Confusing the Bible and Jesus Christ

At EthicsDaily.com, Bob Allen writes about theological objections to a VBS song being used in Southern Baptist Churches across the nation this summer.  “The Word” is a daily song sung as part of the “Outrigger Island: Living God’s Unshakeable Truth” VBS curriculum published by LifeWay Christian Resources, one of the publishing arms of the Southern Baptist Convention.  The lyrics:

In the beginning was the Word and It was with God and was God.
Before an eye had seen or ear had heard, there was the Word.
I know the Bible is God’s Word, His written promises to earth.
It is a lamp unto the feet of those who believe in its worth.
The Word is Perfect Truth. The Word is what I cling to.
Unbreakable, unshakeable Word of God.
I love the Word of God.

Sheri Klouda and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Some backgroud: Sheri Klouda joined the faculty at Southwestern Baptist Theology Seminary (SWBT) in 2000, entering a tenure-track position in 2002. She was assistant professor of Old Testament languages, and the only female teaching in the School of Theology. In June 2003, SWBT hired Paige Patterson as president. In April 2006, the Seminary informed Klouda that her contract would not be renewed, because she was a female. It is Patterson’s position that women should not instruct men at SWBT, because women are not qualified to be pastors at local churches.

Things No One Ever Told You About Women in the Bible

Check out Mona Loewen’s guest-post at Wade Burelson’s blog, Grace and Truth to You. Mona surveys the role of key women in the biblical texts.

Putting “Intelligent Design” in its Place

From EthicsDaily.com:

An international group of scientists and theologians has issued a strong rebuke of “intelligent design,” a theory that has gained ground with conservative Christians, especially in the United States.

“We believe that intelligent design is neither sound science nor good theology,” the International Society for Science and Religion said in a statement last week.

I don’t find it surprising that trained scientists and theologians reject intelligent design. It’s difficult not to reject it once you become educated about the underlying ideas, although I have respect for a few of its proponents.

As I’ve said for years: Not only should intelligent design not be taught in our schools, it should not be taught in our Sunday Schools. It’s a compelling idea: that science may uncover some type of independent verification for Christian truth-claims, but the universe functions in a manner starkly different from what’s imagined by intelligent design. Yes, God created/creates the Universe, but not in the manner suggested by ID, and certainly not in the manner suggested by Creationists such as Ken Ham.

Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology

Ben Myers’ Faith and Theology is a treasure trove of modern theological analysis. His latest post criticizes Millard Erickson’s model of systematic theology:

1. Exegesis: analysis of the biblical texts in their historical and literary contexts.
2. Biblical Theology: situating exegesis in the wider context of each body of literature (e.g. theology of the Pentateuch or Pauline corpus, and then OT or NT theologies respectively).
3. Systematic Theology: the act of synthesising key motifs and ideas as they relate to the mosaic of Christian belief.

Follow this link for Erickson’s article. Follow this link for Myers’ response.

The Virgin Birth

In getting ready for my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow (12/23), I came across an interesting analysis of the Virgin Birth by Karl Barth:

Evolution vs. Christian Faith

At Quintessence of Dust, Stephen Matheson has posted an interesting article about biological evolution (i.e., common descent) and whether it poses a “threat” to Christian faith. I’m not a biologist, which is why I won’t go beyond what is common knowledge to professional scientists when writing about evolution. With that caveat, I’ll make my position clear for anyone who’s interested:

What is the Bible?

Sitting in church before the service today, I was reading the preface to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For me, the last paragraph raises two interesting questions about the nature of the Bible and the meaning of the phrase “Word of God.” It reads:

Atheist Arguments

At Maverick Philosopher, William F. Vallicella has written a brief but insightful post about common atheist objections to theistic belief. (Hat tip to Brian Trapp for finding this.) I’ve considered wading into these waters myself, but my first blog taught me the importance of sticking primarily to subjects I understand well, such as physics, astronomy, bicycling, and watching movies and technophonic beer commercials. I dabble in theology or apologetics at my peril. But over the years I’ve encountered enough thoughtful, reasonable atheists to identify four broad types of objection to religious faith:

The End of Protestantism?

At Inhabitatio Dei, one of the best theology blogs on the web, Halden has been writing recently about the Protestant-Catholic relationship, addressing among other things the question of whether the Protestant Reformation has reached its conclusion. There are powerful questions here: Is the Reformation over? What are we reforming today, if anything? What are we protesting, in 2007? Why are we not Catholic?