Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

The Simple Gospel

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Perhaps the most important truth that Jenni and I have especially internalized in the last couple of years is that the gospel is central to our Christian life—not simply step one. We immediately identified with the following paragraph when we read it recently:

For complex reasons many in the Western church came to speak of ‘the simple gospel’, by which they at one time meant the gospel summarized in convenient and simple form, usually for evangelistic purposes. The result is that for many today ‘the gospel’ or ‘gospel preaching’ refers not to the glorious, comprehensive good news disclosed in scripture but to a very simple (some would say simplistic) reduction of it. Some churches distinguished between ‘worship services’ and ‘gospel services’: one wonders which term, ‘worship’ or ‘gospel’, has been more seriously abused. Doubtless the motives behind these developments were often excellent. But the fact remains that a variety of serious problems were thereby introduced. For many, evangelistic preaching became identified with simplistic preaching. Worse, ‘the gospel’ came to be associated in their minds exclusively with the initial steps of faith rather than with God’s comprehensive good news that not only initiates salvation but orders all our life in this world and the next.

–D. A. Carson, “The Biblical Gospel,” in For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present and Future (ed. Steve Brady and Harold Rowdon; London: Evangelical Alliance, 1996), 82.

Related: My review of Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love (Themelios 33:1 [2008]: 102–3).

Inconsistent Grace?

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Here is an observation that is related to the discussion generated by my previous post (though it may not apply to anyone in that discussion): People are often more gracious to those on either their left or right.

  1. Some people are more gracious to those to the left of them than they are to those to the right of them. For example, some (not all) more broadminded evangelicals will tip-toe around a postconservative evangelical or emergent leader in order to give the least possible offense, but they will also strongly denounce “fundamentalists” without the least concern about offending them.
  2. Other people are more gracious to those to the right of them than they are to those to the left of them. For example, some (not all) fundamentalists will overlook egregious errors by fellow fundamentalists (e.g., errant bibliology or soteriology) in order to give the least possible offense to those in their camp, but they will also strongly denounce “new evangelicals” for less serious issues without the least concern about offending them.

Is this a fair observation? Perhaps there are too many exceptions for this to be any sort of a general trend.

Nooma Blooper

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Rob Bell further undermines his credibility in the Nooma DVD Store | 016:

And then, the Bible says [in Mark 3:5] that Jesus looked around at them in anger. Jesus gets angry. Now this story was first told in the Greek language, and there’s a subtle nuance to this word “anger” in the Greek language. It’s in what’s called the aorist tense, which is a technical way of saying that Jesus’ anger is a temporary feeling. It comes on him, and then it leaves him.

Response:

  1. “Anger” is a noun, not a verb, in Mark 3:5. The participle περιβλεψάμενος (“After looking around at”) is aorist.
    • καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ᾽ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα.
    • NET: After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
  2. Even if Bell had correctly parsed the word he was highlighting, his point is still guilty of the aorist tense fallacy. The aorist tense is not “subtle” or “technical.” It’s the default tense that communicates the very least about a particular action. (See, e.g., D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies [2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 67–73.)

This is not an isolated example. When Bell talks about ancient history, customs, language, etc., he not infrequently undermines his credibility.

Related:

  1. See Greg Gilbert’s thoughtful reviews of Nooma videos 1-19: parts 1 | 2 | 3.
  2. C. J. Mahaney, “Rob Bell, the Pastor’s Task of Discernment, and My Heart“
  3. D. A. Carson comments on Rob Bell’s ministry
  4. Pat Abendroth, “Rob Bell makes me angry: a pastoral response to Velvet Elvis“
  5. Ken Silva, “Is Rob Bell Evangelical?“

Update:

  1. Justin Taylor highlights this post followed by some related comments.
  2. Justin Taylor highlights this post again followed by more related comments.
  3. Kevin DeYoung, “This is Not Good“

Carson on the Cross at Mars Hill

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In the first weekend of December 2008, D. A. Carson preached five sermons in Seattle:

  1. “The Center of the Whole Bible” (Romans 3:21-26): audio | video
  2. “The Strange Triumph of a Slaughtered Lamb” (Revelation 12): audio | video
  3. “A Miracle Full of Surprises” (John 11): audio | video
  4. “Why Doubt the Resurrection of Jesus” (John 20:24-31): audio | video
  5. “The Ironies of the Cross” (Matthew 27:27-51): audio | video

The videos are embedded below:

1. “The Center of the Whole Bible” (Romans 3:21-26)

2. “The Strange Triumph of a Slaughtered Lamb” (Revelation 12)

3. “A Miracle Full of Surprises” (John 11)

4. “Why Doubt the Resurrection of Jesus” (John 20:24-31)

5. “The Ironies of the Cross” (Matthew 27:27-51)

Old Fundamentalists Never Die

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Fascinating statement:

Ehrman proves the dictum that old fundamentalists never die; they just exchange fundamentals and continue in their unimaginative, closed-minded rigidity and simplicity.

-William H. Willimon, review of Bart D. Ehrman, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer, The Christian Century, December 30, 2008.

Theology for Kids

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The latest issue of Themelios includes the following review article that my wife and I coauthored:

Andrew David Naselli and Jennifer J. Naselli. “Theology for Kids: Recommending Some Recent Books for Younger Children.” [Also available in HTML.] Themelios 33:3 (2008): 120–25.

Excerpt:

Without pretending to be experts on theological children’s literature, we have sorted through recent theology books for younger children and compiled a short list of outstanding books. Other books are undoubtedly worthy of mention, but these are our favorites. What follows organizes them in three categories and ranks the books in order, beginning with our top recommendations.

Bible Story Books

Other Story Books

Systematic Theology Books

Themelios 33:3

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The latest issue of Themelios was released today, and it is outstanding! (It is available as a 129-page PDF or in HTML.)

  1. Editorial | D. A. Carson
  2. Minority Report: The Way of the Christian Academic | Carl Trueman
  3. The Gospel and the Poor | Tim Keller
  4. Shared Intentions? Reflections on Inspiration and Interpretation in Light of Scripture’s Dual Authorship | Jared M. Compton
  5. The Center of Biblical Theology in Acts: Deliverance and Damnation Display the Divine | James M. Hamilton Jr.
  6. Salvation History, Chronology, and Crisis: A Problem with Inclusivist Theology of Religions, Part 2 of 2 | Adam Sparks
  7. Ezra, According to the Gospel: Ezra 7:10 | Philip Graham Ryken
  8. Book Reviews | 32 reviews
    1. Old Testament | 4 reviews
    2. New Testament | 6 reviews
    3. history and historical theology | 3 reviews
    4. systematic theology and bioethics | 15 reviews, 2 book notes
    5. ethics and pastoralia | 1 review
    6. missions and culture | 2 reviews