Down-under round-up: 8 July 2015

Issue of the Week

… continues to be marriage redefinition. But aren’t we tired of it? Can't we talk about something else?

In this excellent article on evangelical courage from the vault, Moore College Principal Mark Thompson examines a famous Martin Luther quote that explains why we must keep talking about this issue.

Luther is cited as saying the loyalty of a soldier for Christ is proved at the point where the battle rages. That is, we must profess gospel doctrine at precisely the point the world and the devil currently attacks, even though it might not be our chosen battlefield. 

Mark agrees it’s a true and inspirational point. Then, with fascinating attention to the sources, he indicates it’s unlikely Luther actually uttered the words typically attributed to him. Nevertheless, he shows Luther certainly expressed the sentiment in other ways!

So that said, here’s a couple more articles on the topic that’s being contested:

• Doug Wilson answers 40 questions asked by rainbow-affirming Matthew Vines in response to Kevin DeYoung’s 40 questions for Christians who changed their Facebook profile to a rainbow.
• Mark Thompson’s own longer critical reflections on same-sex intimate unions requires time to digest, not just to skim. 

Making disciples of Jesus

No further explanation needed: ‘Ten ways to pray for your wife’, by Jonathan Parnell via Desiring God.

I found Tim Challies’ ‘4 tips for dealing with procrastination’ helpful. Two are theological, two practical…

1. Procrastination is a problem of spirituality before it is a problem of productivity.
2. Not all procrastination is bad (i.e. there is rest, as well as work).
3. Do the hardest thing on your list first.
4. Break big tasks into small ones.

Even when I’ve read such reminders before, I find this sort of article helps me tighten things up where my thinking or practice has slipped.

Michael Jensen caught my eye with the third in his series of (lesser-known) theologians you should know: William Shedd, for his work on a difficult but important topic of hell and eternal punishment. Having praised this theologian, I hope Michael might tease out where he thinks Shedd’s logic or exegesis can be nuanced.

I consider myself a strong natural reader, but in this digital age of distraction, even someone like me found the tips in this article helpful and important: ‘How to read more books’ by Erik Raymond.

Having made a wonderful young Christian Czech friend this year here at the University of Wollongong, I was delighted on Monday last to mark the 600^th anniversary of the martyrdom of Jan Huss, the great Czech reformer, who impressed Martin Luther and was himself inspired by English proto-reformer, John Wycliffe. All wonderful biblical men. In ‘The Original Bohemian’, Andrew Wilson shares some of the story. A little more detail, including Luther’s appreciation, can be found in this 2008 article from Christian History.

Image of the Week

I am enjoying Psalms to Start and End the Day from the young gospel minister, Ed Sowden in the parish up the road from me, whose work in high-school ministry many local churches support. Each day he picks a summary verse from each successive psalm and sets it to an image. This one caught my eye!