Was Infant Baptism Practiced in Early Christianity?
by Matthew Pinson Traditionally, advocates of infant baptism (or paedobaptism) say that its practice dates back to the apostles. Yet there is no proof for this assertion. No clear evidence for infant baptism exists before the third century. Even Augustine’s statement that infant baptism was a “firmly established…
“The Juvenilization of American Christianity” by Thomas Bergler: A Book Review
by Randy Corn The Juvenilization of American Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012); 229 pgs. $19.17 Like many book-reading pastors, I pay attention to suggested reading lists. For a number of years now, Al Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has published a top ten list…
Adam, Eve, and Maple Tree Leaves
by Kevin L. Hester I have the privilege of working at Welch College which is nestled in the historic Richland Village neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. Every fall I am greeted with the brilliant yellows and bright reds of the neighborhood’s American maples. The beauty of this time of…
Reflections on “Without God, Without Creed”
by W. Jackson Watts I recently read James Turner’s significant 1985 work, Without God, Without Creed: The Origins of Unbelief in America [1]. It’s rare to find such a thoughtful work which combines social and intellectual history and extensive theological discussion. Moreover, it is refreshing to find a…
Why Calvinists Really Believe in Unconditional Election
by J. Matthew Pinson Often my Calvinist friends say that the reason they are Calvinists is because of total depravity—that the entire Calvinistic system flows from total depravity, because there is no way to rescue people from their total depravity except by complete regeneration prior to faith, which…