I have known Dom Crossan for a long time and read his work since the 70s.  We have done dialogues and discussions together, and it is certainly true we disagree on many things theological, ethical, and historical.   But I admire his enthusiasm for studying the Bible in its original contexts, including most recently its archaeological ones.     I consider Dom a friend, and he has always been kind to me.  Here is an article just up on CNN in which I… Read more

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Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) was one of the most important Christian writers of the twentieth century, and behind only  Flannery O’Conner as a Christian woman writing fiction.  At the peak of her career, she rivaled any of her Oxfordian Christian contemporaries called the Inklings (Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, etc.).  There must have been something in the water there in mid-century in Oxford as we have seldom seen such a large group of gifted Christian writers in one place at one period… Read more

Here below is a link to an article by one of my former students at Asbury,  Ben DeVan  who recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post based on his ThM work at Harvard on Evangelicals and Muslims.    See what you think—-   BW3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-devan/evangelicals-and-muslims-_b_825242.html Read more

This weekend is shaping up to be quite the little dialogue—- Bart Ehrman, Dale Martin, and Jennifer Knust on one side,  and  Craig Evans, Craig Keener, and me  on the other, debating the historical reliability of the Gospel accounts about Jesus at New Orleans Baptist’s Greer-Heard Forum on this Friday and Saturday.   Your truly will also be preaching in chapel there on Thursday, and at  Calvary Baptist on Sunday.  The person to contact about this is Dr. Bob Stewart at… Read more

Having spent a considerable amount of time in the Middle East year after year, it is clear to me that some factors are now in play that the dictators, potentates, and royal families had never counted on, or at least had seen as of negligible importance.  And this is not just in the countries which have reasonably close ties with the West.  It’s happening even in a country like Iran. The first of these factors is of course social media,… Read more

After the fall of Zion And its temple left in dust The faith became Word centered No priests left to trust. After the fall of Rome The unholy dominion arose Leading to lethal crusades Disguised in ecclesial clothes After the fall of Auschwitz And the brutal revelations The myth of the master race Unmasked as abomination After the hurricane winds And the waters receded within The calm revealed calamity The levees didn’t hold, again. After disaster’s revelations About the nature… Read more

When is a dream a reality and a reality a dream?   When does a movie plant an idea in your head that you just can’t get out.  Well, it would have to be a very special movie, and Inception is such a movie.  We reviewed the movie when it came out, with its discussions of the possibility of extraction (taking an idea out of the mind through dreams) or inception (planting ideas in the mind through dreams)  but this time… Read more

This movie won the Grand Prize last year at the Cannes film festival. It tells the story of Christian monks in Algeria from 1993-96 and their decisions in the face of danger from radical Islamists.   I would urge all Christians to find a way to see and discuss this film.  A review will follow in due course. UPDATE: Linked to a better version of the trailer. Read more

One of the things that constantly strikes me about the U.S. when I come back from overseas  doing preaching or teaching or writing, or mission work of some kind, is just how spoiled so many Americans are, perhaps even the majority of Americans.  Indeed, ‘spoiling yourself’ or ‘spoiling your own children’ is seen as a good thing here.  As Americans, we think we are entitled to live the lifestyles of the rich and famous, even if it gets us into… Read more