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Who Lives in the Most Literate Cities? by Peter Lumpkins

Since 2003, Jack Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, has conducted research tagging the most literate cities in the United States. The criteria includes local newspaper and magazine circulation, library data, online news readership, book purchases and resources, and educational attainment. Not surprising was the number one spot taken by Seattle (actually tied with Minneapolis) since it has lingered around the top since the study started. Nor is Boston's presence particularly noteworthy. What may be of more interest are the cities nowhere to be found: New York, Raleigh-Durham, Dallas,... Read more →

B.H. Carroll on Limited Atonement

This will be my final installment on quotes from B.H. Carroll for a while. Many may wonder why I take the time to rummage through historical documents looking for what "they" believed. What's really important is what we believe, right? Or, more importantly, what the Bible teaches, right? Well, it depends on what one is looking for when scavenging through our past. If I were desiring to know what Scripture teaches on a particular subject, history may play a less prominent role. However, if I were desiring to know what... Read more →

B.H. Carroll and Being Born Again: Take 2

From my reading of Carroll, the excerpts yesterday appeared definitive. However, some did not seem to be persuaded that the Texan theologian would hardly agree with our more aggressive SBC Calvinist brothers. Indeed, he may even have gained the label anti-Calvinist! Even so, consider the collage below of B.H. Carroll on regeneration. Perhaps we will throw in some quotes pertaining to his views on Limited Atonement, including his stated disagreement with John Broadus. B.H. Carroll: "...when one is born into the kingdom of God he is fully a child of... Read more →

B.H. Carroll and Being Born Again

Founders Calvinists often quote our Southern Baptist forefathers as if they (Founders) are the natural theological heirs of historic Southern Baptist theology. In some respects, I suppose, it could be argued successfully. There are some major--and in my view, devastating--exceptions to such idealism, however. One such stalwart through which Founders attempts to trace their theological genealogy is B. H. Carroll. Carroll was the first president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and, by some measurements, may have been her greatest biblical theologian. Now, make no mistake: were it possible to inquire... Read more →

"$3.00 Worth of God, Please": Beyond My Typical Faith

"But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. A nd Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.And h e said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus" (Matthew 14:27-29). Those are the words spoken to Peter but not to the other disciples. Rummaging through some books I'm giving away, I found this gem from a sermon by... Read more →

The Forgotten Spurgeon vs. The Ignored Spurgeon" by Peter Lumpkins

Iain Murray's "The Forgotten Spurgeon" may be the most popular book on the great English Baptist preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, that's currently in print. In this volume, Murray deals with several theological controversies within which Spurgeon found himself enthralled. Furthermore, perhaps no book on Spurgeon has sparked more interest in his Calvinism, especially among Southern Baptists, than Iain Murray's book. On the other hand, while Murray writes of the "forgotten Spurgeon," Bob L. Ross surely writes of the "ignored Spurgeon." As most of the regular readers of this blog are... Read more →

Founders Smears Dr. Steve Lemke: "Non-cooperating, Anti-Calvinist"

Founders negative rhetoric has been non-stop since the first week of November when the John 3:16 Conference was held in North Georgia. Both Tom Ascol and his associate, Timmy Brister, have led the charge in assuring the conference has been labeled, to their satisfaction, as nothing more than misrepresentation, caricature, and, of course, anti-Calvinist. Timmy Brister published his most provocative post to date building on a "taxonomy" offered by Nathan Finn, a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In Brister's extended version of Finn's piece, he added some bells and... Read more →

Timmy Brister on Calvinism & Cooperation

Yesterday, Nathan Finn, professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, republished an old post from an earlier blog to the newer site which usually has some good material there. Dr. Finn's post entitled "Some Thoughts on Calvinism and Cooperation" is the product of his "musings about the broader debate itself," the debate being Calvinism in the SBC. Dr.Finn speaks, as he sees it, that "there are at least four different Southern Baptist responses to Calvinism." His four are: 1) Some Southern Baptists are non-cooperative, non-Calvinists 2) Some Southern Baptists are cooperative,... Read more →

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel, & Five Point Calvinism

Founders Calvinists never appear weary in quoting a particular excerpt from the mighty English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon: "I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation... Read more →

Calvinism and the SBC: Temperature Lowering, Questions Remaining

The recent flurry within the SBC over Calvinism was, at times, heated. Some have become disgusted with the conversation and vowed to bow out. I see nothing whatsoever wrong with such, for they are only taking my Moma's never to be questioned wisdom: "If you can't stand the heat, boy, don't set next to the stove." Yes, Moma! I have to admit my own bit of frustration, especially concerning the assessment of The John 3:16 Conference as a whole. Some of the most incorrigible, denounced "evaluations" have come from those... Read more →

SBC & Calvinism: Three Events That Widened The Divide: A Rejoinder to Tom Ascol by David Allen

Dr. Tom Ascol, Executive Director of Founders Ministries, the largest and most influential network of Southern Baptist Calvinists, was not only one of the participants at the 2007 Building Bridges Conference at Ridgecrest, he was also one of the strategists behind the event. Recently, he wrote a steamy article denouncing three events that "widened the divide" between Calvinists and non-Calvinists in the SBC: 1) An Article by Dr. Steve Lemke; 2) A Book Review by Dr. David Allen; 3) The John 3:16 Conference hosted by The Jerry Vines Ministries but... Read more →