Pastor Steve shares these links to stimulate some Thursday Thoughts…
The False Gospel of Expressive Individualism … False gospels abound, and are abounding. It seems a new one pops up every few months. Most aren’t truly new, but simply repackaged versions that the Great Deceiver has used for centuries. David Qaoud writes of a false gospel just appearing on the horizon: “To be sure, expressive individualism has been around for a while. But it seems to be more popular today than ever before. Borrowing from the work of Charles Taylor, James K.A. Smith speaks about expressive individualism when he writes, “Emerging from the Romantic expressionism of the late eighteenth century, it is an understanding ‘that each one of us has his/her own way of realizing our humanity,’ and that we are called to live that out (‘express’ it) rather than conform to modes imposed by others (especially institutions).” In some circles, expressive individualism is being mixed with Christian thought. The logic goes a little something like this: “God is good. God made me. God gave me my desires. Since God is good and gave me my desires, then the desires I have from God must be good. And since God gave me these good desires, I have a right to express them.”” You can read the rest HERE.
Theological Primer: Substance and Accidents … Here is some challenging, and important, thinking about God from Kevin DeYoung. He writes: “In other words, if God is whatever God has—that is, if every attribute of God is identical with his essence—then it does not make sense to say that God can undergo a change of any kind (atemporal or temporal, essential or nonessential). God possesses all of his attributes to the uttermost, in such a way that they can be identified with God himself. Consequently, God is only substance, because divinity, by definition, is that true being that can admit no accidents.” You can read the rest HERE.
Is Your Church Christian or Christianish? … An important question. Read this and apply it personally: Am I a Christian or Christianish? Tim Challies writes: “Three little letters make a world of difference. Together i, s, and h distinguish Christian from Christianish and mark the difference between right and wrong, life and death, heaven and hell. There is nothing better for your spiritual wellbeing than to be in a Christian church. There is nothing worse for your spiritual wellbeing than to be in a Christianish church. Here are a few marks of each.” You can read the rest HERE.
