Southwestern Baptist seminary in Fort Worth, Texas is the largest seminary in the world. It is in the news as of late for two reasons related to gender. One is the dismissal of Dr. Sheri Klouda, mentioned in an earlier blog. She was fired from her Old Testament professorship because she is a woman.
The second story making headlines has to do with a new program on homemaking for women. This program fits with the new Southern Baptist emphasis on traditional gender roles. Of course, this emphasis plus the new program is disconcerting for those Christians who are open to women in ministry. See Martin Marty's column in Christian Century, for example. Marty is one of the most influential Christian writers in recent American history.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Deborah Cameron's new work on gender myths
Just when I was hoping that I had found some reliable data about gender issues, I read this review of Deborah Cameron's new work on communication and gender. It looks like some so-called wisdom about male and female differences in communication might not be too solid. The first paragraph of the review makes me glad that my marriage is not set in Papua New Guinea. Happy reading and no shouting, men or women.
You can read another review here. And for her faculty profile at Oxford, go here.
You can read another review here. And for her faculty profile at Oxford, go here.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Gender and Christian leadership
In class we talked about gender roles and different views of female leadership in the Church. To see how theological and biblical views play out in seminary education, check out the case of Dr. Sheri L. Klouda, a conservative Bible scholar who was dismissed from Southwestern Baptist Seminary because she is a woman. For one report on her case, go here. Professor Klouda now teaches at Taylor University and you can see her profile here.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Marriage and Divorce
I believe that Christians should know options on topics in ethics, so this posting provides various views on divorce and remarriage in terms of Biblical analysis.
For a listing of books on the topic see here.
David Instone-Brewer is one of the greatest scholars on the topic of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He is a researcher at Tyndale House, Cambridge and a specialist on the Jewish context of N.T. teaching. See a profile of him here. His material on divorce and remarriage is here, here, and here. He argues that Jesus and Paul both duplicated the O.T.'s high view of marriage, discouragement of divorce, and yet the possibility of divorce because of adultery, desertion, and abuse (physical and emotional). As I mentioned in class, he has an article on this topic in Christianity Today magazine.
Surprisingly, some fundamentalist Christians argue against remarriage by stating that the words of Jesus in Matthew 19 do not apply to the church age. See this Way of Life article. For a conservative view that does not adopt this dispensationalist hermeneutic, go here.
The most influential evangelical writers arguing against remarriage are J. Carl Laney and Gordon Wenham. An outline of Laney's position can be downloaded here.
John Piper believes that remarriage is wrong though Bethlehem Baptist Church, where he pastors, has a more moderate position.
On practical issues related to remarriage see this important essay at smartmarriages.com.
For facts about the family see this website.
For a listing of books on the topic see here.
David Instone-Brewer is one of the greatest scholars on the topic of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He is a researcher at Tyndale House, Cambridge and a specialist on the Jewish context of N.T. teaching. See a profile of him here. His material on divorce and remarriage is here, here, and here. He argues that Jesus and Paul both duplicated the O.T.'s high view of marriage, discouragement of divorce, and yet the possibility of divorce because of adultery, desertion, and abuse (physical and emotional). As I mentioned in class, he has an article on this topic in Christianity Today magazine.
Surprisingly, some fundamentalist Christians argue against remarriage by stating that the words of Jesus in Matthew 19 do not apply to the church age. See this Way of Life article. For a conservative view that does not adopt this dispensationalist hermeneutic, go here.
The most influential evangelical writers arguing against remarriage are J. Carl Laney and Gordon Wenham. An outline of Laney's position can be downloaded here.
John Piper believes that remarriage is wrong though Bethlehem Baptist Church, where he pastors, has a more moderate position.
On practical issues related to remarriage see this important essay at smartmarriages.com.
For facts about the family see this website.
