March 2, 2011
James A. Harding, the namesake of Harding University and co-founder of Lipscomb University, placed as much emphasis on giving, tithing and trusting in God’s provisioin as he did any other topic. The sin of covetousness is idolatry and it “hurts the church more than any other,” he wrote. We hate the extreme, but we tolerate […]
3 Comments | Spirituality, Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Churches of Christ, Giving, James A. Harding, Poor, Poverty, Wealth | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
June 25, 2009
When the division between Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches was recognized by the religious census of 1906, the theological perspectives among the Churches of Christ were fairly diverse. While there was an ecclesiological consensus to separate from the Christian Churches, there was considerable diversity between the three major representative “traditions” among Churches of […]
5 Comments | Books, Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Austin McGary, Churches of Christ, Daniel Sommer, Division, Firm Foundation, Gospel Advocate, Holy Spirit, Indiana Tradition, Institutionalism, James A. Harding, Octographic Review, Rebaptism, Sunday School, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
May 14, 2009
Note: This is the second of six small group studies that are coordinated with a sermon series by Dean Barham, the preaching minister at the Woodmont Family of God. Eventually, his sermons will be available here. The first small group study lesson is here and the full series is available on my Serial page. Let Go, […]
No Comments » | Spirituality | Tagged: Bible-Luke, Idolatry, James A. Harding, Kingdom of God, Mammon, Money, Parables, Unjust Steward, Wealth | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
April 3, 2009
“Theodicy in Early Stone-Campbell Perspectives,” in Restoring the First-Century Church in the Twenty-First Century, ed. by Warren Lewis and Hans Rollmann (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005), 287-310. In honor of Don Haymes, I penned an article concerning the various “theodices” that were prominent in the 19th century Stone-Campbell Movement. It was interesting to […]
32 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Churches of Christ, Daniel Sommer, David Lipscomb, Deism, Evil, Free Will, Holy Spirit, Indiana Tradition, James A. Harding, Providence, Stone-Campbell, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition, Theodicy | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 10, 2009
James A. Harding was nothing if not passionate. His rhetoric in print could rattle chains and in homilies evoke tears, especially in his own eyes. Below is a good example as Harding lowers a firm and severe judgment against the growing position of rebaptism among Churches of Christ. I have highlighted a few lines which stress […]
8 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Baptism, Churches of Christ, Firm Foundation, James A. Harding, Rebaptism, Stone-Campbell, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition, The Way | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
March 9, 2009
One of the more significant differences between the Tennessee and Texas Traditions is eschatology. I use “eschatology” in the broad sense of the term. It is not simply about millennialism (though the Tennessee Tradition was generally premillennial). Rather, it involves how one understands the kingdom of God, how the kingdom relates to “worldly kingdoms” (civil […]
6 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Civil Government, Eschatology, Holy Spirit, James A. Harding, Kingdom, New Creation, Pneumatology, Premillennialism, Renewed Earth, Stone-Campbell, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 25, 2009
In 1946 Roy Key of Juneau, Alaska, caused a small stir with his article “The Righteousness of God” in the January 24 issue of the Gospel Advocate. It promoted “some ideas,” one reader wrote, that he “not been accustomed to hearing.” As a result, G. C. Brewer took up his pen to commend the article […]
20 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Churches of Christ, Faith, Foy E. Wallace, G. C. Brewer, Grace, Guy N. Woods, James A. Harding, Jr., Justification, K. C. Moser, Plan of Salvation, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition, Works | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 17, 2009
A classic example of the divide between the Texas Tradition and the Tennessee Tradition is the “rebaptism” issue. I reproduce a particular “for instance” here without comment. In my next post, I will offer a few observations. Of course, this is but one example of many exchanges which actually began in the 1883 Gospel Advocate when […]
16 Comments | Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Baptism, Churches of Christ, David Lipscomb, Faith, Firm Foundation, George W. Savage, Gospel Advocate, James A. Harding, Obedience, Rebaptism, Remission of Sins, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 14, 2009
If the life and ministry of Jesus is our pattern, then we all fall woefully short in every way. Moral Patternism. We rarely have a difficult time hearing that we are imperfect in terms of morality since we are well aware that we fail to image the character of Jesus in so many ways–internally and […]
5 Comments | Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Baptism, David Lipscomb, Faith, Grace, James A. Harding, Moral Law, Patternism, Perfectionism, Positive Law, Stone-Campbell, Tennessee Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 5, 2009
Tennesee and Texas: Mac Ice has provided another illustration of the tension between Tennessee and Texas on his blog. While looking into the writings of C. E. W. Dorris, a founding elder of Nashville’s Central Church of Christ in 1925 as well as a student of both Lipscomb and Harding at the Nashville Bible School, […]
2 Comments | Biblical Texts, Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: C. E. W. Dorris, Churches of Christ, Cled Wallace, Eschatology, Grace, Holy Spirit, Homiletics, James A. Harding, Lord's Supper, Millennialism, Nashville Bible School, Pacifism, Pneumatology, Premillennialism, R. H. Boll, Sermons, Stone-Campbell, Table, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks