#Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

by Ryan Robertson | Carey became a member of the first team sent out by the new Society he inspired and established with a group of faithful friends. For the next several decades, this Society funded Carey’s work. All of these opportunities—and countless more—came about because of the sovereign hand of the Lord. Once again, we see the triad of Desire, Opportunity, and Gifting weave together in the missionary assignment...

#Southern Baptist Theological Seminary #Southern Equip #Ryan Robertson #William Carey’s Ministry a Story of Desire Opportunity and Gifting #equip.sbts.edu

[ferrell-foster]

Russell Dilday stood for something bigger than SBC; he stood for Christ

We have a lost a great servant of Jesus Christ. Such a good and gracious man! I hardly new him personally, but he always treated me like a longtime close friend. I suspect he treated everyone that way. God’s best people generally draw persecution in some way. Sometimes it comes from outside the church, often it comes from within. Dilday’s came from within, and it was so very sad to see. I had…

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#Russell Dilday #Southern Baptist Convention #Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

What do you think about the experiment where pastors asked chatgpt to write a sermon? Is this a good thing, bad thing, or somewhere in between?

Among sermon writers, there is fascination – and unease – over the fast-expanding abilities of artificial-intelligence chatbots. For now, the evolving consensus among clergy is this: Yes, they can write a passably competent sermon. But no, they can’t replicate the passion of actual preaching.

“It lacks a soul – I don’t know how else to say it,” said Hershael York, a pastor in Kentucky who also is dean of the school of theology and a professor of Christian preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Sermons are meant to be the core of a worship service — and often are faith leaders’ best weekly shot at grabbing their congregation’s attention to impart theological and moral guidance.

Lazy pastors might be tempted to use AI for this purpose, York said, “but not the great shepherds, the ones who love preaching, who love their people.”

A rabbi in New York, Joshua Franklin, recently told his congregation at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons that he was going to deliver a plagiarized sermon – dealing with such issues as trust, vulnerability and forgiveness.

Upon finishing, he asked the worshippers to guess who wrote it. When they appeared stumped, he revealed that the writer was ChatGPT, responding to his request to write a 1,000-word sermon related to that week’s lesson from the Torah.

“Now, you’re clapping — I’m deathly afraid,” Franklin said when several congregants applauded. “I thought truck drivers were going to go long before the rabbi, in terms of losing our positions to artificial intelligence.”

My main question is, what's the difference? I don't mean that in just a snarky way, but legitimately. What is the metaphysical difference between a sermon produced by a human and a sermon produced by ChatGPT? How do you detect "soul" or "not-soul"? How do you measure "soulness"? How do you distinguish between the divine effectiveness of a sermon generated by A.I. from a human-authored one? If we did a blind study - putting together, say, a dozen sermons with a mix of human and A.I. - could the clergy tell the difference?

I previously posted about black Americans leaving Xianity, and one of the examples given by an ex-Xian was:

The last time I went to a church it was a lovely and inspirational sermon until the pastor started disparaging gays for absolutely no reason. Even at my grandfather’s funeral, the pastor there managed to blame gays for the state of the world. Just random unnecessary hate.

What is the metaphysical distinction between a nasty magic spell written by a human and a nice magic spell written by an A.I.? Which one does "god" choose to ignore? Either? Both? How do you tell?

I've said before that if any of the gods was real, it should be obvious which one. its adherents would survive cancer at a higher rate, pass exams at a higher rate, live longer, be more prosperous, more successful, more prone to getting carparks. But that isn't true.

If it's about sincerity, what happens if you give the A.I. sermon to a deacon or more junior cleric who doesn't know where it comes from, and who preaches it sincerely? If it's about intent, then it's not about the content.

There's a few things this reminds me of.

--

Firstly, there was the Catholic priest who was baptizing people with one incorrect word.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/14/us/pastor-invalid-baptisms-resignation/

Father Andres Arango, who performed thousands of baptisms, would say, “We baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” But Olmsted explained the words “We baptize” should have been “I baptize” instead.

“The issue with using ‘We’ is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is Christ, and Him alone, who presides at all of the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptizes,” Olmsted wrote in a message to parishioners posted last month.

The error also means that because baptism is the first of the sacraments, some people will need to repeat other sacraments, according to the diocese webpage for frequently asked questions. CNN has reached out to the diocese for comment on other sacraments.

But nobody ever noticed. For 20 years, nobody said, "Father, I don't think it worked, I don't have that Jesusey feeling in me." Nobody ever came back to haunt him and tell him off for getting it wrong and condemning them to purgatory.

