By Living Waters

I have friends who are members of the Roman Catholic Church. I have friends who have become Roman Catholic. I even have some friends who recently have reverted to Catholicism.* I dearly love and respect each of these Christian siblings, though I’ve not been able to follow them in their treks to Rome. I appreciate some of their reasons for moving in that direction (or for staying put), though I’ve not felt the draw they have. What I’d like to discuss in this post is the practice of praying to saints. What motivates my thoughts is a recent article by the president of Fuller Theological Seminary, Richard J. Mouw. The article, “Communion with the Saints” (The Christian Century, 15 May 2007), brought to the surface many questions I’ve long had about this practice. Perhaps these are not the most insightful of questions, but they are my questions about this practice. (more…)

I’ve begun to read Peter Leithart’s recently published book, The Baptized Body (Canon Press, 2007). Here I’d like to begin by providing a few excerpts that I deem worthy of consideration. Frankly, if the remainder of the volume is this insightful, then I cannot but highly recommend it!

Seas of ink have been poured out in debating whether there is any efficacy in the sacraments “in themselves.” The whole debate is worthless, because both sides begin from the false assumptions that 1) there is such a thing as a “sacrament in itself” and that 2) some things (though not sacraments) do have “efficacy in themselves.” Consider: Baptismal water is a sign authorized by Christ for His church. Validly administered, it is never simply water, but the authorized entry rite into the community of disciples (Mt. 28:18-20). We cannot, we dare not, think that this water is “mere water,” any more than we can think of the American flag as “just a piece of cloth.” Water is not a “thing in itself.” (3)

Nothing at all, other than the Triune God Himself, has efficacy “in itself.” (4)

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Great news: I’ve been granted a spot for a seminar paper at the British New Testament Society conference this year! It will be held in early September at the University of Exeter. (more…)

In an earlier post I engaged Chris VanLandingham’s (hereafter CV) reading of the Testament of Abraham (T.Ab.) in his recently-published dissertation, Judgment and Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul (Hendrickson, 2006). He has since responded:

Kevin Bywater: With regard to the Testament of Abraham, this text is pretty clear. The T.Ab. supports my thesis primarily for two reasons: only 1 in 7000 saved at the Last Judgment at 11:12 (A) and judgment according to deeds at 13:9-14 (A),. Even the judgment of the soul with equally balanced righteous and wicked deeds in chapter 12 supports my thesis. Your post doesn’t convince me that these texts should be read differently. And, as I state, 14:15 (A), whatever it means, shouldn’t supplant the straightforward readings of these three passages.

Here I’ll remark on (i) CV’s rhetoric, (ii) the genre of T.Ab., and (iii) the 1:7000 ratio in constellation with the three judgments. (more…)

In the wake of the PCA General Assembly, I highly recommend the recent (and continuing!) postings by Rev. Dr. Peter Leithart, a PCA minister, scholar and friend whom I greatly respect.

I’ve been waiting some time for this. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can hardly read anything without a pencil in my hand. Finally, a wide-margin Greek New Testament. It retails at $59.95, though Amazon is selling it (pre-order) for $40.77. Here’s the blurb from Hendrickson Publishers:

The leading edition of the text of the New Testament, this scholarly edition is designed for extensive research, textual criticism, and other academic studies.

In keeping with the goals of serious and advanced New Testament scholars, the revised critical apparatus shows a nearly exhaustive list of variants but includes only the most significant witnesses for each variant. The Greek text has paragraph and section breaks. Cross-references in the margins are extensive and include synoptic parallels. Five appendices offer in-depth information for further understanding of passages.

The introduction appears in both English and German. Text, notes, and critical apparatus appear in a clear font throughout the volume.

Larger in size but priced lower than the large print edition, this user-friendly edition gives professors and students the opportunity to make notes in their Bible as they translate the New Testament.

I wish the Hendrickson site had a sample page or two so we’d could see the font size of the text, its relative clarity, and the proportionality of the text to the margins. Regardless, I’m sure it will be helpful.

In a remote village in the South Pacific island nation of Venuatu, Prince Philip is worshiped as a god. Such veneration should be discouraged, shouldn’t it? One would think that Philip, at the very least, would disapprove. I recall a story in Acts about another royal figure who declined to disapprove when the people declared him a god. The results were less than affirmative.

I’m rather looking forward to reading this book: The Baptized Body, by Peter Leithart. The table of contents is as follows:

Preface
1. Starting Before the Beginning
2. “Baptism” Is Baptism
3. The “Body of Christ” Is the Body of Christ
4. Apostasy Happens
5. A Tale of Three Servants
Appendix: The Sociology of Infant Baptism

The blurb at Canon Press reads as follows:

What does baptism do to the baptized? Nothing? Something? In this study, Peter Leithart examines this single question of baptismal efficacy. He challenges several common but false assumptions about God, man, the church, salvation, and more that confuse discussions about baptism. He aims to offer a careful and simple discussion of all the central biblical texts that speak to us about baptism, the nature of signs and rites, the character of the church as the body of Christ, and the possibility of apostasy. In the end, he urges us to face up to the wonderful conclusion that Scripture attributes an astonishing power to the initiation rite of baptism.

Rev. Jeffrey Meyers, whom I earlier mentioned with regards to his “30 Reasons” why the PCA report should not be adopted, has produced a reduced version of his study, boiling his analysis down to 12 reasons (PDF download).

Bishop Tom Wright is receiving an honorary degree on June 23rd, as part of the 175th anniversary celebrations of Durham University. In this connection he has agreed to deliver a public lecture on June 20th at 7.30pm. His topic is: “God in Public? Faith and Truth in Church and University.” (I’ll see if I can get an audio recording of this and make it available online.)