“Anthropology lies at the center of contemporary controversies both inside and outside the church.”

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“Anthropology is a topic of ecclesiastical concern in my own denomination. Last summer at its General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church in America appointed a study committee to consider questions related to human sexuality, having only two years earlier received a report on women in ministry. Many of the public controversies among Southern Baptists regarding gender roles, sexual abuse, critical race theory, and even church-state relations also touch directly upon anthropological questions.

Discussion

5 Reasons Christians Should Read Classic Literature

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“Great works of literature reflect the author’s worldview and reflect the characters’ worldviews,” Prior says. “As we encounter those worldviews in the pages, we have to sharpen and refine our own worldview.” - F&T

Discussion

My Take on the New Covenant (Part 3)

Paul Henebury

Read the series.

We all know that sin stops us from inheriting the kind of world God the Creator envisaged for us—a world of peace, joy, righteousness, justice, and glory, not to mention communion with the Lord Himself.

God set the world in motion, permitting the Fall and the devastation that it has brought in its wake. He made covenants with man, signposts and promises to the better world that He still intends to bring about:

Discussion

Swamidass’ “central argument is that current science is fully compatible with many different theological positions on the historical Adam”

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“The core distinction between ‘genetic’ ancestry and ‘genealogical’ ancestry seems valid. Adam and Eve could’ve been genealogical ancestors of all humans alive today, without leaving any genetic trace….Nevertheless, the genealogical hypothesis itself is still dissonant with the biblical Adam and Eve.” - TGC

Discussion

Could Christ Have Sinned?

TylerR

We do a theology class for our congregation twice per month. We meet in the evenings for 90 minutes and discuss a few questions from the assigned reading. We use Grudem’s systematic theology. I’d prefer Erickson, but Grudem’s format is more user-friendly. This coming week, we’re discussing this question:

Discussion

Common Grace: “...we are surrounded by beauty and good things that defy logic.”

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“We begin our journey through grace with the way God shows his grace – his love and favour – towards all he has made. David explicitly highlights this facet of God’s dealings with all his creatures in Psalm 145, captured in the words, ‘The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all he has made’ (145.9).” - Ref 21

Discussion

From the Archives – “Only God Is Great”

Pastor Dan Miller

The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century triggered a fresh wave of bloody conflict in Medieval Europe—a tract of real estate across which evolving nations had suffered tumultuous relations for many dark centuries. Protestant regions broke up Rome’s monopoly on authority in Europe. Neutralizing an authority is one thing; replacing it is quite another matter, and Europe tumbled into near-anarchy. Nation warred against nation and region against region in an all-out scramble to gain control of the rudder of Europe’s destiny.

Out of the context of these chaotic and violent times sprouted a philosophy of governance known as “Monarchial Absolutism.” Absolutist political theory held that Europe’s only hope for avoiding anarchy was for monarchs of the emerging European nations to wield unrestrained power. The cohesive influence Rome had once supplied Europe could be recovered, so it was proposed, by monarchs willing to impose their will with absolute sovereignty over their subjects. (One may detect a less than ideal environment for the human rights of dissenters under such a system. The half of that tragic subplot has never been told.)

Historians generally recognize Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) as the quintessential absolutist monarch. Crowned at age five (a monarchial absolutist pre-schooler—you fill in the blanks!), Louis reigned in earnest from 1660 until his death. That translates into fifty-five years of absolute sovereignty over every aspect of French life. Every citizen, of what was at that time the most powerful nation on the continent, was expected to conform to Louis’ every belief, obey his every demand, and honor his every decision. Imagine!

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