Mike Wittmer

Month: November 2010

  • Calvin on Brangelina

    I was reading Calvin’s treatise Against the Libertines and came across this powerful section on the necessity of the marriage covenant.  The Libertines were a small and strange sect in Calvin’s day, but their worldview is now widespread in our time.  Most people would not agree with their belief that there is no such thing…

  • ETS paper: my final question

    Is Wright’s view broad enough to include both Roman Catholics and Protestants?  A position broad enough to include Roman Catholics is insufficiently Protestant. Protestants believe that our acceptance with God is by faith alone while the best (Augustinian) Roman Catholics say it is faith and works (yet still grace alone).  If Wright’s view is broad…

  • ETS paper: my second question

    My second question is this: Does Wright downplay biblical support for grace alone and faith alone? Wright says that he believes in grace alone and faith alone, but he dismisses the classic texts which others use to support it. Consider the following quotes: “There is no problem in adding the word ‘alone’ to the word…

  • ETS paper: my first question

    If you are an American and you are reading this today you probably don’t like your in-laws very much.  If you post a comment the whole world will know who you are, so carefully weigh the cost and benefit of doing so.  It would probably be best for you to shut down your computer, grit…

  • ETS paper: how Wright says we are saved

    1. General Description:  Wright says that we are saved by faith, though it is unclear what role he gives to baptism (see the following two quotes).  He typically says that we are saved when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that God raised him from the dead (see quote c). a. “Paul’s conception…

  • ETS paper: Wright’s terms for being right with God

    As far as I can tell, How Wright usually the following terms to explain the event of being accepted by God.  1. Salvation/Saved a. “Paul discovered, at the heart of his missionary practice, that when he announced the lordship of Jesus Christ, the sovereignty of King Jesus, this very announcement was the means by which…

  • ETS paper: introduction

    N.T. Wright is one of my favorite theologians.  He is the only theologian I have ever paid to hear, and I thought it was worth the money.  I once heard him lecture on worship, and when he was done I was pretty sure I had never worshiped before in my life.  I enthusiastically endorse his…

  • Wright roundtable

    Immediately after Wright’s paper he dialogued with Tom Schreiner and Frank Thielman for two more hours.  I won’t include everything they said, but here are the highlights from my notes (see Collin Hansen for a summary of all three papers and Marc Cortez for a concise theological summary.  Scroll down the comment section on Denny Burk’s…

  • Wright at ETS

    I just returned from one of my more memorable annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society.  I made some new friends, reconnected with old friends, and heard some interesting papers.  This year’s splendid smorgasbord included Alvin Plantinga, N.T. Wright, Michael Horton, and Al Mohler questioning John Franke.  One particularly magical session on John Ockenga ended…

  • throwback Sunday

    Next year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version, so wouldn’t it be cool if churches dusted it off for a throwback Sunday?  The fact that I just used an archaic term like “cool” is a sign that I am really excited about this idea.  Any reasonably accurate throwback Sunday should include…