Theology

Rick Phillips offers distilled wisdom on how pornography is not just an activity, but a worldview. "Time after time, men caught up in pornography depict a general discontent with their lives and their own identity. As such, the problem of porn is not merely -- or even primarily -- one of lust. Instead, men tap into porn as part of a fantasy life in which they exist as comic-book ideals of real men. They think their job is ho-hum, their boss yells at them, their wife nags, the creditors pound on the door. So instead of bringing their lives before the Lord and finding their purpose in the … [Read more...] about Rick Phillips on the Worldview of Pornography

One age-old fallacy in Christian circles is that you can't believe in Reformed theology and care about sharing Christ with others. This faulty logic is based on a false dichotomy between man's responsibility (to forsake sin and to trust in Christ alone for salvation) and God's sovereignty (in unconditionally choosing a people for Himself from before eternity past). Others, unwilling to go that far, associate "Reformed" with being old-school, inflexible, and unwilling to adapt to cultural changes. In other words: You can't be both Reformed and missional. Since I think the above association … [Read more...] about Missional & Reformed: Conference at Westminster

I started this interview a couple days ago, but then was beautifully interrupted with the birth of our son. Now that we're all home from the hospital, I'll post the second installment of my interview of Dr. Ryken. Do you see this study Bible being used in high school and college courses on the Bible as literature? Dr. Ryken: It became evident early in the editorial process that an evangelical bias was evident in our commentary, even though our focus was on literary issues. Realistically speaking, therefore, while our study Bible is ideally suited for Bible-as-literature courses, it is … [Read more...] about Interview with Ryken on ESV Literary Study Bible – II

Awhile ago I mentioned the newly released ESV Literary Study Bible, edited by Dr. Leland Ryken and Pastor Phil Ryken. Dr. Ryken, the Clyde S. Kilby professor of English at Wheaton College, was kind enough to answer a few questions about the project. I'll post part 1 of the interview now, and part 2 late tomorrow. What motivated you to organize this type of study Bible? Dr. Ryken: The primary motivation was my awareness that the Bible is, in terms of its external format, a literary anthology. That being the case, it deserves to be printed with critical apparatus (as it is called in my … [Read more...] about Interview with Ryken on ESV Literary Study Bible – I