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.

IPC Catalyst Conference Ealing

Dick Gaffin
Spoiled for choice with regard to conferences this week I decided last minute to get down to Ealing Town Hall and try the IPC Catalyst Conference. Given the speakers on the programme it would be hard to see, humanly speaking, how it could fail to be good. And it was. We had four sessions of solid theology (we must have covered more theology in one day than we tend to do in one year at Child Hill - perhaps I exaggerate).
We started off in Leviticus with Jonty Rhodes who gave us lots of good biblical theology including a number of thoughts that were fresh to me (eg the Temple and Sinai). The final session of the day was from Jonathan Gibson (like Jonty's name no more than a name to me until that point). Here we were again chiefly in the Old Testament, looking at worship. This was a bit of a tour de force and comes from a large book which, despite my late booking, I managed to procure a free copy of (thanks Graham Weeks) like many others - ie Reformed Worship. Again lots of fresh thoughts (although I do wish he hadn''t left his remarks about women ruining everything rather dangling).
Between these younger biblical theologians we had two septuagenarians (One is actually an octogenarian) both systematicians. They both spoke on the Holy Spirit - Dr Richard Gaffin mainly from Acts but including other references and Sinclair Ferguson from John 14. These were again fresh and stretching and full of good and deep theology.
To be Gaffinised adn Sinclaired on the same day is quite something.
In between times there was opportunity to stock up on books and to hear Chris Roberts lunch time session Ecclesiastes 12 and to talk to people new to me and old.
We have someone staying with us for the EMA and he had a good day too. I don't know how they got on in Bala.

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