Deus Misereatur

Hearers and Doers: A Pastor's Guide to Growing Disciples Through Scripture and Doctrine by Kevin J. Vanhoozer My rating: 5 of 5 stars At 58, I still love physical fitness. I run 4 miles three times a week, lift weights, and keep up with my Tae Kwon Do. Though it doesn't come easy, it did come early, and it came with loads of guidance and instruction. In my Junior High and High School years I received instruction and coaching on various aspects of running and lifting. I also received years of training from three martial arts instructors patiently guiding me through routines, sparring and weapons drills. These experiences and my present pleasure in physical conditioning has attuned my ears to the analogies in Scripture that picture discipleship as something of an aerobic fitness program. Kevin Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, picks up this work out theme in his new 296 page hardback, "Hearers and Doers: A Pastor...

The People’s Book : The Reformation and the Bible Ed. Jennifer Powell McNutt and David Lauber IVP Academic ISBN: 978-0-8308-5163-8; April 2017; $25.00 The 500 th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is upon us, and one of the rousing slogans attributed to the early Reformers was “ Scripture alone ”. It is very fitting, then, that “The People’s Book: The Reformation and the Bible” has recently rolled off the presses. This 250 page paperback is the compilation of work presented at the Wheaton Theology Conference in 2016, and is edited by Jennifer Powell McNutt, associate professor of theology and history of Christianity at Wheaton College, and David Lauber, associate professor of theology at Wheaton. This readable volume “examines many of the facets of the Bible as the people’s book during the Reformation by reflecting on matters pertaining to access, readership, media, culture, diffusion, and authority as well as its place in the worship context, as the arbiter o...

“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2.13 NKJV). I have a confession to make. I am a catholic. To be sure, a Reformed catholic. That means at least two primary things: (1) I can heartily affirm all of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. (2) Also, I believe what the creeds say when they mention, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church.” I believe in one church of Jesus Christ, which Jesus promised would never fade away, nor be destroyed by hell or the devil or rotten and grubby men. Why am I telling you this? Mainly, to correct a terrible misconception. Contrary to popular opinion, the Reformation was not about starting a new, competing church. Nor was it about restoring the supposedly pristinely pure 1st Century Church. Instead, it was ab...