spurgeon

A Banner Day for the Banner of Truth

Tony Reinke Banner of Truth, BR > Banner of Truth, spurgeon

tsslogo.jpgA Banner Day for the Banner of Truth

… Where did all these Calvinists come from? In his third post Mark Dever says in large measure they are the result of the publishing efforts of The Banner of Truth. Indeed my life-changing introduction to men like Horatius Bonar, Octavius Winslow, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Richard Sibbes, John Flavel, John Bunyan, Thomas Brooks, John Newton, B.B. Warfield, John Murray and Martyn Lloyd-Jones were all books published by the Banner! So a heartfelt and much deserved “thank you” to the men and women of the Banner who (for several decades) have laid a foundation for my precious reformed learning.bot.jpg

… If you think the Banner just launched off the ground in widespread financial success I would entrust the very interesting Banner magazines from 1955-1959 (published in book format). Iain Murray was walking by faith that God would bless the printing of Puritan works. It was an act faith and of doctrinal conviction. The very first Banner magazine opened with these words: “There are many today who regard truth and error as matters of small consequence; if a man lives rightly, they say, it matters not much what his beliefs and opinions are” (p. 3). A firm commitment to the doctrinal foundation promoted by the Banner of Truth in 1955 is central to why the practice of Calvinism flourishes today. Read these earlyBanner of Truth magazines and watch Banner of Truth grow from a seed. It’s an amazing and fruitful work of God’s graciousness!

… For one more week (until July 21st) the Mongerism Books Banner of Truth mega sale continues. Be sure to check it out if you are interested in any of the Banner of Truth sets.

… And in related news: No baby yet (due date was Tues.), but when that child arrives they will be garbed in Banner gear (my wife and I found transferable clothing stickers and printed off the Banner logo). Whether a girl or boy we do not know, but a Banner Baby most certainly!

:-)

Review: Shopping for Time by the girltalk bloggers

Tony Reinke BR > Crossway, spurgeon

tsskare.jpgBook Review
Shopping for Time by the girltalk bloggers
Reviewed by Karalee Reinke

[Girltalk’s new book is tried, tested and now wears the TSS stamp of approval. I mean, how else would my wife – on her due date, caring for two young kids, under heavy online demands and married to Mr. Messy – send along a book review for Shopping for Time? Somehow she made the time to write this review and I can assume the girltalk bloggers had something to do with it. Here now is the inaugural appearance of my precious wife on The Shepherd’s Scrapbook. -Tony]

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With a baby due any day, I am acutely aware of the need to get everything done. From to-do lists, to shopping lists, to cleaning lists, there is an endless supply of tasks that threaten to create anxiety and steal my joy.

So I have been anticipating the girltalk bloggers’ newest book, Shopping for Time: How to do it all and not be overwhelmed (Crossway: 2007). It could not have arrived at a more opportune time. In the evenings after I pull my nesting instincts away from the washing and sewing machines, and after reading chapters from the “Holy God book” to my daughter (that is The Big Picture Story Bible) and a chapter from that “dangerous” book to my son, I have been greatly helped by the Mahaney women’s wisdom and practical advice.

At first glance, I had mixed feelings about the small size of the book (under 100 pages). My first thought was, ‘Awesome. I can whip through this thing in a night or two and cross it off my to-do list.’

(Strike one for pride and self-sufficiency.)

My next thought was, ‘Should I stuff it inside a large volume of John Owen, so Tony will be impressed as we sit up and read at night?’

(Strike two for pride and fear of man.)

After examining my heart and expectations for the book, and after praying for God’s help to “open my eyes” to the truth of His word (Ps 119:18), I opened the cover, ready to receive all that He would teach me. And not surprisingly, my initial impressions were quickly changed.

While short, easy-to-read, and entertaining, this book is not intended to be rushed. With God’s help, I found it most helpful to read one chapter at a time, allowing time to reflect and meditate on the content.

The tone is chatty and conversational, what we have come to expect from the girltalk blog. The introduction opens around the table during Friday lunches together at the Mahaney home. Although the idea of meeting together each week with a mom and sisters who are wise Christians (and wives of pastors!) is incredible; and although the picture of their Greek takeout meal is enticing, one phrase jumped out at me as nearly impossible:

“But we have also learned from God’s Word that it is possible to deal with life’s demands without becoming overwhelmed, miserable, and exhausted. We can surmount the numerous responsibilities that threaten to wear us down. More than that, we can actually do all that God has called us to do” (p. 13).

