My interest in Freemasonry began a few years ago, as I was asked to complete a writing project of Baptist historian Terry Wolever, who unexpectedly died, leaving a biography of Stephen Gano (1762–1828) unfinished. ((Dr. Straub taught historical theology at Central...
A few weeks ago, Dan Wallace wrote an article on the recent trend towards online theological education. I would like to summarize his points here, and then offer a few comments. You can read his entire post at this link (and I encourage you to do so). The main point...
No one starts down the pathway toward immorality thinking, “You know, I really want to destroy my marriage today. I would love it, if I could give the enemy an advantage on me, and bring immeasurable reproach on my family.” The fact that no one thinks like that and...
Abstract After an introduction listing known TR editions, the argument of this paper proceeds in three movements. ((Dr. Ward is an academic editor for Lexham Press, and the author of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press,...
Introduction Christians’ interest in theological subjects ebbs and flows, often depending upon the cultural and political issues of the day, provocative books or articles on debated subjects, or whatever a favorite pastor or scholar decides to spotlight. ((Dr. Pratt...
In December 2018, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, Kentucky, released a study, Report on Slavery and Racism in the History of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. ((Dr. Straub taught historical theology at Central Baptist Theological...
I have not engaged substantially in the study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Most of the celebrity that Bonhoeffer has earned is in the spheres of ethics, piety, and courage (and he rightly merits our admiration on those counts); still, I have been concerned that unqualified...
A couple of weeks ago Dan Wallace wrote an article questioning whether or not online education is equal in quality to in-person education. (Tim Miller offered some of his thoughts on the article here.) I’d like to consider two of the issues he raises in comparing...
In my previous post considering Dan Wallace’s recent article discussing online vs. in-person education I concluded that, especially regarding theological teaching, in-person education is superior to distance education—all other things being equal. But rarely if ever...
Introduction American approval of interracial marriage (IM) is uncomfortably recent. ((It is our privilege this year again to feature an article by an M.Div. student at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. Mr. Francia submitted this article and was one of three...
The doctrine of biblical creation is often viewed as incidental, if not detrimental, to the task of defending the Christian faith.((Dr. Dunham is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.)) ((By biblical creation I mean the...
From 1751–1758, Jonathan Edwards was a missionary to the Native American community in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a “praying town” along the Housatonic River at the frontier’s edge.((Dr. Crawford is Lead Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Marshall, MI. Of Dr. Compton...
Former Olympian and gold medalist Bruce Jenner transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner. A once-decorated army soldier who leaked classified data, Bradley Manning transitioned to Chelsea Manning, who is again in the news for recently being offered a position at Harvard as a...
This morning I scanned through an interesting book put out by Georgetown University that analyzes the value of 171 common college majors available today. By “value” the authors mean almost entirely fiscal value, or how much money a graduate can expect to make after...
In 2021 Inter-City Baptist Church became a certified training center with ACBC. Because our seminary is a ministry of ICBC, DBTS offers training that results in your ACBC certification. We offer two paths to biblical counseling certification. Path #1: MDiv...
In August 1998, I ordered some of my first seminary textbooks as a student. That particular semester, one item stood out above the rest. Philip Schaff’s 8-volume History of the Christian Church stood out primarily due to its price. At the time Schaff retailed for...
A few weeks ago I drew attention to the AI movement and its complications with education. Namely, to what degree can students use AI and still consider the product their own work. Just recently, ChatGPT launched and now has over one million users. If you try to use...
NOTE: This is the first in a two-part series on one of the most significant fake letters in the history of the church. This essay will introduce the reader to the letter, explain what it says, and show the historical and factual problems with the narrative. A future...
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood—Acts 20:28 What does Paul mean in his speech in Acts 20 when he says that God purchased the church with...
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...
Read Part 1 in this series here. Read Part 2 here. Teaching Directly Related to Justification While FV is not centered around soteriology, its proponents still address issues directly related to justification in their writings. Four specific issues directly related to...
It is that time of year here in Michigan when you begin to see yard sales cropping up around your neighborhood. When I decide to sell something, I have become more fond of the online methods that eliminate the unpleasant experience of moving things from your yard...
It has been over 8 months since the initial major responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Various local, state, and federal leaders and agencies have pursued a variety of responses and adopted a range of policies. Personally, I am thankful I was not responsible...
Giving Tuesday may be over, but there’s another way you can help DBTS financially this Christmas season and all year round. And it won’t even cost you anything. When you shop on Amazon using the link below, the prices won’t be any different, but Amazon will give DBTS...
The Bible states that we have an enemy that plagues everyone—death. Though we may avoid this enemy for a time, we cannot escape it. Death is certain. No one can avoid death. And Death is cruel. At its heart, death is separation. Death separates our bodies from our...
