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ETS meeting to feature Southern Baptists
David Roach, Baptist Press
November 12, 2014
13 MIN READ TIME

ETS meeting to feature Southern Baptists

ETS meeting to feature Southern Baptists
David Roach, Baptist Press
November 12, 2014

Some 90 representatives of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) seminaries will make presentations this month to the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), the world’s largest society of evangelical scholars.

ETS will meet in San Diego under the theme “Ecclesiology,” a term referencing the study of the church. Presentations during the Nov. 19-21 sessions will cover a broad array of topics, including biblical studies, systematic theology, ethics and church history.

“Southern Baptists are vitally involved in ETS,” society president Tom Schreiner, a New Testament professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press in written comments. “I remember in my early years at ETS that … Southern Baptists were virtually absent. Thankfully, that has changed, and I hope that our presence edifies other evangelicals present, and that their presence with us strengthens us as well.”

ETS has 4,400 members, all of whom pledge their agreement with the statement, “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.”

Though the society includes associate and student members without voting privileges, full members typically are seminary and college professors and pastors who hold an advanced theological degree beyond the master of divinity.

At least 64 of the presenters from Southern Baptist seminaries are professors. With 612 total presentations to be delivered, SBC seminary representatives constitute about 15 percent of the program.

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Among other presenters are representatives of the International Mission Board and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission as well as professors from colleges and universities affiliated with state Baptist conventions.

Southern Baptists scheduled to highlight the program include Schreiner, who will chair the society’s business meeting and center his presidential address around reflections on the Reformation doctrine of sola fide, Latin for “by faith alone,” a reference to the belief that salvation comes by trusting only in Christ; and Gregg Allison, ETS secretary/treasurer and professor of Christian theology at Southern, who will be one of three plenary session speakers. Allison will address the Holy Spirit’s role in a biblical doctrine of the church.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson and Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. will participate in a panel discussion of “God, the future, and the contemporary” moderated by Southwestern provost Craig Blaising.

Schreiner underscored the importance of this year’s church theme.

“Our theology of the church is important because the church is one vital place where our theology is lived out,” Schreiner said. “Our study of what it means to be the people of God isn’t just an abstraction. The way we order our life together and the way we relate to one another in the body of Christ shows the world what we truly believe. As evangelicals we believe that scripture teaches us what it means to be a church, and we study together so we can live out joyfully what God has called us to be.”

Among the papers to be presented by Southern Baptist seminary professors are “‘Big-Tent’ Calvinism: Embracive of Evangelicalism?” by Christian George of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; “Persecution and Martyrdom Yesterday and Today” by Rex Butler of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; “Is Same-Sex Orientation Sinful?” by Denny Burk of Southern Seminary; and “Practicing Church Discipline” by Rick Durst of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Midwestern provost Jason Duesing expressed enthusiasm at his seminary’s strong presence on the ETS program.

“The mutual scholastic sharpening that takes place among evangelicals at this meeting is something I am glad we support and from which we as a faculty benefit a great deal,” Duesing, who is among Midwestern’s ETS presenters, said.

A list of Southern Baptist seminary professors making presentations at ETS follows.

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ETS papers to be presented by Southern Baptist seminary professors:

Golden Gate

Rick Durst, professor of historical theology: “Practicing Church Discipline: Why Deconstructive Criticism Works Better than Constructive Criticism.”

Paul Wegner, professor of Old Testament studies: chairing the “Old Testament Prophets and Apocalyptic Literature” session.

Earl Waggoner, associate professor of theology and church history: member of the “Christianity and Culture” consultation.

Midwestern

Jason G. Duesing, provost and associate professor of historical theology: “A Roman Catholic Cousin: An Evaluation of Anglican Episcopal Ecclesiology.”

John Mark Yeats, undergraduate dean and associate professor of church history: “A Part of Which Church?: Jewish Converts, the London Society for the Promotion of Christianity Amongst the Jews and Evangelical Cooperation,” panel discussion of “Membership Has Its Privileges.”

J. Alan Branch, professor of Christian ethics: “Pro-Homosexual Arguments Regarding Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and Homosexuality as an Immutable Trait: A Brief Christian Ethical Analysis.”

Christian George, assistant professor of historical theology and curator of the Spurgeon Library: “‘Big-Tent’ Calvinism: Embracive of Evangelicalism?” and panel discussion.

Thomas P. Johnston, professor of evangelism: “Multiform Itinerant Ministry for a Healthy Local Church.”

John Lee, assistant professor of New Testament: “Compatibility of High Christology and the Uniqueness of God in Mark’s Gospel.”

Sung Jin Park, dean of Korean Studies and assistant professor of biblical studies: “The Prosodic Characteristics of the Divisions by the Tiberian Accentuation System.”

