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.Recker on the Millennium
Some years ago, Sam Storms published a brief explanation of why he abandoned premillennialism for amillennialism. Recently, Pastor Matt Recker of New York has written what I think is a convincing reply, “Why I Cannot Change My Mind on the Premillennial Return of Christ.” Recker’s reply is particularly significant in view of the importance of the doctrine of the Lord’s return. Thanks to Pastor Recker for the essay, and to the FBFI for publishing on Proclaim and Defend.
Storms finds it impossible to believe in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth for 1,000 years for a number of reasons and concludes that “premillennialists must believe what the NT explicitly denies.” Major points that he insists that are a clear contradiction to NT teaching is that premillennialists must “believe that physical death will continue to exist beyond the time of Christ’s second coming.” He also insists that the “the New Heavens and the New Earth are introduced immediately following the parousia.”
Does the Scripture teach explicitly and without any doubt what Storms says that it does?
No, it does not. I wholeheartedly disagree with Storms on these points and other details he says the New Testament cannot teach regarding Christ’s literal earthly kingdom. Let’s consider these two points in further detail and then conclude with John’s chronology in the Book of Revelation, a chronology which contradicts Storms’ amillennialism.
BJU to regain Tax-Exempt Status
After more than three decades without it, BJU, on March 1st, will regain its non-profit status. Read about it here.
Africa Debunked
Amy Medina debunks ten myths that Americans entertain about Africa. Interesting.
Intertextuality
Kyle Dunham of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary explains what intertextuality is and what uses it has. Part One.
Staying Sane
Heather Wilhelm is writing about the Trump presidency (and doing it well), but what she says actually applies to much of life. Particularly fundamentalist life.
People are welcome to critique whatever they’d like, of course. These days, in fact, it seems that endless critique is the sole function of our increasingly joyless social media. But therein lies the second step to sanity in the age of Trump: More often than not, it’s worthwhile to tune out of the social-media yell-fests. “I have come to believe that it is impossible for anyone who is regularly on social media to have a balanced and accurate understanding of what is happening in the world,” the professor Alan Jacobs wrote at The New Atlantis on January 23. “To follow a minute-by-minute cycle of news is to be constantly threatened by illusion.”
“Boy” Scouts Surrenders Gender Binary
Apparently, from now on “boy” scouts may be biological girls, as long as they identify as boys on their applications. This from BSA:
Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application. Our organization’s local councils will help find units that can provide for the best interest of the child.
The Boys Scouts says that it takes this step “while remaining true to our core values, outlined in the Scout Oath and Law.”
Apparently the Scout Oath and Law no longer reflect conformity to reality.
Scharf Interviews Vlach
Michael Vlach is one of the most important voices in contemporary Dispensationalism. Here he is interviewed by Paul Scharf of Dispensational Publishing House.
“Importantly, I view myself as a friend and ally of all forms of dispensationalism,” Vlach continued. “I learn from both older and newer dispensational scholars, and I go to meetings of traditional, revised and progressive dispensationalists. I truly learn and respect the writings from all four categories of dispensationalism. I do not feel like I have to own one camp and reject the others.”
Second Temple Purity Practices and Jewish Baths
From the American Schools of Oriental Research comes a new presentation on the mikva’ot, used by Second Temple Jews for ritual bathing.
Most ritual baths were located in residential contexts, in the basement or ground floor of houses as well as in shared domestic courtyards. The phenomenon of ritual baths installed in private homes was prevalent across the entire socioeconomic gamut, from simple dwellings in rural villages to lavish mansions such as those found in the Upper City of Jerusalem and the royal palaces of the Hasmoneans and of Herod the Great. Numerous ritual baths have been found near entrances to the Temple Mount, in close proximity to the Huldah Gates in the southern wall and Robinson’s Arch and Wilson’s Arch in the western wall. These were apparently public ritual baths, intended for the use of the multitude of pilgrims who visited the Temple on the festivals and throughout the year and required purificatory immersion prior to entering the sacred realms of the Temple.
Alexander’s Counsel on the Lord’s Day
As, undoubtedly, the celebration of public worship and gaining divine instruction from the divine oracles, is the main object of the institution of the Christian sabbath, let all be careful to attend on the services of the sanctuary on this day. And let the heart be prepared by previous prayer and meditation for a participation in public worship, and while in the more immediate presence of the Divine Majesty, let all the people fear before him, and with reverence adore and praise his holy name. Let all vanity, and curious gazing, and slothfulness, be banished from the house of God. Let every heart be lifted up on entering the sanctuary, and let the thoughts be carefully restrained from wandering on foolish or worldly objects, and resolutely recalled when they have begun to go astray. Let brotherly love be cherished, when joining with others in the worship of God. The hearts of all the church should be united in worship, as the heart of one man. Thus, will the worship of the sanctuary below, be a preparation for the purer, sublimer worship in the temple above.
Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 193-194.
A Ban on Muslims or a Political Ideology
One of my greatest objections to candidate Trump was his threat to ban Muslim immigration. As a Baptist, I believe firmly that religion should never be made a test of legal standing. With President Trump’s immigration ban going into effect, it’s time to revisit this issue–and Andrew C. McCarthy is doing just that at National Review. He argues that President Trump is not banning Muslims, but adherents to a particular political ideology. And there is a difference.
Page and Screen
Should the novel be redefined to include serial cable television? Erik P. Hoel addresses the problem of fiction in an age of screens. His essay interacts with the work of several media critics, including David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. This is an important discussion for pastors who hope to understand what is happening within their congregations.
At a recent scientific conference, I got the chance to wear a virtual-reality headset for the first time. As Wallace could discern so clearly, the seductively soft hand of entertainment has our civilization by the throat, and when I put those goggles on and marveled at what I saw, I felt a tightening. The solution offered by Infinite Jest to entertainment addiction is hard work and monastic concentration on some abstract entity — what Wallace referred to as “worship.” (Worship being exactly what a book as dense as Infinite Jest requires to read; the book itself tries to be a cure for what it diagnoses.)
In the Nick of Time
Jeff Straub introduces Emmanuel Malone, who will deliver Central Seminary’s Charles MacDonald Lectures. His topic is “Race and the Church.”
The Lord’s Table As Sacrifice?
Peter Leithart, a key advocate of the Federal Vision, looks at the joint Lutheran-Catholic statement on the Eucharist. In keeping with his recent direction, he finds hope for increasing rapprochement between Catholics and Protestants.
It often thought that in Catholic-Protestant debates, one side must win and the other side lose; or, that the current lines of division are permanent and quasi-eternal. The discussion of Eucharistic sacrifice shows that this is not the case. On this issue, both sides had to modify their positions; fresh reflection and study opened up new possibilities for common confession of the faith.
Are Conservatives the New Avant-Garde?
Writing for the Imaginative Conservative, Dwight Longenecker suggests that in a world turned upside down, conservatives are now the subversives.
It used to be that to act against these conservative values was to paint oneself as a subversive. The beatnik, the hippie, the flower-power revolutionary all sang their protest songs, smoked their pot, slept with whomever they wished, and brought about a revolution. But when revolutionaries win they eventually become the new establishment. Now they are the ones who are greying and grumbling and balding and boring. Now their society is ripe for revolution, and it would seem that it is the conservative who is the new subversive.
Suppose Torture “Works . . .”
John Schwenkler argues that torture is anti-Christian whether it works or not. Read the essay at First Things.
It is a central principle of the Christian ethic that one must not do evil that good may come. That ethic does not require us to ignore the consequences of our actions, since it allows that some generally bad things—such as root canals—may in some cases be made good by their consequences. Yet it does require us to accept that there are some ways of acting that we can identify as evil no matter their consequences, and must bravely eschew even when bad consequences threaten. Torture is one of these. Calling it by its name should be a first step toward demanding that it not be done.
Civilization Gained and Lost
Bruce Frohnen suggests that it took Christianity to civilize humanity. What follows is that the loss of Christianity will result in the loss of civilization.
The Culture of Death has been with us for quite some time. It has been fostered by the belief that a “procedure” to end life so that others may avoid pain and trouble is not cruel. Indeed, it rests in large part on that Will to Ignorance that sets aside uncomfortable truths and holds that violence done in a sterile, professional atmosphere is neither cruel nor violent. A spanking is by nature evil, we are told, but even the sale of body parts may be accepted, provided we redefine the person as merely a “clump of cells” or at least “beyond pain.”
Bibliography of the Trinitarian Debate
Books at a Glance keeps a running bibliography of the debate about the Trinity. It’s in its 25th update.
Should the IRS Redefine “Church?”
Lidiya Mishchenko argues for the affirmative in the George Washington Law Review.
Fascinating Analysis of Trump Controversy
Whether you favor President Trump or not, whether you favor his immigration proposals or not, you’ll find Scott Adams’s discussion interesting.
So Trump has created a situation – or will soon – in which the peaceful Muslims will either have to do a lot more to help law enforcement find the terrorists in their midst or else live with an increasingly tainted brand. Trump is issuing no free passes for minding your own business. His model makes you part of the solution or part of the problem. No one gets to sit this one out.
Manliness and Alpha Wolves
Brett McKay talks about what alpha wolves are really like, and why men ought to be like them. This is not a Christian essay, but McKay’s perspective is one that Christian men (especially young men) ought to weigh.
So if you want to truly become alpha like a wolf, you’ll need to do more than become a beast in the gym, and strive to overcome your competitors. You’ll also need to become a committed and dedicated family man — a loving and protective father.
APPLICATION & AID