Dr Paul Allen

The Bible is the Word of God . Yet, within the conservative school there is a divergence of opinion regarding what is involved in inspiration. Thus there are the following conservative theories of inspiration: a) The Verbal Dictation Theory. This theory states that every word, even the punctuation, is dictated by God , much as a business executive would dictate a letter to his secretary. This is often called “mechanical inspiration” or “verbal dictation.” Fundamentalists are often accused of subscribing to this method of inspiration, but only a small percentage of them actually do. The great weakness of this theory is that it eliminates any possibility of a personal style in the writings of the divinely chosen author—a phenomenon which is clearly observable. b) The Inspired Concept Theory. In an endeavor to compensate for the dangers of the Verbal Dictation Theory, some conservatives have adopted the idea that God gave the thoughts to the men chosen, and left them to ...

Dove representation in the Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) But if there’s a doctrine that we can’t afford to be confused about, it’s the doctrine of sanctification. We all live in between the time of our past justification and our future glorification—in the present pursuit of Christlikeness. If we are concerned to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Phil 1:27), if we desire to please the Lord in all respects (Col 1:10), if it’s our ambition to put the sanctifying power of Christ on display, then we need to be clear on how we go about growing in holiness. Let's align our thoughts with the biblical teaching on the matter. Fundamentally Internal and Supernatural The first truth about sanctification that we need to consider is that the believer’s growth in holiness is fundamentally internal and supernatural. We see this in Philippians 2:13 , where Paul tells us explicitly that God is working in us, both to will and to w...

Theologian Charles Hodge, a critic of Darwin's theories, also praised Darwin for his intellectual honesty. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The fact that Jesus is fully God would seem to preclude this, for God cannot sin. But the fact that Jesus is fully human, and that He undeniably was tempted, might seem to demand the possibility that He could have sinned ; for if He could not have sinned, how could He have been tempted. How could He have been fully human? Charles Hodge , the great Reformed theologian of the nineteenth century, seems to be among those who affirm that Jesus could possibly have sinned. He says, “The sinlessness of our Lord , however, does not amount to absolute impeccability.… If He was a true man He must have been capable of sinning … Temptation implies the possibility of sin. If from the constitution of His person it was impossible for Christ to sin, then His temptation was unreal and without effect, and He cannot sympathize with His people” ( Systematic Theol...

Image via Wikipedia Alvin Plantinga is among the preeminent philosophers of his generation. After a long career, chiefly at Calvin College and the University of Notre Dame (where he is emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy), Plantinga has formally retired, but he hasn't been idle. In his new book,  Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism  (Oxford University Press), he sheds light on a subject that is often obscured by posturing and superficial polemics. John Wilson, editor of  Books & Culture , spoke with Plantinga about the underlying harmony between scientific and religious accounts of reality. Most of your book is taken up with the proposition that there's superficial conflict but deep concord between theistic religion and science. In certain areas, the right word would be  alleged  conflict. For example, I argue that there's no real conflict between evolutionary theory—that is, the scientific theory of evolution ...