Rustin J. Umstattd, assistant professor of theology: “The Lord’s Supper: A Case for Reclaiming the Symbolic Meal from a Symbol of a Meal.”

New Orleans

Rex D. Butler, professor of church history and patristics and John T. Westbrook Chair of Church History: “Persecution and Martyrdom Yesterday and Today: Christian Suffering in the Early Church and the Contemporary World.”

Daniel A. Warner, associate professor of Old Testament and archaeology; Don & Helen Bryant Chair of Old Testament and Archaeology; co-director of the Mike and Sara Moskau Institute of Archaeology: “Amplification of Canaanite Cult based upon Refined Archaeological Methodologies,” panel discussion.

Adam Harwood, associate professor of theology; McFarland Chair of Theology; director of the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry; editor, Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry: “Did Millard Erickson Revise His View of General Revelation and Human Responsibility in Christian Theology, Third Edition (2013)?”

Rhyne Putman, assistant professor of theology and culture and associate director of the Institute for Christian Apologetics: moderator for presentations on “Systematic Theology: Scripture and Hermeneutics.”

Robert Stewart, professor of philosophy and theology; Greer-Heard Chair of Faith and Culture; director of the Institute for Christian Apologetics: panelist for “A Conversation on Origins: BioLogos, Reasons to Believe, and Southern Baptists.”

Southeastern

Charles Quarles, professor of New Testament and biblical theology: “Matthew 27:52-53 as a Scribal Interpolation.”

John Hammett, senior professor of systematic theology; associate dean of theological studies; John Leadley Dagg Chair of Systematic Theology: “Believer Baptism: Human Act of Obedience and Divine Means of Grace.”

Daniel Heimbach, senior professor of Christian ethics: Christian ethics moderator.

Steve McKinion, associate professor of theology and patristic studies: “Can War Be Just? The Ancient Church and Pacifism.”

Ken Keathley, professor of theology and director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture: Molinism moderator.

James Dew Jr., associate professor of history of ideas and philosophy; dean of the College at Southeastern; vice president for undergraduate studies and academic support: panelist.

David Jones, associate professor of Christian ethics; associate dean for graduate program administration; director of the Th.M. program: “Rescuing Rahab: The Evangelical Discussion on Conflicting Moral Absolutes.”

Nathan Finn, associate professor of historical theology and Baptist studies and director of the Center for Spiritual Formation and Evangelical Spirituality: evangelical ecumenism moderator.

Mark Rooker, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew: “Are There Signs of Late Biblical Hebrew in Isaiah 40-66?”

Southern

Owen Strachan, assistant professor of Christian theology and church history: “The City on a Hill: Park Street Church and its Influence on New England Christianity.”

Oren Martin, assistant professor of Christian theology: “The Land Promise in New Testament Theology: Absent, Postponed, or Fulfilled?”

Mark Coppenger, professor of Christian apologetics: “Spiritual Skepticism Over Art in the Local Church.”

Bruce Ware, T. Rupert and Lucille Coleman Professor of Christian Theology: “Presentation of a Festschrift in Honor of John Feinberg.”

Stephen Wellum, professor of Christian theology: “Presentation of a Festschrift in Honor of John Feinberg,” “Rejoinder: A Review of Kingdom Through Covenant,” panel discussion.

Gregg Allison, professor of Christian theology: “Presentation of a Festschrift in Honor of John Feinberg,” “Plenary Session 1: Holy God and Holy People: Pneumatology and Ecclesiology in Intersection,” “Grenz & Tradition.”

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president: “Contemporary Challenges and the Doctrine of the Future,” panel discussion.

Thomas Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and professor of biblical theology: “Some Reflections on Sola Fide,” “Response: Paul and the Law,” two panel discussions.

Eugene Merrill, distinguished professor of Old Testament interpretation: “The Theology of the ‘Chronicler’: What Difference Does It Make?”

Donald Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality: “‘True and Gracious Longings’: Jonathan Edwards & the Personal Spiritual Disciplines.”

Denny Burk, professor of biblical studies: “Is Same-Sex Orientation Sinful?” and panel discussion.

Eric Johnson, Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care: “Old Self, New Self, False Self, True Self: The Complexity of the Christian Self.”

Ken Magnuson, professor of Christian ethics: “Irreversible Error: The Constitution Project Report on Capital Punishment Considered.”

Jonathan Pennington, associate professor of New Testament interpretation: “Responding to a ‘Review of Reading The Gospels Wisely.’“

James Hamilton, professor of biblical theology: “Reflections on What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns,” panel discussion.

