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Governmental Authority and the Church

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, General Apologetics, Godly Disciplines, Pastoral Theology, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

We are joined today by our guest host pastor Robb Brunansky of Desert Hills Bible Church in Phoenix Arizona. Do government guidelines require the church to close during a pandemic, and what will you say to Christ at the Final Judgment about how you responded to this crisis? We also cover a video from the EFCA discussing re-opening churches that

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Pope Francis, Dan Barker, Bad Bad Twitter Man, Wilson vs. “Augustine Actual”

, , Atheism, Christian Worldview, Church Fathers, Church History, Offense, Personal, Post-Evangelicalism, Provisionism, Racialism, Reformed Apologetics, Reformed Baptist Issues, Roman Catholicism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

This will be my only program this week—don’t worry, we have a special guest filling in on Thursday (I have to head out of town quickly). So we went long, a full two hours. Covered a ton of topics from Pope Francis’ call for “believers of all religions” to join in asking God to “help us” with coronavirus, Dan Barker’s

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Four Calls and then Overview of Issues in Church History

, , Church Fathers, Church History, Exegesis, General Apologetics, Islam, Mormonism, Provisionism, Reformed Apologetics, Textual Issues, The Dividing Line

We took four calls to start the show, and I was so verbose and long-winded that that took us 55 minutes. So much for brevity on my part! The calls were on federal headship and Romans 5, “not My will but Yours” in Luke 22 (esp. as it relates to Oneness theology), Bahnsen vs. Sproul debate, and using presuppositional apologetics

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KJV Onlyism, James Snapp Visits St. Catherine's, Rescuing Isaiah 10 from Leighton Flowers, Ken Wilson Misrepresents Augustine+

KJV Onlyism, James Snapp Visits St. Catherine’s, Rescuing Isaiah 10 from Leighton Flowers, Ken Wilson Misrepresents Augustine

, , Church History, Exegesis, Provisionism, Textual Issues, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Well the title says it all! Tomorrow we will open the phones at the top of the hour at 1:30pm EDT and take four callers before moving back into teaching material. Join us then! Also, here is a picture of the reference I read toward the end of the program which is so fully misused by Ken Wilson in his

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Working on Wilson’s Dissertation #4: Abusing Language

, , Church History, Provisionism

Some are wondering why I wish to introduce my audience to a basic, yet accurate, understanding of what such phrases as “Stoic determinism,” “Gnosticism,” and “Manichaeism” mean. The answer is simple. One must understand these concepts to be able to evaluate the thesis, being promoted by Ken Wilson and the Provisionalists, that Reformed theology is nothing but the ancient heresies

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Isaiah 10 and God’s Decree, Jonathan Merritt Tickles the Ears of the Elite

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, Provisionism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

A little shorter program today (only 75 minutes!) but diving into God’s decree and Isaiah 10 and its witness to the necessary understanding of compatibilism before moving into a review of Jonathan Merritt’s Atlantic article on “Christian Cruelty in the Face of Covid-19.” The Dividing Line 4/27/2020 Isaiah 10 and God’s Decree, Jonathan Merritt Tickles the Ears of the Elite

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Qumran and the Sovereign God, Athanasius and Context

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Provisionism, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Did a lot of reading again today, reading from the Thanksgiving Psalms from Qumran, from Isaiah and the Psalter, and then moving on to read from Athanasius’ Against the Arians regarding the Son’s eternal nature. Tomorrow we will be joined by Jason Lisle, so make sure to join us live at 1pm EDT!

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Working on Wilson’s Dissertation #3: Irenaeus

, , Church History, Provisionism

One of the key problems in Ken Wilson’s dissertation that strikes the reader immediately is the ease with which assertions are made that are not substantiated by any meaningful argumentation or documentation. And central to the application being made of his work is the phrase, used dozens of times, is his admitted self-created phrase, “Divine Unilateral Predetermination of Individuals’s Eternal

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A Meandering Discussion of Eternal Punishment, Hell, Conditionalism and Gnosticism

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, Pastoral Theology, Provisionism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Finished off five straight days of Dividing Lines (9 total hours) with a meandering discussion of conditionalism in response to a video Chris Date posted a while back responding to my comments about Bart Ehrman. That took me to Irenaeus at one point, which accidentally led me off into Sophia and the demiurge and Gnosticism—but I found my way back

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Seb Goldswain, Big Brother Announces His Rulership, Leighton Flowers Goes Full-On Pelagian

