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Webcasting around the world from the desert metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona. This is the dividing line. The Apostle Peter commanded Christians to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us.
Yet to give that answer with gentleness and reverence. Our host is dr. James White director of Alpha Omega ministries and an elder at the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. This is a live program and we invite your participation.
If you'd like to talk with dr White call now at 602 -973 -4602 or toll-free across the United States It's 1 -877 -753 -3341. And now with today's topic here is James White.
Hey, good morning. Welcome to the dividing line on a Thursday morning unusual time, but it is an unusual week it is of course Christmas Eve Eve and We all have a hundred and forty seven thousand. Let me check this hundred forty seven thousand six hundred nineteen.
Yeah, that's up. That's how many things I have on my to-do list Before my head hits the pillow on Sunday night preaching both services at the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church will be Heading back into Hebrews those of you who've been wondering if I if I apostatized from my Hebrews series I I have not but I do have a member of my church Who after my last sermons in Hebrews, which was back in August? Informed me that I Needed to Explain next time exactly how the New Covenant is is better on on every level.
He sort of scared me. It's sort of like Hmm. Okay. Well if he wants that much detail, I'm gonna have to really make sure that I I work hard here. So That's one of the reasons we've been delayed but actually I just had some other things I wanted to address and we'll be back into Hebrews chapter 8 verse 6 on the Lord's Day At the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church, that's what I will be doing Sunday morning.
But I have a few things to do between now and then as well obviously and that includes this program eight seven seven seven five three Three three four one dividing that line via Skype be patient Skype callers.
Because for some reason Probably has to do with Windows. But for some reason the the laptop we use for Skype isn't wanting to do Skype anymore and so we're having to do it through a different computer and so I'm watching rich run sprints in the other room and You know for an aged man like him He's just over two years older than I am but anyway Dividing that line on Skype unless he just turned that off and is now walking out of the offices and At which point this wall eventually just stop anyways, but eight seven seven seven five three three three four one I saw an article.
By.
The the the great anonymous one Turretin fan yesterday article. It's not really an article. It's just a little notice. But it made me think and I've been thinking a lot about maybe next week doing an end-of-year program.
And when I think about 2010 and that's what the last week of the year is for is thinking about what happened in the preceding year. Which again has gone by at an incredible speed?
As.
I think of 2010 the first date of 2010 the only date really honestly as I think about the only date that really crosses my.
Mind.
About 2010 is February 25th. Because that is the day that When I was in London, I posted an article exposing Eric and Kanner. For having lied in twice claiming to have debated Shabir Ali. Claiming to have debated Abdul Saleeb who is a Christian, of course.
And.
You know what that led to and you know what happened during the spring and summer of this year. You know that the great evangelical cover-up has worked and as I think about you know somewhere to say What what did you see in 2010 that's concerned you?
About the state of the church. I would say the great evangelical cover-up. I mean talk about Evangelical apologetics taking a punch in the nose a black eye. It's utter incapacity to deal with a simple truth a false prophet in its midst.
Is one of the clearest examples I could give of where even the quote-unquote discernment discernment ministries Have shown very very little Discernment whatsoever and so Turretin fan noted that he had listened.
He's a glutton for punishment. To some recent sermons from Eric and Kanner from is that the Clough Pike Baptist Street or Clough Pike? Baptist Church CLOU GH having a clue. Says Ergon preached with apparently both of his brothers in attendance.
There were a couple of things that struck me as I listened to his messages. But most of all I noticed that most of his criticized material was gone. And he had some new material in his presentation. He did not make claims to know Arabic or to have been raised in Istanbul by the way we just found another video that was pointed out to us recently where.
Again before the exposure he had claimed to have been born and raised in Istanbul, which we know is not true. It is a lie. But he that means that it was again as we've documented so many of them a lie repeated multiple times.
It was part of the persona part of the story. Or anything else of that kind that I noticed. I hope this shows a change in dr. Kanner's approach and that he will stick to us this kind of presentation going forward.
Well, yeah. But there's there's one problem with that and that is if he has removed all the stuff that his Defenders have been saying all along was actually truthful and and if Norman Geisler's defenses were truthful.
Then why stop making the claims? Why stop talking about being raised as a being trained as as a jihadi In in Turkey, that's what he told us he had done. Why not claim to know Arabic if all the stories he told his own students were true.
But if he stops making these claims, I guess some people are saying well, isn't that enough? Well you tell me When we catch a politician lying, which is fairly regular do they have to apologize or is just stopping lying about that enough and And shouldn't the pulpit have a little bit higher standard just just a skosh higher standard.
Than.
Say the political barnstorming rally. You know, I'd like to think so but evidently that's that's not the case and That's a shame It is it is I Don't know what it's like, I don't know how I I could not be Eric and Kanner I Could not stand in front of an audience knowing that there's a high Probability that at least a few of the people out there know what I used to say about myself and that I have not come clean I Have not admitted that it was all a bunch of lies.
I Have instead just done everything I possibly can to sweep it under the rug with the willful help of men like Norman Geisler and That I'm just gonna How can you stand up there and talk about integrity?
How can you stand up there and talk about truthfulness? I don't I don't understand it but that's what he's doing and there are lots of people that you know, come and listen and He's still showing up at Veritas forums and making a mockery of the term and that's just gonna keep going because like I said Evangelicals have very short memories.
They have the attention span of the rest of the world and the rest world's moved on, you know I mean, no, would you hear about WikiLeaks today? Oh, did you hear about this? Oh, no. No contemplation period no meditation.
No, nothing like that at all. It just it's just not there and.
So.
That's.
That's that's great concern to me. But most of all I noticed that most of his criticized material was gone. Well, that says a lot and that says a lot to me about those who defended him and that says much more to me about him as an individual.
Because those things are true. Then how dare you stop saying if all that stuff was true. Don't you dare back down? There's a bunch of lies and he'd repent of it and he just simply won't do either one and That's that's how it goes.
Looks like divide the Skype connections are not working from what I'm seeing in our chat channel. So I guess it's just going to be eight seven seven seven five three three three four one eight seven seven seven five three three three four one is The phone number that you can call to get into the program today.
I want to play a few sections once again from The series I started on the last program just responding to just a few brief comments as they go by in a Seminar given in the United Arab Emirates by Bassam Zawadi who is my opponent in debate on February 12th in London at the Trinity Road Chapel.
Same location where I debated Abdullah al-Andalusi last year also in February. I forgot what date that was I think it was later in February, but I could be wrong. That'd be funny of the same day I doubt it would be but anyways, there's some time in February and Really maybe maybe we'll actually have that on video Available, but from last year by the time I debate Bassam this year That would be nice but we had a good debate last year and looking forward to a good debate on whether Islam misrepresents Christianity and I think that's a very important subject.
I it's what I sort of discussed on Iron sharpens iron this past weekend as well. So you might want to take a look at that, but back to Bassam Zawadi. We are going to Again, I'm using this I'll tell you a little behind-the-scenes thing here while Rich is queuing up calls in the other room as well.
We've already got Three people online, so we'll get to you all in just a few minutes, but Gerg or that's how we call him Greg, but we call him Gerg from New York Popped in the channel, I don't know couple months ago and Said hey, you know, I found this program and I given what you're doing the dividing line.
I think you'd find this useful and Unfortunately, it's only a Windows program, but I have a little Windows box in here a little. Actually, it's sort of more like a netbook type thing, but anyway So I can run it it's it's called the Sonocent audio note-taker and it'll take any You know mp3 wave whatever that's spoken, you know, it's sort of like the dividing line spoken material and it Displays it instead of a waveform if you ever have ever seen.
You know Adobe audition or audacity or anything like that I've used all of those I use peak le6 on my Mac and stuff like that it it displays the file as a waveform and So as I listen to it, you know, I will find something I want to mention I'll put a marker there and then I can skip that marker and That's how you can go from from point to point without necessarily playing everything in between stuff like that.
Well this program instead of doing a waveform type thing it breaks the the spoken word up into phrases and sentences as little lines and You can you know that the cursor goes down these lines and you can mark off sentences whole sections of different color and Then go to them very very quickly and then there's a note pane to the left of it.
So you can put notes in it. So like last week when I Last week last time that we listened to the psalm I had all this stuff in different colors and then over in the in the notes section I had the references to the verses for example when he talked about Nathan coming to David and He mistakenly said that you know David slept with a prostitute and then Nathan comes to him and God says he's gonna, you know, take his wives and they're gonna be ravished by by his companion Under the Sun what David had done in secret was going to be done to his wives in open because David had taken one man's Wife remember the whole story Bathsheba Uriah has one wife and David takes that one wife.
Remember the story that Nathan tells about the man had the one sheep and the rich man takes one. Well, God's gonna do to David what David did to Uriah. That's funny I forgot to mention this but the psalm said now this didn't happen.
David repented that's not true for 2nd. Samuel 16 22 says it did happen. God actually brought that that punishment to bear upon David and David knew exactly what it was that it was punishment and so I didn't mention it last time but those references are just right over and the side so it's a it's a it's a nice little program.
It was weird. I tried to buy it. I guess the guys from Germany. If you have a gmail if you only have a gmail address don't bother trying you're not gonna be able to get it. You have to have a non free Email address to purchase this program.
It's a little weird. But anyway, I got it and that's what I'm using now, and I think it works really really well. So if you're looking for if you do something similar if you're a student that records your professors Lectures, for example, this would be really useful.
Not quite as useful as the pen that I mentioned to you all before but anyways, that's not a story. All right. Let's listen to some of the psalms Claims here then we've got four people online. So it looks like we'll be able to fill up the rest of our time with that.
But let's let's listen here.
I mean, let me give my own personal opinions of what I don't find to be superior about their teachings. For example I don't know if you ever heard Christians would always say Jesus said love your enemies and they always think that that's something good.
Oh Jesus above your enemies. It's not amazing. Well, if you love your enemies and also mean that you'll have to love Satan because Satan is your enemy as well I find that to be morally objectionable. I don't find anything good about that.
Now I I have mentioned to the psalm that I feel that there are some basic category difficulties that he has he seems to Miss the the categories in which the scriptures are teaching and this is a good example of that.
