Recommended Books (Summer 2015)
You may have noticed that a sizable proportion of books carried by bookstores (Christian and non-Christian alike) are very poor in quality. The reason, of course, is that cheap easy books sell better than more demanding titles. As Donald Stauffer wrote in The Nature of Poetry, “A debased currency will always drive out the genuine article, and there are plenty of ways today to get others to do our thinking and our feeling for us.”[1]...
Being Filled with the Spirit: Mystical or Moral?
Quick quiz: who were the first people in Scripture to be filled with the Holy Spirit? If you guessed someone in the book of Acts, let alone the New Testament, you’re an entire testament too late. The answer: Bezalel and Oholiab, the tabernacle artisans. Exodus 31:3 states, “I have filled [them] with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship.” Not only do most of us get the answer to that...
Created in His Image: Ethical Concerns with Human Cloning
As Christians living in the 21st century, we face a number of issues for which Paul of Tarsus has no specific instruction. In the past few years, various biotechnologies have emerged from the realm of science fiction to everyday reality. This reality was pushed to the forefront when Ian Wilmut and the Roslin Institute announced that they had cloned the first large mammal (Dolly the sheep) in 1997.[1] That an adult sheep can be cloned...
Striking a Balance Between Duty and Delight
Serving the Church is hard. Staying motivated when things are not going well is especially difficult. Studying for the Sunday school lesson seems pointless when we are not even sure if anyone will attend the class. Striving for excellence in our given position can can be grueling when the only reason we accepted it is because no one else would. If we serve God long enough, we will experience these things, and the only thing that keeps...
Augustine and the Problem of Evil
Through the centuries and millennia, many have discussed some version of the so-called problem of evil. Usually it goes something like this: “If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Is He malevolent or just impotent?” This is the question of theodicy. Theologians, philosophers, and ethicists have offered all kinds of responses. Augustine stands as an important figure in this discussion. Living from 354...
Confessions: What They Are and Why We Need Them
Free Will Baptist can sound a bit odd to those who have never heard the name before. When I announce that I’m a Free Will Baptist to Calvinist Baptists at Southern Seminary, I often receive questions such as, “What exactly is a Free Will Baptist?” or, “Do you all believe in Perfectionism like Wesleyans, or that Man’s will is totally free like Semi-Pelagians?” I do my best to quickly calm my classmates’ fears that a heretic, having...
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