Author: mikewittmer
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homosexuality and the church
I don’t enjoy writing on this topic, but I’ve heard recurring questions from Christians that seem important to address. Here are four questions, and what I think is a helpful response. I’ll answer two today and two more next week. 1. Why must the church make homosexuality an issue? It hasn’t. The culture has made…
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distraction
Here is my latest entry for Our Daily Journey. Much obliged if you spot any errors before I turn it in. Students at Arizona State University have invented a funny way to distract opposing basketball teams during free throw attempts. They position a “curtain of distraction” beneath the basket, and just before a player on…
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four views on hell
Zondervan’s new Four Views on Hell is another stellar volume in an already valuable series. I probably assign too many of these “views books” in my classes, but I don’t know of a more economical way to put in students’ hands the best, and most current arguments, from all sides. I finished this one in…
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endorsement
Many of us are dismayed by Jerry Falwell Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump, especially his remark that Trump’s life reflects the teachings of Christ. As far as I can tell, the main thing that Jesus and Donald have in common is neither thinks he needs forgiveness. Their main difference? Jesus doesn’t think he’s Donald. I…
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do Christians worship the same God?
Christians who insist their God differs from Islam and Judaism point to the unique feature of the Trinity. The God of Islam and Judaism is only one person, while the Christian God is three persons. This is an essential difference, though it is sometimes flubbed in surprising places. My last two posts addressed the problems…
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do Christians and Jews worship the same God?
This question is more complicated than yesterday’s question about Islam because Christianity arose from within Judaism. The apostles claimed Jesus was Israel’s long awaited Messiah, the promised Deliverer who came to keep Israel’s covenants and save her from her enemies. The early apologists said Christians were the “third race,” the climax of both Greek philosophy…
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do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Last year ended with a flurry of essays and blog posts that chided Wheaton College for questioning whether Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. This is an intriguing question that forces us to reflect on our theory of language, general revelation, and natural theology. Both Muslims and Christians say God is one, but…
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why rewards?
Here is a devotional for Our Daily Journey that I’ll submit on Monday. Much obliged if anyone spots any errors before then. When my children were young my wife and I gave them money to buy Christmas presents for us. It seemed rather silly from our perspective. Why not eliminate the middleman and buy the…
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ETS 2015
The Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting is different for everyone, as we attend different sessions and meet or miss (sorry, Jim!) different people. Here are a few highlights for me. On Tuesday I attended Ligon Duncan’s session on “Recent Aspects of the Complementarian-Egalitarian Discussion.” Ligon noted that our present cultural moment has changed the dynamics…
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sportainment
Did you feel joy, or merely relief, when your team won this weekend? (Cleveland fans, you are excused). If you were mostly relieved, you have forgotten that sports are supposed to be fun, and you probably have an idol. I know there are more dangerous issues in our world—the refugee crisis, ISIS, Donald Trump—but that’s…
Mike Wittmer 