I don't think anyone listening to Jesus When he spoke about loving our enemies would have thought that what he meant by that Was that we should love Satan. In fact in an article on his website. He has criticized me because at one point I was responding to the Dean show and to a former youth minister.
Become a Muslim as if being a youth minister makes you an expert on Christianity, but.
Who.
Was talking about how well Muslims love Jesus and I was saying wait a minute. How can you say you love Jesus? When you deny all the fundamental teachings that that was represented about Jesus by his closest disciples and I said that that's like my claim to say I love Muhammad.
I do not love Muhammad and he took that phrase. I do not love Mohammed's and see you're violating Jesus teachings. He said love everybody. So you're supposed to love false teachers so I'm supposed to love Brigham Young and Joseph Smith and Judge Rutherford and Mary Baker Eddie and Lng white.
I guess I'm just supposed to love all false prophets as if that has something to do With Jesus's teaching where clearly he's not talking about false prophets and false teachers or any of those things.
He's talking about the fact that Christians do not respond to those who hate them. In the way that many other world religions do I mean just you know, I use as an example in response to this Toronto Muslim who wrote to us and by the way, he's written back and it's worse than what I posted on the blog.
So And he's been calling Calling the offices and stuff and he's a real radical. He's a he's a hothead radical and But you don't respond to him. With hatred, I mean I pity the man. I mean what a what a what a life to be just constantly enraged Everywhere.
I hope he's not married. My goodness. What must it be like to be married to somebody like that? But you don't respond with hatred. You you pray for the man you pray that God will do a work in his life and change his heart because he needs a New heart.
He's got a heart of stone. It's it's it's it's granite it's it's it's not limestone, it's granite and That's what Jesus is talking about. He's not talking about loving Satan or anything of the kind. I mean, that's just.
There's a level of absurdity to that kind of argumentation. I don't really think. You know people might you know, maybe the psalm will say well people do that to Islam well when I do that, then you can hold me accountable for that, but two wrongs don't make a right and This kind of argumentation just just does not does not work very well because it involves rather obvious category errors.
Let's go to the next one to make it harmonized. Secondly, I would say there is no harmony between the books because there are contradictions Between these books in the Bible. So give a few examples now first second book of Samuel talks about David and he slew the men of 700 chariots of the Syrians and 40 ,000 horsemen well first Chronicles another book in the Old Testament says that David slew the men of 7 ,000 chariots and 40 ,000 footmen.
So you see they're contradicting each other on these numbers and another example second Chronicles chapter 9 verse 25 But Solomon had 4 ,000 stalls for horses. Well one king for 26 will say they have 40 ,000 stalls and these examples are so clear That there is no way that they will deny it and that's why they will admit to you.
Yes. These contradictions are there but what they will tell you is that these contradictions are insignificant. This is what they're going to tell you and they're going to tell you Who cares if Solomon had 4 ,000 stalls or 40 ,000 stalls that doesn't affect?
Jesus the belief of Jesus dying on the cross, etc. So they're going to acknowledge that there are small mistakes in the Bible. And that's why they won't say it's hundred percent pure. They'll say it's ninety nine point five percent textually pure.
But the thing is if you read the Gospels Jesus said whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So what does that indicate?
Indicates that Jesus in the Gospels. He's teaching that even if someone is being dishonest about something very little That also shows that he'll be dishonest about much. So you're not supposed to trust that person.
So according to your Bible, I'm not supposed to rely on your Bible.
Now.
Is there so much to respond to there? But since it's fresh in your mind, let's start with the last point that ed is a an incredibly bad Reading an application of the parable of the pounds which interestingly enough We also just finished in the synoptic gospel studies of the week for last I recall.
Which had nothing to do with texts transmission scribes. Honesty, it had nothing to do with honesty where to get dishonest. I have absolutely no earthly idea. When it says who has been faithful in much he's talking about the fact that these people had been entrusted with certain amounts of money gifts talents and That they were to use them in the service of their master and those were found faithful in that.
Would be made faithful over many cities would be rulers over many cities. Those who are faithful in little things will be entrusted with more. Those who are not faithful in little things will not be entrusted with more.
That was that was what the parables but has nothing to do with with scribal Emendations or Hebrew numbers. In handwritten documents transmitted over thousands of years nothing whatsoever. So major category error once again, but Even beyond that, you know this list and and of course Bassam included the PowerPoint presentation that he was making in this Presentation is in 2008 In the United Arab Emirates, I thought I was in London because I thought I recognized one of the other voices, but I was incorrect about that.
The PowerPoint includes a table of your standard numerical Contradictions from the Old Testament and it mainly between the Kings and the Chronicles as far as numbers are concerned and and I don't see any evidence that the psalm has taken any time to Read Gleason Archer's responses to these things discussion of how Hebrew numbers are transmitted.
And I see even though there are times he will accurately represent some of this I see a fundamental confusion in his own mind concerning the difference between inerrancy and The idea of perfection of transmission of text over time the difference between the Originals and what was written in the originals and was transmitted over time.
In the in the scribal process there seems to be some major Confusion on his part and of course, I would say many people's parts not just the psalm, obviously. He may well have spoken with many people Who were just as confused as anybody else on this particular subject though, I know he has had contact with people who have accurately Represented a sound and orthodox position in regards to that and I don't think it is an accurate thing to say that.
