Mike Wittmer

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

  • a good book on the good book

    I just spent my morning reading a splendid summary of the contemporary debates surrounding Scripture, and I like it so much that I’m going to use it as a textbook for my class on prolegomena.  The book is Ancient Word, Changing Worlds:  the Doctrine of Scripture in a Modern Age, by Stephen J. Nichols and…

  • now I see

    In Joe Stowell’s excellent talk on Monday, he distinguished between the Greek terms for good, agathos and kalos.  He said that agathos meant something like moral purity and kalos meant acts of service.  He illustrated the difference by saying that if you pass by a pornographic shop on the street, that is agathos good works,…

  • who’s got next?

    The audio from yesterday’s worldview symposium, “Who’s Got Next?” is available at http://grts.cornerstone.edu/resources/tpoints. Jim Grier peppered his talk on epistemology with his usual provocative thoughts about preaching and ministry.  The one that caught a lot of attention, and seemed right, is that within the next ten years many of us who believe in the exclusivity of…

  • here’s you without seminary

    If you’re a youth pastor, you might enjoy this video:  http://vimeo.com/1713668?pg=embed&sec=

  • the evil of inertia

    Our Daily Journey is now up and running, with all of the professionalism and networking ability that you’d expect from Radio Bible Class.  These devotionals are printed in attractive, 3 month booklets, and available on-line–just click on “Our Daily Journey” from the blog roll at the right. Here is a Lenten type devotional that I’m…

  • Bavinck on the atonement

    And now two inspiring quotes on the atonement from Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatcs:   “Remember:  grace is that perfection in God by which, for some reason or other, he relinquishes his rights.  Hence, if as the righteous and holy one he did not have the right to punish, we cannot speak of grace in relation to…

  • satisfaction and the Socinians

    I was reading volume 3 of Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics this morning, and I came upon his description of the Socinian view of the atonement.  The Socinians were the followers of Faustus Socinus, a 17th century rationalistic Unitarian who lived in Poland.  Bavinck explains their opposition to the satisfaction theory of the atonement in words…

  • boomers or tankers?

    This may be a gross oversimplification, and I’m willing to be corrected, as long as you’re nice about it.  But what is a blog for if not for trotting out ideas that are not yet ready for prime time?   So here goes.  While certainly there are many generations at fault for our economic crisis,…

  • upcoming opportunities

    This week there are some valuable opportunities for those in West Michigan to learn and dialogue about contemporary issues in the church.  On Thursday night Michael Horton will speak about his new book, Christless Christianity, at the Baker Book House on East Paris, just north of the E. Beltline (7:00). On Friday night I will…

  • Kierkegaard on the interpretation of Scripture

    I am reading Kevin Vanhoozer’s classic book, Is There a Meaning in This Text? (Zonderan, 1998), and I came across this timely parable on p. 16.    Kierkegaard said that some people read Scripture like disobedient subjects responding to their king’s decree.  Instead of obeying the word from their king, they set out to interpret…