Dr. Mohler weighs in on the recent revelations of Mother Teresa's spiritual struggle by David van Biema in this week's Time Magazine cover story. Dr. Mohler's reflections appear in the On Faith forum (a conversation on religion) co-sponsored by the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine. His main points are: 1. We ought to trust Christ, not our feelings. 2. Doubt can be healthy. It can drive believers to a deeper knowledge and embrace of the Gospel. Alternatively, doubt can be a form of sin . . . a refusal to trust God and his promises. Doubt can thus be at the root of spiritual … [Read more...] about Albert Mohler on Mother Teresa
Theology
Reading Classics Together Via The Blogosphere
Tim Challies has initiated (another) great idea: Using blogdom as a vehicle for accountability in reading through some of the classic Christian books. The first book selected is Holiness, by J.C. Ryle, which is absolutely fantastic. If you've never read it, you might consider checking out Tim's plan and perhaps joining in. … [Read more...] about Reading Classics Together Via The Blogosphere
Adam’s disobedience and Jesus Christ’s obedience
John Piper's sermon on Rom. 5:12-21, entitled The Fatal Disobedience of Adam and the Triumphant Obedience of Christ, is now available. Excerpt: "I want us to focus on the glory of Christ as the main purpose that God had in mind when he planned for and permitted Adam’s sin, and with him the fall of all humanity into sin. Remember what I said last week: Whatever God permits, he permits for a reason. And his reasons are always infinitely wise and purposeful. He did not have to let the Fall happen. He could have stopped it, just like he could have stopped the fall of Satan (as we saw last week). … [Read more...] about Adam’s disobedience and Jesus Christ’s obedience
Salvation to the Ends of the Earth
While we're on the missions theme, I want to highlight an interesting book that traces the foundational principles of world missions back to their Old Testament roots. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Peter T. O’Brien was written to show that God's saving purposes for the entire world originated not at the Great Commission but at the very beginning of God's creation. From what I know of these authors, I imagine this book represents a helpful addition to mission literature. Zioneer writes: "From the original intent of creation, the significance of Abraham’s … [Read more...] about Salvation to the Ends of the Earth
Review of Let the Nations Be Glad!
Though the second edition first appeared in 2003, Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper continues to be an important book for any Christian who takes the Great Commission seriously. The book is neatly divided into three section, all of which deal with the theme of making God supreme in missions: Part I -- The Purpose, the Power, and the Price Chapter 1 argues that worship is the ultimate goal of the church, not missions. Missions exists because there are millions all over the world who do not worship. In addition to being the goal of missions, worship is also the fuel of missions. Those … [Read more...] about Review of Let the Nations Be Glad!
Round-Up on Baptism/Membership/Communion Issues
Between Two Worlds provides an excellent round-up of the recent blogosphere debate on issues pertaining to the timing of baptism, church membership, and who should be allowed to take communion. A couple terms for any who may be unfamiliar: credobaptism: the view that one should be baptized after he/she professes faith in Christ. Among adherents to this view, people disagree on the age at which children should be baptized. Those most conservative want to wait until the professing believer is at least 16-18 (so that their Spirit-empowered obedience to Christ can be distinguished from their … [Read more...] about Round-Up on Baptism/Membership/Communion Issues