Peter Gentry, Donald L. Williams Professor of Old Testament Interpretation: “Rejoinder: A Review of Kingdom Through Covenant,” “Parameters for Correct Interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27,” panel discussion.

Shawn Wright, associate professor of church history: “Baptists and a Plurality of Elders: An Historical, Biblical, and Practical Apology.”

Michael Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality: “Writing the Life of Samuel Pearce: Andrew Fuller’s Edwardsean Biography,” “Inerrancy and Inspiration in the Fathers.”

Mitch Chase, adjunct professor of Old Testament interpretation: “Literary Design in Hebrews 11: Possible Inclusios and the Theme of Death and Deliverance.”

Robert Plummer, professor of New Testament interpretation: “‘Normal’ Greek Word Order: Caveats and Nuances.”

William Henard, assistant professor of evangelism and church growth: “Ecclesiae Renovations: Church Revitalization as an Ecclesiological Necessity.”

Southwestern

Paige Patterson, president: “God, Salvation, and the Future in John’s Revelation,” panel discussion on “God, the Future, and the Contemporary,” “Church Discipline: Why Baptism and the Supper are Essential to an Effective Program of Pastoral Oversight.”

Dorothy Kelley Patterson, professor of theology in women’s studies: “Women and the Church: Does the Bible Speak Clearly on How a Woman Serves the Church?”

Craig Blaising, executive vice president and provost and Jesse Hendley Chair of Biblical Theology: “Typology and the Nature of the Church,” “Grenz & ETS,” “Overview of the Book + Theological-Hermeneutical Response (Book- Kingdom Through Covenant),” moderator of “God and God Incarnate: God and the Future.”

Robert Caldwell, assistant professor of church history: “‘What is Christ to Me, if He is Not Mine?’: Andrew Croswell, Antinomianism, and the Gospel of Free Grace in the First Great Awakening,” respondent to “The Dark Side of Evangelical Ecumenism: Downplaying Ecclesiology, Destabilizing Orthodoxy, and Downgrading Denominations,” moderator of “American Christianity: American Evangelical Ecclesiology and Soteriology.”

Candi Finch, assistant professor of theology in women’s studies: “Patriarchy, Design of God or Tool for Oppression? Examining Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza’s Critique of Patriarchy/Kyriarchy and Traditional Ecclesiology.”

Tamra J. Hernandez, research assistant to Dorothy Patterso: “Implications of Believers’ Church Ecclesiology for Practicing Theological Interpretation of Scripture.”

T. Dale Johnson, instructor of biblical counseling: “Hubmaier and Conversion Therapy: A Case for Religious Liberty in Counseling.”

John D. Laing, associate professor of systematic theology: “On Parsing the Knowledge & Will of God, or Calvinism & Middle Knowledge in Conversation,” moderator of “Systematic Theology: Soteriology and Hamartiology.”

Stefana Dan Laing, assistant librarian at the Havard School for Theological Studies: “Causation and Theology in Patristic Historiography: The Church Histories of Eusebius and Theodoret.”

Evan Lenow, assistant professor of ethics; Bobby L. and Janis Eklund Chair of Stewardship; director of the Center for Biblical Stewardship; director of the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement; chair of the ethics department: “Abortion and Self-Ownership.”

Miles S. Mullin II, associate professor of church history: “Evangelicalism as Trojan Horse: The Failure of Neo-evangelical Social Theology and the Decline of Denominationalism.”

Stephen O. Presley, assistant professor of biblical interpretation: “A Loftier Doctrine: The Use of Scripture in Justin’s Second Apology,” moderator of “Ecclesiology: Theologians 2.”

Gregory Smith, associate vice president for academic administration and associate professor of Bible: moderator of “Ecclesiology: General Studies 1.”

Steven W. Smith, vice president for student services and communications and professor of communication: “Recapturing the Voice of God: Sermons Shaped by Reanimation of the Genre of the Text.”

Harvey Solganick, professor of humanities: moderator of “Systematic Theology: Ethics 2.”

S. Aaron Son, professor of New Testament: “One Flesh and the Unity with Christ: Ecclesiological Implications of Paul’s ‘One Flesh’ Concept.”

Ryan E. Stokes, assistant professor of Old Testament: moderator of “Old Testament: General Studies 2.”

John W. Taylor, associate professor of New Testament and chair of the New Testament department: “Follow the Money: The Church as a Community of Obligation in Paul.”

Terry Wilder, professor of New Testament; Wesley Harrison Chair of New Testament; editor of Southwestern Journal of Theology: moderator of “New Testament Backgrounds: Introduction to Messianic Judaism.”

Jim R. Sibley, adjunct professor : “Has the Church put Israel on the Shelf? The Evidence from Romans 11:15.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE – David Roach is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s news service.)