March « 2009 « Between The Times

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Mar 15th, 2009 by Bruce Ashford

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Reviewed by: Bruce Riley Ashford
If you are interested in a slim little novel that is both informative and inflammatory, you have found your book. Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist is about one young Pakistani’s initial infatuation with America and his ensuing disillusionment. It is an allegory meant to instruct Americans about the global community’s perceptions of their country.
The hero is Changez, a young Pakistani from Lahore. Hamid frames the story by means of … [Read More]

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Some Recommended Links

Mar 14th, 2009 by Nathan Finn

Doug Baker asks Robert George and Greg Thornbury if morality is past its prime in the latest Insight Podcast from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
Nathan Lino has some provocative thoughts about what would happen if churches lost their Non-Profit, 501(c)3 Status–I think he’s right.
In the latest issue of First Things, John Green wonders “What Happened to the Values Voters?” in the 2008 presidential election.
Russ Moore weighs in on “Love, Sex & Mammon: Hard Times, … [Read More]

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A Curmudgeon Weighs in on Evangelical Worship, Part 3

Mar 13th, 2009 by David Nelson

Disney-World Worship (Part 1)
Most of us are familiar with the words: “There is a place where dreams come true, where wishes big and small lead to happily ever after.” Such is the promise of Disney World. That it is Disney World is significant. Disney World is no mere amusement park; it is a place for a family to enter another “world” for a period of time. There one can leave this world behind for a … [Read More]

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Why I Don’t Freak Out About the Anabaptists

Mar 12th, 2009 by Nathan Finn

I have surprised some folks in the last few days by arguing that I believe some Continental Anabaptists likely had some theological influence on the first English Baptists. This doesn’t really surprise me. As previously noted, most contemporary historians reject (or at least downplay) any connection between Anabaptists and Baptists. It probably also surprises some readers that I am a Calvinist who thinks we probably learned (or at least resonated with) a thing or two … [Read More]

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Toward a Convergent View of Baptist Origins, Part 2

Mar 11th, 2009 by Nathan Finn

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of the modern Baptist movement in 1609. This year will witness a plethora of conferences, symposia, books, articles, pamphlets, and even sermons devoted to the history and theology of the Baptists. I hope to weigh in from time to time with short articles, book reviews, and random musings about the past four centuries. This material was first published a little over two years ago at my former … [Read More]

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On Religion in the Welfare State and Embryo-Destroying Stem Cell Research

Mar 10th, 2009 by Nathan Finn

Sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox has written an insightful (and provocative) article for Public Discourse titled “More Government, Less God: What the Obama Revolution Means for Religion in America.” You can read the article here.
In other news, you have probably heard about President Obama’s reversal of the Bush Administration’s stem cell policies. Justin Taylor links to several relevant articles about this unfortunate, though expected (promised?) turn of events.

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Toward a Convergent View of Baptist Origins, Part 1

Mar 10th, 2009 by Nathan Finn

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Global Context (Russia): Stalin’s Children

Mar 9th, 2009 by Bruce Ashford

Global Context (Russia): Stalin’s Children

By: Bruce Riley Ashford

It was my privilege to live in Russia from 1998-2000 and that is one reason that this book held me captive from the very first page. But that is not the only reason. Stalin’s Children is a masterful work of historical autobiography, telling the tale of three generations of love, war, and survival. It is told from the perspective of Owen Matthews, whose grandfather and father are the … [Read More]

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Santyana Was a Pessimist

Mar 7th, 2009 by Alvin Reid

Santyana said those who do not learn from history are doomed to relive it. True. But he was a pessimist. I think we can learn positive lessons from the past as well.
This spring I have three, count ‘em three PhD students graduating as well as another with his D.Min. So I have set aside the joy of reading books for the task of grading dissertations. The first by Bobby Lewis examines C. B. Hogue’s impact … [Read More]

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Dr. Bart Ehrman on Jesus’ Claim to be God

Mar 6th, 2009 by J. D. Greear

Our church, the Summit Church, is in the backyard of the one of the nation’s foremost skeptics, Dr. Bart Ehrman at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Erhman is a very agreeable, winsome person who teaches undergraduate classes at UNC about the New Testament. Dr. Ehrman, like most good teachers, likes to push his students to think for themselves. He also likes to challenge untested beliefs. These things I greatly appreciate about him. Though I have never met … [Read More]

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