Well Christians just say it just doesn't matter. No, we where in the world do we say? Well, it just it just doesn't matter. It's not a big issue it's a you know, there's The the the difference between saying a person would say well there are errors in the Bible.
Would you mean they were written as errors or they're transmitted over time as errors? There's major difference between those two perspectives, which I don't think he's fully grasped what those are. But there's a major difference there and I don't remember I suppose some, you know Wild-eyed liberal might say I don't care about that.
But the vast majority of Christians who would be Concerned enough to even try to present the gospel to a Muslim is not going to be one of those types of folks. Anyways. Those types of folks are more likely want to sit around around a cup of coffee and share religious perspectives.
Then they are to actually be, you know proclaiming something and saying this is true and that's false. So that that doesn't really work two more then we'll go to our phone calls.
To that response is. The Bible says all the scripture is inspired. So you're telling me that God inspired small mistakes.
I think you can nail that but the thing is if he if he insists well small mistakes don't matter then I'm not going to go through these. By the way, these are examples of contradictions of Important things in the Bible.
What's important in the Bible? Jesus's crucifixion. Jesus's resurrection, correct? So the four Gospels each gospel talks about the crucifixion and resurrection from its own point of view. But they contradict each other on many things so you can even show them contradictions on significant issues.
So the thing is when they say there's perfect harmony. You can say to them. Well, first of all prove there's no conspiracy. Secondly, I don't believe there's harmony. Look at these contradictions.
Now, of course we could look at each one of these alleged contradictions and and we can produce lists of alleged contradictions in the Quran. And they'll say oh we have answers that well, you know, I try to find out what those answers are.
It doesn't seem that most of my Muslim opponents not all but it doesn't see most of them really take the time to to find out what Their counterparts in Christianity are saying. In other words They're they seem to be much more attracted to the Bart Ehrman's of the world The liberals the world and later on he'll quote from a number of theological liberals about authorship and stuff like that.
Why are they reading them? Why not read their own? Counterparts those of us who actually believe that the Bible's Word of God in the Jesus's way who he said he was and actually believe in divine revelation.
Because I really don't think most of those who give Dawa would would really have much time for Muslims who don't believe that Muhammad was a prophet or he's just one prophet amongst many prophets or That the Quran contains divine teachings, but isn't really the Word of God.
I really don't think they'd even consider those people Muslims and yet they will bend over backwards to identify people as Christians who Deny the central doctrines of faith or who at least are wishy-washy on very important elements of the faith as well.
But notice there was a little more confusion there. It seemed to me in citing 2nd Timothy 316 that all scripture is God breathed. That what will God inspired mistakes? Well, it seems like he was comparing the mistakes to the transmissional issues rather than what was in the originals again that that seems to indicate some level of Confusion on his part and that confusion I think does come out very clearly When he talks about textual critical issues and we'll just do one quote here and then go to our collars.
Secondly manuscript evidence Has has unveiled false verses Deliberately inserted into the Bible whole passages. For example 1 John 5 7 which talks about The Trinity formula just 60 years ago. They've discovered that this is a false verse Inserted in the 15th century or John chapter 7 to John chapter 8 Mark chapter 16 verses 9 through 20.
There is possibility that future discovery of manuscripts will unveil more false verses. So what's the significance of finding out about these false verses? Just in the past 60 years. With the manuscript evidence they gathered they found out that these verses were inserted into the Bible over the centuries.
Now I.
When I first heard this I I just wasn't sure, you know, I've gone back and listened to it I think I finally figured it out. This is 2008 60 years before that 1948 Dead Sea Scrolls. I'm really thinking he's thinking has become confused.
It doesn't understand the difference between Old Testament New Testament. I don't know. But the idea that for example, the Kami Ohanian was discovered 60 years ago is is rather humorous actually. Given that the Kami Ohanian first John 5 7 When Erasmus Finally included it in the third edition of his Novum Testamentum it was not in the first two editions of at that time is the Novum Instrumentum, but When he finally included it in the third edition he included along with it a lengthy footnote.
Explaining why he felt that the passage was bogus now. That's at the beginning of the 16th century. Okay, that's just under 400 years ago. This is nothing new we I mean, I mean We've had obviously numerous textual Critical textual New Testaments that existed before 60 years ago.
The text has been known to be highly questionable and rejected by the vast majority for a long long long long long long long long long long time and even when you look at well, for example the Percopaea adultery John 173 811 the longer ending of Mark that there there are discussions.
These things go back into the ancient church. Many early manuscripts mark off the longer ending or the Percopaea adultery. With Obella and asterix's so we could talk about thousand years in into the past not sixty.
So, you know again, I I want to be fair.
I.
Really doubt that the vast majority of evangelicals Could answer a meaningful question as to how long has it been known that There is a textual variant. At the longer ending of Mark is not found in ancient manuscript.
How long has that been known? You know, I mean that's not something a lot of people know, but most people then do not do presentations representing themselves as knowing these things. So that's where the problem arises.
But I would if the psalm does not have my book on the King James only controversy, which is used as a introduction to textual criticism by by lots of folks all across the United States and colleges and seminaries.
