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  1. Edgar Allan Poe on Natural Depravity

    April 17, 2012 by Jeff

    This quote from Edgar Allan Poe comes from his short story “The Black Cat” (which is well worth reading if you never have).

    Of this spirit philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart — one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?

    This inward inclination Poe calls the spirit of PERVERSENESS – Christian theologians call it total depravity.


  2. Why Churches Don’t Invest in Christian Education

    March 27, 2012 by Jeff

    A friend of mine recently asked my wife and I on Facebook why more churches don’t make a direct investment in Christian schools.  Here’s my answer.

    There are a lot of components to a well rounded answer. The first is a hearty “I don’t know” in the sense that you are on to something that is exactly right – Christian education SHOULD be something churches invest in. Once you come to realize that Jesus is both Creator of and Lord over all of reality (as has been the central Christian confession since the earliest days of the church) you pretty swiftly get to the conclusion that education is discipleship. Really, as Christians, we would affirm that you can’t understand anything as well as you should if you don’t understand that Jesus is the creator, sustainer, and Lord of everything. Yet we’re all too comfortable farming out our children’s discipleship to an institution with a decidedly contrary worldview (speaking of government schools wholistically and acknowledging that there are really good Christian educators in the secular education system) for 40 hours a week and then hoping a few hours at church will be enough to counter the negatives of government school education. That is just the sort of thing that churches should combat by helping to make Christian education an affordable alternative. Christie and I really believe that investing in Christian education should be part of a church’s local missions budget since, as I said, investing in a good Christian school is investing in discipleship.

    The problem is that lots of churches can’t see the value of investing in something if it doesn’t have an altar call at the end of the meeting. Actually, there are multiple problems. Another is that a local church investing in a Christian school often requires that church being assured they will control the school absolutely before they cut the check. Hence the reality that it’s not uncommon for an average city to have four Christian schools, all run exclusively by one of four different churches and boasting 30 students apiece.

    I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that even if churches began to invest in Christian school more extensively Christian parents would still have to agree to commit to Christian education as well for a truly alternative system to develop.  I’ve often been told “We could never afford that” by families that can somehow manage to always have a vehicle less than 3 years old, just put in a pool, went to Disneyland 2 out of the last 4 years, etc. I’m not saying any of those decisions are bad in and of themselves but until a family makes investing in their student’s education a priority – the kind of priority that carries financial consequences – there is no amount of supplementing that can reduce the cost of private education to the nominal level some would be “willing” to pay.

    The other issue with families is that so many worship the god of Football (or [Insert favorite sport]). The chance for their kid to play some kind of sport is much more non-negotiable than being told (for example) that anyone who doesn’t religiously affirm Darwinism and/or Secular Humanism is some kind of intellectual pygmy for 40 hours a week and more than a decade (as they complete the government school program). The bottom line is that families have to get serious about putting their kid in the best situation possible before any lowered tuition cost would have any affect.  These are, I’m sure, not the only reasons families won’t make the move to a Christian school.  The two I have mentioned just happen to be the most common and poor excuses I run into.

    Sorry for the book, I wanted to give a thorough treatment. This was all off the cuff so I’m sure there is spelling/grammar mistakes. Please forgive those as well. I should also note that my views are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the views of Highland Rim Academy but those views did lead Christie and I to invest our time and resources in the school.


  3. The Worst Easter Thing Ever?

    March 26, 2012 by Jeff

    Feast your eyes on this monstrosity:

    Easter Egg Jesus!

    I saw this on the shelf of my favorite local home improvement warehouse store and was violently reminded that syncretism is alive and well in American Christianity.

    I’m really torn on how to even write about this.  On the one level I recognize some monster wanted to make a figure of Jesus to sell around Easter.  On the other, I can’t comfortably acknowledge that this… thing… has any connection to the reigning Lord of the Universe.    I think I’m going to call it Easter Egg jesus.  I guess I should be encouraged (?) on some level that the Easter Bunny appears to be bowing down to  jesus (Amen! said all my fundamentalist brethren) but I’m more distressed that he’s somehow made jesus put on a dress that looks like an easter egg.

