SBC Tomorrow

Slip, slidin away: The Greasy Doctrine of Limited Atonement

Nineteenth century Baptist historian, David Benedict (1779-1874), details the forming of what is likely the very first Baptist church on American soil in Providence, RI by Roger Williams.1 Below are a few highlights one of which enlightens us concerning the theological shift that took place in the church while Williams... Read more →

F. H. Kerfoot softened James P. Boyce's strict Calvinism in first major edit

James P. Boyce is considered by many to be the "father" of historic Baptist Calvinism in America, especially Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Boyce's name is never far from those who speak of the theological "founders" of Southern Baptists. The president of Beeson Divinity School, Timothy George, wrote an... Read more →

Mental health expert describes Caner critic as "inhumane and not intellectually respectable"

On Thursday, October 2, during the regular chapel service at Brewton-Parker College, trustee chairman and pastor of Vidalia First Baptist Church, Bucky Kennedy, led a special time honoring the late Braxton Caner, son of President and Mrs. Jill Caner and older brother to Drake Caner. During the memorial time, Pastor... Read more →

B.H. Carroll's commentary on James P. Boyce's systematic theology

When I graduated from Boyce in 1981, I received my brand new Abstract of Theology by James Petigru Boyce (1827-1888) compliments of Founders Ministries. And, while I've since moved on from the printed edition Founders gave me as a gift (and, as most know, I've also moved on from Founders),... Read more →

David Allen on John Piper and Definite Atonement

I've had many opportunities over the last several years to log the stunning lack of biblical, theological, and historical evidences weighing in favor of Calvinism's most vulnerable petal on its well-nigh universal symbol--the tulip--an acronym representing the five core doctrines Calvinists insist accurately summarizes the gospel teaching on salvation. The... Read more →

Calvinism: what's ahead for the Southern Baptist Convention

Below is an experiment I completed on a nifty new cloud-based presentation software I'm testing. For those who've stayed safe with Powerpoint, there are some really cool services out there which offer a lot more bang for the buck than Microsoft gives you in the box. Know the content in... Read more →

Oliver Crisp stands as a vindication of David Allen's work on limited atonement

Just finished scanning my copy of Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology by Fuller Theological Seminary Professor of Systematic Theology, Oliver Crisp. The short work (192 pages) promises to be an excellent resource for what's theologically happening in Reformed circles today. In passing, Crisp vindicates the tireless research on Christ's atonement... Read more →

Alcohol Today, Alcohol Tomorrow: Are Southern Baptists any closer to agreement?

Six weeks ago, Nicole Kalil wrote an article for the Florida Baptist Witness entitled "Tallahassee pastor tolerant when it comes to alcohol." Kalil profiled Tallahassee's City Church lead pastor, Dean Inserra, concerning his views on alcohol consumption. Kalil framed Inserra's view as him deciding to not make "moderate consumption of... Read more →

Reformed apologist back to slamming the Caner family

Less than two weeks ago, Dr. Ergun and Jill Caner laid their precious fifteen year old Braxton to rest. Attending the memorial was both excruciating and liberating. Families frequently grieve perhaps more excessively when the one passing on is a young child. Over the past two weeks, many have showed... Read more →

Brenda B. Colijn on A Parable of Calvinism

Dr. Brenda B. Colijn is Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. Dr. Colijn offered an interesting parable in her paper "A Parable of Calvinism"1 wherein she challenges the Calvinistic understanding of the well-meant offer of the gospel to all human beings. Coming from... Read more →

Wesley on insincerity of Calvinism's God offering a call to all

'Addressing Calvinists, [Wesley] notes: “You suppose [God] to be standing at the prison-doors, having the keys thereof in his hands, and to be continually inviting the prisoners to come forth, commanding them to accept of that invitation, urging every motive which can possibly induce them to comply with that command;... Read more →

Time to stop Social Media Abusers

I just viewed one of the most disgusting tweeter threads I've read since I started on Twitter a few years back. Believe me, Twitter can get really nasty really quickly. The truth is I rarely, if ever, bother to check Twitter that much. My largest contribution to Twitter is the... Read more →

Does God Desire All to Be Saved? Adam Harwood reviews John Piper's proposal

Among many interesting articles in the latest edition of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry (JBTM, available free of charge at http://www.baptistcenter.net), Dr. Adam Harwood, Associate Professor of Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, reviews John Piper's little volume, Does God Desire All to Be Saved? (John Piper.... Read more →

Yale lecturer on The Great Calvinist Reawakening

Briallen Hopper is English Lecturer at Yale University, Faculty Fellow at the University Church in Yale, and frequent contributor on religious topics in many prestigious media venues. She has written about religion for The Huffington Post, Killing the Buddha, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. In her latest piece... Read more →

Are Southern Baptist Traditionalists losing appreciation for viable historical options dealing with God’s sovereignty and human free will?

