Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 179

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 1

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 1 As I mentioned in the previous post, I am finally getting around to commenting publicly on “A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment,” otherwise known as “An Evangelical Manifesto,” published by a group of leading evangelical thinkers in 2008. If you have not yet read any of [...]

“An Evangelical Manifesto” (2008) and My Response to It

Someone has asked for my response to “An Evangelical Manifesto” which you can read at www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com. This statement of evangelical identity and public commitment was published before my blog began, so I have never publicly commented on it (that I recall). If you decide to read it, I recommend you begin with “An Introduction” and [...]

Quick Follow Up to the Karl Barth “Jesus Loves Me….” Series

Just this morning I received an e-mail from a woman who confirms that she heard Karl Barth respond to a student’s question with “Jesus loves me, this I know…” at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, in 1962. Her name is LeTourneau and her e-mail is convincing. Of course, as we have already discovered, Barth [...]

Did Karl Barth Really Say “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know….?”

A  while back I asked a question mainly out of curiosity. Did Karl Barth really answer a student’s question (during his 1962 trip to the U.S.) with “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so?” What sparked my curiosity are two things. First, I’ve heard the story numerous times in sermons [...]

What Counts as “Religion” and Why Does It Matter?

What Counts as “Religion” and Why Does It Matter? We all think we know what “religion” is, but every now and then a situation occurs that demonstrates the concept is not as clear and distinct as we think and that attempting to make it more clear and distinct is important. Let me share the most [...]

From Where Did the First Evil Inclination Come? A Dialogue with a Calvinist

What follows is a blog visitor’s response to my blog question to Calvinists about the source of the first evil inclination. It comes from Alan Steele who I assume is a Calvinist (because my challenge was to Calvinists): “Wow. A lot of ground being covered here. I think it’s great to see such active engagement [...]

Holding Our Distinctives More Lightly (Pentecostalism As a Case Study)

My recent post was about how my spiritual life has been enriched by the distinctive beliefs and practices of many different Christian traditions. Without taking anything I said there back, now I want to talk about how distinctive Christian traditions hold their distinctives, how they treat them and other Christians who do not (or no [...]

Confessions of an Ecumenical, Eclectic, Baptist Christian

Confessions of an Ecumenical, Eclectic, Baptist Christian Roger E. Olson             I can’t claim the Baptist pedigree of the man who proudly identified himself as “Baptist born, Baptist bred, and when I’m gone I’ll be Baptist dead.” Unlike him, and unlike many of my colleagues past and present, I didn’t grow up Baptist. I’m a [...]

Defining “Evangelical”: Why It’s Necessary and Impossible

Defining “Evangelical”: Why It’s Necessary and Impossible Some years ago Presbyterian publisher Westminster John Knox Press asked me to write a volume for a theological handbook series. Mine was to be The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology. It was published in 2004. This was one of the most labor-intensive writing projects I’ve ever undertaken and [...]

Austin Fischer’s Response to Critics of His Post about “Passion”

Reflections on Reflections to Reflections on Passion Here are some reflections on the reflections people had to my reflections on Passion. Handling Sacred Cows Voicing critique while also voicing appreciation and approval is tough. It’s tough on the part of the communicator, but just as tough on the part of the hearer. When we listen [...]