Recently, I was listening to an Eerdmans interview with Megan DeFranza in which she spoke of the different Christian perspectives on the issue of “transgender.” She distinguished between them as a “conservative” perspective and a “progressive” perspective. Those are common labels in matters like this, and I have probably used them myself, but I have […]
Category: Theological method
I have begun to read Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott’s masterpiece, The Theology of Jonathan Edwards, and I’m finding it wonderfully stimulating to my own theological thinking. Early in the book, I enjoyed the discussion of “the ethos and method of Edwards’ theology,” particularly as I reflected on my own method in relation […]
I found many profound and stimulating statements in this brief interview with Oliver Donovan, one of the greatest minds and hearts at work in Christian ethics in our time. I particularly enjoyed some comments on his use of other scholars. Here are a few to ponder: I often feel that biblical studies get too […]
What God is doing amongst Muslims these days is quite remarkable, but this has generated difficult questions for Christian churches in predominantly Muslim nations, as they work through issues of contextualization. What should Christian churches look like in those contexts? The debate over the “Insider Movement” is quite intense these days, with both missionaries and […]
My wife has taught many hundreds of people to teach English as a second language and her students are now scattered around the globe doing this. I have learned interesting things from her about the international nature of English as a language now. This is particularly important in the church, because most of the theological […]
If we hear most loudly in Scripture the description of a world in which God has given moral creatures significant control of how things turn out, why would we thank and glorify God when good things occur? But if we hear most loudly in Scripture the description of a world in which God has maintained […]
Throughout the history of the Christian church, Bible believing Christians have been divided on important theological issues. This can be very frustrating to people who feel the need to decide which position is correct but who find the dispute very difficult to adjudicate. The situation creates a good market for multiple view books, a genre […]
In my last post, I shared some analyses of why biblical inerrancy is back on the table for discussion among evangelicals, and I summarized John Walton’s proposal that the language of speech-act theory is a help as we approach the issue. Since then, I have come upon Vern Poythress’s contribution to a panel at the ETS annual […]
Renewed interest in the nature of biblical authority Inerrancy is back on the table in evangelical discussions. It is the theme of the annual meetings of ETS in Baltimore, which are underway as I write, though I am not able to attend. It is also the focus of a few recent books. I have wondered […]
I had brief correspondence recently with an evangelical theologian whom I am going to call “Peter,” so that I can cite some of our private conversation without putting him on public record. For my purposes here, what he said is the important thing, not who he is. Our brief interchange prompted me to ruminate about […]