Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 142

Another Great “Moderate Baptist” Leader on the Necessity of Doctrines

Another Great “Moderate Baptist” Leader on the Necessity of Doctrines   Recently I quoted at length here a statement by moderate Baptist leader and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship founder Cecil Sherman who argued that “the faith once for all delivered” must be preserved and not tampered with or discarded. Another hero of many moderate Baptists (neither [Read More...]

What I mean when I say someone is theologically “liberal”

Definitions of “liberal” in theology differ considerably–even among scholars of modern theology. Yale historical theologian (whose special area of scholarship was modern theology) Claude Welch defined it as “maximal acknowledgement of the claims of modernity.” Union Theological Seminary theologian (and self-identified theological liberal) Gary Dorrien defines it as recognizing no authority outside the self. (Of [Read More...]

A Word from a Founder to All My “Moderate Baptist” Friends

A Word from a Founder to All My “Moderate Baptist” Friends This post is intended primarily for Southerners among Baptists who consider themselves “Moderate.” For those of you outside that movement, I’ll explain briefly. Throughout the 1980s and until today many churches and individuals affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in [Read More...]

An Example of Unwarranted Theological Speculation: Divine Timelessness

An Example of Unwarranted Theological Speculation: Divine Timelessness In my immediately preceding post I argued that far too much Christian theology includes unwarranted speculation—especially about God. Under pressure from Greek ontology traditional, “classical theism” has generally agreed that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the Yahweh of the Bible) is somehow (i.e., differently expressed) [Read More...]

Theology and Speculation

Theology and Speculation The issue here is the legitimacy of speculation in theology. What is speculation? In this context, if not in all contexts, “speculation” is making truth claims without clear warrant—reasonable grounding in relevant data. In theology “relevant data” are revelation/Scripture, tradition, reason (logic) and experience. “Experience” is intersubjective experience, not private experience. Some [Read More...]

Calvinism and Evangelism

Calvinism and Evangelism One of the misconceptions about Calvinism (here meaning belief in T.U.L.I.P. and the eternal decree deciding who will and who will not be saved) is that Calvinists cannot or will not do evangelism. Or, to put it more mildly, that Calvinism undermines evangelism. In all such cases we have to distinguish between [Read More...]

A Reformed Theologian’s Critique of Divine Determinism

A Reformed Theologian’s Critique of Divine Determinism Hearty thanks go to publishers Wipf & Stock for re-publishing theologian Emil Brunner’s three volume Dogmatics which was originally published in English by Lutterworth Press in England and subsequently by Westminster Press in America. At least a generation of theological students, including yours truly, read Brunner’s Dogmatics in [Read More...]

What I Mean When I Label Someone “Liberal,” “Fundamentalist,” or “Evangelical” (A Quick Course in Prototype Theory)

What I Mean When I Label Someone “Liberal,” “Fundamentalist,” or “Evangelical” (A Quick Course in Prototype Theory) It would be nice if we could just give up labels that libel. Too often, if not most often, these three labels are used to categorize people with the intention of pinning them down like dead butterflies to [Read More...]

A Blast from the Theological Past That’s Still Relevant: Augustus Hopkins Strong’s “Ethical Monism” (“There is but one substance—God.”)

A Blast from the Theological Past That’s Still Relevant: Augustus Hopkins Strong’s “Ethical Monism” (“There is but one substance—God.”) I realize that this blog, like most, does not draw a large audience by delving into dusty, old theological issues. Unfortunately, most religious blog readers are interested only in “what’s happening now” including controversies, personalities, scandals [Read More...]

Is Privileging Belief in God Justified? The Controversies over AA, the Boy Scouts, and Similar God-Centered Organizations

Is Privileging Belief in God Justified? The Controversies over AA, the Boy Scouts and Similar God-Centered Organizations Over the years I have read many columns in newspapers complaining that atheists are unjustly discriminated against when they are excluded by non-church organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and the Boy Scouts. (Strangely I’ve never read such a [Read More...]