Since announcing our adoption roughly two years ago, my wife and I have encountered a range of questions concerning the details of the process. This article cites the three most often asked questions and provides insights into each of them. 1. WHY ADOPT WHEN YOU CAN HAVE KIDS OF YOUR OWN? When my wife and I first announced our adoption, we didn't have any kids. Today we have a biological daughter. Naturally, before the pregnancy, many assumed that we discovered that we were unable to have biological children. We began to hear comments like, "You just wait! I know of a lot of couples that … [Read more...] about ADOPTION ON TRIAL: THE TOP THREE QUESTIONS I GET ON INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION
A Response to Miller’s “Amyraldian Antinomy” (by Eric Hankins)
Before I begin, let me express my gratitude to Dave Miller for his willingness to let me post here at Voices. He has been generous with space while allowing me to offer perspectives at variance with his own. This is the true spirit of constructive debate. This post is my response to his response to my response to Nathan Finn’s response to the “Traditional Statement” (TS) on Southern Baptist (SB) soteriology, which is our response to New Calvinism in the SBC, which is the Calvinist response to non-Calvinism in the SBC. I imagine that this sort of back-and-forth is off-putting to some who see it … [Read more...] about A Response to Miller’s “Amyraldian Antinomy” (by Eric Hankins)
Is Jesus a Liar?
So I posed the question in the title, so let's discuss, is Jesus a liar? Let me put it another way, who is the liar, us or Jesus? Ok, more specifically, do we have free will, or is Jesus a liar? Some of you just became very angry, but today I am going to get on my soap box about the issue of free will. Please read the entire blog before you shoot me, I can hear you loading. Free will, that oh so popular belief that we as humans are free to choose whatever we wish. God created us, put us on earth and told us to choose. Many who believe in free will say that man is free to choose to do … [Read more...] about Is Jesus a Liar?
An Antinomist’s Perspective on Life in the SBC
Dave Miller’s post the other day got my mind to working, and conjured up an image that I am going to try to describe to you in this post, which could also be titled “Calvinism, Free Will, and Narnia: Redux,” as it picks up where I left off in another post I once wrote called “Calvinism, Free Will, Narnia, and Christian Unity.” The basic idea in the first post, for those who don’t want to bother going back and reading it now, is that the biblical realities of divine sovereignty (and the set of implications that Calvinists generally claim go along with them) and of human free will (and the set … [Read more...] about An Antinomist’s Perspective on Life in the SBC
For Sale: A Logos Library
One of our regular contributors through the years, Chris Roberts, has an extensive Logos library for sale. Here is his note. If you are interested, contact him. ******************* For various reasons, personal and otherwise, I’m selling my Logos Bible Software library for $2000. Logos has been a huge asset for me over the years. I first purchased it while going through seminary at Beeson Divinity School and I’ve been building it up ever since. It currently contains 3979 resources (which includes 1743 items from the Perseus library) and uses the Logos 5 engine. My most recent package … [Read more...] about For Sale: A Logos Library
Five More Observations about Younger Southern Baptists: A Response to Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax wrote an article the other day called, “Five Observations about Younger Southern Baptists.” It was an excellent article examining the tendencies of Southern Baptists who are younger than me - pretty much everyone these days. If you haven't read the post, please do. Great insights. However, I was thinking of some other observations I've made about younger Southern Baptists that go beyond what Trevin enumerated. Trevin is a nice guy and his observations were mostly positive. But I've got a few more observations I'd like to share, not being the kind of nice person like Mr. … [Read more...] about Five More Observations about Younger Southern Baptists: A Response to Trevin Wax
Paraphrasing of C.S. Lewis: Reading the Bible and Popular Christian Books
Some years ago C.S. Lewis wrote an introduction to an English translation of Athanasius's On the Incarnation, a very, very old book. His introduction addresses old books and modern books, and makes a strong case for having a steady diet of older books. I've taken some liberties with Lewis's work to produce here an address on reading the Bible and reading popular Christian books. May it be a challenge and a blessing to you. There is a strange idea abroad that in the Bible should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with modern books in the Christian … [Read more...] about Paraphrasing of C.S. Lewis: Reading the Bible and Popular Christian Books
The Root of the Problem: An Antinomist’s Response to Dr. Eric Hankins
One of the blessings of social media is the freedom to insert oneself into a discussion between two others, even without an invitation. Dr. Eric Hankins recently wrote a series of four articles published here in response to an article by Dr. Nathan Finn that appeared in the NOBTS "Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry" (Volume 10, Number 1). For the most part, I stay out of discussions of Calvinism-related topics because I've not seen them to be highly productive. And, again, neither party has asked me to weigh in. But I wish to respond to Dr. Hankins' fourth post. Frank Page's … [Read more...] about The Root of the Problem: An Antinomist’s Response to Dr. Eric Hankins
How Southern Baptists are Destroying Their Distinctives – Sort Of (by Nick Graves)
I received this submission anonymously a couple of days ago. I thought it was worthy of posting, but am reluctant to post anonymously, unless there is a good reason. So I emailed the anonymous "Baptist Person" who submitted it. Lo and behold, he identified himself a Nicholas Graves. He was posting anonymously because his mother and my sister are the same person. Be nice to Nick. With his family background, he deserves sympathy. As a layman who has interest in my favorite denomination, I have some observations about Southern Baptist distinctives and ways we may be shifting away from them. … [Read more...] about How Southern Baptists are Destroying Their Distinctives – Sort Of (by Nick Graves)
An Altar On Which to Die: A Case for the Invitation
I was raised in a church in which there was no "invitation," a moment at the end of service designed to allow people to respond to God's Word. To be clear, in light of the contextual mood of this post, this isn't to say that this church is evil. I deeply appreciate my experience there. But, because of the lack of an invitation, I resultantly found myself wondering where I stood with Jesus. I remember feeling like I knew about him, but also feeling like I didn't really know him. When I was 16 I started attending a church that did offer an invitation. I'll never forget how much it impacted me. … [Read more...] about An Altar On Which to Die: A Case for the Invitation