Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Bart Ehrman and Darrell Bock Debate the Authorship of the Early Writings of the New Testament on Unbelievable (Audio)

“Skeptical Bible scholar Bart Ehrman’s latest book “Forged” claims that many of the writings of the New Testament are falsely attributed to apostles such as Peter and Paul. He claims that they were not written by them and that a deliberate deception was taking place. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary responds, saying that the case for forgery is not as conclusive as Bart claims. They examine the evidence for whether 1 and 2 Peter were written by Peter as well as letters attributed to Paul such as Ephesians and 2 Thessolonians.” (Unbelievable Radio)

Listen here

Also, see The Ehrman Project for videos and articles.
An important review of Forged by Dr. Kruger, click here.
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Parents: Are You Plugged-In Online?

Do you know what your kids, preteens, and teens are watching, texting, and sharing online? At the movies? Listening to? Now you can with minimal effort each week by visiting a very helpful website called “Plugged-In.” where you will find reviews of the latest video games, music, shows, and movies. They have an iPhone and Droid app and there is also a new book out called Plugged-IN Parenting: How to Raise Media-Savvy Kids with Love, Not War by Bob Waliszewski.



Parents: Are there any technology / media boundaries in place? Any accountability? Have you said no to any movies this summer? Yes there will be conflict with your children as you discuss what media is worth consuming and what isn’t and why you need all of their social media usernames and passwords etc.; but what’s the alternative? Allowing your child to be mindlessly shaped by a culture that is embedded with ideas and images that lead them AWAY from life with God? We need to reject passivity and engage! There are great resources available to help you, Plugged In is one of the best. For filtering and internet accountability sites Bsecure and Covenant Eyes are great options. I am not supporting running for the hills and saying no to all technology etc., but we must be active in our media consumption and learn to think Christianly about our entertainment choices and then teach our kids to do the same.
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Theologian Wayne Grudem on God, the Christian, and Politics

This is a hot topic these days, so how do we think Christianly about Government and Politics? Should God and Politics even mix? Theologian Wayne Grudem answers these and other questions in this interview with the Acton Institute:

R&L: Why did you write Politics According to the Bible and how will it help Christians engage the political culture?

Grudem: I found that there were many Christians concerned about the direction of our nation. But they were unsure what the Bible taught about various political topics. I had taught ethics for nearly 30 years at the seminary level, and I realized that many of the topics that I was teaching had direct implications for political questions. I taught material related to abortion, euthanasia, just war theory, capital punishment, the rich and the poor, the role of government, and environmental stewardship. The more I thought about these things, the more I realized that there were very sound biblical principles that had direct implications for political questions.

Another reason is that I realized that many Christians thought it was unspiritual to get involved in politics and government. However, I found that in the Bible there were many examples of God’s people influencing secular governments. I am arguing in the book that it is a spiritually good thing and it is pleasing to God when Christians can influence government for good.

What do you think are the biggest mistakes many evangelicals make when it comes to their approach to policy debates in the public square?

I actually list five mistakes that people make about Christian influence on government in the first chapter of my book. The first one is that government should compel religion. But I argue that government power should not be used to try to force people to support a particular religious viewpoint. I don’t think very many evangelicals hold that first wrong view today, but in past history, both Catholic and Protestant believers have fallen prey to the temptation of trying to use the immense power of government to force compliance with certain beliefs. The mistake there is a failure to understand that genuine religious faith cannot be forced.

The second mistake is that government should exclude religion, and that is of course seen in many of the decisions of secular courts today, where they’re trying to keep Christians out of the public square and keep Christians from expressing their faith publicly or influencing government at all. That denies freedom of religion.

The third mistake is the pacifist tradition that says government use of power is evil and demonic, and Christians should not have any part in it. They should not participate in military or police forces, using superior force to restrain and punish evil, because that is the work of Satan. I do not think the New Testament views government that way. Romans 13:4 says the government authority is “God’s servant for your good.” When the government authority carries the sword to punish wrongdoing, it is acting as God’s servant, as the agent of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer.

The fourth mistake is very common today. It tends to be held by more conservative Christians, and that is the idea that Christians should do evangelism and not politics.

I have to say first that the center of the gospel, of course, is belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It salutes the gospel of salvation by faith alone, in Christ alone. Nevertheless, there are broader implications of the gospel, because the gospel, when it is truly proclaimed, will result in changed lives. And I think Jesus wants us to have changed marriages and changed ideas of parenting and changed schools and changed neighborhoods and changed businesses and workplaces, and certainly, that would include changed governments as well.

I think that pastors have an obligation to explain to their congregations how Biblical teachings impact the government. In addition to that, there are many passages in the Bible that talk about God’s purpose for government. Another answer to this view that says we should do evangelism and not politics is that it fails to understand the great influence that Christians have had on governments since the early history of the Church. Early in the Roman Empire, it was Christian influence that led to outlawing infanticide, child abandonment and abortion in the Roman Empire. Christian influence led to outlawing the gladiatorial contests in 404 A.D. Christian influence led to granting property rights and other protections to women at various times through history. Christian influence led to a law prohibiting the burning alive of widows with their dead husbands in India in 1829. Moreover, Christian influence led to the outlawing of the cruel practice of binding young women’s feet in China in 1912. One can also look to the heroic campaigns of England’s William Wilberforce or the Christian abolitionists in our own history. Alvin Schmidt in How Christianity Changed the World points this out very well.

Dr. Wayne Grudem giving a lecture at Phoenix Seminary.

All of those changes happened because Christians realized that if they could influence laws and governments for good, they would be loving their neighbors as themselves, and they would be doing what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 when He said, “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.”

The last mistake, the fifth one, is that Christians should do politics, not evangelism. My book seeks to warn Christians away from the temptation of thinking if we just elect the right leaders and pass the right laws, we will have a good nation. That fails to understand that a genuine transformation of a nation will not come about unless peoples’ hearts are changed so that they have a desire to do what is right and live in obedience to good laws…..


Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Before we had an “official Bible” what and who determined sound doctrine? (video)

This is a very important question. Here is a video in which New Testament scholar Darrell Bock offers a succinct and historically sound answer.


For more, see Bock’s excellent work, The Missing Gospels.


See also, The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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The Christian Citizen and Loving Your Neighbor

Here is short post on loving your neighbor and being a Christian citizen by Dr. Frank Beckwith:

Although the Bible says little about how Christians should be involved with politics, it seems to me that there are principles found in Scripture that can help us to think more clearly about the question. For example, we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves. Does that refer only to their eternal souls? Apparently not, since even a casual reading of the Gospels shows our Savior tying Christian virtue to practical action on behalf of one’s neighbor. The parable of the Good Samaritan is perhaps the most forceful illustration offered by Christ. But today, of course, the issues that drive many Christians to political action are contentious moral issues such as on abortion and the nature of marriage. What does it mean to love our neighbor when it comes to those issues? Does it mean that we do not employ the resources of law to make sure our neighbor is not harmed? For instance, in abortion, a tiny neighbor, the unborn child, is killed. Ought we to protect him? He is, after all, our neighbor too. And in the case of marriage, if the government were to allow same-sex marriage everywhere, and if opposing it is equivalent to visceral bigotry (as the opponents of prop 8 claim), would this not put Christians and their churches in the crosshairs of marginalization and persecution, simply because they believe…(read the rest)

Beckwith has an excellent book on Politics: