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.Well, Whaddayaknow!
According to a study in the Chronicle of Higher Education, students learn more from good-looking teachers. Maybe that explains those math grades?
How To Have a Good Argument
We are not Thomists at Central Seminary, but we can still learn from Thomas’s method of argument. Here is a summary from Robert Barron at the New Oxford Review.
Stan Porter on the Peter O’Brien “Plagiarism”
This is about a month old, but I came across it last night and think it needs a wide reading.
The Shocking News of Peter O’Brien and Plagiarism: August is the Cruellest Month
Hate Crimes
The FBI reports that anti-Jewish crimes account for 58.2 percent of all religiously-motivated hate crimes in the United States. Only 16.3 percent of these crimes were directed at Muslims.
The Seven Spirits of God
Ever wonder about the seven Spirits before the throne of God (Rev. 1:4)? Or the seven Spirits of God possessed by Christ (Rev. 3:1)? Or the seven Spirits of God symbolized by the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne (Rev. 4:5)? Or the Lamb’s seven eyes that are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 5:6)? Here’s the meaning.
The prophecy of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 11 begins with these words:
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
That’s a bunch of spirits. Count ’em.
- The Spirit of the LORD
- The Spirit of wisdom
- The Spirit of understanding
- The Spirit of counsel
- The Spirit of strength
- The Spirit of knowledge
- The Spirit of the fear of the LORD
Of course, these aren’t seven distinct Spirits, but one Holy Spirit in His seven-fold activity. This passage probably refers to the theocratic anointing that characterized Old Testament figures who led the nation of Israel. Messiah will possess this theocratic anointing in its fullness and perfection: the seven-fold Spirit of God.
Personal Responsibility
At a moment when even conservatives are blaming others, David French of National Review argues, “Helplessness and Rage Can’t Become the New American Consensus.” Good choices still matter.
John Adams’s Prayer for American Presidents
“I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on [the White House] and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”
—John Adams, Letter to his wife, Abigail Adams, November 2, 1800
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Should Parents Let Their Kids Pay Their Own College Tuition?
Annie Holmquist says yes. Read at the FEE.
How the Left Thinks
Forget short-term mission trips. Encourage young Christians to join protests. At Sojourners.
Review: Reformations by Carlos M. Eire
Samuel Gregg writes a review of Carlos M. Eire’s Reformations: The Early Modern World 1450-1650. Here’s a sample.
The Reformation certainly didn’t simply spring from the mind of Martin Luther. But as a historical development, it has been the subject of polemics for 500 years: not just between Catholics and Protestants, but also, over the past century, between historians and sociologists with disparate views on how the modern world emerged. Any serious study of the Reformation’s origins and impact consequently requires a willingness to traverse a veritable minefield of longstanding theological and historiographical arguments.
Read more of this review at the Library of Law and Liberty.
The World’s First Baby Born to Three Parents
Yup. That’s right. A procedure approved only in the UK. A US team. In Mexico. Brave New World? Read at the New Scientist.
Sola Scriptura or Papal Confusion?
Protestants (including Baptists) have insisted upon acknowledging Scripture alone as their authority for faith and practice. Catholics, who affirm the authority of the Magisterium and of the Pope speaking ex cathedra, have often pointed to divisions among Protestants as proof that Sola Scriptura is inadequate as a principle of authority. That argument has never been completely convincing, but it had more plausibility when Roman Catholicism seemed to be moving in a single direction under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Under Pope Francis, however, conservative Roman Catholics are having to do their own dance around Papal authority, which, it turns out, is not all one thing. In a perverse way, it’s funny to watch. You read about some of this dance in an article at First Things entitled “Creeping Infallibility.”
After School Satan Club?
Yes, it’s been approved Nehalem Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, where it promises to promote “benevolence and empathy for everybody.” Baptists have defended freedom of religion–is Satanism included? Read about it at The Oregonian.
The Whig Narrative and American Christianity
Whigs? Really?
Oh, yes. You’ll learn something at First Things.
Crossway Reverses Decision on ESV
Crossway has reversed its decision to make the text of the English Standard Version permanent. Read the rationale at the Crossway blog.
The Swinburne Controversy
Richard Swinburne is one of the most highly respected philosophers in the world. And he is a Christian, broadly orthodox, who has spent much of his career arguing for theism and Christianity.
Swinburne was invited to address the Midwest meeting of the Society of Christian Philosophers. His topic was “Christian Moral Teaching on Sex, Family, and Life,” including a discussion of homosexuality, of which Swinburne disapproves. He was invited to address this topic not only because of his stature as a philosopher, but because he had already written on it.
The backlash came almost instantly. For example, Edward Hackett wrote,
Yesterday, I gave Richard Swinburne, the famous Oxford Christian philosopher, a piece of my mind. . . . My response was mixture of abhorrence and overwhelming anger, and I tried as I might to encounter this idea calmly.
In the face of the backlash, SCP president Michael Rea of the University of Notre Dame posted the following to his Facebook account:
I want to express my regret regarding the hurt caused by the recent Midwest meeting of the Society for Christian Philosophers. The views expressed in Professor Swinburne’s keynote are not those of the SCP itself. Though our membership is broadly united by way of religious faith, the views of our members are otherwise diverse. As Preisdent of the SCP, I am committed to promoting the intellectual life of our philosophical community. Consequently (among other reasons), I am committed to the values of diversity and inclusion. As an organization, we have fallen short of those ideals before, and surely we will again. Nonetheless, I will strive for them going forward. If you have thoughts or feedback you would like to share with me, I would welcome hearing from you via email or private message.
Now the counter-backlash has set in. The philosophers at Rightly Considered have objected to Rea’s treatment of Swinburne. Journalist Rod Dreher at The American Conservative has written an excoriating article. Even Douglas Wilson has weighed in.
Most importantly, an open letter has been sent from sixty-three members to the leadership of the SCP. The letter calls for a formal apology to Swinburne.
A society of philosophers is supposed to be committed to open enquiry. If it is to be biased at all, one would think that a Society of Christian Philosophers would be biased toward Christianity and its values.
If there is a lesson here, it is that there is no safe space for speaking biblical morality.
Are you an Arminian? Take the test to find out!
The State of Theology in America
“What do Americans actually believe? The State of Theology data set is rich with information useful for discerning the beliefs of Americans about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible in a way that goes beyond simple labels and religious affiliations. Read some of our key findings below and explore the data for yourself.”
Yet More on the Trinity
Kevin DeYoung contributes to the discussion in behalf of The Gospel Coalition.
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises was one of the most important recent shapers of a conservative vision of economics. Read a quick introduction to him at the ISI.
APPLICATION & AID