Mike Wittmer

Category: Theology

  • Barth on natural theology

    The key to reading Barth is to remember that every word he ever wrote was meant to oppose natural theology (that’s hyperbole, but not by much). When stuck on a difficult passage, ask yourself how it aims to destroy the possibility of natural theology. Answer that question, and you’ll understand what Barth is doing there. Here are…

  • Barthisms

    I’m going to share some of my favorite lines from Barth as my class works through volumes II/1 and IV/1 of his Church Dogmatics. Barth once said that John Calvin’s writings were “a waterfall, a primitive forest, a demonic power, something straight down from the Himalayas, absolutely Chinese, strange, mythological; I just don’t have the organs, the suction…

  • summer’s end

    I realize that my friends at Southern Baptist Seminary are already approaching their mid-terms, but classes at GRTS don’t begin until tomorrow. Our late start coincides with the governor’s decision a few years ago to delay the start of our public schools until after Labor Day, so that the state can take advantage of the…

  • it’s here

    Many of us have been saying for some time that the normalization of homosexual marriage will inevitably open the door to the state’s acceptance of polygamy. Proponents of gay marriage typically scoff and say we’re silly for making such a slippery slope argument. Well, not anymore. In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, Jonathan…

  • the Bible says

    This week Jeff Cook posted a response to the trailer for Francis Chan’s upcoming response book to Rob Bell’s book. I’m not sure why it’s acceptable to respond to one book’s trailer and not another’s, and I’m not even sure why they call them trailers (usually a trailer follows along behind—if your trailer is out…

  • not sure about the new earth

    John Piper interviews Rick Warren about The Purpose Driven Life, and at 36:14 he asks Warren his views about our final destiny. Warren admits that he hasn’t studied this topic as he should, and he isn’t sure whether our resurrected bodies and animals (Is. 65:25) will live forever in heaven or on a new earth. Personally,…

  • giants still walk among us

    I mentioned two posts ago that Neal Plantinga was retiring from the presidency of Calvin Seminary, and today I received my seminary magazine devoted to his ten years of leadership. Even if you have never met Neal or attended Calvin Seminary, you will enjoy reading about the man behind the books you love so much. If…

  • protect this house

    I read a disturbing story in yesterday’s newspaper about a local church, which led me to write this new entry for “Our Daily Journey.” As always, any ideas for improvement are appreciated. The Barth reference comes from his Church Dogmatics IV/1, p. 691-92 (T & T Clark, 1956). When Under Armour wanted athletes to notice…

  • the question behind the question

    I don’t want to blog too much about Love Wins, as I already put my thoughts into Christ Alone and I don’t want to overly contribute to Rob Bell fatigue. But I do think it’s important to say that many discussions about LW miss the point. LW is dangerously wrong about hell and post-mortem salvation,…

  • where is Osama bin Laden?

    When I told my fourth and second grade children this morning that American troops had finally caught Osama bin Laden, I discovered that they had no idea who he was. That’s either a testament to my parenting skills, the quality of public school education, or the sheltered, peaceful lives that Americans enjoy. We must have…