I was just rereading an essay I wrote about six years ago on what the bible teaches about homosexuality. That essay begins with a discussion of Brian McLaren’s then recent affirmation of committed homosexual relationships. It is strange to read that essay now and to consider in retrospect how quickly McLaren faded from evangelical view. At the time, the emerging church still had some purchase within the evangelical movement. Now that entire project is defunct and so are its major proponents. They pushed the very edges of the leftwing of the evangelical movement until they pushed themselves right out of the movement. Many of them did so by adopting unorthodox…
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Inside the Evangelical Fight Over Gay Marriage
Elizabeth Dias has a feature-length article in Time magazine titled “Inside the Evangelical Fight Over Gay Marriage.” The usual suspects are brought forth as evidence of a shift among younger evangelicals: Justin Lee, Matthew Vines, Brandan Robertson, etc. Nevertheless, I’m skeptical about the young “evangelicals” profiled in this piece. It is not even clear from the article whether we are dealing with bona fide evangelicals or those who are leaving evangelicalism. Can they in any meaningful sense be considered bellwethers for a movement defined by convictions that they have largely abandoned? I don’t think so. It is indeed telling that at Vines’s recent conference, “most of the panelists advocating change…
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Why not call God “mother”?
I just read Jonathan Merritt’s interview with Rob Bell, and this bit sort of jumped off the page: Jonathan Merritt: So it would be totally appropriate to pray to one’s “heavenly mother” as well as one’s “heavenly father?” Rob Bell: Well, you certainly have Isaiah using a mother image for God and Jesus talks about longing to gather like a mother hen gathers her chicks. But that is a great question, and one we should be asking. This kind of feminine God-language has long been the mark of feminist revisionists who have moved well beyond the pale of evangelical Christianity. While we don’t believe that God has a gender, we…
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What we talk about when we talk about Oldsmobiles
The new trailer for Rob Bell’s forthcoming book is out (see above). If you don’t want to spend three minutes watching it, here’s my quick summary of it.
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Publications
Male and Female He Created Them: A Study on Gender, Sexuality, & Marriage by Denny Burk, David Closson, Colin Smothers This book is a study on gender, sexuality, and marriage. It presents a biblical vision for contested issues such as homosexuality, transgenderism, and marriage. By the completion of this book, readers will have a better grasp on the Bible’s teaching about our identities as male and female, created in the image of God, and know how to apply Scripture to these issues in their ministries at church, home, and work. God’s Glory Revealed in Christ: Essays on Biblical Theology in Honor of Thomas R. Schreiner Edited by Denny Burk, James…
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How To Cite a Tweet MLA and Chicago Style
I read this week that the Modern Language Association (MLA) has developed a standard format for citing a Tweet in academic writing. That’s all well and good, but what about those of us who don’t use MLA? The college where I work follows The Chicago Manual of Style, and I’m sure many of you use that one as well. Well, you’re in luck. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests a format for citing Tweets as well on its website. So for all of you theologues, here are both formats. The Chicago Manual of Style (Endnote) John Piper, Twitter post, February 26, 2011, 3:09pm, http://twitter.com/johnpiper. Modern Language Association (MLA) (Works Cited…
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Top 10 Posts on DennyBurk.com for 2011
Here are the top ten posts on DennyBurk.com for 2011. Unlike the last post, this list is scientific. It’s based on page view statistics from Google Analytics. I am very grateful for all of you who read the blog, and I am honored that you take the time to keep up with the conversation here. Blessings to you, and happy new year!
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Top 10 YouTubes of 2011
It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s crop contains items relating to sports, theology, news, Christianity, and more. Some of the videos are humorous, and others are poignant. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding it to the “Honorable Mention” category. This year’s slate of videos is arranged in no particular order, as number ten is obviously in a class all by itself. If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous…
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Justin Taylor Answers Questions for Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held Evans has been doing an interview series, and today’s installment is “Ask A Calvinist.” Justin Taylor does a fantastic job fielding questions from Rachel’s readers. I think his engagement is a model of gospel clarity and charity. Be sure to read this one.
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Book Length Responses to Love Wins
John Starke has a helpful round-up of book-length responses to Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. He notes that the one by Francis Chan is probably the highly anticipated of the bunch. He also observes the following: “These books are being published very quickly after the Bell’s book began mailing and hitting shelves. The obvious reason for this was how much the blogs dominated this discussion. Most of the notable reviews occurred within a few days of the book’s publication date. Subsequent reviews seemed dated and almost had to interact with others reviews as much as the book itself. So the speed of these publications says something of the speed of…