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Eastern Orthodoxy, Exegesis, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Persecution, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Started off with a visit from the “Jazzy Segovia of South Africa,” my Christian brother Sebastian Goldwain. Seb lives just outside Durban, and we’ve been able to get together a few times when I’ve been down there. He is a guitar virtuoso, a real talent, and he joined us for the first 45 minutes to talk music, the lock down,

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Four Phone Calls, Rod Dreher, Leighton MSNBCs

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, Post-Evangelicalism, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Another Mega edition of the DL today (what are we going to do IF we ever get let out of jail?) marking five and a half hours worth so far this week alone! We are single-handedly attempting to get the economy going on our own! Started off with four great phone calls on a bunch of good topics, then briefly

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Remembering LDS Outreach, Cyprian to the Martyrs in the Mines, Further Ken Wilson Examination

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Eastern Orthodoxy, Exegesis, Mormonism, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Started off reminiscing about our LDS outreach from long ago, looking at my old copies of the Triple Combination. Then we gave background on the great martyr bishop Cyprian, and read his entire epistle to the Christians imprisoned in the mines, a truly challenging work. Then we returned to listening to the 2018 interview by Leighton Flower of Ken Wilson.

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Story Time with Uncle Jimmy

, , Church History, General Apologetics, Mormonism, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Started off with reading through the entire Epistle to Diognetus (~135 AD), then going back and making direct commentary on the text as it relates to the unique theory promoted by Dr. Ken Wilson and promoted by Dr. Leighton Flowers. We dove pretty deep into the text and found that the author of the epistle had a very strongly apostolic

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Working on Wilson’s Dissertation (#2): The Epistle to Diognetus

, , Church History, Provisionism

Ken Wilson claims that he read extensively in the patristic sources that predate Augustine, and that they were unanimous in their views on how God’s election worked (based upon foreknowledge), and they were universally condemnatory regarding what he calls “DUPIED,” Divine Unilateral Predetermination of Individual’s Eternal Destinies (a phrase that appears exactly eighty nine times in the text of the

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Working on Wilson’s Dissertation (#1)

, , Church History, Provisionism

I have been spending time this evening with Dr. Ken Wilson’s Oxford dissertation. My main purpose this evening was to determine if Dr. Wilson took the time to do what is necessary: define and illustrate, from original sources, “Manichaean hermeneutical practice.” Obviously, if you are going to allege that Augustine adopted “Manichaean” interpretations of various passages of Scripture you have

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Fourth Program for the Week!

, , Church History, Exegesis, Gospel/Jesus Studies, Mormonism, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Covered a ton of topics including the consistency of John’s witness with the Synoptic Gospels regarding the day of the Crucifixion (Friday), modalism in the Book of Mormon and the “Joseph Smith Translation,” some thoughts on my upcoming sermon from Romans 4:25 (this coming Sunday), and some loose ends on materials relevant to Ken Wilson’s dissertation and the early Fathers.

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Clement and Leighton Flowers Walk Into a Bar…

, , Church History, Provisionism, Reformed Apologetics, Roman Catholicism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

So it is sort of hard to describe this one, but, you just sort of have to follow along to see how stuff developed today, starting with checking out an alleged quotation from Clement of Rome in my debate with Leighton Flowers from 2015 which led to other discoveries and conclusions. We also looked at some words from Clement regarding

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Answering an Audience Question about Textual Views in the Eldership, Continuing with the Flowers/Wilson Interview

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, Provisionism, The Dividing Line

Answered an audience question from an old friend about how to handle differences in the pastoral staff on the issue of textual critical theory, and then got back into the Flowers/Wilson debate. Had to explain a few more things about Manichaeism that are, well, somewhat adult in their orientation, so keep that in mind. Will be on Chris Arnzen’s Iron

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Mormon Understanding of Predestination, Kenneth Copeland at 83, More on Manichaeism and Ken Wilson

, , Atheism, Christian Worldview, Church History, General Apologetics, Mormonism, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Looked at some comments from one of the LDS Apostles at the “sort of” virtual General Conference in Salt Lake yesterday on the topic of the nature of God. Then we watched Kenneth Copeland and his chorus spitting at coronavirus—seriously. Finally, listened to a few more comments from Leighton Flowers and Ken Wilson relating to church history. Also, at the

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Thoughts on the New Legacy Standard Bible Project, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Then Phone Calls

, , CBGM, Church History, Reformed Apologetics, Textual Issues, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Talked a bit about the announcement from Master’s that they are going to be putting out (and soon) the Legacy Standard Bible, an update/revision of the (I assume) 1995 NASB. Some thoughts on some of the unique elements of the translation. Then we talked a bit about what the “gift” is in Ephesians 2:8-9, and then took calls on a

