Porn-Again Christian

I took some time yesterday to read Driscoll's online book, Porn Again Christian. This is a small booklet speaking about an issue that most pastors get caught doing more than they preach against it.

Driscoll who took a small hiatus from crass and sharp words in his book "Death by Love" comes back hard against all the pansies with their hands down their pants while looking at women that aren't their wives. I mean Driscoll brings it hard and I personally believe that this kind of wording is exactly what these guys need that are hooked on porn.

Driscoll shows why porn is a sin, both outside of marriage and outside of marriage. he not only shows why it is wrong, but he also shows some of the affects of porn on society as a whole and some aftermaths because of it. Namely in the story of Ted Bundy, prostitution, sex slavery,etc.

Driscoll lays out first and foremost some straight up theology on the fear of the Lord. He starts here as this is where wisdom begins. He then works from here to why porn is wrong within the context of understanding that it is intertwined with lust which is condemned by Christ. After this he goes into masturbation, both the ways that it is sin and the way that it is NOT sin. The ways that he deals with in the context of correct usage of masturbation is within the context of marriage.

The next chapter deals with some very frank questions and answers that are harsh at times and just straight up funny. One of the questions comes from a husband that asks, "What do I do if my wife wants to have more sex than I do?" Driscoll answers, "Don’t tell your buddies or they will mock you incessantly for the rest of your life after staring at you blankly without blinking for about an hour in total silence. Do have sex with your wife as often as she likes and thank God."

He ends his main part of the book with those who believe they are the exception to lust and porn. He does this by putting forth an excerpt of James Dobson's interview with Ted Bundy before he was to be executed. I have seen the interview before, but the reminders were astounding to read once more. For one to think they are the exception to the rule with porn is a slippery slope to get to.

After the last chapter, Driscoll has an appendix with 5 different topics. He does this because of how many of his readers and listeners are overseas in the military. He really drives home the point of the prostitution and sex slavery that happens around the military bases. These different appendixes were very eye opening and disturbing as well. The hope is make sure that the military men stop with these acts of indecency, understanding that they are not only hurting themselves but actually supporting sex slavery around their camps.

This book does not hold back. I would reserve this for men who are at least 18 years old to read on. The only time I would think it would be okay for someone younger is if the parent is willing to read and discuss with their child as well. I greatly appreciate Driscoll for not caring what is the norm with preaching but instead, doing what he knows is right in the eyes of God. This subject affects about 50% of males, so to not talk about it is like ignoring half the flock of God. Highly Recommended (with caution).

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Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks with Oscar Wilde

This was a book that was given to me at Christmas. I wasn't too sure about it and it still is kind of strange to put words in the mouth of Christ. The book is set up on the death bed of famous playwright and bi-sexual, Oscar Wilde. It opens with him and his lover/friend Robert Ross speaking to each other when Wilde then goes to the cemetery and encounters the "gardener" who ends up being Christ. Through the book, Christ and Wilde speak about many things and Christ also brings in a hero of Wilde's, Blaise Pascal, to show him his faults and the victory in Christ.

You can pick up on some of Ravi Zacharias' apologetic defenses in the discourses and I find them to be very interesting to be read in conversation form.

The idea of the book is a good one, but I am still not sure how I feel in having Christ portrayed as visiting someone for a conversation of their life. Theologically, this book misses on some points and I am trying to figure out if I can forgive that misstep for the overall premise to the book as a whole. I actually enjoyed reading this mock conversations with our Saviour, the greatest mathematician to ever live, and the man who put living for yourself and your sensuality on the map. It seemed honest with something real about it. Dr. Zacharias used many quotes directly from the Scriptures and from Oscar Wilde himself to draw out the conversation so that it wasn't totally made up.

Dr. Zacharias is very poignant in his discussion on God's order and how God meant pleasures to be handled. Ravi was very clear on these points so that none could see Jesus being dismissive with the gross immorality that was Oscar Wilde's life. The way that Ravi handles this conversation though is with truth and grace, something we could all learn as we handle those outside of the faith and entranced with sin.

