In Proverbs 26:4 we are commanded not to answer a fool, but in the very next verse we’re commanded to answer a fool. On the surface I am in a quagmire since both commands seem to be in conflict with each other. So do I or do I not answer a fool? This raises a larger...
The new 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland text that we mentioned previously is apparently now becoming available (at least in Europe). Christian Askeland interviews Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf of the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung about the new edition.
The relationship between the Old and New Testaments has been debated (sometimes hotly) since the book of Acts! This makes sense since so much hangs in the balance of properly understanding this issue—What role does the Law have in a NT believer's life? Is the Church a...
Recently I saw on MSNBC’s “Today’s Entertainment” a blog post titled “Bill Nye the Science Guy asks parents not to raise creationist kids.” Nye’s title, “the Science Guy,” comes from his popular science program for children, “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” that ran from...
When I have preached on a psalm in a church, some people have mentioned to me that they were familiar with a verse from the psalm but they had not thought about the passage's overall message. I have often wondered if believers have a good reading strategy for getting...
I was just informed that iTunes is offering an electronic version of Coming to Grips with Genesis for the special low price of $2.99. This special is good for the month of August only. This collection includes a number of scholarly essays on the book of Genesis from...
If you ever take a tour of Jerusalem (or if you have already done so) with an evangelical group, you will undoubtedly stop at the Garden Tomb near Gordon's Calvary. Wayne Stiles has a helpful post entitled "The Garden Tomb-Contemplating the Resurrection of Jesus,"...
I have cried out with these words from Psalm 13:1a on a few occasions. How do I know that it is legitimate to apply this verse to my life? And what about other psalms? While there are many ways to determine this, one is to consider a psalm's historical setting. In...
When people think of Detroit, a few things may come to mind: Motown music, the auto industry, blue-collar workers, crime, poverty, etc. It’s unlikely that soccer (or futbol) would be one of the first items on anyone’s list. Yet the Detroit City Futbol League has...
We just read through John 5 in our Greek refresher course. After working through the miracle story at the beginning of the chapter—the one where Jesus heals the lame man at the pool—I spent some time trying to figure out what it is that John wants us to take away from...
The Olympic Games are with us again. Of course, the ancient games originated in 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece, and were held in honor of Zeus. Even the the Apostle Paul seems to reference Olympic sports in 1 Cor 9:24–26, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners...
We here at DBTS are absolutely committed to six-day creationism and a young earth. I had gotten the impression that a few years ago R. C. Sproul had converted to that viewpoint. Well, not exactly. In an interview with Tim Challies, Sproul clarifies his view: Have you...
OK, so I am finally getting through the stack of reading that accumulated during the school year, and finally read a book that was all the buzz about five months ago. The good news is that you can finally get it at your local library, and the price is already dropping...
In yesterday's post I noted that a familiarity with the basic genres of the Psalms can be a real aid in reading and understanding them. Today I will cover the last three categories. 4. Kingship and covenant psalms celebrate and affirm loyalty to God as King, the...
An aid in reading the Psalms is to be able to arrange them in literary categories or genres. Based on thematic elements that are shared between psalms and literary features, we can more precisely classify the lyric poems of the Psalms. While some of the following...
"I’m going to be gone soon. Don’t be sad. I’m not afraid of death.... Mother, we are all going to die someday. Don’t be discouraged by my death. Continue in your faith."... After a final public condemnation meeting, the militiamen shot him by the roadside and dumped...
If you love Jesus, you will love His Church, plain and simple. If you have put Him at the center of your life, you will put the center of His work in this age, The Church—particularly your local church—right there as well. You will find time to go. You will find...
Dr. James Montgomery Boice was the longtime pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadephia (1968–2000). He was well known for his expository preaching through books of the Bible—Romans in five years, for example. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2000 and died...
Since the Bible's sufficiency means that the Bible speaks to (though not necessarily about) everything, then it follows that our theology speaks to (though not necessarily about) healthcare. Please note that this is not an analysis of the theological rightness or...
While the Psalms are familiar to many Christians, understanding them is often difficult. Part of this difficulty relates to the poetic nature of the Psalms. With this entry I will describe the type of poetry found in the Psalms. Approximately one-third of the Bible is...
It is difficult for us Baptists to always understand the various Presbyterian denominations. One of the largest evangelical groups is the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Dr. Richard Phillips, the senior minister of the Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville,...
Anne-Marie Slaughter kicked the hornet’s nest two weeks back when she published an article with that title in The Atlantic. In it she explained why the feminist ideal—women can have it all, a family and a fulfilling career at the same time, just like men—is still...
The title may be a question you have not considered before. With all of our good focus on learning life skills—whether they be vocational, athletic, musical, or academic-—we sometimes fail to cultivate some of the skills which will profit us most in life and in the...
I recently came across an interesting quote from Martin Luther about the prospect of social reform. He wrote, To be sure, the world sees evil acts, nay, it is amazed at them and complains about the great wickedness of people; but it does not know how it happens. It...