The magic spell never actually went identifiably wrong. It's not like the budget didn't balance or the app didn't work or the cake didn't rise.

How do you metaphysically distinguish someone who's had the spiritual hotfix applied, and someone who hasn't?

--

Secondly, Surah Corona. If you're not aware, Islam insists that the divine origin of the quran is self evident within the quran. That nobody but Allah could write verses like those in the quran, and challenges doubters to do so.

https://quranx.com/10.37-38

And it was not [possible] for this Qur'an to be produced by other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] Scripture, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.

Or do they say [about the Prophet], "He invented it?" Say, "Then bring forth a surah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful."

https://quranx.com/11.13-14

Or do they say, "He invented it"? Say, "Then bring ten surahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful."

And if they do not respond to you - then know that the Qur'an was revealed with the knowledge of Allah and that there is no deity except Him. Then, would you [not] be Muslims?

So, someone did.

And (some) Muslims completely lost their minds.

Tunisian authorities have arrested a young woman for publishing fake verses of the Quran about the novel coronavirus.

Amna Al-Sharqi will be investigated by the Tunisian public prosecution, El Bashayerreported, for posting a text on her Facebook page entitled "Surah Corona".

Al-Sharqi sparked outrage on social media for the fake verses and even received death threats.

Never mind that the quran literally challenges you to, it seems like the reaction to it telegraphs the success of the project.

More to the point, if we can't metaphysically distinguish A.I. sermons from human-created sermons, if we can't supernaturally distinguish divine surahs from human-authored surahs, why do we trust the "real" ones at all?

Especially given the known unreliable origin of both the bible and the quran.

--

We need not stop there, though. In the Grievance Studies scandal, three academics wrote papers that passed through the review process of several journals and were published, some of them even receiving awards. These papers included:

the "dog park" paper which questioned how dog humping in parks reflects rape-condoning attitudes in human clubs.

a paper which argues for non-competitive "fat bodybuilding."

one which recommends chaining white male students to the floor in the classroom.

a paper that argues that astronomy is sexist and needs to include feminist and queer astrology.

a rewrite of Mein Kampf as intersectional feminism.

and a paper which suggests straight men stick things up their butts in order to overcome "transphobia."

All the papers were ultimately retracted, but the authors argue that there's no basis for doing this.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00491241211009946

In particular, we agree that our papers did not constitute hoaxes and that our intentions when writing them should not be understood to diminish the worth of their content. We also agree that either “Fat Bodybuilding” and our other theory-only papers should be reinstated or else all papers from which ours are indistinguishable should be retracted as being based upon unsound methodologies. Our papers containing false data should remain retracted, and the retraction notices should be amended to reflect genuine scholarly reasons for their retraction: namely, reasons based on the fraudulence of the alleged empirical data, not on the subjective state of mind of the authors.

The papers followed the theory, made the arguments, many were accepted, and several actually published. The "dog park" paper was honored by the journal for its 25th anniversary.

As Helen Pluckrose said:

We set ourselves to the task of writing grievance studies papers. These were real papers. Some people have misunderstood our project to be one in which we wrote nonsense and showed that journals will publish anything. No. They only publish a very specific kind of nonsense.

The reason we got seven papers accepted is because our papers were indistinguishable from genuine ones. Ones that influence social justice activism, politics and culture today.

[..]

All this involved becoming very familiar with the scholarship and reading an enormous number of books and papers. We are legitimate grievance scholars. Our papers average 30 citations, all of them real, but we still turned out a paper every two weeks by essentially recycling and repurposing the same sets of theories.

This is not scholarship. It wasn't scholarship when we did it to show the problem, and it isn't when it's done absolutely sincerely.

We had to conclude our probe early, but it was not the reviewers of grievance journals who caught us. They did not see our claim to have examined 10,000 dog genitals and analyzed this according to black feminist criminology as a bit fishy.

To this day, all three authors have received requests for the completed versions of the papers that were in revision at the time the probe was revealed, and have received feedback from the scholars they cited, that they agreed with the points made in the probe's papers, and have been told that they understood the material better than anyone else.

--

So, the same question could be asked in all these cases. If an A.I. can write a sermon, a priest can say a blessing, a human can write a divine surah, a critic can write an academic paper, when those products conform to the ideology and are indistinguishable from the "real" thing, either they should be all equally valid or all equally invalid.

And brings into question of why we trusted the "real" thing in the first place.

I don't know that the preachers who are discussing the use of ChatGPT have thought about this, and I don't know that anything will come of it, but I think there's some good questions to be asked about what makes their thing legit, and ChatGPT's not legit.

