New Perspective

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get into a topic I’ve been reading into for quite a while now, but it’s so deep and I’m so shallow. The issue is the so-called New Perspective on Paul. The Paul Page has some extraordinary articles describing it (start with Mattison’s summary), and so what [...]

Does majority rule in theology?

In this week’s installment of Theology Unplugged, a podcast I highly recommend, Reclaiming the Mind Ministries president Michael Patton made the following comments about full preterists (like myself):

Now I would say, you can believe that, and you can make your arguments — and many people do from Scripture. I’m not persuaded at all [...]

Self-preservation, the Fall, and redemption

In my explanation of man’s depravity from the view of a recurring, individualized (non-historical) Fall, I have argued that mankind’s natural separation from God was in origin a result of natural self-preservation instincts. These instincts progressed first into childish selfishness and then, with the onset of divinely gifted God-consciousness (Romans 1:18-21), those instincts gone unchecked [...]

Friends like Job’s

Recently I heard a theologian talking about Job and was not surprised to hear him refer to Job’s “so-called friends”. Not surprised perhaps, but as usual when I hear this common sentiment, I was uncomfortable with it. Were Job’s friends there to give him a hard time? Were they there just so they could make [...]

Mohler on theistic evolution

In a recent post on his popular blog, Al Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, presented a predictable take on the origins debate. He states,

I have not said that one can’t be a Christian and believe in evolution. It is entirely possible to be a confused Christian or a confused evolutionist . [...]

I’m it

I realized long after the fact that ElShaddai at He is Sufficient tagged me with a Bible meme.
Here’s my shot at it.
1. What translation of the Bible do you like best? NET or NIV (I know, I know, ElShaddai…)
2. Old or New Testament? Gosh! Do I have to choose? You can’t beat Isaiah for good [...]

The Fallout

This is the eighth and final post in a series on inspiration, inerrancy, and hermeneutics.
Part 1: “All or “every” Scripture?
Part 2: What is inspiration?
Part 3: The nature of inspiration and the purpose of Scripture
Part 4: Inerrancy vs. infallibility
Part 5: The literary-generic principle

Part 6: The authority of Scripture
Part 7: Case study: the Fall
 
So anyway what about [...]

Case Study: the Fall

How the death that Adam experienced because of his sin was passed on to all his descendants has been explained in various ways: the federal view says that Adam’s fall from God’s favor was effective for all humanity because he was the “head” of the race.

…Tolkien wrote a remarkable set of etiological myths in the first few chapters of the Silmarillion , but what we glean from his stories tells us mainly about his view of God and the universe, and not at all about the true-to-life historical particulars of our own universe, or the purpose of man in this world, etc.

The authority of Scripture

This is the sixth of a series of posts on inspiration, inerrancy, and hermeneutics.
Part 1: “All or “every” Scripture?
Part 2: What is inspiration?
Part 3: The nature of inspiration and the purpose of Scripture
Part 4: Inerrancy vs. infallibility
Part 5: The literary-generic principle

Preliminary Remarks The purpose of these next few posts is to examine my perspective of [...]

The Literary-Generic Principle

This is the fifth of a series of posts on inspiration, inerrancy, and hermeneutics.
Part 1: “All or “every” Scripture?
Part 2: What is inspiration?
Part 3: The nature of inspiration and the purpose of Scripture
Part 4: Inerrancy vs. infallibility
The Importance of Determining Genre
Because the Bible is a compilation of literary works, in order to get the sense [...]