Calvin on Where Knowledge Starts

Just in case anyone wants to wrestle with epistemology over the Christmas break, you might want to start here, to see that good theology does not rest on either classic foundationalism (a view that bases knowledge on human rationalism), nor is it the uncertainty of post-modernism. In fact, good theology has always been considered as hostile to modernism and its rationalism as it is to postmodernism and its lack of certainty (HT: Pyromaniacs)

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I Think I Want This Book!

I have always appreciated Jonathan Edwards' contributions to theological thought. His Religious Affections is one of the best books on the nature of revival written. His Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an amazing sermon. His brilliant intellect is widely acclaimed by believers and unbelievers alike. Now, I read in the Desiring God blog of a new book containing Edwards' essay on the Divine decree. I'll reproduce one quote below that Piper offered, that should make us all just stop and think a bit.

It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God’s glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent, that the beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested, and another not at all; for then the effulgence would not answer the reality. For the same reason it is not proper that one should be manifested exceedingly, and another but very little. It is highly proper that the effulgent glory of God should answer his real excellency; that the splendour should be answerable to the real and essential glory, for the same reason that it is proper and excellent for God to glorify himself at all. Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all. If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God’s holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference, in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God’s grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired, and the sense of it not so great, as we have elsewhere shown. We little consider how much the sense of good is heightened by the sense of evil, both moral and natural. And as it is necessary that there should be evil, because the display of the glory of God could not but be imperfect and incomplete without it, so evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature’s happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect; and the happiness of the creature would be imperfect upon another account also; for, as we have said, the sense of good is comparatively dull and flat, without the knowledge of evil.

There is more--you can see Piper shares another quote here that is just as good. I want this book!

Holy Land Highlights

I said last week I would mention some of the highlights of my recent trip to Israel. It is difficult to do this, since there were so many remarkable moments. While I've made five previous trips, it has been a number of years since I was last able to go, and much has changed, both politically and in terms of touring. Let me mention just a few of my impressions (left: the family at the lower springs in En Gedi, where David fled from Saul)


1. Archaeological digs have expanded and are more accessible than ever. Wandering through Caesarea, Bethsaida, and the City of David (to name just three) was thrilling, in part to see all that has been done in the last few years. The ever changing and expanding amount of evidence for Israel's biblical history gets more convincing by the day. Just this weekend, the workers at the City of David (the original Jerusalem which is now outside the city walls) announced they believe they have uncovered the city wall of Nehemiah's time. I may have even seen them working on it while we were there. Now I will have to go back just to be sure!


2. These ruins continue to verify the already trustworthy history of Scripture. As I said over and over again, archaeology proves to be the Bible's friend, unless it is twisted in the hands of those who have a bias toward disbelief (i.e., biblical minimalists in archaeology, who seek to ignore and denigrate any attempt to link discoveries with biblical accounts).


3. Traveling in Israel is safe. I don't know how many other ways to say it, but we were always at ease, and could walk about at night without any fear whatsoever.


4. Our guide was a brilliant host. I've used David Beradt before, and he continues to be my top choice as an Israeli guide.


5. The touring experience was delightful. Thanks go to our driver, Udi, and both Inbar Tourism in Israel (thank you, Yair, especially for all of your good choices for us) and Imagine Travel and Rick Ricart here in the U.S. Our hotels, bus, and meals were all top notch.


6. Being on the Sea of Galilee just after a rainstorm is a memorable experience, and while we didn't calm the storm, it was a picturesque moment nonetheless. Even more powerful were the times like this one where we could stop and think about the significance of the events that took place in the vicinity as we traveled through. We were not looking to prove anything to ourselves; rather, we were wanting to let the reality of what we have already believed come home to us in clearer ways. It is one thing to read about a place, but another to read about it while you are there, and see all the geographic connections, the historical significance, and cultural markers in the passage that you might miss otherwise.

7. I continue to agree that the weight of historical evidence points toward the location of the Lord Jesus' death and burial being at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was a burial ground outside the walls of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. It has been venerated at least since the time of Helena's visit to the Holy Land in the early 4th century. BUT, I still hold out hope (a wish perhaps) that it is really the Garden Tomb, where a skull hill is still visible and the rolling stone tomb from the 1st century fits the bill (and the incense free natural state of the site is much more appealing to a low church evangelical like me). Helena was not infallible, and since I think she missed it totally on the identity of Mt. Sinai, she may have missed it here, too!

8. It was awesome to visit Warren's Shaft in the City of David, and to consider the possibility that this was Joab's route to conquering Jerusalem for David, as recorded in 2 Samuel. Hezekiah's Tunnel, and an older Canaanite tunnel were also there. We went through the Canaanite tunnel, having to save Hezekiah's for a time when it is warmer and we can stay longer!

9. Anyone who can spend a week in Israel seeing all we saw and how truth springs from the pages of Scripture as you visit the land must be a truly hard hearted skeptic indeed.

Israeli says elusive biblical wall found

This article is of great interest to me since I was just at this site last week. And to think that some people don't know that archaeology (as all good science) is the Bible's friend!