How did the Arminian and Calvinistic beliefs help shape the doctrine of salvation in the Southern Baptist Convention today? The Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has published its most recent edition of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry (JBTM), on the theme of “Calvinist, Arminian, and Baptist Perspectives on Soteriology.”

In the first part of this edition of the journal a panel of scholars examine the work of one of Baptist’s earliest theologians. Last spring, the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry sponsored a panel discussion on Thomas Grantham’s View of Salvation. The keynote speaker was Dr. J. Matthew Pinson, President of Free Will Baptist Bible College, who presented his paper, “Thomas Grantham’s Theology of the Atonement and Justification.” The panel respondents were Rhyne Putman (PhD Candidate, Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary), Clint Bass (D.Phil, Oxford), and James Leonard (PhD Candidate, Cambridge).

In the second half of this edition, four scholars discuss various aspects of Calvinism and Baptist soteriology. Dr. Kenneth Stewart makes an historical examination of the doctrine of regeneration from the Reformation to the nineteenth century. Heather Kendall builds a case for biblical storylines in relation to salvation. Dr. Glen Shellrude addresses issues surrounding traditional Calvinistic readings of the New Testament. And Dr. Eric Hankins proposes a middle path between Calvinism and Arminianism.

This edition also features ten book reviews and, in “Reflections,” a tribute to Dr. Alan Day.

Click on the link to access the complete new issue, or click on the articles and reviews below to read individual articles or book reviews.

Editorial Introduction

Calvinist, Arminian, and Baptist Perspectives on Soteriology
By Steve W. Lemke

Part I: Thomas Grantham’s View of Salvation

Thomas Grantham’s Theology of the Atonement and Justification
By J. Matthew Pinson

RESPONSE to J. Matthew Pinson’s “Thomas Grantham’s Theology of the Atonement and Justification”
By Rhyne Putman

RESPONSE to J. Matthew Pinson’s “Thomas Grantham’s Theology of the Atonement and Justification”
By Clint Bass

RESPONSE to J. Matthew Pinson’s “Thomas Grantham’s Theology of the Atonement and Justification”
By James Leonard

RESPONSE to Panel
By J. Matthew Pinson

Part II: Calvinist and Baptist Soteriology

The Doctrine of Regeneration in Evangelical Theology: The Reformation to 1800
By Kenneth Stewart

The Bible’s Storyline: How it Affects the Doctrine of Salvation
By Heather A. Kendall

Calvinism and Problematic Readings of New Testament Texts
By Glen Shellrude

Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism: Toward a Baptist Soteriology
By Eric Hankins

Joe McKeever’s Cartoon

Book Reviews
Allen, David L. and Steve W. Lemke, eds.

Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective.
Chester, Tim

Delighting in the Trinity: Why Father, Son and Spirit are Good News.
Echols, Steve F. and Allen England

Catastrophic Crises: Ministry Leadership in the Midst of Trial and Tragedy.
Forlines, Leroy

Classical Arminianism.
Goetz, Stewart and Charles Taliaferro

A Brief History of the Soul.
Harwood, Adam

The Spiritual Condition of Infants: A Biblical-Historical Survey and Systematic Proposal.
McCarthy, James G.

John Calvin Goes to Berkeley.
Reeves, Rodney

Spirituality according to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ.
Williams, Clifford

Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires & Emotions for Faith.
Wright, Bradley R. E.

Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media.

Reflections Dr. Alan Day

For free access to a list of the articles in all issues of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry, click this link: http://www.baptistcenter.com/Journal-for-Baptist-Theology-and-Ministry.html. The next edition of the Journal for Theology and Ministry will be a festschrift in honor of Dr. Daniel Holcomb, Senior Professor of Church History at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

You are also invited to take advantage of other resources in the Baptist Center website, including white papers, Baptist confessions, historic Baptist documents, and other free resources for Baptists.

What happens when we die? The answer depends on who you ask. If you ask an atheist, you’ll hear a completely different answer than if you ask a Christian. These two worldviews are often polar opposites. That is especially true with this question.

On April 13 and 14, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting the 8^th annual Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum, a dialogue between Dr. Michael Shermer and Dr. Gary Habermas. They will be debating “Is There Life After Death?” This event is open to the public; and kicks off on Friday night with the main debate followed by a book signing, and continues on Saturday with the presentation of a series of papers and responses on the subject.

For more information on the Greer-Heard forum and to register, click here.

DIALOGUE PARTICIPANTS

Dr. Michael Shermer (PhD, Claremont Graduate University) is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, and Adjunct Professor at Claremont Graduate University.

