This is a programming note about a special television broadcast this evening. Tonight on ABC at 7pm (Central Time) there will be a one hour broadcast that culminates with the reading of Luke 2:8-14. The broadcast will consider the excesses of holiday commercialism and then conclude with the assertion that the real meaning of Christmas is to be found Luke 2:8-14. This program might seem to be sort of an odd thing to find among the banal offerings of prime time television in 2007. But the broadcast is actually an annual event, and I’ll bet you’re already familiar with it. The program is called “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I’ll be…
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Two Thoughts on Thanksgiving
Today is a holiday, so my post will be brief. 1. Do not miss John Piper’s short essay “Ganging Up on Gratitude.” It’s an exhortation to an atheist and a liberal Bishop who have a chip on their respective shoulders when it comes to giving thanks to God. Piper engages them evangelistically, and it reminds me why I am thankful to the Lord for the ministry of John Piper. 2. There’s a hymn that I learned in church as a youngster that I don’t often hear anymore (Thanks, Mom and Dad for taking me to church. What a heritage of grace!). Maybe some of you remember it. It’s called “Count…
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The Amendment Is On the Table
Last night, our proposal to amend the doctrinal basis of the ETS was formally presented to the Society to be voted on at next year’s gathering in Providence, Rhode Island. Here’s what happened.
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Andreas Köstenberger on Evangelical Boundaries
By now, many of you will have read Justin Taylor’s interview with Andreas Köstenberger, accomplished NT scholar and current editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS). Among other things, Köstenberger discusses with Taylor the issue of evangelical identity and the role of the ETS in the larger evangelical movement. He writes:
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ETS President Comments on Proposed Amendment
ETS President, Dr. Hassell Bullock, comments on our amendment proposal in an interview with Collin Hansen for Christianity Today. Here’s the relevant section: CT: Is there any merit to suggestions for changing the ETS doctrinal basis? BULLOCK: The recent return of Francis Beckwith, the ETS president, to the Catholic faith of his childhood, has obviously and understandably created questions within the society about the adequacy of our theological basis, which is quite brief: “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in…
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Amend ETS
Many of my readers likely know very little about the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). Nevertheless, those same readers would probably recognize the names of many of its members. The membership is a veritable who’s who of evangelical scholars and writers (e.g., William Lane Craig, J. P. Moreland, John Piper, Tom Schreiner, Wayne Grudem, just to name of few). Thus, the theological orientation of the ETS impacts the broader evangelical movement through the writings and publications of it members—members who come from all over the world.
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Expatriates for Bayou Bobby
I have often said that I feel like I have a dual citizenship on earth. My earliest memories of life are in Texas, but I was born and raised in Louisiana. I have a special affection for both places, but Louisiana is still home base. Nevertheless, the politics at home base have often been less than exemplary. I can remember the infamy of having Grand Wizard David Duke and crook Edwin Edwards as our two choices for governor. Thankfully, we elected the crook. But how low have the politics sunk when citizens have to make such a choice?
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S. M. Hutchens on Evangelicalism and Feminism
On Monday, I highlighted an article to which I contributed for Touchstone magazine, “Evangelicalism Today.” On Tuesday, one of the editors of Touchstone, S. M. Hutchens, responded to our article and had this to say about what feminism has done to the evangelical movement.
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Touchstone Forum on Evangelicalism
The latest issue of Touchstone magazine has a forum in which a diverse group of Evangelicals answer questions related to the state of Evangelicalism today. I am a contributor to this discussion along with Russell Moore, Michael Horton, Darryl Hart, John Franke, and David Lyle Jeffrey. The article is posted online, and you can read it here. Here are the questions that each of us answered: â— “How do you define ‘Evangelical,’ in a way that distinguishes Evangelicals from other believing Christians? And has this definition changed over the last several decades?”
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The Besetting Sin of Worry
Pastor John Piper has a good word for those who battle the besetting sin of worry. His remarks are in answer to the following questions: “Is there a place for worriers in the church? Or is it a problem that some people perpetually worry?” You can listen to him here, or you can read a transcript of his remarks here.