Dan McCartney on James
The Spring 2010 issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology is available, including a PDF of twelve books reviews that conclude the issue. I contributed this one:
Review of Dan G. McCartney, James [Amazon | WTS Books]. The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 14:1 (Spring 2010): 84–85.
My conclusion:
McCartney evidences a firm handling of the text as well as the secondary literature, and he writes clearly and thoughtfully. His book joins Moo, Bauckham, George H. Guthrie (2006, revised EBC), and Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell (2008, ZECNT) as one of the volumes that preachers, teachers, and students will consult first and with most profit when studying the book of James.
Here are those other four books on James:
How would you respond to someone who said he would never read your book for the simple fact that James P. Boyce was from the South and owned slaves?
Tom Nettles’s answer to that question is superb.
Al Mohler: The Cost of Conviction
These two MP3s from Sovereign Grace’s 2003 Leadership Conference include Al Mohler‘s “testimony about his call to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in order to highlight key points of his messages”:
It doesn’t get much better in your earbuds than Mohler’s comeback to the postmodernist faculty member who refused to interpret the Bible straightforwardly but insisted on a rigorously literal interpretation of his contract—followed by C. J. Mahaney’s uproarious laughter. I was edified (and, I admit, entertained). I highly recommend these two MP3s.
Two Views on the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion at Southern Seminary
This week I enjoyed following the events at the SBC and SBTS from a distance and wish I would have been in Louisville to experience it. I’m encouraged by what I’ve heard. (Cf. summaries by Danny Akin, Tom Ascol, Timmy Brister, Denny Burk, Greg Gilbert, Owen Strachan, and the many articles by Southern Seminary’s news service.)
In the midst of many reasons for rejoicing in the positive advances made in the convention this year, one event stands out as confusing to Protestant fundamentalists: SBTS dedicated a building (cf. audio and video) to former president Duke McCall, a theological moderate who tolerated theological liberalism and opposed the Conservative Resurgence.
Doran’s Objection
Dave Doran (a graduate of TEDS, senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church, and president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary) reflects on this in these short articles:
- “Honor to Whom Dishonor Is Due” (He concludes, “I just don’t get it.”)
- “Is This an Application of Loving Your Enemies?“
- “We Report, You Decide” (a response to Greg Gilbert’s post)
- “Some (Final, I hope) Thoughts on the McCall Pavilion and Objections to My Questioning It” (a response to Mark Rogers’s post)
- “Missions, Pavilions, and Wives” (paragraph two responds to Owen Strachan’s post)
- “Seeing the Difference between Ideas and Individuals” (an implied response to Gilbert, Rogers, and Strachan)
- “Ideas and Individuals (Again)“
- “Sticking to the Point . . .“
Reponses to Doran
- Greg Gilbert (a graduate of SBTS, former assistant to Al Mohler, and assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church) respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Mohler, McCall, Truth, and History.”
- Mark Rogers (a graduate of SBTS, son of a pastor in the SBC, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and D. A. Carson’s administrative assistant) also respectfully responds to Doran’s first article: “Southern Seminary’s Anniversary and a Question of Honor.”
- Owen Strachan (a graduate of SBTS, former research assistant to Al Mohler, current PhD student in historical theology at TEDS, and managing director of the Henry Center) also respectfully responds to Doran: “At SBTS, Fidelity Matters: A Friendly Response to Dave Doran.”
The History of Southern Seminary
This semester a couple recent M.Div. graduates from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary entered Trinity’s Ph.D. historical theology program: Owen Strachan (blog) and Mark Rogers (blog). Jenni and I have enjoyed getting to know them and their families, and I’ve already learned a bit more about Southern Seminary. This week I learned that a history of Southern Seminary is available online at Southern’s “Archives and Special Collections.”
“The History of the SBTS“ efficiently organizes over 100 pages worth of fresh, concise, readable, popular, official, fascinating history.
Owen Strachan, who wrote nearly all of the site’s content, worked on this project nonstop for a year and a half, reading books, articles, and dissertations on Southern’s history (cf. the project staff).
“The History of the SBTS” is divided into seven parts:
- story: This traces Southern’s history from its founding (1859–78) to its conservative resurgence (1993–present).
- presidents: Nine presidents have served at Southern since 1859: Boyce, Broadus, Whitsitt, Mullins, Sampey, Fuller, McCall, Honeycutt, and Mohler.
- professors: Influential professors include Robertson, Beasley-Murray, George, and Dockery.
- beliefs: Southern’s faculty teaches in accordance with two confessions: The Abstract of Principles and The Baptist Faith and Message.
- buildings: Southern’s campus is historic and stately. Its current campus is beautiful, especially with the combination of classy, red-brick buildings, large trees, green grass, and a sunny, blue sky. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed spending a couple days on campus for our third anniversary last July! Here’s a picture we took of the library:
- lore: Interesting “facts and curiosities” contribute to Southern’s body of tradition.
- sources: A couple bibliographies are helpful for further study: books & dissertations and articles & other stuff.