As to whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, I don't see any way that this is a bad thing, to non-believers at least. Unless there's something I'm missing that someone can point out. It could be a good thing if believers start wonder about these matters. It could be more neutral than anything else.

Still, it opens up an opportunity. One need not study theology or complete any of the various religious training camps. Hang up your shingle, log into ChatGPT and start preaching... and collecting.

--

P.S. Pissed off I had to write this twice when Tumblr's stupid editor crashed. Save. Your. Drafts. 😡

#ask #ChatGPT #artificial intelligence #religious doctrine #sermon #christianity #islam #judaism #quran #surah corona #bible #torah #religion #grievance studies #academic fraud #academic integrity #superstition #religious superstition #religion is a mental illness

[protoslacker]

This White Christian identity, easily animated by appeals to resentment and racism, is the moral glue holding this defensive and defiant group together. Its apocalyptic worldview—where the all-important end of preserving a White Christian America justifies a by-any-means-necessary politics—legitimates support for Trump.

Robert P. Jones at Religion Dispatches.  CNN's Disastrous 'Town Hall' With Trump Put the Country At Risk

I am no expert on Robert P. Jones, but when a White Southerner speaks as eloquently as he does in opposition to white supremacy, I wonder what their story is.

I don't find it easy in my own life to filter out region from what I think and know.  Saying I'm a Christian seems to annoy quite a few people who know me. "You are a Christian so you must believe. . . (some generally odious  dogma or doctrine they pull out of a hat)." I oppose Christian nationalism and part of my opposition is steeped in in the history of Christianity in this country's history. There is so much emphasis on personal religious beliefs  and much less attention to the religious threads woven into our shared histories.

Jones is the CEO of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute). He is a graduate of Mississippi College is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated  college or university in the USA. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University. He is also the author of a a book entitled,  White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.

It's worth recognizing that there are Christian allies in opposition to Christian Nationalism. I am grateful for Robert P. Jones and his good work.

#donald trump #media #cnn #politics #white supremacy #authoritarianism #book #white christian nationalism #robert p jones

[cavenewstimes]

A feud over a coffeemaker and Christmas decor leads to another Southern Baptist lawsuit

(RNS) — A feud between a Southwestern Baptist seminary and its former president appears headed for federal court. Lawyers for Adam Greenway, who resigned as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in September 2022, alleged in a complaint filed Wednesday (March 20) that the school and the chair of its trustee board defamed Greenway, violated the terms of a non-disparagement…

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[lboogie1906]

Pastor Dr. Moses William Howard Jr. (born March 3, 1946) is a cleric, former college president, and community and business leader. He is known for his involvement in ecumenical organizations domestically and internationally and in international affairs, especially within the Middle East and Southern Africa. He is the son of the late Laura Turner Howard and the late Moses William Howard Sr. He graduated from Morehouse College. He earned an MS at Princeton Theological Seminary.

He joined the national staff of the Reformed Church in America. He assumed the presidency of New York Theological Seminary. He served as an Advisor to the 5th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi and as Moderator of the WCC’s Programme to Combat Racism. He was elected the youngest president of the National Council of Churches. He journeyed to conduct Christmas services for the US personnel being held hostage in Iran. He traveled to Syria as chair of an ecumenical delegation to obtain the release of Naval Officer Robert O. Goodman.

The Seminary inaugurated two academic partnerships with area graduate schools in social work and urban studies, doubled its endowment, and won the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Award for Excellence.

He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations for over 20 years. He held an elected position on the Board of Directors of New Jersey Resources and was a member and Chair of the Rutgers University Board of Governors. He served as a trustee of the National Urban League and the Children’s Defense Fund. He chaired the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, which led to the abolition of the death penalty in that State.

He was the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church. He has received several keys to cities and has been awarded honorary degrees from Morehouse College, Miles College, Central College, and Bloomfield College. Rutgers University, and Essex County College.

His book “Black, Not Dutch” was published.

He married Barbara J. Wright (1970). They have three Children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

by Gregg R. Allison | This enlivening work of the Spirit shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus himself affirmed, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). The mystery of godliness confesses that Jesus was “justified” or “vindicated by the Spirit,” a...

