Veritas et Lux

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self – Carl R. Trueman

Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), 425.

The sexual revolution of the 60’s fundamentally changed the cultural landscape in North America. Yet, percolating beneath the surface was an even more diabolical worldview; a worldview that many are unfamiliar with. Even those who have engaged with the history of Western civilization may be jolted when the implications become clear.

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman pulls back the veil and alerts us to the underlying ideologies that have catapulted our current views about self and sexuality in the Western world. Trueman shows readers in a precise and shocking way how men have forgotten God and presents reasons for their tragic decision.

The driving argument of Trueman’s work is this:

The issues we face today in terms of sexual politics are a symptom or manifestation of the deeper revolution in selfhood that the the rise and triumph of expressive individualism represents.

The emphasis we find in Trueman bears some similarity to John Piper’s recent contention that “the essence of sin is minimizing God and making much of self.”¹

Several negative reviews have been submitted that are not sympathetic to Trueman’s work. What these reviews fail to understand is that The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is neither a lament nor a polemic. It is in the words of Trueman, “an attempt to explain how the revolution of the self came to take the form it has in the West and why that is so culturally significant.” The goal of the author is achieved and is undergirded by meticulous research from multiple angles – theological, sociological, psychological, and beyond.

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self should be celebrated for its candor and penetrating analysis of the human condition. It sufficiently lays the groundwork for more study and deeper discussions in the coming days.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

John Piper, Providence (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2021), 127. ↩

Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning

grudem Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2018), 1212 pp.

Wayne Grudem has become a household name in evangelical circles over the years. His landmark book, Systematic Theology, is used in Bible Colleges and Seminaries around the world. I have personally taught through his excellent book at least six times. As a result, hundreds of men and women have been equipped and edified in the Christian faith.

Dr. Grudem’s newest offering, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning is a wonderful companion to Systematic Theology. The book weighs in at over 1,200 pages and will likely turn some readers away. But walking away from Grudem’s book would be like gazing at a massive treasure chest and refusing to open it for lack of time or desire. Both responses would be tantamount to foolishness.

The introduction alone is worth the price of the book as the author establishes the foundation for Christian ethics by grounding his discussion in the holy character of God and sacred Scripture. Indeed, the essence of Christian ethics is living Coram Deo, and to the glory of God.

The remainder of the book is organized around the Ten Commandments. The basic outline is as follows:

Protecting God’s Honor
Protecting Human Authority
Protecting Human Life
Protecting Life
Protecting Property
Protecting Purity of Heart

Grudem does not leave any stone unturned here. Every ethical topic imaginable is explored. Each topic, of course, is subjected to uncompromising biblical standards.

Christian Ethics is a breath of fresh air that will embolden followers of Jesus Christ and challenge them to live with God-centered resolve in a postmodern ethos that has forgotten God. It is not only a response to the zeitgeist that surrounds us; it is a rally-cry for faithful Christians to live in a way that pleases the triune God!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

Rejoice in God!

Open the morning newspaper. Watch the evening news. Pay careful attention to the culture that surrounds us. You will be prompted to protest. You will be cajoled to complain. You will feel the steady pull of pundits who invite you to join their campaign. Emotions will range from fear to frustration. Anger dominates much of the time. When anger doesn’t reign, anxiety is sure to take its place.

Followers of Jesus Christ have a higher calling. We must be discerning and live distinctly Christian lives (1 Pet. 1:14-17). A little phrase is tucked away in Romans 5:11 that helps refocus our attention on what really matters:

“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

“We also rejoice in God.” This is exactly the opposite of what our culture demands. Rejoicing in God, then, is countercultural. It is also commanded!

Paul’s argument in this unit of thought in Romans chapter 5 ends on a high note. The guilty have been pardoned (v. 9). The condemned have been saved (v. 9). Enemies have been reconciled (v. 10). The posture of rebellion has turned to a posture of joy!

Do you want to impact lives? Do you want your life to be a reflection of God? Do you want to glorify the great God of the universe? Refuse to bow down to the idols of the age. Refuse to get caught up in the pettiness that characterizes our day. Choose today to rejoice in God!

The Trial of the 16th Century: Calvin & Servetus – Jonathan Moorhead

Jonathan Moorhead, The Trial of the 16th Century: Calvin & Servetus (Geanies House, Fern, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2021), 99 pp.