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Jeff and James Compete, R. Scott Clark Decalvinizes Me, More of Leighton Flowers and Ken Wilson

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Eastern Orthodoxy, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Started with a little video that Apologia Studios put together (thanks to Carman and Isaac) of Jeff and I competing in the apologists’ bracket, and then looked at a tweet from R. Scott Clark kicking me out of Reformedville (well, nothing overly new there), before moving back to the 2018 interview with Leighton Flowers and Ken Wilson. Last program for

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Arresting Pastors, NT Wright Badly Wrong, Ken Wilson Interview Started

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Persecution, Post-Evangelicalism, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line, Tomb Issues

Discussed a little about the arrest of Rodney Howard Browne, looked at NT Wright’s sad article in Time.com, and then dove into the important historical issues related to the claims of Ken Wilson from his 2018 interview with Leighton Flowers. Will be back tomorrow again!

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Michael Brown Twitter Contest, More Church History Background

, , Church History, Exegesis, Personal, Post-Evangelicalism, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line

I was on The Line of Fire with Michael Brown an hour before we aired this episode, so Michael joined me to discuss the apologetics contest on Twitter, but then more important things as well after that. Jeff Durbin called in and tried to argue that I, as Master Miyagi, should want him, as Danielsan, to win the contest, should

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Zechariah 14:9, then Ken Wilson’s Book Against Calvinism

, , Church History, Exegesis, Reformed Apologetics, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Two subjects on today’s program, first a look at a glorious passage from Zechariah, and then a lengthy discussion of the nature of argumentation and scholarship in Ken Wilson’s The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism. Ninety minute program today, and we plan to be back tomorrow as well! Enjoy!

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Open Phones on the Third Dividing Line of Coronavirus Week #1

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Exegesis, General Apologetics, Godly Disciplines, Gospel/Jesus Studies, King James Onlyism, Pastoral Theology, Pauline Studies, Reformed Apologetics, Roman Catholicism, Textual Issues, The Dividing Line

Answered a few questions from listeners on the last show at the start (just realized I forgot to answer one that I will make a note of!) and then went straight to the phones with an amazingly wide variety of calls and topics…a little something for everyone! One call was on Hebrews 3:16 and why it differs between the KJV

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Presuppositionalism Discussed, Hebrews 10:25, and the Trail of Blood

, , Church History, Exegesis, General Apologetics, Godly Disciplines, Islam, Personal, Post-Evangelicalism, Reformed Apologetics, Roman Catholicism, Theology Matters, Uncategorized

Over 90 minutes today starting off with a question from a friend in email about presuppositionalism that ended up going 48 minutes in length (thanks Matt!). Then I looked at two Twitter questions, one on Hebrews 10:25 and the current crisis around the world, and one about “The Trail of Blood.” We will be back tomorrow, keeping you company as

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Mortality, Books to Read, and a Quick Response on Romans 8

, , Christian Worldview, Church History, Pastoral Theology, Post-Evangelicalism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

Spent the first half of the show talking about mortality and the societal choices we have made regarding danger and death. Then we talked about books to read during this time where there are no sports, no movies, etc., and then we looked (quickly) at what Leighton Flowers said about the issue of faith in Romans 8. Somewhere in there

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Hank Hanegraaff Unplugged—Part One of a Refutation of His Attack on Sola Scriptura

, , Church History, Eastern Orthodoxy, Exegesis, Reformed Apologetics, Roman Catholicism, The Dividing Line, Theology Matters

I was pointed this morning to a video of Hank Hanegraaff (joined by Dr. Nathan Jacobs) attacking the doctrine of sola scriptura.  Given I debated Jimmy Akin and Tim Staples (Roman Catholics) on The Bible Answer Man Broadcast decades ago, I felt it necessary (and useful) to begin a response to the claims made.  Nothing new as we have surely addressed all

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A Few Pope Francis Stories, A Bit on Ken Wilson and Augustine, and Open Phones

, , Church History, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Mormonism, Reformed Apologetics, Roman Catholicism, Textual Issues, The Dividing Line

Ran through some quick discussions of a few topics in the first half hour, and then took calls in the second.  Covered a few Francis the Marxist stories, and then looked briefly at Ken Wilson’s anti-Calvinist polemic (dressed up as a work of history), The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism.  Then pointed folks to a new resource for Qur’an studies, Fadel Soliman’s Bridges’ Translation

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