The Riddleblog

On the 20th Anniversary of September 11, 2001

In the terrible days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC., I composed this essay for publication (I don’t remember where, Modern Reformation perhaps?). On the twentieth anniversary of 911, I thought it might be a good time to re-post it here, but now to be read in light of all that has happened in the twenty years since—both good and bad.

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My phone usually doesn’t ring at 6:45 AM. I could hear someone leaving me an urgent message: “turn on the television!” When I turned the TV on, I watched in horror as a commercial jet airliner crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. From the smoke pouring out of the other Trade Center tower, it was clear that this was not the first plane to strike. The TV reporter was still speculating about what was becoming obvious–this was a terrorist attack. Like most Americans, I spent the rest of the morning of September 11, 2001, glued to the television watching the Pentagon burn, shocked at the huge loss of life, and coming to the inevitable conclusion that Usama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terrorist network was behind these savage acts. I knew that America was going to war.

But it was not long before the phone rang again. This time a twenty-something year-old member of our church was calling, deeply troubled by horrors they had witnessed in New York and Washington. Looking for some solace, the caller soon checked off a series of difficult questions such incidents always seem to bring to mind. “Pastor, Paul says in Ephesians 1:11 that `God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.’ Does this mean that God is responsible for this? Is this horrible tragedy really a part of God’s purpose?”

To read the rest of this essay, follow the link below

Kim RiddlebargerSeptember 10, 2021 Comments

The Blessed Hope Podcast -- Episode Seven: "Why the Law?" (Galatians 3:19-29)

Paul has made his case that all believing Jews and Gentiles are children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul has also made the point that the giving of the law at Mount Sinai does not annul the prior covenant God made with Abraham.

But, at some point in this letter, Paul must address the question, “why then did God give the law?” The law, he says, was given for a particular time in redemptive history (Moses to Christ) and plays a vital role (to expose sin), which he is about to explain. The law, Paul says, functions as a guardian until Christ comes. The law exposes and incites sin. But once faith has come, God’s people are in a new era in redemptive history (of the new covenant in which the promises to Abraham have been fulfilled) and it is only after the coming of Jesus Christ, that we can see the law’s true purpose.

To listen to this episode of The Blessed Hope Podcast and check out the show notes, follow the link below

To listen to previous podcasts in this series on Galatians, go here: The Blessed Hope Podcast

Elders Matter — The Mars Hill Debacle Is Proof

The Mars Hill/Mark Driscoll debacle is well known. Many have listened to Christianity Today’s excellent podcast series, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. The fall of Mars Hill is but another incident in a long series of scandals plaguing American evangelicalism. Why do such things happen over and over again?

My response . . . A bad or non-existent ecclesiology. Throughout today’s American Christianity there is little if any regard paid to the biblical model of church government (Presbyterian/Reformed), which is rule by a plurality of elders, approved by the congregation, whose role is, in part, to keep watch upon the life and doctrine of the pastor and their fellow elders.

I wonder if there was ever a moment in the early days of these entrepreneurial churches when the founding members asked themselves, “how did the church in the New Testament govern itself?” Probably not, or else the question was quickly dismissed as an appeal to mere tradition, something too cumbersome or unnecessarily inefficient. Groups like this often view its charismatic leader as taking on (even if indirectly) the role of an apostle. The leader appears to have a direct link to God, which allows the group members (better— “followers”) to let the leader unquestionably assume the role of arbiter of the group’s doctrine, the gifted one who determines the group’s mission and “casts its vision,” as well as the primary decision maker should there be differences of opinion. Without a biblical ecclesiology in place, the visionary leader is able to get his way through manipulation and guilt, and if necessary, will remove any and all who oppose him. Yet nobody blinks. In the end, the once loyal followers are left embittered and wonder, “how did God let this happen?” We have seen this story play out over and over again, often in the media.

To read the rest of this essay, follow the link below.

Wisdom from ConfessionsKim RiddlebargerAugust 31, 2021ecclesiology, Mars Hill Comments

As the Summer Winds Down . . .

I thought it time for a few updates . . .

The Fall Semester at WSC begins next week. I’ll be teaching Theology Proper the first half of the semester, as part of a course I’ll split with Dr. Van Drunen (who teaches the anthropology section).

N. T. Wright (AKA “I’m Always Right”) has released his new commentary on Galatians (Wright on Galatians). I’ll read it in detail when I can, but a quick once over reveals that Wright has embraced full curmudgeonhood—his tone is crabby and he’s just flat out dismissive of his critics. Wright ignores Horton’s volumes on justification as well as Charles Lee Iron’s decimating critique of Wright’s misuse of righteousness language—the Bishop glibly refers readers to his previous work on Paul. He smugly dismisses the work of Moo and others on Galatians as though, “if you want to read old perspective stuff, `go for it.’” He continues to make his case that he alone understands Paul properly, repeating his erroneous view of the Table Fellowship debate and “works of law” in Galatians 2. BTW, I embraced full curmudgeonhood long ago, so I know it when I see it.

To read the rest of the updates, follow the link below.

An Exposition of Article Twelve of the Belgic Confession -- "The Creation of All Things"

One of the basic affirmations of Christian theology is that God created all things out of nothing. This includes the creation of things visible and invisible. It is clearly taught in Scripture that God does not create all things and then step back as a dispassionate observer, watching the created order run its course. This is the error of the deists. God creates all things, and he ordains the ends for which they have been created. He also sustains and upholds the things he has created so that they fulfill the ends for which they were created. This is what we mean when we speak of the doctrines of creation and providence and reveals these two topics to be inextricably linked.

Given the alarming increase in pagan conceptions of the world and creation found in American religion and culture–that God is in some way identified with the creation itself, that God is somehow a part of the world (pantheism)–this is yet another truth which is important for us to believe and confess before the unbelieving world around us. We now move from a discussion of the Trinity and the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit (articles eight through eleven), to a discussion in articles twelve and thirteen of the work of the Triune God in creating and sustaining all things. As we saw when we discussed the Trinity and the unique properties of each of the divine persons of the Godhead, all three members of the Godhead are said to participate in the creation of all things.

To read the rest of the this exposition, "Created Out of Nothing"

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerAugust 26, 2021Doctrine of CreationComment

The Blessed Hope Podcast -- Episode Six: "Christ Became a Curse for Us" (Galatians 3:10-18)

To correct the error of the Judaizers–which is to insist that Gentiles undergo circumcision and live as Jews—Paul makes a series of important distinctions in his letter to the Galatians. The Apostle contrasts faith and works, the spirit and the flesh, the law and the gospel. He also carefully distinguishes between the covenants God made with Abraham (in which Abraham was reckoned as righteous), and the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, (in which the law of God was given to his people).

The covenant God made with Abraham is gracious, while the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai is closely tied to the blessing/curse principle. The Judaizers conflated these two covenants, thereby mistakenly seeing the sign and seal of God’s gracious covenant with Abraham (circumcision), through the lens of the blessing/curse principle, thereby turning circumcision into a meritorious work.

To listen to this episode of The Blessed Hope Podcast and check out the show notes, follow the link below

To listen to previous podcasts in this series on Galatians, go here: The Blessed Hope Podcast

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerAugust 25, 2021Christ's redemption, Christ became a curse

The Fear of the Lord

I was still in my teens, but I vividly remember the preacher’s words. “When the Bible speaks of the fear of the Lord, it doesn’t mean to be afraid of God, but to respect him. We must never be afraid of God because he loves us.” The preacher had a point and there was palpable relief felt in the congregation upon his declaration. It sounded like God’s love somehow canceled out any fear of God which might trouble us.

