Can There Be Such a Thing as a Human Non-Person?

The link to this lecture is a long read, but quite interesting: Can There Be Such a Thing as a Human Non-Person? – Justin Taylor:

Standardized tests often include questions of the form “A is to B as X is to _____.” This exercise helps to identify relationships of symmetry and can prove illuminating. J. P. Moreland, in a lecture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on “Naturalism and the Crisis of the Soul,” [pdf] gives a helpful illustration on this issue

Must We Believe in the Virgin Birth?

This is a good point that could be applied to many other doctrines: AlbertMohler.com – Must We Believe in the Virgin Birth?:

Must one believe in the Virgin Birth to be a Christian? This is not a hard question to answer. It is conceivable that someone might come to Christ and trust Christ as Savior without yet learning that the Bible teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin. A new believer is not yet aware of the full structure of Christian truth. The real question is this: Can a Christian, once aware of the Bible’s teaching, reject the Virgin Birth? The answer must be no.

The 3650 Challenge

This is a pretty big challenge for the new Year: The 3650 Challenge | Challies Dot Com:

Here is something to consider: Do you think it would change your life if you were to read 3,650 chapters of the Bible over the course of the next year? Let me explain why I’m asking the question.

St Andrew’s Cathedral Christmas Eve Carols on your Couch, ABC1 at 6pm

And people say the media is anti-God... also on the ABC there are no ad breaks: Articles | St Andrew’s Cathedral Christmas Eve Carols on your Couch, ABC1 at 6pm | Phillip Jensen:

Our Cathedral on Christmas Eve is always an exciting gathering; celebrating and explaining the significance of the Birth of Jesus. This year the ABC's national broadcast is St Andrew's Christmas Eve Celebration. The broadcast gives all of us a great evangelistic opportunity to share the gospel with our friends, colleagues and neighbours. Gather the family to watch it together.

Christmas Answers Two Errors

So Christmas reminds us to avoid two errors. The first error is that of thinking that the future resurrection is a ghostly affair; it most certainly is not. The resurrection will be more solid than anything you have ever imagined. The second error is that of minimizing the depth of our material corruption, believing that our materiality did not need to be redeemed.

Christmas Answers Two Errors

50 Top Atheists in the World

An interesting list of the top atheists who are alive today, and an Australian leads the way: 50 Top Atheists in the World:

[the] last requirement leads to some counterintuitive rank assignments for well-known atheists. For instance, Richard Dawkins does not make the head of our list. Because this may disappoint some of our readers, we have, after our ranking, also ordered the atheists on our list by the number of Google hits that their names obtain.

Junia Is a Woman, and I Am a Complementarian

I read another review of this book that was positive, this review is negative: Junia Is a Woman, and I Am a Complementarian | Denny Burk:

"McKnight’s central thesis is only as strong as his exegesis of Romans 16:7, and on this point I do not think he has provided sufficient exegetical warrant for his view in light of the countless interpreters who differ with his argument (e.g., Fitzmyer, Romans, p. 739; Schreiner, Romans, p. 796). There is not a single argument in this book that is new or that moves the gender debate forward. It simply assumes long-held egalitarian interpretations of the Bible, and then argues accordingly. I am doubtful that this method will be very persuasive to serious students of the Bible."

Scot McKnight, Junia is not Alone: a review

Interesting, I thought it was a new argument that Junias was a woman: Scot McKnight, Junia is not Alone: a review « Shored Fragments:

If you know your Greek, you’ll know that an accent is all the difference between Junia (a female name, very well attested in history, as I’ve commented before on this blog) and Junias (an otherwise-unknown male name). This happened late. All the ancient versions (Old Lt; Vulg.; Syr,; Copt.) have a female Junia in Rom, 16:7. (So, incidentally, do all – without exception, I think – the church fathers. You know? Those native Greek-speaking church leaders? McKnight does not mention this.) And the English versions? ‘from Tyndale to the last quarter of the 19th century in English translations, Junia was a woman.’ (l. 148).

Calvinism: My History 2

This looks to be a good series by Scot McKnight: Jesus Creed » Calvinism: My History 2:

One of the focal points of my lectures was the Warning Passages, texts that are one of high Calvinism’s (or at least monergism’s) biggest challenges. If it can be established that genuine believers can fall away and lose their salvation then any sense of effectual grace or perseverance (as God’s preservation) are undone.

Dawkins vs. Dawkins

Dawkins now claims he did debate Craig in 2010, while in 2010 he said it wasn't a debate...: Edward Feser: Dawkins vs. Dawkins:

So, two years ago Dawkins insisted that his encounter with Craig in Mexico was not a debate; and only weeks ago he loudly and publicly acknowledged that he refuses to debate Craig. Yet, in response to my statement on the air that he refuses to debate Craig, Dawkins now insists that this is “contrary” to the truth and needs to be “corrected,” citing the 2010 non-debate encounter as evidence. What is going on here?

Christmas – Myth or History?

A nice response from Paul Barnett to a story trying to debunk the Christmas story: Christmas – Myth or History? | Paul Barnett:

You cannot but be impressed with the zeal of the modern sceptic and reciprocally unimpressed with the lethargy of the contemporary Christian. Right on track the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Weekend (3rd December, 2011) has a lengthy and well-researched article, Divine Intervention’ (Fenella Souter) in which she debunks the historical basis for the first Christmas.

Free eBooks

Monergism Books have a few ebooks for download, worth checking out: Free eBooks

[ 11 ] ridiculously practical ways to avoid consumerism this season » Attempting to behold the miracle long enough without falling asleep

Some good advice: J.R. Briggs » [ 11 ] ridiculously practical ways to avoid consumerism this season » Attempting to behold the miracle long enough without falling asleep:

I’ve been reflecting on several practical and specific ways together we could make Advent a meaningful experience – different from other Christmas seasons in years past.

BBC News - Christians in China: Is the country in spiritual crisis?

And some people say as a nation develops their belief in God declines: BBC News - Christians in China: Is the country in spiritual crisis?:

It is impossible to say how many Christians there are in China today, but no-one denies the numbers are exploding.

The government says 25 million, 18 million Protestants and six million Catholics. Independent estimates all agree this is a vast underestimate. A conservative figure is 60 million. There are already more Chinese at church on a Sunday than in the whole of Europe.

'via Blog this'

Authors@Google: Timothy Keller

I think this is the second time Keller got to speak at Google about a book he has written, looks good: Authors@Google: Timothy Keller - YouTube:

Timothy Keller visits Google's New York, NY office to discuss his book "The Meaning of Marriage." This event took place on November 14, 2011, as part of the Authors@Google series.