In 2004, Tim Russert challenged President Bush with this question, “In light of not finding the weapons of mass destruction, do you believe the war in Iraq is a war of choice or a war of necessity?” President Bush stumbled in his reply, “I think that’s an interesting question. Please elaborate on that a little bit.” Even though President Bush was unable to answer the question, Russert was merely highlighting the fact that opponents of the Iraq War frequently criticize the conflict as a “war of choice” rather than a “war of necessity.” It was a fair question and deserved a better answer than what the President gave.

Dr. Jerry Johnson interviewed Bishop N. T. Wright for Criswell College’s radio program, “Jerry Johnson Live.” The interview begins at 17:09. [audio:https://www.dennyburk.com/JJL/2008_06_11.mp3]

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an Op-Ed calling Senator Obama the most “antilife presidential candidate ever.” When you look at the reasons given for this notorious distinction, it’s hard to disagree. Here’s an excerpt. ‘According to Barack Obama, Gianna Jessen shouldn’t exist. ‘Miss Jessen is an exquisite example of what antiabortion advocates call a “survivor.” Well into her third trimester of pregnancy, Gianna’s biological mother was injected with a saline solution intended to induce a chemical abortion at a Los Angeles County abortion center. Eighteen hours later, and precious minutes before the abortionist’s arrival, Gianna emerged. Premature and with severe injuries that resulted in cerebral palsy. But alive. ‘Had the…

Lee Irons has put together a plan for reading through the Greek New Testament every year (HT: Jim Hamilton). He has some great suggestions, and I think you should take a look at them if you are in a position to take up this challenge. “Annual Greek New Testament Program” – by Lee Irons “Read-Greek Calendar 2008” – by Lee Irons On a related note, here are some other online resources that might be useful to all you Greek scholars out there. Greek New Testament Website – zhubert.com – Excellent website with a browsable, Web-based interface to the Greek New Testament. Passing the mouse over any word brings up an…

I have been reading and very much enjoying David Dockery’s new book Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Proposal. Dockery is a lifelong Southern Baptist who has a keen eye for the challenges that face the denomination. This is not a full review of the book, but I have read enough of it to recommend it to you (especially if you are a Southern Baptist). My aim in this post is simply to highlight a passage that is particularly insightful. Dockery writes:

“Arminianism trumps biblical sentences with metaphysics.” –John Piper, “How A Roman Catholic Anti-Calvinist Can Serve Today’s Poet-Calvinists” (DesiringGod.org)

D. A. Carson recently revealed that he reads about 500 books a year . . . sort of. During a question and answer session at a conference in New Mexico, Carson was asked about his reading habits, and he explains how he approaches the reading of books. Some books, he will read every word. Others, he gets the main idea and skims. He doesn’t necessarily read every line of every book he reads. “There’s reading, and then there’s reading,” he says. If I remember correctly, this is in keeping with Mortimer Adler’s advice in How To Read A Book (but I can’t be sure because I think I skimmed it).…