Arminianism & the Rise of Secularism?
by W. Jackson Watts Recently I’ve been lumbering through Charles Taylor’s widely discussed book, A Secular Age. Published in 2007 by Harvard’s Belknap Press, this dense, 800+ pager (with endnotes) is an expanded presentation of the material Taylor originally gave for the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University…
Thomas Grantham: An Influence on Wesley’s View of Predestination
by Matthew Pinson (This post first appeared on Dr. Pinson’s blog at matthewpinson.com) Recently a friend and former student, Jesse Owens (now a Ph.D. student in historical theology at Southern Seminary) told me about a statement Herbert McGonigle had made about Wesley “raising the ghosts” of John Goodwin…
On C.S. Lewis & Chronological Snobbery
by Matthew Pinson In my courses at Welch College, I often introduce my students to C. S. Lewis’s comments on “chronological snobbery.” Lewis described himself before he became a Christian, when he was still an atheist, as a chronological snob. He defined chronological snobbery as the “uncritical acceptance…
A Theology of Martyrdom
by Kevin Hester A few weeks ago, the Western world was rocked by the news of 21 Christians who were martyred at the hands of ISIS in Syria. Social media was abuzz with anger, dismay, and questions about politics and faith. However, the persecution of Christians is nothing…
A Reflection on “Falling Away” in the Patristic Period
by Jackson Watts My first educational stop during my graduate studies was at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a distinguished Southern Baptist school in the beautiful town of Wake Forest, North Carolina. Southeastern (hereafter SEBTS) has a number of excellent scholars in several fields, and so I appreciated my…