    Can’t you just smell the sentimentalism billowing off of this atrocity?  Somehow it manages to be both blasphemous and trivial at the same time.  How many lawn ornaments can make that claim?

    Honestly, I’m convinced one of the major reasons God gave us the 2nd Commandment is because He knew we would make something like this deformity.

    Anyway, it was too awful not to share.


  4. Luther on Downplaying Doctrine

    March 20, 2012 by Jeff

    I came across the following in class today while reading The Bondage of the Will with our eighth graders.  It struck me as remarkably timeless – or at least timely for our own day despite being written nearly 500 years ago.

    If you aren’t familiar with the work let me set the scene: Luther is responding to Desiderius Erasmus’[1] On Free Will in which Erasmus had criticized Luther.[2]  In his work Erasmus had written the following (on which Luther latches with his typical tenacity):

    “I find so little satisfaction in assertions that I would readily take up the skeptics’ position wherever the inviolable authority of Holy Scripture and the Church’s decisions permit…I gladly submit to these authorities in all they lay down whether I follow it or not.”

    It will aid understanding if we define assertions (as Luther himself did at length in his book).  The quickest summary I can offer of what is meant here by assertion is this: “Positive statements of religious doctrine.”  Assertions are statements like “Jesus is Lord” or “There is one God who exists in three persons.”  Erasmus wants to avoid those whenever possible.  Luther, obviously, doesn’t think that is a good idea:

    In a word, what you say comes to this: that you do not think it matters a scrap what anyone believes anywhere, so long as the world is at peace; you would be happy for anyone whose life, reputation, welfare or influence was at stake to emulate him who said ‘if they affirm, I affirm; if they deny, so do I’ & you would encourage him to treat Christian doctrines as no better than the views of human philosophers — about which, of course it is stupid to wrangle & fight & assert, since nothing results but bad feeling & breaches of outward peace. ‘What is above us does not concern us’ — that is your motto. So you intervene to stop our battles; you call a halt to both sides, and urge us not to fight any more over issues that are so stupid and sterile.

    By so doing  you merely let us see that in your heart you cherish a Lucian[3], or some other hog of Epicurus’ heard, who, because he is an atheist himself, finds in all who believe in God and confess Him a subject for secret amusement.  Leave us free to make assertions and to find in assertions our satisfaction and delight; and you may applaud your Sceptics[4] and Academics – till Christ calls you too!  The Holy Spirit is no Sceptic, and the things He has written in our hearts are not doubts or opinions, but assertions – surer and more certain than sense and life itself.

    How relevant is that to a day where so many wear as a badge of pride their refusal to acknowledge doctrinal distinctives in their practice of the Christian faith (as if that can even be done)?  Erasmus sounds like he could be speaking as a representative of a myriad of groups whose only confessed doctrine is the avoidance of doctrinal confessions.  Even more he completely turns the whole process of being discerning about Christian truth over to his chosen religious authority – much the same way that people sit comfortably under unbiblical preaching every Sunday from a person they have deep affection for because trusting the person is easier than the hard work of comparing what is said to Scripture.

    Rather than avoiding “assertions” Luther argues we should love truth.

    The Christian would rather say this: ‘So little do I like skeptical principles, that, so far as the weakness of my flesh permits, not merely shall I make it my invariable rule steadfastly to adhere to the sacred text in all that it teaches, and to assert that teaching, but I also want to be as positive as I can about those non-essentials which scripture does not determine; For uncertainty is the most miserable thing in the world.

    Amen Martin.


    [1][1] AKA Erasmus of Rotterdam

    [2] Despite the two earlier sharing similar concerns regarding the Roman Catholic church; Erasmus eventually concludes that Luther is too radical and a break with Rome would be too drastic.

    [3] Lucian of Samosata, a second century satirist who made sport of Christians – most notably in his work titled Passing of Peregrinus.

