Flotsam and jetsam (4/22)

• Here’s an interesting thought from Spurgeon on Good Friday. (HT Trevin Wax)

Charles Spurgeon wasn’t too hip on the whole Good Friday idea. In his opinion, too many people ignored the church until “Holy Week,” a week so sacred that attendance on Good Friday and Easter atoned for neglecting the church for the remainder of the calendar year. In this way Good Friday became, in his words, “a superstitious ordinance of man.” It was too rote, too structured, too formalized. “The kind of religion which is ordered by the Almanac, weeping on Good Friday, and rejoicing two days afterwards, measuring its motions by the moon, is too artificial to be worthy of my imitation.”

• D. G. Hart critiques the Gospel Coalition. Actually, his critique is about any trans-denominational network and the apparent neglect, possibly even denigration, of ecclesial commitments. (HT Tim Challies)

Beneath this picture’s warm and alluring hues is the downside of the Gospel Coalition, namely, that they run their affairs as if the church does not matter, as if the gospel is independent of every church affiliation and membership (Protestant, that is).

• Roger Olson thinks the cross is disappearing from evangelical preaching.

What I am decrying is the gradual tendency for even evangelicals to be forgetful of Jesus’ death as the atoning sacrifice for humanity’s sinfulness and for our individual sins.  I have attended numerous evangelical churches of different denominational persuasions and noticed this trend over the years.  Many sermons center around problem solving in the Christian life, comfort of the afflicted, following Jesus’ example of love (without reference to the cross!), etc.  Few songs sung really focus on the death of Christ.

• Kevin DeYoung offers a nice roundup of links on the discussions that have taken place around the blogosphere regarding pietism and confessionalism.

• What if Jesus had been sentenced using modern Virginia law? (HT James McGrath)

• Joel Watts offers a nice roundup of links and videos of N.T. Wright on universalism. And John Byron comments on a new Barna report showing that Americans are leaning more toward universalism.

• Jason Goroncy points out some interviews with William Cavanaugh.

• Brian LePort reflects on his time at the Gospel Coalition conference (here, here, and here).

• Here’s a quiz for finding out How Addicted to Blogging Are You? Apparently I’m 72% addicted to blogging. Is that bad? (HT Stuart James)

• Here are 5 Bad Ideas Humanity Is Sticking with Out of Habit (warning: Cracked content). I couldn’t agree more with the first two: the QWERTY keyboard makes no sense and forcing kids to learn cursive is a complete waste of time.