Arminian Theology: Prevenient Grace and Total Depravity (Including a Review of a New Book about Prevenient Grace)   Two of the most commonly asked questions about Arminian theology are taken up and answered by Arminian scholar W. Brian Shelton (Toccoa Falls College) in his just published book Prevenient Grace: God’s Provision for Fallen Humanity (Francis Asbury Press, 2014). This is a long-awaited and much-needed book. I know of none other that deals with prevenient grace in such depth and detail... Read more

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What Is a “Spirit-filled” and “Spirit-led” Church? Part Two   In Part One I described a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led church; there I explained the marks or characteristics I look for in deciding whether a church more or less deserves that recognition. Here I will prescribe how a church might move in the direction of becoming Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. Everything I say here assumes the church in question is evangelical in the broadest sense of being Christ-centered and gospel-centered. First, a... Read more

What Is a “Spirit-filled” and “Spirit-led” Church?   Recently I engaged in a conversation about the meanings of “Spirit-filled” and “Spirit-led” church. Specifically, we discussed how to recognize such and how to move a church in those directions. What is my opinion about this? How do I recognize a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led church? How would I suggest a church move toward being those? Of course, these are complicated questions that would take much more than a brief essay to answer.... Read more

Reading Is Fundamental (And Not Reading Is A Recipe for Failure)   The burden of this message is the importance of reading for success in life. Some years ago there was a public service campaign with the slogan “R.I.F. (Reading Is Fundamental).” The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness of the importance of not only literacy but also love of reading for success in life. Studies were produced that demonstrated conclusively that reading expands consciousness and is essential... Read more

Can A Christian Support “Physician-Assisted Suicide?”   If you expect me to take a definite stand for or against Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) you will be disappointed. This blog is a place where I often reflect about difficult and controversial issues; I don’t always take a stand about them. One of my goals as a Christian theologian and educators is to help people think through doctrinal and ethical issues critically and reflectively but not always to a definite conclusion. I have... Read more

Leaving Behind “Left Behind”   I haven’t seen the new movie starring Nicholas Cage and don’t intend to, so this is not a movie review. Instead, I intend to respond to the whole phenomenon of what I call “rapture fever” that has gripped segments of American society for the past fifty years. I grew up in a home and church that fervently believed in the “rapture”—the premillennial, pre-tribulational, departure of God’s true people from the earth by Christ to be... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part Three)   Part Two of this three part series asked why this question is important and answered that. Now I would like to turn to attempting to answer the question. Any attempt to answer this is bound to annoy and even distress some people. There are no simple, straightforward answers in this much controverted subject. In order to help readers understand what I am talking about (and what I’m not talking about), I will... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part Two)   I ended Part One of this series by asking why the question and finding an answer to it matters. Here I will attempt to answer that. It matters because Scripture speaks to it. The problem is that Scripture speaks to it ambiguously. Scripture is not always as clear as we would like it to be—even on very important matters. There can be no question that Scripture urges God’s people, those who profess... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part One)   Answering this question requires a lot of meta-explanation—about the questions and its terms. Some who read this blog will not be interested in the question; it’s a question of interest almost exclusively to evangelical Christians who believe in regeneration—being “born again”—and sanctification—becoming a “holy person” (not necessarily perfect). (And here I am using “evangelical” in a very broad sense that is not limited to any one tradition or denomination.) Evangelical Christians believe... Read more