The response to the book has been remarkable. Several prominent blogs have highlighted it as “the best defense of Old Testament ethics.” Scot McKnight at Patheos.com has done a series on my book, and I continue to be interviewed on radio programs and by prominent bloggers. I am regularly speaking on this topic of Old Testament ethics—including... Continue Reading

… Zealot is seriously flawed in many ways. There are many factual errors (some of which I will highlight below), but more importantly, Aslan’s approach matches the flawed approach of Jesus Seminar scholars, which is almost guaranteed to produce a skewed picture of Jesus. Zealot’s claim is essentially a conspiracy theory: Jesus was really a... Continue Reading

If you haven’t stumbled across Simonetta Carr’s excellent set of “Christian Biographies for Young Readers,” you and your children are missing out. Each of the six titles in the series are beautifully illustrated, historically accurate, age-appropriate biographies for upper elementary-aged children. In the last couple years I have reviewed three of the titles and wanted... Continue Reading

It’s not that I don’t read works that disagree with my own perspective on the reliability of the gospel accounts. I do. Nevertheless it’s hard to justify setting aside time to read a work that is breaking no new ground. And apart from an awkward interview, I don’t think anyone would even be talking about... Continue Reading

Jesus is king, Jesus rules the church, the church is the visible representation of Jesus, and Jesus has uniquely tasked the church with missions. Add these four claims together, and you begin to understand why a rightly governed church is crucial to the spread of the gospel…. Not only that, Scripture tells us Jesus’ rule... Continue Reading

One area that has me thinking is simply the reason why we drink. I’ve often looked at the case for alcohol being such a staple in church history more on the level of necessity. With the poor water quality, drinking alcoholic beverages was a matter of health. And, yes, I’ve always looked at it as... Continue Reading

Nor is “professor of religions” what he does “for a living.” He is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at the University of California, Riverside, where his terminal MFA in fiction from Iowa is his relevant academic credential. … What about that Ph.D.? As already noted, it was in sociology. I have his... Continue Reading

When it comes to other kinds of news, they pride themselves on putting out a high quality product with moderated editorializing. Yet when it comes to religion, the bar is considerably lowered. If NPR really were familiar with the state of academic Christianity– and do note that I’ve been referencing scholars from a variety of... Continue Reading

Historically we’ve been all too ready to grant the unbeliever’s self-assessment—as if it weren’t radically affected by sin—and then seek to stand on that self-assessment with him. This is foolish. His unbelief only has meaning in light of his knowledge of God and its suppression, so it’s incumbent on us to first of all recognize... Continue Reading

Everhard takes up the 1647 version of the Westminster Confession of Faith, a document of some weight and significance for Reformed Christians. His choice of this version of the Confession, over other ones, makes his book useful for the various flavors of Presbyterians in the United States and throughout the West. But the fact that... Continue Reading