But I continued to wonder, how does the softening of fear into “respect” square with the well-known verse in Proverbs 1:7, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, something which fools despise”? The question remained. What does it mean to “fear the Lord” especially when failing to fear the Lord is to be a fool who lacks knowledge?

To read the rest of this essay, follow the link below.

Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerAugust 23, 2021fear of the Lord, love casts out fear

I Was on the Hood Grace Podcast

I was a recent guest on Rudy Rubio’s Hood Grace Podcast. We talked about how confessional Reformed theology actually works well for urban church planting (in L.A. suburbs of Lynwood and Compton. Who’d have thunk?

Hood Grace Podcast With Rev. Rudy Rubio with KR as Guest

eschatology, Amillennialism, History and CultureKim RiddlebargerAugust 13, 2021Hood Grace PodcastingComment

One Way to Cope in an Age of Rage

We live in an age of rage.

We see or experience it in the near-constant sniping, tribalism, outrage, and character assassination which dominates much of social media. Much of our rage stems from the past year’s Covid lock-downs—the pent up frustration with health “experts” changing their minds on a daily basis, in governmental malfeasance and power-grabs, in being cooped-up at home with screaming kids, trying to simultaneously teach them while attempting to work from home and communicate with our fellow cooped-up and frustrated co-workers via Zoom.

Then there is the ease at which you can scream at someone from the safety of your keyboard and smart phone without ever knowing or speaking face-to-face with the person about whom you assume the worst. Keyboard cowardism pre-dates Covid, as does the phenomena of the “internet expert” who, because they can write creatively, encourage their readers to join their foil-hat conspiracy theory and then vent their fury at those who are not taken in by contrived “evidence.”

Our culture of rage has only gotten worse. The news is filled with people who attack (sometimes physically and violently) retailers, food servers, and others who we do see face to face—those we encounter who want us masked, or unmasked, vaccinated or unvaccinated, who think the worst of us if we mask, or go about our business unmasked. What previous generations of Americans saw as being a good citizen (comply with government edicts about public health) is now a way to express one’s tribal and political identity, with little or no regard for fellow citizens.

To read the rest of this essay, follow the link below

The Blessed Hope Podcast -- Episode Five: "Abraham Believed God" (Galatians 3:1-9)

Paul calls all who believe his gospel “sons of Abraham,” which includes both believing Jews and Gentiles. But Paul does not include those who seek to be right before God and the basis of works of the law, which Paul has just declared in Galatians 2:16, do not justify.

The Judaizers were spying on the Galatians’ Christian liberty. Christians in these churches do not, apparently, follow a kosher diet, they do not observe the feasts of Israel, and there is no requirement that Gentiles be circumcised in order to be justified, or declared “right with God.” Jews and Gentiles worship together, eat together, and embrace the same gospel, without, according to the Judaizers, proper observance of the law of Moses–the reason why they were so vocally challenging Paul’s authority and his gospel.

In response, Paul turns to the account of Abraham, who, in Genesis 15:6, believed God and was reckoned as “righteous.” Paul appeals to the story of Abraham to refute the Judaizing idea that those justified before God, are such, because of obedience to “works of the law.” Abraham is the” man of faith” and the spiritual father of all who believe the gospel. The same gospel, Paul says, which YHWH preached to Abraham and which was foretold through the Scriptures.

How can uncircumcised Gentiles be identified as “children of Abraham”? Paul is about to tell us.

To listen to this episode of The Blessed Hope Podcast and check out the show notes, follow the link below

To listen to previous podcasts in this series on Galatians, go here: The Blessed Hope Podcast

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerJuly 30, 2021Justification by faith, Chirldren of AbrahamComment

Athanasius on the 70 Weeks of Daniel -- A Fulfilled Messianic Prophecy

I’ve been reading through Athanasius’ classic text, On the Incarnation. In Section 39, Athanasius is marshaling evidence from fulfilled prophecy to confirm the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is primarily concerned with responding to Jews who do not believe that Jesus is God incarnate when the evidence from their own prophets indicates otherwise.

