Author Archive for: jdowns

Biblical Theology in Pastoral Practice

Jeff Downs, September 20, 2010, Pastoral Theology

I am currently reading Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church for fun, but also in preparation for (Lord willing) pastoral ministry. What I’ve read so far I am really enjoying, with one exception. I do not understand why some theologians, when speaking of covenants, buy in to Meredith Kline’s view. It bothers me that when Michael Lawrence writes

Natural Theology?

Jeff Downs, September 17, 2010, Christian Worldview

The guys at Christ the Center recently discussed the issue of Natural Theology and in particular Michael Sudduth’s book The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology. On the panel was one of my favorite writers in apolologetics Dr. Scott Oliphint and James Dolezal. This is a deep discussing but worth the listen Click here to listen. For Oliphint’s discussion on theology

To Burn or Not to Burn

Jeff Downs, September 10, 2010, Islam

I had a chance to sit down with Anees Zaka and ask the question. Nothing professional about the recording.

Islam 101

Jeff Downs, August 30, 2010, Islam

Greenville Seminary is hosting a class on Islam the week of September 6-10. The instructor is Anees Zaka is founder and senior missionary of Church Without Wall, based in Philadelphia, PA. He is authored numerous books including this one, reviewed here and this book both published by P&R. You can listen to Zaka preach on “All Hail the Power of

Reformed Hermeneutics/Homiletics (Update)

Jeff Downs, July 22, 2010, Resources

I just finished uploading a conference that Dr Joseph Pipa and Dr. Richard Gaffin, Jr. participated in back in 1998. The theme of the conference was Reformed Hermeneutics and Homiletics. Those interested in preaching and the various issues in homiletics such as the redemptive-historical approach, this audio will be of interest to you. Richard Gaffin has been a professor at

The Practicality of Doctrine

Jeff Downs, July 8, 2010, Resources

Doctrine is practical. In scripture we have a pattern of the indicative and then the imperative (see this book for a defense of this pattern). Paul begins his letters stating his doctrinal concerns, then the “therefore…” this is how you should live! Those who read through systematic theologies know that for the most part, doctrines are stated, but not applied.

Advice for Living a Godly Life

Jeff Downs, July 7, 2010, Exegesis

Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is offering A Summer Course on The Epistle of Paul to Titus with Dr. George Knight, III. Who is George Knight? Dr. Knight is adjunct professor of New Testament at Greenville Seminary. He is an ordained minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving as teaching elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. He has taught

The Reformed Worldview

Jeff Downs, June 18, 2010, Christian Worldview

Is there such thing as a Reformed worldview? Listen to Dr. Scott Oliphint from the 2007 GPTS Spring Theology Conference speak on this very issues. Click here to listen. More audio from this conference (theme: A Christian Worldview) will be posted soon. For further resources on Worldviews see: Revolutions in Worldview: Understanding the Flow of Western Thought Worldview: The History

Six Years of Teaching: Creation, Worship, Scripture, etc.

Jeff Downs, June 9, 2010, Misc

I recently uploaded six years of the GPTS Annual Spring Theology Conferences (1998-2003) to Sermon Audio. There is quite a bit to feast upon including (most include Q&A and some include debates): 1998 THEME: Southern Presbyterianism (NOTE: this was the first conference and the topic was fitting for the occasion; Dr. Pipa became the first president of GPTS) *Introduction to

Defending the Faith

Jeff Downs, June 4, 2010, Christian Worldview

Once in a while I am asked what kind of (general) apologetic material would I recommend. This can be a difficult question since there is not a lot of material that is simple enough to understand, without having some background knowledge. But the interesting thing about apologetics is that it really is simply thinking God’s thoughts after him and putting

Mormonism

Jeff Downs, June 2, 2010, Mormonism

Normally our seminary receives the latest editions of New Horizons magazine before the articles are posted online, but this month is different. And to my surprise the theme for the June 2010 issue is Mormonism. Here are two articles that appear online: “Mormonism and the Gospel”, by Jody O. Morris “The Book of Mormon: Fact or Fiction”, by Norman De

Heresy Never Dies

Jeff Downs, April 9, 2010, General Apologetics

This week, men from around the world gathered in Mississippi for the Twin Lakes Fellowship. Martin Downes (no relation to me) had the opportunity to address the issue of heresy in his lecture “Heresy Never Dies.” You can listen to this lecture by clicking here. Downes is the author of Risking the Truth: Handling Error in the Church. You can

9 Hours (give or take an hour or so)

Jeff Downs, March 12, 2010, Testimonies

{Note: This entire entry is written tongue-in-cheek, the real point is to make you aware of the resources] I want to take a moment and set a “story” straight. It is a story I heard a number of times this week and I simply want everyone to know the facts of the matter. Back in August of 2004, Dr. White

Creeds, Confession and Peter Enns

Jeff Downs, March 12, 2010, Theology Matters

Dr. Pipa ask me to post on Sermon Audio, the last two lecture of the 2010 Spring Theology Conference presented by Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Dr. Joseph Pipa spoke on the topic “Why Creeds if the Bible is the Sufficient and Final Rule of Authority”, to listen click here Dr. White spoke on Peter Enns and the general issues surrounding

Greenville, South Carolina

Jeff Downs, March 6, 2010, Resources

This is where Dr. White will be this coming week for the 2010 Spring Theology Conference presented by Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on the topic “The Nature and Sufficiency of Scripture.” The conference will be held at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, SC. The conference runs from Tuesday, March 9 (1pm) – Thursday, March 11 (12:15pm). On Tuesday, there

