Is the Bible Foundational to Christianity? Engaging with Andy Stanley
One of the most profound challenges for Christians as we live in an ever-more-hostile world is how to properly defend the faith against the incessant attacks against it. And these attacks have taken their toll. We have seen far too many casualties over the years as people leave the church because they had doubts or questions that were never answered.
It is precisely this issue that is behind Andy Stanley’s recent sermon, “The Bible Told Me So” (preached Aug 28, 2016). Stanley, son of well-known Atlanta pastor, Charles Stanley, is the senior pastor of Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA.
Stanley’s concern in this sermon is for those … Continue reading...
My Review of “How the Bible Became Holy”
This past week, my review of Michael Satlow, How the Bible Became Holy (Yale, 2014) appeared in the latest volume of Themelios.
As the title suggests, this is yet another book (in a long list of predecessors) that insists that the idea of an authoritative Scripture is a late invention of Christians.
According to Satlow, the Bible was not originally holy. It became holy. And that didn’t even happen until well into the third century or later.
Although Satlow’s volume covers both OT and NT issues, my review addressed some weaknesses on the NT side of things:
…As for the development of the New Testament canon, Satlow provides a
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One of the Most Unique Books on the Authority of Scripture in Generations
We certainly have no shortage of books defending and upholding the authority of Scripture. In fact, I recently posted my list of top ten books on this subject.
And the reason we have so many of these books is not hard to find. The world continues to attack the Bible. And many Christians continue to doubt the Bible.
But one thing we do have a shortage of is certain kinds of books on the authority of Scripture. Most books on the authority of Scripture are either providing a theological explanation of our doctrine of Scripture, or are providing historical evidence for how the Bible was put together. Or maybe both.… Continue reading...
What Do We Mean When We Say the Bible is ‘Self-Authenticating’?
Even though most Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, very few can give an articulate answer for how Christians know this to be true. We believe it, but we are not sure why we believe it.
Of course, the average non-Christian critic out there is quick to pounce on this problem. “Christians have no reliable basis for knowing whether the Bible is God’s Word,” they might say. “You Christians can believe it if you want to, but you have no grounds for believing it. You are believing it without a reason.”
In order to address precisely this issue, I gave a lecture this past Spring … Continue reading...
A Conversation on Inspiration and Inerrancy with Darrell Bock and Andreas Köstenberger
Last December (2014), I had the privilege of participating in a podcast interview with Darrell Bock and the Dallas Theological Seminary program The Table. I was joined by my friend Andreas Köstenberger (co-author of The Heresy of Orthodoxy).
The interview covered a wide range of topics related to inspiration and inerrancy, particularly last year’s popular blog series by Peter Enns entitled “Aha Moments.” That series highlighted evangelical scholars who have discovered things in their biblical research that have caused them to change their views about inerrancy.
In response, I offered a brief series on my own website entitled “Does the Bible Ever Get it Wrong? Facing Scripture’s Difficult … Continue reading...