Be happy to send it to him because there's a whole section on the Kami Ohanian and and Mark 16 19 20 and the Percopaea adultery and all sorts of stuff. Be happy to be happy to Bring an extra copy to London in February.
Speaking of which for go to our callers London London London. That banner ad at the top of our website. Still need your assistance. Still need your help out there folks to get to London in February because not only do we have to fly over to London, but because we've had some scheduling issues where Revelation TV.
Remember last year when I was on Revelation TV. It was really nice because I was able to I was able to put up the program really quick. They gave me a DVD of it and I got it posted. Revelation TV wants to do a debate With pastor Jack Moorman who is a published King James only author on?
February 2nd now, I'm already scheduled to debate Bassam Zawadi who we've been listening to on February 12th both in London. Now that makes for a long time period that's 10 days between the two. I am also going to be going up to Dublin Ireland.
I'm gonna be looking at some manuscripts there. I've got a specific project that I want to pursue with the in examining manuscripts. So I've got to go from. I'm gonna fly into London that I need to after doing the Revelation TV debate.
Fly up to Dublin.
The possibility exists. We're gonna see if this works. Go from Dublin to Glasgow from Glasgow back to London for the debate with Bassam Zawadi and ministry at Trinity Road Chapel. So there are three more flights in there that we need to be covering and all the travel that goes with it and so on so forth and.
We just need to let you know that need is there and if you click on the banner ad at AOMN org it will take you to a place where you can help us with travel expenses and travel costs and I'm sure that That the Saints will be blessed over there Lord willing.
And of course The results hopefully of seeing some of those manuscripts and pursuing a particular project that I would like to Pursue in the apologetic realm and being able to see those manuscripts would be useful to folks as well.
So Please pray about helping us with that. We would love to have that opportunity of doing that. Eight seven seven seven five three. Three three four. One is the phone number. Let's get to our phone callers here.
And I guess it just sort of start at the top and go from all right. Let's talk with Anthony. Hi Anthony.
Hey, dr. White. Hi. Um, I had a question for you on baptism a Lutheran friend of mine and keep in mind This is a very good friend of mine, and I believe Lutherans are our brothers in Christ. Um told me that Baptists were all wet when it came to baptism because we think that baptism is just.
I wasn't sure how To answer him. Could you help me out?
Well.
Obviously our Sacramental friends and there are those that are out there Attached to baptism a spiritual significance even to the point of baptismal regeneration that baptism actually Affects the regeneration of the person who receives it including the regeneration of infants.
And I would have Major serious problems with that. How in the world would a Lutheran who believes in justification by faith believe that. Well. That's what Luther had to come up with. That's why Luther had to come up with the concept of infantile faith.
That a child could have true genuine faith expressed in the faith that they have in their parents.
You know, I I love Luther and I Am appreciative of many insights Luther had but the fact the matter is we have to allow for time to pass for people to Come to be able to recognize the traditions. They're still holding on to from their past and I would just simply to say to everybody who gets upset with the reformers who didn't necessarily go as far as you think they should.
As quickly as you think they should have I would simply say one thing to you if you were in their shoes. How far would you have gone? So I just say that to everybody but just. My response to a Lutheran who would who would propose the concept of any type of sacramental baptism regeneration would be to go to the ultimate authority in such matters and that is to scripture itself and that Regeneration is not the result of baptism.
While baptism is the universal experience of believers It is not the mechanism whereby the heart of stone is taken out and the heart of flesh is given. That is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. It is always associated first and foremost with faith true saving faith.
Not just infantile faith but true saving faith in Jesus Christ and repentance and Baptism in the New Testament is eschatological. It looks back upon the something that was completed before it. It is not something that's looking forward to something In the future and so you really have to build up an entire sacramental system to be able to elevate baptism that way you have to come up with a concept of sacraments and a concept of grace.
That I I just don't think has a biblical foundation. And so rather than arguing just a few texts on baptism. Personally I think it's far better to deal with the actual nature of regeneration the actual nature of justification and then demonstrate that it is a system being forced on the New Testament that leads to Those conclusions rather than the exegesis of the text itself.
So I would go to all those texts that talk about what it means to be born again what it means to be justified the mechanism whereby that takes place and You will not find that baptism is the mechanism that the New Testament is is presenting as them as How God does that?
Thank you very much. That was most helpful. Okay. Well, thank you very much Anthony. You stay warm up there in I'll bet you it's what about 65 degrees there now.
It's a bit just above freezing.
Well, that's good you. I'm glad you're down from Anchorage so. Anyways, thanks, Anthony. Eight seven seven seven five three three three four. One boy here comes troublemaker Jamin. Slam them in men. And from the person who writes many blog articles.
Hello, sir. Done. Pretty good. I.
Have a few questions on infant baptism and covenant theology. Oh, really? Yeah, I listen to Story, but I went to a PCA Church for a while and so in front of the Baptist and they for debates in a week and Read a bunch of different things and so now and then I restarted re-listening to them.
Your three debates, you know, I was trampled just going and so forth and in Strawbridge a couple different questions and they might. Maybe I should have had him answer just by listening closely, but I still have a couple things.
First of all, what is the The difference between Presbyterian covenant theology covenant theology when it comes to the land promise in Genesis 13, well.
