Many evangelicals seem to think that systematic theology consists simply of listing the relevant Bible verses for a particular topic or doctrine. But there is much more to it than that as I explain in this video.
doctrine
What’s the biggest problem with annihilationism?
In this low-quality video with abysmal production values, I outline what I think is the biggest theological/philosophical objection to the theory of annihilationism.
Five reasons that Christians unnecessarily experience a crisis of faith
Every day, some Christian somewhere is in the depths of a crisis of faith created by a weight of doctrine that they are not obliged to bear. In this article, I will briefly summarize some of the main culprits. 1. Young Earth Creationism and a worldwide flood When I was in high school, I lent […]
Hamfisted Heresy Hunters
Calvinist blogger Steve Hays has a long list of people he needs to monitor on a regular basis and I’m apparently on that list. Every few weeks, he seems to make a point of commenting on one of my articles or tweets. I wrote a reply to him last week and of course, he needed […]
Is constructive systematic theology a conceptual failure?
I just wrote a series of tweets complaining about the argument in much current constructive systematic theology. Since I thought that analysis might be of some interest to my blog (but non-Twitter) readers, I’ve reproduced those tweets below. I’ve read a lot of systematic theology over the years. Some of it is very good: clear […]
Do not create unnecessary stumbling blocks to Christian faith
In my opinion, one of the absolute biggest mistakes that Christians make occurs when, in the midst of sharing their faith, they include an unnecessary stumbling block as part of the essential package. To be sure, mere Christianity has its share of genuine and non-negotiable stumbling blocks. Among them, I would suggest, are doctrines of sin, […]
Would you rather be a Muslim who acts like Jesus or a Christian who doesn’t?
What is Mere Christianity? Part 6: James Anderson Answers
Our final installment in my series on mere Christianity comes from James N. Anderson. Dr. Anderson is Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, and an ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. He is the author of What’s Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions, Why Should I […]
The Hyenas Did Not Touch Him: On Writing Creeds Today
In 2003 the great church historian Jaroslav Pelikan published his magnum opus, a book called Credo which gathers together more than 1000 creeds from the history of the church. The overall impact is powerful as one comes to terms with the fact that creeds are not simply a bygone occupation of the early church. On […]
Should evangelical institutions require belief in eternal conscious torment?
In 1996 I graduated from Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. For years TWU has been (so I would argue) Canada’s flagship liberal arts evangelical post-secondary institution. Unfortunately, its evangelical identity has long included some fundamentalist roots. For example, when I attended TWU in the mid-1990s students were required to sign a lifestyle covenant stating […]
What is the Trinity? A Review
Dale Tuggy. What is the Trinity? Thinking About the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. CreateSpace, 2017, 142 pp. In one of his comedy sketches, Jim Gaffigan recalls an occasion when his young son said: “Look daddy! A silver stick!” Gaffigan replied, “Actually son, that’s an antenna!” Puzzled, the boy replied: “What’s an antenna?” After a moment, […]
Who is Eric Schneider and why is he defaming Bruxy Cavey?
Yesterday I became aware of a nasty article by a fellow named “Eric Schneider” who has a blog devoted to destroying the reputation and ministry of Bruxy Cavey. The article was poorly argued and evinced little by way of analytic skills, biblical or theological knowledge, or a modicum of charity. So who is Eric Schneider? […]
Charity and Confession: The case of Bruxy Cavey and Tyndale Seminary
Today I came across a blog article titled “Why is Bruxy Cavey Teaching at Tyndale?” (Bruxy is a leading figure in progressive Christianity, an author (here’s his latest book) and pastor of one of the largest churches in Canada. Tyndale Seminary is a large evangelical seminary in Toronto.) The blogger who wrote the article, a fellow […]
Why John Sanders won the Unbelievable Debate on Open Theism and Heresy
The most recent episode of “Unbelievable” featured a debate between open theist John Sanders and Calvinist James White. All in all it was a good exchange, although White tended to offer potted criticisms of open theism and I found Sanders had an effective reply to many of his points. All in all a very worthwhile primer […]
