Believe it or not, Frank Pastore really argues that Al Qaeda supports the Emergent Church. His basic argument is this. If the American church were vibrant and healthy, then America as a nation would have the resolve required to defeat terrorists. Since the Emergent movement weakens the church, the nation’s resolve to defeat terrorists is weakened too. Therefore, Al Qaeda supports the Emergent church. Kind of a stretch, huh? While I’m no fan of Emergent, I do think Pastore’s piece is a bit heavy on the Constantinian triumphalism (of which I am not a fan either). The article has lots of other problems, but here’s the whole thing anyway: “Why…
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Surprised By Virtue
Newsweek‘s Susannah Meadows spoke with Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and a practicing evangelical himself, about how evangelicals have responded to news of Senator David Vitter’s moral problems. Cromartie responds: “What one has to understand is that classic Christianity believes that people are fallen and desperately need a redeemer. If they’re authentic Christians, they understand that but for the grace of God, they too could fall. Evangelicalism likes to pride itself on being magnanimous and forgiving. It ought to be the case that evangelicals, while not condoning such behavior, are not surprised by such sinful behavior. I’m not surprised by vice.…
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Let’s Amend the ETS Constitution
Dr. Ray Van Neste (Union University) and I have been working on a proposal to amend the constitution of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). We have been in touch with senior members of the society (e.g, living founders, past presidents, and executive committee members) and have received some excellent, critical feedback (though no endorsements). We have completed our proposal, and now we want to go public and to gather support for it from our fellow members of the ETS. In short, our aim is to expand the doctrinal basis of the ETS. We are not naïve about the challenges of uniting such a diverse body around an expanded doctrinal basis.…
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I’m still at least 51% Protestant
Evangelical-Catholic dialogue has been a hot topic in the wake of the Pope’s recent affirmation of the Roman Catholic Church as the only true church. For example, Christianity Today‘s “Honest Ecumenism, Again” and “Virtue That Counts” as well as Al Mohler’s “No, I’m not offended” have been making the rounds in the blogosphere. In this context, it is interesting to read some questions raised by my old mentor Daniel Wallace over at the “Parchment and Pen” blog. Although Wallace’s remarks are not a response to the Pope’s recent announcement, they are relevant to Evangelical-Catholic dialogue. Wallace says, “I’m still at least 51% Protestant.” You’ll want to go and read the…
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President Nixon and Chuck Colson
The National Archives has released some new tape recordings of President Nixon’s telephone conversations. Some of the tapes record the President’s speaking to the yet to be born again Chuck Colson. Listening to these exchanges only magnifies the contrast between the old Chuck Colson and the new one. The Chuck Colson on these recordings has given way to the new creation that I heard preach in San Antonio last month. The Lord’s arm is not too short to save (Isaiah 59:1).
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The Gay Shibboleth
This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the Surgeon General and his stance that homosexuality is a sin. Christianity Today has an editorial out today titled “The Gay Shibboleth,” which takes basically the same position that I do, but states is much better: Affirmation of homosexual behavior seems to be shifting from an in-group shibboleth to an unwritten requirement for American leadership. Where does that leave biblical Christians? We may soon come to the point where supporting a sexual ethic based on an orthodox reading of Scripture becomes part of our cross to bear. . .
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Tony Jones: A Gobbledygook “Orthodoxy”
If Brian McLaren is the author of A Generous Orthodoxy, then Tony Jones is certainly the author of gobbledygook “orthodoxy.” And, yes, the scare quotes are necessary because, as you will soon see, Jones’ “orthodoxy” is anything but orthodox. Tony Jones is the National Coordinator of Emergent Village (a network of emerging churches that constitutes the theological leftwing of the emerging church), and he is not so happy that his plenary address will be excluded from the published volume of essays from the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference.
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The “Oppression” of Ruth Graham
A Washington Post staff writer suggests that Ruth Graham’s life was less than it could have been because she decided to support her husband and his ministry: “The world will never know what else Ruth Graham, who as a wife and mother reared five children and wrote 14 books, could have accomplished had she not been Billy Graham’s ‘helpmeet,’ . . . Being a pastor’s wife, particularly an evangelical Christian pastor’s wife, is one of the hardest jobs there is. Not only are you expected to obey and serve your husband, you’re supposed to like doing so, and on the occasions you don’t, keep quiet about it.” I guess in…
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Dwight McKissic Resigns as Trustee of SWBTS
Sam Hodges of the Dallas Morning News reports that Pastor Dwight McKissic has resigned as a trustee of Southwestern Seminary. Pastor McKissic has released his letter of resignation in which he writes: “My involvement as a trustee has been a huge distraction from my ministry priorities for the past nine months. I’ve devoted too much mental, physical, emotional and even spiritual energy to matters resulting from the aftermath of my chapel sermon. I’ve been distracted and consumed with SBC/SWBTS matters the past nine months in a way that I haven’t been the past 24 years of pastoring an SBC church. It has taken a tremendous toll on my family and…
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Reflections from an SBC Newbie
I have already written about some of the things that transpired at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) last week, but I have not shared my overall impressions of the meeting or my opinion about the most significant thing that happened. First of all, full disclosure: I am a convention newbie. The San Antonio meeting of the SBC was my first time ever to attend the annual gathering. Travelling, lodging, and eating can bust the budget really quick without an expense account. So for me, going to the SBC has always been cost prohibitive. But this year I just decided to go anyway and to try to do so on the…