What is the difference between and what is when you start asking that question the first thought across my mind was That the fundamental difference that I see. Obviously since I am Reformed Baptist, I see a consistency issue.
Because it it goes to the signs that were that were or were not given in each of this dispensations of those covenants and we talked about the Covenant works in a way a covenant the Abrahamic Covenant the Sinaitic Covenant and the fact that in some of those You have no signs given to infants at all so the argument that you have to have a sign given to infants as part of a Covenant is just not the case.
What was the Covenant sign from Adam until Abraham or even Adam till Noah? There wasn't any sign given to the infants in that situation, but then you changed that And and altered the question and I'm not exactly sure how to answer the specific element that you added to that.
Okay.
Well, I guess I guess I just remembered during some of your debates you mentioned the promise having a land promise. Yeah, because obviously beta Baptist they want to import, you know, this this for your promise for your children and so forth, right?
The new covenant.
Yeah, well, obviously It's interesting and I don't have it with me right now, but You know Sunday morning Sunday evening. I haven't decided exactly where I'm going to fit this in the order I'm going to address these things, but I am going to be going over 17 differences between the Old and New Covenants and They are all listed by John Owen in his commentary on Hebrews chapter 8 verse 6.
And as you probably know John Owen could Could write 47 pages on today's weather report. I mean, it's just It could be a very boring weather report it too. So that's just the way it is, but he goes through 17 differences and it is interesting.
This is this is one of the things Yeah, I think you would find different understandings amongst different Presbyterians as to exactly how that fleshes out because While Owen was a pato Baptist He likewise saw That there in essence is no land promise In the New Covenant that this is one of the differences that there is a specific Tying of the Old Covenant promises to a specific people in a specific context geographically and and temporally speaking and that that does not have a fulfillment in the New Covenant in the sense of a Spiritualization or anything along those lines and like I said, I don't have that in front of me right now.
If you since it is available online I believe Owens commentaries on Hebrews. If you look at Hebrews 8 6 You'll find the listing of those there and then. There's an excellent book. Since I know you're a bibliophile.
And hence any excuse to put a book on a wish list is a good thing. Reform Baptist Academic Press Published a book by Nehemiah Cox on the cover.
And that was that was that was good. But about the I guess in in your debates with Presbyterians, they would just reply by saying okay that that is physically fulfilled. It's just a whole world. Now, is that something that is common between?
Reform Baptist and Presbyterians. That that's that's a literal fulfillment you could say or or is it different?
Well, I don't know if there's any one answer that because like I said, you'll you'll find folks that will not make that spiritual application one way or the other so. You you have the use of the promise to children live long upon the earth in the New Testament and I've actually heard people try to make a connection to that somehow with New Covenant fulfillment or something along those lines, but.
Yeah, no, I don't I don't know if there's any one one position amongst everyone. I mean if you look at the Strawbridge book. You found a tremendous amount of conflict even within that one book on this very kind of thing.
I mean, I don't know if you saw my responses to Jeff Neal on this subject. That I wrote for the Reform Baptist Theological Review. But I responded to Jeff Neal's article on Hebrews 8 in that book and then pointed out that an Later writer in the same book completely contradicted Jeff Neal's position.
So to say there's just one position on some of these things is Unless unless it's really Dogmatically stay in the Westminster Standards. I'm not sure there is just just one position.
Right and that and that leads me to my second question because I'm just I'm just realizing when you start to ask different different people. Their reasons for even baptism. There's there's some kind of common base but it's different.
And my seminary mentor is a PCA pastor and so we talk about this a lot and. And I guess evidence of that because as you know the whole idea of what it means to be. Quote-unquote. Yes, it's something that's really hard to kind of pin down or at least it is for for a lot of Pato Baptist because a Couple pastors and it's a God ever makes it to like people and so while it appears to be.
You know like a mixed covenant in the Old Covenant with the bearing of the sign and so forth. And they're really not regenerate. They really weren't in the covenant. Our idea of a mixed covenant from you.
Yeah, but why would the prophets constantly be upbraiding or having broken the covenant if they weren't actually in the covenant? No, they the the that that is. Obviously that is that is a question that I would I would highly Recommend you placing to some of our brethren and channel who are good Presbyterians and actually hold the positions of Authority in that because honestly, I think it's a question that they need to answer because that to me is one of the primary areas Where my understanding of covenant theology is more consistent.
That's why they hold it and that is and when you come to the New Covenant That sort of defines Exactly what we're talking about. What what was it in Romans of Romans Hebrews 8? He finds fault with two things.
He finds he first of all Says if the first covenant had been faultless there would have been no seeking for a second. So there's there's some type of a faulting of the first covenant and then finding fault with them.
He says and then you have the the Jeremiah 31 text. Well, what is the answer to the fault that is found in the covenant breaking Jews? Who did not keep the covenant to which they had been pledged by the sign?
The answer is that well the New Covenant's not going to be like the Old Covenant in that and what's the in that? The in that I will write my law upon their hearts and they will no longer say to one another know the Lord.
In other words, there is a complete changing of the covenant member himself through regeneration now there were Old Covenant members who regenerated but the Old Covenant did not bring about regeneration as a Necessary aspect of it.
