Happily Unoriginal

"As Charles Hodge, the great Princeton theologian...had once rejoiced that no new idea had come out of Princeton, so Ryle could and probably did say with equal thankfulness that in an age of giddy religious Athenianism no new idea had ever passed his lips or his pen" J.I. Packer

"This field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already appropriated. But new reapers will arise, and they, too, will seek a field. It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. And, when they do, they will as naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them. The question then, is, can that gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Most certainly it cannot. Many great and good men sufficiently qualified for any task they should undertake, may ever be found, whose ambition would inspire to nothing beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential chair; but such belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle. What! think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon?--Never! Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks region...

I hate the term Cessationist. To me it’s like marrying the girl of your dreams then choosing to describe yourself as 'de-engaged’. It places the emphasis solely upon the fact that something has ceased - overlooking the profound reason that that something has ceased. Namely because something new and beautiful has taken it’s place. For a newly-wed the tortuous engagement period has ceased. It has ceased because it has been replaced by a new and beautiful period - marriage. No longer is the relationship characterised by incompleteness, uncertainty and waiting but rather the opposite - fulness, security, certainty, wholeness and peace. So too with Cessationism. What has ceased is the period in which God’s revelation was incomplete. And it has ceased because God has spoken fully and finally through His Son (Hebrews 1:1). With that said - until I can come up with a better term I do describe myself as a cessationist. Now before give you a few reasons why first a couple of definitions ...

You aren’t as happy as you ought to be. Were Luther alive he’d tell you that. Strangely he was miserable most of his. He entered his thirties morose and gaunt. Trying to please an un-pleasable God, His existence was an extended episode of the night Cool Hand Luke spent digging, filling, and then digging again a ditch in a prison yard. Regardless of what he did the boss was never pleased. Luther confessed for hours. Fasted for days. Starved himself of sleep to pray. Nothing was enough. It was agonising. Then He died at 63 plump and happy. What happened? He was made fat by grace. The story though well-known begs rehearsing. It was around the year 1515. Luther’s confessor - Johann Von Staupitz - had been long worn out by Luther’s melancholy, sometimes having to endure day long confession sessions as Luther ransacked his memory for known sin - bringing back such minor infractions his confessor, expelling a frustrated sigh burst “if you expect Christ to forgive you, come in wi...

It is said that Paul Valéry, meeting Albert Einstein, asked: "Master, what do you do to keep track of all these ideas you keep generating?" Einstein replied, "But I've had only two ideas in my whole life" George F. Will