Thoughts on Christian Publishing
The reality is that times are hard for serious, substantial writing, whether Christian or not.
What I’m more interested in though is the gap between this list of bestselling Christian books, and the evangelical online writing economy. Put simply, the contrast between the work that outsells all other work in Christian bookstores and the work that drives traffic and conversation in the evangelical blogosphere is astonishing. The two worlds look nothing alike. When was the last time you saw an article on your social media written in the first person voice of Jesus, assuring readers of prosperity and emotional centeredness?
Theological Primer: The Extra Calvinisticum
The extra Calvinisticum teaches that in the Son’s incarnation the divine Logos is fully united to, but never fully contained within, the human nature.
All this means–because the divine nature did not undergo essential change–that in coming to earth, the Son of God did not abdicate his rule, but extended it. It also means–because the human nature was not swallowed up by the divine–that the Son’s earthly obedience was free and voluntary. In short, the extra protects a Chalcedonian understanding of the incarnation that Christ’s divine and human natures were indissolubly joined, yet “without confusion” and “without change.”
What Really Matters in 2017
Let’s enter that fight in 2017, eager to live for the glory of God
“If your heart veers toward reputation over reality, toward applause over substance, D.A. Carson’s Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor could be the most important book you read in 2017. It’s the story of his father, Tom Carson, an unheralded twentieth-century Canadian pastor who served humbly for almost six decades.” Many of us lived as... Continue Reading
Apocalypse Later: Millennial Evangelicals, Israel-Palestine, & Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God for these young evangelicals is on earth right now
“If the Promised Land is no longer identified exclusively with the state of Israel, evangelicals like Gholston and Engoy — along with many of their religiously unaffiliated fellow millennials — are engaging their communities in ways that will upend the usual narratives about their generation.” White evangelical Christians voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in... Continue Reading
N. T. Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began: A Few Reflections
I will not be recommending this book to the people at my church
“I pretty much agree with Mike Horton’s review though I thought he was too easy on the book. I’d like to add three thoughts to Mike’s review. I’m not going to do any summary, just critique. For summary read what Mike wrote.” This week I read Wright’s new book on the crucifixion, The Day... Continue Reading
Taking Back Christianese #7: “America is a Christian Nation”
As Christians, we are fundamentally citizens of a different country, a heavenly one
Given the rapid moral and cultural decline of our country, the idea that “America is a Christian nation” is designed to stem the tide. It is a way of pushing back against the secularization all around us by reminding people that things were not always this way. It reminds people that Christians were, at one... Continue Reading
What We Need to Learn From the Early Church
The earliest Christians were widely ridiculed, especially by cultural elites
“The earliest church was seen as too exclusive and a threat to the social order because it would not honor all deities; today Christians are again being seen exclusive and a threat to the social order because we will not honor all identities.” Many say that Christians who maintain the historic, traditional doctrines are behind the... Continue Reading
Ben Franklin’s Calvinist Sister
In many ways, Jane’s life, not Ben’s, was representative of the age
“I and others have emphasized the contrast between Ben Franklin’s self-professed Deism and his longtime friendship with the Calvinist evangelist George Whitefield, but Lepore convinced me that his sister’s influence likely had an even stronger tethering effect connecting Ben to the faith of his childhood.” In my Baylor graduate seminar on the American Revolution,... Continue Reading
Who Divided The Bible Into Chapters And Verses?
Stephen Langton was the one who came up with the chapter divisions we take for granted
“Before Langton (1150-1228), several people had tried to divide the longer books of the Bible into more manageable chunks. But his version was the one that stuck and is the basis of the chapters we use today.” Anyone who knows about Magna Carta and King John has probably heard of Stephen Langton, the Archbishop... Continue Reading
Scott R. Swain Appointed President of Reformed Seminary in Orlando
The Board of Trustees of Reformed Theological Seminary has appointed Dr. Scott R. Swain as the fifth president of its Orlando campus.
He joined the faculty in 2006 after several years of teaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he served for several years as Assistant and later Associate Professor of Systematic Theology. In fall 2012 he took on administrative duties as Academic Dean, and his service in that role involved the addition of three new faculty... Continue Reading