ALERT! Craig v. Hitchens

For quite some time, I’ve been looking for a star-powered debate on the “new atheism.” Now there have been some good ones. Dawkins v. Lennox was intriguing, but the format of the debate hindered the dialogue between the two men. Dawkins v. McGrath was another good debate, but it didn’t meet my (or many of my friends’) expectations as well. Apart from Hitchens v. D’Souza, the best material so far has been lectures or papers presented by Craig, McGrath, etc. 

Now on the horizon, an event that I will be greatly anticipating, is a debate we can be sure will not disappoint. On April 4, 2009. William Lane Craig, Research Professor of Philosophy at Biola University, will debate Christopher Hitchens, outspoken proponent of atheism, especially as it is presented by himself, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennet.

Go ahead and put the debate on your calendar and be sure to look for updates.

[HT: Apologetics 315]

Let Me Explain

So the reason there has been absolutely no posting since Christmas is that I went home to visit family in Alabama and time and lack of resources prevented me from posting until I returned. However, once I returned I had some serious internet troubles (which still are not resolved), but I hope to be back to posting regularly by the time I move in late January. Until then, things might be a little random.

O Rex Gentium – O Ruler of the Nations

O Ruler of the Nations,

Monarch for whom the people long,

You are the Cornerstone uniting all humanity.

Come save us all,

whom you formed out of clay.

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations,and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore

Incarnation & Christmas Shadows – Advent Day 23

Text: Isaiah 31:1-9; Revelation 21:22-22:5; Luke 1:39-56

We’ve all felt the anticipation that leads us up to Christmas day. We’ve all grown in our eagerness to unwrap certain presents that have found their way under the tree. I know, at least for myself, that it doesn’t matter if I know what’s wrapped or not. Perhaps there is something you’ve asked for but aren’t sure you’ll get. Perhaps you know you’ve gotten a certain item, but you aren’t sure of the specifics. In any case, as far as I’m concerned, I’m still anxious to rip the wrapping off of the present. In a very small way, this is what we see Mary experience when she receives the news of the coming incarnation. We see her anticipate the event. We see her long for its fulfillment. We see her want to experience what has long been promised to an entire nation of God’s people. It comes in the form of a prayer of exaltation – the Magnificat.

Throughout Mary’s prayer (1:46-55), there are a number of Old Testament quotations, allusions and echoes. Two of the most notable of these references are Genesis 17:9 and Exodus 6:5. The Genesis text refers to the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham to be the God of his descendants forever. The Exodus text promises relief from the burden of the Egyptians (and thus all of Israel’s enemies). The other references from the Psalms and Prophets look to this promised day when God will fulfill his promises to Abraham. He will redeem his people from their oppression through the sending of his Son. And Mary recognizes the child she is bearing as the fulfillment of that promise. Christ comes and takes away all of the shadows the Old Testament had brought. All the sacrifices and rituals pointed to something greater. The gift of Christmas is Jesus coming to remove the shadows that we had and show us what had been promised all along.

The gift of Christmas for everyone is the same as the gift of Christmas to Mary. It is the gift of salvation, salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of the long awaited promise has come for each of us, and it’s better than anything we’ve ever dreamed. That’s the truth of the gospel, that the love that God displays is greater than anything we could’ve hoped for. It goes beyond our imagination. All that the Old Testament prophets had looked forward to has come down to us. Now we look back to it and anticipate another, greater coming. In both cases, we long for the coming of Christ.

What does this mean for us today? Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones shares the answer the Scripture gives:

What God did when he sent his Son into the world is an absolute guarantee that he will do everything he has ever promised to do. ‘But how is this true for me?’ asks someone. The answer is the incarnation. God has given the final proof that all his promises are sure, that he is faithful to everything he has ever said. So that promise is sure for you. Whatever your state or condition may be, whatever may happen to you, he has said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’ – and he will not. He has said so and we have absolute proof that he fulfills his promises. He does not always do it immediately in the way that we think. No, no! But he does it! And he will never fail to do it.

I imagine that when Luke tells us that Mary “treasured up these things in her heart” (Luke 2:9), he means us to see that when Mary sees Jesus teaching in the temple, when she sees how he is growing, she remembers what she prayed (1:46-55). She remembers that God has promised salvation and that he is bringing it to pass. She remembers that God is faithful and that He is gracious. She treasures up in her heart that the gift of salvation has finally come.

 

Amen. And Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

Incarnation & the Grandest Miracle – Advent Day 22

Text: Isaiah 29:9-24; Rev 21:8-21; Luke 1:26-38

What we have tried to do over the last few weeks is look at the birth of Jesus and understand one point from many different angles: the incarnation changes everything. Because of Jesus’ coming into the world, we have hope for both the present and the future. This is what we’ve concerned ourselves with in this advent season. As we draw closer to the day when we remember Christ’s birth, we want to continue to examine this same point. We’ve already seen that J.I. Packer considers the true miracle of the gospel to be founded in the birth of Christ, not the resurrection. For if we truly believe that God became man, it is nothing to believe that he would rise from the dead.  Now we will see why C.S. Lewis, influenced by Martin Luther, referred to the incarnation as “the grand miracle.”