Most, if not all, Christians would answer that question with an unqualified "Yes." But in a recent couple of blog posts, well-known Arminian theologian Roger Olson says "No." In his own words: "In a recent post I said Arminians should not pray for God to save their...
The answer to that question might seem to be "Yes," if we look at what Paul says in Rom 1:11, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong." The idea of imparting a spiritual gift is found in most translations (ESV, HCSB, KJV,...
Baptist churches are by definition autonomous in their polity. It's one of the "distinctives" by which they are known. This does not mean, however, that they are obliged to eschew all confessional, conciliar, or associational relationships with other churches. The...
We discussed the Nicodemus narrative in my Greek refresher course last Friday. While I was preparing for the class, I was struck by John 3:16. It’s such a clear statement about Jesus’ mission and God’s character. Sometimes it just takes reading a passage in a...
Recently much of the country was captivated by a six-year-old girl who became the youngest speller to aspire to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Of course, not everyone was impressed. Some predictably rolled their eyes. Most of these did so because they can't spell...
Who was John Stott? It’s been nearly a year since Stott died and his legacy is still taking shape. I suspect that for many of us he’ll be remembered as the author of one or two books on our shelves—probably The Cross of Christ and/or Basic Christianity—or as the name...
On May 30, a group of Southern Baptist leaders issued a document titled “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” I initially ignored this statement as just another anti-Calvinist diatribe published by individuals whom...
I appreciate Erik over at JC Ryle Quotes, who shares a quote from J.C. Ryle, a 19th century pastor, every day. This one on how to spot a false teacher certainly helped me think more clearly about false teachers: “What more common than to hear it said of some false...
An argument often raised against the regular practice of church discipline detailed in Matthew 18:15–18 is Peter's comment in 1 Peter 4:8 that "love covers a multitude of sins." In so opining, Peter seems to be suggesting that church members should prefer covering to...
One of the best-known lines from St. Paul is found at the beginning of his letter to the Philippians where he says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21). I think this was my life verse for at least a few years. In fact, I’m pretty sure I put the...
Some time ago I was asked in a conversation whether I ever drank beverage alcohol and I replied “No.” Upon hearing my answer, my interlocutor quickly and harshly reprimanded me for being a legalist. Then, after I pressed him for an explanation, he made a calculated...
One of the inevitabilities of working in a seminary community is that you’re likely to lose quite a few dear friends over the course of your tenure. It’s not because seminaries require vows of friendlessness, alongside those of poverty and humility. Rather, it’s...
I realize that resurrection Sunday may feel a bit like last week’s news. After all, it’s done. We’ve celebrated. Now we’ve moved on to what’s next, whether that’s Pentecost or something (slightly) less noble like the pennant race. We’ll be happy to do it all again...
Throughout church history professing believers have argued amongst themselves about all kinds of things. In retrospect, some of these debates have been key steps in hammering out the details of important theological issues. Other debates have been less than edifying....
Earlier this month many Americans were saddened to hear of an American soldier who allegedly killed some 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood—most of them women and children. Although this isn’t the first time an American soldier has been accused of murder in a time of...
Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary is actually in Allen Park, Michigan. And if you come to Allen Park, you will want to see the world's largest tire on Interstate 94 in our city. Check out this article for even more info about the tire.
In a previous post, I called attention to the Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, which the seminary has been publishing annually since 1996. BMH Books has published a collection of articles from the first five years of the journal titled, Biblical and Theological...
Here we go again. A new sensational archaeological announcement that proves that there were first century Jews who embraced Christ and the hope of the resurrection! Or not. This new discovery, made rather suspiciously by the same folks who made the last sensational...
Guest post by Ben Edwards: Director of Urban Ministry at Inter-City Baptist Church Detroit is a place that needs the Gospel. We need men to come and plant churches in and around the city. And Detroit Baptist Seminary is a good place to be trained to serve in urban...
Guest post by Ben Edwards: Director of Urban Ministry at Inter-City Baptist Church What comes into your mind when you think about Detroit? If your knowledge of Detroit comes from the news stories you’ve read, you probably have a pretty negative image. But if you visit...
If you notice the header of this blog, you will see a tab marked "Journal," which if selected will take you to the web page for our seminary journal. Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal began in 1996 and is published annually in the fall of the year. At the web page you...
James D. G. Dunn. Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Re-Examination of the New Testament Teaching on the Gift of the Spirit in Relation to Pentecostalism Today. Second edition. London: SCM Press, 2010, xxi + 248 pp. This second-edition of Baptism in the Holy Spirit...
On March 14 DBTS will host the William R. Rice Lecture Series. The speaker for this year's event is Dr. Bryant G. Wood. His topic will be “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem.” Dr. Wood is a widely respected biblical archaeologist and scholar...
Here’s the basic fallacy of the Elephant Room 2 storyline—once you’ve granted to someone good standing as a Christian brother and fellow servant of the gospel, you can’t claim that you’re going to be sitting down to discuss whether he is truly such or not. You’ve...
Personally, I think that Thabiti Anyabwile has provided some of the best commentary on the inclusion of T. D. Jakes into the Elephant Room discussion. His initial offering before the event was dead on target, and his follow up post is also worth reading. He continues...