Athanasius writes,

On but perhaps, not even themselves being able to fight against obvious truths, they will not deny what is written, but will positively assert that they are expecting these things, and that God the Word has not yet come. For this is their common and continual talk, nor do they blush to fly in the face of obvious facts.

To build his case, he introduces Daniel 9:24-27 as an example of an Old Testament prophecy which confirms that Israel’s prophets foretold of the coming Messiah.

But on this point the more especially shall they [the Jews] be confuted, not by us, but by the most wise Daniel, who indicates both the present time and the Divine manifestation of the Saviour, saying: ‘Seventy weeks are cut short upon thy people and upon the holy city, to make a full end of sin, and for sins to be sealed up, and to expunge iniquities, and to make propitiation for iniquities, and to bring eternal righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the All-Holy One; and thou shalt know and understand from the going forth of the word to answer, and build Jerusalem until Christ the Chief.’

There are some interesting points as well as significant omissions made here.

To read the rest of Athanasius’s discussion of the seventy weeks prophecy, follow the link below

The Keys of the Kingdom

Church discipline is one of those subjects no one really wants to talk about. This keeps pastors and elders up at night and can create unease and tension in a congregation, For one thing, church members fear that such discipline entails church officers snooping around in someone’s private business and then outing their private sins to others in the church. For another, church members don’t wish to perceived as being judgmental toward others. If snooping is what biblical church discipline entails, then people would be right to be worried. Fortunately, this is not the case.

The prime example where church discipline is applied in the New Testament is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 5, Paul describes a situation in which a member of the church (presumably a prominent member) has “taken his father’s wife.” Paul seems utterly perplexed that someone could do such a thing. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Not only was this man’s behavior a violation of biblical morality, apparently his act was considered scandalous to pagans outside the church. Paul’s remedy for this was to excommunicate this man– “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (v. 5).

To read the rest, follow the link below

Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

In this essay, I address the postmillennial eschatology of the famous “Old Princeton” theologians, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and B. B. Warfield. I look at the postmillennialism of Daniel Whitby and Jonathan Edwards, move on to discuss the various postmillennial distinctives, the rise of a distinct Amillennial view (which had previously been discussed under the heading “postmillennialism”) before I draw a series of conclusions about how each of the Princeton theologians modified and moderated the postmillennialism which they inherited from Whitby and Edwards.

You can find the essay here: Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

S. P. 18 Lives! In Durango, Colorado of all Places

If you’ve driven US 395 and gone through Independence, CA, the route many Southern Californians take to the Eastern Sierras and Mammoth Lakes, you may recall the Narrow Gauge locomotive exhibit in Doheny Park. Number 18 was moved there in 1955 when the Southern Pacific Narrow gauge line gave up its aging steam engines for diesel. The line eventually closed in 1960.

It was a familiar sight and has fond memories in Riddlebarger history. Back in 2013, I posted this on the old Riddleblog. US 395 and the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Railroad.

To see the video and read the rest, follow the link below

History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJuly 19, 2021SP # 18 Comment

Macabre But Fascinating -- Victorian Era Home Decoration for a Funeral

There is a fascinating photo essay on preparing the Victorian-era home for a funeral posted on Billion Graves. The essay is simultaneously macabre and fascinating. Posing the dead (sometimes posing with the dead), decorating and displaying locks of hair from the deceased, shrouding mirrors, mantles, and doorways in black, hanging wreathes and crepe throughout the home. Well worth checking out. Preparing the Victorian Era Home for a Funeral.

To check out the rest of the essay, follow the link below

History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJuly 14, 2021victorian funeralsComment

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

If you’ve not been following the Christianity Today podcast series, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,” I highly recommend it. The series (still incomplete) has been widely praised and generated much interest. It is superbly done. Essentially, it is the Mark Driscoll story.

