ETS Annual Meeting

November 11, 2012

Westminster Faculty and Students

The 64th annual Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) meeting takes place on November 14th-16th in Milwaukee, WI. Several Westminster faculty and students are participating, including faculty members Dr. Vern Poythress, Dr. Carl Trueman, and Dr. Greg Beale and students Todd Scacewater (Ph.D.) and Kyle Bushre (D.Min.).

The theme for this year's meeting is "Caring for Creation" with plenary speakers Richard Bauckham, E. Calvin Beisner, Douglas Moo, and Russell Moore.

Visit the ETS website for more information.

Summaries of Presentations

Dr. Vern Poythress will be a respondent for two panel discussions at ETS, discussing each of his two recently published books, Inerrancy and Worldview (2012) and Inerrancy and the Gospels (2012). The overall theme for the discussions is "Directions in Inerrancy: Book Reviews and Discussion."  He will also present a paper entitled "Presuppositions and Harmonization: Luke 23:47 as a Test Case," which will further illustrate principles for harmonization that are discussed in his  book Inerrancy and the Gospels.

Dr. Carl Trueman: "I am going to be speaking twice, both times a guest of ETS since I am not a member.  In one session, I am part of a panel organised by the Wesleyan Studies Group discussing Keith Stanglin and Thomas McCall's new book, Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace with the authors and an old friend of mine, the philosopher Oliver Crisp, who is now a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary.  In the other session, I am offering critical reflections on the theological significance of John Stott on panel reflecting on his life and work."

Dr. Greg Beale will take part in the panel on Dr. Poythress' book Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization.  He will also participate on a panel "Engaging New Testament Theology with Greg Beale" during which he will act as respondent.

Todd Scacewater: "I will be presenting a paper on typology in John's Gospel.  I will be arguing that John's use of typology in 12:37-43 demonstrates John's understanding of typology as a kind of predictive prophecy.  He also utilizes direct prophecy in the passage, which allows us to see what relationship John sees between typology and direct prophecy."

Kyle Bushre: "I'll be presenting 'Did Jesus Love Without and Agenda? The Influence of John 6 on the Formation of Compassion Ministries.' This study will consider the increasingly popular claim that for the church to truly love people and serve them compassionately we cannot have an evangelistic agenda. I will demonstrate Jesus' evangelistic agenda that stands behind what is, perhaps, his most famous compassion miracle: the feeding of the crowds in John 6. I will suggest that we begin to shape our compassion ministries as signs, finding the uniquely shaped Gospel presentation pictured by our compassionate work and declaring that message in words while we lovingly serve."

Visit the ETS website for more information.