Sitting in front of my notebook-full of to-do lists, I was more than skeptical. I laughed out loud.

(Strike three for pride and lack of trust in God.)

After repenting of my Sarah-like doubt, and remembering that God alone has abundant grace, and He alone can do the impossible, I jumped back into the book with fresh zeal. Through each chapter’s “Shopping for Time” tip, God revealed His wisdom and care for busy women through the girltalkers’ example. Here is a brief outline, with a sampling from each chapter.

Chapter 1. Shopping for Time

The Mahaneys introduce the “Shopping for Time” theme by comparing our careful shopping habits with the lackluster planning we give to the time God has granted us here on earth. Seeing these priorities compared side-by-side is convicting, especially in light of the Scripture they use to motivate change: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

Chapter 2. The First Tip: Rise Early

Regular readers of the girltalk blog are familiar with the 5 AM club. Through a series of posts motivating women to rise early to seek God, they introduced a practice that frames the rest of this book: In order to effectively pursue the rest of the tips (and especially the second), the godly, effective woman will rise early to make the best use of her time. My favorite example is from a group of college women who describe their early-morning habit as causing them to be “more dependent on the Word of God, with hearts fixed on the Cross” (33). Now that’s a reason to set the alarm!

Chapter 3. The Second Tip: Sit Still

If a woman wants to make the best use of her time, she must do “the one thing necessary” – sit at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:42). Yes, we heard from that other group of sisters, Mary and Martha, in this chapter, and were reminded of the great privilege we have to “sit at the feet of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace and to listen to Him (Isa. 9:6)” (41). This is sound advice from four women who exhort in a godly way, steering clear of legalism and condemnation. Their Cross-centered advice is particularly helpful:

“… If you are discouraged or condemned by your failure to sit and listen, if you are ‘troubled by many things,’ revel in this truth: we have a Savior who died for our sins and it is His ‘blood and righteousness’ alone that makes us acceptable to God” (49).

Also helpful is their specific advice on “where to start,” and their kind encouragement for mothers with young children.

Chapter 4. The Third Tip: Sit and Plan

I have to admit, I am one who has always been a bit skeptical of personal retreats. Who has “time” for one? So it was particularly helpful for me to read the book’s quote from author Jean Fleming, who addressed my criticism directly:

“Some people tell me they feel uncomfortable with the idea of a personal retreat. After all, the needs around us are so great, the opportunities for service so compelling. How do we reconcile taking time away from the heat of battle when so much needs to be done? It is precisely because the needs are so great and life is so short that I take personal retreats. Retreat is the way to advance. I know this is true because of the way Jesus lived” (p. 64, italics mine).

Through the biblical references to our Savior’s example, my attitude on personal retreats was changed. With a helpful “sample retreat” included by the girltalkers, I’m ready to schedule one for myself. Perhaps I’ll have some quiet time in the hospital after the baby is born?

Chapter 5. The Fourth Tip: Consider People

With their grace-motivated love for others and joy-filled perspective on life, who wouldn’t want to be a friend of the Mahaneys? So you know their advice comes from personal experience when they share, “It’s important to choose friends carefully because friendships take time, and we want to make sure our time is wisely spent.” In looking at several types of friends and family, including friends who sharpen, friends who mentor, friends who need friends, friends who need salvation, and (ungodly) “friends” to leave, the girltalkers give advice and biblical counsel for each. They remind us that the Christian life is not only about how we walk, but with whom we walk; and that we need to spend time with the right people, for the right amount of time.

Chapter 6. The Fifth Tip: Plan to Depend

Before I read the final chapter and conclusion, I thought I was cruising along through the book just fine, checking the other tips off my list with a cursory review.

Then came a particularly challenging day.

From one “interruption” to the other, my carefully-planned to-do list remained virtually untouched at the end of the day. The laundry was sitting wet in the washer, the kids were cranky, and it looked doubtful that an edible dinner would come out of my cluttered kitchen any time soon.

