Posts by Kevin Schaal

What is an evangelical? In his work, No Place for Truth published in 1993 (Eerdman’s) David Wells mourned the frustrating decomposition of the term. The word evangelical precisely because it has lost its confessional dimension, has become descriptively anemic. To say that someone is an evangelical says little about what they are likely to believe…

For many believers right now, it feels like we are just trying to survive. In the face of multiple crises—health, economic, social, and spiritual, just living day to day seems to be a challenge. How is it that we can make a difference for the Kingdom when it takes all our energy just to put…

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever…

Twice a week I sit with ten or more 17 and 18-year-olds and let them ask any question they want about the faith—freely—no question is out of bounds. I know that they are preparing to head off to independent lives and I want to make sure that they understand their own faith thoroughly before it…

Typically, religious indifferentism espouses the idea that all religions and religious positions are equally valid. There is a modified version of this that affirms the truth but is willing to accept those who oppose the truth as equal partners in ministry. Many today do not really understand what the fundamentalist/modernist controversy of the 1920s was…

Two weeks ago, I quoted Beale’s History of Fundamentalism where Dr. Beale made the claim that Steve Pettit has led BJU into broader evangelicalism. I did not express agreement or disagreement with Beale’s statement, I just noted it and wondered if there would be a further explanation. Several have pointed out to me that my…

Our mouths are moving. Our tongues are wagging. The words coming out of our mouths sound familiar to each of us, but we do not seem to be communicating. Part of the problem is that we have the same vocabulary, but different dictionaries. Curtis Lee Laws is credited with coining the term fundamentalist in the…

One short quote in David Beale’s excellent new book Christian Fundamentalism in America is getting a lot of attention, After being the premier Fundamentalist academic institution for eighty-seven years, BJU elected Dr. Steve Pettit in 2014, as the president who steered the University out of separatist Fundamentalism into the inclusive, broad Evangelical movement (p. 179).…

Would You Take Jesus to See Halloween? Not the holiday—the movie. I really can’t speak authoritatively on that particular movie, I have never seen it. However, this time of year it seems appropriate to have a thoughtful conversation about the horror genre and the Christian. So, for a moment, let’s lay aside our discussion of…