These days, now that school is out, I am focusing on preparing for classis in June. I received my first assignment, the doctrine component of the examination, Wednesday from my pastor, and have been working on that. I found that I can't just read on the topics, but I need to have a goal, so I am writing for myself a summary of the teachings of the three forms of unity on the topics I have been given. It's a great exercise, and has been reminding me that I should read the Confessions more often. The Canons of Dort are especially neglected I think, perhaps because they deal with such weighty matters as election and reprobation, assurance of salvation and the like. TULIP, actually; Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and the Perseverance of the saints. Good stuff.
As well as classis preparations, I have a pile of books I hope to read. I said before that I would list them, so here's the list:
As well as classis preparations, I have a pile of books I hope to read. I said before that I would list them, so here's the list:
- Tim Challies The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
- Richard B. Gaffin Perspectives on Pentecost: New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Bruce K. Waltke Finding the Will of God, a Pagan Notion?
- John Piper and Justin Taylor (editors) The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
- Augustine Confessions
- Timothy Keller The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (I actually purchased this one between the service and the reception of Mike and Kathryn's wedding!)
- Geerhardus Vos Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments (This one I had to read a section of for school, but now I want to read it properly)
Last Saturday I read an essay by Alvin Plantinga, "A Defense of Religious Exclusivism." An excellent essay. The arguments he used seemed to be the standard arguments against pluralism that can be read elsewhere, but from the pen of Plantinga, they come out differently. Harder to understand, but once you do understand it, you grasp something deeper than the more popular approaches to the issue. For this same reason I am looking forward to reading some of the articles in the current Philosophia Christi journal, which is devoted to responses to the New Atheism (Dawkins, Hitchens, etc.).
In short, I will be busy, which is good otherwise I won't know what to do. Free time is only good if you have precious little of it!
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