The Good Book Blog, a resource from the faculty of Talbot School of Theology, features articles that explore contemporary ideas from the perspective of the Bible the Good Book including topics such as apologetics, biblical studies, theology, philosophy, spiritual formation, ministry and leadership. Find out more about what sets Talbot apart and how it prepares Christian leaders through its degree programs.
After being unresponsive for two days, my dad was escorted into the presence of his Savior on Saturday May 4, 2013 at 2 AM. Family and friends gathered to celebrate his life last Friday. I shared these words:
聶Por qu矇 las cosas son como son? 聶D籀nde est獺 Dios cuando el mundo lo ignora a l y a sus principios? Cuando Dios act繳a, 聶por qu矇 hace l lo que hace? Todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez preguntas dif穩ciles respecto a Dios y a nuestra fe. En muchas ocasiones, lo que vemos aparentemente no concuerda con lo que creemos acerca de Dios. 聶Qu矇 hacer en estas circunstancias? En Habacuc encontramos un libro b穩blico que nos muestra un modelo para enfrentar estos momentos y acrecentar nuestra fe en el Dios que sostiene el universo con su poder.
One of the hardest things Christians face when they step out to share their faith with Muslims is that the conversation almost inevitably veers toward a competitive discussion about which religion is better: You think this, but I think this. Im right and youre wrong. Often youll find yourself on the defensive: Yes, Jesus did die on the cross色 Yes, Jesus is the Son of God色 No, the Bible hasnt been changed色 Is there any way to keep your conversation from degrading into an Im right and youre wrong discussion?
There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure. However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them Expectations
Dr. John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School, will present Origins Today: Genesis Through Ancient Eyes at 51蹤獲. John Waltons work on Genesis 1-3 offers a fresh perspective on the complex issue of faith and science by seeking to understand the message of Scripture within its ancient context.
A search of the Internet will reveal several different kite parables, including one in support of the (un-Christian) idea that by holding tight to the string of Gods commandments people can fly themselves up into the heavens. Id like to suggest a different kite parable, one that is more in keeping with Christian orthodoxy. My parable focuses on the kite itself (not the string) as the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone.
Often times it seems that harder the church tries to be relevant, the more irrelevant we become. The Bible is full of this kind of upside down logic. The self-clingers lose themselves, the prideful end up humbled, those jostling to be first end last, and, now it seems, those trying the hardest to be relevant end up most irrelevant. Thaddeus Williams explores what happens when the church puts relevance to culture ahead of reverence to Christ.
Dyothelitism means that Jesus possesses two wills, one divine and one human. God the Father and God the Son are distinct persons, but they share the same divine will. The difference of Jesus will from his Fathers will in Gethsemane is his human will. By incarnation, God the Son took up a second way of living as a man. He now possesses two natures. Each nature is complete, including a will for each. I define will as the spiritual capacity for desires and choice in the exercise of personal agency. A caution to remember is that these are mysterious operations (desiring, choosing) of mysterious realities (persons, wills, Trinity) that may leave us continuing to wonder even after thinking it all through as best we can. We will consider briefly Jesus divine will, his human will, the situation of Gethsemane, and how this affects our thinking about the Trinity.
Esta semana se conmemoran los d穩as m獺s importantes para el cristianismo y, por consiguiente, para todo el mundo. La muerte y resurrecci籀n de Jesucristo marcan el eje central de nuestra fe. Durante la semana santa recordamos la muerte de Jes繳s en la cruz por nuestros pecados y su victoria sobre la muerte a trav矇s de su gloriosa resurrecci籀n.
While Christians decry the secularization of Christmas, the spirit of that season (gift-giving, twinkling lights, warm cocoa) coalesces rather well with the celebration of God coming to earth in the birth of Jesus. Easter is more difficult. For the Christian, the meaning of Easter is directly connected to the brutal and unjust execution of the one born in Bethlehem. Easter is the exuberance of the empty tomb, and yet it stands in solidarity with the alienation of a blood stained cross.
Can anything good come out of Kansas City? Absolutely! A global event is taking place there now at the International House of Prayer. You are invited to participate in what God is doing.
