In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year read on The Aquila Report. That’s easy for us to determine – we just count the hits! We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run and the five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 21-30.
In 2014 The Aquila Report posted over 3,300 stories. At the end of each year we feature the top 50 stories that were read. The top story this year had over 11,200 hits.
We average 9 new stories each day, with a variety of subjects – all of which we trust are of interest to the readers of The Aquila Report. As a web magazine we are an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will inform the church of current trends and movements within the church and culture.
In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year. That’s easy for us to determine – we just count the hits! We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run and the five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 21-30.
My former colleague believes the decision of the Board of Trustees signals an abandonment of interest in biblical theology and the tradition of redemptive- historical, Christ-centered interpretation, with its fructifying potential for systematic theology and preaching, matters that have been an important and distinctive part of the training provided by WTS over the years. Nothing could be further from the truth. The right and continuing commitment to the role of biblical theology at WTS is not in jeopardy. Rather, precisely at issue is whether biblical theology, properly conceived and implemented, will continue at WTS.
If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time at all, you may have noticed that the more time you spend in church, the harder it is to fit in and feel comfortable with non-believers or to really enjoy worldly activities, relationships, speech, movies, habits, etc. So how on earth are you going to make sure that your church attendance doesn’t end up damaging your friendship with the world? How can you make sure that you’ll never seem weird, different, and overly religious to friends, relatives, and coworkers?
Everyone makes mistakes, but sometimes we are mistaken about what we call mistakes. Driscoll’s assessment of the situation is debatable. Did he make a mistake by throwing off the authority of his elder board and bringing outsiders in? One interpretation of the current situation at Mars Hill is that the cure has been worse than the disease. In hindsight, perhaps Driscoll misdiagnosed the disease. He thought the problem was the elders; another possibility is that he, also young and green, should have listened to his elders board.
Because identical twins are always genetically identical, homosexuality cannot be genetically dictated. “No-one is born gay,” he notes. “The predominant things that create homosexuality in one identical twin and not in the other have to be post-birth factors.” Dr. Whitehead believes same-sex attraction (SSA) is caused by “non-shared factors,” things happening to one twin but not the other, or a personal response to an event by one of the twins and not the other.
The New Calvinism embraces the essential place of the local church. It is led mainly by pastors, has a vibrant church-planting bent, produces widely-sung worship music, and exalts the preached word as central to the work of God locally and globally. The Old Calvinism does not exist apart from congregations where the marks of the church are evident and which are part of regional, national, and ecumenical assemblies.
There has been an interesting series of posts over the past week or so between Kevin and Tullian. It started when Kevin, who is on sabbatical writing a book on Holiness, posted an article on the Gospel Coalition blog entitled “Make Every Effort”.
This could have been a snapshot of the PCA 10 years ago, or 40 years ago. The PCA’s doctrine, confession, and the grassroots are about the same. There have always been reformers on the peripheries who sought to mold the PCA into a more conservative or a more liberal direction. Over the decades, the middle thankfully seems to shrug off this four-day event while maintaining a fine ministry the other 362 days of the year, regardless of any assembly’s excesses, intents, or pronouncements.
Doug Phillips has left Boerne Christian Assembly and advised that he has become a member of another Church without a letter of transfer from Boerne Christian Assembly. This is a matter of great concern to the body at Boerne Christian Assembly and we are attempting to work through this entire situation in a manner that would be honoring to our Lord.
22 (Tie). PCA Minister’s Son, Zachary Draughon, 25, Dies Unexpectedly
Randy and Renee Draughon’s son, Zach, suddenly and unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord yesterday morning. They both loved their son with a fierce love and want you to know that they are deeply grieving.
22 (Tie). Five Churches in Illinois Withdraw from the RCA, Vote to Join the PCA
Five Illinois Churches in the Reformed Church RCA) in America have voted to affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The PCA’s Chicago Metro Presbytery met with, examined, and approved the pastors and elders of these churches during 2014.
What merit or benefit is there in abstaining from something which God Himself has given us to enjoy and to bless our lives? If something is sinful, we ought to abstain from it, fast from it, every hour of the day, every day of the week, and every week of the year. If something is not sinful and not forbidden to us by God in His Word, then we are free to partake of it or not partake of it as our conscience is our guide. Given the faulty foundations upon faulty foundations upon which the practice of Lent was established, one wonders why such a practice is perpetuated.
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