On this week’s CBMW podcast, we discuss how egalitarian error can lead to transgender error. In Christa McKirland’s chapter in Discovering Biblical Equality (3rd ed.), she argues that some transgender people need to discern whether sex-change surgeries or hormone therapies “can be done in submission to the Spirit and in order to become more like Christ.” It is astonishing that this perspective appears in what purports to be an evangelical work on gender. That is what we discuss below. How Rejecting Gender Essentialism Gets You Transgenderism – On this episode, @DennyBurk, @colinsmo, and Jon discuss a chapter from the egalitarian book Discovering Biblical Equality called “Image of God and Divine Presence:…
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Was the woman at the well married to any of the five men?
I’ve been preaching through the Gospel of John and have recently begun chapter 4. There is one detail in Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well that caught my attention this time because I think it may be rendered incorrectly in most English translations. The Greek word often rendered as “husband” in John 4:16-18 is the Greek term aner. While “husband” is a possible interpretation and appears in most English translations, the underlying Greek expression isn’t clearly about husbands at all. The reason for the disconnect consists in the difference between the way Greek and English convey the concepts of “man” and “husband.” English distinguishes “man” from “husband” by…
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My Thoughts on the Recommendations from the SBC Coop Group
Last year, James Merritt moved that the President of the SBC appoint a task force to study Article 3 of the SBC Constitution and how the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) figures into our cooperative efforts. President Barber appointed the task force last year, and they became known as the “Cooperation Group.” They have been working since last year and released their recommendations earlier today. I am grateful for the hard work of the committee and for their service to the convention. I’m also grateful that they were able to come up with a set of proposals that they unanimously approved. That is really impressive given current divisions within the…
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Can Complementarianism include female associate pastors?
Someone recently asked me a question about complementarianism, and I thought it might be useful to share with readers more broadly the answer that I gave privately–especially in light of recent controversies in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning women serving as pastors. Here’s the question followed by my lightly edited answer. Do you think complementarianism is a big enough tent to include those who restrict the office of elder/senior pastor to men but still allow women to serve in associate pastors roles? From a normative perspective, I think the answer is clearly no. If we take The Danvers Statement as baseline complementarianism, it says that some governing and teaching roles…
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The Ground of All Human Assurance before God
Source: This is an excerpt from Don Carson’s message at the Bethlehem 2016 Conference for Pastors and Church Leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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The Innermost Meaning of the Cross
“But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” -Isaiah 53:10 “God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness.” -Romans 3:25 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us– for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” -Galatians 3:13 “It is those who cannot come to terms with any concept of the wrath of God…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
