DUTCH TREAT- Cal Fox's Blog - Theological Issues

YES, WE ARE NARROW MINDED

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:21:45 -0400

Our concern is not primarily with Radical Muslims. It is about Islam. And it is about Hinduism and Buddhism and Judaism. It is about Civil Religion.and Atheism. It is about all non-Christian Religions, Faith Systems, Ideologies and Worldviews. There is Salvation is no one but Christ. No one comes to the Father but by Him.

2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

ARE MISSIONARIES GUILTY OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM?

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:30:17 -0400

"But outside the Evangelical world, proselytizing is indeed a bad word. Other Protestants and the secular media regard it as an expression of fundamentalisman elastic term, which can mean anything religious one does not like, in this case a faith that is intolerant and aggressive. The politically correct of all or no religious persuasion associate it with ethnocentrism, cultural imperialism and colonialism. Roman Catholics tend to be more cautious in condemning proselytismafter all, they practice it themselves, asserting as they do that theirs is the only true churchbut the more progressive ones also shy away from outright conversion activities, preferring terms like enculturation (adapting Christianity to non-Western indigenous cultures rather than going at them head-on) and Christian presence (bearing witness not by overt preaching, but rather by quietly practicing the Christian virtues of compassion and charity). The most favored alternative to proselytism is dialogue, the non-confrontational, open-minded conversation with the Other.

Read the entire article by Peter Berger on my website http://www.reformedliving.org/

NEW ARTICLES POSTED ON MY WEBSITE

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:27:41 -0400

I have just posted 7 new articles on my website for your perusal. They are about the Sacraments, Salvation by Faith Only, Missions and Beth Moore

http://www.reformedliving.org/

DO HUMANS FACE DYING LIKE CHIMPANZEES DO?

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:26:25 -0400

Here is an interesting but very misleading article- content

"Although we tried hard to avoid anthropomorphism when describing the chimpanzees' behavior, it was difficult not to see some striking parallels between how they reacted to the dying individual and how humans react when faced with the peaceful death of a close relative or companion," James Anderson, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland and lead author of the Pansy study, said in an e-mail. "It is often stated that humans are unique in being aware of death, but our observations . . . indicate that this position is open to question."

The study of the mothers hanging on to their dead babies suggests that "a period of continued contact after the death of an infant may be important for a mother chimpanzee to adjust psychologically to her loss." Sounds pretty human."

Animals certainly do share similarities with Humans. We are animals, but animals are not humans or persons. They are not created in the Image of God, they are not His Children. They do not and can not have a personal, spiritual relationship with God and when they die they do not go to Heaven to love, serve and enjoy the Lord for Eternity. That is not what they enter into when they die. Death has a totally different meaning for animals than it has for people, especially Christians! Let us discern and maintain the difference.

This article does not contradict what I have written, but lends support to people who do.

CELTIC CHRISTIANITY

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:23:38 -0400

Every year I say, in the name of historical accuracy, "Saint Patrick" was neither Roman Catholic nor Irish. Here is a very good list of resources about Patrick, but especially about Celtic Christianity

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1998/issue60

WHAT IS GOOD ART?

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:30:07 -0500

I have not posted a lot on this Blog recently, as I have been busy (among other things) researching a paper on Aesthetics (a Biblical Philosophy of Art) that I plan to put on my website soon. The article below was in the Boston Globe this week. It illustrates what is not "Good Art" by Biblical Standards. Standards for good art include Philippians 4:8

"whatever [Art] is true, whatever [Art] is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise- [this is good Art]"

articles/2010/02/25/whitney_show_sings_an_anthem_to_the_awful/

ENVIRONMENTALISM vs CONSERVATIONISM

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:05:25 -0500

There is a great difference between Environmentalism and Conservationism.

Simply put, Conservationism views Nature as a resource for the benefit of human beings. It is to be conserved and managed so that it will be around for ages to meet human needs. This is an anthropocentric viewpoint.

Environmentalism sees Nature as a living complex, a web, of biological and physical relationships which is good in itself. It has intrinsic value in itself apart from any human use and should be left alone by humans other than to protect it for its own sake and allowed to remain "natural" as much as possible. This is a bio- or eco-centric view. It has strong undercurrents of New Age and neo-pagan concepts about the earth, spiritualizing and personalizing all of nature, placing it on the same level of importance and value as human life.

It should be needless to say, Conservationism is far more Biblical than Environmentalism. You should be able to see which of these perspectives is the most compatible with the thinking and actions of the most vocal advocates of the proposed changes dealing with Global Warming. I am writing a paper for my website on this subject. A good resource is Where Garden meets Wilderness by Calvin Beisner

NEW ARTICLE ABOUT REFORMED THEOLOGY ON WEBSITE

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:59:08 -0500

Today I posted a new Essay on my website which introduces the major tenets of Reformed Theology. HERE

Originally Martin Luther called the Church that began (16th Century) with his followers "The Evangelical Church" because it was grounded in the "Evangel" (Gospel). That was the original use of the name "evangelical" and for years it referred to Protestants or the followers of the Protestant Reformers. The name mostly fell out of use and resurfaced in the 18th Century and historically took on more of the meaning familiar to us: people who preached the Gospel and did personal and public evangelism with the object of having sinners come to Christ and having a conversion experience of being saved or born again. There are many varieties of "Evangelical" today but the name in America no longer means simply Protestant or Reformed. A good resource to learn more is HERE

THE SACRAMENTS

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:21:20 -0400

I just posted a new article on my website HERE

It is titled- The Sacraments: Biblical, Reformed and Anglican

TODAY IS "REFORMATION DAY"- observed tomorrow

nospam@example.com (Cal) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:57:59 -0400

Tomorrow many churches commemorate the work of the 16th Century Reformers, beginning with Martin Luther and the next generation which included John Calvin and, in England, men like Thomas Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley and Jewel.

If you consider yourself to be an Evangelical, these men should be your heroes. They gave you your Protestant Heritage. "Protestant" and "Evangelical" were the same 400 years ago and most of the years since- until our day. Today the lines are blurred. In fact, today's young Evangelicals do not care to call themselves Protestants and what they mean by "evangelical" is very different than what was meant by the first Protestants.

The secular world recognizes the major influence the early Protestant Reformers had on politics, economics and education. They started a revolution that changed the course of world history. But we obviously honor these men most for their Theology. Many of them suffered and died for it. They are particularly known for the "Five Solas". "Sola" is Latin for "alone". Their revolutionary Theology was that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone according to Scripture alone. These Solas together are the essential Protestant or Evangelical Faith. We rightly honor this Heritage today, but the best way to do that is to keep it alive.

HERE is why Oct 31, is Reformation Day