I just couldn’t pass up this “King of the Hill†spoof on mega-churches. It’s pretty hillarious. Click on the following link to view it: “Hank Looks for a Church†Enjoy! (HT: Steve McCoy)
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Scratching My Head at Baptism for the Dead
Is it okay for a teacher or preacher of the Bible to admit that sometimes he just doesn’t know all the answers?This question was impressed on me as I was preparing to teach on “baptism for the dead†this past Sunday morning. This text (1 Corinthians 15:29-34), to my mind, is one of the most enigmatic sections of the entire Bible. As I worked my way through the text, I just could not find much there to help me figure out exactly what the Corinthians were doing. As I made my way through Gordon Fee’s commentary, it became really clear to me that I am not alone in this predicament…
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N. T. Wright on the Necessity of Believing the Resurrection
I used to think that the “N. T.” in N. T. Wright stood for “New Testament.” He’s such a fine scholar of the New Testament, it only made sense. However, having read his comments in The Australian, I am not so sure (HT: Al Mohler). Contrary to 1 Corinthians 15, and Romans 10:9-10, and a host of other scriptures, the Bishop of Durham thinks that belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ is unnecessary in order for one to be a Christian. He says,
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Good Friday and the Ransom to Satan
Several years ago on the Saturday before Easter, I heard Paul Harvey share a story on his radio program. It was a sweet story, but it represented a fairly common misunderstanding of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross. My aim is not to criticize Paul Harvey; I’ve always loved to listen to his show. However, I think the anecdote does reflect an unwitting error that Christians are prone to make–namely, that Jesus’ death was a payment to Satan. You can read the story here: “The Bird Cage.”
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Who’s afraid of Derek Webb? (part 3)
(Click here for Part 1) (Part 2) As I said in part 2, there is much to commend on Derek’s new album, “Mockingbird.” But as I also indicated there, I will now address some items that I think are not so good. First, pacifism plays a big part on this album. That Derek embraces pacifism as the only Christian alternative comes through loud and clear in the song “My Enemies Are Men Like Me.” I don’t know how else to understand the following lines except as condemnation of anyone who might argue for the possibility of a just war: peace by way of war is like purity by…
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Radio Show on the Emerging Church
Some readers of this blog have requested the audio of the recent radio show I hosted. The show was about the emerging church, and I did an interview with Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at Northpark University in Chicago Illinois. I also interviewed Jim Hamilton, professor of biblical studies of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Right click on the following link, and select “save as†if you want to download the MP3 of the interviews. Denny’s interviews with Scot McKnight and Jim Hamilton on Jerry Johnson Live The most important thing about this show is that it is probably the only time that the Indigo Girls have ever or…
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Who’s afraid of Derek Webb? (part 2)
(Click here for Part 1) When I got home from the Derek Webb concert on Tuesday night, I shot off a blog that was in protest of what I thought was an overtly left-wing political message on Webb’s new album “Mockingbird.” But I later deleted what I wrote because I came to the conclusion that Derek’s message actually deserved a little more serious consideration than I had given it. So that is why this has turned into a three part series. My initial response, however, was provoked in part by how the concert-goers received Derek’s lefty-friendly message. Consider, for example, the response from the crowd when Derek sang these lines:…
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The Gospel of Judas: A Transparent Fiction
What should we make of the discovery of this new Gospel of Judas that has been unearthed in the sands of Egypt? The media and unfortunately some biblical scholars of note would have us think that this document represents voices from the early centuries of Christianity that need to be given a hearing as we assess who the Jesus of history was. Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagels are among those scholars of the opinion that earliest Christianity was not a monolithic movement. There were many different Christian groups in the first century, but we just don’t know much about the “other” groups because their voices were suppressed by the orthodox…
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Interview with Scot McKnight
Yesterday I hosted the Jerry Johnson Live radio program in Dallas, Texas. My guest for the first half of the show was Dr. Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at Northpark University in Chicago, Illinois. While Dr. McKnight did a great job, I’m afraid I may not have. Unfortunately, many of our listeners had trouble understanding what the emerging church is even after our discussion of it. I chalk this up to my less-than-perfect interviewing skills. Thankfully, I can refer my readers and anyone who listened to yesterday’s show to Dr. McKnight’s very clear essay, “The Future or Fad? A Look at the Emerging Church Movement.†Also, Dr. McKnight writes…
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Doug Wilson on Free Will and the Sovereignty of God
Doug Wilson has a great little piece on free will and the sovereignty of God. This short essay on his blog is titled “Freedom? What Freedom?†(HT: Justin Taylor)