Theology Central
Theology Central exists as a place of conversation and information for faculty and friends of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Posts include seminary news, information, and opinion pieces about ministry, theology, and scholarship.Matthew Barrett on the Sufficiency of Scripture
[W]e should not approach the Bible as if it addresses all information in the world. One cannot look up 2 + 2 in the Bible and discover that the answer is 4. The Bible is not an encyclopedia, a dictionary, or a textbook. Nor did God mean for it to be treated in this way. Yet while the Bible does not address all information or all fields of practice (hence the “light of nature”), this does not mean that the Bible fails to provide God’s people with general biblical principles applicable regardless of one’s vocation. Indeed, the Bible provides us with a theological and moral framework and worldview that extends to all of life.
Barrett, Matthew. God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 339). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Are Emotions Morally Significant?
Peter Leithart contrasts the answers given by Kant and Aristotle.
In Aristotelian ethics, the passions aren’t a matter of choice, not in the moment when we experience them. Yet, emotions can be trained. . . . We aren’t responsible for the momentary experience, but we are responsible for how we respond and how we have trained our emotional character.
Infographic: The Richest Person in Every State
If you’re interested, you can see it at the Daily Timewaster.
Voluntarism Divine and Human
Voluntarism is the priority of will (and, on a right understanding, affection) over intellect. Joel Zartman explains why we should believe in human voluntarism but reject divine voluntarism.
The Value of Accreditation
People sometimes wonder why schools spend so much time and money achieving and maintaining accreditation. CHEA–the Council on Higher Education Accreditation–is the organization that accredits the accreditors. CHEA has recently released two documents explaining the value of accreditation and defending accreditation as a private rather than governmental enterprise. The two are:
Ten Ways in Which Accreditation Serves Students, Society, and the Public Interest.
Like You’ve Never Seen Them
I’d never really thought about how taxidermists learn their craft. I’d never considered what amateur or failed attempts at taxidermy look like. What happens to taxidermy gone wrong? It gets posted to “Bad Taxidermy.” Yup, there’s even a blog about that.
Carl Trueman Defines Grace
Grace is that aspect of divine action by which God blesses his rebellious creatures, whether through preservation (common grace) or salvation (special grace). It characterizes the manner in which he deals with those who through their rejection of him as their Creator and sovereign deserve nothing from him and yet whom he still chooses to bless.
Trueman, Carl R.; Trueman, Carl R.. Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taughts…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 25). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Only in Minnesota
Every February the city of Walker, Minnesota hosts the International Eelpout Festival on the frozen surface of Leech Lake. An eelpout, also known as a burbot or lingcod, isn’t pretty, but it’s good eating.
In the Nick of Time
Kevin Bauder continues his response to Roger Olson by contrasting Edward John Carnell’s definitions of Christianity and Christian fellowship with J. Gresham Machen’s.
The Legend of Bass Reeves
He was an amazing U. S. Marshall who patrolled the Indian Territory. He was African American, an escaped slave. He was illiterate but highly intelligent. The story’s at Atlas Obscura.
Matthew Barrett’s Definition of Inspiration
The inspiration of Scripture refers to that act whereby the Holy Spirit came upon the authors of Scripture, causing them to write exactly what God intended, while simultaneously preserving each author’s writing style and personality. This supernatural work of the Holy Spirit upon the human authors means that the author’s words are God’s words and therefore are reliable, trustworthy, and authoritative.
Barrett, Matthew. God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 229). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
If You Don’t Know John Dewey . . .
. . . You should. No one has exerted a greater influence over American education. The Imaginative Conservative has reprinted a fine introduction to Dewey’s thought: “Theology and Liberal Education in John Dewey.”
Michael Kruger on the “Miniature Codex”
Kruger discusses these tiny books as a “curious example of early Christian devotion to Scripture.” At Cannon Fodder.
The “Game of Thrones” Controversy
Let’s be clear. Game of Thrones is vile. I read pretty widely, even among writers I disagree with. But there are some things I won’t read. I couldn’t get more than a few chapters into Game of Thrones; I threw the entire series away.
I haven’t tried to watch the series. Why should I? I get enough pollution driving down the highway. But I can’t imagine that the graphic reenactment of the books is any more edifying or less destructive.
So why is there a controversy?
It started when John Piper proposed “Twelve Questions to Ask Before You Watch ‘Game of Thrones.'” He pulled no punches, but lots of good, evangelical people weren’t happy. Here’s a sample:
The world does not need more cool, hip, culturally savvy, irrelevant copies of itself. That is a hoax that has duped thousands of young Christians. They think they have to be hip, cool, savvy, culturally aware, watching everything in order not to be freakish. And that is undoing them morally and undoing their witness.
Exactly.
And that’s one of the reasons I love Piper.
Then Kevin DeYoung at the Gospel Coalition spoke out with, “I Don’t Understand Christians Watching Game of Thrones.” DeYoung is not a theological lightweight, nor is he a prude. But he understands how destructive pornography can be–and Game of Thrones is pornography, whatever else it is.
