Mike Wittmer

Category: Theology

  • the ultimate question

    One of the big stories in Grand Rapids in 2011 was the November passing of Fred Meijer. The newspaper account of his funeral inspired this draft for Our Daily Journey. As always, your helpful suggestions are appreciated.        Fred Meijer was one of the wealthiest men in the world. His Meijer stores were the first to combine…

  • Plantinga’s latest

    Yesterday’s New York Times had a compelling story on Alvin Plantinga’s new book, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism. One of the main differences between Reformed Epistemology and Presuppositionalism is that the former was content to play defense (it’s rational to believe in God) while the latter was always on offense (it is…

  • was Paul an exclusivist?

    I want to thank you who commented on “the Achilles heel of inclusivism” post. It’s unusual to have such a civil conversation on the Internet, where people frankly express their views while respecting those who disagree with them. I have benefited from the discussion, and want to thank everyone for the way it was conducted.…

  • the Achilles heel of inclusivism

    The Evangelical Theological Society’s national conference focused this year on the issue of how salvation comes through Christ. The majority of the society seems to be exclusivists, though there is an increasing and sizeable group that argues for some variety of inclusivism (that it is possible to be saved by Jesus without knowing that he…

  • God’s relation to sin

    Conceptualizing God’s relation to sin is one of the deep mysteries of theology. Why would a good and sovereign God will to allow sin? How does sin even exist in his world? Karl Barth powerfully attempts to explain in his Church Dogmatics IV/1: “Sin has no positive basis in God, no place in His being, no positive…

  • intellectual mecca

    Calvin College has posted an interesting interview with Alvin Plantinga about his return to Grand Rapids. In the last couple of years, Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and George Marsden have all retired back to their homes in GR. Do you know what this means? In 15-20 years the greatest liberal arts education in the world will be found in…

  • pluralism

    It’s been awhile since I’ve floated one of these Our Daily Journey devotionals. I’m trying to talk about pluralism in a positive, non-combative way. As always, any suggestions are appreciated. read > Isaiah 43:1-13 “I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Savior” (v. 11).          My friend was telling me about…

  • exclusivism

    Our shrinking global village is often cited as a major reason for the rise of universalism, pluralism, and inclusivism in the evangelical church. Technology and transportation have made us more aware of other people and other religions, and so we’re less inclined to think that believing in Jesus is the only way to salvation. This argument sounds plausible,…

  • voting on heresy

    This article explains how the Episcopalian Diocese of Atlanta planned to vote on whether to exonerate Pelagius and admit his ideas as potentially instructive for the church. The vote was planned for November 4, and I have not heard how it turned out. But considering that they even considered having a referendum, the outlook does not seem…

  • replacement is not resurrection

    I haven’t yet dug into What is the Mission of the Church?, the new book by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert. It looks promising, and I plan to read it carefully soon. I did read their section on the continuity and discontinuity of the new earth (p. 213-19), and thought I could make a few…