Submitted by philip on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 10:27 A controversy has emerged at Louisiana College in reference to President Joe Aguillard’s articulation in a “President’s Pen” column that the theology known as Calvinism would not be advocated on the Pineville campus. By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor PINEVILLE – The Louisiana College Board of Trustees gathered for a special called meeting on Feb. 25. The purpose of the meeting, which was conducted in Executive Session with only trustees in attendance, was never disclosed. Convened in Granberry Hall on the campus of LC, the meeting, according to a variety of observers, lasted more than four-and-a-half hours. When the meeting adjourned, no statement was issued by the Board explaining the nature of the meeting. With a regularly scheduled meeting of the LC Board on the calendar for March 18, social media was abuzz with conjecture concerning the special called session. The overwhelming speculation was the meeting was called to address a controversy that had emerged as the result of three professors not having their contracts renewed. Additional speculation suggested three students whose weblog postings helped to stir up the controversy might also be a part of the closed-door … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor STATEWIDE – More than 60 percent of Louisiana’s population self-identifies as “white,” according to U.S. Census Bureau demographics for 2011. Stated another way, about 40 percent of Louisiana’s population self-identifies as something other than white. And from another perspective, most everybody who goes to church – about half the state’s 4.6 million population – goes to church where the people look mostly like themselves. What’s that all about? Pastors across the state dealt in different ways to that question in February, which is known for its day of love, Sunday of racial reconciliation, and month of Black history. “Does God care about racial reconciliation?” Casey Hough, pastor of Waller Baptist Church, asked that question on his blog, accessed through the church’s website: www.wallerbaptist.com. “In other words,” Hough’s blog continues, “does God’s Word teach that people of different races should worship and serve together? Or, is God’s Word indifferent to issues of race, making the pursuit of racial reconciliation necessary?” Hough used the Southern Baptist Convention’s Racial Reconciliation Sunday on Feb. 10 as yet another opportunity to move his mostly anglo congregation in one … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor “What’s happening at Louisiana College?” I’ve been frequently asked this question over the past few weeks. My answer is always the same, “I don’t really know for sure.” Some people act as if they don’t believe me, but it is the truth.  What I know to be absolute fact is very little. Each time I am asked the aforementioned question, I am reminded of a quote from one of my favorite movies. The statement to which I refer is on the bulletin board that overlooks my desk and it stares at me as I write this column. “These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed,” is the quote and it is from the movie A Few Good Men. The words are uttered by Capt. Jack Ross, a character portrayed by Kevin Bacon. In the movie, Ross is U.S Marine attorney and is the lead prosecutor representing the U.S government in the trial of two Marines accused of murdering one of their platoon members.  The quote occurs during Ross’ opening statement of the trial. The quote from A Few Good Men is reminiscent of a phrase made famous by the character Joe Friday in the old Dragnet television series. The Los Angeles Police Sergeant, played by Jack Webb, was known for his deadpan recitation, “All we want are the facts, just the … [Read more...]

By Gerald Harris, Editor The Christian Index in Georgia John Calvin (1509-1564) was an influential French pastor and theologian during the Protestant Reformation. He is best known for his “doctrine of predestination,” which became the foundation of his theology – suggesting that God predestined certain individuals to be saved. Calvinism is known for its five basic tenets summarized by the acronym TULIP. Those five points of Calvinism are (1) Total depravity of man, (2) Unconditional election, (3) Limited atonement, (4) Irresistible grace and (5) Perseverance of the saints. There are some Calvinists who suggest that unconditional election means that God chooses, or “elects,” His children from before the foundations of the earth – that God does not just “know” what decision people will make, but that God causes them to make the decision to seek Him. There are also those who hold to Reformed theology who believe limited atonement means that the death and resurrection of Christ is the substitutionary payment for the sins of only those who are God’s elect children, but not the entire world. Many who embrace Reformed theology are motivated to allow it to influence their church polity by substituting congregational church government … [Read more...]

By Earl Blackburn, Pastor Heritage Baptist Church in Shreveport Southern Baptists are people of deep conviction, fiery passion, and great heritage, which formed us into a working consensus of cooperation. Sometimes, these traits have caused divisions. Calvinism has been one of the controversial issues, but definitely not the most divisive. For the past 75-80 years there has been a détente between non-Calvinists and Calvinists. From time to time, skirmishes erupted, but eventually we settled down and went back to fulfilling the Great Commission. However, in the past 5-7 years the peace has been disturbed. So tumultuous has been the furor that attempts surfaced to build bridges and restore peace. Two examples were the Building Bridges Conference at Ridgecrest (2008) and Dr. Frank Page’s appeal at the SBC in New Orleans (2012) in which he passionately pled with us to stop the in-fighting about Calvinism and get on with fulfilling our Great Commission mandate. Page indicated he was forming a commission to present a report at the 2013 Convention on how Calvinists and non-Calvinists can continue to work together, as we have done “decade upon decade upon decade.” It seems some are not listening to Dr. Page. Instead, there are … [Read more...]

By Rex Butler, NOBTS On Oct. 28, 1949, Jim Elliot wrote in his journal a statement of faith that has inspired all who have read it in the decades since: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” (The Journals of Jim Elliot). Not many years later, this young man and four other missionaries indeed gave their lives in an attempt to share the Gospel with an unreached people group called Aucas in Ecuador. This indigenous group called themselves “Huaorani,” meaning “people,” but their enemies called them “Aucas” because they were “savages.” They were a tribe of about 600 people known for their violence, not only against their enemies but also among themselves. Any foreigners (cowodi) encroaching upon the Aucas’ territory were killed. Despite the Aucas’ reputation for violence, five missionary couples felt compassion for them because they had never heard the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. They were Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Nate and Marjorie Saint, Ed and Marilou McCully, Pete and Olive Fleming, and Roger and Barbara Youderian, who, along with their children, moved to Ecuador in order to learn the language and customs of these primitive people and to establish contact with them. … [Read more...]