Is Oprah a Cult Leader?

See here for an article entitled Is Oprah Starting Her Own Cult written by Roger Friedman of Fox News.  Keep in mind the obvious slant of Fox News.  Overall, the article is really interesting and hits on some significant points.

RELATED POST: here.

Online reviews of “Expelled: The Movie”

Generally Positive Reviews:

Douglas Groothuis (a.k.a. The Constructive Curmudgeon) has a good review here.

Dave Berg over at StandFirm.

Generally Negative Reviews:

See here for a review by John Serba of The Grand Rapids Press.

And here for the NYTimes review.

Blogalogue between N.T. Wright and Bart Ehrman on Pain, Evil & God

See here.

Tradition & Scripture: How Tradition Can Contribute to Evangelical Alchemy

There can be no doubt among Protestants and Roman Catholics alike that the discussions surrounding the issues of Scripture and Tradition (and/or [t]radition depending on definition of terms) have been historically marked by virulent criticism, often accentuating and perpetuating poor arguments and thereby creating more heat than light. One such argument is that which seeks to pit Tradition against or over Scripture and vice-versa. Protestant detractors often make comments such as, “You are all about the traditions of men whereas we stand firm only on the Holy Word of God.” Yet “it may come as a surprise to some readers that for most of church history Scripture and tradition were perceived as generally compatible with each other.”

Congratulations, Xavier!

Congratulations to Summa Philosophiae’s own Xavier, whose exceptional work has earned him a place in the PhD program in philosophy at the University of Dallas. Way to go!

One man’s report on the Ehrman vs. Wallace debate

April 4-5, 2008, saw the annual Greer-Heard lectureship at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. This year featured a debate between Dan Wallace and Bart Ehrman on the textual reliability of the New Testament. Here is a link to one man’s summary and reaction to the debate.

Evangelicals & Mormons…Together?

I had a great opportunity today to sit through a lecture on Grace & Works From a Contemporary Latter-Day Saint Perspective taught by LDS scholar Dr. Camille Fronk Olson, professor of Ancient Scripture in the Religious Studies department of Brigham Young University. For those who don’t know, there has been an exciting dialogue emerging in the last 10-15 years between Evangelicals and Mormons. A significant contribution to this dialogue has been the book entited How Wide The Divide: A Mormon and an Evangelical in Dialogue, which was written by none other than one of my own professors at Denver Seminary, Dr. Craig Blomberg.

The lecture itself was attended by about thirty people. Dr. Olson’s articulate lecture and obvious knowledge coupled with her passion for the subject made for an enjoyable and informative discussion. However, I must say that her slant on grace was not exactly what I expected to hear. This speaks more of my own presuppositions and misconceptions than it does of her lecture.

Short book note: _Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective_

Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective.
Ed. by Fred Sanders and Klaus Issler. Baker, 2007; 244 pages.

Fred Sanders and Klaus Issler have compiled six outstanding essays in Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective. The book begins with a well-written introduction to Christology (by Sanders), which focuses on the orthodoxy established in the early creeds, especially Chalcedon. “Each of the remaining chapters in this book approaches the task of doing Christology in a way that is informed by trinitarian thought and Chalcedonian categories” (p. 36).

Chapter two focuses more explicitly on the Trinity, specifically Jesus’ place within it. Arguing for an “eternally ordered social model” for understanding the Trinity, this chapter emphasizes the equality of the divine nature, while affirming a “distinction of roles within the immanent Godhead” (p. 76). The next two chapters discuss the person of Christ. The first is a fine exploration of the fifth-century Christological controversy, commending Cyril of Alexandria as the most important contributor to the debate. Given the general ineptitude among Evangelicals regarding historical theology, this is a welcome essay. The next chapter is a rigorous philosophical investigation into the Incarnation. In dialogue with Medieval philosophical theology, a “contemporary monothelite” model is offered.
The latter half of the book addresses the work of Christ, beginning with a chapter on Christ’s atonement “as a work of the Trinity,” arguing that “without the Trinity there could be no atonement and hence no salvation” (p. 156). The sixth and final chapter (by Issler), discusses Jesus’ genuine example for “how to live the Christian life beyond the limitations of an average human life” (p. 189). For example, “Jesus walked by the Spirit, and so it is possible for us to do so as we yield in dependence on God” (p. 214).
Though the contributors do not shy away from precise (and sometimes technical) language, they are careful to thoroughly explain themselves. Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective is geared for advanced undergraduates or beginning seminary students, but can certainly be read with great benefit by any determined reader.

How Should We Then Live…

Last night at my church (Wellspring Anglican Church), we began a 10-week video series based on Schaeffer’s book How Should We Then Live. This is geared towards equipping the Saints (Eph 4) to think about the history of Western Civilization through the framework of the Christian worldview. This group is led by Dr. Douglas Groothuis, professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, who is not only an incredibly gifted speaker and teacher, but embodies the very ethos that Schaeffer modeled and tried to perpetuate in others. To learn more about this group go here . To learn more about Wellspring Anglican Church go here.

Our first meeting went really well. There were great questions, dialogue and fellowship. Dr. Groothuis has created a blog to facilitate further discussion for those in the group which can be found at http://www.schaefferfilmseries.blogspot.com/. If you are in the Denver area please consider stopping by and engaging with us in this learning opportunity. You certainly do not have to be a Christian to come! Indeed, different perspectives would only enrich the conversation! You can find the church address at Wellspring’s website above.

Oprah’s Pluralism

See the youtube video here.

UPDATE: here is a nice article on the topic by Steve Cable of Probe Ministries (where I used to work).