2 comments July 16th, 2008 11:56pm Albert McIlhenny
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Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices - Frank Viola & George Barna BarnaBooks (January 2008) Topic: Ecclesiology; Sacraments & Liturgy; Protestantism Summary: Critique of traditional Christian practices Rating: 
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Add comment July 12th, 2008 01:34am Albert McIlhenny
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Dispensationalism - Charles C. Ryrie Moody Publishers (February 1, 2007) Topic: Eschatology Summary: Apologia for the dispensationalist system Rating: 
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Add comment July 4th, 2008 02:39pm Albert McIlhenny
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Baptist successionism: A Critical View - W. Morgan Patteson Judson press (1969) Topic: Protestantism Summary: Critique of the Baptist Successionist movement Rating: 
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2 comments July 3rd, 2008 12:39pm Albert McIlhenny
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The Christian Tradition (A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 4): Reformation of Church and Dogma (1300-1700) - Jaroslav Pelikan University Of Chicago Press (December 1985) Topic: Church History; Protestantism Summary: History of the development of doctrine during the Protestant Reformation Rating:
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1 comment July 1st, 2008 05:41pm Albert McIlhenny
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Covenantal Worship: Reconsidering the Puritan Regulative Principle - R. J. Gore, Jr. P & R Publishing (April 2003) Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments; Protestantism Summary: Critique of the Puritan regulatory principle of worship Rating:
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Add comment June 26th, 2008 02:13am Albert McIlhenny
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The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible REALLY Says About the End Times . . . and Why It Matters Today - Hank Hanegraaff Thomas Nelson (April 2007) Topic: Eschatology Summary: Critique of dispensationalism Rating: 
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Add comment June 21st, 2008 10:33pm Albert McIlhenny
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Narnia And Beyond: A Guide to the Fiction of C. S. Lewis - Thomas Howard Ignatius Press (February 2006) Topic: Literature; Christian Culture Summary: Analysis of the underlying themes in the fictional works of C. S. Lewis Rating:
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1 comment June 19th, 2008 03:49pm Albert McIlhenny
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The Gates of Hell - Mark Paradise Exposure Publishing (May 2007) Topic: Fiction Summary: Priest in a secretive order does battle with the powers of darkness Rating:
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1 comment June 8th, 2008 10:43pm Albert McIlhenny
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The Jesus Papyrus: The Most Sensational Evidence of the Origins of the Gospels Since the Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls - Carsten Peter Thiede & Matthew d’ Ancona Galilee Trade; Reprint edition (February 2000) Topic: Bibliology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis; Archeology, Architecture, Artifacts, & Papyrology Summary: Defense of the dating of a fragment of the Gospel of Matthew to the mid first century A.D. Rating: 
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Add comment June 7th, 2008 12:18pm Albert McIlhenny
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Father Elijah: An Apocalypse - Michael D. O’Brien Ignatius Press (September 1998) Topic: Fiction Summary: Novel of a monk called to the Vatican to face a man the pope suspects to be the Antichrist Rating:
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Add comment June 6th, 2008 02:52am Albert McIlhenny
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Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind - Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins Tyndale House Publishers; 1 edition (April 1996) Topic: Fiction Summary: Second book in the series about those “left behind” after the rapture Rating:
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Add comment June 6th, 2008 02:48am Albert McIlhenny
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The Night Is Far Spent: A Treasury of Thomas Howard - Thomas Howard Ignatius Press (February 2007) Topic: Christian culture Summary: Sampling of essays and lectures Rating:
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Add comment May 26th, 2008 02:38pm Albert McIlhenny
On this day when those of us in the United States celebrate Memorial Day, let us not forget that the reason for this day was not to have a barbecue, picnic, or beach holiday but to remember those of our countrymen who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we now enjoy. We should keep their example in mind as world events make clear just how delicate that freedom can be. RIP to our fallen heroes.
Add comment May 25th, 2008 02:17pm Albert McIlhenny
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Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days - Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins Tyndale House Publishers (January 29, 1996) Topic: Fiction Summary: End times novel based on a dispensationalist scenario Rating:
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Add comment May 24th, 2008 11:47am Albert McIlhenny
I recently noticed that a few comments over at the blog of Lutheran pastor Randy Asbury’s blog were elevated to separate posts. The first concerned the continuing controversy over the cancellation of the radio program Issues, Etc. In a note to the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), I had written:
I see that you have, after nine days, revised your original statement about the cancellation of Issues, Etc. I am sure by now you realize that this belated attempt at an explanation is not convincing anyone - and, in fact, has made people more suspicious of your true motives. I would consider myself among that numher. Originally, I considered it a case of bureaucratic incompetence that would be corrected in due time. Now I see something far more disturbing that has manifested itself in what can only be described as a deceptive manipulation of the facts.
