• Theology/Bible

    Did David Rape Bathsheba?

    One of the perennial exegetical debates surrounding 2 Samuel 11 is whether David’s actions toward Bathsheba amount to rape. Sometimes popular discussions of the question founder on ideological concerns imposed upon the text rather than focusing on what the biblical text actually says. On a recent episode of the 9Marks “Bible Talk” podcast, Jim Hamilton argues that the author of 2 Samuel does not portray David’s relationship with Bathsheba as rape. Nor does the author portray Bathsheba as a temptress. Rather, the author highlights David’s lechery and blameworthiness in the whole affair. Nevertheless, the author does not depict David’s actions as “rape.” You can listen to the argument below. It…

  • Theology/Bible

    Top 10 YouTubes of 2023

    It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific, and I gave up on limiting myself to 10 videos a long time ago. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos has both humor and humanity with some other odds and ends thrown in. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding an “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. I usually start with the humor, but don’t miss the non-humorous ones at the end. Enjoy! If you’re interested, here are links…

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    What Happened at ETS 2023?

    Another annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is now in the books. We met last week in San Antonio, and I heard a lot of talk about the basement of the Alamo. I was so busy with meetings, however, that I never made it over. Seriously though, for those of you unfamiliar with ETS, it is a society of theologians and biblical scholars who are dedicated to biblical inerrancy and a belief in the Trinity. At the annual meeting, members come together to present academic papers, meet with publishers, and catch up with old friends. Keep in mind that I only experienced a narrow slice of things, but…

  • Christianity,  Egalitarianism,  Homosexuality,  Theology/Bible,  Transgenderism

    An Evening with Rosaria Butterfield | “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age”

    From The Kenwood Institute: On October 6th, Rosaria Butterfield joined the Kenwood Institute for an evening organized around her new book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age. Rosaria Butterfield is a wife, homeschooling mom, and a best-selling author and cultural commentator. Her latest book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age (Crossway, 2023), is a much-needed, prophetic word to our current culutral moment, which is growing increasingly hostile to Christian faith and practice. In this video, we hear from Rosaria and then she and her husband, Kent, participate on a panel discussion with Colin Smothers and Jim Hamilton. 0:00 Introduction 4:04 Rosaria Butterfield, “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age” 57:55 Panel…

  • Christianity,  Sermon,  Theology/Bible

    The Serrated Edge of Doug Wilson

    In a message to my church on Sunday, I gave a biblical evaluation of the so-called “serrated edge,” which Doug Wilson defines as the use of biting and satirical speech that sometimes includes obscenities and vulgarities. You can download the audio here, the manuscript here, listen below, or read below. Please be advised that the manuscript version of this address does contain quotations of obscenities and vulgarities, although I have tried to use asterisks in some of the offensive expressions. ?? Introduction The elders have set aside the last couple weeks in the Sunday School hour to address and confront post-millennialism and theonomy. If you haven’t heard those talks yet,…

  • Theology/Bible

    A Critical Review of Matt Walsh’s Documentary

    Matt Walsh’s watershed documentary What Is a Woman? made its debut over a year ago, but he recently made it available for people to view for free on Twitter. It was supposed to be available only for 24 hours, but as I type this it is still available and has a staggering 161 million views. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend that you watch it. It really is a cultural watershed, as I tried to explain in my review a year ago: Matt Walsh has done the planet a great service by producing this film. It is a case study of what happens when fantasy meets hard…

  • Christianity,  Sermon,  Theology/Bible

    Preaching the Trinity from John’s Gospel

    I have recently begun preaching through the Gospel of John at our church. The first three messages have been on John’s prologue. (Sorry, Peter Williams, but I still think John 1:1-18 is a prologue!) As many of you already know, John’s prologue is thick with the grist of Nicene Trinitarianism and Chalcedonian Christology. I do not claim that these messages are the best there has ever been on these verses. Far from it. But I do want to acknowledge that I couldn’t have preached these messages seven years ago. For all the unpleasantness of the so-called “Trinity Debate” of 2016, the Lord has used it for good in my life.…

  • Complementarianism,  SBC,  Theology/Bible

    A Word about Spurgeon and Female Pastors

    Earlier this week, it was announced that Rick Warren had been installed as the honorary Chancellor of Spurgeon’s College in London. After his installation, Warren took the opportunity to double-down on his support for female pastors and to claim that “my views on ordination are identical to Spurgeon’s.” I am no expert on Spurgeon, but I am reasonably certain that Warren’s views on ordination are not identical to Spurgeon’s—at least insofar as it relates to the ordination of female pastors. In his book Lectures to My Students, Spurgeon devotes an entire chapter to “The Call to the Ministry.”* In that chapter, I can see at least three differences between Spurgeon’s…

  • Theology/Bible

    What does “modesty” refer to in 1 Timothy 2:9?

    I have seen some debate recently about what “modest” means in 1 Timothy 2:9. Some say it addresses extravagantly expensive clothing while others claim that it addresses sexually provocative clothing. Here’s the text: “Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire…” –1 Timothy 2:9 I just did a round-up of major commentaries on the question. By and large, they don’t treat the term as an either/or but as a both/and. In general, they argue that in the ancient world ostentatious dress was often for the purpose of appearing “enticing.” So to dress in a “modest” way…