A Good Decision
Good news out of Washington is uncommon enough these days that it is worth commenting on. Good news for religious people—including Christians—is even less common. This week, however, has brought some good news in the form of a Supreme Court decision, Carson v. Makin....
Managing Paul’s Entourage
As we have seen, Paul rarely traveled alone. Throughout his journeys he regularly recruited companions to accompany him. Sometimes he was joined for brief periods by messengers who were sent from churches. Other individuals traveled with Paul almost continuously....
Paul’s Missionary Entourage
In the beginning, Paul’s missionary strategy was assigned by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1–3), who specifically directed the church at Antioch to commission both Barnabas and Saul. Later, the chapter intimates that Barnabas was not Paul’s only companion. At...
Me Too
It’s been a weird eight days. Last Wednesday the girl who shares my life began to feel sick. By mid-afternoon she had decided that she would skip prayer meeting that night, so I went to church alone. I found that I was having trouble concentrating, and by the...
The Prophets and the Son: Hebrews 1:1–2
Before his death, Charles Hauser wrote a draft of a commentary on Hebrews, leaving the work for Kevin Bauder to complete. The following is an excerpt from that commentary. Some of the words are Bauder’s, but the argument is Hauser’s. 1God, after He spoke...
The Purpose of Hebrews
Before his death, Charles Hauser wrote a draft of a commentary on Hebrews, leaving the work for Kevin Bauder to complete. The following is an excerpt from the introduction to that commentary. Some of the words are Bauder’s, but the argument is Hauser’s....
Identity and Idolatry
[This essay was originally published on June 29, 2012.] When you ask people, “Who are you?” they usually answer first by giving you their name. A name, however, is only a label. It does not reveal the identity of the person to whom it is attached. If you...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, part 10: Magic in Fantasy (Continued)
The Bible certainly distinguishes sources of the supernatural. Some supernatural events are caused by God. Others are caused by Satan and his forces. Satan is the prince of the power of the air and the god of this age. He and his demons can do things that are beyond...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 9: Magic in Fantasy (Beginning)
Many Christians who do not see a problem with fantasy per se are nevertheless troubled by the presence of magic in some fantastic writing. In the Christian view, real magic has exactly one source: Satan and his demons. To trifle with any form of magic (even the...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 8: Good and Bad Fantasy
We have seen that fantasy can be a powerful tool for communication. It allows us to suggest ideas imaginatively that might be resisted if they were stated explicitly. It allows us to engage sensibilities that might remain unaffected by more prosaic discourse. It...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 7: Fantasy’s Function
Over the past couple of essays we have seen two biblical examples of fantasy being used in fable. Can we learn anything about fantasy by studying these examples? I believe the answer is yes; these biblical fables offer several lessons. The first is fairly obvious:...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 6: Fantasy and Fable
As we have seen, the writers of Scripture had good reason for employing fantastic elements in their prophetic writing. The Bible also includes another kind of literature that uses fantastic elements. This kind of literature is called fable. To be clear, the biblical...
A Friend and Mentor, Part Two: The Influence of a Godly Man
I met Charles Hauser when I enrolled at Denver Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 1979. That semester I took two of his courses: one in theology and one on the Christian life. I can remember two statements that he made during that first semester. One was,...
A Friend and Mentor, Part One: The Facts of His Life
The young Charles A. Hauser, Jr., suffered from a speech impediment. He struggled to make himself understood. Consequently, he intended to follow his father into the world of banking, where he would be working with ledgers and financial statements rather than with the...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 5: Reasons for Fantasy
In the last essay we answered one question, but we asked another. We learned that since the Bible uses fantastic literature, and the Bible is never wrong, then fantastic literature cannot always be wrong. At least some uses of fantastic literature must be justifiable....
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 4: Is Fantasy Always Wrong?
Is fantastic literature always wrong, or can it sometimes be justifiable and moral? Everybody agrees that fantasy can be written in immoral ways or turned toward immoral purposes. Any kind of art can be used for bad purposes, and fantasy is no exception. I would never...
A Message from Ukraine
Editor’s Note: Central Baptist Theological Seminary has a genuinely global ministry. We teach students in many countries, including both Ukraine and Russia. What follows is a message from one of our students who is also a Ukrainian pastor. You may recognize the...
Let Me Say It Again
During the 1990s I was planting and pastoring Faith Independent Baptist Church in Sachse, Texas, while working on a degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. During those years I encountered two protest movements that stood at opposite ends of the political spectrum. One...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 3: What Is and Is Not the Goal
This is the third in a series of essays that try to answer the question of whether Christians can make use of fantastic literature and, if so, what use they can make. To this point the series has offered a working definition of fantastic writing, has distinguished it...
The Christian and Fantastic Literature, Part 2: A Further Distinction
The purpose of these essays is to explore the Christian’s use of fantastic literature. The discussion began with a definition of fantastic literature as belletristic writing that employs at least one of three elements: humanizing subhuman creatures, attributing...
About In the Nick of Time
Occasional Essays and Other Stuff for Christian Students Presented by the Research Professor of Systematic Theology of Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis.
American Christianity needs Christian leaders. Christian leaders explain the Scriptures, bringing them to bear upon life’s urgent questions. Christian leaders exemplify the life of faith, finding their ultimate satisfaction in God alone. They unite intellectual discipline with ordinate affection, turning their entire being toward the love of God. These essays are dedicated to the task of inviting Christian students to become tomorrow’s Christian leaders.
—Kevin T. Bauder
“Be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
APPLICATION & AID