    [4] I’m quoting from the translation of The Bondage of the Will created by J.I. Packer and O.R. Johnston and thus retain their spelling.  Skeptics for Luther represent those who never actually get around to saying anything because they are so busy asking questions – a reality that reveals the pointlessness of their system.  For more information click here.


  5. Hymns in the Contemporary Church

    March 16, 2012 by Jeff

    This video from The Gospel Coalition on using hymns today is well worth the time it takes to watch. Thinking through why we do what we do in worship is always a good thing to do and the discussion here is helpfully thought provoking.


  6. Great Price on Great Book: Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey

    February 24, 2012 by Jeff

    I saw today that this title was being offered for approximately $11 by Amazon and couldn’t resist putting it in front of anyone who reads by blog as an act of service to that reader.

    The author’s previous book (Total Truth) has had more of an impact on my discipleship than any other save the Bible. Her follow up (the title on sale, Saving Leonardo) is no less helpful. I couldn’t recommend either title more strongly.

    Click Image to Purchase

    Saving Leonardo

    - – - – -
    Previous posts related to Total Truth:
    Christian Worldview: Its Impact on Culture
    Christian Worldview: Its Application within the Church


  7. “Hey, If Cannibalism works for you…”

    February 14, 2012 by Jeff

    My wife and I have fallen in love with the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class and listen to it virtually every time we make the 30 minute trek from or to Cookeville (where we work and worship). Having exhausted the most recent episodes we recently started working our way through the archives and today came to the August 12th, 2008 episode on the Donner Party. If you aren’t familiar the Donner Party’s travails are one of American History’s most notorious examples of cannibalism and has been a source of public interest since the broader culture first learned about what took place amongst them in 1846.

    Sounds like a truly great premise for an episode of a history podcast doesn’t it? It turns out that the most attention grabbing part of the episode comes before we actually even get to the specifics of the Donner Party. At approximately the 1:56 mark of the episode the listener is treated to the clip you can hear below:

    You should have seen us in the car when we heard that little nugget. I started belly laughing and Christie’s jaw dropped to the floor.

    The fellow you hear speaking is Josh “Curious like a Cat” Clark and he’s explaining to the other personality on the show, Candace Keener, how we just couldn’t allow ourselves to enforce our “Western” values on a culture that finds it perfectly acceptable to dine on human flesh.

    I really hope that Josh was being facetious but I don’t find any justification in the audio itself to conclude that he actually was.

    It is truly remarkable how foolish have we become as a culture in our refusal to acknowledge universal moral standards?

    I have been told that Francis Schaeffer (scroll down if you follow that link for some great lectures on Schaeffer and his thought) made a major aim of his apologetic method to prevent unbelievers from living in an intellectual world of their own construction. I take it that his aim was to demonstrate to people that they must conform to the reality of the world they actually live in, one created by God and governed by the absolutes He built into the fabric of the cosmos.

    Postmodernism (the progenitor of cultural relativism as expressed in that clip) is a perfect example of someone trying to live in an ideological world other than the one that exists in reality. We can’t allow ourselves (or those around us) to get away with denying the absolutes in which all of us are bound. To do so is uncaring in the highest degree. Take a look at Romans 18-22:

    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…

    I say allowing people to live in this kind of facade is unkind because Scripture actually tells us that ignoring obvious and objective truth about God leads to judgement and that judgement leads to more judgement in the form of God allowing men to become increasingly foolish and self destructive.

    We live in a world of absolutes. You cannot walk in front of a bus moving at high speed and expect to come away unscathed any more than you can dine on human flesh and escape the judgement of God. Morality is not equivalent to the latest weight loss facade (“I’m glad P90x worked for you but it wasn’t for me.”) To attempt to think that way – or allow others to get away with trying to – is to invite God’s judgement and collapse into a pile of stupefication where we are unable to say that using another human as a meal is a problem.


