Dr. Mike Spaulding

Random thoughts from a disciple of Jesus Christ

Scripture and the Authority of God in the 21st Century – Part 3

Posted on March 6, 2016 by ccpastormike

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The Current Cultural Climate and Authority – A Postmodern View

The seeds of the aforementioned Enlightment period eventually gave birth to philosophies that questioned among other things the right of any one individual or nation to define such notions as truth and morality. Some recent philosophical systems aggressively attack the notion of authority. Postmodernists for instance teach that objective standards, morals, and truth cannot exist beyond cultures since they are culturally derived, and are doubtful that they can exist beyond any individually held truth.

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Scripture and the Authority of God in the 21st Century

Posted on December 8, 2015 by ccpastormike

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This article explores the subject of Scripture and the Authority of God in the 21^st Century. Part one will discuss the authority of God understood within Christian theism generally and historically. Part two will discuss the authority of God historically within American culture. Part three will consider God’s authority within 21^st century postmodern America as that philosophical system increasingly dominates most scholarly activities today. Part four will be a Christian theistic response to the conditions discussed in part three.

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Spiritual Formation as Spiritual Deception: Beware the Peddlers of Grace (Part 2)

Posted on September 22, 2015 by ccpastormike

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Evangelical Sanctification Historically Expressed

Both D. A. Carson[1] and Steven L. Porter[2] recently wrote articles that appeared in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society questioning the approach and methodology of spiritual formation teaching. Although separated by eight years, Carson’s article explaining the dangers of spirituality apart from a robust bibliology appears to have laid a solid groundwork for Porter’s article espousing the need for a biblical methodology that presents a clear and thoughtful evangelical theology of sanctification. In the process of their individual critiques they offer some pertinent historical context related to sanctification.

Porter begins his critique of spiritual formation teaching by asserting that its practices must fall within prescribed biblical territory and as such the effort to define acceptable spiritual formation activities belongs to Christian theologians. That Christian theologians have not been involved in establishing parameters is evidenced by the “plethora of false spiritualities plaguing church and society”[3] in our present day. This is to be expected when the purpose or goal of sanctification is not rooted in biblical revelation and directive.

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