By Living Waters

It is good and right to be pious, to be devoted to our Creator with an ultimate allegiance of heart, mind and will. And this pertains to matters of our hands, our feet, and our mouths — indeed, our entire beings. Of all the commandments of God, only one is the greatest: to love the Lord our God. He is our center, the One around whom we orbit.

But how our love is expressed sometimes is above and beyond our calling. We desire to ascribe to God superlatives that are ultra-superlatives, ascriptions that exceed even what he has revealed as most worthy to ascribe to him. Our motives may be honorable though our extrapolations unnecessary if not muddled and mired in thoughts that are not God’s thoughts.

Such excessive expressions may be found, I believe, in such ejaculations as, “God is all I need,” and “no creed but Christ,” and “no law but love.” Such a list could be extended by the length of bumper stickers lathered on the rears of the vehicles that God’s people own and operate. (more…)

As I mentioned before, I recently became fully aware of Hugh Hewitt. I had stumbled across his name last year when his book endorsing and promoting Mitt Romney darted across my field of vision. I didn’t get a copy of that book, however. Perhaps I should have. As a former Mormon I often was asked what I thought about a Mormon president. My response was perplexing to some and confirming to others. (I’ll not bother to elaborate on that here.)

A few weeks back I got a copy of Hugh’s book, In, But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition and the Desire to Influence the World.

A subsequent paperback edition has been released under the title, A Guide to Christian Ambition: Using Career, Politics, and Culture to Influence the World.

I think this is a great book to help a young Christian student develop a vision for his or her future. I’ve recently corresponded with Hugh and it appears that he may speak at some of our summer seminars. If funding presents itself, he may also speak to our students at Summit Oxford.

I’m very pleased to say that our Summit Oxford program is developing quite nicely. While students are sure to have a delightful time with us, it will not be an easy time. Not only will the weeks with Oxford tutors be challenging, the Summit part of the program will be as well. More on that in the future.

The cost of tuition for the term is $20,000, which may sound astronomical except for the fact that other such programs are running between $16,000 and $17,000 right now, with the expectation of increasing their fees due to the weakness of the US dollar. So, our program is priced a bit higher than their programs. But our program offers much more, in our opinion. Nevertheless, money is money, and thousands of dollars naturally contributes to one’s selection of educational options. That is why I’m very pleased to announce that due to the generosity of some, every student who’s application is accepted by Summit Oxford will receive a grant of $5000 toward their tuition fees, effectively lowering their costs to $15,000 for the term (not including travel, food, and other expenses). As such, while competition is likely to be fairly aggressive, those who find a spot in our program will be much pleased, I believe.

In his most excellent book, In, But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition, Hugh Hewitt offers these remarks:

Go abroad for at least one semester and preferably for a couple of years. Postgraduate credentials from abroad are enormously valuable in the United States when an American carries them. (p. 31)

Christian schools can be tremendous sources of inspiration and learning, but some will put you at a significant disadvantage for credentials. Non-Christians and even some Christians are simply not aware of the reputations of such institutions and will assume that they are inferior academically. Unless your faith needs the support (and this is true for many people), do not reflexively rule out secular schools. If you do attend a Christian university as an undergraduate, pursue your graduate degree at a secular university. (p. 32)

Students in our precursor program have found that if they do good work, their Oxford tutors often offer to provide them with a letter of reference/recommendation without the students even having to ask. When they do have to ask, the letter often is offered quite enthusiastically. Such letters can provide great leverage with applying to degree programs here in the UK, as well as in the US. Something to think about.

I found this relieving.

“Fathers and Sons: On Francis Schaeffer, Frank Schaeffer, and Crazy for God,” by Os Guinness

Don Garlington provides a healthy review and corrective to the fearful and triumphalist promotion of John Piper’s latest contribution to Reformed and Evangelical factionalism, The Future of Justification.

The first edition of the new Summit Oxford Quarterly is now available for download. This is a scheduled publication including updates on the ministry and students, as well as some cultural engagement(s). In this issue you’ll find an introduction to Summit Oxford, an article engaging some problems faced by the “new atheists,” profiles of three students who participated in Summit Oxford’s precursor program, and some notes on three books we appreciate.

I’ve just received a copy of, and would like to bring your attention to, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice, by Francis J. Beckwith (Cambridge University Press, 2007) (click here for a UK link to the book).

This nearly 300-page book breaks out into three parts with a total of nine chapters, plus an introduction and a robust 55 pages of endnotes (many of which are substantial).

I’m honored to know Frank and his wife, Frankie as friends and fellow faculty member of Summit Ministries summer seminars. He is a sharp mind, a keen intellect, and a very quick wit.

Below is the table of contents complete with links to some of Beckwith’s earlier essays relevant to the respective chapters (the essays are in a PDF format so you may download them and read them now). (more…)

I’ve been unusually ill over the last couple of weeks. It has been difficult to concentrate for longer than about twenty minutes at a time. But in order not to feel like I’m losing too much of my time, I’ve been listening to some programs from Mars Hill Audio. Years ago I had a Mars Hill Audio subscription. It must have been ages ago since I received the programs on cassette! Well, I decided to get a download subscription and give the audio journal another listen. I’ve not be disappointed at all! In fact, I feel that those times when I’ve not felt able to read or type have been richly rewarded by the Mars Hill Audio Journal. If you commute to work, use in iPod while walking or biking or exercising, then you should consider getting a subscription. Browse the Mars Hill Audio site a bit and you’ll find some material to sample. Enjoy!

Dinesh D’Souza’s book, What’s So Great About Christianity, arrived in the post today. I’m not likely to be able to give it a decent read for a couple of weeks, what I did read was thought-provoking, giving me the impression that his work is sure to be worth reading. (more…)

The new website for the Summit Ministries Oxford Study Centre is up and running. Come and visit us!