Last week I wrote briefly about Rachel Held Evans’ year of living biblically. Her stated aim is to live out what the Bible teaches about womanhood. Today she writes about her difficulty in adopting the “gentle and quiet spirit” commanded in 1 Peter 3:4. To help develop such a spirit, she has incorporated contemplative prayer into her morning routine, “particularly breathing exercises, lectio divina, and centered prayer.” She appeals to the teaching of contemplative masters—both Buddha and the Proverbs—as sources for learning how to master “the volatile human spirit.” Just a reminder, Thomas Nelson has agreed to publish her book in 2012.
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Mark Dever at Boyce College
It was our great pleasure to welcome Mark Dever to the campus of Boyce College this week to preach at our weekly Dorm Meeting. He addressed the topics of conversion and evangelism, and it was a great message. You can download the audio here or listen below. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/BoycePodcast/20101018-boyce-podcast-dever.mp3] One particular point of Dever’s message has been on my mind all week. Dever challenged us to consider the role that our local church plays in our evangelism. He urged us to ponder the fact that the New Testament intends our local church to be a central piece of evidence to unbelievers of the veracity of our message. Could it be that…
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Trevin Wax on Inerrancy Baggage
Trevin Wax has an insightful post on those who avoid the term “inerrancy” because of its “baggage.” He writes: “No label comes without baggage. The question is not whether we will claim labels for ourselves, but whether we will be courageous enough to stake out our positions clearly. “If I uphold the idea of inerrancy but want nothing to do with the term, I’m unintentionally loading myself up with a different kind of baggage. Sure, people may equate an affirmation of inerrancy with a literalist interpretation of Scripture. But disavowing the term inerrancy also has baggage. I group myself with people who may not believe in the historicity of miracles,…
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Matthews Brings “Hardball†to Louisville
Chris Matthews brought his cable news show “Hardball” to Louisville yesterday. In advance of the mid-term elections next month, Matthews focused on Kentucky politics with students and faculty from the University of Louisville.
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W Conference for Women
Mary Kassian is coming to Southern Seminary for a Women’s Conference on November 19-20. Kassian is an award winning author and internationally renowned speaker. Her latest book, Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild, was just released this past spring. Grammy nominated artist Heather Payne will be doing music. This looks to be a fantastic conference. Find out more about the conference and register here.
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David Mills on Mere Christianity
David Mills has a great piece about so-called “mere Christianity” over at the First Things blog. He tweaks C. S. Lewis’ metaphor of the house with many rooms, and I think it’s insightful. Mills is a committed Roman Catholic, and he doesn’t mind honest disagreement among friends. In short, he argues that there’s a real and substantial difference between Protestants and Catholics—a difference that can’t be papered over by an appeal to “mere Christianity.”
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An Egalitarian Gets Biblical
Rachel Held Evans is an egalitarian, and she wants to live according to the Bible for one year… just to see what it’s like. Her aim is to follow all the commands that are directed to women. Among other things, this project will include “submitting” to her husband as Colossians 3:18 teaches. She invites everyone to follow along on her blog to track her progress. Thomas Nelson has agreed to publish a book in 2012 describing her year of living obediently. There is an irony here. She says that she is going to obey the Bible’s commands as “literally” as possible. She seems to be admitting that the “literal” interpretation…
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The Oasis of God
You don’t get to hear preaching like this very often, and you need to hear this one. This is Dr. Robert Smith’s message from today’s chapel service at Southern Seminary. Watch above, listen below, or download here. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/fall2010/20101013smith.mp3]
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The Evangelical Divide on Gay Rights
In the video linked at right, Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches and Robert Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute discuss changing public opinion on gay rights. Several things are interesting here. 1. Assumption – There is an underlying assumption that skews this conversation. Posner and Jones virtually equate “gay rights” with the right to “homosexual marriage.” The assumption seems to be that support for gay marriage indicates support for the basic human rights of homosexual persons and that opposition to gay marriage indicates opposition to the basic human rights of homosexual persons. I think, however, that this equation is a mistake.
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Strachan at TGC
Boyce College professor Owen Strachan appears with Justin Taylor and Collin Hansen in this video roundtable conversation for The Gospel Coalition. They discuss issues related to strains of evangelicalism, the need for self-examination, and the problem of self-promotion. (HT: Justin Taylor)