Sex and Gender issues
We are now thinking in class about ethical issues related to sex, gender, marriage, divorce, and remarriage. To aid you in your ongoing work, here are some website tips related to gender and sexuality. I will deal with divorce and remarriage issues in another posting.
An egalitarian view on male and female roles is given at Christians for Biblical Equality while a more traditional perspective is offered by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
A traditional view is also defended by the dynamic teacher Mary Kassian.
Focus on the Family is a major site for evangelical, conservative Christian views. James Dobson is the founder.
One thing to remember: today there are virtually no conservatives (Christian or otherwise) who are arguing for a return to the "good old days" when women had no rights and were considered property. For a time line on when women gained freedoms in the USA go here. For data on women in Canadian history go here.
For a look at a leading radical feminist writer, visit the Andrea Dworkin website.
For other pro-feminist sites go to the Feminist Knowledge Network and Feminist Theology Online. Also, go to the National Organization of Women site and the Feminist Studies journal.
Christianity and feminism merge at the Christian + Feminist site.
For sites that deal with Women and Gender go to the Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies (U of T) and the International Women’s Web Sites. Also, see the extensive links list here and here. And see WWWomen and Gender Inn. The Virtual Library on Women's History is also important.
For scholars who study sex and sexuality go to The Kinsey Institute and the International Academy of Sex Research. Also see the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality and the National Sexuality Resource Center. See the links here for additional sites.
There has been some attack on the integrity of Today's New International Version (TNIV) in terms of the way its translators handle various issues related to gender. For a defense of the TNIV see the article by John R. Kohlenberger III here. [A technical note: the Firefox browser often freezes when opening pdf files, so you might want to use Internet Explorer or learn how to download with Firefox's pdf program.]
An egalitarian view on male and female roles is given at Christians for Biblical Equality while a more traditional perspective is offered by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
A traditional view is also defended by the dynamic teacher Mary Kassian.
Focus on the Family is a major site for evangelical, conservative Christian views. James Dobson is the founder.
One thing to remember: today there are virtually no conservatives (Christian or otherwise) who are arguing for a return to the "good old days" when women had no rights and were considered property. For a time line on when women gained freedoms in the USA go here. For data on women in Canadian history go here.
For a look at a leading radical feminist writer, visit the Andrea Dworkin website.
For other pro-feminist sites go to the Feminist Knowledge Network and Feminist Theology Online. Also, go to the National Organization of Women site and the Feminist Studies journal.
Christianity and feminism merge at the Christian + Feminist site.
For sites that deal with Women and Gender go to the Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies (U of T) and the International Women’s Web Sites. Also, see the extensive links list here and here. And see WWWomen and Gender Inn. The Virtual Library on Women's History is also important.
For scholars who study sex and sexuality go to The Kinsey Institute and the International Academy of Sex Research. Also see the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality and the National Sexuality Resource Center. See the links here for additional sites.
There has been some attack on the integrity of Today's New International Version (TNIV) in terms of the way its translators handle various issues related to gender. For a defense of the TNIV see the article by John R. Kohlenberger III here. [A technical note: the Firefox browser often freezes when opening pdf files, so you might want to use Internet Explorer or learn how to download with Firefox's pdf program.]
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Family International
Part of our discussion on Wednesday October 10th dealt with the controversial religious movement The Family International and their infamous views/practices in regard to sex. The group was originally known as The Children of God and started in Huntington Beach, California in 1968. It was founded by David Berg who became known in the group as Dad, Moses David, and Father. Berg died in 1994.
The group celebrates its 40th anniversary this coming year.
For the movement's website go here. For a site that contains positive comments on the group, go here.
For sites that are critical of The Family International see XFamily, Moving On, Ex-Family, and CounterCog. For an evangelical Christian response to The Family see Making Things Straight.
HarperOne has just released Jesus Freaks by Don Lattin. It deals with the tragic case of Ricky Rodriquez, the son of Family leader Maria. In January 2005 Ricky killed long-time Family member Angela Smith and then killed himself. This murder-suicide led to renewed media attention on The Family International.