Although it was an interesting read and one that I wouldn't mind giving to someone else, I am not sure that it will be one that will be cherished or remembered. I like the layout, if I can get passed the mock words of Jesus, so I probably will pick up some of the other conversations with Jesus that Ravi has done. I can't say I would recommend this book, but I wouldn't keep someone from reading it either.

On the Incarnation

I was parusing the local "Christian" book store, I put that in quotes because when you have TD Jakes on the shelf one has to wonder where this store draws the line. I am guessing it is drawn on profit margin. Anyways, I found a small book on their "classics" bookshelf by Athanasius. I wanted to pick up this book so that I could read one of the greatest defenders of God incarnate in our history. I have read many quotes by Athanasius and also read some biographies on Athanasius, but I had never taken up the task to read any of his works. I am glad I decided to do so.

On the Incarnation is very well put together and I wish that more people would put together their argumentation for Christ in this way. Athanasius wrote this book sometime probably in his youth in the early 4th century to his friend, new to the faith, named Macarius.

To prove the incarnation of God the Word, Athanasius starts at Creation and the Fall, continues with the Divine dilemma and its solution in the incarnation, the death of Christ, the resurrection and then ends with refuting the Jews and Gentiles.

The letter to his friend is very easily set up and the use of logic as a defense and offense of argumentation is done very well. He not only does this, but also uses the Scriptures (a lot) and external proofs to lay out his argumentation for the incarnation of God through Christ.

I was expecting this read to be very laborious, but the translation is done very well and makes for an easy, yet edifying read. By the time the reader gets to the refutation of the Jews and Gentiles the arguments have been laid out so well that these arguments are not difficult to prove. Although some of these would not hold water now, as Athanasius does employ the fruits of conversion of people as proof. Using this same logic one could point to Mormomism and Islam in the same light. Even with this, the way that he shows these proofs is still very interesting to read and look to as great reminders of what Christ and the Holy Spirit were doing in the early years of Christianity.

What I like most about this book is that I was still able to glean much truth from it even though it was written 1700 years ago. I was able to take a glimpse into life in the 4th century and to see what was happening in early Christianity and watch a messenger of God put forth the great Gospel truths.

This book is still for readers and apologists today and shows why Athanasius was one of the most intelligent and used men of God. Highly Recommended.

Death By Love

I have read much of what Driscoll has written and also listened to many of his sermons, including the ones that are associated with this book. But, it seems as though Driscoll shows thoroughly his love for his people in this book entitled, Death By Love: Letters from the Cross. Many people have had issues with Driscoll's past books, either with his choice of terms, descriptions of theological dialogues, and even some ways that he has "counseled" people in the past. But, it will be very difficult for pastors and congregants to have much to quibble about in this book.

In Death by Love, Driscoll lays out the theological implications of the cross in letter form. What he has done is chosen different counseling situations that he has encountered in the past and then writes a "formal" letter to that person so that they can see what Christ has done for them to get through the situation that they find themselves in.

What one will find is that this is classic Driscoll. He is kind when he is needed to be kind and he is very straight forward when that is needed as well. This is why many have enjoyed Driscoll throughout the years is because he doesn't pussy foot around tough issues but hits them head on. There is no difference in this book. This book deals with real people, in real situations, with very real problems. Driscoll handles this very well without demeaning the person or the glory of Christ. I would tell each and every person, pastor or layman that deals in counseling to pick up this book to see how a true man of God counsels in the most difficult situations imaginable. To give you a glimpse of what I mean, here are the chapter headings:


