EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Timothy Paul Jones, C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Family Ministry at Southern Seminary, discusses his book How We Got the Bible with Towers news writer Andrew J.W. Smith. AJWS: You open the book with a discussion of the theology of Scripture, inspiration, inerrancy, and similar doctrines. Why was that an important…
In How We Got the Bible, Timothy Paul Jones defends the Scriptures against skeptics’ arguments and describes the transmission of the Old and New Testaments from manuscript to canon. Aimed at young believers, particularly high schoolers, the book attempts to equip Christians with sound reasons for the Bible’s authenticity. The book is a unique contribution…
NIV Zondervan Study Bible Review by S. Craig Sanders The emergence of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible raises the question: Do we really need it? For every translation there appears to be at least three study Bibles, each more colorful and more in-depth. With legendary scholar D.A. Carson at the helm, the NIV Zondervan Study…
You’ve registered for courses and bought your textbooks, but you may not feel ready for the thrill of starting a new semester. That’s because being a student on the campus of one of the world’s largest seminaries presents a host of challenges in adapting to new surroundings and choosing extracurricular activities. To help you prepare…
Ayman Ibrahim knows Arab and Muslim culture as intimately as anyone. The newly appointed assistant professor of Islamic studies grew up in a Coptic Orthodox family in Cairo, Egypt, and he wants more American evangelicals to reshape the way they think about their Muslims neighbors. That starts by not being afraid of them. “Among Westerners…
If Benjamin Keach was the liberator of Baptist hymnody, Anne Steele was its biggest voice. Steele, who lived 1717-1778, was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts…
EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Donald S. Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality at Southern Seminary, discusses his book Praying the Bible with Towers editor S. Craig Sanders. CS: You introduced the concept of praying Scripture in your book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. What’s the story behind how that section became the material for this…
Praying the Bible, Donald S. Whitney (Crossway 2015, $13.99) Review by S. Craig Sanders If prayer is the “chief exercise of faith” or “faith … breathed out in words” as John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards wisely expressed, why are so many genuine Christians out of shape and breathless? When Christians feel bored in prayer, the problem…
The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto Against the Status Quo, Jared C. Wilson (Crossway 2015, $15.99) Review by Andrew J.W. Smith In The Prodigal Church, Jared C. Wilson pushes back against the prevalent attractional church model and argues for a simple ecclesiology fully molded by the gospel. Wilson, author of Your Jesus is Too Safe, has…
The well-known church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan, famously begins his book Jesus through the Centuries with the following observation: “Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of western culture for almost twenty centuries.” ((Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place…
Introduction The church has historically believed that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, possessing two natures—the one divine, the other human—united in one person. The church has also historically affirmed that these two natures remain distinct in the God-man: the divine nature, characterized by omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, eternality, and the like, remains…
Orientation The term “incomprehensible” has changed in emphasis over the years. It has strengthened in meaning and become rougher. It now means gibberish or nonsense, and usually refers to bits of verbal communication that are impossible for various reasons to make sense of. It’s a black or white term, a term of rebuke, a put…
Abstract Robert W. Jenson has recently written a short article clarifying his argument against the doctrine of the Logos asarkos (Word without flesh). In this article I offer a critique of his remarks, showing that his reasoning has two consequences that are problematic. First, it implies that the Second Person of the Trinity incarnate has…
Introduction Determinations about the constitution of human persons are notoriously difficult. Christian theologians and philosophers who investigate this issue are faced with a host of complicated biblical, theological, philosophical, historical, scientific, and practical questions. One of the most pressing of these questions concerns the precise relation between the body and the mind. Are human persons…
Introduction Among the many sticky questions about the Incarnation, the question of Jesus’ two wills can seem nitpicky and arcane to most Christians. The question seems to be one for the theologians, those who care to parse details that are practically irrelevant to daily life, much like debating how many angels can dance on the…
