Yesterday, Tom Schreiner, Mark Seifrid, Brian Vickers, and I had a conversation with the students of Boyce College about Paul’s doctrine of justification. In particular, we discussed Tom Wright’s new book Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision, which is largely a response to John Piper’s 2007 book The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. You can download the audio of this discussion at the Boyce College blog, or you can listen to it by pressing the play button below. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/BoycePodcast/20090415_Boyce_Chapel.mp3] In the main, the panel members agree that Wright’s book doesn’t advance the discussion beyond where it was before. The central concern of John Piper’s book is…
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Stop Hitting Yourself!
I think this one may make my “best-of-2009” list. Wow.
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Colbert Lampoons Ehrman
For those of you who may have forgotten, Bart Ehrman is a New Testament scholar at the University of North Carolina. I have written about him numerous times on this blog. He’s the guy who used to be an evangelical Christian but who left the faith some years ago. He is now writing popular level books trying to convince others to leave the faith as well. I wrote a review of one of his books that you can read here. I am not sure why Ehrman would subject himself to this, but I don’t mind that he did. Colbert is actually pretty effective at poking holes in his arguments. Favorite…
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Tim Keller on MSNBC’s “Morning Joeâ€
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The Innermost Meaning of the Cross
In 1998, I went to Austin, Texas to a conference called “Passion 98.” It was there that the Lord began a spiritual renewal (a Copernican revolution of sorts) in my own heart and mind concerning the Supremacy of God over all things for the joy of all peoples. It all began with a sermon delivered by John Piper on Romans 3:25-26, “Did Christ Die for Us or for God?” This sermon more than any other has shaped my view of the meaning of Christ’s work on the cross–that it was a propitiatory sacrifice for sinners. Piper quoted C. E. B. Cranfield, calling this the “innermost meaning of the cross.” On…
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Assessing the Piper-Wright Debate on Justification
Next week, Boyce College is hosting a theology forum during its Wednesday morning chapel hour. We have invited three distinguished guests to discuss N. T. Wright’s new book, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. As I have mentioned before, Wright’s book is in large part a response to John Piper’s book The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. I will moderate a panel featuring Tom Schreiner, Mark Seifrid, and Brian Vickers. Here’s the flier for the event. Even though the event is aimed at our Boyce College undergraduates, seminary students are welcome to attend. We will reserve some time at the end for Q & A with…
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Maggie Gallagher Critiques Rick Warren
Maggie Gallagher has a sharp critique of Rick Warren’s recent appearance on “Larry King Live.” She writes: ‘Many religious people and groups will bow to, if not exactly endorse, the power of gay activists. Witness Rev. Rick Warren, who on “Larry King Live” this week came very close to recanting his support for Proposition 8. Rick did not quite do so. What he did, instead, is what many good people will do in the face of the massive campaign of intimidation and harassment designed to silence Christians and others of good will who support marriage: He dodged. Rick said, more or less: I am not now and never have been…
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Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex “Marriageâ€
Vermont has just become the fourth state to legalize same-sex “marriage” (read here). This is significant not just because the state has redefined “marriage,” but also because of how it was done. The other three states that have legalized these unions (Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa) have done so through the courts. And in each of those cases, same-sex “marriage” opponents can argue that judicial activism rather than democracy produced the result. This is not the case in Vermont. The elected representatives of the people of Vermont overwhelmingly voted to override the governor’s veto to make this happen. It’s also important to note this. Not only are we seeing marriage redefined,…
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Jim Hamilton Preaches Revelation 1:1-8
I’m grateful to share that Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky called my good friend Jim Hamilton as their pastor last Sunday. I’m also grateful to have heard Jim preach today his first sermon as their pastor. The sermon is the first in a series on the book of Revelation. The message is outstanding, and I think you should hear it. You can download it here or listen to it below. [audio:http://cdn.sermonplayer.com/d/kenwood/audio/209365_18295.mp3] A final note. There will be an official installation service for Jim on April 19, and Tom Schreiner will be preaching.
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Check Out “Moore to the Point”
Don’t miss Russell Moore’s new digs at the “Moore to the Point” website at www.RussellMoore.com. It’s really swanky with great content!