What I Read Online – 07/12/2013 (a.m.)

• Understanding the Muslim Worldview and Islamic Theology – Justin Taylor

  • His work on the history of Islam is nuanced and informed. As one online bio notes, “He has a unique ability to see and understand both the difficulties facing Christians who wish to evangelize their Muslim friends and the Muslims who are being asked to come to Christ. Many of his unique insights come from personal experiences sharing his faith with Muslims.”

• An Ordinary Means of Grace Model of Ministry

  • Ours is an “ordinary means” congregation. Our philosophy is that of our Presbyterian heritage and is shared by the churches of the Twin Lakes Fellowship. We stress the gatherings of the whole church on the Lord’s Day in which the word of God is read, preached, sung, and prayed, trusting that sinners will be born again by the living and abiding word, that faith will come by hearing the word of Christ, that God’s people will be sanctified by the truth, and that believers grow by the pure milk of the word (1 Pet 1:23-25; Rom 10:17; Jn 17:17; 1 Pet 2:2).
  • we stress the public assembly of the whole church, because we think that assembly is the primary place in which Christian growth occurs and healthy Christian lives mature
  • However, there is a very, very modern sense of “honesty,” or “vulnerability” that some would make a biblical norm. One will search in vain to see any trace of today’s popular understanding of “openness” prior to the 1960’s. Yet some wish to impose this popular meaning upon the church today. They want Facebook from the pulpit and Oprah Winfrey in the pews. I resist much of this. Most of our struggles are between ourselves and God. They are no one else’s business: not the priest’s, not my elder’s, not my neighbor’s. Moreover, little that is edifying is to be gained by you knowing what is going on in my thought life or when I’m in solitude. It’s bad enough that I am exposed to my twisted thoughts and my private tantrums. Other sins should only be confessed within the confines of the family. Typically, only notorious public sins are to be subject to public scrutiny.
  • As recent research has demonstrated, little of lasting value takes place in Christian small group meetings where participants share their opinions, views, and feelings. Unless led by someone trained in the Scripture, the net pooling of ignorance, failure, and feelings does little beyond providing an outlet for temporary emotional catharsis.

• Where Do the Prayers Come from in “The Valley of Vision”? And Sundry Questions – Justin Taylor

  • No. This is based on a misunderstanding of Bennett’s work and the nature of the material. He did not select completed Puritan poems and simply copy them down, one right after the other. His is essentially an original piece of work, under copyright, representing years of research. Banner of Truth soon plans to publish an eBook version, but if you currently see copies on the web or eBooks being sold by other parties, they are being done so illegally (whether the distributor realizes it or not).

• “Ancient” Bacteria Use Quantum Mechanics! | Proslogion

  • What Dr. Hildner and his colleagues found, however, was anything but “simple.” They found that the light-collecting antennae of purple bacteria exploit quantum coherence when they absorb a particle of light (which is called a photon). Because of this, the photon can essentially be everywhere in the antennae at once. What does this mean? It means that regardless of the current state of the antenna, the photon can explore all possible pathways in the absorption process. The most efficient pathway can then be chosen, regardless of how distorted or deformed the antenna might be! As the authors state:²
  • Now, of course, it is always possible that earlier photosynthetic machinery in purple bacteria was simple and that evolution “tinkered” with the process for billions of years to come up with the ability to exploit quantum mechanics. However, there is no evidence for this. The fact is that the simplest, most “primitive” version of photosynthesis that currently exists in nature has already mastered quantum mechanics. As far as I’m concerned, this provides even more evidence that photosynthesis is the product of an Incredible Designer.

• The History of Christianity in 25 Objects: The Works of William Perkins | Challies Dot Com

  • William Perkins is considered “The Father of Puritanism,” for he was among the first, the greatest and the most influential of the Puritans. Perkins was born in 1558 in Warwickshire, England, and as a young man indulged in all manner of sin while harboring a fascination for the occult. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Christ’s College in Cambridge and it was while he was a student that he experienced a sudden and radical conversion that began when he heard a woman chastise her child by threatening to hand him over to “drunken Perkins.” This small incident caused him great humiliation and in his sorrow he turned to Christ.
  • Beeke has been collecting Puritan works since the age of 9

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.