There have always been questions about the authenticity of the Second Epistle of Peter. Origen of Alexandria (ca. 215–250) said that “Peter left behind one letter that is acknowledged, and possibly a second, but it is disputed,” and our earliest Canon list, the Muratorian Canon (ca. 170–210), doesn’t include it. Eusebius (writing ca. 311) noted that its status … Continue reading
I am a campus minister, but I am not going to try to “convert” you. If you ask me how I “became a Christian,” I’ll tell you I was born into a Christian home and was baptized as an infant. If you ask me how I “got saved,” I’ll tell you that, at least according … Continue reading
Our first symposium on faith and scholarship was a big hit! Peter Enns, Sujin Pak, and Greg Reeves gave three great talks and we had a very stimulating panel discussion as well. You can watch the video here.
The observation that it is hard to square a literal reading of Genesis 1 with science is by no means new. But that observation has not always been the bur in the Church’s saddle that it seems to be today. And, in fact, from the very beginning non-literal readings of Genesis 1 have been endorsed … Continue reading
By his own admission, Jesus didn’t know everything. After warning the disciples about the great, apocalyptic trials that were soon to fall upon Jerusalem and about his own parousia, Jesus says, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt 24:36) And, as … Continue reading
If Genesis’s creation stories are mythological, does that mean that the whole Bible is just a myth? And if Genesis’s early chapters are myth, doesn’t that mean that they are false? As I showed in my last post in this series, C.S. Lewis thought that, strictly speaking, Genesis’s creation accounts were, in fact, ancient myths which God … Continue reading
Is Genesis a myth? Ever since George Smith discovered and published the ancient Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish, in 1876, theologians, biblical scholars and informed laypeople have been aware of the fact that the book of Genesis was not written in a literary or cultural vacuum. As other ancient Near Eastern creation stories have been brought … Continue reading
In my last post I highlighted C.S. Lewis’s take on what it means to approach the Bible humbly: namely, we should first ask honestly and with an open mind, What sort of book has God actually given us and how has He given it? When we do that, we find that God has given us … Continue reading
I am always thankful that the first theology book I ever read was C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. I stumbled upon it in the B. Dalton Bookseller at the local mall early in the summer before my senior year in high school, was intrigued, took it home and devoured it in less than a day. From then … Continue reading
This spring the NC State InterVarsity Grad & Faculty Ministries will be hosting a conference on what is becoming a pretty hot-topic among evangelicals who have been paying attention to recent developments within the natural sciences, namely, Was there a historical Adam and Eve? Did Eden exist? Is Genesis 1-3 myth or history or what? These … Continue reading