“What kind of picture of reality makes room for the fact that people matter most? I suggest that the Christian picture of reality makes good sense of this aspect of our lives. In other words, the picture of reality presented by Christianity grounds and explains our values and aspirations concerning the importance of people. A simple observation is enough to show this claim to be true: In the Christian story, the most fundamental reality is personal…Because God has purposes for us, our meaning does not depend on how we feel about our lives on any given day.” (Gregory E. Ganssle, Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! The school has finally come to an end, and I couldn’t be more excited for the summer! Here are this week’s links to start you off right!

• Have you ever wondered who wrote Deuteronomy 34, the chapter on Moses’ death? Do we have any reason to doubt the inspiration of God’s Word due to this question? Old Testament adjunct professor Richard McDonald lays out some of the proposed authors, but also reminds us of the trustworthiness of God in answering some of the hard questions.
• What role does testosterone play in impacting men? Medical doctor and biblical counselor Dan Dionne is interviewed about this on this week’s Truth in Love podcast.
• Biola professor and philosopher J.P. Moreland was interviewed about his new book on anxiety and the implications of intelligent design in the area of mental health and science on the ID the Future pocast.
• David Powlison, former CCEF Executive Director, died last week after battling stage IV pancreatic cancer since November 2018. A number of tributes have been written about him already, and I wanted to pass along some of them to you, in order to get to know the man who influenced many within the biblical counseling movement. Randy Alcorn linked to a few tributes, and posted one from Ray Ortlund. The Biblical Counseling Coalition dedicated this week to Powlison’s work and example: a post he wrote on how sanctification works, a tribute by Bob Kellemen, a focus on what David loved, and a small reflection from BCC director Curtis Solomon. Justin Taylor posted five questions to ask when you are suffering, from Powlison’s latest book on suffering.
• Stand to Reason speaker Tim Barnett deals with another example of bad science with respect to abortion arguments in the form of a tweet from comedienne Heather Anne Campbell.
• What is the reformed view of predestination? R.C. Sproul wrote a very helpful answer.
• Joe Carter gives a detailed FAQ on the recent release of a report by the SBC on sexual abuse within the denomination.
• Donn Arms, ministry co-laborer with biblical counseling pioneer Jay Adams, gives some very important advice for any student studying biblical counseling: read Jay Adams!

That’s all for this week! Please pray for all the graduating seniors! Congrats to all of you! See you on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria