• Christianity

    ETS Executive Committee on Beckwith

    The executive committee of the ETS has just released a statement concerning the resignation of Dr. Francis Beckwith. The executive committee says that Roman Catholic theology is incompatible with the doctrinal basis of the ETS. Here are the relevant lines: The Executive Committee recognizes Dr. Beckwith’s resignation as President and subsequent withdrawal from membership as appropriate in light of the purpose and doctrinal basis of the Evangelical Theological Society and in light of the requirements of wholehearted confessional agreement with the Roman Catholic Church. The work of the Evangelical Theological Society as a scholarly forum proceeds on the basis that “the Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety, is…

  • Christianity

    Francis Beckwith Resigns His ETS Membership

    Dr. Francis Beckwith resigned from the presidency of ETS over the weekend. He announces today that he is resigning his membership as well. He writes: Although I firmly believe that I can sign the ETS doctrinal statement in good conscience, my high-profile presence in ETS will likely result in the sort of public conflict that occurred during the debate over the openness view of God and the attempt on the part of some members to oust believers in that view.  Because, as I noted in my prior posting on this matter, that I deeply desire a public conversation among Christians about the relationship between Evangelicalism and the Great Tradition, a…

  • Theology/Bible

    Herod’s Tomb Discovered

    This post is for the bibliophiles and theologues who read this blog. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz announces that archeologists have discovered Herod the Great’s tomb. Herod the Great was the Jewish king when Jesus was born. His reign was more or less a police state in which many lived in fear. Matthew’s Gospel says that he ordered the execution of all the male babies in Bethlehem when he heard that “the King of the Jews” had been born there (Matthew 2:1-18). Herod became famous for his building projects, and his work on the temple in Jerusalem made it almost into a new temple. This is a significant find not only…

  • Culture

    Pro-Choice Non-Sequitur

    Madeleine Berenson tells the story of her courageous decision to choose life 27 years ago when she had an unplanned pregnancy while she was unwed. When she informed the lecherous father that she was pregnant, he replied “I want to wash my hands clean of this whole thing. I’ll support abortion or adoption. That’s it.” Nevertheless, she had her baby and kept him. Now her son is 27 years old and has a Ph.D. and she couldn’t be happier about choosing life. Yet her reflections on her own journey and on the abortion issue are a bit surprising. I would argue that they are a bit of a non-sequitur as…

  • Politics

    Romney Reaches to the Christian Right

    There are probably many Americans who do not understand why Mitt Romney has to “reach out” to the “Christian right” in his bid to become President of the United States. I’m sure there are many who would think Romney the Mormon would go with the Christian right like peas and carrots. After all, Mormons and Evangelicals both have conservative stances on social issues, in particular issues affecting the family. But matters are just not that simple. Evangelical Christians who know what Mormonism is do not consider Mormonism to be a Christian denomination, but a cult. On top of that, just a few short years ago this particular Mormon ran for…

  • Christianity

    President of Evangelical Theological Society Becomes Roman Catholic

    Dr. Francis Beckwith announced his return to the Roman Catholic Church today. He also announced the he has resigned from the presidency of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). I did not post about this news yesterday when I heard about it because I suspected that Dr. Beckwith had not authorized the bloggers who were writing about it to make the announcement for him. It turns out that I was right. But now that the cat’s out of the bag, Dr. Beckwith has posted his own explanation of his recent conversion and how he intended to phase out quietly from his leadership position in the ETS. Here’s the link: “My Return…

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    Why Remember the Martyrs?

    In an attempt to raise awareness about the Turkish martyrs, I sent their story to a religion writer at the Dallas Morning News. He posted links to reports about them on the Dallas Morning News religion blog: “The killing of Christians in Turkey.” Unfortunately, one of the other religion writers at the Dallas Morning News got rankled by my concern for the martyrs. His frustration with me is posted here: “With all due respect to Professor Burk.” This reporter’s main problem with my efforts is that he thinks I am paying too little attention to all the suffering in the world. The murder of three Christians is not such a…

  • Christianity

    In the Presence of Martyrs: A Reflection from Turkey

    Dr. Mark Wilson of the Seven Churches Network attended the funeral of recently martyred Necati Aydin. He offers these reflections on the service. (HT: Ben Witherington) ______________________________ In the Presence of Martyrs: A Reflection from Turkey Recently Dindy [Mark’s wife] and I attended a funeral here in Izmir. I have attended many funerals, but this was my first in Turkey. And it was also the first time I attended the funeral of a martyr. I have been teaching and writing about martyrs and martyrdom for many years. We live in biblical Smyrna noted as the place where Polycarp was martyred in the second century. But such martyrdoms are personally and…

  • Christianity

    Another Clarification from Turkey

    Dr. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary has a report out of Turkey from persons that he says were very close to the events on the ground. This new letter is sent to correct some of the exaggerations that have circulated since the story of the martyrdoms broke. I cannot authenticate or verify the veracity of the letter. The name of the sender has been removed for security reasons. Here it is in its entirety: