What Does the Christian Tradition Say about the Ordination of Women?
Kevin Hester When discussing the ordination of women from a historical perspective there is a theological tension that must be observed. This tension is tested at various points by cultural perspectives that at different times and in different eras tend to push the discussion in different ways.…
Presbyterian Praise for Feet Washing
W. Jackson Watts I’ve always chuckled whenever I’ve heard Southern Baptist friends recoil defensively against the practice of feet washing as an ordinance. While there actually are some Southern Baptists here and there who have practiced this biblical rite, they join most other mainstream, larger Protestant denominations in…
Can You Be a ‘Reformed’ Arminian? An Interview
Theological Commission Many of our readers will be interested in a video that can be found here. It is a recent interview of Commission chairman Matt Pinson entitled “Can you be a ‘Reformed’ Arminian?” In this video, Pinson engages in a casual conversation with Southern Baptist pastor and apologist Nicholas…
Making Sense of Religious Liberty
Jackson Watts Recently a friend of mine at the Helwys Society Forum, a site I also contribute to, called attention to Robert Louis Wilken’s book, Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom. I had somehow overlooked this title, though I had admired Wilken’s…
Early Christian Views on Creation: Part 2
Kevin Hester (Part 1 of this two-part article appeared last Tuesday). In my last post (or part 1) we examined the philosophical background of the early church that influenced the way in which they examined biblical references to creation. Their responses to Atomism (Naturalism) and Neo-platonism demonstrated how…