Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • Bruce Waltke Resigns from RTS

    Reformed Theological Seminary has announced that Dr. Bruce Waltke has resigned his position as professor of Old Testament at their Orlando campus. The blogosphere is pretty active on this story, including a story at Inside Higher Ed and a note on the BioLogos blog.

    The apparent starting point for this was a video of Dr. Waltke endorsing evolutionary theory in a conference sponsored by BioLogos. (Please note that the RTS statement does not mention this reason.) The video has since been removed. As noted again on the BioLogos site, Dr. Waltke stands by what he said, but was concerned about the way in which he expressed it.

    I want to note here that RTS is a confessional seminary, and I believe they have a right to hire seminary professors who will teach in accord with their confession. Others, of course, have the right to judge the education provided based on that criterion as well, and for those who support RTS, that sort of doctrinal protection is expected.

    I personally find it unfortunate, as I would like to see Christians agree to disagree agreeably on the issues of creation and evolution. Within the church we should, I believe, have some freedom to discuss this sort of issue. Since Dr. Waltke is by just about any measure someone more conservative than I am, I have to feel some concern about this kind of issue. (Note that I am self-employed, so nobody is going to ask for my resignation, and I’m a member of the United Methodist Church, which has many ministers who make me look very conservative.)

    In 2008 I reviewed, or more accurately wrote a few notes on Dr. Waltke’s An Old Testament Theology. My view was not entirely favorable, including some of his comments on naturalism and evolution. It appears that I may have been a bit more critical than I should have. I would note, as I did there, that it is perhaps a bit arrogant of me to be so critical of someone with Dr. Waltke’s stature. I keep his An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax within arm’s reach when I’m studying, and his scholarship is outstanding.

    I guess what I’m saying here is that if Dr. Waltke can’t be part of the conversation in evangelical Christianity, then we’re in some trouble. I certainly hope he continues to write and speak. I would like to continue to be challenged by his scholarship, and I’m sure there are many, many others.

  • Bruce Waltke Resigns

    I’ve written a note on his resignation from RTS on my Threads blog.

  • Could We Have a Passionate Progressive Christian Revival?

    In a guest post at Bob Cornwall’s Ponderings on a Faith Journey blog, Dr. Bruce Epperly of Lancaster Theological Seminary suggests just that. As a sample, he speaks of the conviction (nice evangelical word) he received from some words in a conversation:

    …we are involved in a type of spiritual warfare and that we, as progressives, haven’t yet gathered a strong team of peaceful warriors to get our message out in the theological, spiritual, political, and public sphere. We seem content with slow decline, when we should be moving forward to take a central place in North America’s future spiritual landscape.

    I think that after reading his points, there is a reason that I think “passionate moderate” is a better description for me than liberal, even though I have been dubbed a “liberal charismatic.” Nonetheless, I think that mainline Christianity has lost most not in doctrinal content, but in passion.

    My tendency is always to say, “Let’s start a discussion around that!” But the fact is that it might be better to say, as does Dr. Epperly, “That will preach” and then go preach it.

  • Worldview Weekend on John Piper and Rick Warren

    John Piper is a Calvinist, and I am so totally not, but I have a deep respect for him, in spite of many disagreements. That respect has been increased lately by his actions, both in taking a leave from his ministry and in inviting Rick Warren to speak at the Desiring God conference.

    It happens I disagree with Rick Warren on a number of things as well, so why does this increase my respect? Let me put in simply (and briefly, which is nearly miraculous for me): Any faith or theological system that must be protected by not listening to other voices is both weak, and in danger of losing its way.

    Listening doesn’t mean one must agree. Listening is listening.

    Brannon Howse, of Worldview Weekend, doesn’t agree:

    … I think it is a VERY bad idea for John Piper to invite Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God conference. Piper is showing a serious lack of discernment in this decision. I think Piper was taken in by the Warren personality and not the facts.

    I seriously doubt if John Piper has been “taken in.” Rather, I think he will listen and then do some discernment. Perhaps, as shocking as it may be to some, he will trust those who attend his conference to do some of their own discerning.

    Kudos to him!

  • Kingdom Christians

    Dave Black has a new essay titled Are You a Kingdom Christian?. This is something that is dear to my heart. I’ve written about it before from a different angle.

    He says:

    … For us, the human organization is somewhat arbitrary. I say this as a committed Baptist. Baptists are not the only true expression of God’s kingdom. I know that some will call me a heretic for saying this, but I believe it is what the Scriptures teach. “There will be one flock and one Shepherd,” said Jesus (John 10:16). This flock is comprised of all obedient followers of Jesus. Out ultimate allegiance must be to Him. This loyalty surpasses even our (legitimate) loyalty to our denominations. In the kingdom, moreover, there are no barriers to fellowship — racial, cultural, tribal, or national. Jesus’ kingdom has no national boundaries, no military forces, no earthly king, no passports.

    All I’d need to do is substitute “Methodist” for “Baptist” and I could sign it.

    Again:

    Thus, in the kingdom of God, what matters is obedience. The essence of the Christian faith lies in our willingness to walk in the way of Jesus. Paul writes, “The kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). In other words, the essence of the kingdom is not theology (word) but practice (deed). …

    You need to read the whole essay to see clearly that he is not denying salvation by faith (nor am I!), but what he’s saying here is very scriptural. In fact, I think it is one of the most consistent themes in scripture. When we read Paul otherwise (which happens when we read Galatians 1-4, but skip 5 & 6, or get through about Romans 8 as my seminary class did, but don’t spend time in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, or the pastorals), we place him in contrast to Jesus and to the God of the Old Testament … which is not good.

  • A Little Reconstruction

    I’ve gone out on a limb and upgraded to WordPress 3.0 Beta 1, after trying it on a couple of test sites.  It’s really working quite well.  I’m rearranging some of the pieces of the blog.

    Everything should be working in the meantime, except that a few sidebar items may be missing.

     

  • Another Biblioblogger List

    This time it’s from J. K. Gayle at Aristotle’s Feminist Subject.  I’m not getting into this debate.  In general, I’m going to link to any list that has me on it (it’s a nice thank you, I think), and to any list that I find interesting (that’s a service to my readers).

    I’m honestly not that sure this should be called a biblioblog anyhow.  I don’t post things for scholars, generally.  I actually set the blog up to allow me to write on topics I’m teaching on in various Sunday School classes, and to separate musings about particular texts from more general “opinion” blogging.  When I wasn’t listed on the old biblioblog top 50, which was right up until the last couple of months, it seemed appropriate.

    On the other hand, I appreciate Jeremy doing all that work.  Jeremy – the cowbell idea is a winner!

  • Journalism vs Blogging

    I haven’t linked to Laura at Pursuing Holiness in some time, but this post regarding Helen Thomas’s comments on blogging got my attention.

    Whether one agrees on precisely how much bias there is in media and what the bias is–I happen to think the largest bias is to stupidity–one will surely note the concern that traditional journalists have with blogging and other means of public information exchange.

    Now doubtless bloggers do irresponsible and stupid things. People with cell phone cameras get pictures that might not be up to standards. Sometimes people can get the wrong impression. Journalists in the mainstream media point to this sort of thing as a good reason to lament the fading of “real” journalism and the rise of citizen reporting and commentary.

    That line runs into a problem. As I like to point out in Bible classes, if you read just one position, it will often sound convincing. Why? Because the author has presented the positive points. You won’t have the full picture until you look at the negative points. Usually I’m illustrating this with presentation of two competing interpretations of a text. After students have heard one, complete with references to well-known, credible interpreters who espouse it, they will be ready to settle down and go on to the next text. Then I present the second (or third or fourth) view, complete with similar references. Now the first view doesn’t look quite a unsullied.

    What journalists are trying to do here is to make themselves look good by running down bloggers. There’s plenty of fodder for them to use in this task. The blogosphere will provide you with examples of just about any sort of bad behavior you might find in writing or photography. The problem is that the journalists think that somehow this should make us revert to the default, their default.

    But you can also find examples of just about every lousy journalistic practice in the mainstream media as well.

    Well, someone objects, but there are less of them. OK, let’s make that assumption for a moment. If the mainstream media misbehaves what do I do? I can complain. I can sue. I can hope that some other media outlet will pick up the other side(s) of the story. But really, I have very little power as an individual reader or viewer.

    In the blogosphere I can get my keyboard in position and bat out a piece properly skewering whatever person committed the misbehavior. Does this solve all problems? No, it doesn’t. But if we’re looking for something approaching the ideal, then neither the blogosphere nor mainstream journalism is going to make the grade.

    I think there would be a great place in society for journalism–if we had real journalism. But that’s not what our newspapers and media are feeding us.

    For example:

    1. There are not just two sides to every issue
    2. If you get a Republican and a Democrat to comment, you have not necessarily covered the field
    3. Not everyone who provides a sound bite is an expert
    4. Reading press releases is not journalism
    5. The value of balance depends on what you’re balancing
    6. Just because a question is rude, doesn’t mean it’s penetrating

    … and many more.

    If journalists actually sought for information, researched their material, sifted it carefully, and the presented it logically and completely, there would be a point in paying more for it. In such journalism, accuracy of the data would be more important than the reporter’s personal biases. I’m willing to adjust for bias myself, if the information is accurate. As it is, too often news reports are actually less in-depth than blog posts about the same news. At least bloggers know how to read multiple stories on the same topic before they write.

    (Note: The material here tracks back through NewsBusters to The Daily Beast, where Lloyd Grove reports on Helen Thomas’s remarks to him.)

  • Michael Spencer – Internet Monk – Farewell!

    A leading light in Christian blogging, with a challenging and varied blog, has gone on to glory after a battle with cancer. Chaplain Mike provides the news at the Internet Monk.

  • Free CEB New Testament

    You can sign up.  (Corrected Link for sign up.) They are only guaranteeing delivery for shipping addresses in the United States, but are working on others, and list a number of countries to which they should be able to ship as well.  You can also still download a free copy of Matthew.  I hope to get around to writing a brief review of that soon.

    (HT:  Wesley Report)