I just returned home from a Derek Webb concert. Derek’s venue was the Gypsy Tea Room near downtown Dallas in the area known by locals as Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum used to be the hip part of town, the place where all the young urban twenty-somethings would descend every weekend for dining, music, and club hopping. This once very popular center has declined over the past several years as most of the nightlife has moved to the new and trendy “uptown” area. If you have ever been to a Christian concert, you might have been surprised by this one. When I saw and heard the Marilyn Manson style death-metal band…
-
-
CTR on the Emerging Church
The current issue of the Criswell Theological Review is making the rounds in the blogosphere (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here . . . just to name a few). As I indicated in my previous post, some of the articles are already available to download for free. One of the interesting things about this issue is that at least two of the contributors, Mark Driscoll and John Hammett, have decided to use Ed Stetzer’s tripartite scheme for describing emerging churches: Relevants, Reconstructionists, and Revisionists. Here’s how Driscoll breaks it down in his CTR article: Relevants are theologically conservative evangelicals who are not as interested in reshaping theology…
-
McLaren and Driscoll’s Articles Online
For those who are interested, the McLaren and Driscoll articles that I wrote about previously are now posted on website for the Criswell Theological Review (www.CriswellJournal.com). You can download them there.
-
McLaren and Driscoll in New Journal on Emerging Church
www.CriswellJournal.com Readers of this blog are aware of the falling out between Pastor Mark Driscoll and the emerging church movement. Driscoll’s very public criticism of Brian McLaren’s stance (or non-stance) on homosexuality and Driscoll’s subsequent apology make it very clear that the theological issues at stake in the emerging conversation cause no little dissension. That is why the latest installment of the Criswell Theological Review does a great service to the evangelical community’s discussion of this important topic. The current issue features both Mark Driscoll and Brian McLaren. Driscoll contributes an article that gives “A Pastoral Perspective on the Emergent Church.†Brian McLaren participates in the conversation by doing an…
-
Marvin Olasky vs. Ralph Reed
The Washington Post has picked up Marvin Olasky’s reporting on Ralph Reed’s ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Here’s the heart of it. Olasky, a journalism professor at the University of Texas, is editor in chief of World magazine, the mission of which “is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Since Nov. 19, World has run 10 articles and essays describing the $4 million in gambling money Abramoff paid to Reed to lobby against casinos competing with Abramoff’s clients. The articles have highlighted incriminating e-mails and other disclosures that have raised doubts about Reed’s explanations of his activities. If you are interested in reading the full article, you can…
-
Inerrancy Is Not Enough
Today I presented a paper at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. The meeting was held at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and Albert Mohler and Wayne Grudem were special guests and speakers at the plenary sessions. I told the people who attended my session that I would make my paper available here on my blog. So here it is for anyone who is interested. Inerrancy Is Not Enough – by Denny Burk Thanks to all of you who attended my session.
-
Deconstructing The Da Vinci Code
Photo by James Yacovelli Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary recently held a symposium on Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Panel members include Bart Ehrman, Andreas Kostenberger, Richard Hays, and Norm Geisler. You can download the mp3 audio of the conversation from the SEBTS Website, or you can subscribe to the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Chapel Podcast through iTunes. The title of the discussion is “Roundtable Discussion of The Da Vinci Code.” This is a very fascinating discussion. As for the historical claims of The Da Vinci Code, when Norm Geisler and Bart Ehrman are in agreement on anything having to do with Christianity, you know that something momentous has happened.…
-
The Use of the Old Testament in the New
The blogosphere is buzzing with discussion about the use of the Old Testament in the New. Justin Taylor is blogging about this important topic. Jim Hamilton has been writing and publishing in this area and has some good things to say today on his blog. Check out Jim’s blog and the articles that he links there. “The Old Testament in the New” – by Jim Hamilton
-
Blue Like Blue States
Don Miller’s blockbuster book Blue Like Jazz has influenced a significant number of a whole generation of young Christians across this country. I can say that the book has definitely made an impact on many of the students at the college where I teach. Mark Coppenger delivered an address at Southern Seminary recently in which he reviewed Don Miller’s book. The audio of the review is witty and insightful and worth the time to listen to. But if you don’t have the time for the audio, you can now read it. The Baptist Press has run a print version of the review titled “Blue Like Jazz & Berri Blue Jell-O.”…
-
Bart Ehrman on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewartâ€
Bart Ehrman has been making the media rounds with the publication of his new book Misquoting Jesus. Recently, he promoted his book on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart†(click here and scroll down to “Bart Ehrman†to stream the video). (HT: Daniel Streett) I reviewed Misquoting Jesus on this blog a couple of months ago. In that review I made the observation that Ehrman often mixes in higher critical conjectures that do not have anything to do with the manuscript tradition per se. This serves his polemical purpose of undermining the reliability of the Bible, but it does not help the lay reader who is being introduced to the…