Category: Theology

Apologetics, Interesting, Parenting, TheologyLeave a comment

Childlike Faith: Are Kids Born with Belief?

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Christianity Today has an interesting interview with Justin Barrett, author of Born Believers. Why do you suggest children are “born believers”? I’m using that term in a folk sense, the way we might say that Michael Jordan was a born basketball player, or Mozart was a born musician. I don’t mean that Mozart came out of the womb playing the clavichord, but that given very minimal cultural and environmental input, he was going to take to it like ducks to water. Virtually all humans are essentially born believers—they have a natural receptivity to religious belief. I’m contributing a new line … Continue reading Childlike Faith: Are Kids Born with Belief?

Theology2 Comments

Should We Stop Asking Jesus Into Our Hearts?

georgepwood

Over at Christianity Today, J. D. Greear asks that very question: Shorthand phrases for the gospel can serve a good purpose, insofar as everyone knows exactly what they mean. But in light of the fact that so many in our country seem assured of a salvation they give no evidence of having, and so many others are unable to find assurance no matter how often they pray the prayer, I believe it is time to put the shorthand aside and preach simply salvation by repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ. Or, at least, to be … Continue reading Should We Stop Asking Jesus Into Our Hearts?

Apologetics, Theology39 Comments

Science as an Aid to Interpreting Scripture

georgepwood

Several years ago, I received a book through the mail that argued a startling thesis. The book—two books in one, actually—is A Geocentricity Primer by Gerardus D. Bouw and The Geocentric Bible 3 by Gordon Bane. It argues that the Bible teaches geocentricity: “the earth is fixed motionless at the center of the universe.” By contrast, modern science teaches heliocentrism: Earth revolves around the sun and rotates on its axis. Since the Bible is God’s Word, the authors argue, geocentricity is true and heliocentrism false. The authors believe that acceptance of geocentricity is theologically and spiritually momentous. “At issue,” writes … Continue reading Science as an Aid to Interpreting Scripture

Book Reviews, Theology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A Review of “God’s Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards” by Sean Michael Lewis

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Sean Michael Lucas, God’s Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011). $17.99, 224 pages. My doctrine of salvation is Arminian, so you may wonder why I think highly of Sean Michael Lucas’s study of Jonathan Edwards, whose soteriology was Calvinist. The answer is twofold: First, Lucas has written an accessible introduction to the biblical theology and pastoral practice of “America’s greatest theologian”—as Robert Jenson described Edwards. Whatever their theological stripes may be, interested students of theology are in Lucas’s debt for this service. Edwards’s literary corpus is large and his thought complex, but Lucas ably … Continue reading A Review of “God’s Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards” by Sean Michael Lewis

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Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

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On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed the following 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. (Editor) _______________ Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences by Dr. Martin Luther (1517) Published in: Works of Martin Luther: Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds. (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Vol.1, pp. 29-38 _______________ Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master … Continue reading Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

Book Reviews, Book Vlog, MinistryDirect, Theology2 Comments

Interview with Roger Olson, Author of “Against Calvinism” (Zondervan)

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Here’s the video of my interview with Roger Olson, professor of theology at Truett Theological Seminary and author of “Against Calvinism” (Zondervan). Here are the questions I asked as well as the minute marks at which Olson answered them. 1:05 Are you against everything Calvinism stands for, or only particular things? 2:40 What is the historical background to TULIP, “the five points of Calvinism,” or what Calvinists refer to as “the doctrines of grace”? 5:02 What is the unified testimony of the ante-Nicene church regarding these issues? Why don’t Calvinists take this testimony into account? 8:32 Can you demonstrate that … Continue reading Interview with Roger Olson, Author of “Against Calvinism” (Zondervan)

Book Reviews, Book Vlog, MinistryDirect, Theology3 Comments

For Calvinism…and Against It

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Michael Horton, For Calvinism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011). $16.99, 208 pages. Roger Olson, Against Calvinism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011). $16.99, 208 pages. In 2009, just in time for the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, Time magazine declared “the New Calvinism” as one of “10 Ideas Changing the World Right now.” Christianity Today scooped Time on this story with a 2006 article by Collin Hansen entitled, “Young, Restless, Reformed,” which Hansen later turned into a book (and Time referred to). The rise in popularity of this centuries-old theological system with young people seems surprising at first, but given … Continue reading For Calvinism…and Against It

Book Reviews, TheologyLeave a comment

Why Believing in God Comes Naturally to Us

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I’ve started reading Justin L. Barrett’s book, Why Would Anyone Believe in God? In it, Barrett uses “the latest cognitive and psychological scientific data and theory” to answer the question of the title. Here’s his argument in brief: By virtue of our biological endowment as human beings and our environmental endowment from living in this world, people all over the world have similar minds. Regardless of culture, people tend to have minds with many basic structures that perform numerous mundane tasks, such as discerning the objects around us, defining those objects, and observing how those objects causally interact. Operating largely … Continue reading Why Believing in God Comes Naturally to Us