The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Solid Ground

Someone gave me a copy of Solid Ground edited by Gabriel Fluhrer and consisting of nine addresses given at The Philadelphia Conference for Reformed Theology. This third collection (the others are on the atonement and history) came out about a year ago and looks at matters to do with God's Word, its inerrncy and sufficiency, etc. With contribuitons by Packer, Dever, Sproul, etc it's the usual crowd giving very helpful addresses on important subjects and is very stimulating. I particualry liked the way that the point about the Word producing the people of God as seen all the way through came out more than once. Well worth getting hold of. It would have been worth including a small amount of biographical material as even though these names are familiar in Reformed circles not all will know that James Montgomery Boice died in 200 and Edmund Clowney in 2005. Even I was oblivious to the existence of Richard D Phillips who I discover is senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C. (previously having been a pastor in Florida and minister of preaching at Tenth in Philadelphia). He also serves on the council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and as chairman of the Philadelphia Conference for whom these collected addresses are something of an advert. Next time, Mr Fluhrer, eh?

No comments: