Mike Wittmer

What I think. What I know. What I think I know.

  • our beyonce

    Congratulations to our very own Matthew Westerholm, a GRTS student  who arranged a song, “The Power of the Cross,” on Heather Hadley’s CD, which Sunday night won a Grammy for best contemporary R & B/gospel album.  Matt also got his picture taken with Taylor Swift (he prudently avoided being photographed next to a half naked…

  • this I believe

    I am doing some theological consulting for a church that is revising its doctrinal statement, and I’m collecting samples of solid or strange statements of faith.  If your church’s doctrinal statement makes you cry for either of these reasons, would you mind emailing it or its weblink to me? (mwittmer@cornerstone.edu). By the way, it is…

  • it is what it is

    Has anyone else noticed that this phrase is only used to describe something bad, like the Michigan economy, the Detroit Lions’ defense, or the futile search for Osama bin Laden? You never hear: “Sex.  It is what it is.” “Snow day tomorrow!  It is what it is.” “Jesus is coming!  It is what it is.”…

  • evangelical philosophers

    I’ve been teaching apologetics for the past two weeks, and the experience prompted me to reflect on the current state of evangelical philosophy.  I write this as an outsider—I took a few doctoral classes and passed a comp in philosophy, but my expertise is in historical and systematic theology.  These are only general observations, written…

  • chicken s*** for the soul

    I’ve been reading Victor Stenger’s new book, The New Atheism, and found his eschatology to be interesting if not exactly inspiring.  He writes: “Atheism offers no promise of salvation or eternal life.  This life is all we have.  Most people consider that depressing and unappealing…If you accept atheist materialism, then you have to learn to…

  • who is carrying who?

    English majors:  should this title end in “who” or “whom”?  My initial thought is “whom,” but then I think that this is one of those cases where the right answer is the opposite of what you think, unless I’m out-thinking myself.  I’d be happy for any help here, either with the grammar or the more…

  • monday morning quarterback

    It’s Monday morning, time to evaluate and grow from the sermons you delivered yesterday.  It may be hard to tell when you’ve done well, for the best sermons are like time bombs that go off later in the week.  But you can spot the bad ones right away.   In that regard, here are the top…

  • say what you need to say

    Last Wednesday, and for the ensuing Wednesdays in January and February, I have the privilege of leading a class on “Engaging God’s World” at Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids. I was a member of Calvary until we moved to the north side in 2003, and it’s where I preached a series of messages on…

  • projecting their projection

    Christmas break is a good time to catch up on my reading, and I just skimmed an older book by Paul Vitz, Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism (1999).  Vitz’s book is a response to Feuerbach and Freud’s assertion that God is a projection of our human desires.  Vitz observes that 1) they…

  • half nelson

    I originally thought that I liked Ben Nelson and his principled stand against using our taxes to fund abortions.  But now I’m just outraged that his price for signing the health care bill was exempting his state of Nebraska from a large chunk of its cost.  Even worse, his utter lack of shame indicates that…