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Get Smart

³² He [King Solomon] composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. ³³ He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish - 1 Kings 4

I always thought Solomon was just wise in the things of God and in being King; ruling the people and making decisions.  Evidently he was one of those crazy-smart people.  Ones who know about plants, animals, and fish.

I wonder if he drove people crazy, like a walking encyclopedia.  It is interesting that when God gave him wisdom, he gave him wisdom of all things.   

Why would God give him wisdom about stuff that doesn't seem to matter?  

Maybe the more we know, the more we see God.  When we know the beauty and development of giant trees and tiny plants, we can't help but be in awe and fear.  Fear  is the beginning of wisdom.  So we get more wisdom. The more wisdom we obtain, the more we find ourselves in awe and fear and because fear is the beginning of wisdom, we get more wisdom and . . . the cycle just repeats itself.

The gaining of knowledge puts us in this beautiful circle of wisdom and fear.

Go get smart; and fear.

Scot Longyear, Resonate

Tim Keller: The Reason for God

Great book from Tim Keller, The Reason For God, arguing that belief in God is not irrational and that the claims of Christianity are not baseless.  Excellent book for the seeker/skeptic.  From the publisher:

The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?

Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.

Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? Shouldn’t the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be “right” and the rest “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

Belief in an Age of Skepticism: Tim Keller at the University of California, Berkeley

"Belief in an Age of Skepticism?"
March 4, 2008, at The University of California, Berkeley

Noted pastor and author Dr. Tim Keller discusses the place of exclusive truth in a pluralistic society in Wheeler Auditorium, followed by a Q&A session.

Hosted by Reformed University Fellowship, Dr. Keller's talk is part of The Veritas Forum at Cal, following Francis Collins' lecture in February on Christianity and science.

There Are No New Heresies -- New Thought Isn't New

From Dr. Al Mohler, on the best selling book "The Secret":

False teachings emerge anew in every generation it seems, but inventing a new heresy is quite a challenge. After all, once every doctrine vital to Christianity has been denied, all that remains is a change in packaging.

That is what we see in the case of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, the nation's best-selling book. Millions of Americans are buying, reading, or talking about a book that repackages ancient paganism in the guise of positive thinking and mental energy. There is nothing here that is genuinely new (Byrne openly admits finding the "Law of Attraction" in a nineteenth century book). But, as the sales of The Secret now prove, a heresy does not have to be new to be attractive...

...There are no new heresies, only heresies dressed up and repackaged for a new generation. New Thought is back -- but The Secret really isn't new.

Read more about this book and Dr. Mohler's observations.

The White Horse Inn Podcast

Podcast: The White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger and Ken Jones. On the air since 1990, the show features a regular roundtable discussion of Christian theology and apologetics.

To view episode list, continue reading

Emergent and Postmodern? : Free Downloads

Desiring God has posted the audio and transcripts of this past weekend's conference on ministering in a post-modern culture.  This is must-hear material for anyone involved in ministry to post-moderns or striving to understand the emergent church.   Sessions include:

The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World
John Piper

The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World
Tim Keller

The Supremacy of Christ and Love in a Postmodern
D. A. Carson

The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World
Voddie Baucham

The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World
Mark Driscoll

A Conversation with the Pastors

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
David Wells

Ravi Zacharias Podcasts

Just Thinking and Let My People Think are two fine podcasts from Ravi Zacharias Ministries, an "international ministry that powerfully mixes biblical teaching and Christian apologetics. These programs seek to explore issues such as life's meaning, the credibility of the Christian message and the Bible, the weakness of modern intellectual movements, and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ." 

Born and raised in India, Ravi is one of the most gifted, well-educated defenders of the gospel you'll find anywhere. Podcasts are often from college campuses and feature Q&A sessions from skeptical audiences.  Good source for those interested in understanding world views, philosophy, and theology, especially those looking in the academic world.

Let My People Think

Just Thinking Let My People Think

Continue reading to view current program episodes.

Stand to Reason Podcast

Hosted by Greg Koukl, Stand To Reason produces two podcasts--one a weekly 2 hour program, the other a 2-3 minute daily brief.  This podcast helps Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity. Good discussion and analysis on theological and philosophical issues of the day, such as evolution, the emerging church, abortion, the environment, the DaVinci Code, and the character of God.  The weekly program often includes interviews with people such as Kerby Anderson, J.P. Moreland, Paul Maier, and others. 

Weekly Podcast  Daily Podcast

Please continue reading to view list of current episodes.

Desiring God Ministries launches massive website expansion, granting free access to articles, videos, and MP3s

Desiring God Ministries has launched it's long-awaited expanded website.  Included are a massive amount of free MP3s by John Piper.  Below are just a few of the features of this new site as described by Desiring God Ministries.  This content-laden site that is without a doubt one of the mother lodes of Christian content on the web, and it is being made free of charge.

First, you will find our new website even easier to use. We want you thinking hard about what we have to say in our sermons and messages—not about how to use our site. You will find improved organization and navigation that allows you to:

We are pleased to announce the new desiringGod.org, which we have redesigned from the ground up. We invite you to enjoy our new site and offer you this quick summary of what is new to help get you started.

• Always know where you are on the site, and quickly get from one spot to another
• Discover related content more easily
• Browse our resources and products in multiple ways, such as our sermons by date, Scripture text, series, topic, occasion, or title
• See what resources we recommend as most fully articulating our essential ideas, many featured with short audio excerpts to help give you the big picture.
• Explore an improved topic index 
• View your search results in tabs for each site section
• Find helpful additional information on our more detailed product pages 
• Purchase, donate, and register for conferences more easily
• Set up an account and manage your account information more easily
• Learn about our ministry more easily in About Us 

Second, you will find an even more complete library of John Piper’s resources. We have added much additional content and several new types of content in our Resource Library. You can:

• Listen to 25 years of John Piper’s sermon audio
• Watch videos of the sermon each week (and over the next several months we will post our entire 4-year video archive)
• Move quickly among the audio, video, and manuscript of a message in a single interface 
• Listen to and watch the messages in a new media player
• Begin to find more than 200 previously unposted articles and “lost” sermons, as we post them over the next several months
• Listen to audio questions and answers 
• Listen to and watch audio and video message excerpts 
• Subscribe to our weekly sermon podcast (coming soon) and daily radio podcast