I. Demons are Tormenting Me: Jesus is Katie's Christus Victor

II. Lust is My God: Jesus is Thomas' Redemption

III. My Wife Slept with My Friend: Jesus is Luke's New Covenant Sacrifice

IV. I am a "Good" Christian: Jesus is David's Gift Righteousness

V. I Molested a Child: Jesus is John's Justification

VI. My Dad Used to Beat Me: Jesus is Bill's Propitiation

VII. He Raped Me: Jesus is Mary's Expiation

VIII. My Daddy is a Pastor: Jesus is Gideon's Unlimited Limited Atonement

IX. I am Going to Hell: Jesus is Hank's Ransom

X. My Wife Has a Brain Tumor: Jesus is Caleb's Christus Exemplar

XI. I Hate My Brother: Jesus is Kurt's Reconciliation

XII. I Want to Know God: Jesus is Susan's Revelation

Driscoll handles each one of these with a Reformed perspective with much grace. One chapter above is especially personal when Driscoll handles "My Daddy is a Pastor." This chapter is written to his one and a half year old son, Gideon. This is a great chapter to read where Driscoll lets the reader into his personal life and what goes on behind closed doors.

After each chapter above Dr. Gerry Breshears handles the common questions to each. He does this succinctly so that the answers are not over burdensome, but get straight to the point with much detail and precision.

Again, I highly recommend this to anyone who is handling counseling situations or has dealt with, or dealing with, any of the situations mentioned in the above chapters. For further information about this book, you can check out the homepage here. Link to Buy

Apologetics to the Glory of God

This is the first book of John Frame's that I have read and I will have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very well done and covers a lot of ground in a mere 250 pages. Although you can tell that Frame and Schaeffer have a lot in common, the way that they write is thoroughly different. Schaeffer focuses in on showing the historical understanding of thought and then showing the holes and practice of those in the past, while Frame skips all that and goes more general in thought and shows the holes in the thoughts of the atheist, the agnostic and the practical atheist. The former is one who says there is a god but lives like there is none.

I haven't read much of Van Til, but what I have read, I figured that Frame would be a lot like him and give him much praise. While I didn't find the direct opposite in Frame, Frame was very honest when he found Van Til to be lacking and where he found him to be strong. Van Til was known to stay mainly on the defensive and poking holes in the atheist's arguments, but rarely, if ever, went offensive with the atheist. Frame showed both, like Schaeffer did.

Frame's book is technical in parts but also very readable and very enjoyable. He opens up with showing the basics of apologetics and then he goes into showing what the apologist must show while writing or speaking to others. He, like Schaeffer and many others, points to the metaphysical (the study of being), epistimology (the study of knowledge) and ethics.

After giving this lengthy defense, he then shows the gospel as proof and then gives a lengthy answer to the problem of evil. Through this answer he shows that the previous answers to evil, although sometimes helpful, don't really give the final or most thorough answers in of themselves. What he does show is that they almost all have some of the answer, but not the complete answer to the problem of evil. I do like his honest answer in the end to evil though. He simply says that we can give some explanation to evil, but we really don't know the entirety of the answer of why there is evil.

After this section, the final section is devoted to showing why the gospel is true and he does so in a way that I have yet to see. He biblically walks one through the entirety of the Bible to show the problem of man and sin and the redemption of man through Christ. Through this he also dismantles other religions in a few sentences as though they were a mere sidebar to the discussion.

The final chapter is a mock conversation to guide the reader. Admittedly, Frame says this conversation is a bit simplistic and "perfect" in responses from both the defender of the gospel and the opposer. What I found to be helpful in this discussion is that it really served as a conclusion and recap to the entirety of the book.

I truly enjoyed this book and will be one that I continually go to, to aid in my discussions with others that oppose the faith. I will be now picking up some more Frame books to add to my collection and will put him in the top scholars of our era in regards to presuppositional apologetics. I highy recommend this book to any who are looking to answer the tough questions posed by the atheist or seekers of our Saviour. Link to Buy

Escape from Reason

Francis Schaeffer admits that this small book overlaps much of his book titled The God Who is There. What Schaeffer does in this small treatise is give a glimpse on the impact that Thomas Aquinas had on the thinking about nature and grace. Meaning that before Aquinas much of what was thought about God and the heavenlies were never pictured in any way besides mere symbols. For instance, before Aquinas, Mary and Jesus were never portrayed as real bodies with a physical element, but were only allowed to be pictured using symbols. As well as this, nature held no interest to the artist and were never pictured at all in art in any way. This came from the fact that before Aquinas, to simply climb a mountain for the sake of climbing a mountain had never been done.

