Dr Paul Allen

Cover via Amazon Mark Driscoll appeared on a short YouTube  clip entitled, “Don’t Elevate Doctrine above the Holy Spirit .” It’s from Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Revelation 2:1-7 preached at the ancient Celsus Library in Ephesus .  The clip raises the thought, should we pit “doctrine” against the work of the Spirit in the heart. Mark warns against the consequences of elevating doctrine (especially cessationists) over the Holy Spirit with statements like: “You don’t need to pray much anymore, because you have a theology that tells you what to do. You don’t have to listen to the Holy Spirit anymore, because you have a theology that directs all your steps. I’m not saying we avoid our doctrinal clarity, but we still need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  He infers that cessationism tends not to need the Holy Spirit as much as having good theology. One of the repercussions of cessationism, he says, is that “Christianity goes from a relationship we enjoy to a ...

Christians have a long history of disagreeing with each other over doctrine. There is nothing new about that. Sometimes that disagreement can get quite heated. So for example, in the time when Wesley and Whitefield were arguing over  Calvinism , Charles Wesley wrote a shameful hymn called “ The Horrible Decree ” which says of Calvinism: O HORRIBLE DECREE Worthy of whence it came! Forgive their hellish blasphemy And much more besides. As I concluded my  post responding to MacArthur’s first session , such violent disagreements do dishonor to the one who saved us, and who prayed that we might be one. I was saddened then by the hubris and the grandstanding, and even by the predictable confusion about exactly what happened  when Mark Driscoll turned up  (in a moment of high emotion its easy for people to get conflicting impressions of what transpired, see also  this article ). Since I reported that MacArthur  accused the Charismatic Movement...

(Tim Challies) You may love him, you may hate him, but you’ve definitely heard of him and you’ve undoubtedly got an opinion about him. Mark Driscoll is pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle , co-founder of the Acts 29 Network , and the author of several bestselling books. The newest of these books may well prove the most controversial.  A Call to Resurgence  poses this question: Will Christianity have a funeral or a future? This is a book about the past, the present and the future of the Christian faith , particularly in the United States of America . The fact is, Christendom is dead. The Christian faith that once existed in the background of American life and culture has diminished to such an extent that America is now a post- Christian nation . “ Christians are ostracized. Gay marriage is celebrated. Abortion is literally destroying an entire generation. The bandwagon has stopped carrying us and has started running over us.” This is happening all around us, yet m...

Joel Osteen (Photo credit: cliff1066™ ) ”I am aware of the theological differences that exist between our tribe and Pastor Joel. I also know my Reformed brothers like to treat Pastor Joel like a piñata, but there are worse things than being happy and encouraging at a time when the most common prescription medications are antidepressants. A few guys in our tribe could learn to talk about something other than painful, arduous suffering once and a while—if nothing else than for the sake of variety. Our identity is not in our joy, and our identity is not in our suffering. Our identity is in Christ , whether we have joy or are suffering.” Related articles Pastor Mark Driscoll Might Give You an iPad if You Praise His Book on Amazon (slog.thestranger.com) Pastors? - SoS Saturdays (ptl2010.com) Who Do You Think You Are? (challies.com) Should We Suffer When Doing Good? (raymcdonald.wordpress.com) A perspective on being a pastor's wife! (virtuouswomen.net) 5 Surprising ...

Sea of Galilee near Tabgha (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Capernaum, Sea of Galilee (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) English: Tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mark Driscoll recently interviewed John Piper on the topic of advice for young bible teachers. In that discussion, John reflected personally on a troubling scripture namely, Luke 10:13-14. Piper states for Godly holy unknown reasons Jesus willingly withheld performing any miracles in Tyre and Sidon. Jesus infers the performance of such miracles would have brought the towns to salvation, yet Jesus chose not to perform miracles. Why? Ezekiel 28:11-18 says  "Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created." This ...

The Twilight Saga (film series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The release of Breaking Dawn Part 2, the final movie in the Twilight series , has brought with it what is the last flurry of Christian reaction to the popularity of the books and films. Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll , in a recent blog post titled “ A Father’s Fright of Twilight ,” describes the series as “for teenage girls what porn is to teenage boys: sick, twisted, evil, dangerous, deceptive, and popular.” Driscoll goes on to highlight news stories about Twilight-crazed teenagers participating in real-life vampirism. He calls for discernment and regrets that Christian parents “naively” allow “this filth” into their children’s lives. Twilight is aimed at girls, and because it appeals so deeply to so many girls and women, the problem with Twilight is a problem about gender. The biggest worry about Twilight is that Bella , the main character, lives a life completely centered on the guy she loves. The love she has for Edw...