The Riddleblog -- The Movie

Comments

[Mark Priestap]

Yeah Kim this is great! I can listen to you while I'm working. :) I'm not sure if this would be easier for you, but an audio podcast would work just as well and we could listen on our iPods like the WHI.

[Mark Denning]

Cool! I like the video format.

Have you seen that article of the NY Times trying to explain Mark Driscoll and his Calvinism. I would love to hear a scholar like yourself respond to some of the misrepresentations in this article. Did Calvin really have people burned? I've heard that criticism before.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11punk-t.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

[John Y]

Talking about hair or lack thereof- I recently decided to cut all of mine off with clippers and then shave maybe 2 or 3 times a week with clippers also. Am trying to capture that Steve Jobs, Brett Favre or Scott Clark look. It was starting to fall off on the top of my head anyways.

We can even laugh about our hard to get rid of narcissism now that we understand where it comes from. We get bombarded with it everyday in our culture besides being born with those innate tendencies. If our parents were not strict disciplinarians and we neglected Church during our youth it gets even more difficult to eradicate. The only solution against it seems to be a hard core Lutheranism or Calvinism. Perhaps a hard core Roman Catholicism of the Richard John Neahaus type also does the trick.

I am surprised no one on the Riddleblog has mentioned his death this past week. One of the more humble and gracious men in the contempory Church- his brilliance was combined with an approachableness which is a rare combination these days. May he rest in peace. As one Lutheran pastor said at the steadfastlutherans blog site-I have no doubts I will enjoy a good cigar with him in heaven.

Neahaus left the LCMS and joined the ELCA and then turned to Roman Catholicism after 30 years in the Lutheran Church. Mollie Hemingway wrote a nice piece on him on the site. After looking over his book The Naked Public Square this weekend I wonder how much he understood Two-Kingdom theology. I also remember the interview that I think Michael Horton did with him after that document which some Catholics and evangelical signed togeither about their agreements on soteriological issues that caused R.C. Sproul to write his book Getting the Gospel Right. It caused a bit of controversy about 10 or so years ago. In the interview with Modern Reformation Neahaus did not deny the postitions of the Catholics at the council of Trent.

[Lane Chaplin]

Great idea!

(I subscribed on Youtube and added you as a friend, too. :) )

[Zrim]

John Y.,

OK, if you want to mix it up, speaking warmly of RJN, try this for another take. Both the gospel and two-kingdoms weren't exactly his long suit:

http://heidelblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/what-richardjohn-neuhaus-means-to-me/

[Charles S]

Zrim

I read the post, I loved the adjectives used by the author. Especially the use of "hornswaggled" . Surprised that JI Packer had signed the declaration, does he still support the original document?

[Zrim]

Charles,

I don't know for sure (maybe KR does), but from what I ascertain there's been no retraction. I also understand Mark Noll signed ECT (argh).

[Ken Rapoza]

Kim, this is awesome! I think it's a great idea, not necessarily all the time but in between your normal posts. I've listened to dozens of your lectures on mp3 and to get videos on your blog is just another cool addition to an outstanding blog.

BTW, Rod Rosenbladt rules!! That guy has a way with words. If you actually get him on camera in your blog that would be awesome too! Keep up the great work Kim, you're a blessing to me all the way out on the East Coast!

Ken

[SjB]

Very cool! I really like seeing the person behind the familiar voice that I listen to at the WHI and in your posted sermons!

I hope you will keep this as a regular feature of your blog. BTW, I like your written blog articles too!

Best regards! :)

[Sean Gerety]

I like the format and since you say you are considering it as a means to answer questions I have two.

1. I just finished your Case for Amill and appreciated your arguments as they helped further shape and solidify my own thinking. However, you make the point that the Amill position has been the traditional Reformed position, but those you cite are mostly, if not all, modern authors. Do you think your case could have been made stronger if you cited earlier P&R theologians in support and was there any conscious reason for not doing so?

2. How does 1John 2:18, 2 Thes. 2:3,4 and specifically mention of "that antichrist" play in the different millennial schemes and does this have any bearing in favor any particular view?

[plw]

Nice! Yes the volume needs adjusting some but other than that, great. It should be a good way to answer all those questions. BTW......we are waiting patiently for the Canons of Dort to come out.

[John Y]

I knew the Neuhaus thing would get you Zrim. I have the same reservations about him myself; even though he was a very engaging personality. This is where our adherence to our confessions can cause some serious divisions in the Church and where influential and well liked theologians can cause problems for us confessional types.

An argument could probably be made that himself, the moral majority and the reconstructionists brought about a lot of confusion into our thinking about mixing religion and politics. The best book I read on the issue was D.G. Hart's and John Meuther's Seeking A Better Country. Actually, Kim Riddlebarger suggested I read the book when I asked him a question about Princeton theological Seminary this past summer. The book contains loads of empirical data which shows that when Ministers in a denomination lose their confessional convictions they quickly become involved in political activism. I wonder if that is what happened to Neuhaus? So, even though I said some warm things about him we probably will not disagree as much as you might think.

His death did motivate me to take out his Naked Public Square again. When I read it about 6 years ago I did not possess the understanding I have of Two-Kingdom Theology even though I still consider myself a neophyte in that regard. It will be interesting to read it again knowing what I do now. If I find some areas that I still agree with him I will try to mix it up with you but I fear your understanding of the issue is probably greater than mine at this point in time. Perhaps fear is the wrong word- if you have a greater understanding of it good on ya, mate as PB stated to me the other day.

If you are interested you should go to the steadfastlutheran web site and check out some of the remarks about him made in Mollie Hemingway's post . She also has some links to some things he wrote which I found interesting. I will definitely read what you posted and if I find something to mix it up with I will not back down.

[John Y]

I just read Scott Clark's posts and he really tears into RJH. Once we start gaining more confidence in our confessional convictions a lot of fighting is going to be stirred up in the Church. Most people will probably back down but I bet we start seeing a lot more heated debate in the near future. This RJH thing could be a bomb that ignites a lot of controversy and causes us to be a lot more careful about doctrine and what we actually believe is true Christianity.

[John Y]

There definitely is a contrast between what is said on the Heidelblog and what is said on the steadfast lutheran site.

[Chris Sherman]

The video is great, it brings the Riddleblog to the level of, "not your father's blog". You'll lose me if you ever show up with a Hawaiian shirt on or a button up shirt with a pocket liner and pens. That mullet wig could be effective though. Maybe we could hear from Andy as well.

[Zrim]

John,

If you liked Seeking A Better Country then you must've really enjoyed The Lost Soul of American Protestantism. And if you ate up Lost Soul you just couldn't put down A Secular Faith.

From what I understand, Tim Keller is also an engaging fellow. But after my first visit to Queens for the U.S. Open in September, I love NYC and wouldn't change a thing; I'm going back this year. What's he so riled about?

[John Y]

The issue of RJN's understanding of the Gospel is a much more serious issue then the Two-Kingdom Theology thing. Although the two probably go hand in hand. It will be interesting to see where this all leads to. Perhaps it is one of those innocent things that you do not expect much from but then explodes into a new modern reformation. Is not that what the posting of the 95 theses did? These issues have been brewing and seething for some time- perhaps something big is about to take place. Of course, I could be way off and this will pass like the 9/11 incident and other such things.

[John Y]

Zrim,

No, I have not read the Lost Soul of American Protestantism or A Secular Faith yet. They are on my have to reading lists though. I like all the articles I read from D.G. Hart in Modern Reformation magazine and the interviews he has done with Michael Horton. He is a force to be reckoned with and one who is likely to stir up controversy once people get a true hold on what he is saying.

[John Y]

Can't comment on the Tim Keller thing.

[Zrim]

John,

Those are absolute reads for any would-be 2Ker. Hart is the oldest Presbyterian soul I've ever read. When folks finally got a hold on what Stuart Robinson was saying he had to high-tail it to Canada. (The right-to-life controversies are not too unlike Robinson's of slavery; it is interesting when folks like Keller and Piper make analogies between the two phenomenon...it's almost as if they never heard of the spirituality of the church.)