And so that really from our perspective. We are I think all Reformed Baptists are Absolutely united on that and we say to our paid about this brethren, okay this this this this ticking time bomb is yours.
It ain't ours. Because you're the ones they're trying to say that, you know well, the New Covenant is a mixed covenant and you know, the church membership and and You know all the rest that kind of stuff and we're the ones saying no, I don't think so and that's where really where the debate devolves, but You know Edwards struggled with that and and it's been a constant area of discussion In pedobaptist circles as to how to deal with with that because there is the constant tendency for that perspective to end up resulting in the kind of nominalism in in state churches and Established churches that that Europe is a is a great example of to this very day because You know the tendency is well, you know we've got these promises to our children and therefore they're in the covenants and and that has Resulted very often.
I think a lot of my pedobaptist brethren would admit in a diminishment of the fervor of the of the proclamation and calling of the gospel To those that are allegedly quote-unquote in that in that situation.
I think that helps a bit.
So it should be yeah, but is there any book on the history of well from like a non paid about this perspective in?
You mean I? In the modern modern.
Presbyterian years like in the last 15 20 years or something.
But but about the modern views of pedobaptist, but or or a no like like like historical. Oh, yeah. Again I I know someone in channel who probably know a lot more about this than I do. Maybe he'll pop off here right now.
He's seemingly keeping his head low, but.
The.
I'm trying to I can see the cover of the book and on my shelf there there is a a work that deals with the historical issues in regards to the ancient church. You're probably aware of Kurt Allen's work on it and the people that have respond to him and back and forth and stuff like that.
Okay, yeah, there's some good stuff there. What you really want to get is the The Reformed Baptist Theological Reviews journal Issues that dealt with this because the bibliography used to be a goldmine.
Okay, that's that's right. That's where you get to. You know those bibliographies are really really useful, so if you get RBT are Google it. Some of them are I'm not sure if the bibliographies would be.
Richard Brassellus is is a guy you might want to contact To see about getting any back issues or stuff like that, okay? Okay, well, thanks man for calling have a have a good one. Eight seven seven seven five three three three four.
One time is going so we go to Ryan up in New York. Hi Ryan.
How are you doing? Merry Christmas? Dr. White and to you. How are you? I'm doing pretty well. Um, I had a question on Second Corinthians chapter or church right now.
That.
I think they fall just just I guess kind of semi-army Indian and that was preaching on Second Corinthians 19 where it says that is that God was in Christ Reconciling the world to himself. Again applied that verse 19, which to me.
I don't understand. I don't see how that wouldn't necessary necessitate.
Universalist coming. Yeah, right.
Universalism. Yeah, unless of course you you and you input that idea of the possibility of salvation. Right. Actually if my question was wondering then that understanding of Second Corinthians 519. Going back to verse 14 of the same chapter.
Because we judged us that if one died for all then all died And he died for all that those who live should live no longer. For this back to Romans chapter 5 in the discussion of Jesus Christ and Adam as the head of church.
I don't don't have much to add to that. Your your smack your smack. Dab on.
So many times in this situation that the question really is well is propitiation. Propitiation is reconciliation reconciliation. There might be there's there's a really tough text. It's not this one because If you look at 519 that is in Christ God was right inside the world to himself and then you have sort of a and a positive phrase, which is a Renaming a redescription not counting their trespasses against them.
Now, that's a that's a incredibly important Term because if anyone looks at the original language the not counting is logins. Am I that's imputing? That's imputation right there, and so if if whatever this this reconciliation is it involves a Non-imputation of sin which would involve the imputation of that sin, of course to Christ now.
Modern theologians today are trying to get away from imputation and all the rest of that stuff for various and sundry reasons. But if you are taking any type of conservative theological perspective whatsoever you're going to be very careful and looking at term like logins am I and Making it a mere theoretical thing.
There are those that create a theology That basically says that the entire world the entire all of creation itself has been reconciled to God through the death of Christ.
But.
That's not enough. You have to enter into that by your free will choice, etc, etc. So the reconciliation has taken place that the the sin issue has been taking place. It's all of that's done. It's just a matter of whether you will live and what has been done for you or not.
And that's very very common in liberal circles. Today to take that kind of a perspective and say, you know, the peace is already there and it but it's it's all you know. You just have to live it out and and that really becomes the foundation for second chance after death.
Postmortem evangelism all those other concepts that almost always end up flowing out of liberalism as well.
When you when you're consistent with Paul and and listen to Paul's categories Then I think you're exactly right. He is talking in the same way that he's talking in Romans 5 and we're talking about the two different humanities and and.
There always is the emphasis we need to we may need to maintain this emphasis and emphasize this emphasis. And that is that when it talks about the world that is a constant Reminder that the gospel can never be limited to any geographical location or any any Individual group of people.
There is a tendency toward that we've seen we saw that in South Africa. For example, we've seen that in Europe over the years. There's just a tendency for people to become complacent and to define the world as just the people around them.
That's that's not the case, but the same time to expand that out to the idea of The the atoning work of Christ becomes universal Reconciliation justification atonement propitiation all becomes merely theoretical and not actual on All based upon what man does.