There is a memorial site by ex-members to Ricky here. The Family has a website in honor of him here and one for Angela here.
For an interesting case of alleged plagiarism, see this site on Family Art.
Not Without My Sister is an important autobiographical work by three sisters raised in the group. Also, Sam Ajemian, a former member, has written The Children of God Cult, aka The Family.
The group celebrates its 40th anniversary this coming year.
For the movement's website go here. For a site that contains positive comments on the group, go here.
For sites that are critical of The Family International see XFamily, Moving On, Ex-Family, and CounterCog. For an evangelical Christian response to The Family see Making Things Straight.
HarperOne has just released Jesus Freaks by Don Lattin. It deals with the tragic case of Ricky Rodriquez, the son of Family leader Maria. In January 2005 Ricky killed long-time Family member Angela Smith and then killed himself. This murder-suicide led to renewed media attention on The Family International.
There is a memorial site by ex-members to Ricky here. The Family has a website in honor of him here and one for Angela here.
For an interesting case of alleged plagiarism, see this site on Family Art.
Not Without My Sister is an important autobiographical work by three sisters raised in the group. Also, Sam Ajemian, a former member, has written The Children of God Cult, aka The Family.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Prof Beverley interviewed on Scientology on the Drew Marshall Show
On Saturday September 29th I was interviewed on The Drew Marshall Show about Scientology.
Drew's show gets the best audience on spirituality in all of Canada. I was on this time in response to Drew's interview the week before with the President of the Church of Scientology in Canada.
You can hear my interview here.
For Scientology's view of reality go to their home site. For their site on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard go here. For extensive Scientology links go here.
For criticism of Scientology, go to Operation Clambake and the site of Tilman Hausherr. Other critic sites include the Facts about Scientology site and Exposing the Con. Kristi Wachter runs both The Truth About Scientology and Scientology Lies sites. F.A.C.Tnet is an important site. Check out The Secrets of Scientology and see the long list of links here. For the views of ex-members go here. Also, check out the site of ex-member Chuck Beatty.
I mentioned Scientology claims about Xenu and human origins in the interview. See this report for more info. You can also see data on Xenu here and here.
Jon Atak's book on Scientology called A Piece of Blue Sky is on the web here. That site also has Russell Miller's book Bare-Faced Messiah. For a scholarly overview of Scientology see J. Gordon Melton's book (published with Signature Press) and available at Amazon.ca.
Scientology's incompatibility with Christianity is explored here.
I also stated in the interview that Scientology has engaged in some heavy legal moves against critics. For an example of what I have in mind see the account by Paulette Cooper here.
Janet Reitman did an important piece on Scientology for Rolling Stone.
Important Note about my use of web sites
The listing of sites does not necessarily imply endorsement on my part of any particular claim or view. This needs special focus in relation to the battles involving Scientology. The critical sites noted above have very serious and important allegations on them. However, critics often--though not always--overstate things so the reader has to be very careful in sorting out claims.
I differ from many other critics of Scientology in my view that Scientology is a religion. Since it is a religion then the issue is to what extent it is a true or false religion. On this, Christians should be sad that Christ is not central in Scientology. Also, there are serious issues related to harmful practices having to do with litigation, health, and oppression of both members and ex-members. On these latter items, readers can look at the various sites and study to what extent critics are correct.
Drew's show gets the best audience on spirituality in all of Canada. I was on this time in response to Drew's interview the week before with the President of the Church of Scientology in Canada.
You can hear my interview here.
For Scientology's view of reality go to their home site. For their site on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard go here. For extensive Scientology links go here.
For criticism of Scientology, go to Operation Clambake and the site of Tilman Hausherr. Other critic sites include the Facts about Scientology site and Exposing the Con. Kristi Wachter runs both The Truth About Scientology and Scientology Lies sites. F.A.C.Tnet is an important site. Check out The Secrets of Scientology and see the long list of links here. For the views of ex-members go here. Also, check out the site of ex-member Chuck Beatty.
