?”
Lord, should fear and anguish roll,
Darkly o’er my sinful soul,
You, who once were thus bereft
That Your own might ne’er be left,
Teach me by that bitter cry
In the gloom to know You nigh.
John Ellerton
1826 – 1893
Born: December 16, 1826, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England.
Died: June 15, 1893, Torquay, Devonshire, England.
Buried: Torquay, Devonshire, England.
Pilgrim’s Progress – Mason’s Notes 3
It’s been a while but here’s number three in the occasional Mason’s Notes series. To get the details of what these notes are, and the little bit of who Mason was go to a previous post.
The picture on the left is of Christian (Bunyan calls him Christian though he still has his burden) out of the way that Evangelist had directed him. Having encountered Mr Worldly Wiseman Christian is encouraged to go another easier route to ease his burden. He is directed to the village of Morality ‘…there dwells a gentleman, whose name is Legality; a very judicious man, and a man of a very good name, that has skill to help men off with such burdens as thine from their shoulders; yea to my knowledge, he hath done a great deal of good this way; and besides, he hath skill to cure those that are somewhat crazed in their wits with their burden.(c)‘
Mason’s Note on this (c)
Mr World Wiseman prefers Morality to Christ, the Straight Gate (to where Evangelist pointed him). This is the exact reasoning of the flesh. Carnal reason opposes spiritual truth. The notion of justification by our own obediance to God’s law, ever works in us, contrary to the law of justification by the obedience of Christ. Self-righteousness is as contrary to the faith of Christ as indulging the lusts of the flesh. The former is the white devil of pride, the latter the black devil of rebellion and disobedience. See the awful consequence of listening to the reasoning of the flesh.
The narrative continues with encouragements to go to the village of Morality ‘…where there are now houses standing empty, one of which thou mayest have at a reasonable rate; provision is there also cheap and good; and that which will make life more happy, is, to be sure that there thou shalt live by honest neighbours, in credit, and good fashion. In other words all will be well by living a good moral life. Not that Bunyan would prefer us all to live immoral lives – but that our morality has no power to save or make us acceptable to a Holy Righteous God. Christian is pointed in the direction of the village which is by the way of ‘yonder high hill’. So Christian turned out of his way to go to Mr Legality’s house for help: (d) but behold, when he was got now hard by the hill, it seemed so high, and also that side of it that was next the way-side did hang so much over, that Christian was afraid to venture farther, lest the hill should fall on his head; wherefore, there he stood still, and knew not what to do. Also, his burden now seemed heavier to him than while he was in his way. There came, also flashes of fire out of the hill, that made Christian afraid that he should be burned; here, therefore, he sweat, and did quake foe fear. And now he began to be sorry that he had taken Mr Worldly Wiseman’s counsel.
Mason’s Note (d)
And a sad turn it proved to him; for he turned from the work of Christ, for his salvation, to his works and obediaence; so did the Galations of old. Mark the consequence: Christian is afraid that Mount Sinai, all the dreadful curses of the law, would fall on his head.
Evangelist finds Christian and seeks to put him back on the right path. Christian tells Evangelist that Mr Worldly Wiseman ‘looked like a gentleman… (f)‘. Here is Mason’s Note on this.
(f) Beware of taking men by their looks. They may look as gentle as lambs, while the poison of asps is under their tongues; whereby they infect many souls with pernicious errors and pestilent heresies, turning them from Christ, and the hope of justification, and of eternal life, through Him ONLY, to look and rely upon their own works, in whole or in part, for salvation.
The Bible is absolutely clear on this:
Rom 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it–
Rom 3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Rom 3:26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
It cannot be plainer than the above statement by the Apostle Paul. Yet, by nature we argue against our only hope or way of salvation. One should ask – why is this? THe answer is that by nature we are all rebellious sinners and apart from the grace of God in the Gospel of Christ not one would have hope. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
SETI – Celebrating 50 Years of Silence
I had no idea that it had been 50 silent years for the SETI project. Material World on Radio 4 (BBC) interviewed Dr Frank Drake (Chairman of the Board of the SETI Institute) inventor or originator of what is known as The Drake Equation. The equation is a series of guesses based on the assumption that life is ‘out there’ resulting in what scientists might call a best guestimate. [I hope I’ve not misrepresented here as this is not my intention at all.] The interview on Material World was fascinating. Dr Drake was faced with the fact of 50 years of total silence. Did this put him off – not a bit of it. I suppose in the end it comes down to wishful thinking. I was tempted to say faith – but true faith must have an object. But because there is no evidence of life, in fact no life, no object, no faith, just wishful thinking. There must be life ‘out there’ because, well there just must be.
This is interesting – and tragic – because if Dr Drake applied a similar set of guesses and called it The God Equation he would be convinced in far less time than 50 years that there is a divine creator. The evidence of a creator is overwhelming. But Dr Drake and others simply do not want to believe it – so it can’t be true because well it just can’t be.
What I do applaud is the honesty of Dr Drake. There was no attempt to falsify or weasel his way out of the argument. He’s a believer just like Mulder – though with less proof – and will not be dissuaded.
As Christians we should praise and thank God because left to ourselves there is no difference. We suppressed the truth about God because we didn’t like where it led us – to God. Even with overwhelming evidence of a God and a Saviour, still we would not bow the knee to King Jesus. Ah but He sends His Word & Spirit – it’s all of His grace. There’s real hope then for people like Dr Drake because it’s not dependent on how bright we are but how Gracious God is.