Dr. John Mark Reynolds‘ recent Norton Lectures at Southern Seminary were some of the most stimulating addresses that I have ever heard on how science relates to religious belief. As you listen to the lectures, you find that he’s not a Calvinist nor a presuppositionalist in his approach to apologetics. You can download the lectures at Southern’s website or listen to them below.
-
-
‘Gay Marriage’ in the Dictionary. So what?
Last week, the conservative news website WorldNetDaily reported that the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary has revised its definition of the word marriage. In its online and print editions, the dictionary includes in its definition of marriage the following line: “the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage.” The WorldNetDaily report also references the above YouTube video and implies that the expanded definition somehow means that the dictionary’s publisher has taken sides in the current debate over same-sex “marriage.”
-
CTR on Interracial Marriage
The most recent issue of the Criswell Theological Review has just been released, and its theme is interracial marriage. Essays treat themes such as the “curse of Ham” and “interethnic marriages in the New Testament.” Contributors include J. Daniel Hays, Craig Keener, Edwin M. Yamauchi, Russell D. Moore, and George Yancey. In his editorial, R. Alan Streett writes: “With the inauguration of President Barack Obama, a new era of race relations has begun in America. This child of a racially mixed marriage has captured the highest office of the land and the imaginations of people around the world. One cannot help but notice the complexion of America is changing. .…
-
N. T. Wright and Divine Narcissism
I was struck by a paragraph in N. T. Wright’s new book on justification that reveals a stark difference between the perspective of Wright and that of John Piper. The passage appears in the midst of Wright’s argument against Piper’s belief that the righteousness of God should be defined as God’s concern for His own glory. I will quote Wright at length and then add some of my own reflections:
-
Brian McLaren Comes to Louisville
Pastor Brian McLaren came to Louisville this week, and his appearance at the Presbyterian Seminary has made the local paper. McLaren appeared with Diana Butler Bass and Marcus Borg at the seminary’s annual Festival of Theology. There’s not really anything new here that we didn’t already know about McLaren, but it’s worth taking a look at the reporter’s description of what he said.
-
John MacArthur on the Emerging Church
In an interview on the “Grace to You” website, Dr. John MacArthur sizes-up the emerging church, and here’s his bottom line: “I think it’s just another form of liberalism.” You can read or download the rest from the website or listen to it below. http://webmedia.gty.org/sermons/High/GTY107.mp3
-
I Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It
“I Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It” is the name of an infamous pop song. It’s also the title of a sermon that Dr. Hershel York delivered yesterday in the chapel of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Don’t let the title fool you. This message is a convicting exposition and application of 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, and I commend it to you. You can download it here or listen to it below. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/spring2009/20090226york.mp3]
-
A Quibble with McKnight’s “Neo-Reformed” Essay
Last week, Scot McKnight wrote a two-part essay defining a derogatory moniker that he has coined: neo-reformed (part 1, part 2). McKnight describes the neo-reformed as those who believe in double-predestination and who want to exclude all other Christians who do not. McKnight says that the neo-reformed are actually neo-fundamentalists who are threatening the tranquility of the evangelical village green.
-
Was Jesus a Racist?
Was Jesus a racist? According to Miguel De La Torre, he was. In an opinion-piece for the Associated Baptist Press, De La Torre sets forth an interpretation of Matthew 15:21-28 that is nothing short of heretical. De La Torre charges that, when Jesus addressed a Canaanite woman as a dog, he revealed that he was a racist. Rather than summarizing the essay, I’ll ask you to read some of this one for yourself. Here’s De La Torre in his own words:
-
Test Case for Libertarian Free Will
As I was reading in the book of Exodus this morning, I came across a couple of verses that provoked some reflection on the debate about the nature of human freedom. After defining the Arminian view of human freedom, I’ll share the verses and throw out a question for discussion. Calvinists and Arminians have debated the nature of free will for centuries. While mainstream Calvinists tend to hold to a compatibalist view of the will, Arminians have typically gravitated toward a libertarian view. Bruce Ware defines the libertarian view as follows:
