Most of the readers of this blog will be familiar with the Law/Gospel distinction that is present in the New Testament. While this distinction grew out of a particular set of controversies involving a particular law code and its relevance to a particular cultural situation (something that we Protestants often forget to our own exegetical detriment), the New Testament also occasionally abstracts what we might call the principles of Law and Gospel as two ways of […]
In David Bartholmae’s article “Inventing the University”, he states that in order for the student to succeed in the university as it was currently (1985) constituted, the student must, “invent the university by assembling and mimicking its language, while finding some compromise between idiosyncrasy, a personal history, on the one hand and the requirements of convention, the history of discipline, on the other.”[1] The “mimicry” of language and terms in the academy is one that […]
Biola’s President, Dr. Barry Corey, on the university’s decision. Last week, two new Christian Universities, Grace College and Seminary (Indiana) and Biola University (the first California school to join the discussion) joined an existing lawsuit against the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, and the controversial requirements for employers of 15 or more employees to include contraceptive (including abortion inducing) tools and medication in its employee insurance coverage, free of charge to the employee.[1] These two […]
It should go without saying that art is a powerful thing. When it is done well it can easily change the way we see the world, subverting our perspective in a way where other forms of communication would struggle or fail. We are surrounded by well executed art, yet it is an exhilarating rarity to find a piece art that is not only aesthetically exquisite, but also serves as an incarnation of the gospel for […]
If you were going to introduce the Star Wars saga to someone who has never seen the movies, how would you do it? Since there are two trilogies that were not produced in chronological order a true dilemma emerges. I just read a brilliant article by Rod Hilton addressing this topic. I highly recommend that you check this article out (click here to read it). Hilton suggests that the two most intuitive ways to watch […]
I grew up in a household that, at least on paper, dictated that I listen only to “Christian” music. What this meant, functionally speaking, is that I could only listen to music sold at Christian bookstores, or the oldies station that my Dad would tune into on the radio. Those were my options, musically speaking, until I left the house. I was a bit of a rebel and had a couple of ‘secular’ albums, but […]
Accuracy in preaching has never been more important than it is today. In the 800s, it mattered less if preachers thought the Bible taught the earth was the center of the universe. Everyone believed that. In the 1400s, it mattered less if preachers taught a flat earth. People believed their clergy more than university professors. Today when we misinterpret Scripture or assert knowledge of God or his will that the Bible doesn’t teach, repercussions can […]
Since this is an election year, I thought it be would pertinent to address issues that are of concern when deliberating which candidates for whom to vote. In the next ten weeks I hope to take a biblical look at issues such as religious and political freedom, stewardship of earthly resources, war, and personal and social sin to name a few. In these posts I will not endorse any candidate or political party, I am […]
Without knowing it, I grew up believing in a quasi-Wesleyan form of Arminianism. When I went to college, and was exposed to Calvinism for the first time, I was very hostile. I was undoubtedly the most obnoxious Arminian on campus my freshman year. Eventually I came to a point where I decided to be open-minded. That alone was a big step for me. So during my sophomore year of college I decided to study the […]
I am one of those people who love to discuss books in the process of reading them. I just can’t help it. In English class, I’ve made my friends discuss the reading from the night before with me—which usually entailed predicting the rest of the book, discussing favorite (and least favorite) characters, and reciting favorite parts—every morning, before class, on queue. This being the case, I have a tendency to ask new people I meet […]
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