What Books Did It for You?

 
What books did it for you?

I thought it might be interesting to poll my readers to see what book (or books) finally pushed you over the edge so that you cried "uncle" and embraced Reformed theology. 

These are five books that were very instrumental in my conversion to Reformed theology from Arminianism and dispensationalism back in 1979-80--although what really did it was Donald Gray Barnhouse's tape series on TULIP.  My list includes Warfield's Inspiration and Authority of the Bible and Plan of Salvation, Bavinck's Our Reasonable Faith, Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied, and Berkhof's Systematic Theology.

So, I am looking for those books (not tapes or videos) which were most instrumental in your own journey to Calvinism.  Leave your list in the comments section below.  This could be fun! 

Who Said That?

Who Said That?

"Judaism has some advantages over Christianity in that, for example, it does not proselytise—except among Jews—and it does not make the cretinous mistake of saying that the Messiah has already made his appearance. … However, along with Islam and Christianity, it does insist that some turgid and contradictory and sometimes evil and mad texts, obviously written by fairly unexceptional humans, are in fact the word of god. I think that the indispensable condition of any intellectual liberty is the realisation that there is no such thing."

OK, leave your guesses in the comments section below.  No google searches or cheating! 

Update on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 07:04PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This despicable screed comes from Christopher Hitchens, Letter to a Young Contrarian (2001).  Wonder what his brother (who is a believer) would say?

The Latest from Barna -- No Surprises

Here's the latest from Barna, and will probably not come as a major surprise:  Click here: Welcome to The Barna Group!

"Most Americans still embrace a traditional view of God, but they are less likely than ever to do so. Currently two-thirds of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today (66%). However, this proportion is lower than it was a year ago (71%) and represents the lowest percentage in more than twenty years of similar surveys.

Few adults possess orthodox views about Jesus and the Devil. Currently, just one-third of Americans strongly disagree that Jesus sinned (37%) and just one-quarter strongly reject the idea that Satan is not a real spiritual being (24%). Each of these beliefs is lower than last year and among the lowest points in nearly two decades of tracking these views.

The other changes in beliefs include greater reluctance to explain their faith to other people (just 29% strongly endorse this view, compared with 39% in 2006) and the willingness to reject good works as a means to personal salvation (down to 27% from 31%)."

Best-Selling Books of All Time

Here's an interesting list of the best-selling books of all time.  Some of these might be a bit of a surprise.  We all know that the number one best-seller is the Bible.  But my guess is that numbers 5, 6, 7, and 33 will come as a pleasant surprise.  Numbers 31 and 34 will not be a surprise--sad to say.  We've been cleaning up after them for years.

One thing is clear, J. K. Rowling must be making a pile of money.

Here's the list.  Click here: List of best-selling books - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who Said That?

Who said that?

"I turned around and there stood Jesus Christ in all his glory!  It is one thing to see Jesus, but its a different thing altogether to see Jesus with all of his glory and all of his honor.  Many people have asked me what Jesus looks like.  He's 5 feet 11 to 6 feet tall, and he's got sandy brown hair.  It's not too long and its not too short.  He is a perfect man, that's what Jesus is.  Whatever you picture as a perfect man, that's what Jesus is.  He's perfect in everything--the way he looks, talks--everything."

Leave your guesses in the comments section below.  No google searches!

Update on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 07:10PM by Kim Riddlebarger

These are the words of Roberts Liardon, from the booklet I Saw Heaven.  Since Liardon claims to have had this vision when he was just 8, this probably means that he wasn't smoking crack.  The question I have is this:  "is Liardon delusional, or just plain making this vision up?"  Liardon is the author of God's Generals (detailing the ministries of the pentecostal greats) and is associate pastor at a church here in Orange County.  The senior pastor?  His mother!  BTW--I didn't quote the really wacko stuff from I Saw Heaven.  That might come later.

Oswald Did It, Acting Alone . . .

If any of you still think Oliver Stone did a better job of investigating the Kennedy assassination than the Warren Commission, there's a new book which will set you straight.  Vincent Bugliosi, the famous LA prosecutor who put Charles Manson and his family away for good, has completed his magnum opus, a 1,600 page book in which he sets forth the case that Oswald shot JFK acting alone (Click here: Amazon.com: Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Books: Vincent Bugliosi).

A Good Reason Why Hal Lindsey and/or Jack Van Impe Should Follow Frank Beckwith to Rome

I saw this headline and immediately thought that this might be great incentive for one or more of the "end-times prognosticator" club to make the jump to Rome.

"Vatican Denies Hiding the Full Truth About the End of the World" (Click here: Vatican denies hiding the full truth about the end of the world-Comment-Faith-TimesOnline)

Since things in the Middle East and with the ten nations of the European Confederacy (the revived Roman empire) haven't panned out as predicted, this might give Lindsey, Van Impe and others a whole new angle.

According to the article:

"The Vatican tried yesterday to draw a line under a conspiracy theory that has dogged the Catholic Church for decades – that it was harbouring details of the predicted apocalypse.  The Pope’s second-in-command, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, denied that the Church was suppressing a vision of the end of the world said to have been revealed by the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children on a hillside at Fatima in Portugal exactly 90 years ago.  The three `Secrets of Fatima' were written down by one of the children, Lucia Dos Santos – who became a Carmelite nun – and sent to the Vatican in a sealed envelope. Two of the `secrets' were made public, apparently predicting the inferno of 20th-century world war and totalitarianism and the eventual reconversion of Communist Russia to Christianity. Pope John Paul II suggested that the third `secret' predicted the 1981 attempt on his life. He failed to satisfy conspiracy theorists however, with many accusing the Vatican of disclosing only part of the last Fatima secret."

Think of the fun Lindsey and Van Impe could have with the "third secret."  A whole series of books and novels, DVDs and TV specials . . .  But they'd have to follow Beckwith to Rome.    

Preach It!

Carl Trueman recently made a great point on the Reformation 21 blog (5/4/07):

"In the US (and it is the US -- I have not seen this so much in the UK) , I have lost count of the number of women I have come across, particularly in presbyterian circles, who feel the need to conform to some Reformed cultural norm.  You can tell them on the Sundays: the exhausted and haggard mothers whose husbands expect them not only to cook and to clean, but also to home-school the kids. For every omnicompetent wife who seems to be able to run the world and then some, and still look like a million dollars when hubbie gets home for dinner (already on the table, of course), there are ten or more who look crushed and dispirited, who really need to send their kids out of the house in the morning so they can get some rest and some mental sanity, who need their husbands to see the problem and take steps to help them.  Are they inadequate as Christian mothers?  No.  They are crushed by a `Christian' culture that demands their all and gives no slack.

I am no feminist (my wife will confirm my impeccable Neanderthal credentials); I have strong views on women's ordination; but I am saddened by the way Reformed church culture so often tramples its women underfoot with its mindless identification of biblical manhood with something akin to John Wayne and its assumption that all Christian women should make Mary Poppins look domestically incompetent."

Click here: Reformation21 » Reformed Church Culture and Women

Preach it! 

Who Said That?

Who said that?

"Christianity will go.  It will vanish and shrink.  I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right.  We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity."

You know the drill.  No google searches!  Leave your guess in the comments section below. 

Note:  To see all of the old "who said that posts," you can click here: Click here: Riddleblog - The Latest Post

Update on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 06:48PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is a quote from John Lennon from the The Evening Standard (London, 4 March 1966).  This quip prompted a huge outcry!  Not only did the Beatles have long hair (remember how big a deal that was at the time), they were atheists too!

Is Your Church's Liability Insurance Current?

A warning to all pastors and church workers!  Make sure that your church has paid its liability insurance in full, because if someone cracks their noggin when you slay them in the Spirit, they just might sue you!

According to an article which appeared in the Lansing State Journal (Click here: Lansing State Journal: Pastor testifies he was told woman suing church appeared coached,)  

"Judith Dadd, 52, of Lansing is suing Mount Hope Church, based in Delta Township, and Williams. She says she went to the altar during a July 18, 2002 rally for church leaders and was `slain in the Spirit' according to testimony. She fell backward and struck her head on the floor. Dadd claims she still suffers from the effects of the fall, including depression, memory loss and difficulty concentrating."

This is a warning to all of us.  Make sure your "catchers" are up to the task!   If not, you might end up in court!