Baptism Correspondence

Based on an earlier post: http://endued.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/my-baptismal-sabbatical-bibliography-say-that-5-times-fast
Joel and I have corresponded and I thought that posting my response in a blog post would interest some readers. Here it is:
joelmartin said
July 23, 2009 at 7:14 am e
I actually embrace infant baptism based on the authority of the Church and the idea that she can decide things [...]

My Baptismal Sabbatical Bibliography (say that 5 times fast)

Okay, some folks have wondered what I have actually read on the topic of Baptism…perhaps suspecting that what I consider a worthy examination was something short of it. Such may be the case…that’s for you to decide, but these are some of the main works that I referenced in my reasearch:

[...]

Book Review of “Predestination and Free Will: Four Views”

This book is toooooo short to address this issue fairly from 4 different perspectives. I will only say that I was surprisingly appreciative of Bruce Reichenbach of Augsburg College attempt to define his views, but still reject it at the end of the day. BTW, he articulated God’s foreknowledge of future free events (Traditional Arminianism/Wesleyan). [...]

Book Review of “Understanding Four Views on Baptism”

First off, I want to say that I am fairly convinced of ‘believer’s baptism’, having taken a sabbatical leave in my past to study the issue, after having even studied it pretty intensely prior to that. I only say that as a disclaimer so you knwo where i am coming from.
I read this couterpoint [...]

our mad world

Since we are encased within our society we can sometimes forget how insane it really is. A conversation I had yesterday reminded me of the deep weird that we live in. Our women fill their bodies with chemicals to prevent them from fertility for years and years. Later, when they are older and may decide [...]

Project 86 New Release is Out Now!!!

Music Review: Sintax the Terrific’s “Curb Appeal”

This album is the bomb. I really mean it. The lyrics are relentlessly full of thought and conviction. The beats are tight as well. I must give this album a 9/10 and look forward to more of Sintax future work.
Here is his official website: http://www.sintaxtheterrific.com.

it’s gonna be a lovely day…

“oh the thinks that i can think…” – dr. seuss

“populations that we don’t want to have too many of”

Unbelievable. Read this horrible (and coldly murderous) quote from Justice Ginsburg in the NYT:
Q: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?
JUSTICE [...]

30 days, pro-choice in a pro-life world

I happen to catch a show of “30 days” late last night (when I should of been sleeping), a reality show by Morgan Spurlock, about a pro-choice woman to took on the challenge of living 30 days at “His Nesting Place“, a faith-based pro-life organization (a great opportunity for ministry or help).   Watching the show [...]

A Christian’s life…

…is not guaranteed protection from hardships, trials, & pains in this life.  In fact, we are warned about it, that it WILL come, and when it does, to ENDURE.   1Pe 1:6  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
1Pe 1:7  so that the tested [...]

for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am Holy, says the LORD. (1peter 1:16)

1Pe 1:15-16  “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
What a sobering and wondrous command.  Oh the challenge & complexity of understanding it all!   How many of us struggle with this?  I would dare say [...]

If You Are Around Nampa, Join Us for Joe and Romans

Music in the Womb

Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint reports on a sequence from the PBS documentary The Music Instinct: Science and Song:
The program was an exploration of, among other things, music’s “biological, emotional and psychological impact on humans.”Part of this “exploration” included how music affects babies. If we are, as some scientists believe, “wired for music,” then babies are ideal [...]

Christ’s Triumph over Earthly Powers

Scholars have begun to think about the way that Jesus and Paul called the Roman Empire into question.  I think that it was this Christian Century article from 2005 that turned me on to the trend.  Peter Leithart’s article in First Things also explored the idea of Paul’s assertion of Christ’s triumph over earthly powers:
Paul [...]

Book Review of Mark Noll’s “America’s God” (Chp. 10)

Chapter 10 of America’s God discusses the cultural consequences of the rapid expansion of evangelicalism.  How, he asks, did evangelicalism come to play such an important role in the culture?
While crediting the interpretations of Gordon Wood, Robert Wiebe, and Nathan Hatch that stress the importance of the destruction of hierarchies by the American Revolution, he [...]

Book Review of Mark Noll’s “America’s God” (Chapter 7-9)

In Chapters 7-8 of America’s God, Mark Noll shows himself to be a careful historian as he documents how traditional and “innovative” theologies did not become “American” theologies during the period of the American Revolution.  In other words, even as “commonsense” moral philosophy and republican political theory became more accepted by evangelical Christians, they did [...]