The miracle is expressed by a single question, as suggested by Mary, “Why should the Lord look on favor with me?” Twice the angel Gabriel refers to her as one who has favor with God (1:28, 30). Her favor with God results in being chosen to be the bearer of the Messiah. Mary, a poor Israelite woman, has been chosen to bear the King of Israel who will deliver Israel from all its oppression (v. 31-33). Sure, Mary questions how she will conceive, seeing that is a virgin, but she does not question in such a way to mock God. Rather, she inquires how her Lord will accomplish his will. When he answers, she submits and obeys.  The real miracle for Mary is that she is chosen for this task as opposed to another Israelite maiden.

Martin Luther makes this point well:

The virgin birth is a mere trifle for God; that God should become man is a greater miracle; but most amazing of all is that this maiden should credit the announcement that she, rather than some other virgin, had been chosen to be the mother of God… Had she not believed, she could not have conceived. She held fast to the word of the angel because she had become a new creature. Even so must we be transformed and renewed in heart from day to day. Otherwise Christ is born in vain.

In the birth of the Christ child, God comes to be with us. God comes to dwell with us. Again, Martin Luther comments, “This is for us the hardest point, not so much to believe that he is the son of the virgin and God himself, as to believe that this Son of God is ours.” This is the grand miracle. God has not come down simply to be God among us. God has come down to be God with us, God among us, and God for us. This God is our God. We are His and He is ours. Our effort then must be to be conformed into the image of Christ, so that we resemble the One who has come to save us. As Luther said, “Then will the heart be suffused with all joy and will be strong and confident against every assault.”

O Oriens – O Radiant Dawn

O Radiant Dawn,

splendor of eternal light,

Sun of justice:

Come shine on those who live in darkness

and in the shadow of death.

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness

—on them light has shined

Sunday Quote of the Week

St. Augustine of Hippo on the Incarnation:

But in order to succour us, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” What is “the Word was made flesh”? The gold became grass. It became grass for to be burned ; the grass was burned, but the gold remained; in the grass it perisheth not, yea, it changed the grass. how did it change it? It raised it up, quickened it, lifted it up to heaven, and placed it at the right hand of the Father.

O Clavis David – O Key of David

O Key of David

Scepter over the house of Israel,

you open and no one can close,

you close and no one can open:

Come to set free the prsioners

who live in darkness and the shadow of death

Isaiah 22:22:

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David;

he shall open, and no one shall shut;

he shall shut, and no one shall open

Incarnation & the Fear of Death – Advent Day 21

Text: Isaiah 28:9-22; Revelation 20:11-16; Luke 1:5-25 

 

In America, one of people’s greatest fears is death. In years past surveys have shown that the only thing Americans fear more than death is public speaking (causing the joke that if you’re at a funeral, you’d rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy!). The reason for this fear could be a number of things. It could be that the unknown is what frightens us. Maybe it is that we fear the end. Perhaps it’s best not to speculate on why we fear death; we should just note that our fear of death causes us to make odd and rash decisions many times in our lives.

This is what the prophet Isaiah charges the people of Israel with. The people had forsaken their faith in the Lord, because of their fear of death. They had “made a deal” with death and the grave (“Sheol”) so that they would not be destroyed “when the overwhelming whip passes through.” The people did not want to have to face the judgment that comes with death, so they made deal with death to escape it. This deal comes back to haunt them. God sends “a cornerstone” that will wipe away the people regardless of any deal they think they’ve made. Their deals with death will be annulled when the Righteous One comes.

Death and the grave no longer have room to make deals, because they have been defeated. The Righteous One, Jesus Christ, has already come down from heaven. He suffered and was killed, but he rose again to defeat the powers of death and to overcome the snare of the grave. They no longer have power over him, and consequently, anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ will also overcome death and the grave when He returns. Christ’s resurrection promises us a future day when we will rise from the dead and live with death under our feet – or better, under the feet of Christ.

The truth of the matter is this: the roles have been reversed, and everything has changed. We no longer have death to fear, but death has Christ to fear. Revelation even goes so far as to say that Death and hell will be thrown into the Lake of fire when Christ comes again to judge the world.  Not even those things that have offered “a way out” as a temptation to God’s people will escape the judgment of God. Death has nothing that can bring fear to those who put their trust in Christ, but death has everything to fear in light of the triumph of Christ.

The only hope any of us have at escaping death and judgment is not through making a deal with them. It is only through faith in Christ that we can hope to find life where death would be expected. It is only in light of the triumph of Jesus over the grave that we can trust that God will rescue us from the snare of death and hell. It is only because of Jesus that we can hope and have no reason to fear. We should long for his coming so that all of ours fears may vanish and all of our hopes be realized.

William Lane Craig on The God Delusion

From AP315:

In this audio clip, William Lane Craig speaks to the faculty of the University of Florida and responds to the central arguments of Richard Dawkins’ God Delusion.

Original audio from William Lane Craig’sReasonable Faith website.

Full MP3 Audio here.

[HT: Apologetics 315]