Aaron Menikoff, Politics and Piety: Baptist Social Reform in America, 1770-1860 (Pickwick 2014, $27) Review by S. Craig Sanders Despite the notion that early American Baptists were “so heavenly minded, they were of no earthly good,” their commitment to piety, evangelism, and activism demonstrated “that the transformation of society was a vital goal, an essential…
Among the many treasures held by the James P. Boyce Centennial Library and Archives, the oldest and possibly the most distinguished is a fragile medieval codex, originally acquired by Adolf Deissmann, professor of philology at the Humbolt University of Berlin. In the aftermath of World War I, Deissmann had campaigned vigorously to protect the ancient…
“I was long-haired, smoking pot, and in a heavy metal band all throughout high school,” he said. “I was miserable and didn’t know what to do with myself.” Jonathan T. Pennington, associate professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Seminary, likes to joke that his conversion story would make an ideal support letter. “The before…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Before A.T. Roberson published the first edition of his monumental A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research in 1914, Southern Seminary faculty had already produced four influential works that would shape the character of the Southern Baptist Convention. Seminary historian Gregory A. Wills, dean of the School of…
EDITOR’S NOTE: A.T. Robertson’s A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research no longer appears as required reading in Elementary Greek or syntax courses. Nonetheless, his breathtaking scholarship has influenced those who are shaping the basics of New Testament Greek studies today, beyond the confines of Southern Seminary. Stanley E.…
A.T. Robertson’s magnum opus, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, first appeared in print in 1914. His comprehensive scholarship revolutionized the study of the New Testament, and his work belongs among the greatest ever produced by Southern Seminary faculty. To grasp the greatness of A.T. Robertson, we must…
Archibald Thomas Robertson was born Nov. 6, 1863, near Chatham, Virginia, where he spent the first 12 years of his life before moving to a farm in North Carolina. At the age of 12, he received Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized later that year. At the age of 16, he was…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below, James M. Hamilton Jr., associate professor of biblical theology at Southern Seminary, discusses his new book, Exalting Jesus in Ezra and Nehemiah, with Towers editor S. Craig Sanders. CS: What is your process for turning a sermon series into a book? JH: I had been manuscripting my sermons to be published with…
In late nineteenth-century Southern Baptist life, few names commanded as much respect as John A. Broadus. Baptists in congregations across the South esteemed him as a powerful preacher of the gospel and a champion of biblical orthodoxy. Scholars across the nation admired him for his command of modern and classical studies. His enduring legacy, however,…
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, revised and updated (NavPress 2014, $15.99), Donald S. Whitney “Discipline without direction is drudgery,” writes Donald S. Whitney in a familiar opening to the 20th-anniversary edition of his classic book on biblical spirituality. Revised and updated, the book contains new material with more emphasis on the gospel that will help…
It was the daily service opportunities that drew Kevin Collins to police work from the start. His love for serving people grew as God guided his career path through unexpected circumstances. Growing up, Collins wanted to be a paratrooper and eventually a history teacher. His love for planes and his family’s military history naturally led…
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the following, Southern Seminary missions professors M. David Sills and Jeff Walters discuss their new book, Introduction to Global Missions, with Towers writers Aaron Cline Hanbury and RuthAnne Irvin. ACH: What makes Introduction to Global Missions different from other introductions? MDS: The world is changing with increasing velocity, and global dynamics such…
Reflections on Persecution Editorial: Stephen J. Wellum 3 Thinking about the New Covenant and Persecution: Gregory C. Cochran 7 Christian Persecution as Explained by Jesus (Matthew 5:10-12): Gregory C. Cochran 33 What Kind of Persecution is Happening to Christians Around the World?: Paul Hartog 49 The Maltreatment of Early Christians: Refinement and Response: G. Stephen Weaver, Jr. 81 “Patiently…
When we compare and contrast life under the old covenant versus life under the new covenant there are a number of differences which immediately come to mind. Obviously the greatest difference is what the old covenant typified and anticipated has now come to pass in Christ. So, for example, and certainly not limited to these…
About ten years ago, an occasional paper titled “The Persecuted Church” was presented at the Lausanne Conference on World Evangelization. That paper reminded its hearers that the original Lausanne Conference in 1974 had asked for scholars to study “the relationship between human suffering in general, suffering for Christ’s sake, and Christ’s own suffering.” ((David Claydon,…