Church history has its heroes and villains. Tragically, some heroes are unfairly caricatured as villains. One such man is John Calvin. While he has been accused of being mean-spirited, bigoted, and narrow-minded, nothing could be further from the truth. Even in the days after he was exiled from Geneva, he refused to grow bitter. He resisted the urge to feel sorry for himself. He rejected the urge to retaliate. Rather, he pursued a posture of humility. He encouraged his friend, William Farel, to tread upon this God-centered path: “Let us humble ourselves, therefore, unless we wish to strive with God when He would humble us”¹ Calvin not only commended this path to others; he was constrained to walk this path himself. By God’s grace, he maintained the posture of humility for the remainder of his earthly days.

Some refuse to acknowledge that Calvin was not only a godly man; he was a top-notch exegete and theologian. His works continue to be reprinted over 450 years after his death. Instead of celebrating Calvin, some choose to point the finger of blame for his role in the execution of the heretic, Servetus. Jonathan Moorhead clears up any misconception about this tragic event in church history in his book, The Trial of the 16th Century: Calvin & Servetus.

The great strength of Moorhead’s work is his clear-headed approach to church history and especially his view on Calvin’s role (or lack thereof) in Servetus’s execution. The author sets the stage by highlighting the heresies that were aggressively promoted by Servetus. He tracks Servetus’s steps that eventually led to his demise in Geneva. But he also gives readers an inside look at who is ultimately responsible for the death of the Spanish false teacher.

Letters of John Calvin, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2018), xiii. ↩

On the Road With St. Augustine – James K.A. Smith

James K.A. Smith, On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2019), 240 pp.

The postmodern “prophet” and rock star, Bono Vox laments, “I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, these city walls, only to be with you. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” U2 isn’t the only one tapped into the inner drive and existential angst of the ages. Augustine had them beat by 1,600 years! “Oh Lord, you have created us for yourself but our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” It appears that Bono and Augustine have something in common!

James K.A. Smith is on a similar quest and is eager to share the fruit of his efforts in his most recent book, On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts. Smith’s work is an invitation to meet Augustine on the path that will lead to the culmination of his hopes, dreams, and desires.

Readers are in for a treat, especially the ones who have caricatured Augustine as a stuffy academician who puffs on a pipe, panders to the educated elite, and pontificates with an accent. Smith notes, “The Christian gospel, for Augustine, wasn’t just the answer to an intellectual question (though it was that); it was more like a shelter in a storm, a port for a wayward soul, nourishment for a prodigal who was famished, whose own heart had become, he said, ‘a famished land.’” As such, the “famished land” of many professing Christians will be laid bare. The fertile soil of Augustine will help nurture, strengthen, and revitalize travelers who dare to follow his lead.

The most endearing feature of Smith’s work is the emphasis on what he refers to as a “refugee spirituality.” Such an approach is desperately needed in our day, especially when most people seem content in the here and now and are satisfied with temporal trinkets: “Imagine a refugee spirituality,” writes Smith, “an understanding of human longing and estrangement that not only honors those experiences of not-at-homeness but also affirms the hope of finding a home, finding oneself … it’s about knowing how to make the journey, how to adopt the posture of the refugee who travels light.” Tragically, many American Christians are so burdened with temporal trinkets, they cannot even envision Augustine’s prescribed pursuit.

Smith traces the Augustinian path and focuses on several fascinating subjects that every pilgrim must wrestle with: freedom, ambition, sex, and death to name a few. On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts is a treasure map of sorts. Readers will see a totally new side of the Bishop of Hippo. Thoughtful readers will be prodded and poked. But they will also be encouraged and edified. They will be forced into a corner and challenged to weigh these heavenly realities and ultimately find their rest in God and the gospel of His Son.

Highly recommended!

What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality? – Owen Strachan & Gavin Peacock

Owen Strachan & Gavin Peacock, What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality? (Geanies House, Fear, Ross-shire: Christian Focus Publication, 2020), 149 pp.

Scripture warns, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions …” (2 Timothy 4:3, ESV). That time has arrived as few are willing to tolerate truth. Clear views and instruction on homosexuality, as a result, are rare these days. One shining exception to this rule is Owen Strachan and Gavin Peacock. Both writers have earned a reputation for being bold teachers of God’s authoritative Word. In fact, the authors alert their readers in advance to their book “is grounded in the total inspiration, inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, and clarity of the Bible.”

Book 2 in their new trilogy, What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality?, is a powder keg of biblical truth, and is filled with bold challenges and strong biblical teaching.

