Xavier Pacheco

Occasionally, as I find them, I’ll post online resources that seminary students can use in their research. I’m maintaining a list here.  Well, a friend of mine just turned me on to an excellent tool for reading publically available books on Google Books. The tool is called GooReader. It allows you to search and read books available through Google Books the way you might read a hardcover book. The paid version allows you to download book into a pdf format. It certainly makes browsing and reading Google books a much easier and pleasant experience.

The seminary that I am enrolled in, Columbia Evangelical Seminary, is a Distance Learning by Mentorship program in which a student acquires a mentor who guides him through the process of study. At some point, I will write a more detailed post about my experience with CES. This post has to do with the abundance of mostly free and excellent study resources available to biblical scholars.

For my classes, I have to read a lot and frankly, I don’t have the money to build myself a library. While I could use the library of the seminary that our church sponsors or even drive to the massive Denver Seminary library, I have found that I can get most anything I need online. For instance, I am finishing a Hermeneutics class for which I wrote exegetical paper on Hebrews 7. I wanted to reference Calvin’s Commentaries and I needed F.F. Bruce’s book on Hebrews. Calvin's entire commentaries are available online from the Christians Classics Ethereal Library and I was able  to read F.F. Bruce’s book using Google Books. By the way, I need to mention that I have made extensive use of Google Books for this purpose.

Anyway, I occasionally stumble upon free (or inexpensive) resources that I use for my classes. I have added a page to this site where I will list them as I discover them. To see what I’ve got so far, check out Study Resources. If you know of any other seminary level resources please email me and I’ll include them in this list.

In Kevin DeYoung’s recent post Ain’t No Shame he raises the issue of those that abandon the label of “Christian” to to more updated versions of “Team Jesus”, “Jesus-disciple, or one who walks in the “way of Rabbi Yeshua.” The reason, as he discusses in his post, is that many folks want to avoid the baggage that the term Christian carries with it.  I agree with DeYoung in his comment that,

If you want to be a “follower of Jesus” instead of a “Christian” because the former implies only ethical emulation, while the latter suggests doctrinal and institutional commitment, then you need to check your motives not the baggage.

That said, I proudly call myself a Christian but I also realize that I know exactly what I mean when I call myself such. My issue is not the perceived baggage that the name Christian carries, but rather the ambiguity of the title. Let me illustrate. Several years ago, I was working a contract in Atlanta and I was hoping to find a church I could visit. I overheard a partial conversation from a nearby worker where the name Jesus was mentioned. I mentioned to him that I was looking for a place to visit and he invited me to his LDS church. I replied, “Thanks, but I am a Christian” to which he replied, “So are we!” Even worse, in the Western world, one is a Christian if they:

• Go to church on Sunday
• Believe in a (any) higher being
• Follow a self-proclaimed prophet
• Love everybody
• Watch The Oprah Show
• Follow Joel Osteen
• Give to the Poor
• Believe that Jesus was a good guy that taught great things and that’s about all
• Live a decent life (one where one’s good outweighs their bad perhaps)
• And one is most certainly a Christian if they vote Republican

I am not suggesting that REAL Christians don’t do these things. I am suggesting that the title of Christian carries very little meaning in the West.  If asked if you are a Christian, you will likely have to answer with the question, “What do YOU mean by Christian?”

DeYoung raises an important observation. I too am not hip with all the trendy coffee shop repackaging of our faith. But I also know that any title carries little meaning if not authenticated  by who we are. I simply don’t see any of the authors of the scriptures telling us to wear a title as our badge of faith. I do see them telling us to proclaim the Gospel like there ain’t no tomorrow and to live a life that models and glorifies God.

Yes, I am a Christian and if you want to know what I mean by that, I’ll be happy to explain it to you.

I heartily applaud the Southern Baptist Convention’s enthusiastic support of Dr. Russell Moore’s proposed resolution promoting adoption and orphan care. Dr. Moore, who is the dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is also the author of the excellent book entitled, “Adopted for Life” which I highly recommend for not just families thinking about adopting, but pastors and church leaders as well. 

The wording and passion in the words of this resolution shows that the SBC “gets it” regarding the orphan crisis and the call of the church both theologically and practically. The complete text to this resolution is on Dr. Moore’s site here and also fully quoted in this post.

I pray that this is reflective of the growing movement, not just within the SBC but also with churches and local pastors world-wide who are finally recognizing God’s heart for the fatherless and the biblical mandate of the church to act (James 1:27).

RESOLUTION NO. 2 ON ADOPTION AND ORPHAN CARE - SBC 2009

WHEREAS, In the gospel we have received the “Spirit of adoption” whereby we are no longer spiritual orphans but are now beloved children of God and joint heirs with Christ (John 14:18; Romans 8:12-25; Galatians 3:27-4:9; Ephesians 1:5); and

WHEREAS, The God we now know as our Father reveals himself as a “father of the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5) who grants mercy to orphans (Deuteronomy 10:18; Hosea 14:3); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus welcomes the little ones (Luke 18:15-17), pleads for the lives of the innocent (Psalm 72:12-14), and shows us that we will be held accountable for our response to “the least of these brothers of mine” (Matthew 25:40); and

WHEREAS, The Scripture defines “pure and undefiled religion” as “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27); and

WHEREAS, The satanic powers and the ravages of sin have warred against infants and children from Pharaoh to Molech to Herod and, now, through the horrors of a divorce culture, an abortion industry, and the global plagues of disease, starvation, and warfare; and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have articulated an unequivocal commitment to the sanctity of all human life, born and unborn; and

WHEREAS, Churches defined by the Great Commission must be concerned for the evangelism of children—including those who have no parents; and

WHEREAS, Upward of 150 million orphans now languish without families in orphanages, group homes, and placement systems in North America and around the world; and

WHEREAS, Our Father loves all of these children, and a great multitude of them will never otherwise hear the gospel of Jesus Christ; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, June 23-24, 2009, express our commitment to join our Father in seeking mercy for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on each Southern Baptist family to pray for guidance as to whether God is calling them to adopt or foster a child or children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage our pastors and church leaders to preach and teach on God’s concern for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend churches and ministries that are equipping families to provide financial and other resources to those called to adopt, through grants, matching funds, or loans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage local churches to champion the evangelism of and ministry to orphans around the world, and to seek out ways to energize Southern Baptists behind this mission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage Southern Baptist churches to join with other evangelical Christians in setting aside a special Sunday each year to focus upon our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we pray what God is doing in creating an adoption culture in so many churches and families can point us to a gospel oneness that is determined not by “the flesh,” or race, or economics, or cultural sameness, but by the Spirit, unity, and peace in Christ Jesus; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit on Southern Baptist congregations so that our churches will proclaim and picture, in word and in deed, that “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27, ESV)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  Isaiah 6:8

1. Memorize TULIP.

2. Study Reformed Theology (here’s a place to start)

3. Read the Westminster Confession of Faith (for the 50th time this year for you Presbyterians).

4. Plan a trip to Geneva (or take one if you can quickly arrange it).

5. Watch the movie (Luther). Ok this isn’t about Calvin but it is about the founder of the reformation and an excellent movie.

6. Have a religious statue, image/icon destroying ceremony.

7. Enjoy a meal of Swiss or French origin (like Swiss cheese and French Fries).

8. Make sure you do not swear, gamble, or dance (even at weddings: apologies to my friend Elvis who is getting married on this fine day).

9. Be sure you attend church this week or be penalized (unless you have a good excuse, but it’d better be good).

10. Enjoy a Calvinus beer. Note: this beer is hard to get, you basically have to go to Switzerland to get it. If you are not fortunate to be living in  Switzerland, acquire some other beer of choice (a blonde ale), remove the label, slap a picture of Calvin on it and pretend it is a Calvinus. Then, to John Calvin - Prost!

bonus: read this fine article on Calvin by my good friend Bill Petro.