As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Daniel Hummel has written a book that has got a attention recently. The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation has made a splash because it is an irenic study of the movement. Hummel has written an essay at the Gospel Coalition called “4 Snapshots of Dispensationalism Today.” He makes four points in his essay:
“It is said that an argument is what convinces reasonable men and a proof is what it takes to convince even an unreasonable man. With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eternal universe…. There is no escape, they have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning” - Imaginative Conservative
“First, let me remind readers that there is no way that the Apostle Paul (who wrote these words) is accidently contradicting himself. If Paul is anything as an author, he is intentional. So if this isn’t a contradiction, what’s going on?” - Kenneth Berding
“Even as dispensationalism has undoubtedly declined in recent decades, Hummel rightly demonstrates how the system provided ‘at least four generations of white conservative Protestants… with a theological framework to read the Bible and understand the world’ ” - London Lyceum
“We’ve come a long way since Mark Noll lamented the scandal of the evangelical mind in 1994. Or have we? Perhaps we have to go back to the 19th century before we can make progress in the 21st.” - Acton
The battle cry of the Protestant Reformation is often summarized in five sola statements: sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria.1 Although you often can find these five sola statements written in a different order, the order is significant, and the first and last are always given pride of place. This is not by accident. Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone, was the basis of all the other doctrines that follow.
“Anyone can claim anything, especially in the invisible and subjective and unverifiable spiritual realm….The Bible repeatedly anchors its credibility in verifiable historical events–purposeful references to specific places, people, reigns, and incidents still verifiable by historical records even outside the Bible.” - BJU Seminary Blog
“… this suffering was ultimately overshadowed by His joy in our salvation: ‘For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame’ (Hebrews 12:2).” - Randy Alcorn
Not too many people think much about Good Friday anymore.
There was a time when whole communities were virtually shut down on Good Friday afternoon. Businesses closed, or at least allowed their employees to attend church services. I’m sure some still do this—but I wonder how many people in the general public would even know what we mean when we talk about Good Friday.
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