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.HE’S BACK!
Yup. Bill Gothard has a new web site. He knows he’s got some explaining to do. Here’s part of it:
A few years ago, I was accused of having selfish motives for inviting young ladies to the Headquarters. I knew this was not true. However, those who believed these reports relived their Headquarters experience through these presuppositions and were deeply offended. As a result many inaccurate statements have been made that are not true. God is my witness that I have never kissed a girl, nor touched any young lady in a sensual way. However, I do understand in a much deeper way how these young ladies feel and how my insensitivity caused them to feel the way they do. I have deeply repented before the Lord for offending some of the very ones whom I have dedicated my life to serve. I do want to continue pursuing reconciliation in a Biblical way.
You can read the story in a larger context at World Magazine.
College Students Can’t Read Cursive
So says Stephanie Reese Masson in “The Death of Cursive Writing,” courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
It took a while for this problem to sneak up on us at the college level. A CNN report in 2011 noted that, “states don’t require children to learn cursive writing anymore. Some 46 states have adopted the Common Core Standards, a set of educational guidelines that do not require cursive writing as part of a school’s curriculum.” Those students who weren’t learning cursive in K-12 schools are now showing up on college campuses.
C. S. Lewis as an Opponent
Michael Ward of Oxford University offers a perspective on “C. S. Lewis and the Art of Disagreement.” It’s well worth reading.
The fact that Lewis could approve of atheists like Ryle, as well as enjoy the company of liberals like Watson and socialists like Lawlor, reinforces Brewer’s point that Lewis would not allow disagreement to become personal. He could always distinguish the man from the man’s opinion, and he knew the difference between an argument and a quarrel. He would not allow himself to be betrayed into aggression, but would, where necessary, draw rein on a dispute with a wry smile and an agreement to disagree. – See more at: https://home.isi.org/cs-lewis-and-art-disagreement#sthash.Atgyg22T.dpuf
Student Debt Forgiveness
The Obama administration wants to have the federal government forgive some $108 billion in student debt (total student debt in the US is well over a trillion dollars). What will be the effect? Joe Carter answers that question.
Justin Taylor on Logic and Abortion Rights
Building upon work by Peter Kreeft, Justin Taylor helps us think about a reasoned case against seeing abortion as a right. If I seem to be linking to a lot of Taylor’s writing, it’s because he has been doing some pretty good stuff. This essay is no exception (and it comes with flow charts).
Will Fuller Seminary Become a Sanctuary Campus?
It will if some students get their way. A “sanctuary campus” is one in which the institution refuses to help federal authorities pursue illegal aliens. Read about it at Sojourners.
Best Burgers?
Here’s George Motz’s list of the best burgers in each of the fifty states. And now I have a new item on my bucket list.
MLK Day at BJU
In the past, Bob Jones University has not formally observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. That’s about to change. Here’s a communication that has been sent out by the university.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (November 29, 2016) – Bob Jones University President Steve Pettit announced today that BJU will annually observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day beginning January, 2017. University offices will be closed and classes will be cancelled for the day.
Working with the Center for Global Opportunities, students will be encouraged to take part in service opportunities in the Greenville area and participate in prayer sessions centered on racial harmony.
“Dr. King accomplished much in his short life here on earth,” said Pettit. “We believe his voice and leadership to nonviolently oppose the wrongs of the day while paving the way for racial equality and harmony should be respected and honored.”
Roger Olson on “Mansplaining”
I think he’s just about right on this topic.
Have we entered a cultural situation in which men are automatically perceived as bad because some men are bad? Some years ago I read a feminist declare that “All men are potential rapists.” Popular culture, especially television, has a tendency to portray men as sinister. On television one rarely sees a male character being heroic unless he’s a policeman or soldier.
I fear there is a widespread tendency to do with men what we are forbidden to do with any other group of human beings–blame them all for the bad behaviors of some.
Biblia Hipsteria
Michael Bird means this video as parody. What he actually does is to prove that contemporary evangelicalism is impossible to parody.
Detroit Seminary Profs on ETS and EPS
I don’t know of a mainstream fundamentalists school that doesn’t allow its faculty to participate in the Evangelical Theological Society or the Evangelical Philosophical Society. I do know of certain non-academics who question the legitimacy of this participation. Professor Mark Snoeberger has written an essay in which he offers insights as to the values of participation. He’s articulated a pretty decent rationale. Then Professor Tim Miller has reported on his own involvement–including a free download of the paper he read this year. Check them out.
Advent
Sunday past was the beginning of Advent. Most fundamentalists are unaware of Advent. If they have heard of it at all, they assume it is just another name for Christmas. But Advent is a fast; Christmas is a feast. Advent precedes Christmas as night precedes dawn. The Advent season is for reflection upon the reasons that the world needed a savior–reasons that affect every one of us. Christmas is the celebration of the arrival of that savior.
Ryan Reeves offers a good discussion of “The History Behind Advent.” Reeves teaches historical theology at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and he blogs for the Gospel Coalition.
Tim Challies on Christians and Alcohol.
If a fundamentalist had written this, the Convergents </IRONY> would still be spanking him. But Tim Challies, who does not see any biblical prohibition against alcohol, offers a trenchant observation and some wise counsel.
What I saw as I read that post is the reality that this older generation sees the younger crowd as celebrating freedom by rubbing it in their face. They hear us saying, “We are liberated by grace; you are bound by law.” They are convinced that instead of respecting them and honoring them, we are sneering at them and looking down at them. Instead of using our freedom in love and respect, we are using our freedom carelessly and even spitefully.
Whatever Keeps Me Away from God
From Tozer:
Whatever keeps me away from God is my enemy.
Tozer, A.W. Delighting in God (Kindle Locations 206-207). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Conservatism as the Defender of Diversity
Far from shunning diversity, conservatism revels in it–genuine diversity, that is. Bradley J. Birzer at the Imaginative Conservative explains.
Our teachers—even in a relatively small town in Kansas, the children of the 1960s—talked about love and peace, but they clearly sought conformity. They had rebelled and found the truth, or so they thought. As such, they certainly didn’t want us to rebel, at least not against them. They were not only some of the most uninteresting persons I’ve had the misfortune of knowing in my five decades of life, but they were also some of the most tyrannical. They were as bad in public school as they were in Catholic CCD. They praised mediocrity and, not surprisingly, subservience. When it came to actual education, they merely wanted us to memorize facts, not to explore or to think. And, this was not just true in primary and secondary education, it was just as true (if not more so) in graduate school. They never saw us as individuals to be nourished, but as circles to be squared. When we questioned any underlying assumptions, they bristled. When we continued to question them, they labeled us as problems. When we still continued to question them, they (quite actually, at least once in my life) slammed doors on us.
Abraham and the Two Kingdoms
The stories about Abraham’s life in Genesis 12– 25 show that he managed to live as a citizen of two kingdoms by remaining radically separate from the world in his religious faith and worship but simultaneously engaging in a range of cultural activities in common with his pagan neighbors. Just by glancing through these chapters a reader can see that Abraham lived in various places among the inhabitants of Palestine. Though God had promised that one day his descendants would possess the entire land, in the meantime Abraham and his household could not be identified with any particular geographical location, but lived as “sojourners” and “strangers” among pagans (Gen. 12: 10; 15: 13; 20: 1; 21: 34; 23: 4; Heb. 11: 13).
VanDrunen, David. Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture (Kindle Locations 1293-1298). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
UN Victory for LGBT Activists
Over the protests of 54 mainly-African nations, the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee created a special post overseeing LGBT issues. Read the story at LifeSite.
Milton: On His Blindness
On His Blindness
John Milton
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Questions:
- Milton did not title this poem; the title was supplied later by Newton. Does the title fit the content?
- What poetic form does Milton choose? He is best known for his epic poems; why choose this form for this topic? (Hint: identify the meter, count the poetic feet per line, count the number of lines, and identify the rhyme scheme.)
- To what is Milton alluding in the third line? Do you think that this allusion is meant as a pun?
- Milton’s chief complaint is not with his circumstances. What is it? (Hint: look in the exact middle of the poem?
- What is the answer to Milton’s complaint?
- What should we learn from this poem?
- Extra Credit: How much of Milton’s theology can you identify from these 140 syllables?
On the Virtue of Beards
Ignore the Catholicism in Dwight Longenecker’s essay, but pay attention to the good sense.
In a society that is increasingly feminized, a beard also makes a statement about masculinity. Without being aggressive or overly assertive, a beard still makes a positive statement about sex. I was semi-serious when I joked that my beard reminds people that there are some things a woman cannot do. This is not to be misogynistic. To state that there are some things a woman cannot do is to also affirm all the things that women do that men cannot do. Women can have babies. How amazing is that?
There’s more, and it’s all worth reading.
Cultural Activity as Service to Neighbor
Christians should pursue cultural activities not with a spirit of triumph and conquest over their neighbors but with a spirit of love and service toward them. Far too often Christian writers and leaders imbue their audience with a drive to take over— to take over politics, education, the courts, and whatever else (or maybe it is put in more palatable terms, such as taking back instead of taking over, as if Christians are the rightful owners of everything and are simply reclaiming what is already theirs). The New Testament does call us “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8: 37), and on the day of Christ’s return we will share in his visible triumph over his enemies (e.g., 2 Thess. 1: 5– 10). But until then God calls us to be involved in activities such as education and politics not in order to trounce opponents but to serve neighbors.
VanDrunen, David. Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture (Kindle Locations 1884-1890). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
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