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Showing posts from January 27, 2013

Rest: Looking into the 4th Commandment for the New Covenant People of God.

Over the years I have watched numerous men come to our Presbytery for ordination and transfer. Many of them have taken serious exceptions to the Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, especially on the Sabbath. Hopefully these exceptions will be fully addressed at some point, and in that hope I am submitting this study on the topic of the Sabbath. In this short piece, I will deal with the question of whether or not that 4 th Commandment is for the New Covenant people of God, settling on the affirmative. Then, based on this Biblical conclusion I will show, in a more general way, how the Sabbath is to be experienced by God’s people. Is the 4 th Commandment for the New Covenant People of God? This is a heavily debated point in the circles that care enough to debate it. The problem comes about, normally, from a lack of awareness between what is Provisional and what is Permanent in Scripture. As an example, many people read the Bible with th

Book Review: "The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails," ed. by John W. Loftus

The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails Ed. John W. Loftus Prometheus Books 59 John Glenn Drive Amherst, NY 14228-2119 www.prometheusbooks.com Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-1-61614-168-4; $21.00 Reviewed by: Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber Doubtful Deliberations - 1 star out of 5 Not too many years ago the heat of fundamentalist-like frenzy swept through various media, endeavoring to persuade many that the end was near; the end of Christianity especially. Carried on the crest of this foamy wave came the 414 page paperback book edited by John W. Loftus, “The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails.” Loftus declares that the book is written for the “honest believer” (21). It becomes quickly apparent that by “honest” the editor doesn’t mean someone who is convinced and investigative, as much as one who is doubtful or uncertain about their faith. And to this audience most of the authors write with a rather pugnacious design and deportment that is intended to reinforce and intensify that