A Kind Invitation to Egalitarians
The evangelical left loves to critique complementarianism. And more power to them. Marshal your best exegetical arguments, egalitarians, and put pressure on us to be biblically faithful. Don't let us remain complacent, assuming that our gender-role traditions are necessarily worth preserving. It's hard work to "weed" the garden of one's own cultural and religious customs, and sometimes the only person who can spot a particular dandelion (or even a gargantuan kudzu vine) is the gardener next...
Bavinck on Anthropology
This is pretty dense, but it's rich. I wish I'd seen it during my dissertation work (with which it is quite consistent). It reflects Herman Bavinck's incredibly wide view of the field of theology. I've really enjoyed absorbing his century-old material on the image of God. It honestly feels like it was written yesterday with all the names changed. Maybe theology hasn't progressed as far as we inveterate chronological snobs tend to think. I added paragraphing for easier processing: Rationalism...
The Literal Meaning of Literal
In the American South, it can still feel natural to have religious discussions with strangers. My last was with a friendly and professional C-Dry Basement services salesman. Standing in my mildly leaky, retirement-age home (b. 1948), he told me confidently, "You can't take the Bible literally. It's all metaphorical and allegorical." I replied with a question he didn't seem ready for: what does "literally" mean? And I think the question could be helpfully specified further—and then bifurcated,...
Unnecessary Letter to the Editor
I just found out that Greenville, SC has banned texting while driving within the city limits. I'm glad. Looks like I won't have to send this letter to the editor I "jotted down" to myself via an audio note (on my phone, while driving...): I’m a freedom-loving American. I don’t want to live in a nanny state. I can certainly understand why state governments would choose not to tell their citizens what to do with their cellphones while driving. But I’m also, fairly newly, a parent. And, fairly...
Mark Ward Speaking at BJU Greek Forum
My dissertation committee chairman is still skeptical that I ever learned μι any Greek, but I'm pretty sure I did. Any anyway, I'm not really going to be talking about Greek at the Greek forum but about Bible software. Here's the official announcement from the Greek department. You're welcome to come: This semester's BJU Greek forum will be held on Thursday, April 10 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm in Lecture Room A. The forum is presented by Dr. Mark Ward who graduated from BJU with a PhD in New...