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.Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, and Church Unity
“There has been almost universal agreement that unity exists in a spiritual sense in the invisible church. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and others ascribed to the invisible church a unity that is indivisible because of its center in the living Christ. The fundamentalists and evangelicals in the [Twentieth Century] came from similar backgrounds and, for the most part, agreed that there was (or at least would be in the eschaton) unity in the universal church. Therefore, the discussions of fellowship and separation had to center around the visible ‘church,’ whether that view of the church was seen to be local churches, denominations, associations or Christendom as a whole. The National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Council of Christian Churches and the various denominational groups connected to these broader organizations were all expressions of unity in one form or another as those within these organizations saw it.”
–Larry Oats, The Church of the Fundamentalists, 167
Fundamentals and Fundamentals
“Let it never be forgotten that the virgin birth is an integral part of the New Testament witness about Christ, and that that witness is strongest when it is taken as it stands. We are not averse, indeed, to a certain logical order of apologetics; and in that order the virgin birth certainly does not come first. Before the virgin birth come the things for which testimony in the very nature of the case can be more abundant than for this. To those things no doubt the inquirer should be directed first, before he comes to consider this mystery which was first attested perhaps only by the mother of the Lord. But though that is true, though theoretically a man can believe in the resurrection, for example, without believing in the virgin birth, yet such a halfway conviction is not likely to endure. The New Testament presentation of Jesus is not an agglomeration, but an organism, and of that organism the virgin birth is an integral part. Remove the part, and the whole becomes harder and not easier to accept; the New Testament account of Jesus is most convincing when it is taken as a whole. Only one Jesus is presented in the Word of God; and that Jesus did not come into the world by ordinary generation, but was conceived in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Ghost.”
–J. Gresham Machen, The Virgin Birth of Christ, 396-397
Welcome to Theology Central!
Welcome to the blog of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Our seminary, founded in 1956, is an accredited, degree-granting graduate and postgraduate institution dedicated to assisting New Testament churches in equipping spiritual leaders for Christ-exalting biblical ministry. We have created this blog to help our students, future students, and friends better understand the heartbeat of our faculty. We will post here our personal reflections on theology and ministry. We value biblical theology, Christian charity, and clear thinking, and we hope that this blog will promote the cause of Christ.
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