  8. Greear and Why It’s Worth Sticking with the Southern Baptist Convention

    February 9, 2012 by Jeff

    I’ve appreciated J.D. Greear since I first came across his work in 2009.[1]

    His latest blog post is another example of how to reasonably think through the issues facing the Southern Baptist Convention in our day.  I think you should read the whole thing but let me pull out a section I believe is exceptionally helpful.

    The [Cooperative Program] finances the Southern Baptist seminaries, the North American Mission Board, the International Mission Board, and other Southern Baptist mission efforts. The CP has enabled the SBC to do unparalleled things–for example, Southern Baptists have put more missionaries on the field (5000+, currently) and provided a more affordable, higher quality theological education than any other denomination. That’s what happens when 42,000+ churches contribute to a collective pot.

    Yep.  Greear goes on to [rightly] acknowledge the problems with the Cooperative Program, namely that too often the wrong hands dip in to the pool of resources that is the Cooperative Program.  However, Greear and his church see the value of the Cooperative Program as too exceptional to just abandon and thus have chosen to work for reform.

    To this I say a hearty Amen!

    I’ve long been concerned that my generation – the “young leaders/pastors” that it seems so many in the SBC are worried about loosing – are too self-centered to realize that abandoning the SBC – and thus the Cooperative Program – will result in a much greater decline in resources aimed at Gospel and Kingdom work (some lesser known than others) than could ever be replaced by forming new networks.  In 2010, after hearing the report of the GCR Committee, I wrote:

    I’m… realistic about my generation. I know the ones most loudly talking (and Tweeting and blogging) about being missional are the ones hardest to satisfy. Frankly speaking we’re arrogant, self-confident beyond reason, and iconoclastic to the core. [The suggested GCR changes] won’t satisfy the thirst of those who think they know a better way to support missions. I’m afraid that a significant percentage of them will head off in any number of directions not realizing that separate we can’t accomplish even a portion of what we could together. As individuals my generation thinks we are the next Luther, Calvin, Wilberforce or Spurgeon. Well, if not that then at least the next Driscoll. We never realize that we’re much more likely to be unknown than well known. I’m afraid this inappropriate self confidence will cause us to break apart the greatest system of supporting mission work that has been produced in the name of new ventures that won’t touch the significance of what we sacrificed to attempt them.

    I am just as concerned about this possibility today as I was two years ago.  May the Lord use J.D. Greear’s influence to preserve what my generation may not otherwise have the sense to guard.

    [1] If you see weird formatting on those posts please accept my apologies. Our site was compromised by a virus the year they were written and the clean up process left us with some odd changes to those posts.  I’m in the process of getting it all reworked but haven’t gotten to those Greear posts yet.

     


  9. All Sad Things Coming Untrue

    February 4, 2012 by Jeff

    At school one of the classes I teach has me reading through J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I’ve never been a fan of fantasy as a genre but over the course of our class I have truly come to appreciate Tolkien’s works as art in the aesthetic sense.

    Tolkien wasn’t shy in admitting he was trying to craft an excellent tale for the purpose of delighting readers in a story well told.  From the forward to The Fellowship of the Ring:

    I should like to say something here with reference to the many opinions or guesses that I have received or have read concerning the motives and meaning of the tale. The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.

    I, along with more readers than can be numbered, have felt deeply the accomplishment of Tolkien’s stated purpose.

    One other aspect of writing his trilogy that Tolkien discusses in the preface to The Lord of the Rings is his distaste for all things allegory.

    I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers.

    As a result the reader of Tolkien can see themes in his work which strongly reflect the narrative of Bible – itself the greatest story ever told – but you won’t find the overt Christian symbolism found in his friend C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series.  Nonetheless, the most powerful passages in Tolkien’s trilogy can’t help but reflect the truths of Christianity.  It is precisely the correspondence of Tolkien’s writings with the Great Story of what God has done in Christ that gives The Lord of the Rings it’s power and enduring significance.

