• Politics

    She Did No Harm

    I don’t know anyone who had high expectations of Sarah Palin going into tonight’s vice-presidential debate. Her speech at the Republican convention was a real barn-burner, but it’s been downhill since then. Her interview with Charlie Gibson was terrible. Her interview with Katie Couric was even worse. But tonight, Governor Palin exceeded expectations. She held her own (in complete, intelligible sentences), and she did no harm to the McCain campaign. In fact, if I had to pick a winner, I would say that Palin came out on top. In the final analysis, however, I think this debate will be seen as fairly inconsequential. Senator Obama is leading this race, and…

  • Personal,  Theology/Bible

    Don’t Feed the Blog Trolls

    I have a fairly liberal comments policy. I have turned my blog filter on so that it automatically sifts out comments with profanity. Other than that, I generally do not screen all the comments. I’m not saying it’s the best policy. It’s just the one that I use because I simply do not have time to read all of the comments (especially in the longer threads), and I do not want to turn off the comments altogether.

  • Theology/Bible

    Is the Old Testament about Christ?

    One of the great benefits of being on the campus of Southern Seminary is the frequent theology forums. Last week, Tom Schreiner moderated a discussion that included Peter Gentry, Jim Hamilton, and Duane Garrett. The forum was titled “Christology in the Old Testament: A Panel Discussion of how and to what extent we should see Christ in the Old Testament.” Tom Schreiner opens the discussion by asserting that all of the panelist agree that the Old Testament is about Christ (e.g., Luke 24:27). The panelists disagree, however, on how this works out in exegesis of the Old Testament text. This is a great discussion, and I hope you will listen…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    ABC News Lands at Southern Seminary

    Last week, “ABC World News Tonight” showed up on the campus of Southern Seminary to talk to students about gender roles vis a vis the candidacy of Governor Sarah Palin. They interviewed three of our students: Phillip Bethancourt, Courtney Tarter, and Toby Jennings. I could not be prouder of how they represented the school and the truth of the Bible in their brief appearance. Our president, Dr. Albert Mohler, is interviewed as well. One particular part of the report is worthy of note. The interviewer was fascinated by the idea that our students could support a woman as president but not as pastor. He was especially interested in Ms. Tarter’s…

  • Politics

    The First Presidential Debate

    The Washington Post has posted video of the entire debate. The verdict is out on who won this round. At this point, the candidates are not competing for the votes of their respective bases. They are competing for the votes of the undecided—that amorphous group that at this late date continues to be either uninformed or without core convictions. In many ways, the substance of the issues is not always decisive for these people, but the style and finesse of presentation often is. Stay tuned.

  • Theology/Bible

    New Issue of JBMW

    The latest issue of The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (JBMW) is now available from the CBMW website. If you are not yet a subscriber to JBMW, you should be. Subscription information is posted on the JBMW page. There are several articles that are available for download now.

  • Sports

    USC Stunned . . . Woohoo!

    Readers of this blog already know that I am no fan of USC. So with the Trojans’s loss to Oregon State, this is shaping up to be a great weekend of college football. What a spectacle it is when the over-inflated media-darlings take their lumps. So much for being ranked number one. Did I hear someone say Schadenfreude? When LSU beats Mississippi State on Saturday night, it will have been the perfect weekend for college football. Stay tuned.

  • Christianity,  Politics

    The President Addresses Financial Crisis

    Last night, President Bush addressed the nation concerning the financial crisis that is gripping the country. In case you missed it, you can watch the entire address above. In addition, here are two recent articles written by reliable Christians that attempt to explain what is happening from a Christian perspective. “A Christian View of the Economic Crisis” – by Albert Mohler (AlbertMohler.com) “Thinking Biblically about the Banking Crisis” – by David Kotter (Between Two Worlds)

  • Theology/Bible

    A Critique of Rob Bell’s Feminine God Language

    In his latest NOOMA video, Pastor Rob Bell argues that the Biblical depiction of God is often a feminine one: There is this maternal impulse, this ancient nurturing instinct. And it transcends time; it transcends culture; it transcends economics. There is an ancient mothering impulse, and it’s also a divine impulse. Throughout the Bible, God is described as compassionate. In Hebrew, the original language of the Scriptures, it’s the word “raham.” It’s also the word for “womb.” So, God is compassionate. God is “womb-like”? This is a feminine image for God.

  • Politics

    Presidential Debates

    The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has announced the dates and times of the upcoming debates (see schedule below). The first one is on Friday of this week. The CPD’s website has this to say about the “breakthrough” format for discussion: “Both campaigns, without public controversy, with quiet cooperation and with minor revisions, have agreed to CPD’s proposal that each debate will be divided into issue segments allowing time for each candidate to comment on that issue followed by a free-flow conversation/ discussion between the candidates including the possibility of direct exchange between the candidates. “These formats are an historic breakthrough in the history of televised debates. Televised debates have…