• Politics

    Are You Ready for Speaker Pelosi?

    Is it time to hand Congress over to liberal leadership? If the Republicans lose their majority in the House of Representatives this November, Nancy Pelosi, liberal Democrat from San Francisco, will become the next Speaker of the House. The Associated Press reports what she has promised to do in her first 100 hours as Speaker.The most troubling tidbit in this report is not her promises to roll-back the Bush tax-cuts and to raise taxes (though who could possibly be very excited about that prospect?). The most distressing part is her vow to broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds and to do so with what she…

  • Humor,  Theology/Bible

    The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals

    Christianity Today has compiled a list of the “The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.” The fifty books they selected are billed as the “Landmark titles that changed the way we think, talk, witness, worship, and live.” What book do you think would be number one on a list like this one? If you guessed C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, you would be wrong (#3). You would also be wrong if you guessed J. I. Packer’s Knowing God (#5), Carl Henry’s Uneasy Conscience (#15), or even John Piper’s Desiring God (#39). The number one book that has shaped modern evangelicals is Learning Conversational Prayer by Rosalind Rinker.

  • Politics

    North Korea’s Turn on the Axis of Evil

    In his now famous 2002 State of the Union speech, President Bush warned of an “Axis of Evil” that threatens the security of the world with weapons of mass destruction. The “Axis” included Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. In hindsight, we can all see the President was right. Of course the Iraqi regime is no longer a threat, but Iran and North Korea still are. Both Iran and North Korea are seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.

  • Theology/Bible

    John Piper at “Above All Earthly Powers”

    I have eagerly anticipated the release of the messages from the 2006 Desiring God National Conference, “Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in the Postmodern World.” The conference was held just this past weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota. John Piper, my favorite preacher on planet earth, was one of the keynote speakers, and the audio and the transcript of his message is now available for download. Dr. Piper’s text was John 17:13, and the sermon is titled “The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World” (transcript, mp3) He argues that true joy in God must be founded on true knowledge of God. To the degree that the…

  • Theology/Bible

    The Confessions of a Fundamissional Dean

    I cannot commend to you highly enough two messages from Dr. Russell Moore, Senior Vice-President at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “The Kingdom of God in the Wal-Mart Break Room: Poverty, Partiality, and the Perils of a Gentrified Christianity” “Confessions of a Fundamissional Dean” The first message is a sermon that Dr. Moore preached in August in Southern Seminary’s chapel. The second is a lecture that he gave at an event sponsored by the Theology School Council, also at Southern Seminary. The two talks are linked by a common theme: that certain sectors of evangelical and Southern Baptist life have become elitist. He sees this problem not only among some…

  • Book Reviews,  Theology/Bible

    I Steam, You Steam, We All Steam at Osteen

    Well, maybe we’re not that mad at Joel Osteen, but Greg Gilbert’s new review of Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now, reminds us of why we are appalled at his version of “Christianity.” Greg Gilbert describes Osteen’s work this way: It should be noted clearly and widely that there is nothing Christian about this book. Yes, Osteen talks about God throughout, but it is not the God of the Bible he has in mind. Osteen’s God is little more than the mechanism that gives the power to positive thinking. There is no cross. There is no sin. There is no redemption or salvation or eternity. . . If Joel Osteen…

  • Politics,  Theology/Bible

    The Appearance of Partisanship

    Many evangelicals are truly political partisans. There are many others who are not partisan, but nevertheless have the appearance of a partisanship because of their consistent support for Republican candidates. For those of us who fall in the latter category, the explanation is rather simple. The Democrats and Republicans couldn’t be more polarized when it comes to the most important human rights issue of our time–abortion.I cannot improve upon Robert George’s analysis of this polarization and the effect that it has on conscientious, pro-life voters. George writes,

  • Personal,  Theology/Bible

    Congratulations to Dr. Barry Joslin!

    Congratulations to my best friend of 22 years, Dr. Barry Joslin of Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. I found out today that Paternoster will be publishing his dissertation in their Biblical Monographs series. Barry’s book will be an important contribution to the study of the theology of the book of Hebrews. It’s titled The Theology of the Mosaic Law in Hebrews 7-10.Barry’s dissertation will be the third monograph appearing in this series by a graduate of Southern Seminary’s Ph.D. program. The other two that I know of are by Rob Plummer and Shawn Wright. So, I just wanted to give a hearty “atta boy” to Barry and to Southern Seminary.…

  • Culture,  Music

    The Brilliance of Carter Beauford

    Not many people know this, but once upon a time I used to be a drummer. I’m afraid the only time my drums get played anymore is when the worship band takes the stage at the Criswell College where I teach, and the guy playing my drums is definitely not me. This is for the best, since even when I was at the peak of my drumming powers, I wasn’t all that good.

  • Theology/Bible

    Touchstone Editors Weigh in on the Gender Conversation

    I would like to thank three of the editors at Touchstone magazine who have taken the time to participate in the conversation that we have been having on this blog. Of course the conversation that I am referring to is the one about gender (here, here, and here). The editors are S. M. Hutchens, David Mills, and Anthony Esolen. Two posts have appeared on the Touchstone blog that refer to our debate.“Burk’s Readers On Hutchens” -by David Mills “All Flattened Things are Equal” -by Anthony Esolen This conversation started on September 7 when I wrote a brief note on S. M. Hutchens’ review of John G. Stackhouse’s book Finally Feminist:…