I mentioned Scientology claims about Xenu and human origins in the interview. See this report for more info. You can also see data on Xenu here and here.
Jon Atak's book on Scientology called A Piece of Blue Sky is on the web here. That site also has Russell Miller's book Bare-Faced Messiah. For a scholarly overview of Scientology see J. Gordon Melton's book (published with Signature Press) and available at Amazon.ca.
Scientology's incompatibility with Christianity is explored here.
I also stated in the interview that Scientology has engaged in some heavy legal moves against critics. For an example of what I have in mind see the account by Paulette Cooper here.
Janet Reitman did an important piece on Scientology for Rolling Stone.
Important Note about my use of web sites
The listing of sites does not necessarily imply endorsement on my part of any particular claim or view. This needs special focus in relation to the battles involving Scientology. The critical sites noted above have very serious and important allegations on them. However, critics often--though not always--overstate things so the reader has to be very careful in sorting out claims.
I differ from many other critics of Scientology in my view that Scientology is a religion. Since it is a religion then the issue is to what extent it is a true or false religion. On this, Christians should be sad that Christ is not central in Scientology. Also, there are serious issues related to harmful practices having to do with litigation, health, and oppression of both members and ex-members. On these latter items, readers can look at the various sites and study to what extent critics are correct.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Intellectual blindness
Two weeks ago in class I gave us a list of 20 principles in developing and living a Christian ethic.
One of the principles had to do with avoiding intellectual blindness. On this topic, see this stunning report on how an anthropologist offers a cozy and cuddly view of female genital mutilation.
Sad, tragic reading.
One of the principles had to do with avoiding intellectual blindness. On this topic, see this stunning report on how an anthropologist offers a cozy and cuddly view of female genital mutilation.
Sad, tragic reading.
Charismatic Christianity
I am teaching on the Holy Spirit in my class in Systematic Theology. I posted about websites on my blog for that course, so am copying the link info here in case some of you want to do research work on the ethical issues related to battles over charismatic Christianity. Also, these links will be useful for your ongoing reflection.
For sites that are positive on charismatic Christianity, see Revival Ministries International (Rodney Howard-Browne), The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, The International House of Prayer (Mike Bickle), Iris Ministries (Rolland and Heidi Baker), Bob Jones (not connected with Bob Jones University, the fundamentalist school) Patricia King, Global Harvest (Peter Wagner), Jack Deere, The Vineyard USA and Vineyard International, Benny Hinn and Paul Cain.
For a longer list of links see here and here.
On the prophetic, see Steve Shultz's work at http://www.prophetic.tv/ and Elijah List
You can join his subscription list and get updates about the gift of prophecy.
For sites critical of charismatic Christianity, go to Deception in the Church and Discern.ca. Also, note the critique by ex-Toronto Blessing pastor Paul Gowdy.
You can also see Cheryl Thompson's views here. Cheryl had been involved in the Vineyard movement and she has very strong views about Satanic use of the Vineyard and The Toronto Blessing. She writes this near the end of her post.
"I believe the plan of Satan is to join all churches and denominations together into an association based on false doctrine and a false Gospel. Having shown to God that they have no love for His truth, that they are "unfaithful" to Him, many deluded individuals, who believe they are Christians and love Jesus, will be punished. God will allow them to be deceived and to believe a lie. The day will come when they will gladly worship none other than the Antichrist, who will present himself to them as a supernatural being with great, divine powers."
She continues:
For sites that are positive on charismatic Christianity, see Revival Ministries International (Rodney Howard-Browne), The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, The International House of Prayer (Mike Bickle), Iris Ministries (Rolland and Heidi Baker), Bob Jones (not connected with Bob Jones University, the fundamentalist school) Patricia King, Global Harvest (Peter Wagner), Jack Deere, The Vineyard USA and Vineyard International, Benny Hinn and Paul Cain.
