Metábasis eis állo génos (7)
Please accept this friendly reminder that the CDC considers your risk for the ‘rona to be negligible until you have spent at least fifteen minutes within six feet of someone who is symptomatic or pre-symptomatic. I know firsthand of multiple cases where spouses have not contracted the virus from one another. It’s still so strange to me that we are valuing self-preservation over natural affection right now.
Lisa reports that mask compliance in Dunn is much lower than in Fuquay. My theory of county color holds.
Please also accept this friendly reminder that slavery still exists in the United States.
Chicks for sale. Resistance is futile:
And the onions and the figs are coming in!
Doug Wilson has a good word about John MacArthur and the binding of the conscience. Apropos MacArthur, I ran across this great clip this week:
So they feared Yahweh but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. (2 Kings 17:33)
For a class at church, I’ve had the occasion to read Grudem’s material on creation and providence. A few things stand out to me.
First, there is (unsurprisingly) more to the story of Galileo than popular history lets on. There is certainly ugly church politics, but it is a story of science vs. science and Christian vs. Christian rather than a story of science vs. boorish religion. Here is some interesting reading on how the science vs. science was not settled. On Christian vs. Christian, Galileo seems to have loved the church and been a staunch believer in the inspiration and inerrancy of scripture, so he is not a very sympathetic character for the new atheists.
Second, concerning creationism, I believe that the universe is roughly 6000 years old. Of course the universe has the appearance of age; doesn’t any work of art? It is true that not all genealogies capture every generation for theological reasons, but it seems clear to me that the genealogies with years and ages attached are given to us as real chronological markers in addition to their theological significance. And it is far from a hill to die on, but I especially love the idea that we will celebrate 6000 AM in 2070 AD. (James Jordan has done extensive and compelling work on this; here is a brief summary.) Grudem seems to prefer an age of 10 to 20 thousand years, while holding it lightly. What I’m especially struck by is his insistence that “neither [the young or old earth view] is certain” which he links with a call for “much more humility.” Of course we may not despise one another, but here our classic evangelical confusion between pride and conviction rears its head again.
To judge between “A”, “not-A” and “be not proud,” it is not enough to simply observe the configuration of the debate; we must assess the truth of each claim. Grudem knows how to do this on matters where he is convinced; he is obviously gracious in the matter of Calvinism vs. Arminianism, but makes no appeal to humility there.
Actually, knowing only the configuration of the debate, we should probably be prepared to rule against “be not proud or self-righteous.” It is true, but it is also a truism, and one which applies to all three parties. Remember that Paul wants us to be both convinced and humble in our disagreements (Romans 14). Too often, we stop at “just be humble” and remain unwilling to adjudicate the truth; the man who does this is not only failing to be convinced in his own mind but is also unwilling to allow others the privilege of being convinced. Worse, in doing this, he is giving error the same standing as truth. Sproul, again:
Finally, I appreciated Grudem’s work on predestination. I’m freshly struck that one of the best ways to show how Arminian arguments fall flat against Calvinism is to show how they fall flat against human authorship. Consider that: (1) We would not be surprised or confused if Frodo stomped his foot and insisted he was completely free to choose whether to destroy the ring. (2) We would never blame Tolkien for the great wrongs committed by Sauron. (3) We gladly affirm that Sauron deserved punishment for those wrongs. (4) And in fact we praise Tolkien highly for writing a beautiful story in which justice is done. (5) We would not at all be surprised to find Tolkien weeping at the outcome of Sauron’s destruction; loving his own creation and even responding to the very things he has decreed.
In short, the Arminian does not stop to consider what it really means that God is transcendent (just as Tolkien is transcendent to Frodo and Sauron). But on the flip side we can’t lose sight of God’s immanence, either. That’s something Tolkien couldn’t do!
I’m also enjoying Solzhenitsyn. This week’s quotes:
But . . . for mercy one must have wisdom. This has been a truth throughout our history and will remain one for a long time to come. (The Gulag Archipelago, Vol. 1, 271)
There is a simple truth which one can learn only through suffering: in war not victories are blessed but defeats. Governments need victories and the people need defeats. Victory gives rise to the desire for more victories. But after a defeat it is freedom that men desire—and usually attain. A people needs defeat just as an individual needs suffering and misfortune: they compel the deepening of the inner life and generate a spiritual upsurge. (The Gulag Archipelago, Vol. 1, 272)
But I had begun to sense a truth inside myself: if in order to live it is necessary not to live, then what’s it all for? (The Gulag Archipelago, Vol. 1, 280)
I gotta have my orange juice. 
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