Chapter one surveys the biblical teaching concerning homosexuality. Readers are introduced to the importance of the imago Dei, setting the stage for the crucial instruction concerning complementary unity, complementary polarity in biblical sexuality, and complementary reciprocity. In the end, it is clear what the Scripture teaches about homosexuality: “There is no part of homosexuality that we can distinguish as good.” As difficult as this reality may be, the authors are quick to point readers to the biblical testimony concerning this subject.

Chapter two focuses on the transforming power of the gospel. In this chapter, we not only encounter the heart and soul of the book, but we are also introduced to the driving force and purpose of the authors. It is the gospel that fuels their passion, love for truth, and concern for people who are trapped by homosexual sin:

“We conclude that it is pastorally loving and faithful to sound God’s warnings in the right way. We need to let God’s Word rewire our minds, actions, and emotions. The purpose is to save people and bring glory to God and show people that as they live the way God created them to be they will be satisfied. This is our intention in this book.”

Chapter three zeroes in on the battle against sexual sin. Clear, practical, and biblical principles are presented for anyone who is struggling with sexual sin. Ultimately, Christ and his gospel is at the center of this fight, one that is explained admirably by the authors. Their straightforward and gracious work will be a great encouragement to anyone who is ready and willing to receive the truth of God’s Word.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture – Peter Jones

Peter Jones has been writing about paganism for many years now. While many are put off by the term “pagan,” Jones is simply offering the critical components of a worldview which is growing with a vengeance. The troubling news is that many Christ-followers are either unaware of the tentacles of paganism or could care less.

The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture offers a clear look at paganism through the lens of three isms, postmodernism, Gnosticism, and polytheism. Jones unpacks each worldview in a clear way and alerts readers to the deadly toxins that affect countless numbers of people.

Ultimately, Jones defines paganism as “direct mysterious-mystical access to ‘the Spirit.'” The author demonstrates how the three worldviews described above intertwine and result in the strange but deadly brew we know as paganism. He cites Romans 1:25 where Paul the apostle boils down two distinct approaches to spirituality:

The worship and service of nature-creation – “Oneism.”
The worship and service of the Creator – “Twoism.”

The first approach to spirituality results in the wrath of God for failing to honor God as we ought. The second approach to spirituality is the path commended by Scripture.

Jones warns readers, “Any system of thought that attempts to describe the world exclusively by the world is in principle Oneist.” Whenever the creature and the Creator are blended into some kind of synthesis, the spiritual results are not only devastating – the results are damning.

The author shoots a metaphorical flare in the hopes that Christ-followers will be alert and respond appropriately to the danger of paganism. In so doing, he argues that Christians will need to do at least two things:

They must have a clear understanding of the coherence of Oneism.
They must affirm the glorious superiority of Twoism and fearlessly declare the gospel of reconciliation with the personal Creator, possible only through the atoning blood of Jesus the sole mediator between Creator and creature.

As usual Peter Jones does not disappoint. His passion to equip believers is evident through the book. I commend The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture to Bible-believing Christians. My prayer is that thousands will read and digest this excellent material with thoughtfulness and humility.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

A Walk Across the Sun – Corban Addison

In the nineteenth century, the British politician, William Wilberforce began a movement that led to the abolition of the slave trade. His robust Christian faith fueled his resolve to see tyranny destroyed and people created in the imago Dei set free. Today, there are 27 million slaves in the world. 1.2 million are children, enslaved by the sex trade industry in India. These horrifying realities are a painful reminder of the sin that pollutes our world; they harken back to the days of Wilberforce. Yet today, very few appear willing to pick up the cause that Wilberforce began.

First time author, Corban Addison delivers a heart-wrenching, mind-rivetting, spine-tingling thriller that exposes the human trafficking/sex trade industry in his novel, A Walk Across the Sun. Readers should be forewarned that this novel is not for the faint at heart. The author paints a grizzly portrait of the underworld; a world that exploits women and children and panders to the diabolical deeds of men.

I can’t say enough about Corban Addison. He writes with Grisham-like precision which ultimately leads to a redemptive end. He gives enough details to educate readers to this horrifying industry which carries the ultimate aim of involvement, reformation, and the obliteration of slavery around the world. The book is a mixture of unmitigated evil and unvarnished beauty.

Many thanks to my friends, Ron and Mark for alerting me to this book. I’ll never doubt you again!

