In this past fall semester and again in January, I had the opportunity to go through the book of Ecclesiastes. One of the benefits of my two recent excursions through this book was the opportunity to examine Enns' 2011 commentary in the Eerdmans' series, The Two...
Last week a respondent to one of my earlier posts chastised me for addressing matters of sin and sanctification because in doing so, I was ignoring the elephantine issues of “poverty, homelessness, abuse, ignorance, and injustice”—in brief, I was violating the spirit...
There, I've said it. OK, maybe (and I mean MAYBE) a case could be made that a mature believer could justify watching portions of the show as a means of cultural analysis and critique, but if a professing believer watched its totality as a means of entertainment or...
One of my goals each semester is to try to convince students that writers of the past are not only worth reading but are also much more enjoyable and more valuable to read than they may have imagined. With this in mind, I occasionally reread what C. S. Lewis had to...
We’d just finished up another night at Christianity Explored when I stumbled upon a discussion my friend Lisa was having with a guest she’d brought to the study. Seeing me approach, Lisa said something to her guest about the fact that I taught the Bible for a living...
MACP Roundtable 2012: Dave Doran, Michael Vlach (The Master's Seminary), and Neal Cushman (Northland International University) explain why eschatology is important for an individual believer and for church life. Check out the other topics covered in the MACP...
If you are interested in Baptist history and are looking for a few good books to read in the new year, you may want to check out Nathan Finn’s annotated list of resources on the Conservative Resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention. I’d recommend starting...
This week we’re giving away a copy of Kenneth Bailey’s book Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians (retail value = $30). In order to be eligible to win this book you need to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. Once you’ve...
I can't stop thinking about a post several weeks ago by Tullian Tchividjian titled "Are Christians Totally Depraved?" Tchividjian, if you are not aware, is Billy Graham's grandson and currently senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.,...
The blogosphere has been humming lately with questions of Christian freedom and Christian depravity, the role of faith and works in sanctification, the priority of law or Gospel in sanctification, and the like. Some have seized the “Gospel-Centered” banner and have...
On Wednesday, Nov 14, I attended the fifth meeting of the Creation Consultation at the 64th annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Milwaukee, WI. This year's creation meeting was entitled, "Scripture, Geology & the Age of the Earth." Dr. Richard...
Despite Bill Clinton’s famous statement that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare,” today only one of those three adjectives is actually descriptive of abortion in America. Abortion remains legal in all 50 states. However, abortion never has been safe for the...
Let me add this “Appendix” onto the end of my recent two-part series on the importance of history in biblical studies, particularly in studying the Gospels (see “Why Christians Need History” and “Why the Quest for the Historical Jesus Matters”). If you’re interested...
Webster defines corollary as “(1) a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof, (2a) something that naturally follows: result, and (2b) something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels.” Thus to say...
Sad news has come that Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs is giving up blogging after 7 years. Phil's decision seems to be related to health issues and a desire to focus on his most important ministry concerns as he enters his 60th year. We wish him well and will miss his...
I heard that phrase once a month growing up, and for years never considered the possibility that Baptists would administer the Lord's Supper any other way. I attend a church today in which I hear much the same thing, but now know that the practice is rarer than I...
With the arrival of the Passion Week comes the curious and often forgotten event of Palm Sunday. Christ's arrival in Jerusalem on that day was a truly triumphal event—a day of fulfilled prophecy where the Messiah rides into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech 9:9) and...
For hundreds of years the word “book” has suggested a stack of printed pages bound together along one edge and filled with ideas in the form of ink. But this is quickly changing. Today we live in a world where the phrase “reading a book” no longer necessarily invokes...
Jeremy Walker posted an interview today over at his site with Derek Thomas and Carl Trueman, two "Brits" currently living and ministering here in the States. I would encourage you to take a drive over there and read it. Lots of great advice from their experience in...
In a previous post, I mentioned that I have been using photos of biblical locations in my teaching for a number of years and am often asked where does one find appropriate images. The best images (most appropriate and high quality) I have found come from...
We don't normally do politics, but given our interest in Israel, you might want to read this well-written and engaging article on this question in the New York Times Magazine.
Despite all the jokes about Wikipedia’s SOPA blackout on Wednesday being hard on college students, the truth is many students do need to improve their online research skills. We live in an amazing day. Within seconds one can use the internet to locate an electronic...
I have been using photos of biblical locations in my teaching for a number of years and am often asked where does one find appropriate images. One helpful place is Holy Land Photos, the site of Dr. Carl Rasmussen, who is Professor of Biblical Studies at Bethel College...
For a little Christmas cheer, go here.
In one sense, the answer to this question is clear. Jesus indicated that it is the mark of his disciples that they forgive. In the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matt 18:21–35), we see that the man who refuses to forgive reveals that he has not truly been...
One of the most important philosophers of our day died last weekend, and almost no one noticed. Best known as a proponent of political conservatism (or Toryism in the British circles in which he lived much of his life), Sir Roger Scruton was also a champion of...
One of the most complex issues in biblical interpretation lies in understanding the ways in which later writers of Scripture used earlier texts. Sometimes NT writers cite or allude to the OT in ways which, at first blush, seem to disregard the context or, worse, to...
I get the question a few times a year: “Why does it matter whether we get future right? Everything will get sorted out when we get there. What we need to worry about is the present—being what God wants us to be and doing what God wants us to do right now.” An...
Donald Trump’s stay on admitting certain immigrants has brought out a raft of evangelical critics, especially those who see everything as an immediate gospel issue. Arguing from the facts that (1) God says nice things about foreigners in the Bible (e.g., Lev 19:33–34)...
When a person self-describes as “conservative,” the meaning of the adjective can be elusive. Conservatism can be noble in one context and ignoble in another. What gives the word meaning, ultimately, is the explanation of what one is conserving and what one is allowing...
Bill Barrick, long-time professor at The Master's Seminary and friend of DBTS, just wrapped up a list of his most highly recommended commentaries on the Old Testament. This is an outstanding list that is hard to improve upon. Highly recommended.
The very first recorded words of Adam have sometimes been the stuff of jokes—the words of a lovestruck fellow who has seen a beautiful woman for the first time: “Look what became of my bone!” he seems to say: “Whoa, Man!” But on closer look, Adam’s words communicate...
Every year about this time we get a spate of blog posts from within fundamentalism and elsewhere about the viability of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) in view of (1) its skimpy doctrinal basis, (2) its tendency to the speculative and esoteric in its...
There is a time in everyone’s life where they look at the long list of desires and goals in front of them and wonder, “How am I ever going to get this done?” There are books and books along with blogs upon blogs of pithy slogans to help you get more done in less time....
The use of the term literal in dispensational hermeneutics has had a rocky history. Even if we can get past the snickering claims of critics that literalism disallows figurative language (which no advocate of literalism has ever affirmed), the term is still not...
Those of you who know me know that I don’t like to self-identify as an evangelical. The label has some usefulness, of course. Were I to use it, the label would inform people that I hold to inerrancy in some form. It would inform people that I am not a card-carrying...
No doubt all of us are aware of the disparaging remarks that were made about prayer in the aftermath of last week’s shooting. Among others the New York Daily News discouraged prayer on December 3rd with an article entitled “God Isn’t Fixing This.” So we’ve reached...
It’s that time of year when complete strangers ask children what they want a dead guy to bring them when he sneaks into their house in the middle of the night. And it’s also a time when Christian parents struggle to help their children answer such people in a way that...
We’ve been hearing a lot of warnings these last few years about the coming persecution of Christians. And a look around the globe reveals that public sentiment really is turning perceptibly against Christians—chiefly abroad, but with fresh harbingers here on American...
The pope is finally gone and I am happier for it. He has practically no redeeming qualities and has left a trail of carnage from the moment he arrived until the moment he left. Make no mistake: he is the incarnation and personification of the worst sort of evil...
With all of the hullabaloo this week over the visit of antichrist (not THE antichrist, mind you, but surely one who most overtly and offensively epitomizes John's general description of the spirit of antichrist), it is a delight to point our readers to a free eCopy of...
Recently released videos by The Center for Medical Progress have brought to light some of the more egregious atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood in the name of women’s health and medical research. Anyone with a functioning conscience who has watched these...
I cannot compete with the vast onslaught of blog heavyweights who have all, it seems, trained their guns on last week’s SCOTUS decision. But I’d like to chip away at one question that seems to be less than fully addressed, viz., the precise nature of government’s role...
Jonathan Cook, youth pastor at First Baptist Community Church in Monte Sereno, California, won the book giveaway.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the country of Burma was almost 100% Buddhist, but such is no longer the case. According to the 2010 edition of Operation World, Burma (now called Myanmar) currently contains a sizeable minority of Christians including about...
A couple of weeks back Bob Jones University made the news by apologizing for statements made a generation ago suggesting that homosexuals should be subjected, like they were during the Mosaic economy, to capital punishment. This mea culpa was a welcome one insofar as...
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Patrick (c. 389–c. 461). In response to that post, someone asked several questions about Patrick including whether or not he was Catholic. I offered a brief reply, and a colleague suggested that many people might have similar...
Although St. Patrick’s Day appears on our calendars each year, most modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day have little to do with the person behind the holiday. Next week many people will wear a little extra green, some will celebrate their Irish heritage, and more...
A few months ago Bill Combs and I released a pair of blog posts that raised ire among some of our readers relative to the debate concerning divine sovereignty and human freedom. One of the barriers to fruitful dialogue that emerged in the ensuing discussion was one of...