But to my mind this sad tale is the consequence of a non-existent ecclesiology, which proves beyond all shadow of a doubt, how important it is that the church be governed according to biblical mandate, and by officers properly chosen and supervised as spelled out in the New Testament (i.e.,1 Timothy 3:1-13). I know, the chapters on ecclesiology are the least read chapters in any systematic theology text, but just because these chapters tend to come at the end, does not mean they are unimportant. A church with a sound ecclesiology is a bulwark against what happened with the “make it up as you go along” ecclesiology of Mars Hill.

To read the rest, follow the link below

An Exposition of Article Eleven of the Belgic Confession -- The Deity of the Holy Spirit

Far too often we hear people speak of the Holy Spirit as an “it,” not a “who.” One reason this is the case is that it is the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work to bring glory to Jesus Christ, not to bring glory to himself. This is why one theologian calls the Holy Spirit, the “shy member of the Trinity.” But the self-effacing role the Holy Spirit plays should not cause us to de-emphasize the fact that the Holy Spirit is truly God and that he possesses all of the divine attributes as do the Father and Son. Even as we speak of the Father as God, the Son as God, so too we must speak of the Holy Spirit as God, for he is the third person of the Holy Trinity.

We are in that section of our confession (articles eight through eleven) which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As we have emphasized when going through these articles, often people erroneously believe that since Christians, Jews, and Muslims are monotheists, we all worship the same God. But this is not the case. Christians worship the Triune God, who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As we have seen, the Koran (the holy book of Islam) directly attacks the doctrine of the Trinity. Jews emphatically deny that God reveals himself as three persons and many regard the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ as one of the leading factors in the rise of Anti-Semitism, since Jews are often blamed for the crucifixion of the Son of God.

To read the rest: An Exposition of Article Eleven of the Belgic Confession -- The Deity of the Holy Spirit

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJuly 10, 2021Deity of the Holy SpiritComment

The Blessed Hope Podcast -- Episode Four: "Paul Confronts Peter, Table Fellowship with Gentiles, and Paul's Doctrine of Justification" (Galatians 2:11-21)

Peter’s confrontation with Peter in Antioch was a remarkable event, not only in the Apostolic era, but one with huge ramifications down to the present day. In the fourth episode of our series on Galatians, we work our way through Galatians 2:11-21. In this episode we tackle Paul’s conflict with Peter, the issue of table fellowship with Gentiles, the New Perspective on Paul’s misreading of the dispute, before we turn to Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith and not by works (v. 16). This is a packed episode divided into two parts (about 40 minutes in).

To listen to episode four follow the link below

To see the previous episodes in this series, The Blessed Hope Podcast

Michael Horton Nails It -- No "Christian" Nations in the New Covenant Era

Follow the link below to view Michael’s recent discussion of Christian nationalism (from TGC).

Rejoice Always?

When writing to Christians in the city of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul instructs them, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The Thessalonian church was founded by Paul, Timothy, and Silas on Paul’s second missionary journey, and was composed of people who left Greco-Roman paganism to embrace Jesus Christ by faith. Thessalonica was a large city (about 100,000 people lived there) on a major road when Paul visited the area. Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. It was an important place to plant a church. But it was hardly a friendly environment for new converts.

Having heard about their struggles after his departure, Paul writes to them from Corinth, partly to clear up some confusion in the congregation about the Lord’s return, but also to instruct them how to deal with their difficult circumstances. Paul is direct in his exhortation to the Thessalonians. Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances should characterize the lives of these new Christians in the face of heated opposition from those who simply cannot understand why people would worship a Jewish Rabbi from far away Palestine, who claimed to be the Son of God only to be put to death by the Romans. But if that same Rabbi had been raised from the dead—as Jesus had been—how could you not worship him? One who conquered death was surely an object of hope in any time of trial.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerJune 30, 2021Rejoicing, biblical hope