Roman Catholicism and the NT Canon: Today on the Dividing Line with James White
My new book, The Question of Canon, is designed to challenge a particular approach to the New Testament canon that is prevalent in the modern academy. It is the approach that suggests that in the earliest stages of Christianity the canon was in disarray; the canonical process was a wide-open affair where no one agreed on much of anything and no one was able to distinguish canonical books from apocryphal ones.
What is ironic about this critical approach is that it has an unexpected ally: Roman Catholicism. The Catholic claim is remarkably similar to the one of critical scholars (at least in its premise). Both claim that the canonical … Continue reading...
Faculty Opening for Professor of Counseling at RTS Charlotte
Over the last thirteen years as a professor at RTS Charlotte, I have had the opportunity to talk to each graduating class about what they see as our strengths and weaknesses as a campus. The strengths I regularly hear are as follows: top-notch faculty, wonderful campus community, a great location, professors who are also pastors, a robust commitment to Reformed theology, a passion for proclaiming the gospel to the nations, etc.
But, there are also places we need to improve. And time and again, our graduates have offered the same suggestion: we need more biblical counseling. As our students have become pastors, they realize that they needed better … Continue reading...
Obamacare, N.T. Wright, and the “Via Media”
One thing I have noticed about N.T. Wright over the years is that he likes to position himself as the healthy middle ground in almost any debate. After portraying both the “right” and the “left” of any debate as extreme, he shows how his way, the via media, is one that makes the most sense.
An example of this method can be found in Wright’s book, The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture. The subtitle offers a clear indication of where he is headed. He is going to move us beyond the tired old liberal-conservative impasse onto a fresh … Continue reading...
How the Scandal of Preaching Will Reach Our Postmodern World
By now it is old news that we live in a world marked by postmodernity. In such a world, truth is not something that is outside ourselves, but something that is self-determined. Each of us constructs our own private, personal realities. What’s ‘true’ for you is not ‘true’ for me.
So, how do we break into the lives of people who are immersed in this postmodern reality? How do we reach them for the gospel? Do we find ways to show them how the gospel is existentially satisfying? Do we offer therapeutic entertainment to draw them in?
Nope. Instead, we do the unthinkable in our modern age. We preach.… Continue reading...
Preaching Christ Only as Frodo: Reflections on Christ-Centered Preaching
Although Tolkien was always quick to declare that The Lord of the Rings was not an allegory (like Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia), it is still evident that the figure of Christ is prevalent throughout the books. But, this raises the question, which figure is the Christ-figure? Frodo? Gandalf? Aragorn?
One of the wonderful complexities of Tolkien’s work is that the answer is: all three. Unlike Lewis, Tolkien does not take all of the characteristics of Christ and pour them into a single character, but rather spreads out those characteristics (albeit unconsciously) over what are arguably the three main characters.
And when you consider these three characters in tandem, … Continue reading...