Susie Meister has explained how studying religion made her a liberal, with the result that she left the right, stopped voting Republican, and started voting Democrat. I want to provide an accurate summary of her concerns and try to provide the kind of things I would say in response if I knew her: if I …
Category Archives: Discipleship
Don’t Play Travel Ball: Stay in the Rec League
I have friends I respect whose kids have played (and some who do play) travel ball, and I mean no offense to them by this post. Nor am I categorically condemning their decisions and choices. I am offering these thoughts for parents who are considering whether to put their kids on a “competitive” team, or …
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Is Biblical Faith a Kierkegaardian Leap?
These reflections were prompted by the first chapter of David Crump’s Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith. In his introduction, Crump is very clear that his understanding of faith has been heavily influenced by Soren Kierkegaard. Crump explains, “Arriving at faith in the Word incarnate is not the inevitable result of a …
Read the Bible: Kindle Reading Plan
Chris Dendy came up with the idea for the God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment Bible Reading Plan, and Lindsey Jacobs designed it. The plan pairs daily Bible readings with relevant sections from God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, and you can read more about it here. A number of folks requested that the plan be made available …
SBTS Publications in 2014
Here are some ideas for Christmas and/or birthday gifts for the pastor, theologian, missionary, evangelist, seminarian, or teacher/student of the Bible in your life. Last year I posted a list of books from the SBTS Faculty in 2013, and I’m following it up with this list of books from the SBTS Faculty in 2014. I …
SBTS Alumni Academy on Biblical Theology
Is there anything more important than the Bible? Jesus said Scripture can’t be broken, and he prayed that the Father would sanctify his people in the truth, then said, “Thy word is truth.” God’s people need God’s word. The word doesn’t work like a magic formula, however. We don’t just pass our eyes over a …
God Issued the Prohibition, Not the Church
In his book God and the Gay Christian, Matthew Vines assumes that he is correct to call sin righteous, slanders the Bride of Christ, and speaks as though sin produces lasting joy when he writes, “the church’s condemnation of same-sex relationships seemed to be harmful to the long-term wellbeing of most gay people. . . . …
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How Matthew Vines Defends God and the Gay Christian
Jonathan Merritt hosted a “conversation” between Albert Mohler and Matthew Vines, but it wasn’t really a conversation. Mohler and Vines answered questions Merritt posed. Merritt gives the last word to Vines, awarding him the Proverbs 18:17 advantage, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Matthew Vines seems …
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Matthew Vines Misrepresents the Apostle Peter
In his book God and the Gay Christian, Matthew Vines wrongly suggests that the view that same-sex relations are sinful is a bad tree bearing the bad fruit of hurt feelings in the lives of people dealing with same sex attraction. He bases this argument on a misreading of Matthew 7:15–20, and on his bad exegesis he builds …
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Matthew Vines Misunderstands Jesus
The new book by Matthew Vines, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships (you read that oxymoron right) releases today, and simultaneous with its release comes a book conceived and edited by R. Albert Mohler Jr., God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines. Dr. Mohler wrote the introduction, I …
Suffering in the Book of Revelation: Fulfilling the Messianic Woes
In the most recent issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology I have an article entitled “Suffering in Revelation: The Fulfillment of the Messianic Woes.” Here’s the opening paragraph: In Revelation, John writes as one in affliction (Rev 1:9), to churches in affliction (e.g., 2:10, 13), about the affliction that will take place before kingdom …
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Spanish Translation of “Family Discipleship in the Old Testament”
All families of all nations need to know what the Scriptures say about the training and discipling of children, so I rejoice that Saul Sarabia L. has rendered my essay, “That the Coming Generation Might Praise the Lord,” into Spanish: “Discipulado Familiar en el Antiguo Testamento: Que la Generación venidera Alabe al Señor” And here …
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Spanish Translation of “The Church Militant and Her Warfare”
How can the church influence the wider culture and politics? That’s the question I tackle in my essay, “The Church Militant and Her Warfare.” Saul Sarabia Lopez has now translated this essay into Spanish: La Iglesia Militante y su Guerra: No Somos Otro Grupo de Interés Here is the growing list of his other translations, for which …
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Books from SBTS Faculty in 2013
This year (2013) the SBTS faculty published the following books (alphabetical by author’s last name): Chad Brand, Flourishing Faith: A Baptist Primer on Work, Economics, and Civic Stewardship Chad Brand and Tom Pratt, Seeking the City: Wealth, Poverty, and Political Economy in Christian Perspective Denny Burk, What Is the Meaning of Sex? Dan Dewitt, A Guide to Evangelism James …
The Glorious Calling of the Mother
Just yesterday I was asked: does the Bible teach that women are to do anything more than schlepp kids and keep house? Proverbs 31 has lots to say about what wise women do, but this video turns the question on its head, capturing the profound majesty of mothering: 3 Queens from Matt Bieler on Vimeo.
Gunner’s Review of Wenham’s Psalms as Torah
Someone said: Only a Philistine could fail to love the Psalms. David “Gunner” Gunderson doesn’t just make last second shots, he thinks and writes well, and I’d encourage you to check out his important review of an important book, Gordon Wenham’s Psalms as Torah. Here’s a snippet: The Burden of the Book: The Shaping Power …
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How to Grow in Humility: Experience the Greatness of Jesus
Muhammed Ali said, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” He also said, “Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.” We see the opposite of that pride in John 3 from John the Baptist, and the reason John’s perspective is so different from Ali’s comes down to two things: …
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Despite Doubt by Mike Wittmer
Mike Wittmer is one of my favorite theologians. Heck he’s one of my favorite people. So I’m glad to see that he continues to find ways to say Don’t Stop Believing, the latest being a new book entitled Despite Doubt: Embracing a Confident Faith. Here’s a trailer for the book: Despite Doubt: Embracing a Confident Faith by …
Hot and Holy: CT Interviews Denny Burk
Denny Burk has an important new book out titled What Is the Meaning of Sex? (Covenant Eyes keeps blocking the Amazon page) Christianity Today has interviewed Denny about the book. Here’s a bit of the first exchange: So. What is the meaning of sex? The reigning sexual ethic reflects a tongue-in-cheek lyric from Sheryl Crow: “If …
Gospel Transformation Bible Releases Today
Dane Ortlund has the details on the most important thing you’ll see online today: the release of the Gospel Transformation Bible. I’m eager to consult these notes and grateful for Crossway.