Louisville, We Have a Problem<\\/h4>\\n Albert Mohler is one of the conservative lions of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Since he assumed the presidency at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY, Mohler has led the seminary to turn sharply to the right on theological, social, and political issues. Long reviled by moderate and progressive Baptists, Mohler has portrayed himself and SBTS as guardians of conservative orthodoxy in the SBC, protecting the faith from the onslaught of liberalism and cultural insanity.<\\/p>\\n In his article Heresy and Humility, <\\/em>Mohler writes, \\u201cI have spent my entire adult lifetime concerned with the danger of heresy. As a young theologian, I worked through the early centuries of church history and understood that knowing the difference between orthodox Christianity and heresy is really a matter of life and death for the Church. A failure to recognize heresy means disaster for the Church and its witness to Christ.\\u201d\[1\]<\\/a> His image as a conservative protector of orthodoxy is almost impregnable.<\\/p>\\n

{"id":1317,"date":"2024-06-18T12:57:08","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T16:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/laynewallace\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2024-06-19T09:00:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T13:00:54","slug":"mohler-ware-nicaea-heresy-louisville-we-have-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/laynewallace\/2024\/06\/mohler-ware-nicaea-heresy-louisville-we-have-a-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Mohler, Ware, Nicaea, Heresy: Louisville We Have a Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Louisville, We Have a Problem<\/h4>\n Albert Mohler is one of the conservative lions of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Since he assumed the presidency at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY, Mohler has led the seminary to turn sharply to the right on theological, social, and political issues. Long reviled by moderate and progressive Baptists, Mohler has portrayed himself and SBTS as guardians of conservative orthodoxy in the SBC, protecting the faith from the onslaught of liberalism and cultural insanity.<\/p>\n In his article Heresy and Humility, <\/em>Mohler writes, \u201cI have spent my entire adult lifetime concerned with the danger of heresy. As a young theologian, I worked through the early centuries of church history and understood that knowing the difference between orthodox Christianity and heresy is really a matter of life and death for the Church. A failure to recognize heresy means disaster for the Church and its witness to Christ.\u201d[1]<\/a> His image as a conservative protector of orthodoxy is almost impregnable.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\nImages of Protection<\/h4>\n* What if, however, that image is just an image? What would it mean if Mohler had someone on staff who denied critical doctrines of the Christian faith? Can a guardian of orthodoxy knowingly and willingly employ professors who reject key portions of the orthodox Christian faith?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bruce Ware<\/h4>\n Bruce Ware is the Chair of the Department of Christian Theology at SBTS. A widely published author, Ware is well-known in evangelical theological circles. His reputation, however, is not exactly what SBTS thinks it is. Ware has been at the forefront of debates about gender roles and the doctrine of the Trinity. He has also made eye-opening, disturbing comments about the nature of Jesus Christ, testing the limits of orthodoxy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nicaea and Eternal Generation<\/h4>\n The Nicene Creed\u2019s language, summarizing what the Bible teaches, says, \u201c\u2026 I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages\u2026\u201d The doctrine of Eternal Generation is about who Jesus is. Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. When was Jesus begotten? \u201cBefore the ages,\u201d which is a way of saying before time in eternity. The Father begets Jesus eternally. In this begetting, Jesus has everything that God has. Jesus is God. He is not similar to God, Jesus is God. Every characteristic God has, Jesus has. Jesus is \u201c\u2026Light of Light; True God of True God\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n *Since Jesus is eternally<\/em> begotten, Jesus has always been. The Athanasian Creed puts it this way, \u201cNothing in the Trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The Athanasian Creed<\/a><\/p>\n Ware denied this doctrine. From 1999, when he was first employed at SBTS, until November 2016, Ware publicly argued against the Eternal Generation of Jesus Christ.[2]<\/a> In 2005 Ware wrote, \u201cThe conceptions of both the \u2018eternal begetting of the son\u2019 and the \u2018eternal procession of the Spirit\u2019 seem highly speculative and not grounded in biblical teaching.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Open Bible<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIt is Heresy<\/h4>\n Denying the eternal generation of the Son is outside the bounds of Nicene Orthodoxy. That is not just my verdict, it is Al Mohler\u2019s verdict<\/em><\/strong>. He writes, \u201c\u2026Based on the Nicene Creed, theologians have affirmed the Eternal Generation of the Son, making it clear that there never was a time when the Son was not\u2026\u201d[4]<\/a> Denial of the Eternal Generation is outside orthodox Christianity. To be very clear, this is not only my judgment, the Church Father\u2019s judgment, or even the Reformers\u2019 judgment that denial of Eternal Generation is heresy. It is Al Mohler\u2019s judgment. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n " Doctrinally Dressed Up but No Way to Get There<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n** "