Does God Change? I don’t remember when it happened, but I remember the shock I felt when I first encountered the idea that God cannot change—as an idea I was supposed to believe as an evangelical Christian. It was probably sometime during seminary, but it may have been before in some college religion class. I’m almost certain I never heard it growing up in my evangelical church—except as an expression of God’s faithfulness to himself and to us (viz., that... Read more

This fall (2014) I will be teaching an elective seminar on the Holy Spirit. I want to make sure I am aware of the best books IN PRINT (that’s very important) about the Holy Spirit from a broadly orthodox Christian perspective. What are your suggestions? What do you consider really good books of a theological nature about the Holy Spirit? Here are some conditions: one volume, in print, scholarly but not too technical (roughly seminary level), biblically and theologically based... Read more

Recently I re-read Jonathan Edwards “Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the World.” And I watched and listened to John Piper’s address about why the evangelical church needs Edwards’ “God-entranced vision” today. (It’s on Youtube.) Some people would be surprised to hear that I agree ALMOST entirely with Edwards and Piper about this subject. First, yes, I agree, whole heartedly, that everything, without exception, is created for God’s glory and that everything’s chief end (purpose) is God’s glory.... Read more

I’ve listened to preaching all my life. My father was a preacher (52 years). Many of my uncles and even some of my aunts were preachers. (The aunts were missionaries but could preach circles around some men when given the opportunity!) I visit many churches and hear numerous sermons by different preachers throughout each year. I listen to and read sermons. I attend chapel (as often as I can) and hear sermons there–often by veteran preachers. My question is this:... Read more

I finally watched the movie “12 Years a Slave.” It was very difficult to watch. Why? Not just the brutality portrayed but the fact that the men (and some women) who carried out the brutalities were human beings. (The movie is based on a book written by the protagonist, victim, and is generally considered true.) These things, like the holocaust and all that surrounded it, were done by people–not monsters from outer space or demons or viruses. Here is the... Read more

Is the “Arminian God” Good? Several times I have argued here that a main reason high Calvinism (double predestinarianism) must be wrong is that if it were true God would not be good in any meaningful sense. If it were true, we would have no idea what we mean when we say “God is good” other than “God is God.” The adjective “good” would add nothing explanatory to “God.” That’s because there is no analogy between “good” attributed to the... Read more

Off the Usual Topics: Gender Double Standards We hear and see a lot decrying cultural double standards that harm girls and women. Most recently I saw a campaign by several organizations to stop referring to girls and women as “bossy” when they are simply being assertive in the same way boys and men can be assertive. I agree that this is a double standard that pervades American culture and we need to speak out against it. Girls and women should... Read more

“Belong, Believe, Behave?” Or “Believe, Behave, Belong?” I’m not sure who first suggested the idea, but some years ago someone associated with the “emerging church” movement said that churches need to move from a policy of requiring right belief and right living for belonging to offering belonging followed by believing and behaving. For some postevangelical Christians this has become a hallmark of the difference between emerging (or emergent) churches and traditional evangelical churches. While I sympathize with the impulse behind... Read more

Something that dismays me is the common confusion between “Christian orthodoxy” and “fundamentalism.” There are probably many reasons for it, but I think the common one (among Christians, anyway) is that people “burned” by fundamentalism run from orthodoxy due to an over reaction. Some people I know almost break out in hives when they hear “orthodoxy” used in a positive, prescriptive way–as in “There are certain beliefs that are normative for all Christians.” They can only hear that as fundamentalism.... Read more

Suppose someone said “God is sovereign but God’s sovereignty is different from our ideas of sovereignty. God is sovereign but possesses only the power of persuasion.” Someone else objects saying “But wait. There is no meaning of ‘sovereignty’ known to man that is compatible with having only the power of persuasion.” The first person responds, “Oh, but you are assuming a human idea of sovereignty; God’s sovereignty is higher and better than any human idea of sovereignty. We can’t project... Read more