All Things Supercinski

3 Responses to “Useful Links for August 21st through September 2nd”

1. ryan says:

   September 8, 2008 at 12:22 pm

   Thomas,
   I notice you’ve begun posting links to the Thirsty Theologian which begs a question, are the ideas the links extol endorsed by you or did you just find them thought provoking?
   Sincerely Curious,
   Ryan

2. Thomas says:

   September 8, 2008 at 12:59 pm

   Ryan,

   I certainly find them thought provoking and for the most part agree with the analysis put forth.

   For instance, in the commentary at the last link, Thirsty says

   This kind of “church” has no appeal to me. I don’t want to be entertained. I don’t want to hear jokes (I can think frivolously enough on my own, thank you). I don’t want noise, and I don’t want a show. I want music that is reverent in tone and rich in theology. More — far more — I want God’s Word preached. I want all of it — not just the happy parts; not just the exciting parts; not just the encouraging parts; not just the promises. I want the sad parts; the terrifying parts; the convicting parts; the heart-breaking parts. I want the whole counsel of God brought to bear on my heart and life.

   Why is that? Is it because I’m so intelligent, wise, righteous, or mature? Is it because I’m in some way better than those who flock to these houses of merchandise? Not likely. It can only be because of who I am as a new creature in Christ. These are the things that one who is in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit desires, and loves. Because I have been born from above, I have an appetite for heavenly things, and anything less leaves me hungry.

   I can’t help concluding that the vast majority of those who fill the seeker-sensitive consumer-oriented “churches” are simply unregenerate. How else could they stand it?

   I agree with that, for sure.

   What do you think?

3. ryan says:

   September 8, 2008 at 1:58 pm

   Thomas, Thank you for the response (and very quick one at that!) to my comment. I do like the fact that Thirsty doesn’t want to just pick and choose the “happy parts” when he encounters the Bible. So if he’s saying that learning about who God is means dealing with some tough stuff, then I’m right there, dead on. What troubles me is the tone of most of these posts. For example, by putting the word churches in quotation marks in that last paragraph Thirsty is making a statement about whether or not they’re really churches. I could be okay with that if he told me what constitutes a church and why these aren’t, but since he didn’t it, it seems like name calling. To confess, I had to ask my wife what the word unregenerate means in this context. I’m operating on her definition of “unchanged by the Holy Spirit”. I know of lots of churches attended by a majority of people that meet that description where the service provides everything Thirsty is asking for, so what does that mean?