• Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    Closed Communion as Mere Christianity

    Russell Moore does a great job defending closed communion as a valid expression of “mere Christianity.” Here’s a little bit of it: It seems sectarian to say one can’t come to the table unless one has been baptized by immersion as a believer, unless one realizes that, for Baptist Christians, this is what baptism is. Along with Eastern Orthodox Christians, Baptists affirm that Jesus meant “to immerse” when he commanded us to baptize. Unlike the Orthodox, Catholics, and the magisterial Reformers, Baptists believe a baptism is only valid when conferred on one who is in Christ, and who professes him as Lord. Ironically, it is here, where Baptists stand the…

  • Christianity,  Politics,  Theology/Bible

    All Evangelicals Are “Dominionists”

    Lisa Miller observes in The Washington Post that the Republican primary race has spawned many news stories raising fears about “crazy Christians.” She writes, “Their echo-chamber effect reignites old anxieties among liberals about evangelical Christians. Some on the left seem suspicious that a firm belief in Jesus equals a desire to take over the world… This isn’t a defense of the religious beliefs of Bachmann or Perry, whatever they are. It’s a plea, given the acrimonious tone of our political discourse, for a certain amount of dispassionate care in the coverage of religion. Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they’re Christian. One-third of Americans call themselves ‘evangelical.’ When millions of…

  • Culture,  Theology/Bible

    What does it mean to read the Bible literally?

    John Wilson is the editor of Books & Culture, and he has penned an OP-ED for the most recent issue of The Wall Street Journal. In the article, Wilson covers the ongoing debate among evangelicals about the existence of an historical Adam. It looks to me, however, that Wilson has not framed the issue accurately. Wilson writes,

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    NPR Covers Evangelical Debate about Adam and Eve

    NPR covers the ongoing debate among evangelicals over evolution and the existence of Adam and Eve. The Biologos crew is represented here, and Albert Mohler is interviewed as well. Listen below or download here. [audio:http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2011/08/20110809_me_14.mp3] What’s at stake in this debate? The heart of the gospel, the authority of the Bible, and more. As far as theological debates go, this is not a question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It’s a question of whether or not Christianity has any coherence at all. (HT: Tim Challies)

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    Bart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace to Debate at SMU

    I just heard about an event coming up in October that promises to be really interesting. The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) has announced a debate between two noted New Testament scholars, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman and Dr. Daniel B. Wallace. The debate will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 7 PM in the McFarlin Memorial Auditorium at Southern Methodist University.

  • Theology/Bible

    Logos Releases Thousands of Ancient Greek Texts for Free

    Last Friday, LOGOS made an important announcement that many of you Bible scholars will be interested to read. Here’s the short of it from the LOGOS blog: We’ve been keeping a secret. A big one. For the past few months, we’ve been working on making more than 3,000 books from The Perseus Project accessible in Logos 4. And today we’re announcing that they’re available for pre-order. The biggest secret? We’re going to release them for free. There’s no catch. No strings attached. Just thousands of free books for use in Logos Bible Software 4.

  • Christianity,  Politics,  Theology/Bible

    Theological Interrogations and the 2012 Race

    It’s been fascinating to watch news coverage of the Presidential race over the last week. Two of the candidates in particular have turned the attention of the pundit class to religious topics. From Rick Perry’s prayer rally last weekend to Michele Bachmann’s interpretation of Ephesians 5:22 in Thursday’s GOP debate, reporters have become focused on the candidates’ theological views and how those views might inform their presidency.