I am a Calvinist

I affirm the sovereignty of God in salvation and embrace a Calvinistic worldview where the glory and supremacy of God are the end of all things. Seven fundamental realities compel me to embrace Calvinism, what C.H. Spurgeon referred to as a “nickname for biblical Christianity.”¹

Calvinism is rooted in Scripture. The sovereignty of God over all things, including the salvation of his elect is a pervasive theme in the Bible (Jonah 2:9; Isa. 46:9-10; Eph. 1:11).
Calvinism upholds the dignity of mankind and his total inability in proper tension (Gen. 1:27; 6:5; Ps. 8:5).
Calvinism upholds the sovereignty of God in all things (Ps. 115:3; Dan. 4:34-35).
Calvinism upholds the responsibility of mankind and God’s sovereign control over all things.
Calvinism upholds the joy of the Creator and the joy of the creature. This God-centered joy is captured in the popular acrostic, TULIP:

Total depravity is not just badness, but blindness to beauty and deadness to joy.

Unconditional election is how God planned, before we existed, to complete our joy in Christ.

Limited atonement is the assurance that indestructible joy in God in infallibly secured for us by the blood of Jesus.

Irresistible grace is the sovereign commitment of God to make sure we hold on to superior delights instead of the false pleasures that will ultimately destroy us.

Perseverance of the saints is the almighty work of God, to keep us through all affliction and suffering, for an inheritance of pleasures at God’s right hand forever.²

Calvinism underscores the five solas of the Reformation:

I believe that sinners are saved by God’s grace alone because apart from his grace we do not have the ability nor the desire to please him or earn his favor – Grace Alone (Eph. 2:1-5).

I believe that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from any human merit, works or ritual. Genuine faith produces Christ-glorifying fruit in the people of God for the glory of God – Faith Alone (Eph. 2:8-10).

I believe that we are saved by Christ alone, who is fully God and fully man. Christ was our substitute who died for our sins on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day – Christ Alone (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

I believe the Bible is God’s absolute truth for all people, for all times; it is our final authority for discerning truth – Scripture Alone (2 Tim. 3:16).

I believe in the triune God who exists in three distinct Persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) who created, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things, and to whom belongs all the glory forever and ever – To the Glory of God Alone (Rom. 11:36).

7. Calvinism is God-centered. “A Calvinist is someone who has seen God in His majestic glory and has been overwhelmed.”³

The world may mock and the world may scorn. But the truth holds fast: I am a Calvinist.

I deny the notion of hyper-Calvinism which minimizes human responsibility, promotes passivity, and fails to proclaim the gospel to all peoples. ↩
John Piper, Cited in Tony Reinke, The Joy Project: The True Story of Inescapable Happiness (Minneapolis: Desiring God Ministries, 2015), 6. ↩
Ian Hamilton, What is Experiential Calvinsim (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015), Loc. 202. ↩

The Faith of Ronald Reagan – Mary Beth Brown

Mary Beth Brown honors the life and legacy of the fortieth president in her book, The Faith of Ronald Reagan.

The Faith of Ronald Reagan uncovers what most books on the former President miss – a deep trust and reliance on the sovereign God of the universe.

The author explores the faith of Reagan’s mother and the spiritual influence she had on her son. As such, she tracks the spiritual pilgrimage of former president and notes special moments that contributed to Reagan’s walk with God.

Mary Beth Brown does an excellent job highlighting President Reagan’s Christian faith and especially marks his deep trust in Christ and his reliance on the Providence of God. She notes, “Reagan was the great communicator as we all know, but the key to his political success was his unparalleled ability to speak the language of faith and values. This ability was a result of his strong faith and close relationship with God.”

Additionally, the author stresses Reagan’s love of personal dignity and freedom – freedom that grows weaker as segments of America embrace liberalism. Brown adds, “Reagan firmly believed that if we couldn’t convince the nation of the immortality of abortion, that we were in for a dire future.”

President Reagan modeled humble leadership. The sign on his desk in the Oval Office read, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

I will never forgot the day I heard of President Reagan’s death. My wife asked, “Are you crying?” I tried to hold it back, but the tears were welling up in my eyes. America lost a great patriot on June 5, 2004.

Ronald Wilson Reagan will consistently be remembered by American’s as the greatest presidents of the twentieth century and one of the most influential presidents in American history. Indeed, he stands alongside the likes of George Washington, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln. He taught us that freedom matters. He taught us that freedom is not free. He modeled good leadership. And President Reagan demonstrated the importance of living out the Christian worldview. We are the beneficiaries of his legacy.