Extracurricular Activities 5.31.14 —Secret Gospel of Mark, Neo-Calvinists, & Obeying the Gospel

Philip Jenkins: Secret Gospel of Mark is a Hoax

In 1973, Morton Smith announced a spectacular discovery that promised to reshape the understanding of the New Testament. The authenticity of that alleged find is still hotly debated, and I belong to the school that believes it to be fiction. Actually, I would go further. I think his find was from the first inspired by fiction, by novels. One of those fictional sources is now well known, but I believe that I am the first to draw attention to another...

Michael Bird Asks, "What does it Mean to 'Obey the Gospel'?"

In traditional Reformed theology there is often posited a strong contrast between Law and Gospel. Gospel tells you how to receive eternal life, Law tells you how to do God’s moral will. Don’t confuse the two, cause you might end up as a legalist... Michael Horton has a great piece [in which] he gives a classic Reformed position on the rationale for the Law and Gospel distinction. Most of what Horton says here is sound and well expressed in terms of both the witness of Scripture and the Reformed tradition. However, Horton does go on to make some claims that I would query...

Calvinists Are Not Neo-Calvinists, But Neo-Puritans, Says Bob Robinson

But what are we to make of this identification of [New Calvinists] as neo-Calvinists?

Well, that is a misnomer. What Merritt and others are addressing is not Neo-Calvinism, but Neo-Puritanism.

I Know Neo-Calvinism, and that’s not Neo-Calvinism.

I think these New Calvinists should not be called “Neo-Calvinists,” but rather “Neo-Puritans.”

A Few Lessons from Tim Challies on Singing Songs that Glorify the Lord

As Christians we are told to sing from the gospel, for one another, to the Lord—a ten-word summary of Colossians 3:16 which says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” As Paul writes to this Colossian church, he wants them to realize that every Christian needs singing lessons. If we want to sing a song that glorifies the Lord, we first need to apply some lessons...

Where Is the Hardest Place to Be a Christian?

While there are many terrible places on earth to be a Christian (Sudan, North Korea, Afghanistan, Bhutan, etc.), Pakistan is arguably the worst. Other nations persecute believers, but in Pakistan the entire country has spent generations forming a world view that values the torturing of those that claim the name of Christ...

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