What had happen' was.....: Dec 18, 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Truthbomb Apologetics: Featured Audio: An Interview with John MacArthur- The Jesus You Can't Ignore

Here is a great post from the Truthbomb Apologetics blog that makes an interview of John MacArthur available. It's worth a listen. Here is what Chad wrote as a description:

In this interview, pastor and teacher Dr. John MacArthur discusses his latest book entitled The Jesus You Can't Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ.

In this short, 26 minute interview, MacArthur challenges the evangelical world to fight for truth and gives tips on how to do it.

Truthbomb Apologetics: Featured Audio: An Interview with John MacArthur- The Jesus You Can't Ignore

BBC News - Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard

I came across this news story and I am shocked. St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, New Zealand recently put up a bill board shown on the left. I don't know what kind of response this springs up in you, but I find it offensive for two reasons. It makes me wonder what was the message the church was trying to send? I did some research and I found the following quote:

Church vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story.
"This billboard is trying to lampoon and ridicule the very literal idea that God is a male and somehow this male God impregnated Mary," said Cardy, who described his church as having very liberal ideas about Christianity.
"We would question the Virgin Birth in any literal sense. We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense," he said.

In other words, the point was to take a swipe at fundamental Christian doctrine and theology. It's admitted that they were making fun of the doctrine of Jesus' virgin birth by implying that God had sex with Mary. The Bible never implies that Jesus' conception was sexual. On top of that the man said that they are coming against the maleness of God. However, God is never described as male or female...God is beyond all of that. Historic Orthodox Christianity has never embraced these ideas.

Once I found out what kind of church this is, I was not surprised. It's a liberal Anglican church. Anglican church is certainly no longer orthodox. They used to be but they really seemed to have "jumped the shark" so to speak. I went to St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, New Zealand main website and found that like many American Anglican churches are performing same-sex marriages and like more than a few churches today have turned its back on the Bible as being the final authority for faith and practice.

You can imagine that the billboard has offended a lot of people.

Lyndsay Freer, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland, said the poster was offensive to Christians.
"Our Christian tradition of 2,000 years is that Mary remains a virgin and that Jesus is the son of God, not Joseph," she told the New Zealand Herald. "Such a poster is inappropriate and disrespectful."

As a Roman Catholic she holds to the perpetual virginity of Mary, for which there is only Roman Catholic dogma and tradition that we have support so of course she is not happy. I want to be clear that not all Christians dislike the billboard for the same reasons or would agree with her 2000 year assertion or Mary always being a virgin. I've already written on why I disagree with her. However, I do agree that the billboard is wrong but for denying Jesus' virgin birth or trying to cast God as having human gender is wrong.

Sources:
BBC News - Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard
Religious billboard provokes wrath, mirth
Billboard Depicting Joseph, Mary In Bed Sparks Row
Vicar wants to keep billboard

Christian Apologetics - Life and Doctrine: Jewish / Judaism : The Isaiah 9 Controversy, part 1 of 4

Wow! I had no idea that some tried to avoid Isaiah 9! That is mind blowing. I love this series and I hope to read more - parts 2-4. I wanted to add a couple of observations. There are several places in the Hebrew Bible that prophecies were given in the past tense although it was talking about the future. I believe it is because to God He knows the future so well (because He is doing it) that He can talk about it as if it has already happened! The only other thing I've gotta to add to Mariano's brilliance is the inescapable fact that these verses 6-7 could ever be applied to anyone but Jesus, least of all to me, you, or Hezekiah. Who else is "Mighty God", "Prince of Peace"? Wait Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize! Naahh!!!! Just kidding.

⁶ For to us a child is born,
       to us a son is given,
       and the government will be on his shoulders.
       And he will be called
       Wonderful Counselor, ^[a] Mighty God,
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace
       there will be no end.
       He will reign on David's throne
       and over his kingdom,
       establishing and upholding it
       with justice and righteousness
       from that time on and forever.
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty
       will accomplish this. - Isaiah 9:6-7