Across the Spectrum – Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology

Gregory A. Boyd (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is an internationally recognized theologian, preacher, teacher, and apologist. He is cofounder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and president of Renew.org.Paul R. Eddy (PhD, Marquette University) is professor of biblical and theological studies at Bethel University.

• ContentsIntroduction1. The Inerrancy DebateWithout Error of Any Kind (The Inerrantist View)Infallible in Matters of Faith and Practice (The Infallibilist View)2. The Providence DebateAll Things Happen according to God's Sovereign Will (The Calvinist View)God Limits His Control by Granting Freedom (The Arminian View)3. The Foreknowledge DebateGod Foreknows Future Free Actions (The Classical Arminian View)God Foreknows by Sovereignly Ordaining the Future (The Calvinist View)God Foreknows All That Shall Be and All That May Be (The Open View)4. The Genesis DebateCreated in the Recent Past (The Young Earth View)A Very Old Work of Art (The Day-Age View)Restoring a Destroyed Creation (The Restoration View)Literary Theme over Literal Chronology (The Literary Framework View)5. The Divine Image DebateThe Image of God Is the Soul (The Substantival View)The Image of God Is Our God-Given Authority (The Functional View)The Image of God Is Our Relationality (The Relational View)6. The Christology DebateThe Unavoidable Paradox of the God-Man (The Classical View)Christ Relinquished His Divine Prerogatives (The Kenotic View)7. The Atonement DebateChrist Was Punished in Our Place (The Penal Substitution View)Christ Conquered Satan and His Kingdom (The Christus Victor View)Christ Displayed God's Hatred of Sin (The Moral Government View)8. The Salvation DebateTULIP (The Calvinist View)God Wants All to Be Saved (The Arminian View)9. The Sanctification DebateSanctification as a Declaration by God (The Lutheran View)Sanctification as Holiness in Christ and in Personal Conduct (The Reformed/Calvinist View)Entire Sanctification as Perfect Love (The Wesleyan View)10. The Eternal Security DebateSecure in the Power of God (The Eternal Security View)The Need to Persist in Faith (The Conditional Security View)11. The Destiny of the Unevangelized DebateNo Other Name (The Restrictivist View)God Does All He Can Do (The Universal Opportunity View)Hope beyond the Grave (The Postmortem Opportunity View)He Has Not Left Himself without a Witness (The Inclusivist View)12. The Baptism DebateBaptism and Christian Discipleship (The Believer's Baptism View)Covenanting with the Community of God (The Infant Baptism View)13. The Lord's Supper Debate"This Is My Body" (The Spiritual Presence View)"In Remembrance of Me" (The Memorial View)14. The Charismatic Gifts DebateThe Gifts Are for Today (The Continuationist View)"Tongues Shall Cease" (The Cessationist View)15. The Women in Ministry DebateCreated Equal, with Complementary Roles (The Complementarian View)The Irrelevance of Gender for Spiritual Authority (The Egalitarian View)16. The Millennium DebateThe Return before the Reign (The Premillennial View)Working toward and Waiting for a Coming Reign of Peace (The Postmillennial View)The Symbolic Thousand-Year Conquest of Satan (The Amillennial View)17. The Hell DebateThe Eternal Conscious Punishment of the Lost (The Classical View)The Door Is Locked on the Inside (The Eternal Separation View)The Lost Shall Be No More (The Annihilationist View)Eventually All Will Be Saved (The Universalist View)Appendix: Additional Issues in Evangelical TheologyIssue 1: How Should Evangelicals "Do" Theology?Issue 2: What Is the Best Analogy for the Trinity?Issue 3: Was Noah's Flood Global or Local?Issue 4: Were Adam and Eve Historical Persons?Issue 5: Are Humans Made Up of One, Two, or Three Parts?Issue 6: What Is the Meaning of "Justification"?Issue 7: Must Wives Submit to Their Husbands?Issue 8: How Should Christians Approach Earthly Politics?Issue 9: What Happens to Babies Who Die?Issue 10: What Is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?Issue 11: Is Speaking in Tongues the Initial Evidence of Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?Issue 12: Can a Christian Be Demonized?Issue 13: How Should We Interpret the Book of Revelation?Issue 14: Has Jesus Already Returned? The Preterist DebateIssue 15: When Will Jesus Return? The Rapture DebateGlossaryIndex