Just and Sinner Podcast

[mikedsjr]

I'm listening to the most recent Just & Sinner podcast called Lutheran & Baptist.

I'm just curious what people's thoughts are on the podcast. Its about 1.5 hours.


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[JM]

I'll add it now and listen tonight before bed. I agree with Bavinck though...

“The difference seems to be conveyed best by saying that the Reformed Christian thinks theologically, the Lutheran anthropologically. The Reformed person is not content with an exclusively historical stance but raises his sights to the idea, the eternal decree of God. By contrast the Lutheran takes his position in the midst of the history of redemption and feels no need to enter more deeply into the counsel of God. For the Reformed, therefore, election is at the heart of the church; for Lutherans, justification is the article by which the church stands or falls. Among the former the primary question is: How is the glory of God advanced? Among the latter is it: How does a human get saved? The struggle of the former is above all else paganism-—idolatry; the latter against Judaism—works-righteousness. The Reformed person does not rest until he has traced all things retrospectively to the divine decree, tracing down the ‘wherefore’ of all things, and has prospectively made all things subservient to the glory of God; the Lutheran is content with the ‘that’ and enjoys the salvation in which he is, by faith, a participant.”

-Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1, page 177.

Schaff makes the same observation in his 7 volume set on Church History.

Peace.

 

[JM]

I'm listening to the most recent Just & Sinner podcast called Lutheran & Baptist.

I'm just curious what people's thoughts are on the podcast. Its about 1.5 hours.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Mike,

The Bad: I downloaded some episodes and had a listen over the last few days. Not bad. Just some general thoughts thus far...he seems solid. His criticisms of James White are nitpicky and not really all that scholarly. Before Cooper makes any comments he usually poisons the well a little, in one episode he accused White of poisoning the well, but started his criticism with the same method. He lead with talking about diploma mills and how James White graduated from an unaccredited school. Is Pastor Cooper a really popular teacher/preacher? He likes to give that impression but at times it seems he's almost copying Dr. White's program. A title of one of his programs was little misleading. It was titled A Critique of James White on Justification but is really a critique of White's interpretation of Gen. 12 and 15, it really wasn't a critique of Dr. White's view on justification at all just a 7 min. answer he gave to a caller.

The Good (maybe): Cooper seems solid on most other things. I even agree with his position on the TR which Dr. White does not. I know more of Luther's works than Lutheran scholasticism so I can't say anything negative about Cooper's presentation of Lutheranism. I'm sympathetic to his explanation of baptismal regeneration and found his presentation refreshing, however, I did not agree with his scriptural exegesis which relied heavily on history. Pastor Cooper believes his views are "face value" but qualifies all of his interpretations with tradition. That's not a bad thing really, just that it often seems he is conforming his understanding of scripture to tradition.

I'll keep listening. He's good.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

 

[JM]

I'm listening to Cooper's critique of the Reformed position of the second commandment. He's worth listening to but does make mistakes. For example, he claims he had never heard of images being commanded by God under the old carnal covenant and used the commandment to use images to adorn the old Temple as a positive command to use crucifixes and images of Jesus. The problem is, he failed to understand the Reformed position which is, true worship is instituted, commanded by God and limited to divine revelation.

"The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and does good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture." Westminster

Since we are not commanded to make crucifixes and images of Christ for use during worship we shouldn't. The command to adorn the Ark of the Covenant with Angels was just that, a command given to God's people at a certain time, to do something specific. The second commandment reads, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." Exod 20: 4-6.

"YOU" are not to create images for worship, out of your own imagination. Since Angels were commanded by God to be used...well, they were used. Even under the old covenant Saints would never have created images for worship unless commanded or they had fallen away.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

 

[JM]

Mike, the Greek Orthodox denomination argues the same way. I've responding here.