Why Bad Arguments Are So Persuasive

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“Sixteenth-century scholar Richard Hooker saw this problem unfold in his time over a question of governance for the Church of England. In his work, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Hooker explains the kinds of arguments made by his contemporaries in this debate, while shedding light on why bad arguments manage to persuade large numbers of people.” - Intellectual Takeout

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Personal Thoughts About Commentaries: Mark

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Mark’s Gospel is terrific for the preacher. It really comes into its own when expounded. Any commentary on this book that keeps flipping back and forth between Mark, Matthew and Luke should not be considered a first choice. There is now an embarrassment of fine resources. Here is my list:

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Chosen for What?

Few doctrines divide God’s people like the doctrine of election. Since both the word, “election” in its various forms, plus the concept using different words is found repeatedly in the Bible, some explanation must be offered. It cannot simply be ignored.

Although there are various shades of interpretation, in the end, it boils down to two possibilities. Either election means God chose His people without reference to anything He saw in man (unconditional election), or God chose people based upon something He saw or foresaw within them (conditional election).

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Still Young, Restless, and Reformed? The New Calvinists at 10

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“Many youth even in evangelical churches think God is distant and uninvolved, though still concerned with our good behavior. Mostly, though, he just wants us to be happy. So religion in our secular age aims to give us what we want, in material or therapeutic terms.” - 9 Marks

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Don’t Knock Systematic Theology

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“Some, however, have seemingly abandoned any interest in systematic theology, thinking that it is merely a man-made construct of the modern era that kills the liveliness of Scripture. Nothing could be further from the truth.” - Mark Farnham

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Defining the "Evangelical Religion"

In this excerpt1 from his classic work, Knots Untied, J.C. Ryle defines “the evangelical religion” as he seeks to defend the faith against apostasy and theological revisionism in the Church of England in the latter portion of the 19th century:

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