The Great Debate: Does God Exist? Bahnsen vs. Stein
In 1985 at the University of California in Irvine, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, a Christian theist, debated Dr Gordon Stein, an atheist, on the question of whether God exists. “The Great Debate,” as it was titled, provides a good example of presuppositional apologetics and the use of the transcendental argument for the existence of God or “the impossibility of the contrary.” Namely, one must assume the existence of the God of Scripture in order to make sense of reality (metaphysics), to justify truth claims (epistemology), or to have any cogent basis for morality (ethics). The YouTube video below provides the audio and text of the debate which lasts just under two hours. Enjoy! Read more 
God Is Enough: A Theology of the Book of Job
The book of Job has rightly earned a place among the great works of classical literature. For over two millennia its dramatic language, powerful metaphors, elegant poetry, lofty ethics, and profound ideas have intrigued philosophers, theologians, and laymen alike. Yet the Book of Job is more than a great piece of human literature. As part of the canon of Scripture, the book constitutes divine revelation. Read more
Ancient Near Eastern Religion and the Old Testament
The discovery and publication of ancient Near Eastern literature has shed much light upon the religious beliefs and practices of earliest civilization. It has also generated much discussion about the relationship of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion to that of the Old Testament. Indeed, many scholars view the similarities in cosmogonies, flood accounts, cultic ritual, legal texts, wisdom literature, and belief in the afterlife as proof that the Old Testament writers borrowed from or adapted the literary corpus of Israel’s Near Eastern neighbors. As a result, Old Testament religion is treated as essentially one more primitive religion among many, Read more
Communication That Connects: God Accommodates and So Must We
Why should we endeavor to communicate gospel truth in a way that’s clear and intelligible to our target audience? Below I’d like to provide two biblical arguments to support the idea of contextualized communication. The first highlights God’s own manner of communicating to humans. The second underscores the biblical mandate that obligates us to follow our heavenly Father’s example.1 Read more
- Further support is offered in my series “Contextualization & Church Ministry.” [↩]
Is God’s Love Like a Hurricane?
The first line of John Mark McMillan’s song “How He Loves” compares God’s love to “a hurricane” and the believer as “bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.” But hurricanes are overpowering forces that bring destruction, suffering, and, in some cases, death. Not surprisingly, the apparent dissonance of the metaphor and the glorious truth it’s meant to portray has left some people wondering whether a hurricane is an appropriate metaphor for God’s love. Read more
Contextualization & Church Ministry: No Compromise!
In our previous posts we highlighted the importance of contextualization for church ministry (Part 1) and offered a basic working definition of what it entails (Part 2). However, since some have used “contextualization” to justify unbiblical ministry philosophies and practices, we need to provide a fuller exposition of what it is and what it’s not. We’ll focus on the latter below, showing that true contextualization doesn’t equate “compromise.” Read more
Contextualization & Church Ministry: The Basic Idea
At its most basic level the verb “to contextualize” means to put into context, and it’s usually referring to some mode or form of communication, whether a speech or text. In theological discourse “contextualization” is defined as “the attempt to adapt the expression of theology [i.e., the message of the Bible] to a given time, place, culture or audience.”1 Read more
- Millard Erickson, Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology, 36. [↩]
The Baptist Confession on the Gospel
This chapter on “the gospel” is not found in the Westminster Confession. The Congregationalists added this chapter to the Savoy Declaration, and the Baptists incorporated it into their Confession. The Congregationalists call attention to this addition in their preface to the Savoy Declaration: Read more
The God-Centeredness of Christ’s Birth: A Christmas Sermon
Many people view Christmas as a time for joy and celebration. Some are aware that it has some religious significance. But few in our day really appreciate the true significance of Christ’s birth. Even Christians can lose sight of the real significance of the Christmas event. In light of the confusion and distraction of this season, I’d like to reorient our minds to the great meaning of Christ’s birth. Read more
Demonically Driven Despots: the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6
The sixth chapter of Genesis introduces us to “the sons of God” who take for themselves wives from among “the daughters of men.” The offspring they sire become “warriors,” also known as “men of renown from ancient times.” Together with the Nephilim these warrior offspring become the perpetrators of widespread corruption and violence that fills the earth (6:1-7, 11-13). This data raises the obvious question of the identity of “the sons of God” and the nature of their sin. Read more
