Articles for tag: Doctrine

September 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Encouraging Healthy Controversy

By Brian Giese We live in an age when the world invites Christians to keep their faith to themselves and out of the limelight. This is also a day when no one wants to confront anyone, and nobody wants to be confronted. The rule seems to be: “Let each person make his own choices, and don”t judge him or her. Don”t make waves, just love everybody.” No one can deny that the world needs more love, but what kind of love? When one reaches adulthood, he can look back and see that the correction and punishment his parents gave him

March 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Emmanuel Offers Web-based Degree Completion

By Jennifer Taylor Last month, Emmanuel Christian Seminary (Johnson City, TN) began offering a new independent study course called “Current Trends in Theological Education” to help students complete unfinished degrees. The online course is designed for previous Emmanuel students who have been absent from course work for more than five years and have completed every degree requirement except the thesis. The new course covers each of the five academic areas studied at ECS””Old Testament, New Testament, church history, doctrine, and Christian ministries. In each area students will complete about 400 pages of reading, review lectures by various faculty members, and

July 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Faith, Liberty, and Love in the Holy Spirit

By Gary Holloway “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.” This is one of the most powerful statements in Christian history. It has been an influential statement for those of us who have a heritage in the American Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. But in my experience, we have often argued and divided over matters of opinion. One problem is that what some consider opinion, others consider a matter of faith. It must have been the same in Paul”s time. In writing to the Romans, he talks about these disputable matters in Romans 13:8″”15:7. The

May 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Rob Bell Isn”t Your Biggest Concern

By Brian Jones With the release this spring of Rob Bell”s new book, Love Wins, we finally have confirmation of what many of us have suspected for years””he”s a flipping genius. Only a brilliant thinker and writer could make heresy sound like refreshing orthodoxy. But this is in fact what he”s done, with flair. Taking something so clear and unambiguous as the reality of Hell after death for nonbelievers and replacing it with false hope, and making even the most grounded among us scratch our heads, is no easy feat. The fact is we shouldn”t be surprised””this has been going

March 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Clearing a Path to Life

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe by the time you read this, the threat of major snowfall in your community will have passed. And if you live in Derry, New Hampshire, maybe your city workers have resumed digging graves. Derry town administrator Jack Anderson told reporters February 7 the Forest Hills Cemetery would probably be closed for four weeks, its frozen acres buried under too much ice and snow to make digging new graves possible. This is because the gravediggers in Derry also drive the small town”s snowplows. And, given the onslaught of this winter”s storms, there just wasn”t manpower to

December 17, 2010

Christian Standard

The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 3)

Read “The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 1) Read “The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 2)” ________ By Jack W. Cottrell My thesis is that the understanding of the doctrine of salvation in most Protestant groups is captive to the Zwinglian version of the sola fidei paradigm. In the previous article (last week) I showed how this is the case in the way faith is treated as the sole condition for justification, and not just its sole means. It is also seen in the way repentance either is excluded as a condition altogether, or is diminished by being made simply

December 14, 2010

Christian Standard

The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 2)

Read “The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 1)” Read “The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 3)” _________________ By Jack W. Cottrell Previously I noted that Michael Denton speaks of how modern science regards Darwinian evolution as the determinative paradigm or controlling interpretive principle to which all scientific data must be made to conform””even when the data are in conflict with the paradigm. He calls this faulty methodology the “priority of the paradigm” (à la Thomas Kuhn). In that earlier essay I applied this concept to certain faulty theological systems, which likewise are distorted by the tyranny of their respective paradigms.

September 29, 2010

Christian Standard

“˜Look at What We Have in Common”

By Darrel Rowland The new church Reggie Moore had planted on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, had run out of space in the hotel conference room where it gathered. He was calling around to see where he could find a bigger place for his fledgling congregation when somebody suggested he contact a church in the nearby suburb of Westerville. It sounded good. But Moore”s biggest worry was about doctrine. Just what did these Christian church people believe anyway? Greg Bondurant was mugged by black toughs when he was a youngster in Akron. But years later as an established preacher,

July 18, 2010

Christian Standard

The Tyranny of the Paradigm (Part 1)

By Jack Cottrell In 1986 Michael Denton wrote Evolution: A Theory in Crisis (Adler & Adler, 1996), in which he is severely critical of evolutionary theory. He presented compelling arguments for intelligent design, especially from the living cell, before most of us ever heard of Michael Behe. This is significant because Denton is a respected molecular biologist and medical doctor””and a complete agnostic. Though he argues for design, he professes ignorance as to who or what the designer might be. Nevertheless, throughout this large volume, Denton offers many examples of scientific evidence that the phenomena of nature could not have

March 18, 2007

Christian Standard

How Much Does God Really Know? (Part 2)

Editor”s note: Last week”s article introduced the “openness of God” (open theism) debate by listing difficult questions about God and time that have faced sincere believers throughout history. The author also offered a long list of Scriptures that seem to support the openness idea. He concludes this week with a parallel Scripture list that seems to refute this doctrine and then offers suggestions for reconciling the paradox.     By Knofel Staton Those who advocate open theism say God does not know what will happen in the future because there is nothing yet to know. The future is open not

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