A couple of weeks ago I suggested that believers would benefit from occasionally reading older books. However, just because a work was written in a previous era does not mean that it’s necessarily worth reading today. In fact, far more old books exist that any one...
Christmas is a time of giving. Many people and organizations embrace this spirit of giving by organizing programs that provide gifts to low-income families. They often encourage families with more resources to adopt a family for Christmas. As Christians, we may...
Poor translators! It is not an easy job.((Dr. Compton is Associate Professor of NT and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. This essay lightly revises his earlier “Where There’s Not a Will: The Covenant Theology of Hebrews 9,”...
The Fundamental Concepts of Caregiving: Caregiving is More Than a Career; It Is a Process of Building a Relationship, by Murphy V. S. Anderson. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2024. 254 pp. $31.00. Murphy Anderson is the CEO of Save...
Dustin Burlet on A Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic LexiconDownload A Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, by Frank Matheus. Wilmore, KY: GlossaHouse, 2020. x + 388 pp. $29.99. There is a dearth of up-to-date, inexpensive, and user-friendly lexicons for biblical Aramaic....
Read Part 1 in this series here. Read Part 2 here. Read Part 3 here. Teaching Directly Related to Justification (cont.) The previous post in this series examined what FV has said about the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and the role of works in justification....
Halloween, as many of us have probably noticed, seems to have taken a darker turn in recent years. It's a stark contrast to our childhood memories, characterized by innocence, candy, and dressing up as our favorite characters. Now, we may find ourselves averting our...
This is a really strange time for ministry generally and evangelism specifically. Over the last few weeks, I have been writing a series of short posts designed to aid us in evangelism during this unprecedented time (See Step One, Step Two, and Step 3a). Step 3b: Tell...
Are science and religion/faith incompatible? The leading lights of the atheism revolution certainly believe they are: Christopher Hitchens: “All attempts to reconcile faith with science and reason are consigned to failure and ridicule.” Richard Dawkins: “I am hostile...
As the baby boomer generation continues to age, the percentage of Americans at retirement age is expected to explode, with about 9000 reaching age 65 each day. “Forty-eight million Americans were age 65 and older in 2015, 18 percent more than just five years earlier....
A few weeks ago, Mark Snoeberger had a post arguing that in the matter of salvation, especially the issue of regeneration, there are only two possible options, which he labeled as Calvinism and Arminianism. As might be expected, there was some push back to the idea of...
Among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, there is a rather troubling document dated from the year 1 B.C. It’s a letter written by a husband to his wife. The husband is out of town, and the wife is apparently expecting to deliver a child in the near future. Here’s the text:...
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...
After using Kindle for PC for several years, this past week I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Kindle Paperwhite. My initial impression of the device is very positive. I think I’m really going to like this thing. Perhaps I’ll write a post reviewing the device...
If you have been in ministry for a number of years since seminary, you know how easy it can be to get into a ministry routine and allow other things in your life to become your first love, whether it is a hobby, a recreational pursuit, or other amusement. We as...
Last week a friend of mine, Fred Zaspel, offered a case for the typological interpretation of the Scripture. In offering a four-point rationale for typological interpretation, Zaspel made several observations that call for both applause and reflection. I applauded,...
Many people promise to provide the secret to a successful pastoral ministry. Conferences, curricula, and consultants like to offer products for discouraged pastors. Attend this conference and you will come away with a ministry-changing model. Purchase this curriculum...
Each year DBTS hosts the William R. Rice Lecture Series, named for the Seminary's founder and first president. We are pleased to announce that the speaker for this year's event on March 20, 2013, will be Prof. Brent Belford. His topic will be “Paul's Pastoral Use of...
David Instone-Brewer argues in a recent article that the Talmud’s account of Jesus’ trial contains the original Jewish charge against Jesus. The lines, as preserved in the Munich ed. (1342), read like this: It was taught: On the Eve of the Passover they hung Yeshu the...
One of the benefits of attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society is the opportunity to visit the meeting’s exhibition hall. In the hall one can peruse the latest titles from major Christian publishing houses and can purchase such books at...
There is a new web site, Early Bible, that recently came online, whose purpose is to display pictures of the New Testament papyrus manuscripts. It is very nicely done and hopefully more papyri will be coming online soon.
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...
Introduction Secular psychology is a popular approach to helping people with their problems that can offer utilitarian benefits even for churches. While secular psychology can offer useful observations, however, it falls short of providing complete solutions to life’s...
2012 William R. Rice Lecture Series Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2012Speaker: Dr. Bryant G. WoodTheme: “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem” Lectures:Lecture 1: Background and Chronology of the Exodus and Conquest...