That's that's a hugely unwarranted leap the other direction. But it's very common because there isn't a whole lot of push to be consistent in your your theology and in most places today.
Right. Yeah. Well, I guess. Well, thank you very much. It was definitely helpful for me. Okay. Thank you Ryan.
Thanks for calling it. All right. God bless. Bye. Bye. All right, we're gonna we're getting close on time. Let's sneak George in here and say hello to George in Virginia. Hi George. Hey, how you doing?
Dr. White? I'm good.
Yeah, I'm a reformed and I like to study, you know objections to reformed theology and I had a question on two verses in Mark 10 21 Is looking at him. Jesus felt a love a love for him and said to him I looked up the word love there.
Pretty sure it was the agapio love and like there was there's like no evidence that this rich young ruler like, you know Get saved or anything like that. I was hoping that you would address that. And also second Peter to one in reference to well in regards to mark 10 21.
First of all there there really isn't any biblical distinction between Agapao and phileo Agape and others. I know it's really common and you hear people preaching out. Oh, well that would. That's an agape kind of a.
Good good luck trying to substantiate that from the actual uses of the terms in the New Testament. It's a good solid word for love and unless you believe that God has no love For the non-elect then the text doesn't cause you a problem because the fact that God shows his love the non-elect through his patience and through The general call the gospel and everything else you just have to recognize the difference between a General love and the redemptive love that actually brings about the salvation of some.
We don't know what happened to the rich young ruler. We don't know if after Pentecost. He was converted. We're not we're not told. And this text isn't attempting to answer these things. The point is that it does seem to indicate that this particular individual in giving the answers that he gave was giving an answer not out of Self deceit.
He really did answer this way this the question. Honestly, he really did think that he had kept these things from his youth up and.
Personally interpret that to Jesus's love for him that is expressed in his then exposure of his sin As a wonderful example of what God's love really does. Because what does Jesus do. And he says you lack one thing go sell all.
That you haven't give to the poor and you have treasure in heaven and come follow me. What what is Jesus doing? He's exposing the fact this man's an idolater. This man thinks he has actually kept the second table of the law when in fact, he's violated the first and.
So real Christian love love as Jesus Illustrated it will always Point out sin and will point to the true worship of God. That's what real love is and it's not based upon what's gonna happen as a result.
It's not based upon whether this man is elect or non-elect or any of the rest that stuff. That's not that's not even in view here. What is in view is here you have a man who may well have been led astray by the externalized religion of his day.
Jesus Exposes his self-righteousness and he does so in love. It is a loving thing to point out self-righteousness to someone and That's how I understand the text now. As to the other text If you're if you're talking about The the master who bought them.
Is that what you're referring to? Yeah. Yeah. There's an entire article on our website. If you'll go to the reformed theology section There's an extensive article by Simon Escobedo there. That is I'm sorry.
Yeah, it's an it's well just go to articles it takes you there and it's it's Many pages long and will take you about an hour and a half to read. But since you asked that's where you want to go. There's certainly no way we can we can get into it today.
Do you know any good books on the reprobation. On? The doctrine of reprobation.
Every discussion I've read on reprobation. It was any good was found in a larger work on on election, so, you know what what Raymond says in his systematic theology or what. Most of your major theologians who address election will Will address reprobation as a subset of that, but I don't know of any personally.
There may be there probably are books out there Specifically on that subject. I don't know what they are though. Alright, thanks. Alright. Thanks a lot. All right. God bless. Really really really super super quick because we're already well past our time.
Tom and Huntsville. Yes, sir. Hey, thank you very much. Dr. White. I'm trying to find a good resource. That's a refutation of the the JEPD documentary. Fine. I wanted to get some recommendations. Well, I'll be.
I'll be.
Probably a horse whipped for this but I Think the best place to start there would be to Search on the name Wellhausen w-e-l-l-h-a-u-s-e-n on my blog that will turn up the Papers written by a student of mine by name of Colin Smith.
Okay, that would be where I would start and then of course there would be a bibliography attached. I believe that Colin recently put a link on the blog to a website where he's posting his papers and so if for some reason the bibliography was not a part of the posting of the blog article it would be I think in the PDF version that would be there and that would give you a Bibliography to work from and that's always the kind of resources you're looking for as far as because because most that kind of stuff.
Yeah, I'm sure there are certain Specific books on the unity of the text of the Old Testament Kaiser and and others have written on those subjects. But very often that kind of discussion is found within a larger work rather than just as a you know as a journal article or an entry in like an encyclopedia type thing, but Normally as a subset of a larger work.
So I'm sure that I would I would think anyways that that's a Collins bibliography would have a good place you to start there. Excellent. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you, sir. All right. God bless.
All right, we got everybody in and we only went three minutes over nothing. Nothing too bad. The wife won't won't get too upset with me if I'm a little bit late getting home today I have got a long list of honeydews today.
Let's not only say but that's what happens when people come over to the house. Hey. We will be back. Believe it or not Lord willing on the 28th of December. We've got one more week of 2010 and then man I'm at I'm teaching the polemics class in January.
I'm at the Deep South founders conference. Right the beginning of February off to the UK, please help with that. It's gonna be a busy busy busy busy time. Please pray for us support us. We'll see you next week.
God bless.
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