The Scriptorium Daily

Category: Theology

  • The Unique Inwardness of the Psalms

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Here is the best section of William Gladstone’s chapter on the Psalms, from pp. 184ff of The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture. No comment, except to point out that Gladstone’s reading of the Psalms is from the perspective of a person with deep immersion in the Greek classics since childhood. It is, I submit, the…

  • Gladstone: The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture

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    Fred Sanders
    in , ,

    Today (December 29) is the birthday of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), who has been called “the most eminent of the eminent Victorians.” Gladstone the politician dominated British history throughout the bulk of the nineteenth century: He became a Member of Parliament in 1832, and remained in high offices until 1895, serving four times as Prime…

  • “Jesus is Victor” (Blumhardt)

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (December 28) in 1843, an unclean spirit cried “Jesus is victor!” as it departed from a young girl in Möttlingen, Germany. The possessed girl was Gottliebin Dittus, and the presiding pastor was Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880). An account of the conflict can be read in the book The Awakening, available as a free pdf…

  • A Christmas Meditation (for Pastors)

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    Greg Peters
    in

    At Morning Prayer on Christmas Eve, at least in my daily lectionary, the New Testament reading is Philippians 2:5-11: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking…

  • Horatius Bonar on Being Superficial

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (December 19) is the birthday of Horatius Bonar (1808-1889), Scottish preacher and writer of uncommon power and insight. He is best remembered today for the hymn ‘I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” In 1847, Bonar published a book called Prophetical Landmarks. It is a great example of the kind of premillennial theology that…

  • Happy Birthday, Phoebe Palmer

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    Fred Sanders
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    Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) was born on this day (December 17). Palmer was an American Methodist lay theologian whose writings and speaking gave shape to the American Holiness tradition, with further influence in the Higher Life movement and Pentecostalism. Beginning in 1836, Palmer and her sister Sarah (both married, but sharing a household) held a series…

  • Happy Birthday, George Whitefield

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (December 16) is the birthday of George Whitefield (1714 – 1770). One of the best biographies of Whitefield called him The Divine Dramatist, estimating that he preached over 18,000 times over the course of more than 30 years in England, in Scotland, and in America. Whitefield was part of the original methodist awakening at…

  • A.B. Simpson’s Large Christian Life

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (December 15) is the birthday of A. B. Simpson (1843 – 1919), founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Simpson was a remarkable character, one of those late nineteenth century evangelicals whose ministry held together things that seemed to fly apart during the twentieth century. Urban evangelism plus foreign missions; education plus mass outreach;…

  • Israel and Advent

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    Matt Jenson
    in

    Yesterday Joe and I were driving to Sports Authority in Cerritos. In the middle of catching one another up on our lives, he took a conversational detour to ask what I thought about Israel. It’s partly a political question, partly a spiritual one; it concerns at once Scripture, revelation, Jesus, the church and, of course,…

  • R.W. Dale on the Trinity

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    Fred Sanders
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    Today (December 1) is the birthday of R. W. Dale (1829 – 1895), a British Congregationalist pastor and writer. Dale is best remembered for his conservatizing essay on the atonement, and for his commitment to social work in applying what he called “the civic gospel” to Birmingham, England, which needed it. Dale also wrote a…

  • Bringing One Another Along – A Wedding Homily for Jane and Alex Elmore

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    Greg Peters
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    This wedding homily was delivered at St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Oceanside, CA on June 26, 2009. Jane and Alex were students of mine in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University and I had the privilege of performing, along with Jane’s father, their wedding this summer. A beautiful day with a wonderful couple. Jane…

  • The Christian Religion

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Last week I spoke at the annual Religious Diversity Forum at the University of California at Irvine. Most of my time there was spent in open discussion with a small group of people, including a rabbi and a nice Muslim woman who was fascinated by the idea of Baptist foot-washing services. But here are my…