Out of this nature started to have more meaning for people, which if taken from a biblical perspective can be good in so far we speak of stewardship, but what we find is that from this time on, nature took on more of a role than Aquinas would have thought.

In the Escape from Reason Schaeffer shows how from the start of Aquinas and the Renaissance nature started to depart from the Scriptural understanding of its place among men. So, art, poetry, theatre, etc. took from this and lead us down the road of being completely autonomous from God, where nature ended up "eating up grace" so that it was completely free from the God who created it and us.

Schaeffer goes to show the history of this thought and then gives the better understanding through the Reformation and the Scriptures. Namely, that the only way that man can be the most free is within the "constraints" of the knowledge given by the personal, communicable triune God of the Christian bible.

Even though much of this was overlapped from The God Who is There, this book was still very worth the read and gives greater understanding of how, from Aquinas on, nature and autonomy took a dangerous turn from the freedom found in God, and turned instead to an autonomy apart from Him. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

The God Who Is There

This is the first book of Schaeffer's that I have read, and I must say, I am pretty excited to continue to learn from this godly evangelist. In The God Who Is There, Schaeffer weaves in and out of so many philosophical systems and history that it is quite impossible to list it all in a book review. Schaeffer is definitely a classic presuppositional apologist. Meaning that he tries to get the listener or reader to get to the very reason they believe in the certain system that they believe in. He then points out their holes in their arguments and shows how Christianity is the better and most reasonable option there is in philosophical thought. Most of this argument comes from Romans 1:18 where it states,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

If they suppress the truth, that means that the truth is definitely inside them, as they are made in the image of God, their Creator.

In The God Who Is There, Schaeffer shows how the modern man has woven himself through philosophy, art, music, theatre, movies, etc. After showing how this has been done throughout history, Schaeffer shows that the "leap of faith" does not happen in Christianity, but actually in humanism, or modern atheism. Schaeffer explains it this way:

Of course, faith is needed to become a Christian, but there are two concepts concerning faith. The two ideas of faith run like this: One idea of faith would be a blind leap in the dark. A blind leap in which you believe something with no reason (or no adequate reason), you just believe it. This is what I mean by a blind leap of faith. The other idea of faith, which has no relationship with this, none whatsoever, is that you are asked to believe something and bow before that something on the basis of good and adequate reasons. There is no relationship between those two concepts of faith. The biblical concept of faith is very much the second and not the first. You are not asked to believe in a blind leap of faith. The Bible teaches that there are good and sufficient reasons to know that these things are true. If you examine the ministry of Paul and also of Christ, you find they endlessly answered questions. There was no concept here of "Keep quiet, just believe"; it just does not exist. Paul answered the questions of the non-Jews, he was always answering questions; and the book of Romans certainly answered the questions of those without the Bible as well as of those with it. There are good and sufficient reasons to know that these things are true. We have already with the fact of reality and everybody having to deal with reality; (1) the existence of the universe and its form; (2) the dinstinctiveness of man; (3) you can relate these to a third thing, and that is the examination of the historicity of Scripture Francis Schaeffer

This is what the book aims to answer. Not only does Schaeffer answer these through the understanding of the triune God of historic Christianity, but he shows how humanism, or atheism, cannot fully answer these questions, therefore, they are the ones taking the "blind leap of faith", not Christianity. There is so much in this book that I did not mention, but Schaeffer had a strong conviction that the Christian cannot live in a castle with a moat, but must be among the culture to help answer the question of those that desire to know the answer to the question, "Why are we here?" He resonates much of what I desire to do within the ministries that God has given me and the convictions of my heart.

