Mike Wittmer

Month: February 2009

  • Brian McL. on Brian McL.

    I’m spending the weekend with David Naugle at his Paideia Student Conference at Dallas Baptist University.  It’s 80 degrees here!  Tomorrow I give a lecture and answer questions on Heaven is a Place on Earth.  It is used as a textbook here in some classes, and some of the students think I’m way off base, so Dave invited me…

  • the beginning and the end

    As we enjoyed our complementary cookies and punch after Udo Middelmann’s economy lecture on Saturday night (which was a better value than Dave Ramsey, who charged at least $40 for his talk on Thursday and made people buy their own food), his wife Debbie said something which I’ve been thinking about all weekend. Debbie said…

  • Udo and Debbie Middelmann

    Despite the icy roads and blowing snow, we had a good turn out tonight for Udo Middelmann’s lecture on Christians and the economy.  It was a special treat to meet Debbie Middelmann, the daughter of Francis and Edith Schaeffer.  She spoke of caring for Edith, who though 94 and ailing, is still fighting for and…

  • original sin and the eastern church

    Like Pelagius in the 4th century, Emergent leaders Doug Pagitt and his best friend Tony Jones deny the doctrine of original sin.  And just as Pelagius and his followers found refuge in the East, so Pagitt and Jones say that their view, while heretical to Western Christians, is acceptable in the (Eastern) Orthodox Church.  This…

  • the Reformed illuminati

    My friend and former student Zach Bartels has put his cigars down long enough to start a new website in honor of the 500th birthday of you-know-who.  Click here (www.calvinati.com) to see if you are one of the lucky few who were elected to join this auspicious group.  If you choose not to click, or if you fail to…

  • emergent oscars

    In my first annual Oscar preview (if I start watching movies again I’ll do a second), I want to share a couple of quotes from past Academy winners that appeared in a recent Newsweek. Here’s Meryl Streep:  “…I mean I guess I’m in awe of and in love with what I don’t know.  All the…

  • special lecture on Christians and the economy

    If you’re in the Grand Rapids area and are free this Saturday night, February 21, from 7:00-8:30, come to the chapel at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary for a free interactive lecture on Christians and the economy.  Our special guest is Udo Middelmann, the son-in-law of the late Francis Schaeffer, and he is well equipped to…

  • what Bavinck says

    Since I already know John Calvin pretty well (having studied under Richard Muller and taught a course on Calvin several times), I’ve decided to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his birth by reading Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics (Baker). In my reading for today, I came across some quotes which, though perhaps not persuasive to many…

  • c’mon people!

    I just noticed that Tony Jones’ blog picked up on Kevin Corcoran’s blog in which Kevin describes our recent conversation at the Emergent panel and on this blog.  Kevin said that my question assumed “the view that belief is belief that,” where “the idea is that belief is belief that certain propositions are true.”  Kevin went on,…

  • what are you hearing?

    This question is for those of you who disagree with my conviction that we need to believe in Jesus and follow him/obey his commands/love our neighbor in order to be saved.  I clearly say that we need both right belief and right conduct, yet you seem to only hear the right belief part.  For example, Susan warned…