#Southern Baptist Theological Seminary #Southern Equip #Gregg R. Allison #The Holy Spirit’s Crucial Role in Penal Substitutionary Atonement #equip.sbts.edu

[newmusicradionetwork]

Country Soul Singer-Songwriter Brei Carter Celebrates Black History Month With Genre-Hopping Collaboration “Boots Get To Talking” Featuring Elektrohorse

Country soul singer-songwriter Brei Carter celebrates the beginning of Black History Month with a new single release, a genre-bending song collaboration with her musical pal, DJ and Producer, Elektrohorse. Dubbed “Boots Get To Talking,” the song is available everywhere digitally on January 25 and is being released independently. Elektrohorse mashes up and layers in musical elements and themes of R&B, Hip-Hop and Dance into Carter’s established Country musical backbone, and creates an energetic and fun dance song that will have her fans up on their feet in no time. “This song is a celebration of my beginnings, my journey with cherished memories of my birthplace,” said Carter. “It’s like an ode to the roots that have shaped me, and all the familial bonds that have been my foundation, with love, laughter, family gatherings and the good times. It’s my new anthem and I call it home!” The song comes complete with a new music video that will premiere on February 1 on YouTube, also shot and produced by Elektrohorse, which finds Carter having a backyard dance party with her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters, and doing what she does best; charming her listener with her dynamic and vivacious personality. “This video is a soulful tribute to my roots in Louisiana and Texas and the enduring connections I still hold dear,” Carter continued. “It’s also a nod to my N2Deep family in North Carolina, where we let our boots speak on the trail ride circuit. It celebrates the laughter, the land, and the legacy of the places that have deeply shaped who I am.” Single name: “Boots Get To Talking” Songwriters: Brei Carter, Elektrohorse, Floyd Hollaway, Ray Seay Audio release date: January 25, 2024 Video release date: February 1, 2024 Audio & Video producer: Elektrohorse Pre-Save/Buy/Stream: ffm.to/bootsgettotalking Official music video: YouTube | Download MOV files About Brei Carter: Genre blending country soul singer-songwriter Brei Carter is creating her own lane. She is proof that sometimes faith, patience and time pays off. Growing up in Monroe, Louisiana with a solid, southern upbringing, Brei’s family raised her on several authentic southern staples: the Bible, Lone Star Missionary Baptist Church’s choir, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, Aretha Franklin, and no shortage of familial love and devotion. However, before she became the dynamic and vivacious country singer she is today, Brei was busy earning a Bachelors in Business from University of Louisiana in Monroe, a Masters in International Relations from Webster University, and a Doctorate in Theology from New Foundation Theological Seminary. She is also a proud Veteran of the U.S. Army, where she served as an enlisted soldier and as an officer. Having moved to Nashville soon thereafter, Brei has quickly established herself in the songwriters community as a smooth and sometimes edgy songstress who melds country, soul and southern pop into one fused style. Her first single at country radio “Gave Him A Girl” was immediately recognized as “cute and catchy” by country music journalist and historian Robert K. Oermann from Music Row Magazine. She’s also been featured by TBN-TV’s Huckabee, RFD-TV, WSMV-TV, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Billboard, Guitar Girl Magazine, Nashville.com, St. Louis Magazine, and others. Brei made her CMA Fest debut in 2022, and released her debut album Brand New Country, which included her fan-favorite cover of Charley Pride’s “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin,” and her life’s musical story “Stronger Than That.” In 2023 Brei released her latest original, “Straight Up Country Crazy,” which perfectly showcases her dynamic and jovial personality and her first Holiday EP, the critically acclaimed Twinkling Tales of Christmas. With a new album and new shows in the works for 2024, the future is looking up and bright for Brei and her journey as a songwriter. Carter has quickly proven herself to be a welcomed addition to the emerging new styles of country music in today’s diverse musical landscape in Nashville and beyond. Read the full article

[mementokorie]

emailing the library staff of (good lord in heaven) a SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY requesting access to archival materials loooooool WISH ME LUCK

#@ librarians please do not google me please do not view my institutional profile please do not ask me to explain my project or academic fiel

[gecdvassignment]

NPR Interview with Daniel Darling

In this segment from NPR's Morning Edition on June 15, 2023, A. Martinez spoke with Daniel Darling about the Southern Baptist Convention's move to disfellowship two churches because they had women pastors. Daniel Darling defends the Convention's move as "a long-standing belief" (The Southern Baptist Convention Reaffirmed That Only Men Should Serve as Pastors, 2023) and provides examples of how the Convention supports women.

[deepsouthreformation]

Q&A with Richard Blaylock (Vessels of Wrath)

To follow Richard on Twitter, click here. To purchase a copy of Vessels of Wrath, click here. Q&A with Richard Blaylock Evan: Tell us about yourself? Dr. Blaylock: I was born and raised in the Philippines, where I served in pastoral ministry before moving to the USA in 2011 to pursue my theological education. I studied at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, completing my MDiv in 2014…

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#Bible #Books #Christian #Christianity #Church #Culture #Faith #Gospel #Reading #Truth

[pastorjaimezelaya]