Destroyer of the Gods: New Book on Early Christianity by Larry Hurtado
This coming September, Larry Hurtado, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh (and my Doktorvater), releases his latest volume, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Baylor, 2016).
Larry allowed me to see a pre-published version of the book and I can tell you that it is (not surprisingly) an excellent piece of work and a fascinating look at the way early Christians fit (and didn’t fit) into their Greco-Roman context.
Although most modern Western individuals see Christianity as typical of all religions around the world (usually with the “all religions are the same” line added in for good measure), this volume … Continue reading...
Taking Back Christianese #1: “The Christian Life is All about Being Transparent and Vulnerable”
Over the last ten years, especially in Reformed circles, there has emerged a vision of the Christian life where one of the defining characteristics of a believer has now become transparency. A Christian is someone who is authentic, real, and open.
While prior generations might have suggested the essential mark of a Christian was obedience, those days seem long gone. In fact, for many (post)modern Christians the central issue is not whether someone obeys God’s law but whether they are honest about whether they have obeyed God’s law.
Authenticity has become (for some) the number one virtue.
Thus, we come to our very first instance of Christianese: “The … Continue reading...
Check Out This Video of Russell Moore @drmoore speaking on Pro-Life and Adoption Ministry @RTSCharlotte
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dr. Russell Moore of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention recently spoke at RTS Charlotte for the annual Harold O.J. Brown Lectures.
He gave two lectures, the first on pro-life ministry and the second on adoption ministry. This was followed by an extended (and very interesting) Q&A time.
Enjoy the video:
Dr. Russell Moore at RTS Charlotte (HOJB Lecture Series 2016) from Reformed Theological Seminary on Vimeo.… Continue reading...
Apathetic about Your Apathy? Here is Why a Lukewarm Church is a Bigger Problem Than We Think
Laodicea.
Just the name of that church conjures up all sorts of images in our mind. It was a church that was tepid, bored, and apathetic–overconfident in their own spiritual condition. In short, they were lukewarm.
And, as we all know, Jesus told them plainly, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:16).
Spiritually speaking, the Laodicean church could be summarized in a single word that (unfortunately) captures the ethos of our modern culture: “Whatever.”
The problem, of course, with being apathetic is that you can actually be apathetic about your apathy! Put simply an apathetic church does not … Continue reading...
Russell Moore @drmoore Speaking March 8th at @RTSCharlotte on Pro-Life and Adoption Ministries
Tomorrow March 8th, 11AM-2PM, the RTS Charlotte campus is pleased to welcome Dr. Russell Moore to our campus. Dr. Moore will be delivering our annual Harold O.J. Brown Lectures.
Lecture one (11AM) will be on the topic of “Pro-Life Ministry in the Local Church.” Lecture two (1PM), will be on the topic of “Adoption Ministry in the Local Church.” There will be a catered lunch in between the two lectures.
Russell Moore serves as the eighth president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. A widely-sought cultural commentator, Dr. Moore has been recognized … Continue reading...