That’s when the anxious thoughts and lies crept in to steal my joy:

“What if I go into labor tonight? My house is a mess!”

“If it’s so hard to get ‘everything’ done now, what in the world am I going to do when a new baby arrives?”

“How can I serve others when I can’t even serve my family?”

Later that night, after the kids were tucked away, my heart was still not right with God. The sun was long down, but I was still harboring anger over my incomplete tasks. Thinking I would “finish something, at least” I picked up the last chapter in Shopping for Time, and I was reminded afresh of God’s amazing grace to a sinner like me.

The last paragraph of the book cut to my heart, and I was able to repent of my anxious thoughts and turn in dependence to the Giver of all grace:

“…our biggest problem isn’t that we’re overwhelmed, miserable and exhausted. It’s that we are sinners, utterly incapable of pleasing a holy God and justly deserving of His wrath – no matter how well we spend our time…

This holy God, whom we have offended, does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead, he sent his Son, Jesus, to earth to die a horrific death on a shameful cross for the likes of us. There our Savior solved our biggest problem: He died to save us from our sins. He absorbed the wrath of God that we deserved. And now, by His substitutionary sacrifice, we have been forgiven for our transgressions, reconciled to God, and clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

Isn’t it mind-boggling…to consider that we who were once condemned sinners can now, by the grace of God, live a life worthy of the gospel?” (p. 93).

In light of this glorious truth, there is a phrase from the book that has been appearing as a gentle reminder at the top of my to-do list each day:

“In the end, our highest goal each day is not flawless execution of our plans or increased productivity. It’s our relationship with God, walking in dependence upon Him throughout the day. We should not be more consumed with the completion of our to-do list than pleasing and glorifying the Savior” (90, italics mine).

As I begin another day as a “waddling time bomb,” not knowing if the end of the day will bring a completed task list or a new baby, I can walk with confidence in the God that supplies abundant grace. And I can thank the girltalk writers for their newest book, which has greatly encouraged me in that walk.

Title: Shopping for Time: How to do it all and not be overwhelmed
Authors: Carolyn Mahaney and her three married daughters: Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore and Janelle Bradshaw
Reading level: 1.0/5.0 > conversational
Boards: paperback
Pages: 96
Binding: glue
Paper: normal
Topical index: no
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Crossway
Year: 2007
Price USD: $12.99 from Crossway
ISBNs: 9781581349139, 1581349130

Understanding our motives

Tony Reinke BR > P&R, Community, David Powlison, Fellowship, spurgeon

tsslogo.jpgUnderstanding our motives

One of the deepest questions we can ask of ourselves is very simple: Why do we do what we do? Here are some thoughts on the topic.

Scripture addresses our motives in a profound way. Take James 4 for example: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (v. 1). Our quarrels with others spring from our own hearts because we entertain self-centered desires. James tells us that we fight, not because we have enemies without, rather, we fight because we have a sinful heart within. The conflict problem is me. At some level, I start every fight. And this angry heart rages hot because our sinful motives arise from unmet idolatrous desires: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel” (v. 2). In verses 3-10, James says our motives cause conflict because we are worldly, because we fail to ask God for His grace, because we fail to pursue humility and fail to resist Satan’s temptations. Motives are at the root of all conflict. The evil of fighting is not that we land punches. The evil of fighting is that it reveals worldly idols and pridefulness towards God in the heart. Conflict with others is profoundly theological.

In a series of articles comparing modern psychotherapies with the cure of souls, Dr. David Powlison writes, “…the dynamics of human intention and desire cannot be defined in purely psychological terms (or psycho-social terms, or psycho-social-somatic terms). Motivational dynamics do not simply operate within or between persons. The human heart has to do with God. So when the Bible describes the desires that obviously play within our souls and rule our lives, it does not portray them as hard-wired psychological or physiological givens: as needs, instincts, drives, longings, wishes. It speaks of them as morally freighted vis-à-vis God, as moral-covenantal choices: we are ruled either by cravings of the flesh or by repentance-faith-obedience to God’s desires. Our desires are tilted one way or the other, either toward the true God or toward the host of idols we fabricate both collectively and idiosyncratically. Our mastering desires are relationally and morally qualified. … In sum, the human heart – the answer to why we do what we do – must be understood as an active-verb-with-respect-to-God. Climb inside any emotional reaction, any behavioral choice or habit, any cognitive content, any reaction pattern to suffering, and you are meant to hear and see active verbs working out. Love God or anything else. Fear God or anything else. Want God or anything else. Need God or anything else. Hope in God or anything else. Take refuge in God or anything else. Obey God or anything else. Trust God or anything else. Seek God or anything else. Serve God or anything else. The Bible’s motivation theory shouts from every page – but it does not look like a motivation theory to those whose gaze has been bent and blinded by sin’s intellectual logic” [The Journal of Biblical Counseling (Spring 2007, vol. 25, No. 2) p. 24].

It’s no exaggeration to say Instruments in the Hand’s of the Redeemer (P&R: 2002) is on my top ten list of favorite books. Without hesitation, I would consider this book essential reading for pastors, fellowship group leaders, and really any thinking and reading Christian. In it author Paul David Tripp writes, “We must humbly admit we are sinners while we lay hold of the hope of our union with Christ. We don’t simply suffer; we suffer as sinners with a deep propensity to run after god-replacements. And, as believers, we don’t just suffer as sinners, but as those who have been united with Christ and therefore no longer live under the mastery of sin. We bring these two realities to times of blessing as well. Holding onto both truths is the only way to do battle with our own hearts, and the only way to be part of what God is doing in our lives and others’. This is a perspective on life that only those who believe God’s Word will ever embrace. Ist is the heart of biblical personal ministry. It is more than a topical list of problem-solving principles, more than a collection of morals on how to live life, more than an empathetic relationship or a dynamic therapeutic encounter. Biblical personal ministry is rooted in the story of a war and a Savior King. As we place our stories within this great story of the compassion and love of Christ, we will understand who we are and live as we were meant to live” (pp. 93-94).

We act and sin in certain ways because of the idolatrous motives of our hearts. This is our biggest problem: We expect to get what we want and what we naturally (and sinfully) want is an idolatrous replacement for God to steal His glory for ourselves. We are at war. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh” (Gal. 5:17). At a very deep level of motive-confrontation God calls us to fight worldliness, ask for more Cross-purchased grace, pursue personal humility and resist Satan’s temptations. Scripture lays for us a profound understanding of our personal motives and — in light of the precious Cross of Christ — what to do about it.

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Excellent biblical counseling resources for further study…

*** Paul David Tripp. Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (P&R: 2002) 362 pp. More conceptual in nature. One of the most important contemporary Christian books in print. Essential reading for pastors and fellowship group leaders.

*** David Powlison, editor. The Journal of Biblical Counseling. A 60- page journal published quarterly with subscriptions starting at $23/year for new subscribers. Essential reading for pastors and fellowship group leaders. In our church every small group leader receives a subscription.

** Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp. How People Change (New Growth Press: 2006) 258 pp. The text font and layout for this book is simply awful but a very helpful book with excellent illustrations. Written on an easier level and more application-oriented than Instruments.

** David Powlison. Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (P&R 2003) 274 pp. A conceptual book it “unfolds Scripture’s view of people and problems. It reinterprets common counseling phenomena through God’s eyes, as revealed in Scripture” (p. 7).

** David Powlison. Speaking the Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (Punch Press: 2005) 202 pp. The follow-up to Seeing with New Eyes, this book focuses on the act of counseling. “This second book describes living right. We will glimpse essential dynamics of relationship and sketch the shape of communities that pursue such relationships” (p. 2).

Indulgences Continue

Tony Reinke Indulgences, Roman Catholic, spurgeon

tsslogo.jpgIndulgences Continue

This week the Vatican released a statement saying all non-Roman Catholic churches are “not proper Churches” and that those outside of Rome are of a compromised sort (that’s you, you Reformed rascal). The 16-page statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decrees that Rome is “the one true Church of Christ.” The implication is this: If your church does not bow to the authority of the Pope, it is unfaithful. These divisive statements have whipped the ecumenical community into a froth (though Christianity Today denies the obvious implications).

The biblically discerning (like Al Mohler) are not shocked at these most recent statements. In fact, these conclusions are quite consistent with historical and contemporary Roman Catholic dogma.

