Denny Burk points out some of what's wrong about Greg Boyd's response to John Piper's reflections on the Minneapolis bridge collapse. In short, Boyd fails to understand compatabilism (the idea that God's sovereign will and man's choices go hand-in-hand.....as James White has said, "What God decrees outside of time, man freely chooses in time.") Consequently, Boyd fails to understand how God relates to His fallen creation and that God's sovereignty is not contradicted by evil acts (whether human or Satanic) or calamities of nature ("acts of God", as a typical insurance policy reads). … [Read more...] about Greg Boyd Responds to Piper on Bridge Collapse
Archives for August 2007
Billy Graham, Pastor in Chief
The Time magazine cover story this week is on Billy Graham's "50-year courtship of--and courtship by--11 Presidents." Here's an interesting clip:"They [President George H.W. and Barbara Bush] were very grateful when he took a walk on the beach one day in 1985 with their eldest son. George W. Bush said that encounter put him on a path to a new relationship with Jesus and "planted a mustard seed" in his soul. But a few years later, he got into an argument with his mother about who exactly could and could not get into heaven. Bush maintained that only born-again Christians were eligible for … [Read more...] about Billy Graham, Pastor in Chief
Children Desiring God
This past April I live-blogged the plenary sessions of the Children Desiring God conference: Session I - John Piper Session II - Wayne Grudem Session III - Wayne Grudem Session IV - C.J. Mahaney Session V - David Michel And posted photos (I and II and III). Now Desiring God has made all of the audio from the 2005 and 2007 Conferences freely available--including the elective seminars. They also made available several short videos from David Michael, Sally Michael, and John Piper introducing their mission and vision. … [Read more...] about Children Desiring God
Tripp and Powlison – visiting Profs at SBTS
From a SBTS Press Release: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary continues to bolster its biblical counseling program with the addition of several renowned authors and scholars as visiting faculty. Paul David Tripp, president of Paul Tripp Ministries and a counselor for 25 years, and David Powlison, faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), have both been added to Southern’s faculty as visiting professors. Read the whole thing. … [Read more...] about Tripp and Powlison – visiting Profs at SBTS
Grudem Responds to Piper on Baptism and Membership
From Wayne Grudem (posted verbatim with permission): Dear John, Thank you for the kind, gracious spirit in your response! And thank you for your friendship, which has meant so much to me for so many years. And thank you for helping me to think more clearly about the details of what I have written. You write so persuasively! In fact, last night I printed out what I had written and your response, and gave it to Margaret, and before we went to bed Margaret informed me with a smile, “I agree with John.” Now what can I say to that?? Nevertheless, here are some responses: (1) I do not see denial of … [Read more...] about Grudem Responds to Piper on Baptism and Membership
Baptism and Church Membership – Again
Justin Taylor highlighted a revised section in Wayne Grudem's latest edition of his (magnificent) Systematic Theology text in which Grudem, reversing his position from a previous edition of the book, now argues against open membership (the idea that baptist churches should admit paedobaptized believers into church membership). Here's the heart of Grudem's reasoning: But the most serious difficulty arises when people begin to think about what such a “compromise position” implies about the views of baptism held by the people who go along with this compromise. For people who hold to infant … [Read more...] about Baptism and Church Membership – Again