Does there exist a logically-driven, undeniable answer to the age-old question concerning God's sovereignty and human free will? Some appear to think so. Calvinism's Typical Response to Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom Calvinists often suggest a logical answer by redefining what we normally mean when we think of free will.... Read more →

Mark Driscoll and the Mistakes of Jesus

Christianity Today (CT) has an interesting story about a sermon Mark Driscoll reportedly preached at Mars Hill Church on May 4, a sermon the web version of which Warren Throckmorton documents a six minute deleted section. Throckmorton claims in "Mars Hill Church Deletes Mark Driscoll's Teaching on Jesus Making Mistakes"... Read more →

Army deserter Bergdahl connected to ballet and Calvinism

Five years ago, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl reportedly laid down his weapons and quietly vanished into the night from his small military outpost in the Yousaf Khel district of Paktika. Several hunts for him ultimately led to several deaths of American soldiers who tried to find their comrade in arms. Three... Read more →

'God helped me save myself essentially because I worked so hard'--Chuck Quarles on his pre-Calvinistic relationship with God

What does a typical non-Calvinist affirm or deny so far as the foundation of his or her relationship with God is concerned? Is the relationship based solely upon grace through faith as Paul reveals in Ephesians 2:8-9? Or does a typical non-Calvinist believe the basis of his or her salvation... Read more →

Chuck Quarles on election--'Southern Baptists are in a really awkward position today'

Dr. Charles "Chuck" Quarles presently is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theology Seminary. In a sermon based upon 2 Thessalonians 2:13 he preached at the Riverside Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana in October, 2009, the professor said concerning election and Southern Baptists: Southern Baptists are... Read more →

Do Southern Baptist theologians confess simplistic theology or does James White offer simplistic criticism?

Bel0w is a recent video extreme Calvinist, James White, posted critiquing New Orleans professor, Adam Harwood, in a message Dr. Harwood preached entitled "The Gospel: a Message for Every Person." As the listener will note, White gets stuck on the term "simplistic" and just won't let go (by the way,... Read more →

Spurgeon on preachers becoming obstacles for sinners coming to Christ

Methinks I see several ministers standing in the way. They are of such high doctrine that they dare not invite a sinner, and they therefore clog the gospel with so many conditions. They will have it that the sinner must feel a certain quantity of experience before he is invited... Read more →

Pre-Convention Bible Conference Reisterstown, Maryland June 6-8

Join us at The Whosoever Will Bible Conference in Reisterstown, Maryland preceding the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention to be held in Baltimore. Hosted by Northwest Baptist Church, speakers include popular preachers in the SBC like Paige Patterson and Fred Wolfe. Included also will be a special guest session by Dr.... Read more →

What Montana Southern Baptist pastor JD Hall and Westboro Baptist pastor Fred Phelps have in common

Hassell & Hassell: Primitive Baptist historians on Calvin's murder of Servetus

Christ and His Apostles did not persecute; neither does the true church of Christ. The Protestant persecutions of each other, and of Catholics, and of “Anabaptists,” were derived from Rome, and were in direct and horrid contradiction of the Protestant principle of freedom of conscience. Calvin’s condemnation and execution of... Read more →

James White and Historical Hooey (Part 2)

Below I've embedded the video entitled "Calvin and Servetus: Dan Barker Twists History" uploaded and posted by Alpha & Omega Ministries. Calvinist apologist, James White, makes a series of historical assertions concerning the circumstances surrounding John Calvin and Michael Servetus in response to atheist, Dan Barker, implicating Barker in twisting... Read more →

More Inspiration from John Calvin on this our Lord's Day

During John Calvin's reign in Geneva, reportedly it was considered a no-no to laugh during Calvin's preaching, and to do so was met with stiff consequences: "To laugh during a sermon was a matter which drew after it three days' imprisonment, and the necessity of publicly asking pardon." --"Lives of... Read more →

James White and Historical Hooey: Interlude

In the first part of "James White and Historical Hooey," I showed two visible flaws in James White's argumentation methods. First, I demonstrated White's egregious habit of making his arguments into scornful contempt for his opponent rather than serious critique of the ideas under consideration. I put it this way:... Read more →

Servetus' death a new Protestant policy

"The punishment of Servetus was a stroke of policy. Calvin gained in character with his contemporaries by it. He had justified his faith by his acts, and not left the Church of Rome the sole glory of taking vengeance on the enemies of Christ. All the Protestants approved; Melanchthon emphatically... Read more →

A reminder from John Calvin to us as we attend service this Lord's Day

“If anyone sing songs that are unworthy, dissolute or outrageous, or spin wildly round in the dance, or the like, he is to be imprisoned for three days, and then sent on to the Consistory.” --John Calvin, Ordinances for the Supervision of Churches in the Country [Geneva], February 3, 1547... Read more →

James White and Historical Hooey (Part 1)

James White UPDATE: James White responded to this piece (perhaps emotionally reacted is a better description. In fact, White appears so emotionally distraught over the post below, he wouldn't even link to it.). And, I must thank him for offering yet another layer to the pile of evidence for my... Read more →

John Calvin: a Real Evangelical Cover-up

James White is the director of Alpha & Omega Ministries, a small and apparently struggling1 apologetics ministry located in Phoenix, Arizona. I listened fairly regularly to White several years ago but grew tired of what I perceived to be a narcistic infatuation with his personal accomplishments not to mention his... Read more →

‘We’re the Lord’s elected few, let all the rest be damned’

On November 12, 1986, Beeson Divinity School Dean and Professor of Divinity, History and Doctrine, Dr. Timothy George, addressed the faculty at Southern Baptist Theology Seminary in a presentation entitled "Dogma Beyond Anathema: Historical Theology in the Service of the Church."1 A printed version of the address appeared in the... Read more →

Spurgeon On Faith...Again...

I recently posted some golden nugget quotes from Charles Haddon Spurgeon on faith. Here's another. Spurgeon, once answered the question, “What is faith?” this way: “Now what is faith? In one word, it is trust—the trusting of the soul in God’s promise made in Christ Jesus. My faith is that... Read more →

New Calvinism gets reviewed by young British Baptist Calvinist

Jeremy Walker, co-pastor of the Maidenbower Baptist Church in the United Kingdom has penned a well-balanced critique of the young, restless, and reformed movement in the evangelical church. Entitled The New Calvinism Considered: A Personal and Pastoral Assessment , the volume is available in the United States in both paperback... Read more →

More questions for Mark Driscoll over possible plagiarism

As we recently reported, Christian talkshow host and journalist, Janet Mefferd, removed documents which appeared to show plagiarism by controversial pastor and Young, Restless, and Reformed icon, Mark Driscoll. Earlier Mefferd had pressed Driscoll in an interview to explain why he apparently used material from Reformed theologian, Peter Jones, without... Read more →

From Heaven He Came And Sought Her: A Review by David Allen

I recently made note of a new book release by Crossway entitled From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective. The 700+ page volume is purported to be the definitive volume on T.U.L.I.P. Calvinism's most vulnerable petal, Limited Atonement. Some of neo-Calvinism's... Read more →

What does biblical submission for wives include? John Piper answers

WARNING! Every female take serious care: What you are about to see and hear may very well disturb you. Don't click on this video if you're already in a bad mood. And for heaven's sake, if you've had a good day and looking forward to a nice weekend with your... Read more →

Does Gender Egalitarianism reduce to a 'false gospel'?

I remain hopelessly convinced that a correct and consistent reading of biblical revelation inevitably leads one to embrace some form of gender complementarianism. Hence, I tend agree with the broad biblio-theological contours of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). I say "broad" because just as there is hard... Read more →

If the Top Men take over, who will ask the hard questions? - Reformed theologian and author Carl Trueman on Reformation21 Blog

The Mefferd-Driscoll controversy points to another aspect of celebrity culture: celebrities are routinely allowed to behave in ways which would not be tolerated in ordinary mortals. For example, being drunk on the job and hurling abuse at an employer would make one unemployable in the real world. Not for Charlie... Read more →

Mark Driscoll peeved at Janet Mefferd and hangs up--"you're rude and unkind"

Seasoned journalist and Christian Radio Talk Show host, Janet Mefferd, interviewed Mark Driscoll on his stop-by attendance at John MacArthur's Strange Fire Conference. She especially queried him concerning whether Driscoll's books he was giving away free were confiscated by security police his tweets suggest. As Mefferd went on in the... Read more →