Counterpoints: Bible and Theology

Discover Different Christian Views on What Heaven Will Be Like Christians from a variety of denominations and traditions are in middle of an important conversation about the final destiny of the saved. Scholars such as N. T. Wright and J. Richard Middleton have pushed back against the traditional view of heaven, and now some Christians are pushing back against them for fear that talk about the earthiness of our final hope distracts our attention from Jesus. In the familiar Counterpoints format, Four Views on Heaven brings together a well-rounded discussion and highlights similarities and differences of the current views on heaven. Each author presents their strongest biblical case for their position, followed by responses and a rejoinder that model a respectful and irenic tone toward those with whom they disagree. Positions and contributors include: • Heaven: John S. Feinberg. This traditional view says our destiny is to leave earth and live forever in heaven where we will rest, worship, and serve God. We cannot say much about what heaven is like because its pleasures and glory will far surpass anything experienced here. We will be perfect in every way, both morally and in our knowledge. This heavenly vision may seem boring, but only because we are considering heaven from our earthly perspective. • Earth: J. Richard Middleton. This position counters the popular Platonic notion of heaven by emphasizing that the saved will live forever with Jesus on this restored planet. Worshiping Jesus will be the climax of our experience, but we will also enjoy ordinary human activities in our redeemed state. • Heavenly Earth: Michael Allen. Increasing number of Protestant theologians disagree with the otherworldly Platonic vision of our final destiny but also suspect that Kuyperians have swung too far in the other direction. His view sounds like a Protestant version of the beatific vision. We will be on earth, but totally locked into Jesus in unceasing praise. This view seeks to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the heavenly and earthly views. • Roman Catholic Beatific Vision: Peter Kreeft. The beatific vision is the ultimate direct self communication of God to the individual. A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, i.e. heaven. The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face-to-face and not imperfectly through faith. The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Bible and Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.

Evolution-or the broader topic of origins-has enormous relevance to how we understand the Christian faith and how we interpret Scripture. Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design presents the current "state of the conversation" about origins among evangelicals representing four key positions: • Young Earth Creationism-Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis) • Old Earth (Progressive) Creationism-Hugh Ross (Reasons to Believe) • Evolutionary Creation-Deborah B. Haarsma (BioLogos) • Intelligent Design-Stephen C. Meyer (The Discovery Institute) The contributors offer their best defense of their position addressing questions such as: • What is your position on origins-understood broadly to include the physical universe, life, and human beings in particular? • What do you take to be the most persuasive arguments in defense of your position? • How do you demarcate and correlate evidence about origins from current science and from divine revelation? • What hinges on answering these questions correctly? This book allows each contributor to not only present the case for his or her view, but also to critique and respond to the critiques of the other contributors, allowing you to compare their beliefs in an open forum setting to see where they overlap and where they differ.

“Five Views on the Gospel” presents five different perspectives on the question "What is the gospel?" Presenting a variety of contemporary and tradition-based perspectives, each contributor answers key questions about the nature of the gospel. Questions contributors address include: • What is the gospel? • What is the context for understanding the New Testament teaching about the gospel? • What are the primary biblical texts that you believe express the gospel and how do you understand them? • What are people called to do with the gospel and what are the benefits promised by the gospel? • How can the definition and proclamation of the gospel be contextualized and made relevant today? • What example of an inadequate gospel and a false gospel can you offer? • What does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel? “The CounterPoints” format provides a unique opportunity for each contributor to set forth their own understanding of the gospel, to interact with competing perspectives, and for the editors to sum up points of agreement and disagreement and a path forward in the debate.

When it comes to relating Christianity to modern Western culture, perhaps no topic is more controversial than the relationship between Christianity and science. Outside the church, the myth of an age-old conflict between science and Christianity is nearly ubiquitous in popular culture and can poison the well before a fruitful dialogue can begin. Within the church, opposing viewpoints on the relation between Christianity and science often lead to division and rancor. Three Views on Christianity and Science addresses both types of conflict. Featuring leading evangelical representatives, it presents three primary options for the compatibility of Christianity and science and models constructive dialogue on the surrounding controversial issues. The highlighted contributors and their views are: • Michael Ruse, Independence View--When functioning correctly, science and Christian theology operate independently of each other, seeking answers to different questions through different means. • Alister McGrath, Dialogue View--Though the natural sciences and Christian philosophy and theology function differently, they can and should inform each other. • Bruce L. Gordon, Constrained Integration View--Science, philosophy, and theology all contribute to our understanding of reality. Their interactions constrain each other and together present an optimally coherent and integrated picture of reality. By engaging with the viewpoints of the contributors, listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of the compatibility of science and Christianity, as well as of the positions of those who disagree with them. Scholars, students, pastors, and interested laypeople will be able to make use of this material in research, assignments, sermons and lessons, evangelism, and apologetics.

Unique among most debates on homosexuality, this book presents a constructive dialogue between people who disagree on significant ethical and theological matters, and yet maintain a respectful and humanizing posture toward one another. Few topics are more divisive today than homosexuality. Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church brings a fresh perspective to a well-worn debate. While Christian debates about homosexuality are most often dominated by biblical exegesis, this book seeks to give much-needed attention to the rich history of received Christian tradition, bringing the Bible into conversation with historical and systematic theology. To that end, both theologians and biblical scholars-well accomplished in their fields and conversant in issues of sexuality and gender-articulate and defend each of the two views: • Affirming—represented by William Loader and Megan K. DeFranza • Traditional—represented by Wesley Hill and Stephen R. Holmes The main essays are followed by insightful responses that interact with their fellow essayists with civility. Holding to a high view of Scripture, a commitment to the gospel and the church, and a love for people-especially those most affected by this topic-the contributors wrestle deeply with the Bible and theology, especially the prohibition texts, the role of procreation, gender complementarity, and pastoral accommodation. The book concludes with reflections from general editor Preston Sprinkle on the future of discussions on faith and sexuality.