In October, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond had the privilege of hosting all seven volumes of the Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible on our campus. For those not familiar with the project, The Saint John’s Bible is the…
A museum of the Bible is the wrong kind of monument
The founder of the Hobby Lobby chain is building a Bible museum in Washington, D.C. That’s nice. But building a monument to the Bible runs the risk of compounding the serious problem of Bible worship that has plagued evangelical Christianity…
Legislator aims to make Bible state book of Tennessee
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist pastor turned state lawmaker has introduced legislation to designate the Bible “the official state book” of Tennessee. Rep. Jerry Sexton, a Republican from Bean Station in the Morristown metropolitan area in East Tennessee,…
When I knew everything
May 8, 1970 was the day when I knew everything. On that day, I received a master of divinity degree after three years of study at an accredited theological seminary. I had received good grades (well, I did get a…
A failure of imagination on reading Scripture, part 1
God sure seems to get a bad rap sometimes, even from his followers. Well, that may go just a bit far. God’s word gets a bad rap much more frequently than he does. How should we handle this? How about…
Board drops plans for Bible course in Oklahoma public schools
By Bob Allen An Oklahoma school district has dropped plans for a pilot project by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green aimed at adding Bible study to the curriculum of public high schools nationwide, a church-state watchdog group reported Nov. 25….
Balancing a congregation’s spiritual diet
By Doyle Sager Is your congregation receiving all its spiritual vitamins and minerals? We all know how crucial a balanced physical diet is; our spirits also need a healthy mixture of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). But before…
Saving the Bible by damning God
“Young man,” a grizzled Presbyterian cleric asked a harried candidate for ordination, “would you be willing to be damned for the greater glory of God?” Uncertain how to respond, and weary from two hours of dense theological questions he didn’t…
Jesus and brain science agree: money kills empathy
Although you would never know it from listening to American preaching, Jesus linked poverty with the kingdom of God and affluence with sin. The text of the first sermon Jesus preached was taken from Isaiah 61: The spirit of the…