Publications

Seen at Southern

While snow can often bring Louisville to a standstill, the four inches of snow that blanketed Southern’s 84-acre campus on Jan. 20 brought new life to the seminary community.

#DistractedDevotion: 3 Ways Smartphones Affect Your Spiritual Life

“Open your Bibles, your phones, or your tablets with me to the passage for today’s sermon.” This now common refrain in pulpits across America represents the seismic shift the past decade of the digital revolution has created in the lives of nearly 200 million people. And it’s not just in this country — in four years,…

The gospel in broken classrooms: Kevin Jones models service and sacrifice for future teachers

More than ever, places in desperate need for the gospel do not welcome pastors or missionaries. Both closed countries and American public schools try to keep Christians away, so believers have to use creative platforms. “Teachers can go places where pastors cannot go,” said Kevin Jones, assistant professor of teacher education at Boyce College, who…

‘Humble and brilliant’: Wright discusses new biography on Theodore Beza

EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Shawn D. Wright, associate professor of church history at Southern Seminary, talks about his new book, Theodore Beza: The Man and the Myth, with Towers writer Andrew J.W. Smith. AJWS: What can seminary students learn from Theodore Beza? SW: I think it’s always helpful to learn from a man who lives in a very…

Feature book review: ‘Theodore Beza: The Man and the Myth’

Theodore Beza: The Man and the Myth, Shawn D. Wright (Christian Focus 2016, $14.99)  Despite being one of the great figures of the Protestant Reformation, not much is known about Theodore Beza, French theologian and acolyte of the more famous John Calvin. In fact, what is known is often mythical and exaggerated, such as the erroneous perception…

Book reviews: ‘Martin Luther’; ‘The Pastor’s Book’; ‘A History of Western Philosophy and Theology’; ‘From Topic to Thesis’

Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer, Scott H. Hendrix (Yale University Press 2015, $35)  Review by S. Craig Sanders The approaching 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation will result in a deluge of scholarly and popular works examining the life and influence of Martin Luther. But I doubt none will be as freshly insightful as Scott H. Hendrix’s…

‘The Means of Grace’ — Charles Wesley on spiritual disciplines

Among Protestant practitioners of spiritual disciplines, the Oxford Holy Club developed one of the most famed regimens. The group, initiated by Charles Wesley in 1728 and supported by his brother John, included other luminaries like George Whitefield, John Clayton, and Benjamin Ingham. This society — also dubbed “the Methodists” — encouraged pious acts such as…

Towers | April 2016

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Making a Heretic: Crawford Toy’s Tragic Path from Star Student to False Teacher

How did star pupil and popular professor Crawford Howell Toy embrace heresy and leave the Christian faith?

‘Christianity leads to cosmos’: DeWitt talks new apologetics book

EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Boyce College Dean Dan DeWitt talks about his new apologetics book, Christ or Chaos, with Towers editor S. Craig Sanders. CS: You write, “Every worldview is a novel.” And even though this book has a lot of short stories, how have you been able to portray this idea through your…

Five Hawaiian brothers entrusted to one Kentucky school

Since 2010, the Komatsu family, from Hawaii, has entrusted their five sons to Southern Seminary and its undergraduate school, Boyce College, thousands of miles away in Louisville, Kentucky. “The president, the world-class faculty, the robust theology, and the missional thrust of the institution all stood out to me,” said Van Michael Komatsu, a Master of…

Feature book review: ‘Christ or Chaos’

Christ or Chaos (Crossway 2016, $10.99) Dan DeWitt More than half of those raised in Southern Baptist churches leave the faith within two years of high school graduation, according to recent surveys. But precious few resources help young adults navigate the perilous intellectual and spiritual landscape of higher education. In his new book Christ or…

Book Reviews: ‘Apostolic Church Planting;’ ‘Ancient Christian Worship;’ ‘The Baptist Story;’ ‘Essential Evangelicalism’

Essential Evangelicalism: The Enduring Influence of Carl F.H. Henry, Matthew J. Hall and Owen Strachan, editors (Crossway 2015, $22.99) Review by Jeremiah Greever Even though much well-deserved respect and admiration has been given to Billy Graham, another 20th-century leader deserving similar accolades who forever made his imprint on evangelicalism is Carl F.H. Henry. Though he didn’t have Graham’s…

Towers | March 2016

Strengthening the evangelical mind: Arnold aims for culturally thoughtful and astute students

As the only evangelical in his college’s Introduction to the Bible course, Jonathan Arnold found his beliefs challenged frequently in a class teaching the gospel from an extremely liberal point of view.  While the hostile environment opened the door for him to share the gospel and participate in debates over major cultural issues, Arnold learned…

Book Reviews: ‘J.I. Packer: An Evangelical Life’; ‘Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, & Do’; ‘Gospel of Glory’; ‘One God in Three Persons’

One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life, Bruce Ware and John Starke, editors Review by Jeremiah Greever The eternal relationships between the three persons of the Trinity have historically been a topic of discussion for both academics and theologians. In One God in Three Persons, edited by Southern Seminary…

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