Francesca Stavrakopoulou, from atheist, to an apostate christian. Can such a thing be acceptable?

In case you didn't know Francesca Stavrakopolou (hey, she has Greek heritage, hence, the difficulty of pronouncing her last name), she is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion in the University of Exeter's department of Theology and Religion. She has featured on the BBC, and some other programs in the History Channel. I have blogged on her before, how she as an atheist, is a biblical scholar.


Well, now she seems to have accepted the Christian message, but I don't see much progress in her "supposedly" conversion. Why is it that I don't trust her new confession of faith? Well, read this retweet:

Some seem to be happy that at least she is saying she is a christian now. But what sort of Christian is willing to support gay marriage? 

Being an atheist, she wanted to rule her life. Being a "christian" who supports gay marriage, she still wants to rule her life. 

I don't buy it. I think that maybe she did the original retweet, or maybe she converted into a a liberal kind of Christianity, which is not christianity at all.

Anyway, lots of guys like her, because of her looks for sure. But if they get happy that she has 'converted' to christianity, or at least to the liberal type of christianity, sorry, but to me, that's not progress at all. 

A persecutor on the topic of persecution: John Calvin

If, while conscious of our innocence, we are deprived of our substance by the wickedness of man, we are, no doubt, humanly speaking, reduced to poverty; but in truth our riches in heaven are increased: if driven from our homes we have a more welcome reception into the family of God; if vexed and despised, we are more firmly rooted in Christ; if stigmatised by disgrace and ignominy, we have a higher place in the kingdom of God; and if we are slain, entrance is thereby given us to eternal life. The Lord having set such a price upon us, let us be ashamed to estimate ourselves at less than the shadowy and evanescent allurements of the present life. -- John Calvin

Good on Calvin. He also persecuted some Anabaptists in his day. I just want to see how things go in heaven when he sees the brothers and sisters he sent to heaven, thinking they were going to drawn at the bottom of the Rhone river, and be silenced for ever.

Oh, how wrong you were Calvin!! Still, I like you.  You were a good theologian, but treated some of your brothers with utter contempt. 

Gaga gets wacked in the head while singing her blasphemous song

Hey, I am not happy of anybody getting heart, but she was asking for it.

Besides, she gets hit so hard, she doesn't stop singing!! Sounds more like lip synching to me.

How cars are built today

If you happen to be near the University of St. Andrews in the UK

Paul's Letter to the Galatians & Christian Theology

10-13 July 2012

We are pleased to announce the fourth St Andrews conference on Scripture and
 Christian Theology. Since the first conference on the Gospel of John in
 2003, the St Andrews conferences have been recognized as amongst the most
 important occasions when biblical scholars and systematic theologians are
 brought together in conversation about a biblical text. With the book of Galatians as our key text, biblical scholars and theologians of the Christian tradition will gather to work out how exegesis and theology meet, critique and inform each other.

 
 

Richard Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina

N.T.Wright, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, University of St Andrews (St Mary’s College)

Oliver O’Donovan, Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Edinburgh (New College)

Main Papers

• Jean-Noël Aletti - Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome
• Lewis Ayres - University of Durham
• John Barclay - University of Durham
• Ivor Davidson - University of St Andrews
• Beverly Gaventa - Princeton University
• Bruce McCormack - Princeton University
• Volker Rabens - University of Bochum
• Thomas Söding - University of Bochum
• Kendall Soulen - Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington D.C.
• Timothy Wengert - Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
• Simeon Zahl - St John's College, Oxford

Conference Programme now available

Registration and accommodation Full registration (includes 4 nights stay, full meals, conference registration and refreshments): £470 Discounted rate for full-time students (includes 4 nights stay, full meals, conference registration and refreshments): £360 (limited space so book early) Day delegate registration (includes conference registration and refreshments only, accommodation and meals must be arranged privately): £41 per day Guest registration (includes 4 nights stay, full meals - can only be booked in conjunction with a full registration, excludes conference registration and refreshments): £122.40 (inc. vat). Online registration now open. Register here.

For further questions email: galatians@st-andrews.ac.uk

Convenors

Mark W. Elliott, Senior Lecturer in Church History at St Mary's College, author of Isaiah 40-66 in the Ancient Christian Commentary series (IVP, 2007); The Reality of Biblical Theology (Peter Lang, 2007).

N.T.Wright, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, University of St Andrews (St Mary’s College), author of Paul: In Fresh Perspective (Fortress, 2009); Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today (HarperOne, 2011).

Why Cats make good thesis supervisors

Via Zwingliusredidivus

A doctor tells us what goes on in an abortion. Shocking!!

Alister McGrath on Defending Christianity

“The best defense of Christianity is its explanation. In other words, if you want to defend or commend Christianity, it is best to begin by telling people what it is really all about.”

 - Alister McGrath

Another theory about what happened to the dinosaurs

The seven fatal flaws of moral relativism

Moral relativists can’t accuse others of wrongdoing.

Relativists can’t complain about the problem of evil.

Relativists can’t place blame or accept praise.

Relativists can’t make charges of unfairness or injustice.

Relativists can’t improve their morality.

Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions.

Relativists can’t promote the obligation of tolerance.

This is taken further by the following:

Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions. What’s there to talk about? If morals are entirely relative and all views are equal, then no way of thinking is better than another. No moral position can be judged as adequate or deficient, unreasonable, acceptable, or even barbaric. If ethical disputes make sense only when morals are objective, then relativism can only be consistently lived out in silence. For this reason, it is rare to meet a rational and consistent relativist, as most are quick to impose their own moral rules like “It’s wrong to push your own morality on others”. This puts relativists in an untenable position – if they speak up about moral issues, they surrender their relativism; if they do not speak up, they surrender their humanity. If the notion of moral discourse makes sense intuitively, then moral relativism is false.

Via Winteryknight