Dr. Shermer has written several books that discuss where God, evolution, and science intersect:

• The Mind of the Market (2009)
• Why Darwin Matters: Evolution and the Case Against Intelligent Design (2007)
• Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown (2005)
• The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Share Care, and Follow the Golden Rule (2004)
• The Borderlands of Science (2002)
• How We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God (2003)
• Why People Believe Weird Things (2002)

Dr. Gary Habermas is Distinguished Research professor at Liberty University. In the last 12 years he has given over 1,500 lectures in about 100 universities, seminaries, and colleges. He holds a PhD in History and Philosophy of Religion from Michigan State University as well as an MA in Philosophical Theology from the University of Detroit. He currently acts as ‘Distinguished Research Professor and Chair’ in the Department of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University, where he has taught for the past 26 years. His main areas of research include the philosophical study of miracles, near-death experiences, the historical Jesus, and the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Dr. Habermas has authored or co-edited many books defending the Christian worldview, including:

• Did the Resurrection Happen? (with Antony Flew and David J. Baggett, 2009).
• C. S. Lewis as Philosopher (with Jerry Walls & David Baggett, 2008),
• The Secret of the Talpiot Tomb: Unraveling the Mystery of the Jesus Family Tomb (2007),
• Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality (with J.P. Moreland, 2004)
• The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (with Michael Licona, 2004),
• The Risen Jesus and Future Hope (1996),
• The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (1996),

Other featured panelist include:

• Peter Kreeft,
• J.P. Moreland,
• Keith Parsons,
• and Victor Stenger

Plan to come early and experience the events leading up to the Friday night Greer-Heard Point Counterpoint Forum:

Friday Morning

• Apologetics Conference “Apologetics in the Local Church”
  • The featured panelists will hold a discussion and Q&A from the audience
  • This event is sponsored by the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry
• A special chapel service featuring Bryant Wright
  • His sermon will model Apologetic Preaching

Friday Afternoon

• Pastors’ Lunch with the SBC President, Bryant Wright
  • This will include a Q&A time with the SBC President
  • Register quickly, there are only 200 seats available

Technorati Tags: life after death, Shermer, Habermas

By Dr. Malcolm Yarnell, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Center for Theological Research at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“What do America’s leading Megachurch Pastor, a highly-esteemed Mennonite historian, and an icon of the Conservative Resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention have in common?” At first the listener narrows his eyes, looking for the punch line; then he realizes that the question posed is a serious one. For there is a major conference scheduled at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, which features those three different Christian leaders alongside others.

So, what do these major leaders from diverse arenas of evangelical Christianity have in common? They each share a passion to learn from those oft-misunderstood radical Christians of the sixteenth century, the Anabaptists! Rick Warren, Abraham Friesen, and Paige Patterson will join with leading scholars from Germany, Ukraine, Georgia (the state, not the nation), New York, and Texas to explore the history of the Anabaptists and discuss their importance for Baptists today.

Rick Warren is the pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, a huge and very active congregation that began with a small Bible study in 1979. Warren is a best-selling author, a mission-minded pastor, and sometime interviewer of presidential candidates. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary with an abiding interest in church history, Warren will be speaking in a plenary session on “The Radical Reformers and the Great Commission.”

Abraham Friesen is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has published a number of scholarly books and articles about the Anabaptists in the context of the European Renaissance and Reformation. Friesen is scheduled to address the seminary’s chapel on “The Impact of Erasmus on Luther and the Anabaptists.”

Paige Patterson is the president of Southwestern Seminary and is widely acknowledged as one of the leading lights behind the Conservative Resurgence that pulled the Southern Baptist denomination back from its liberal direction during the late twentieth century. Patterson is scheduled to wind up the conference with an intriguing challenge to Baptists about “The Legacy of Anabaptism.”

The conference schedule begins with Malcolm Yarnell, director of the Center for Theological Research at Southwestern Seminary. His subject, free church theological method, draws upon a thought-provoking quote from a sixteenth-century Anabaptist martyr, who declared boldly to his Reformed opponents, “If you have Zwingli’s Word, we want to have God’s Word.”

Other plenary speakers include Emir Caner, president of Truett-McConnell College in north Georgia. Caner, a best-selling author and Anabaptist scholar, is slated to speak on “Sufficientia Scripturae: Balthasar Hubmaier’s Greatest Contribution.” Michael Wilkinson, a minister at First Baptist Church of Rockwall, Texas, will address, “The Theology of Leonhard Schiemer.” Schiemer was one of the earliest and most tragic Anabaptist martyr-theologians. Ralf Schowalter, a Russian-German theologian, will be addressing the historiography of Hans Denck. Was this early South German Anabaptist elder a spiritualistic mystic, as is commonly claimed, or has he been misinterpreted?

Russell Woodbridge, from Kiev, Ukraine and co-author of Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ, will be addressing Gerhard Westerburg’s teachings on purgatory, among other topics. Scheduled breakout sessions on the Anabaptists include Mael Disseau on Italian Anabaptism, Heinrich Klassen on Michael Sattler, Jason Graffagnino on Balthasar Hubmaier’s Catechism, Paul Gritz on Hubmaier as Anabaptist Theologian of Proclamation, Simon Goncharenko on Hubmaier and Church Discipline, and Michael McDill on Hubmaier and Free Will.

With its “Anabaptism and Contemporary Baptists” conference, Southwestern Seminary seems to be staking out a claim that the Baptist movement, including Southern Baptists, has a spiritual kinship with the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century. More information about and registration for the conference may be found here. It is also rumored that the seminary is planning to host a Radical Reformation Tour of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic during May 2012. Whither this Southern Baptist link with the Anabaptist legacy? Where will the sixteenth-century Anabaptists lead twenty-first-century Southern Baptists?

Defend the Faith
Apologetics Conference
at NOBTS

If you have interest in Christian Apologetics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is offering a Defend the Faith School of Christian Apologetics Conference next week (January 8-13) that will whet your interest. The conference is sponsored by the Institute for Christian Apologetics at NOBTS.

Defend the Faith is a week-long (5 nights, 5 days) school in Christian Apologetics training that features quality biblical, philosophical, and theological instruction and outstanding worship, highlighting some of the best-known Apologetics speakers in the country. Topics covered include Science and Christianity, the New Atheism, the Resurrection of Jesus, the Reliability of the New Testament, Islam, World Religions, Mormonism, New Age Spirituality, Postmodernism, the Historical Jesus, the Problem of Evil, and other issues related to the defense and proclamation of a biblical worldview. For more information, see http://nobtsapologetics.com/magazine/2010/09/03/26/.

There is a conference fee of $120, which includes the registration fee and an MP3 recording of each session. However, you can attend the following plenary sessions without charge:

The complete schedule for the conference is here. The following is the lineup of plenary and breakout session speakers:

Plenary Speakers

• Gary Habermas (Liberty University)
• Robert M. Bowman, Jr. (Institute for Religious Research)
• Timothy McGrew (Western Michigan University)
• Bob Stewart (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)
• Paul Copan (Palm Beach Atlantic University)
• James Walker (Watchman Fellowship)
• Greg Koukl (Stand To Reason)
• Brett Kunkle (Stand To Reason)
• Mary Jo Sharp (Confident Christianity)
• Mike Miller (First Baptist Church, Kenner, LA)

Breakout Session Speakers

• Craig Branch (Apologetics Resource Center)
• Dale Younce (University of Mobile)
• David Calhoun (Gonzaga University)
• Chuck Quarles (Louisiana College)
• Alan Bandy (Oklahoma Baptist University)
• Steve Cowan (Louisiana College)
• Steve Lemke (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)
• Mike Edens (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)
• Scott Drumm (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)
• Mark Rathel (Baptist College of Florida)
• Raymond Stewart (T.A., Western Michigan University)
• Rhyne Putman (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)

MP3 recordings of all the conferences sessions are available through the Institute for Christian Apologetics.

As we end 2011 and begin 2012, the contributing editors of SBC Today want to express our thanks to you for your readership of SBC Today. Over the last year, SBC Today has increased from being an inactive blog to being consistently one of the Top 100 religion blogs in the English-speaking world (as rated in Technorati and Google rankings). We now average about 10,000 visitors a month and between 15,000 and 20,000 page views a month. One Southern Baptist blogger site even listed the emergence of SBC Today as one of the Top 10 Events that motivated SBC blogging in 2011.

Obviously, we could have achieved none of this without your help. Thank you for your readership and your participation in our comments sections. Your input and feedback have helped make us better. We hope our articles inspire, inform, and (occasionally) irritate you, but most of all that you are edified through reading our blog regularly.

We pray that the Lord blesses your service for Him in this new year!

The Contributing Editors of SBC Today

Upon the recommendation of President D.L. Moody, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to call Dr. Ergun Caner as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Along with his administrative duties, Caner will also teach Theology, Church History and Apologetics.

Founded by Dr. J. Frank Norris in 1939 as the Fundamental Bible Baptist Institute, the Arlington Baptist College is affiliated with the World Baptist Fellowship (WBF). In addition to Dr. Norris, the school has been led by such Baptist luminaries as Drs. Louis Entzminger, Earl K. Oldham, Wayne Martin and David Bryant. Dr. Moody was elected President in 2009.

In further action, the Board unanimously approved the hiring of Craig Dunning, to teach Bible and Missions, and Bill Bingham, to chair the new Music and Worship Ministry Program at ABC. Dunning has been a missionary in Jerusalem for the past eighteen years, and Bingham has served at the Southwest Baptist Church in Amarillo for the past twenty years. Additionally, Ted Marvin was also presented as part-time faculty member, teaching in the area of Youth Ministries, where he has served for over twenty-five years.

All four men were presented on Tuesday afternoon to the Pastors’ Advisory Council of the WBF.

In presenting Caner to the full Board, President Moody noted, “I have the utmost confidence in Dr. Ergun Caner. I believe that he has the abilities, wisdom and passion to enhance the work and ministry of Arlington Baptist College as we prepare a Generation of Giants for Jesus Christ. He share the values that I have for biblical authority, evangelistic fervor, and godly example. I am excited to welcome him to our administrative team.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Arlington Baptist College,” Caner said. “This is an historic institution, founded by one of Christianity’s most courageous voices, Dr. J. Frank Norris. The vision of President Moody is profoundly exciting- to train a generation of Christian warriors who are prepared for ministry on every level- intellectually and spiritually.”

Caner will be following Dr Helen Sullivan, who has served ABC as the Vice President of Academics since 1979. “Dr. Sullivan is an icon at this institution,” Caner said. “No one can ever replace her. I just want to learn from her as best I can.”

Raised as the son of a devout Muslim, Caner converted to Christianity along with his two brothers. His younger brother, Dr. Emir Caner, is president of the Truett-McConnell Baptist College in Cleveland, Georgia.

Caner has been teaching at Liberty University since 2003, and has co-authored such books as Unveiling Islam (Kregel), Why Churches Die (B&H) and When Worldviews Collide (Lifeway). He also co-edited the Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics with Ed Hindson (Harvest House).

Evangelist Tim Lee said, “I have learned that my good friend, Dr Ergun Caner has accepted the position of Executive Vice-President and Provost at Arlington Baptist College in Arlington, TX. I am excited for Arlington Baptist College! They could not have made a better choice. I believe Ergun will have a very positive impact and that it will be realized immediately! Both Arlington Baptist College and Dr Ergun Caner have my support!”

Arlington Baptist College (ABC) is located on thirty-five acres in west Arlington, Texas, and the campus is recognized as a Texas Historic Landmark.  It is accredited through the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) and is certified by the State of Texas for Teacher Training.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  abconline.org

The SBC Today blog will be reactivated in the next few days to provide a forum for we who identify ourselves as Baptists to dialogue about how best to fulfill God’s calling in our lives. We want to expand the pool of our regular participants.

We would love to know the topics you would like to discuss at SBC Today — Worship styles? Apologetics? Effective preaching? Biblical theology? Missions? World religions and cults? Baptist polity? Theological books? Methodology? Convention issues? We would love to hear from you what you’re interested in discussing, and what you’re interested in. Let us hear from you!

Click on Picture for Registration

Like most Pastors I have to choose carefully which conferences earn my time.  Some conferences are nothing more than a mere get together for a whoop and holler and go back pumped.  That pumped feeling wears off usually within a day of returning.  Why?  Most of the time something happens to burst your bubble when you get home.  A deacon will call you an say something like; “while you were out of town we received information that Sister Bertha better than you, was offended by something that you said in the message.”  Or you get a visit from a precious church member that reminds you of something you said 3 years earlier that was offensive and he/she were leaving the church and “just wanted you to be aware”.  The conference was just as well not attended and you are now wondering how in the world those at the conference could make statements like; “I hire my own staff”, or “I do not visit in hospitals”, or even better than those two, “I don’t have anyone on my staff that is not my friend.”

What I appreciate about Dr. Vines conference is that people will be on hand to discuss the issues one may meet.  Problems come and those who are in the trenches are the ones that can tell you what to expect and how to overcome them.  Well, I am registered for the upcoming conference and if I can convince Brother Wes to go, he will be registered by the weekend. :)

I encourage those who are looking for hands on practicums to sign-up and be there.

Dr. Steve Lemke

Rev. Peter Lumpkins

In case you missed it I want to direct your attention to my friend Peter Lumpkins blog.  He began a six part series on the Security of the Believer that is entitled: Why Your Faith Is Secure. Of course Brother Peter is only re-posting this series that was originally authored by Dr. Steve Lemke, Provost at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  The original series appeared in the [Louisiana] Baptist Message. I encourage you to take a gander at this series as it delivers great insight and encourages believers.  While I am a little late to the party, one can find Part 1 here.

Dr. Johnny Hunt

Dr. Johnny Hunt is on a Leave of Absence until September 19, 2010.  The Executive Pastor, Rev. Jim Law, of FBC Woodstock made a statement on Sunday, August 8, 2010.  We here at SBC Today want to ask our readers to pray for Dr. Hunt and his wife Janet as requested by the leadership of FBC Woodstock.  More coverage can be found at Baptist Press and a video link can be found on FBC Woodstock’s website, or you can go here to find a link.