For a longer list of links see here and here.
On the prophetic, see Steve Shultz's work at http://www.prophetic.tv/ and Elijah List
You can join his subscription list and get updates about the gift of prophecy.
For sites critical of charismatic Christianity, go to Deception in the Church and Discern.ca. Also, note the critique by ex-Toronto Blessing pastor Paul Gowdy.
You can also see Cheryl Thompson's views here. Cheryl had been involved in the Vineyard movement and she has very strong views about Satanic use of the Vineyard and The Toronto Blessing. She writes this near the end of her post.
"I believe the plan of Satan is to join all churches and denominations together into an association based on false doctrine and a false Gospel. Having shown to God that they have no love for His truth, that they are "unfaithful" to Him, many deluded individuals, who believe they are Christians and love Jesus, will be punished. God will allow them to be deceived and to believe a lie. The day will come when they will gladly worship none other than the Antichrist, who will present himself to them as a supernatural being with great, divine powers."
She continues:
"I believe "The Vineyard movement" is playing an important role today in preparing the way for this terrible End-Time Delusion. It will be used to help spread the lie of the Antichrist himself. The "prophets" who are being promoted by The Vineyard and The Kansas City Fellowship will step forward, at the proper time, in churches all across America and Canada. They will all deliver the same message. It will be a message of spiritual deception, but many will be fooled into believing it. But the voices of these prophets will proclaim the Antichrist as God, welcoming him into the Holy of Holies."
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Word Faith
Many Christians follow the Word Faith movement in terms of ethics. One of my students in the Apologetics modular program asked me about the movement in an email. The Word Faith theology comes out of the ministry of Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland, two very influential Pentecostal leaders. It is often referred to as the Health and Wealth gospel or the Name It and Claim It movement.
I realized when I wrote my email reply that I do not have an entry on that topic in my Religions A to Z book. I will have one in my bigger volume that comes out next year...Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions. Anyway, Apologetics Index has a listing of resources here.
Note the endorsement given to Robert Bowman on this topic. I agree with Apologetics Index in recommending Rob's work, in particular his book The Word-Faith Controversy: Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001 . You can see a profile on Rob at the Reclaiming the Mind website here.
I realized when I wrote my email reply that I do not have an entry on that topic in my Religions A to Z book. I will have one in my bigger volume that comes out next year...Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions. Anyway, Apologetics Index has a listing of resources here.
Note the endorsement given to Robert Bowman on this topic. I agree with Apologetics Index in recommending Rob's work, in particular his book The Word-Faith Controversy: Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001 . You can see a profile on Rob at the Reclaiming the Mind website here.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Bible searching
Christians base their ethics on Scripture. One of the great free resources on the web allows for searching in many versions of the Bible. Go here for this superb search engine to Scripture.
If you want to access a site that searches in the Greek text of the NT, go to the various options listed at The Greek New Testament Gateway
If you want to access a site that searches in the Greek text of the NT, go to the various options listed at The Greek New Testament Gateway
Terrorism websites
I recommend the following websites for analysis of the world of terrorism and counter-terrorism.
http://counterterrorismblog.org/
http://www.douglasfarah.com/ http://counterterrorismblog.org/
See important atlas from West Point at http://www.ctc.usma.edu/atlas/default.asp
Friday, September 21, 2007
New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is one of the most important intellectual resources in the world. Unfortunately, it is not free but if you want to check out some of its contents, go here
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Arts and Letters Daily
Since Christian ethics is done in the context of a global community and broad academic input, I urge you to look at Arts and Letters Daily as a great guide to important articles, books, reviews, op-ed pieces, etc. It has an impressive list of links on the main page, including newspapers from around the world.
Happy reading.
Professor Beverley
Happy reading.
Professor Beverley
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