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.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.
Athanasius the Platonist?
That seems to be what Joel Zartman is driving at.
My point is not that Athanasius was not a Christian. My point is that committed and robust 4th century Christianity found the categories of Platonism extremely congenial, greatly so. It was how they made sense of things. I don’t think we can understand these Christians without appreciating Platonism better than (in my opinion) many do (e.g. Thomas Weinandy). I certainly think the only crowd that stands to gain [from] the outdated notion that Greek philosophy corrupted Christian simplicity is that served by a more ambiguous and doctrinally impoverished religion.
AAR on Immigration Ban
The board of the American Academy of Religion released the following statement on Monday. The statement does not reflect the views of the membership.
Statement Issued by the Board of the American Academy of Religion on U.S. Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”
President Trump’s recent executive order limiting and banning Muslim immigration to the United States from seven countries strikes at the heart of the mission and values of the American Academy of Religion, a learned society of some 8,500 members.
Our organization is committed to excellence in the academic study of religion and to making our scholarship freely available in order to foster the larger public understanding of religion.
The ban impedes that mission. Faculty members, students, and independent scholars who study religion depend on the freedom of travel to pursue their work. Already we have received reports of scholars who have been prevented from returning home to the United States from research trips abroad. The ban will also impede international students who hope to study in the United States and to American students who plan to study abroad.
At a more fundamental level, the ban conflicts with our values. We hold dear diversity, mutual respect, inclusion, and free inquiry, all of which the immigration ban jeopardizes. The ban erodes our hope that these values will serve as the foundation for all governmental decisions regarding our members as well as our colleagues around the globe.
Finally, the ban poisons the public’s understanding of Islam in particular and religion in general. It blatantly and explicitly discriminates against Islam and Muslims, and appears to provide special treatment of Christianity. It violates our national commitment to welcome persons of all religions.
With learned societies, colleges and universities, and educational leaders across the nation, we call on the President and Congress to retract the Muslim immigration ban and to denounce religious intolerance in all its forms.
Issued by the Board of Directors in accordance with the AAR’s policy on making public statements.
Left Before Life?
Teresa Oelke at National Review explains how “Progressive Christians” are willing to sacrifice the lives of the unborn to secure their Leftist agenda.
But as the women’s march has come to a close and Friday’s March for Life approaches, recent Sojourners stories praise the former and say nothing about the latter. Sojourners has an entire series, “Why I Am Marching,” that showcases readers’ essays about attending the march to stand up for women’s rights. It has not published any essays critiquing the ethics of the march, and barely mentioned the hostility and exclusion faced by pro-life feminists who attended, some of whom were spat on.
Scott Aniol on Psalm 137
Scott Aniol of Southwestern Baptist Seminary has begun an exposition of Psalm 137. His second installment is on the historical background to the psalm.
Two of the most well-known stories from the Old Testament are specifically meant to highlight how difficult it was for the Hebrews to worship God as he had commanded in such a pagan setting. These are among the first stories children learn from the Old Testament—Daniel and the Lion’s Den and the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace. In both cases, the matter in view is whether or not God’s people in exile will worship him as he commanded or whether they will give into the pressure of their pagan captors and bow to false gods. And in both cases, it is the vast minority that actually follow God’s commands; as far as we know, most of the nation forsake the true worship of God. They forget Jerusalem; they forget the Temple; these are just another way of saying, they forget the true God.
Retirement?
I don’t know who Hugh Whelchel is, but he’s spot on in this essay on Christian retirement. I thank God for “retired” people who continued to do God’s work in the churches I pastored.
Wheaton College and That Hijab
J. Daryl Charles argues that the firing of Larycia Hawkins had nothing to do with her hijab and everything to do with her theology. The essay asks:
Ultimately, do American Christians have the theological and moral backbone to stand firm in the midst of cultural hostility? Alas, most of those criticizing Wheaton College had it wrong. Truth and charity are not opposites. Charity will always seek to honor what is good and true, without compromising and without fear of “offending” others. Just ask the true martyr.
Read it all here.
Rural America and Urban Media
Writing for First Things, K. E. Columbini points out the strong bias against rural life that dominates the media.
Examples of this [rural] purge abound, mostly between 1969 and 1975: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D., Lassie, Family Affair, Hogan’s Heroes, and My Three Sons; variety shows like Hee-Haw or those hosted by Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Jim Nabors, Andy Williams, and Glen Campbell; and westerns, such as The Big Valley, Virginian, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke. As the voice and character actor Pat Buttram said of 1970, the height of the purge: “It was the year CBS canceled everything with a tree.”
Alexander’s Counsel on the Lord’s Day
Whilst you conscientiously follow your own sense of duty in the observance of the rest of the sabbath, be not ready to censure all who may differ from you in regard to minute particulars, which are not prescribed or commanded in the word of God.
Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 193.
President Trump Cuts Funds to UN, Palestinian Authority
From Israel Hayom:
In final hours, Obama administration approved funds despite Republican objections • President Donald Trump reportedly plans to slash overall U.S. funding to U.N., halt funds to international bodies that grant Palestinian Authority or PLO full membership.
Read more here.
This Week’s Nick of Time
De Trinitate by Kevin T. Bauder.
On Standing While Singing
An extended biblical investigation by Central Seminary alumnus Chuck Bumgardner. Here is his conclusion:
Now, these passages are not, strictly speaking, “prescriptive” (as we may think of that term); they do not command with an imperative that worshippers of God must assume one or another posture. But it is instructive that in this sampling of passages, if anyone is sitting, it is God! Worshipers—in these passages at least—are portrayed either as bowing or standing. What implications does this have for our worship services, and our singing praise to God?
Wade Matuska Being Promoted
USAF Chaplain and Central Seminary alumnus Wade Matuska is being promoted to Major today at Larcher Chapel on Keesler AFB in Mississippi. We extend our congratulations to Chaplain (Maj) Matuska.
The Doctrine of the Trinity
What we call “the doctrine of the Trinity” is, I suggest, a formal set of conceptualities developed like this: a set of conceptualities that finally allowed (or at least was believed to allow) every text to be read adequately. As such, it is not a “biblical doctrine” in the sense of being the result of exegesis; rather, it is a set of things that need to be believed if we are to be able to do exegesis adequately as we hold to the truth of every text of Scripture. The doctrine of the Trinity is a conceptual framework that allows us to read every biblical text (concerning God’s life) with due seriousness, but without discovering contradictions between them.
Holmes, Stephen R., “Classical Trinity: Evangelical Perspective,” in Jason S. Sexton (ed), Two Views on the Doctrine of the Trinity (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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