Talk about a reaction! The comment string after his post is a hoot! If you want to know what’s wrong with contemporary Christianity, you might begin your research with the responses to DeYoung.
Now Nick Batzig has weighed in with “Game of Dethroning Sexual Sin.” He rightly acknowledges the pornographic nature of Game of Thrones.By the time this post appears, the commenters will be all over him.
Apparently many evangelicals just don’t get it. The question isn’t whether sex is a good gift of God; the question is whether pornography is a good use of that gift. The question isn’t whether the Bible narrates lewd and violent acts; the question is whether lewdness and violence should be vividly reenacted for pleasure.
People find reasons to justify what they already love. In this case, what they love is indescribably base.
What Titus Found
South African Pastor David DeBruyn draws a comparison between what Titus found in the holy place and what lies behind forms, customs, and manners. He even includes an extended quotation from Weaver. Here’s DeBruyn:
What the sincerity-junkie cannot see is that there are reasons for formality other than posturing, hypocrisy or evasion. A suit and tie at a funeral, a wedding-dress and vows at a wedding, opening a door for a lady, using titles for people in authority, table manners, an eloquent love-letter, or a poem are not exercises in deception. They are the ways we “dress-up” physical reality to signify greater realities. A form may not be hiding reality, it may in fact be clothing it with beauty and significance. That is, formality is often a way of improving something ordinary, adorning it with beauty, so that we now see something more than just the physical thing. We see what it represents, what it envisions. We see man made in God’s image, not merely physical man of the dust.
Richard Phillips on the Slippery Slope into Religious Liberalism
He’s not a fundamentalist. But He almost sounds like one.
What is the slippery slope? It is the unstoppable descent into liberalism and unbelief that begins when the authority of Scripture is compromised out of cultural accommodation. The slope is slippery because without the friction of an inerrant, divinely authoritative Bible, faithfully interpreted, there is nothing left to restrain the downward gravitational pull of the world’s demands.
Levels of Doctrine
All Bible doctrines are equally authoritative because they are equally inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), but the Bible indicates that they are not all equal in terms of appropriate emphasis. The Bible emphasizes some doctrines more than others, and this emphasis is positively correlated with both the doctrine’s perspicuity and its consequence. This greater emphasis, perspicuity and consequence characterize a category of doctrines that the Lord Jesus called, “the weightier matters of the Law,” doctrines like judgment, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23). Doctrines like these are the great theological themes of Scripture, and the size difference of the frequency, clarity, and consequence they possess in the written revelation when compared to doctrines of lesser weight parallels the size difference between a camel and a gnat (v. 24).
The Doctrine of Separation: A Whitepaper of the American Council of Christian Churches (Orwell, OH: ACCC, 2014), 4.
Central Seminary’s Fall Conference
As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we do well to reflect on its causes, context, and consequences. Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and for God’s glory alone are rallying cries which Central Baptist Theological Seminary has proudly heralded. The Reformation led to many positive doctrinal and social changes in the Western world. Indeed, the light of the Reformation still shines brightly today. But what about the darkness? Were there any negative consequences of the Reformation? Join us as Dr. Larry Pettegrew carefully critiques history’s greatest protest.
Dr. Pettegrew completed his M.R.E., M.Div., and Th.M. at Central Baptist Theological Seminary and his Th.D. at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Dr. Pettegrew taught at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College for over 10 years, serving also as chairman of both the Christian Education and Bible departments. Following his time at Pillsbury, he served as dean of students and taught at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Pettegrew joined Central Baptist Theological Seminary where he taught for 14 years and held the position of registrar and academic dean at different times. He later served The Master’s Seminary as professor of theology for 12 years before accepting the executive vice presidency of Shepherds Theological Seminary which he presently holds in addition to his role as academic dean.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
8:00am –8:30am Registration
8:30am–9:30am Session I
9:30am–9:50am Break
9:50am–10:50am Session II (Ladies’ Session – Heritage Room)
10:50am–11:00am Break
11:00am–12:00pm Session III
12:00pm–1:15pm Lunch (Alumni Association Meeting)
1:15pm–2:30pm Session IV (Q & A Panel)
CHEA Advises USDE
Under Executive Order 13781, President Trump has initiated a reorganization of the Executive Branch. Part of that reorganization involves soliciting suggestions for “in the organization and functioning of the executive branch.”
Seeking to implement the executive order, the United States Department of Education specifically asked for advice from the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CHEA is the organization that accredits the accreditors, and it functions as a buffer between the individual accrediting agencies and the USDE.
Here is CHEA’s response. CHEA recommends removing the federal definition of a credit hour and dispensing with the state authorization rules. It also suggests several other changes, including streamlining the process for what are called “substantive changes.” These recommendations reflect the position of CHEA as set forth in a position paper on regulatory relief, issued in April of 2017.
Effectively, CHEA is working to prevent or at least mitigate direct, federal oversight over higher education. Some lawmakers have been pressing for greater federal involvement in higher ed, especially given the federal dollars that go into education.
Backgrounds and Beliefs of College Freshmen
All in an interactive graphic from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
APPLICATION & AID