inerrancy and the recent non-apocalyptic discussion at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Baltimore

Last updated on: November 21, 2013 at 8:56 am By Peter Enns

I just got back from the session at the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Baltimore on the the book I recently contributed to, Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy. On the panel were co-authors Al Mohler, Michael Bird, John Franke, Kevin Vanhoozer (via video), and me. The discussion was moderated by the editors of the book, James Merrick and Stephen Garrett. As I entered the room I noticed two things. First, I had never met Al Mohler, but I was immediately taken by the fact that he and I... Read more

Genesis, creation, and two very different portraits of God (or, you can’t pin God down)

Last updated on: November 17, 2013 at 11:26 pm By Peter Enns

Marc Zvi Brettler, Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Literature at Brandeis University, and also one of my co-authors on The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously, recently posted some thoughts at TheTorah.com on the two creation stories in Genesis and how each portrays God differently. I think this will be of some help to many of you. He lays out succinctly (1) how to tell that there are in fact two creation stories, and (2)... Read more

Christianity, evolution, and Bambi Theology

Last updated on: November 15, 2013 at 10:54 am By Peter Enns

I just came across a brief but insightful interview at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumencial and Cultural Research. Janet Kragt Bakker interviews Christopher Southgate on the how Christian faith engages theologically the harsh realities of evolutionary theory, namely extinction, suffering, and cruelty in the animal world. Southgate is a biochemist, poet, and Christian theologian. He is currently a research fellow at the University of Exeter in England. He addresses directly the question of non-human suffering in his 2008 book The Groaning... Read more

tweeting your way through the Bible: I suppose it was just a matter of time

Last updated on: November 14, 2013 at 11:31 pm By Peter Enns

I just received my copy of The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . Now with 68% More Humor! by Jana Riess. Riess blogs for Religion News Services and has authored several books, including Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor, named by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the top ten religion books of 2011. She has a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a... Read more

Finally: Positive BIBLICAL Proof that God is a Yankee Fan

Last updated on: October 2, 2014 at 8:40 am By Peter Enns

[I posted this almost a year ago–soon after the World Series ended–and I needed solace. It is always good to know that, when all is said and done, God is on your side and you have the Bible to back you up.] I offer these insights to you to encourage your faithfulness to God, and to exhort and admonish those of you who are not of like mind. I offer you here undeniable biblical support that God is a Yankee fan, and I feel compelled–indeed, conscience bound–to bring... Read more

evangelicalism and the uneasy relationship with academic freedom–more thoughts from Molly Worthen

Last updated on: November 8, 2013 at 10:19 am By Peter Enns

In chapter 5 (“The Marks of Campus Conversion”) of her recently released book Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism (Oxford University Press), Molly Worthen looks at the founding of faith-based colleges in the early decades of evangelicalism, and the resulting uneasy relationship between the evangelical quest for academic respectability and the academic freedom that is normally considered part and parcel of that quest. (All italics below are mine.) “The one thing most crucial to professional higher education was the one thing... Read more

Worthen on inerrancy and the evangelical crisis of authority

Last updated on: November 5, 2013 at 10:12 pm By Peter Enns

The first part of Molly Worthen’s assessment of American evangelicalism (Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism) is a nearly 100-page section on inerrancy entitled “Knights Inerrant.” As with any work of this type that tries to lay out an issue with some patience and detail, it is difficult to lift out some representative quotes. But I did it anyway. Hopefully these will give you some taste for this portion of the book–though to assess the book itself, you have to read... Read more

fear, loss of control, and theological conflict

Last updated on: November 4, 2013 at 6:13 pm By Peter Enns

I’ve written many times on this blog about how deep fear of loss of control sits behind heated theological conflict (e.g., here). I recently came across psychologist David G. Benner’s comments on fear, and though he is not talking about theological conflict specifically, what he says is certainly applicable to various situations dealing with disagreement over ideas, ideologies, and especially what one thinks of God. (For an earlier post on Benner, see here.) To be clear, I am not suggesting that theological... Read more

evangelicalism and anti-intellectualism: blame the leaders

Last updated on: November 4, 2013 at 8:00 am By Peter Enns

I received in the mail yesterday a copy of Molly Worthen’s Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism. Despite a very heavy football and couch-potato schedule this weekend, I am am nevertheless more than half done with it and I want to throw out a few quotes now and then–beginning today. In her closing comments of the introduction, Worthen talks about “The Problem of Anti-Intellectualism” in evangelicalism (pp. 8-11). For her the matter is more complicated that a sweeping and simplistic accusation.... Read more

Greg Boyd on doubt and the Christian life–it’s unavoidable, biblical, and healthy

Last updated on: November 2, 2013 at 9:25 am By Peter Enns

Today’s post is an interview with Greg Boyd over his most recent book Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty. It was pleasure to read and I think many people will be helped by his approach—and I don’t mind saying he and I are on the same page on the heart of the matter (e.g., here, here, here, here, and here). Readers should expect from the book far more than Boyd’s take on doubt. I saw here a far-ranging book... Read more