I originally discovered Issues, Etc. on a Christian radio station through its Sunday night sydicated version back when Don Matzat was the host. I thought the program became even better under Rev. Wilken’s leadership and was perhaps the best Christian radio broadcast on the airwaves. I later discovered the radio archives and was able to listen to the program on a daily basis and share this resource with friends. As the quick reaction to the cancellation has demonstrated, I was not alone in this and yet you conveniently failed to mention this aspect of the ministry in your new response. Why?
Issues, Etc. provided was one of the most spiritually and intellectually edifying programs ever broadcast on Christian radio. Cancelling it only serves to confirm the suspicions that the LCMS has cast its lot with the “seeker sensitive” movement (which has been thoroughly critiqued on Issues, Etc.) just at the time when that movement is being exposed as the Emporer with his new clothes.
Furthermore, the handling of the entire fiasco underscores the hostility towards the program by those handling the cancellation. Giving no prior notice and no chance for the hosts to say farewell to their listeners and doing it during Holy Week marks the sign of the vengeance of the petty. Even worse, the bland and, frankly, cowardly statement by the LCMS president that he knew of the affair but neither approved nor disapproved sounds like something that would have come from the mouth of Pontius Pilate - not the head of a Christian church.
I would have more respect for the leadership of the LCMS and KFUO if they simply told the truth fromt the outset - namely, that they were no longer interested in the historical faith and practice of confessional Lutheranism and Issues, Etc. was a thorn in their side. At least then you would not have to keep sending out revised explanations on a weekly basis.
I reprinted this statement on a comment to this post and Rev. Asbury was kind enough to elevate it to another post.
It tuirns out my comments were pretty much spot on as the LCMS hierarchy has gone through continuous “clarifications” of why a popular and much acclaimed program has been cancelled to make way for what can only be referrred to as seeker sensitivie fluff. As the LCMS’ excuses became exposed as disingenuous and the real reason for the cancellation (Issues, Etc. was a major critic of the seeker-sensitive theology that is the darling of many in the denomination’s leadership) became apparent to all, I made a comparison between the current situation of the LCMS and that of the Episcopal Church in the 1970s. There are obvious differences (the ECUSA adopted a very radical leftist agenda and the LCMS is adopting a “conservative” but NOT traditional agenda), but the similarities in strategy are definitely there.
It is easy to forget that at the close of the 1960s the liberal social agenda of the mainline churches seemed quite on target with the cultural climate and was hailed as the way for the Church to remain relevant. Then the culture switched gears just as that agenda had solidified its position. The same applies to the LCMS’ seeker-sensitive strategy. It has been said by someone wiser than me that those who are wedded to their age are a widow in the next. That is what happened with the mainline churches and will happen to the megachurches when the consumerist climatee we now live in ends - and it WILL end! All it will take is one severe economic downturn and both the seeker-sensitive and the “name it and claim it” folks will be exposed as espousing a false gospel.
In line with that thinking, I wrote in a comment to this post that Pastor Asbury reprinted as a separate post. I reprint it here in a less typo-filled form:
I think it is time for my faithful brethren in the LCMS to realize their church is in the process of selling itself out to the world. Yes, they may not follow the quasi-Marxist agenda of the ELCA, but then they are selling themselves out at a different time. Marx is so 1970s and all that - this is the age of unbridled consumerism and debt. The new motto of the LCMS should be “let’s sin so the grace may abound”. Unlike the radicals of a generation ago, they don’t deny that Jesus is God and capable of saving us, they just don’t think they are much in need of saving in the classical sense of blood atonement and hanging on crosses and that gory stuff. Their Jesus is a crossless risen Christ (who apparently rose from a bad self-image) who seeks to empower the faithful to wear “WWJD” bracelets, have their daughters make chastity vows to their fathers (and how creepy is that?), and sing “praise songs” where Jesus sounds like the object of a schoolgirl’s crush. They are “second half of the Psalm” Christians who like all the praising but skip the part where God saves his people from despair and gives them a reason to praise Him in the first place. The result is that. without the reason why God is worthy to be praised, the Gospel is made to be all law.
Think about it - the flaws in your innermost being that become obvious when you try to lead your new “victorious life in Christ” now have no recourse to the cross because you don’t have a clue why Christ ended up there! Instead of freeing you and filling your soul with joy, you are reduced to despair.
I’m not a Lutheran but I am part of a similar enough tradition (traditional Anglican - another vanishing breed) to see what’s going on there. Any church with roots in the historic liturgy that has as it’s new catchphrase “This is not your grandfather’s church” is at most one generation away from apostasy. Trust me- I’ve been there, done that.
I am honored Pastor Asbury believed my comments were worthy of receiving more attention and I pray for my Lutheran brethren in the LCMS as they are facing challenges within their own denomination that may be far more seductive than the overt revisionism that reduced the mainline churches to runins in the last generation.
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