    One of the most delightful examples of the power of Tolkien’s writing to echo the goodness of God’s work in Christ comes in chapter four of book six (found in The Return of the King).  The scene centers on Samwise Gamgee waking up after he was nearly killed assisting Frodo in destroying the One Ring and it’s malevolent creator Sauron.

    When Sam awoke, he found that he was lying on some soft bed, but over him gently swayed wide beechen boughs, and through their young leaves sunlight glimmered, green and gold. All the air was full of a sweet mingled scent.

    He remembered that smell: the fragrance of Ithilien. ‘Bless me!’ he mused. ‘How long have I been asleep?’ For the scent had borne him back to the day when he had lit his little fire under the sunny bank; and for the moment all else between was out of waking memory. He stretched and drew a deep breath. ‘Why, what a dream I’ve had!’ he muttered. ‘I am glad to wake!’ He sat up and then he saw that Frodo was lying beside him, and slept peacefully, one hand behind his head, and the other resting upon the coverlet. It was the right hand, and the third finger was missing.

    Full memory flooded back, and Sam cried aloud: ‘It wasn’t a dream! Then where are we?’

    And a voice spoke softly behind him: ‘In the land of Ithilien, and in the keeping of the King; and he awaits you.’ With that Gandalf stood before him, robed in white, his beard now gleaming like pure snow in the twinkling of the leafy sunlight. ‘Well, Master Samwise, how do you feel?’ he said.

    But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: ‘Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?’

    “Is everything sad coming untrue?”  What a beautiful phrase to express joy at unanticipated delights.

    In the context of the story the big bad guy (Sauron) has been defeated but there is yet much more work to be done.  One of the most important tasks is to liberate the Shire (the idyllic rural home of the Hobbits) from the despotism of Saruman (one of the henchmen of Sauron).  Saruman’s overthrow is at this point assured in that the strength which empowered him has already been destroyed yet it remained for the heroes to execute the inevitable.

    Remember that Gandalf asked Sam how he felt upon awakening.

    ‘How do I feel?’ he cried. ‘Well, I don’t know how to say it. I feel, I feel’ – he waved his arms in the air – ‘I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!’

    Isn’t that rich?  ”Like spring after winter…”

    I know I’m not the first to have this thought but isn’t that whole scene a near-perfect representation of the bliss created by Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection?

    The enemy has been defeated.  It only remains for our Hero to do some final mopping up (see Hebrews 2:6-9).  In the meantime all the shades, all the facades, all the empty enemies of our Lord are coming apart in front of our eyes.  Pain, sorrow, Death – all of these sad things are coming untrue before our very eyes.

    One of the marks of great literature is it’s ability to stir the most human elements within us.  Reading Sam as expressing delight so closely to my own when I consider the accomplishments of Christ was deeply gratifying.  Sam’s exuberance puts me in mind of Revelation 21:1-5 and I’ll leave you with that passage.  It’s author is a masterful story teller and knows how to deliver a wonderful ending.

    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

    And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

     

    - – - – -

    Addendum: If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings and think you would be interested in doing so you can find them at the following links.  I commend them to your reading.

    Book 1: The Fellowship of the Ring

    Book 2: The Two Towers

    Book 3: The Return of the King


  10. The Problem with T.D. Jakes Goes Beyond Modalism

    January 28, 2012 by Jeff

    There is a great amount of buzz right now about T.D. Jakes affirming Trinitarianism (apparently we are supposed to conclude this is a rejection of Jakes’ previous Modalistic position) at this year’s Elephant Room sessions.

    If Jakes has indeed left this heretical position and embraced the Bible’s teaching about the triune God who reveals Himself in Scripture then it is certainly time to praise the Lord.  However, based on what Jakes actually said, I think it is far from a given that Jakes has actually taken up the Orthodox position.  Rather than try to walk you through Jakes’ statements myself I would refer you to Chris Rosebrough for a  thorough examination of what Jakes said that has caused many to conclude he is no longer outside of the faith.

