Did the Earliest Christians Think Jesus Was an Angel? A Response to Bart Ehrman (Part 2)
Note: This is the second installment of a series of blog posts reviewing Bart Ehrman’s new book, How Jesus Became God–The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (HarperOne, 2014). For the prior post see here.
Ehrman’s core argument is that Jesus was a mere man who gradually, over time, came to be regarded as more and more divine, until he was ultimately (in the fourth century) regarded as the God of the universe. He states, “It will become clear in the following chapters that Jesus was not originally considered to be God in any sense at all, and that he eventually became divine for his followers in some … Continue reading...
Talking Bart Erhman Tonight with Greg Koukl on Stand to Reason
There has been a lot of buzz about Bart Ehrman’s latest volume, How Jesus Became God (HarperOne, 2014). Ehrman tackles the issue of early Christology, in particular how early Christians came to regard Jesus as divine.
Not surprisingly, Erhman rejects the traditional Christian view on the subject, namely that Jesus was regarded as God because he claimed to be God and was, in fact, God. Ehrman offers an alternative thesis:
…It will become clear in the following chapters that Jesus was not originally considered to be God in any sense at all, and that he eventually became divine for his followers in some sense before he came to be thought
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Justification and Sanctification at T4G
Last week I was privileged to participate in a panel discussion at T4G with my fellow RTS professors Chad Van Dixhoorn, Derek Thomas, and Scott Swain. The panel was chaired by RTS’s chancellor, Ligon Duncan.
The topic was the relationship between justification and sanctification and how that relationship is played out (in good and bad ways) in the modern reformed and evangelical church. In particular, the focus was on how many churches (and pastors) today offer what could be called a “justification only” model of ministry. In an effort to protect and preserve the gospel of grace (a worthy goal), some churches significantly limit (if not cease entirely) any discussion … Continue reading...
New Counseling Program at RTS Charlotte
For the last year or more, we have been working on launching a new counseling program at RTS Charlotte. Today the official announcement has gone out. Here is the press release (click the last link in order to see a special video overview of the program):
…Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC is pleased to announce that a new counseling degree program will begin in fall, 2014. The primary degree is the 66 credit-hour MA in Christian Counseling (MACC). There will also be options for an MDiv and MACC dual degree, an MATS/BS and MACC dual degree, and an MDiv with a counseling emphasis.
The new counseling degree program is
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Al Mohler’s List of Top Books of 2013
I am sure I am late to the game on this, but I just observed Al Mohler’s top ten books for preachers for 2013. It is an interesting and fascinating list:
1. John M. Frame, Systematic Theological: An Introduction to Christian Belief (P&R Publishing, 2013)
2. Tom Nettles, Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Mentor, 2013)
3. Michael J. Kruger, The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2013)
4. Thomas R. Schreiner, The King and His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Baker Academic, 2013)
5. John S. Feinberg, Can You … Continue reading...