On his most recent Christmas album, Steven Curtis Chapman sings a song about returning to his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky for Christmas. One might expect a song like this one to be sappy nostalgia along the lines of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “Tennessee Christmas,” but it’s not. This is not the song of a child, but the song of a grown man who’s walked long enough with God to know that Christ came not just for folks like him but for the whole world. It’s the best news in the world. I love this song. In the video above, you can hear the song in its entirety as…
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Audio from the Evangelical Theological Society
After my two posts on last week’s ETS meeting, some readers have asked if there is any available audio from the sessions. Yes, there is audio, but unfortunately it’s not free. All of the presentations are available for download (over 620 of them!), but listed below are some of the sessions related to the conference theme—inerrancy. If you’re already planning to buy the Five Views book with Mohler and Enns, some of these papers will probably be superfluous. Nevertheless, the panel discussion with the direct interaction between Mohler and Enns is very interesting. See below.
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Some reflections on the 65th annual meeting of ETS
Yesterday wrapped up the 65th annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) in Baltimore, Maryland. For those of you who don’t know, ETS 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. What follows are some random reflections about this year’s meeting. 1. It’s been about five years now since Pete Enns left Westminster Theological Seminary because of a conflict about his views on scripture. Upon his departure, he and WTS issued a joint statement saying that “his…
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Michael Gerson on the anniversary of CS Lewis’ death
Michael Gerson on the anniversary of CS Lewis’ death: “This is the achievement of Lewis: to restore the dignity of our desires, which leave us homeless in this world and lead us home.”
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Pedagogical Best Practices for the Doctrine of Inerrancy
I am happy to help get the word out about a session in which I will be speaking at next week’s meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme of the ETS meeting this year is inerrancy, and the session that I am participating is dealing with the question of how we should teach inerrancy in the classroom. Other panelists in this session include Vern Poythress, Garry DeWeese, Doug Blount, Paul D. Wegner, and Tim Anderson. This session is the brainchild of Jason Oakes, and you can read more about what we will be doing here. If you are going to be in Baltimore at the…
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Doug Moo’s must-read commentary on Galatians
Douglas Moo is one of the bright lights of evangelical biblical scholarship. Countless pastors and teachers have come to know him through his important 1996 commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans. Seventeen years later, that commentary still stands as one of the finest expositions of Romans available. Indeed, many of us have become students of Paul’s theology and writings through Moo’s careful and faithful scholarship. That is why I was thrilled to see the release of Moo’s new commentary on Galatians for the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Moo has been marinating in Paul’s writings for decades, and this commentary reflects the depth of his long scholarship…
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Have the New Testament charismatic gifts ceased?
Last night, James White moderated a debate between Sam Waldron and Michael Brown about this question: “Have the New Testament charismatic gifts ceased?” You can watch the video of the debate above.
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Doug Moo’s review of N.T. Wright’s Pauline Theology
Last week I bought N. T. Wright’s magisterial 2-volume work on Paul, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. It’s over 1,500 pages. Needless to say, I haven’t finished it yet. But apparently Doug Moo has, and he has a very helpful review posted at The Gospel Coalition website. In light of previous controversies, one particular passage in Moo’s review caught my attention. And you probably won’t be surprised that it has to do with justification. Here’s the excerpt: [Wright] also continues to stress a future justification that will be “according to the fullness of the life that has been led”… or “on the basis of the totality of the life…
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The books from panel discussion with SBTS authors
Albert Mohler interviewed several SBTS profs today about their recent books. The panel included Tom Schreiner, Tom Nettles, Jim Hamilton, Heath Lambert, and yours truly. You can watch the discussion above. The books are linked below.
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MacArthur defends “Strange Fire” conference
Tim Challies has the first of a two-part interview with John MacArthur posted on his website. Challies asks many of the questions that folks have been wanting to ask MacArthur in the wake of his “Strange Fire” conference. This is a helpful interview, and I recommend that you read all of it.