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Jim & Amy Spiegel
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JimSpiegel.com
Check out Jim's personal website.
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TheMakingofanAtheist.com
Check out Jim's new book.
Category Archives: Theology
Our Stories Within the Story
I can always count on Maggie, our precocious seven-year-old, to inspire me to think outside the box. She is not one to color inside the lines, either literally or metaphorically. She and I spend several hours a day one-on-one homeschooling, … Continue reading
My Presentation at Last Week’s EPS Meeting
Last week I attended the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Francisco. I attended many interesting sessions and my own session for the Evangelical Philosophical Society (entitled “Belief, Behavior, and the Necessary Conditions for Salvation”) went well, … Continue reading
Angels and the Image of God
Are angels made in the image of God? Some answer negatively on the basis of the fact that Scripture affirms this of human beings (cf. Gen. 1:26-27) but nowhere explicitly says the same of angels. But to conclude from this … Continue reading
Seven Reasons for the Liberal Arts—Part 2
Here are my four other reasons for studying the liberal arts: Reason #4: Studying the liberal arts builds the virtue of self-control. Admittedly, if you study the liberal arts, you are bound to encounter subjects you don’t like and even … Continue reading
Seven Reasons for the Liberal Arts—Part 1
The school where I teach, Taylor University, is a Christian liberal arts college. Sometimes I am asked for a rationale for the liberal arts and, specifically, why a liberal arts education is important from a Christian point of view. In … Continue reading
Is God a Moral Monster?—A Book Review
Anyone familiar with the writings of the new atheists is aware of their penchant for taking potshots at Old Testament ethics. Their moral objections target such things as: (1) God’s desire to be worshipped, (2) God’s preferential treatment of the … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Ethics, Theology
Tagged Ethics, Is God a Moral Monster?, new atheism, Old Testament, Paul Copan
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Thislethwaite, Theology, and the Norway Massacre
This Washington Post piece by Susan Brooks Thislethwaite has created quite stir. Take a look, and you’ll see why. For starters, she follows the NY Times and others in referring to the Norway mass assassin, Anders Behring Breivik, as a … Continue reading
Posted in News, Politics, Theology
Tagged Anders Behring Breivik, Christianity, Susan Brooks Thislethwaite, Washington Post
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Oxford Study on Religious Belief
A three-year long Oxford University research project has recently concluded that religious belief “comes naturally, even instinctively.” The study, led by Oxford University Professor Roger Trigg, was a transcultural mega-project that actually incorporated data from forty different studies around the … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Observations, Theology
Tagged John Calvin, Oxford study, religious belief, Roger Trigg
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Love Wins and Logic Loses: The Fallacies of Rob Bell (part 4)
In this last installment of this series, I will highlight some of the insights and flaws of the last few chapters of Love Wins. Chapter five, entitled “Dying to Live,” deals with the doctrine of the atonement. Bell points out … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Theology
Tagged Bonhoeffer, cheap grace, fallacies, hell, logic, Love Wins, Rob Bell
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Love Wins and Logic Loses: The Fallacies of Rob Bell (part 3)
Chapter 3 of Love Wins is entitled “Hell.” Given the fact that it is the most controversial chapter, it is perhaps ironic that it is also the most logically sound chapter in the book, at least in terms of the … Continue reading