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.

A handful of pebbles

Something else I picked up at the Banner was Peter Barnes' little book A handful of pebbles - Theological Liberalism and the church. A useful little book it simply sets out the history of liberalism (and a little bit beyond that) and explains its insidious nature and how it is condemned in the Bible. Liberalism itself is not the threat it once was, of course, but there are always dangers and this little book succinctly warns us regarding a great number of them.
The books title relates to something Francis Schaeffer was told by Jim Pike, “When I turned from being agnostic, I went to Union Theological Seminary, eager for and expecting bread; but when I graduated, all that it left me was a handful of pebbles.” Barnes adds "Liberal theology offers us a handful of pebbles; the God of the Bible offers us Jesus Christ – ‘the Bread of life’.”

No comments: