Ligonier Conference: Entry #3

Ever took a drink from the the forceful waters of the Niagra Falls?

Welcome to the theologically flowing force of a Ligonier Conference.

Tonight we heard from R.C. Sproul and John Piper--separated by a paper on "Why Should We Read the Puritans?"

Excellent stuff.

Here is a summary of R.C. Sproul, Jr.'s discussion from this afternoon on "Post-modernism and Christianity."

Text: Genesis 3:1-10

THE SERPENT IS CRAFTY:

Satan's philosophies are not necessarily to keep the lost lost. They are to keep the church confused, distracted, and ineffective. Just as the serpent spiritually attacked the 1st Adam's wife, he now assaults the 2nd Adam's (Christ's) bride--and he is very crafty. He has seduced the church to fight modernism while embracing a more subtle philosophy: post-modernism

Many times, the newest, cleanest buildings in rural America is the building for the Board of Education (or such...). Education is the great sacrament of our secular religion. But man can never return to Eden by this way.

Yet many times, the church believes that the lost merely need better spiritual education--arguments--in order to get to God.

According to Romans 1:

1. Man Rejects God.
2. Man is Given to a Depraved Mind.
3. Man then constructs his world-view to rationalize and justify sin.

"We do not construct a world-view and then fall into sin." We align ourselves against God and construct our world-views accordingly. Therefore, education is not the decisive need. "Smart" is not listed among the fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible calls us to wisdom, not to world-views.

In Modernism, we have distorted view of certainty.
In Post-Modernism, we have a pile of uncertainty.

And we can become post-modern to fight modernism. As a result the church loses its boldness.

One fallacy of post-modernism is that it equates uncertainty with humility. But how can we be humble when we say that We Create Our Own Reality? Is it not more humble to acknowledge that there is truth we can know and submit ourselves to?

No, we must speak truth.

Note: When Peter preaches the Gospel in Acts, he speaks historically. He does not rely on mere personal testimony. He is telling The Story---not just his story....


THE SERPENT PERSEVERES:

We Bible believers can triumphalistically rejoice in the demise of classic, liberal churches; however, the threat has moved into "evangelicalism." We are tainted with post-modern thinking.

Also, we should not fight post-modernism with modernism.

Eve did not need a graduate degree in philosophy to ward of Satan. All she needed to do was to believe God.

The underlying problem of modernism and post-modernism is one: Neither believe God.

Let's believe God.