The Insufferable Calvinist

@MtnViewsCO I’ve been contemplating a move to Wyoming.

Coloradans see crime and our cost of living soar. We all drive the same lousy roads. We know gun & parental rights are being stripped. We read about the predators in our schools, all via 20 years of Dem rule. And I’m to believe 55% of you want this dumpster fire to keep raging?

@PresbyXian @kenzietuff Yes, but J.A. Wylie’s “The History of Protestantism” is better.

@kenzietuff Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy. Nick Needham's "2000 Years of Christ's Power" is also excellent.

Please recommend your favorite books on history, any subject. I want to expand my library with good, not “woke” suggestions.

@elonmusk But if we’re really, really nice this time they’ll be nice to us back!

Nailed it

Not to by rude, but I think this may expose your ignorance more than anything. There are good reasons for rejecting modern translations according to Greek manuscripts use to undergird such. You may not like those reasons, but there are good, scholarly, and philosophical reasons for believing such.

The hate on the ESV from the “reformed” crowd just proves how quickly they forget from whence they came.

@farmingandJesus And here I thought I was the only weirdo still up.

Why did I keep eating it?

The 93% cigarette butt dark chocolate got me wired and I can’t sleep. 0-2 on dirt musty cigarette chocolate. Loser candy

The core problem with your question is that it assumes the opposite of biblical worship. You’re asking for a verse that says, in those exact words, “Only sing Psalms and everything else is idolatry,” as though worship runs on the principle: “We may offer God whatever we like in worship unless He explicitly blacklists each item one by one.” That is false. Biblical worship runs on this principle: God alone appoints His worship, and man may not add to it. Deuteronomy 12:32 says, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” That destroys his standard outright. God does not tell men to innovate first and to ask questions later; He tells them not to add. So the burden is not on the exclusive Psalm-singer to prove that every human hymn is separately condemned, rather the burden is on the hymn-singer to prove that God authorized the addition. In Leviticus 10:1-2 Nadab and Abihu offered “strange fire, which he commanded them not.” God’s anger consumed these sons of Aaron in a blaze of fire. Notice the wording. The text does not say, “which he had explicitly, individually, verbally forbidden in those exact terms.” It says, “which he commanded them not.” That is the regulative principle in narrative form. Unauthorized worship is deadly serious because God is holy and jealous of His own ordinances. Which takes us to the next point: God did not leave His church without a songbook. He gave one. The Psalms are not a random collection of ancient religious poetry. They are the inspired songs of the covenant assembly, given by God for His praise. If God furnished His church with a body of inspired praise, what arrogance is it for man to say, “That is not enough. We will improve on it with our own compositions”? What’s more, the singing of praise is a separate category from sermons and prayers where there is commanded liberty—as there is neither sermon book nor prayer book. However, it is a travesty that we are given a song book which is intentionally neglected to singing not that God prefers, but that we prefer. That is exactly what Deuteronomy 12:32 forbids: adding to instituted worship. Inevitably and appropriately you should ask, “What about the ‘psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs’ in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16?” That phrase does not rescue uninspired hymnody. It actually helps the psalm-singing case. Before we move forward, just ask the question: “Do we impose onto these words definitions as categories that we read into the text?” Yes. Why? Because “psalms,” “hymns,” and “songs” are biblical categories already found in the Psalter itself. The Greek Old Testament uses those terms in the titles of the Psalms. In other words, Paul is not saying, “Sing inspired Psalms plus later uninspired human compositions.” He is using the very vocabulary of the canonical songbook. He is telling the church to sing the Psalms in their full breadth and categories. And “spiritual” does not mean “emotionally moving” or “religious-sounding.” In apostolic language, “spiritual” means that which belongs to the Spirit. The Psalms are Spirit-breathed. Your favorite modern hymn writer is not. So the standard hymn argument collapses in multiple ways: 1.) Deut. 12:32 forbids adding to God’s worship. 2.) Lev. 10:1-2 shows God judges what He has “not commanded.” 3.) God gave the church an inspired songbook. 4.) Eph. 5:19 / Col. 3:16 do not introduce uninspired hymnody, but use the existing categories of the Psalter. 5.) Therefore, the real question is not “Where are uninspired hymns explicitly forbidden by God?” but “Where are uninspired hymns positively instituted by God for public worship?” I’m not going to claim that this is an exhaustive case that answers every objection—there’s many more besides these. My hope in writing this is to persuade you that there is a case at all. If I may share an anecdote, my familiarity with the arguments were not what persuaded me; singing them was.

