Category: Evangelicalism
Revisiting the Progressive Evangelical Package
A few years ago I wrote a piece for Mere O called, “The Progressive Evangelical Package.” It probably helps to read it before proceeding. Simply put, though, before the language of “tribes” and “tribal thinking” became lingua franca, I tried...
Baptist Sacramentology and the Concern with Donatism
(1: Gavin Ortlund’s Initial Post, 2: Jonathan Leeman’s Response, 3: Gavin Ortlund’s Response) Gavin, Thanks for your elucidating and studied replies. Good conversation. Here are some brief responses to the various points you brought up. “The” Baptist View on Membership I was not...
There is One Baptism, but Not One Baptist View of Baptism
By Gavin Ortlund (1: Gavin Ortlund’s Initial Post, 2: Jonathan Leeman’s Response, 4: Jonathan Leeman’s Final Response) Thanks Jonathan for your irenic and thoughtful response. I, too, am grateful for our time together in D.C. and our friendship and partnership in the gospel....
Church Membership and the Definition of Baptism
(1: Gavin Ortlund’s Initial Post, 3: Gavin Ortlund’s Response, 4: Jonathan Leeman’s Final Response) Gavin, Thank you for the opportunity to interact with you on this matter. I’m grateful for you and our partnership in the gospel, and I remember your time...
Can We Reject Paedobaptism and Still Receive Paedobaptists?
By Gavin Ortlund (2: Jonathan Leeman’s Response, 3: Gavin Ortlund’s Response, 4: Jonathan Leeman’s Final Response) There are some great discussions happening on Twitter about baptism and church membership (for instance, Jake Meador started this one, which carried on for quite...
Evangelicalism, Christian Identity, and Church Membership
A little while back one of my favorite preachers offered a long list of Christian books he recommends. It included excellent books about God and salvation and missions and the Christian life. But, strangely, it did not point to a...
Savage Love: A Review of the Work of Elisabeth Elliot
“‘You are loved with an everlasting love,’ that’s what the Bible says, ‘and underneath are the everlasting arms.’ This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot…” I grew up hearing those words regularly on the radio as they opened Elisabeth Elliot’s “Gateway...
An Evangelical Response to the ‘Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel’
By Malcolm Foley and Justin Hawkins (originally published on Justin’s blog) We dream neither of a faith devoid of good works nor of a justification that stands without them…Do you wish, then, to attain righteousness in Christ? You must first...
Loving Others Theologically
By Brandon D. Smith “How dare you?!” You might remember this phrase from Mark Driscoll, one of my early heroes in the so-called “New Calvinism” movement. His growl was aimed at men during a rant about how they misuse women...
The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way: Against the Culture War
One of the saddest consequences of the culture war is that it has managed to make people boring. The culture war has made us predictable, even if individual people are anything but. The libertarian online troll is in real life...