Which is the best Greek text to use when translating the New Testament? Some people argue for a majority text (a text like the one that lies behind the KVJ or the NKJV but none of the other major translations). What are the arguments that have been put forth in favor of the superiority of the Byzantine (majority) text of the Greek New Testament? How would you respond to someone who insisted that the majority text approach is correct?
Recuerdo que el pastor de la iglesia donde crec穩 repet穩a constantemente esta frase el amor es un producto de la voluntad. Estas palabras se convirtieron en una expresi籀n com繳n en la iglesia y se mencionaban constantemente en diferentes contextos. Me parece que lo que el pastor quer穩a comunicar era que la acci籀n de amar est獺 basada principalmente en una decisi籀n y no solamente en emociones. Nuestras emociones cambian, pero cuando decidimos amar a Dios y a nuestro pr籀jimo independientemente de nuestro estado de 獺nimo entonces estamos as穩 cumpliendo la ley de Cristo. Estoy de acuerdo con la idea general, pero creo que el amor va mucho m獺s all獺 de nuestra voluntad. El amor se centra en la persona de Dios y nosotros tenemos el gran privilegio de participar y demostrar el amor divino.
Jesus prayed for His church to form a kind of angled mirror, bonded together with the kind of love that directs the worlds gaze upward to behold the Triune God of love (Jn. 17:11-24). Are we reflecting the Triune God clearly, or do our churches often form more of a cracked mirror, fragmented shards with animosities and apathies caked like mud, refracting little light from above? Dr. Williams explores one reason we may often fail to reflect the Trinity, namely, the lack of a robust doctrine of "the anti-Trinity."
Talbot faculty members share some of their picks for the best books released in 2012. Read about their recommendedations here, listed in alphabetical order:
Hell. I don't think about this subject often, so you can imagine my surprise when I found such moving thoughts on hell from an author I regard: John Bunyan.
As we near the outset of a new academic semester, I thought this comment from John Frame was a fitting word of encouragement for Talbot faculty and students alike concerning the nature of our engagement with Gods word.
I am very excited to announce that Talbot School of Theology will be launching a new Doctor of Ministry track in Asian-American Ministry in June of 2013. This is a 2-week residency that will run from June 3rd to the 14th, 2013. This track will be taught and guided by some of the most experienced leaders, instructors, and practitioners in Asian-American ministry. The track is geared towards anyone who pastors or leads Asian-Americans in a church or parachurch.
Among the must-have toys of Christmas 1975 was the pet rock. Advertising executive Gary Dahl conceived the idea while listening to others complain about the hassles of animate pets, and then his marketing instincts kicked in. He gathered ordinary stones,
Oh! Little town of Newtown, how still and sad we see thee lie. Newtown. 51蹤獲 100 miles from the little town where I grew up. That Connecticut bedroom village where local industries long manufactured fire hoses and folding boxes. The town where the game Scrabble began. The bucolic community where pizza places are called Carminuccios and elementary schools are called Sandy Hook. The New England hamlet where names of streets describe its pastoral landscape, names like Head of Meadows, Boggs Hill and Deep Brook.
Al mundo paz naci籀 Jes繳s es el inicio de un popular villancico navide簽o que resume magistralmente esta temporada de fiesta por la llegada del Hijo de Dios entre nosotros. La navidad celebra el cumplimiento de la promesa de la venida del Pr穩ncipe de paz (Is. 9:6). La segunda persona de la trinidad se hizo hombre y habit籀 entre nosotros para despu矇s darnos vida a trav矇s de su sacrificio expiatorio en la cruz. Por lo tanto, la navidad es un acontecimiento digno de celebrarse.
Con Campbells new book, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012, 479 pages, $34.99 softcover) is one of the most important books Ive read in a long time. I predict that scholars and serious students of the Bible will be referring to this book for years to come. The reason is simple: Campbell has meticulously and even-handedly taken one of the Apostle Pauls central themes, union with Christ, and has painstakingly examined it both through an exegetical and a theological lens.
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