ETS

I'm just back from the annual ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) gathering, this year in San Diego. I suppose anyone who's anyone in evangelicalism pops in and this year no less than John Piper and David Wells gave papers. Piper's was the talk of the conference, both pro and contra -- ETS attracts its share of self-important wanabee research candidates ready to question the basics of evangelicalism. Justin may comment of Piper's address since I briefly spied him there. I managed to arrive just as the address was finishing! But Piper's new book (the basis of the address) on N. T. Wright and the new perspective was given out (I had to buy my copy!) and its breathtakingly clear and bound to stir up the necessary concern we've been calling for. The Future of Justification (Crossway). As for the rest of ETS, there were lots of papers (including one of my own to all of 25 people, which was ten more than Sean Lucas of Covevant Seminary got since my RTS 'groupie' fan club -- colleagues -- left to hear Guy Waters on the New Perspective! Sorry Sean! They were paid handsomely to attend! Sean's paper is worth hearing -- download the lecture on Jonathan Edwards' preaching here.

One to avoid downloading was a pretentious piece suggesting that we should not say "I love justification because it is the heart of the gospel;" rather, "I love Jesus because he is the heart of the gospel." How does someone with a PhD say such drivel and not be arrested? Beats me!