A Tale of Two Tales

…two Tales about Jesus, that is.

For those involved in homeschooling (especially of the “classical” variety), antique educational materials have a certain cachet — a certain stamp of authority. It is with such an expectation that I approached Charles Dickens’ The Life of Our Lord: Written for His Children During the Years 1846 to 1849. I was shocked to find nothing inside but liberal moralism. As evidence, I pick two extraordinary quotes from the plethora available. On page 2, Dickens has the angels announcing to the shepherds:

There is a child born to-day in the city of Bethlehem near here, who will grow up to be so good that God will love Him as His own Son.

Very Pernicious

(HT Albino Hayford)  Maybe this will help explain my advice for Frank Valenti that seems to have confused so many.

Sez WCF X.IV:

Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come unto Christ, and therefore cannot be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the laws of that religion they do profess. And to assert and maintain that they may, is very pernicious, and to be detested.

Sez Tony Campolo:

I am saying that there is no salvation apart from Jesus; that’s my evangelical mindset. However, I am not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians.

and

Jesus is the only Savior, but not everybody who is being saved by Him is aware that He is the one who is doing the saving.

and

What I am trying to say is that Jesus who incarnated God 2,000 years ago is mystically present and waiting to be discovered in EVERY person you and I encounter…I do not mean that others represent Jesus for us. I mean that Jesus actually is present in each other person.

and

going to heaven is like going to Philadelphia….There are many ways….It doesn’t make any difference how we go there. We all end up in the same place.

Now that’s “very pernicious, and to be detested”!

In contrast, sez WCF X.IV:

Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come unto Christ, and therefore cannot be saved.

Sez Frank Valenti:

The elect are those who are faithful in Christ Jesus. If they later reject the Savior, they are no longer elect — they are cut off from the Elect One and thus, lose their elect standing. But their falling away doesn’t negate the reality of their standing prior to their apostasy. They were really and truly the elect of God because of their relationship with Christ. — Steve Wilkins, Federal Vision, p. 58

That’s not “very pernicious, and to be detested” — according to the definition set forth in WCF X.IV.  Hence I am jokingly advising Frank Valenti to protest “I’m not very pernicious!  Stop detesting me!”

Joey the Arminian

Another follow-on from Jesus the Hyper-Calvinist (which has gotten WAY too long)! Here are two translations of Ex 4:21:

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: and I will prosper thee; but Pharaoh will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

Before reading on, take a note of the differences between them, and try to guess where they come from. I’ll give you a hint, one of them is the KJV.

Unchained

More news wrt “The man Christ Jesus” Dr Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda: Pastor Gene Cook of Unchained Radio/The Narrow Mind Webcast hosted “Bishop of Bishops” Carlos Cestero (apparently Miranda’s chief apologist/spokesman), to discuss his movement in the light of scripture. The audio (60 min/15meg mp3) is available from the Unchained Radio podcast site. Eventually (next year?) I think the mp3 will roll off the free podcast page, but it should still be available from Unchained Radio for 98 cents.

Some thoughts:

Heresy

I tried and failed to think of a witty title for this post. Any suggestions?

Apparently, the second coming has already happened, and this time around, Jesus is Puerto Rican. And sin and the devil no longer exist (whew, that’s a relief — the whole world is apparently a much nicer place). You can watch an NBC profile of this guy, if you have the bandwidth, and want to be creeped out.

Walking (way past) the Line

Now this post is another review, but not (as the title might suggest) a movie review. Here’s an unfinished quote from a book:

I remember a conversation with friends who were biblical scholars from a more liberal tradition than mine. … They questioned me on my theology concerning the resurrection of Christ. “Your belief in the resurrection is more literal than ours,” they said. “Ours is more metaphorical. But we come out at the same place politically. Is that alright?”

Before you click-through to the rest of the review, take a sec to consider what your answer to that question would be.