    In light of the remaining lack of clarity from Jakes I also affirm Rosebrough’s idea that Jakes has some work to do before I can properly identify him as a fellow believer.  I particularly look for the 2nd criteria Rosebrough lists – “He publicly repudiates Modalism as a heresy” - as evidence from Jakes that he has really embraced this healthy change.   I also think it would be appropriate for Jakes to be honest (in public) about why it has taken him so long to clearly state an orthodox position on the Trinity.

    However, even at that point, Jakes still has a long way to go before he should be identified as anything other than a destructive false teacher who true believers should avoid at all costs.  Jakes is perhaps the most high profile proponent of the Propserity Gospel, the idea that God can be (or even desires) to be manipulated by the faith of His people in order to shower His followers with blessings of a material nature.

    The people at Wretched have done a good job putting Jakes’ vigorous affirmation and propagation of the health-and-wealth gospel in front of viewers, interspersed with clips from those he is fellowshipping with at the Elephant Room session (Driscoll and James MacDonald) ripping the Prosperity Gospel apart (and rightfully so).

    Ironically, MacDonald has shown himself inconsistent with his own wording from the Elephant Room session with Jakes. Per Driscoll’s blog MacDonald said:

    The issue of the Trinity is not a small thing. It’s central to Christianity. It’s a pillar of orthodoxy. However, when a man confesses Trinitarianism and we begin to ask if he’s Trinitarian enough, step away from me. That’s when we need to tone down the rhetoric and discuss.

    6,000 churches close every year. 3,500 people leave the church everyday. Only 15% of churches are growing. We have a massive problem. The church in the US is hemorrhaging. It’s in a free fall.

    We need to wake up and figure out that the constant negative rhetoric is not helping the church. It’s hurting it.

    They’ll know that your Jesus’ disciples by your love for one another.

    While the Prosperity Gospel hasn’t been such a historical thorn in the side of Christianity that Modalism has that fact is largely because the health-and-wealth movement is a particularly American innovation.  Simply put, the Prosperity Gospel isn’t old enough to have been rejected in the ecumenical creeds.  Surely though we must put the health-and-wealth vision of God into the category of false teachings that warp the self-revelation of God into something that looks nothing like what He actually is.

    Macdonald appears to be saying that making a big deal of the finer points of the doctrinal content within the teaching ministries of public figures is “negative rhetoric.”  Yet we see him in Wretched’s video doing that very thing toward the very Prosperity Gospel T.D. Jakes so energetically advocates.  One is left thinking that MacDonald is bi-polar on this issue.  He obviously (as he demonstrated) feels comfortable attacking false teaching publicly yet out of the other side of his mouth says it’s a bad thing to do which hinders the kingdom.  Does that rule apply only when people other than James MacDonald make public criticisms?  That seems like a possible conclusion based on what we hear from MacDonald in the Wretched video and then read from him in Driscoll’s excerpt from the Elephant Room session.

    So what is it James? Can the Prosperity Gospel be eviscerated by you (as we saw in the video) or not?  Here’s another possibility: Could it actually be that “negative rhetoric” (i.e. calling a heresy by that name) is better for the faith than simply throwing John 13:35 around?  Could it be that whether Jakes’ Modalism or Prosperity teaching is in view the most loving thing we can do for him and those who may hear from him is call it what it is, namely soul corrupting false teaching?

    I, obviously, think that it is most loving to expose doctrinal error – loving to the one in error because you are doing what you can to prevent them from staying in it and loving to those around because you are doing your best to prevent them from falling into it.  I suppose this would really seem out of line for MacDonald but the truth of the matter is Jakes not only has a long way to go on clarifying his understanding of the Trinity but also in repudiating the Prosperity Gospel.

    Jakes has more problems than just being muddy on a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith.  He not only isn’t clear about how God exists but is also willfully and repeatedly wrong about how God relates to the people He created.  Praise God for the potential good in Jakes’ coming toward Orthodoxy.  We must still pray that God will grant further grace because as good as the move toward Trinitarianism is Jakes still has a long way to go.