I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend anyone desiring to take up the challenge to read Schaeffer as well. I do not think that this is the only answer to the understanding of the existence of God, but believe it helps move us all in the right direction. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens

Although I do not have any teenagers in my house, I thought it would be better to read this book too early, instead of too late. I believe I was right. This book reminds me a lot of Tedd Tripp’s book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, but with an emphasis on teens and how to relate to the teenage populace.

I truly enjoyed the honesty and also the way in which Dr. Tripp directs us as parents at the heart instead of our children instead of fixing mere actions. Usually, we as parents believe all is well if our children would just obey us, whether they are obeying us for the right reasons or not is a totally different question. Paul’s book sets up so the parent gets to the teen’s heart so that they obey based on their love of the glory of God rather than merely trying to follow rules that are set up. What this will do is drive critical thinking in the teen so that they can make decisions for themselves in different situations and will not need to know, “did my mom and dad say specifically I couldn’t do this or that?” Instead they will strive to seek the Lord’s will and ask, “In what way does this decision either glorify God or take away from it?”

The book is set up in three parts:

Part I: Clearing the Debris

In this first part Dr. Tripp is really trying to lay the foundation of the family and how God desires it to be set up. He speaks to those involved (parent and teen) and also speaks to the parent understanding the teen so that the next parts of the book can fall into place. I sincerely appreciate the chapter on “Whose Idols Are in the Way?” Dr. Tripp drives home the importance for us as parents to seek out our idols and destroy them so that our discipline and time with our children becomes godly, instead of reactionary.

Part II: Setting Godly Goals

This is really the practical part of the book. After laying out the foundation Dr. Tripp shows what should be important for every godly parent. He helps show forth how to disciple your children to have godly convictions towards culture and wisdom in how to respond. The idea behind this chapter is so that when that day comes where the teen leaves home, you can be confident that your work in them has been accomplished and they are ready to decipher the world through godly vision.

Part III: Practical Strategies for Parenting Teens

This last part is only 40 pages of the 253 page book. It seems to be more of a wrap up instead of completely new ideas. It seems to be more of a conclusion than a separate part. Part II and Part III really bleed together to make the last half of the book the practical wisdom given from Dr. Tripp to the readers.

One of my favorite discussions in the whole of the book was found in chapter 11. Dr. Tripp sets up four verbs for parents who desire to model Christ to their teen. I believe a quick synopsis of this will give you an overall feel for how the book is laid out.

They are:

Accept: We are to accept our sinful children with the grace of Christ. We are not to enable their sin, but we are also not to be judgmental parents who are condemning to the teen. When condemnation and judgmental attitudes prevail the teen will shut themselves off and never feel as though they can openly communicate to the parent.

Incarnate: As Christ was incarnate God to the world and to us, so too we are to incarnate Christ to our children. We are to reveal love, grace, patience, gentleness, kindness, etc. and continue to show them the gospel in deeds instead of merely words.

Identify: (my favorite part of the entire book) Hebrews 2:10 says that Christ was not ashamed to call us brothers and we should not be ashamed to call our teens, brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be able to identify with them in their sin. We should not be ones who would ever say, “I can’t believe you would do that, I would never have done that.” If this statement is actually true, the parent is not a sinner saved by grace, but a Pharisee who sees themselves as greater than others by their works. To identify with the teen will show them that you too struggle with sin, and you can show them who you go to for comfort and forgiveness in that sin: Christ Jesus our Saviour. Without the reminder that we too are sinners, the teen will believe that you cannot relate and will run away from you during their struggles instead of running to you.

Enter: As Christ entered our world and culture for 33 years, so we too should enter the world that our teenager lives in. This means seeking them out, even if it is uncomfortable. Asking them questions and listening to what drives them, what discourages them, what excites them, what they struggle with and the temptations that they face every day. When we seek them out to find out where they are coming from, we show them that we truly have an interest in who they are and what they face instead of trying to just pigeon hole them into whoever we think that they should be and what they should be facing. It shows that we truly have interest and value them.

