Aaron Armstrong

bloggingtheologically.com

Islam

Links I like (weekend edition)

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links-weekend

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Lots of new deals for you today:

Today’s also the last day to get these books from Crossway for $4.99 each:

Promoting the Gospel in Farsi

This is pretty cool news!

Don’t Like Diversity? You’ll Hate Heaven

Dan DeWitt:

The issue really wasn’t theology; it was about practice. Peter got the theology right: Gentiles don’t have to live like Jews. But in practice, he was embarrassed to be found with them. He was ashamed to dine with them. His theology was good. His behavior was bad.

Which makes me ask, “What are some ways our theology on issues of different cultures can be good, but our practices be bad?”

How To Preach A Terrible Easter Sermon

Colin Adams:

Like the spirits who plagued the Demoniac, my mistakes in Easter-preaching have been legion. The subject is always lively, but the preaching is sometimes grave! So in a deeply ironical tone, neither to be copied or encouraged, here are seven ways to preach a terrible Easter sermon. Please, I beg of you, do not try this in your pulpit this Sunday.

3 Old Things Every New Christian Must Part With

Rob Tims:

Clearly I have personal preferences when it comes to desiring something old and something new, and these personal preferences carry over into my spiritual life. Oftentimes, I am very eager to embrace the new things Jesus has for me, but other times I am reluctant to let go of the old … the old, familiar thoughts and behaviors I’ve grown to love about myself throughout the years. Though my old thoughts and habits are incompatible with the new me, I hesitate to say goodbye.

Yet there are three old things that, no matter what, I have to part with if I’m going to follow Jesus.

 

Empty Grave Clothes

Peter Jones:

As you can imagine, I have thought long and hard about Easter, since it is a central element of my faith. Indeed the Apostle Paul says that if the resurrection did not occur, we have all believed in vain. In May, Rebecca and I will be making a long-awaited visit to Israel. As I anticipate this trip, the historical force of this event keeps hitting me. It is the major reason I believe the message of Christianity—for two reasons.

6 Things New Parents Need to Hear

Barnabas Piper:

These aren’t really good news, but at least they’ll set the bar a little more accurately. Most of us spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to other parents, seeing what everyone else posts on social media, and thinking we’re doing a pretty awful job. New parents want to grab the world by the tail and avoid all the mistakes their parents made and all their friends are making. Hopefully these six words of “wisdom” will offer some perspective and maybe a little boost. If they don’t now file them away.

The Quran’s Deadly Role in Inspiring Belgian Slaughter

Nabeel Qureshi:

As a Muslim growing up in the United States, I was taught by my imams and the community around me that Islam is a religion of peace. My family modeled love for others and love for country, and not just by their words. My father served in the U.S. Navy throughout my childhood, starting as a seaman and retiring as a lieutenant commander. I believed wholeheartedly a slogan often repeated at my mosque after 9/11: “The terrorists who hijacked the planes also hijacked Islam.”

Yet as I began to investigate the Quran and the traditions of Muhammad’s life for myself in college, I found to my genuine surprise that the pages of Islamic history are filled with violence. How could I reconcile this with what I had always been taught about Islam?

Links I like

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Good Friday and the Age of Nostalgia

Samuel James:

Why do we call this day “good”? This is the kind of day that we learn about in history textbooks, with black and white photos of burned bodies stacked on top of each other. This is the kind of day where we watch Planned Parenthood surgeons sift through a petri dish of humanity, looking for the most valuable of the remains. This is the kind of day where armed guards open fire on peaceful protesters, or sic dogs on children. There’s nothing remotely sentimental about the cruel injustices of “Good Friday.” So why do we call it good?

13 Posts on Gethsemane

Mitch Chase wrote a series of posts on Gethsemane back in January as he prepared to preach on Christ’s arrest. He’s put together a round up of all 13 here.

John Updike’s Seven Stanzas at Easter

This is beautiful.

The Message of Islam vs. The Gospel of Jesus

Don Carson, Graham Cole, Douglas Sweeney, and Harold Netland:

Questions about relations between Muslims and Christians continue to receive widespread attention in the media and society at large. In particular, “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” has become especially controversial among Christians in the United States. Responses have often been polarizing, with one side insisting the answer must be affirmative and the other vehemently denying this. But the question itself is highly ambiguous and conflates different issues in an unhelpful manner. Thus, rather than trying to answer directly whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God, it’s more helpful to consider similarities and differences in the beliefs of Muslims and Christians, noting areas of both agreement and disagreement.

Your Wife Is an Heir of the Universe

John Piper continues to work through 1 Peter 3:7 in his Look at the Book series.

A Redemptive Historical Lamb

Nick Batzig:

In salvation God gives what God demands. So again and again through the history of redemption, God has always provided a lamb or other sacrificial animal to save his people. He provided a lamb in the days of Abraham.

Links I like

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Free E-Book: Why Trust the Bible?

You can get Greg Gilbert’s latest, Why Trust the Bible, for free in exchange for taking a quick survey.

How your words and art can create hope

Really appreciated watching this talk from Sheridan Voysey.

Why I Was Not Pro-Life

Kristin Tabb:

True confession: I was not truly pro-life until recently.

Although I was disturbed by the reports I heard regarding abortion — its methods, its victims, its very nature, its utter disregard for the dignity of human life — I did relatively little to actually be pro-life, from the heart, with my hands and feet and mouth and money. Until God graciously opened my eyes.

Who Is My Political Neighbor?

Aaron Earls:

So often when we think through the stories of the Bible, we cast ourselves in the role of the hero or at least the victim. For example, when we read the parable of the Good Samaritan, we want to believe we’d be the Samaritan. We could even see us being the man beaten up and needing some help.

We don’t want to face the fact that we are so often the villains. You and I are the ones who ignore those in need of help because it would inconvenience us. Because they are different from us.

Cut Off Your Hand

David Appelt:

Your thing is that bad. My things are that bad. Sin is bad. Yes, these statements are the most painfully obvious sentences I have ever written.

We just don’t hate sin like we should (in ourselves, hating sin in others is a topic for another day. We’re normally pretty good at that anyways.) Do we forget about verses like this?

Muslims turning to Christ in Denmark

Gene Veith shares an encouraging bit of news.

Eric the toy stormtrooper

This should put a smile on your face.

The Gospel Brings a Debt

Erik Raymond:

There are some big events in life that serve as “game-changers” for us. When you move out of your home you become responsible for everything. When you get married your life becomes orientated to another. When you have children, especially in the early years, everything revolves around caring, providing, and enjoying the babies.

But all of these pale in comparison to the ultimate “game-changer” — conversion.

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