Can a true Christian deny the virgin birth? This question would perplex the vast majority of Christians throughout the centuries, but modern denials of biblical truth make the question tragically significant. Of all biblical doctrines, the doctrine of Christ’s virginal conception has often been the specific target of modern denial and attack.

“Real heroes are in short supply in our day,” says Daniel L. Akin.  In a world fascinated with celebrities and disenchanted with greatness, true heroism is hard to define, much less to find.  But Dr. Akin is certain that true heroes do appear in this generation as missionaries, pastors, and church planters.  In Five Who Changed the World, he looks back to the lives of five Christian missionaries as guides to true greatness and heroism today.

Transcendentalism constitutes one of the most significant moments and movements in the making of the American mind.  As a matter of fact, we cannot understand the contours of American thought without reference to this formative period and intellectual movement.  Now, we have a book that serves as a truly useful introduction to the Transcendentalists and their ideas.  In American Transcendentalism: A History, Philip F. Gura takes us into the minds and times of the Transcendentalists.

The traditional American holiday observance of Thanksgiving is a fixture of our national experience and central to civil religion. The holiday is rooted in the earliest era of colonial America, and I certainly felt that as my wife, Mary, and I stood at Plymouth Rock this past weekend. Looking at the landing place and the remains of Plimoth Plantations, one is struck by the weight of history.

The controversy surrounding the “Gospel of Judas” raises significant and important questions for intelligent Christians.  How are we to understand this document?  What does this text suggest in terms of theology?  How do we put the entire question into context?

When the National Geographic Society and a team of designated scholars announced the “discovery” and release of the document known as the “Gospel of Judas” the international media went after the story with a frenzy. Headlines around the world claimed that the discovery would force a complete reconstruction of Christianity.

The history of African-American theology raises one key question — What happened? Thabiti M. Anyabwile, now senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman Islands, answers this question in The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity [InterVarsity Press]. Anyabwile traces a road from biblical orthodoxy to theological liberalism in the mainstream of African-American theology.

Can a true Christian deny the virgin birth? This question would perplex
the vast majority of Christians throughout the centuries, but modern
denials of biblical truth make the question tragically significant. Of
all biblical doctrines, the doctrine of Christ’s virginal conception
has often been the specific target of modern denial and attack.

Just last year, the National Geographic Society announced the discovery of a third-century Gnostic text called “The Gospel of Judas.” The Society timed its announcement to support the commercial success and maximize the media impact of a book and television program dedicated to the text.