It is standard fare among Old Testament scholars to assume that the biblical book of Daniel was written in the second century B.C.—well after the fulfillment of the prophecies contained in that book. Jim Hamilton highlights a 1990 essay by Gerhard Hasel that shows the implausibility of the late date in light of evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hamilton concludes: “This evidence inclines me to think that those who persist in dating Daniel to the Maccabean era do so for uncritical, dogmatic reasons. Namely, their religion (historical critical naturalism with its priesthood of archeologists and orthodoxy of unbelief) dictates that they must not believe in a God who inspires…
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Not an Impressive Start for LSU
I’m glad that LSU won tonight, but winning a squeaker against North Carolina’s second string is not very impressive. They will have to do a lot better than this in the coming weeks, or it will be a long season. The Tiger defense just rolled over in the second half, and the offense wasn’t very offensive. They are fortunate to have pulled out a win after having such a poor finish.
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LSU Poised for Smackdown vs. Tarheels
LSU’s season opener is on Saturday night. With this news today, they are poised to put the hurt on the North Carolina Tarheels. Twelve North Carolina players–including 6 starters–have been ruled ineligible to play in the season opener versus the Tigers.
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Beats and Babbles
Flame graduated last May, but hip-hop is still alive and well on the campus of Boyce College. Boyce College student Spencer Harmon (not to be confused with Where’s Waldo) fronts a new group called “Beats and Babbles,” and he has just released a new self-titled album. With song titles like “What Hoekma Said” and “Nerds By Day, Rappers By Night,” how can you go wrong? You can download the album now from iTunes. Check it out. You might also take a look at their website BeatsandBabbles.com. In other news, the artist formerly known as “Crossword” is now a faculty member at Boyce College. His 2004 album is available for free…
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Denny Burk Jumps the Shark
I got snookered! That last @CaedmonsCall Tweet was not from the real Cliff Young at all. Sorry, Caedmon’s! I was wrong in substance and tone, and I apologize. I repent in sackcloth and ashes. Going to go listen to this song for a while.
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Hardball on Hagee and Beck
Chris Matthews takes umbrage with John Hagee’s appearance at the Glenn Beck rally. I don’t think the conversation here is all that helpful or illuminatng—except in one sense. This is the most theology I think I have ever heard discussed on “Hardball.” The discussion touches on theodicy, sin, judgment, and the nature of God. That’s pretty unusual for this program, but it does show where some of these characters are on the most important questions in the world. One more thing. Even though Matthews is a Roman Catholic, he regularly opposes Roman Catholic teaching on his program. It seems a bit inconsistent to defend the church against the likes of…
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Andrew Peterson on Poverty
Do you have to take a vow of poverty to be a Christian? Is money the root of all evil? Andrew Peterson says no, and I agree. You need to read all of this one, but here’s the conclusion: “The point: being poor is not the only way to radically follow Christ. Some people are called to it. I have long felt a tension between all that I learned from the Kid Brothers and Rich Mullins about identifying with the poor and the weak, versus my holy responsibility to tend to my family’s spiritual and physical needs.
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Ezell to NAMB
This is the happiest SBC news I’ve heard in a long time. I can’t imagine a better leader for NAMB. Pastor Kevin Ezell has been nominated to be the next President of the North American Mission Board (the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention). Jim Smith has the story here.
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Beck’s Revival
Russell Moore has Glenn Beck’s number—or at least that of Beck’s erstwhile “evangelical” following. Moore is rightly scathing in his rebuke of evangelicals who would confuse genuine revival with Mormon-American-pie-populist politics. That’s exactly what was on display this weekend at Beck’s rally at the Lincoln Memorial. It was a mash-up of civic religion and syncretism that had some evangelicals looking to Glenn Beck as some kind of a spiritual leader. It exposed the fact that far too many evangelicals still can’t tell the difference between heresy and the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Moore writes: “It’s taken us a long time to get here, in…
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Is Your Doctor a Believer?
Is your doctor a believer? If not, a new study suggests that the care he is giving you may be inferior to that of believing doctors. The study appears in the Journal of Medical Ethics, and in it Dr. Clive Seale surveys more than 3,700 British doctors, of whom 2,923 reported on how they took care of their last terminally ill patient. In short, “Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to make decisions that could end the lives of their terminally ill patients, compared to doctors who are very religious” (AP report). Medical care is not value-neutral. That much is clear from this study. In fact,…