A More Sure Word

Jeff Downs, February 12, 2010, Theology Matters

A few months ago someone sent me a link to a pastor criticizing, in a blog, the ministry of Cornelius Van Til. One of the criticisms leveled against Van Til was that he was the inventor of the doctrine of the self-authenticating nature of scripture. An amazing assertion that is absolutely false. Even if you do not agree with Van

Englishing the Bible

Jeff Downs, February 5, 2010, Textual Issues

Dr. Benjamin Shaw is professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He answers the question “Why a conference on scripture in the 21st Century” and also gives a brief word on his particular session “Englishing the Bible” For further information and to register for the conference, go to the conference Website. Back on December 30, 2009

John & Hebrews

Jeff Downs, February 5, 2010, Resources

Two books that may be of interest to the readership of this blog are: A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters: The Word, the Christ, the Son of God, by Andreas J. Kostenberger. View sample pages here. Keven Boling recently interviewed Dr. Kostenberg on his new book. Since James is working his way through Hebrews, this is worth mentioning: The

Conference on Scripture

Jeff Downs, February 3, 2010, Christian Worldview

Yesterday, I had a chance to sit down with Dr. Joseph Pipa, president of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He took about 8 minutes to discuss the GPTS Annual Conference. I’m new at using our camera for such things, and the color is simply awful: Click here to register for ths conference.

Greenville Seminary Conference

Jeff Downs, December 16, 2009, Misc

On December 12 I annouced the annual conference of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. At that time, the brochure was at the printer. Now, you can access the brochure, schedule, registration (not live yet), and anything else you want to know about the conference, by clicking this site http://www.gpts.edu/conference. I look forward to seeing some of you there. I will be

Extemporaneous Preaching

Jeff Downs, December 7, 2009, Pastoral Theology

One of the privileges of attending seminary is the occasion special lectures. This past Friday was one of those special times. Dr. John Carrick gave his inaugural lecture titled The Extemporaneous Mode of Preaching. He defends extemporaneous preaching, against the reading of a manuscript or memorizing the sermon. This past semester, Dr. Carrick forced me to step out of my

Nature and Sufficiency of Scripture (March 9-11, 2010)

Jeff Downs, December 3, 2009, Misc

While there is nothing on the GPTS website yet, the brochure is at the printers and being sent out. So, I guess it is safe to post the following information: Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will hold their annual conference March 9-11, 2010 at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church, Simpsonville, SC. Below is a list of topics (in order) and speaker: “Englishing

Collision

Jeff Downs, December 1, 2009, Reformed Apologetics

If you are in the Greenville, SC area on Monday, Dec. 7 at 6pm, Greenville Seminary will be showing the (debate/discussions) film Collision. If you are interested in coming, please contact me. Soon, very soon (I hope) I will make an announcement concerning an event to be held in Greenville SC on March 9-11, 2010. Those who enjoy Alpha and

The Collision of Apologetic Methods

Jeff Downs, November 24, 2009, General Apologetics

I recently read Doug Groothuis’s review of the new film Collision (the debate/discussions between Christopher Hitchens and Doug Wilson). Already knowing that Groothuis does not favor presupposition apologetics, I was still surprised to find this comment in this review: “Those trained in apologetics, will note that Wilson uses the Van Tillian presuppositional method (with some help from C.S. Lewis on

Gheens Lectures – Stephen J. Nichols

Jeff Downs, November 5, 2009, Misc

It is always neat to see one of your professors from Bible College “making it big.” 🙂 In this case, Stephen Nichols, professor at Lancaster Bible College spoke at this years Gheens Lectures (Nov. 3). Speaking of Al Mohler, Jr., the Gheens Lectures are held on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here are topics Nichols addressed (click

Witnesses Now for Jesus (Live)

Jeff Downs, October 16, 2009, Jehovah's Witnesses

Every year, Personal Freedom Outreach put together a convention for former Jehovah’s Witnesses in New Ringgold, PA (what a beautiful place this time of year*). If you are a Jehovah’s Witness, a former JW, or simply interested, you can watch many of the sessions live online (this is the first time they are broadcasting live). I am not familiar with

The Ministry of John Frame

Jeff Downs, October 16, 2009, Resources

I have been hearing about a particular book for a couple of months now, and I believe it is finally available. The book is Speaking the Truth in Love: The Theology of John Frame (P&R, 2009), coming in at whopping 1232 pages. You can view the table of contents here (plus read chapter 2), but of particular interest to apologetics

Covenant Community

Jeff Downs, October 9, 2009, Theology Matters

Mark Herzer, the speaker in the audio I mentioned earlier, gave me permission to post his paper titled The Church: A Covenant Community. If you listened to the audio, you will want to download this document; much more is included. Click here for the PDF.

Presuppositions of NPP Advocates

Jeff Downs, October 9, 2009, Theology Matters

One last item for today… I just returned from a meeting in which Dr. Tom Holland, from Wales Evangelical School of Theology spoke on the New Perspective on Paul. Holland is the author of Contours of Pauline Theology: A Radical New Survey of the Influences on Paul’s Biblical Writing (Christian Focus). If you would like to listen click here.

Servetus Again

Jeff Downs, October 9, 2009, Reformed Apologetics

This might be of interest of our readers. This past Thursday, in Reformation Church History, Dr. James McGoldrick addressed the topic of Michael Servetus and John Calvin. This issue has been dealt with on this blog (most recently here); and this 10 minute audio clip will simply add to the collection. Click here to listen. Dr. James E. McGoldrick is

Should You Be a Member of a Local Church?

Jeff Downs, October 9, 2009, Theology Matters

In 1995 GPTS held a conference on the topic The Doctrine of the Church. One of the presentations was titled “Covenant Community” by Mark Herzer. This was the best presentations I’ve heard on this issue. Pastor Herzer’s purpose was: “…to deal with two major points in this paper. One is the necessity of membership in the visible church. The second

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