@reformatrix @Presbiteriano1 Where does the Bible say you can only sing the Psalms and everything else is idolatry?

The singing of man-made hymns in the worship of God, not being authorized by Him, is idolatry.

@telemachus1183 @phrenic @Presbiteriano1 They certainly didn’t. They affirmed works of mercy and works of necessity were permitted; as would @Presbiteriano1

@phrenic @Presbiteriano1 I’d like to assume that the authors of the WCF were not attempting to contradict this verse.

The denial of observing and keeping holy the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's Day may be a sign of an unconverted heart. Pastors who reject the command to keep the Lord's Day holy do NOT belong in the ministry.

@davidwrobertson @Presbiteriano1 You do not know what you’re talking about.

@Presbiteriano1 You are evidence that anyone can become a pastor.

The use of musical intruments in public worship have been abrogated by the NT. It's use today is to Judaize & to testify that Christ's sacrifice on the cross is not yet complete. We are not to Judaize & Christ's work IS complete. Therfore, stop using musical instrmnts in worship.

As one whose wife has been staying at home for 13 years, and on a meager income in the third most expensive state in the union, with 5 kids…. My wife has never had to have a side hustle. Instead, she’s thrifty, frugal, and wise—and that, by itself, absolutely fills what would otherwise be a gap. :)

Being a homemaker is more than just raising babies and cleaning plus you are relying on someone else financially and this leaves many women vulnerable. It's amazing to have children and have a home, but always contribute financially to your home. Get an education and learn a trade if you're going to stay home....if you gotta do a side hustle like doing hair, nails, baking, cleaning houses , babysitting, bookkeeping, and etc then do it. Always have a connection and a resume updated and ready. Because phases of life are like seasons it can change.

GIRL TO GIRL... be honest.... If you could stay home, raise babies, and run a cozy homemaker life….. would you?

@Presbiteriano1 Just reading these comments proves the author’s premise.

@MarkRome17 @Presbiteriano1 No; God does. There is a song book in the Bible!

@Presbiteriano1 I guess you determine if it is authorized by God?

@Exodus15_11 @Presbiteriano1 Yeah? The Scripture you reject (the Old Testament)?

@Presbiteriano1 The "superior" theology of the oh-so-holy Presbyterians might want to distance themselves from their addiction to Replacement Theology. Once they do this, they will be able to understand Scripture a lot easier.

@Eventzon @Presbiteriano1 It sounds to me like you don’t understand his position. What do you think he is advocating for, exactly?

@Presbiteriano1 Edgar might try to live in reality. All hymns were written by human beings. Edgar claims of authorization by God is a fantasy where he believes he is God.

@rootcausesleuth …. That a man would advocate singing the Psalms?

Shocking and unbelievable

@JoshuaBarzon Those that are in Christ.

How would you answer this question: “Who are God’s people?”

@matt_everhard The whole time I've been Reformed, I've been told that to hold any Reformed positions is to be a "truly Reformed jerk." I always feel like there's this weird expectation for us to just feel shame for everything we believe. I truly hate that. Thanks for your more positive take!

It's possible to be a zealous defender of Reformed orthodoxy, a vigorous apologist, and a stalwart polemicist against error and heresy -- AND have a kind and gracious heart, filled with the love and mercy of Jesus!

@surskitmaxxing @PetGorilla I do not want a savior who makes salvation merely possible. I want the Christ who actually saves. Your system leaves the sinner looking partly to Jesus and partly to himself. Mine says, “Salvation is of the Lord.”

@PetGorilla Your vision of salvation seems pointless. Like a participation trophy.

Mormons believe that Jesus is too weak to save anyone. You have to save your self. Literal works-based slop. Mormon God is too small for me.

@LeviBakerink Mute button! Use the mute button!

Do...not...engage...the...anti-calvinist...bait

Joseph smith is a pedophile. 😐

@Arcnaver @CSLewisDaily Yes, enjoy it for the blasphemous drivel that it is!

@CSLewisDaily I’m sorry, was it portrayed as a 100% accurate account? Do they know 100% that a conversation between the two never happened? They need to get over themselves and enjoy it for what it is.

The Chosen' is getting some heat as a teaser for Season 5 shows a conversation between Jesus and Judas Iscariot, which critics are saying is “unbiblical.” beliefnet.com/columnists/ido…