Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 150

A Curse of Living Long: Having Seen It All Before (Thoughts about “Signs and Wonders”)

A Curse of Living Long: Having Seen It All Before (Thoughts about “Signs and Wonders”) I’m not really that old, but I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime. And I’ve read a lot. And I’ve watched a lot of television. I’ve met and talked with many different people (I’ve had literally thousands of students) and [Read More...]

Calvinism and God-ordained Suffering: A Follow Up

This is for those who have been following the recent discussion thread about what a Calvinist care-giver should say, if he or she chose to express a classical Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty, to a suffering person who asks “Why is God letting this happen to me?” You may recall that one of my most [Read More...]

A Question to Calvinists

A Question to Calvinists One of my most faithful blog visitors and participants signed off recently, telling me in a message not to be posted that he would no longer read my blog. He is a self-identified Calvinist and accused me of misrepresenting Calvinism here. The offending statement was in my recent post about Christian [Read More...]

What about “Contextual Theologies?”

What about “Contextual Theologies?”   The term “contextual theologies” has come to be used in several ways. Here, by it, I mean theologies, accounts of God and matters related to God, that claim to be Christian but 1) fairly radically diverge from so-called “Western theologies,” and 2) propose alternatives to traditional “Western” orthodoxy based on [Read More...]

Should Pastors Be Trained in Mental Health Care-giving?

This is a follow-up to my most recent post about Christian care-giving that focused especially on hospital chaplains (although much of what I said could apply to any form of Christian care-giving).   It seems serendipitous if not more that today’s (Sunday, September 14) newspaper carries a front-page story entitled “Seminary grads lack psych training.” [Read More...]

What Is the Duty of a Christian Care-giver (Such as a Chaplain)?

What Is the Duty of a Christian Care-giver (Such as a Chaplain)?   I recently had a fascinating discussion with a couple hospital chaplains about theology and what I would call “therapeutic ministry” to the suffering. By “the suffering” I mean those who are ill or wounded and their grieving loved ones.   Let me [Read More...]

What Is “Marcionism?” My Response to a Ludicrous Accusation

What Is “Marcionism?” My Response to a Ludicrous Accusation   It has recently come to my attention that some critics are accusing me of “Marcionism.” A few commenters here have thrown that wild accusation at me—based on my questioning the literal interpretation of some Old Testament “texts of terror.”   Anyone who throws that accusation [Read More...]

Wolfhart Pannenberg R.I.P.

One of the last theological giants passed away September 5 (2014). Wolfhart Pannenberg was without doubt one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. He was born in Stettin, Germany (now part of Poland) in 1928. He was in poor health for the past several years. I had the privilege of studying with [Read More...]

Who’s a “Real Evangelical?”

I had to laugh when I read a comment here (responding to one of my blog posts) calling me a “fauxevangelical.” The prefix “faux-” means “fake.” I’m not sure why the commenter didn’t just say “fake evangelical.” Maybe he thought calling me a “fauxevangelical” was less offensive and/or made him sound more intelligent. In any [Read More...]

Kudos to Two Former Students: A Book and A Debate

I am very proud of my students–past and present. Recently two of them have made what I consider powerful and positive contributions to the evangelical community (and beyond). Austin Fischer is teaching pastor at The Vista Community (church) in central Texas (Temple/Belton). He is the author of the much acclaimed book Young, Restless, No Longer [Read More...]