November, for those unaware, is National Adoption Month. For many American’s, adoption has transformed lives in many powerful ways. And for those of us who know the Lord, adoption is certainly one of the most powerful realities true about us today. In fact, J.I. Packer goes so far as to say that his summary answer to the question ‘What is a Christian?” is that a Christian “is one who ahs God as Father.”[1] I wouldn’t...
Upon John Dunne’s request, I am going to write something relating Romans 13 and civil disobedience. This post does not represent my thinking on the matter but rather gives a historical perspective to the problem with hopes that a later post, reflecting my thoughts, will bring about thought provoking and engaging conversation. I will quickly give an overview of John Calvin’s resistance theory and how certain historical events forced his most loyal and fervent follows...
Many evangelical churches’ and colleges’ professions of faith contain a statement on the inerrancy of the Bible. The Bible, so it goes, is inspired by God and is inerrant in the original manuscripts. This belief certainly has its staunch–and I mean staunch!–proponents, but it seems to me that a great many people are, frankly, embarrassed by this doctrine. Attempting to engage with broader theological concerns myself, I am more than aware of what a theological...
Yesterday, Richard Beck of Experimental Theology wrote a post on what the word “biblical” means. As will be obvious, I don’t much care for what he had to say. In fact, it made me so grumpy that I thought I’d respond. I hope he takes it as a compliment. In his piece he concludes: Biblical is a sociological stress test. When groups gather…to have a conversation about what is or is not biblical they are engaging...
“Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world.” This quote, posted by Mark Zuckerberg in tribute to Steve Jobs on the day of his passing last week, makes a pretty incredible statement: Steve Jobs qualifies to be remembered as a person of such influence, that he can go down in history as a “world changer.” In fact, the Apple Board of Directors, in their released comments, says “the world is immeasurably better...
We all know Wright has received a bad wrap from many conservative Christians over the years. I can remember being introduced to Wright’s view on Justification in a context in which I was told how detrimental his ideas were. Furthermore, one of the most influential figures for my theological thinking, John Piper, wrote an extensive rebuttal to N. T. Wright with The Future of Justification. Throughout the blogosphere there are many critical reviews of Wright’s work,...
I recently had a pastor tell me that the in-depth, formal study of what is commonly called “systematic theology” would be a waste of my time and would not have a real benefit for the church. When I tried to engage yet another pastor in discussion about theology he remarked flatly, “theology is boring.” Both of these men hold advanced theological degrees. I am quite certain that these men are not isolated in their sentiments. ...
Having a high view of sin is crucial for sanctification. A high view of sin does not mean that you regard more things as sinful than actually are sinful. That would be legalism. Rather, it is the conscious effort to keep sin from becoming trivial. It is the removal of the frequent ‘but factor’ in the face of God’s commands (you are not the exception!). It is the self-control and humility to abstain from retorting...
I remember when I was younger being told that Jesus could come back at any moment. Instead of erupting in joy at such a statement I would often think that Jesus should wait, perhaps until I have at least been married and had sex first. Now, I’m fairly confident that I’m not in the minority on this. But obviously, there is something completely backwards about this type of thinking. Do we seriously desire to postpone the grand...
Disclaimer time: the views expressed here do not represent you know, whoever disagrees with them. Oliver O’Donovan’s The Desire of Nations is a difficult but spectacular book that seeks to ‘rediscover the roots of political theology’. It is essentially a long theological exposition of the concept of authority in the Bible, with a focus on the way in which earthly authorities are both established and relativized by the advent of God’s authority in Jesus. I...
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