Introducing Theology: A Forgotten Essential

by

Below is a paper written for an Introduction to Theology class at DTS. It is a response paper to two introductory books about theology, but let me explain the picture. I think theology is much more essential to Christian faith than the average Christian realizes. It’s a forgotten essential, as this paper tries to prove. Hence, I show you a rusty old gear without which many a machine would cease to run. Theology is like that gear. We need it for Christianity to run, and you can hate it all you want, but without it, the Christian life goes no … [Read more]

The Kingdom of God

by

This is my first graduate level paper… I think it’s about the same as my other papers, but I haven’t had time to write blog posts because I’ve been writing stuff like this. I hope you enjoy it! Ask yourself, “What do I think Jesus meant by ‘the kingdom of God’?”   INTRODUCTION The kingdom of God (KoG) is one of the few major biblical themes that literally spans from the beginning of the book to the end. It is in Genesis 1 and 2 that we see God creating a kingdom on earth to rule, and it is in … [Read more]

Partly Holy Christians

by

I’ve noticed that the blog posts I write that get the most views are the ones about controversial or touchy subjects. Not many read my posts on the philosophy behind God’s name as the present tense, first person, “to be” verb. I find it vivifying and exhilarating! Not many read my post on gluttony. Who cares right? That’s a sin we’re okay with in our culture, and if we’re not, we just keep it to ourselves. I can’t tell you how many people didn’t read my posts about Progressive and Normative Dispensationalism. I bet most of you even skipped over … [Read more]

His Name’s Not Lucifer

by

I made an off-hand comment in a post that said, “If you want to know how to irritate me… say that satan’s name before he fell was Lucifer, but that’s the topic of another post for another time.” That time has come! Let’s be clear up-front. This is an incredibly non-essential point of theology. What we call the enemy, satan, is secondary to the fact that he is real and is against us. The topic of this post is just a pet peeve of mine. However, this particular pet peeve stems from a deeper and more important point: Do you … [Read more]

Christians and Booze

by

Were you to ask the Christian world, “Can Christians drink alcohol?” you would receive different Christian answers. Your hard-core Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, and others would shout, “No!” in glorious unison. Your Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Anglicans and others would scream, “Yes!” with equal fervor. Non-denoms, Lutherans, and Reformed guys would fill in the spectrum with generous helpings of “maybe”, “sometimes”, and “what do you mean by ‘can’?” Dallas Theological Seminary recently changed their position on the subject, which has got me thinking about the whole question again. Is it ever right for a Christian to drink alcohol? Well, as is … [Read more]