Christopher Catherwood, in his new and excellent book Church History: A crash course for the curious (Crossway: 2007) warns us that Rome has not changed. “Theologically, from a biblical point of view, nothing really changed since the key Catholic doctrines to which Protestants have objected since the Reformation did not change” (p. 198). He also shows that false doctrine in Rome is increasingly prominent in the twentieth century. On the false idea that Mary is ‘the mother of God’ he writes, “Mariolatry in the Catholic Church has in fact evolved over centuries, and one can argue that it was not until the twentieth century that much of the false teachings about her became the official dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, as comparatively recently as 1950” (p. 81).

Indulgences

So I should not have been as surprised today when I found myself looking at the website of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia offering indulgences. Indulgences?! I thought indulgences died in the Reformation. After a little research, I was sadly reminded that indulgences were promoted and defended by John Paul II, continue in his successor and — the more closely I looked — are interwoven into statements by Beckwith in his recent move out of Evangelicalism into Catholicism. To my surprise, indulgences flourish in 2007 as they did in 1517.

No doubt embarrassed by Johann Tetzel, Rome is quick to say indulgences are not for sale. At least not for money. But they still come at a cost. The Archdiocese has set the sticker price as follows:

“A Plenary Indulgence is granted by participating in any event, pilgrimage, or visit under these conditions: one must go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, either on the day of the event or within several days before or after it. The Plenary Indulgence may be obtained by the faithful for themselves or may be applied to the dead by way of suffrage.”

The seeker must perform these conditions at one of the following events:

“Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2007; Special Youth Event and Mass at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary on September 29, 2007; Bicentennial celebrations taking place in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul or in some sacred place within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia presided over by the Cardinal Archbishop, or his designee; A pilgrimage to the Cathedral Basilica, the Shrine of Saint John Neumann, or the Shrine of Saint Katharine Drexel, which includes a solemn communal celebration; The closing Mass of the Bicentennial Year to be held at Villanova Pavilion on April 13, 2008.”

Indulgences are never free.

So what is the purpose of the indulgences? “An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church which, as minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints” (Indulgentiarum Doctrina). To put it in seasonal terms, it will help shorten the purgatorial sunburn.

This admission is obviously blasphemous: Christ’s Atonement applied to the sinner is insufficient. Certain wages for sin remain, and the redeemed are bound under God’s temporal wrath.

Before we go too far, we must stop and learn about the human heart. Even as believers we tend to consider the negative things that happen in life as a result of God’s anger towards us, rather than the discipline of a loving Father. All things work together for our good because the painful experiences of life are not temporal judgments from God, but the purging of sin. He prunes us to bear more fruit and we bear more fruit to experience more of Christ’s joy (John 15). If we are covered in the Blood of Jesus Christ, we are free forever from God’s judgment (both eternal and temporal judgments).

Secondly, indulgences speak to our natural pursuit of self-righteousness. We want to earn the appeasement of God’s judgment, which is to say we want to earn God’s favor. Indulgences hold out this false hope to sinners. The fact is that God’s elect are united to Christ and there is no more divine favor and righteousness necessary before God. There is no such ‘thing’ as grace that can be awarded or won or added to the Christian life. All we have is Christ, and all of Christ is ours (see Sinclair Ferguson post earlier). “Indeed, I count everything [all self-righteousness] as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).

John Calvin wrote that those who believe God’s grace and deliverance from judgment is distributed by church authorities, “are fit to be treated by drugs for insanity rather than to be argued with” (Institutes, 3.5.1). The insanity abounds to this day.

All-sufficient grace

Remember the old Martin Luther movie? Luther becomes furious when he sees a poor woman with a crippled child on her back going to pay what little money she has for a Tetzel indulgence. Little has changed. Sinners in 2007 who are crippled and poor and naked before their Holy God are walking to a shrine to pay the fee of homage, thinking that earning grace through an indulgence from Rome is their means of escaping God’s temporal wrath for their sin (or the sin of someone now in purgatory). At best, this practice is a manipulation of the weak sinful heart, and at worst an outright blasphemy towards the work of Christ (no matter how superficially connected to the Cross it appears).

