Some Here, Some There — January 16, 2015

by Dan Phillips

Here y'go, in the last post before the Conference!


BTW, catch me for a full hour on The Janet Mefferd Show today, Friday, from 3pm-4pm Texas time.

• When someone uses "God is not the author of confusion" in reference to feelings of confusion in discerning God's personal will, you can rest assured that you are in the presence of someone to whom "exegesis" is, at best, a Scrabble word.
• You're welcome.
• Todd Pruitt brings the goods on Beth Moore, who he calls a prophet for an undiscerning church. Like Pat Robertson, like Todd Bentley, like Perry Noble, like Mark Driscoll, like Joseph Smith, like Ellen G. White, and like a host of others, Moore has "Jesus" tell her things He doesn't tell anyone else.
• You see, this is why the Sufficient Fire conference is so needed. Go now, find out if any registrations are still available, and come.

What's that verse that talks about God giving people semi-authoritative, sub-verbal "impressions"? Having trouble putting my finger on it...
— Dan Phillips (@BibChr) January 13, 2015

• Did I mention Perry Noble? You all know about Noble's crazy statements about the Ten Commandments and Hebrew. Well now he's issued an apology of sorts, which in itself is rare enough in the God-tells-me-stuff-He-doesn't-tell-you set.
• You see, parenthetically, if God tells you stuff straight-up...why bother studying Hebrew?
• Concerning Noble's apology, Fred Butler has offered his thoughts in a careful, nuanced, helpful post sensitively subtitled It's All God's Fault I'm an Idiot.
• Which all just goes to show you that...

"...if your doctrine goes astray your life will soon suffer as well" (David Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
— Dan Phillips (@BibChr) January 13, 2015

• Also, James Duncan responds to Noble's "apology."
• Over at The Gate of Crippledness (got my Hebrew on), Steven Ingrino offers a detailed survey of books he does and doesn't find helpful in expounding the Gospel of Mark.
• At that same blog, the gate was left slightly ajar, allowing this stray entry.
• I will admit I'm small enough that I wondered if delicate souls who have blocked me and removed Pyro from their blogrolls — but who do still read Cripplegate — had a pea under their mattress that day.
• Carl Trueman defends Beth Moore.
• OK, not really. But it was fun writing it, and it was fun picturing Carl's eyebrows as he read it.
• So the government will test the religion of homeschooled kids and see if they need to jail the parents. Where, East Germany? Nope; right here, in Oba-merica. In Virginia, no less. [See update in comments, below.]
• Here are the doors to the dream church, in many Christians' minds:

• On Texas in the early days: "Texas seemed to have more Baptists than people..." Texas hasn't changed. Nor have Baptist math-skills. Interesting read.
• Phil Johnson updates and comments on the controversy surrounding the book The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, written portentously enough by a gent called Malarkey.
• From Pulpit and Pen comes some very troubling backstory. (h-t Robert Sakovich)
• I invented a cartoon superhero when I was a yoot, trying to draw. His name was Malarkey Man. Little-known fact. You're welcome.
• In our family, we (or at least I) would call this "yet another unmarketable talent."

My #MyLastWordsIn5Words will be spoken to me by my wife: "Honey! It's the Top Men!"
— Dan Phillips (@BibChr) January 15, 2015

• Lyndon Unger, the Bare-knuck Canuck, continues getting Biblely about "shacking up" (i.e. serial fornication by roommates), in part two of his series.
• I would not be caught dead using (or thinking) the "the Gospel is true because it's good news) argument. That said, I'm having real trouble understanding how "Your life is short and meaningless and the universe cares nothing for you" is better news than the Gospel.

Updates possible through noon.

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