I truly enjoyed this book and believe it is of great help to any who have teens now or who will be having teens soon. Dr. Tripp continues to humble the parent and drive them to the greatest desire: to parent for the glory of Christ, not for the glory of the parent. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

On the Old Testament

This is the first book in the series of small books from Mark Driscoll titled, "A book you'll actually read..." This book is for the purpose of a beginner trying to understand the Old Testament and to do it in roughly an hour of reading. This is obviously just a starter book to get a quick understanding of some important topics that discuss the background of the Old Testament.

The book is broken up in three parts and actually covers a lot of material, not exhaustively, but still provides a Reformed understanding of the Old Testament. The three parts are:

I. Answers to Nine Common Questions about the Old Testament

Who wrote the Old Testament?

What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?

How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?

What is the central message of the Old Testament?

How did we get the Old Testament in English?

Why are there different Bible translations?

II. How to Read the Old Testament

In this section Pastor Driscoll gives a quick, like two or three sentence quick, synopsis of every book in the Old Testament. He spends a little more time on discussing the Pentateuch overall and the overall understanding of Prophets and what they were used for. My only "gripe" would be that he leaned more on the "Inward testimony of the Holy Spirit" to discern false prophets. I think this can be very dangerous if this is the way that we test them. He did give other ways, but by ending as this being the way we can do this today, left me scratching my head how this would transfer to a new Christian.

III. Appendix 1: Building a Theological Library

This is a great resource. Driscoll gives a clear and distinct way to build a library for the student of Scripture. He gives the book, the title, and usually why it is an outstanding resource. This is actually worth getting the book alone.

Buy the book, read it, and then give it to a new Christian or someone looking into reading the Bible. Well worth it and they will, as the title suggests, actually read it. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law

This book was very well done. Whether or not you agree with Dr. Schreiner or not, you will definitely get an exegetical explanation of the understanding of Pauline Theology and Law. Mostly, this book was a polemic against Sanders and others that try and show that Pauline theology when looking to law is not only controversial, but contradictory to his own writings and others.

Although this book was written in 1993 and deals primarily with older works by Sanders and no new works by N.T. Wright, Schreiner gives great explanation of why Pauline writings were indeed writing and preaching against a legalistic Judaism. Sanders, and now N.T. Wright, both try and point to the fact that Second Temple Judaism was not legalistic, but saw its works as an outworking of loving the grace of God. Schreiner shows exegetically why this cannot be true through looking at key texts within the writings of Paul. Schreiner, like most, do agree that it was God's plan for this to take place, but the Jews, by the showing of Paul's writing were not following the plans of God in the outworking of the grace shown to them. Because of this you will see explained what works and grace meant to Paul and what justification, grace and works of the law meant to Paul and the bottom line that is answered masterfully is: Why does the Law exist?

Schreiner meticulously goes through much in this book to try and show the real purpose of the writings of Paul and his view of Law. Even though there have been many writings after Schreiner's to this point, Schreiner's work will stand pretty firm because it went from more an exegitical argument instead of a mere argument from the writings of others.

Anytime you get into the writings of Paul or the commentaries in respect to them, you will find it to be a very difficult read. I believe though that Schreiner's work was done in a way for the reader to understand easier than other works that I have encountered. This work is a great read for anyone desiring a better understanding of some of the arguments against the New Perspective of Paul and why the historic reading of the law and Paul still stand. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

Chapter Titles:

1. The Meaning of the Term Law in Paul
2. Why the Works of the Law Cannot Save
3. The Purpose of the Law
4. Is Paul Opposing Jewish Legalism?
5. The Temporary Nature of the Mosaic Covenant
6. The Fulfillment of the Law by Christians
7. Did Paul Teach Justification by Works?
8. Soundings from the Rest of the New Testament