In Christ we have freedom from eternal and temporal judgments. In Luke 23 we are told, “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ 42 And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43 And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

There is all-sufficient grace in the Cross to completely cover the most vile of sinners. Without question, there are temporal consequences to sin (like being crucified for a due crime). But for the repentant sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ alone, there is no self-righteousness, no religious acts or pilgrimages or indulgences — only union into Christ! — that frees sinners from their due guilt! “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Indulgences undermine the Gospel. Calvin succinctly writes, “Obviously, either the gospel of God or indulgences must be false. Paul testifies that Christ is offered to us through the gospel, with every abundance of heavenly benefits, with all his merits, all his righteousness, wisdom, and grace, without exception” (3.5.5).

Conclusion

As the evidence continues to reveal, Rome – at the very epicenter of its public dogma – was relatively unaffected by the Reformation. This Gospel-distorting reality must never escape the notice of the Cross-centered. In contending against the heresies of the new perspectives, we cannot (and dare not) turn our backs to the heresies of the ancient perspectives still alive today.

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Related: Many helpful articles by James White on Catholicism and his books of special note are The Roman Catholic Controversy and The God Who Justifies. Also an excellent sermon by John Piper on justification in Catholicism in light of God’s judgement.

Antidepressants on the rise

Tony Reinke Biblical counseling, Depression, Psychology, spurgeon

CNN is reporting that antidepressants are now the most commonly prescribed drug.

“In its study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at 2.4 billion drugs prescribed in visits to doctors and hospitals in 2005. Of those, 118 million were for antidepressants. … The use of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs — those that affect brain chemistry — has skyrocketed over the last decade. Adult use of antidepressants almost tripled between the periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2000. Between 1995 and 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the use of these drugs rose 48 percent, the CDC reported. Many psychiatrists see this statistic as good news — a sign that finally Americans feel comfortable asking for help with psychiatric problems.”

What strikes me is that apparently we all know instinctively that we can and should be happier than we really are. We were created to enjoy pleasures forever (Ps. 16:11).

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Related: Dr. Peter R. Breggin, the International Director of the Center for Study of Psychiatry and Psychology writes: “In reality, science does not have the ability to measure the levels of any biochemical in the tiny spaces between the nerve cells (the synapses) in the brain of a human being. All the talk about biochemical imbalances is sheer speculation aimed at promoting psychiatric drugs. … Despite decades of research, thousands of research studies, and hundreds of millions of dollars in expense, no marker for depression has been found. To this day, the individual’s personal feelings remain the basis for diagnosing depression” [Peter R. Breggin, The Anti-Depressant Fact Book (Perseus: 2001) pp. 21, 22].

Mohler: Christianity and Mormonism are ‘incompatible’

Tony Reinke spurgeon

tsslogo.jpgAl Mohler wrote the following words in response to Mormon Orson Scott Card at Beliefnet. Read the entire response here. Here is an excerpt:

I appreciate Orson Scott Card’s response to my first entry, and his rather lengthy essay can serve to move the discussion along.

The first matter of concern is to clarify the question. When I asked, “Are Mormons ‘Christians’ as defined by traditional Christian orthodoxy?,” I was stating the question exactly as it was put to me. The words “as defined by traditional Christian orthodoxy” were part of my assignment, not my imposition.

At the same time, I was glad the question was asked in this manner, for it is the only way I can provide an answer that matters. The question could surely be asked in other ways and we could attempt to define Christianity in terms of sociology, phenomenology, the history of religions, or any number of other disciplines. In any of these cases, someone with specific training in these fields should provide the argument.

The question could simply refer to common opinion – do people on the street believe that Mormonism is Christianity? But then the matter would be in better hands among the pollsters.

In any event, the question was framed theologically, and it was framed by Beliefnet in terms of “traditional Christian orthodoxy.” With the question structured that way, the answer is clear and unassailable – Mormonism is not Christianity. When the question is framed this way, Mr. Card and I actually agree, as his essay makes clear.

In his words, “I am also happy to agree with him that when one compares our understanding of the nature of God and Christ, we categorically disagree with almost every statement in the “historic creeds and doctrinal affirmations” he refers to.”

Mr. Card would prefer that the question be put differently. I understand his concern, and if I were a Mormon I would share that concern and would try to define Christianity in some way other than traditional Christian orthodoxy. The reason is simple – traditional Christian orthodoxy and Mormon theology are utterly incompatible.