It won't be quite the same experience as being there in person, but it's more than worth your time to have a listen. The Q & A went a little longer than expected, so the computer that recorded it had a little trouble keeping up with all the data, but the bulk of it is here for your education and edification. Here are the talks:
Lecture 1: Creation Sexuality
Lecture 2: Redemption Sexuality
Q & A with Doug Wilson
In addition to audio for this event, we record all of the teaching that happens at ClearNote Campus Fellowship events all year long. In fact, we have archived audio for the past 3 years! By simply visiting our Podcast page, you can listen to our weekly teaching at the Fold, as well as special topics from throughout the year and from our fall retreats. Enjoy!
A couple things from the recent circus series of lectures on campus and the events surrounding them.
First, I want to thank Doug for being such a champ. Doug not only handled himself with grace and dignity, but he engaged in a 2 hour long unmoderated question and answer session--longer than both of his lectures combined. And then he stayed for an additional 30 minutes answering questions and interacting with students.
Second, I want to commend the university administration and IUPD for handling a volatile situation professionally.
Third, Doug has a few thoughts on how he thought everything went down. You can read his first take here and his follow up here.
Fourth, the IDS has an article recounting the event here.
Finally, for those of you who missed the action, here are a few of the highlights from someone in the crowd:
Every year during Holy Week there are two albums I listen to in their entirety. You might find them an odd pairing because they're so different stylistically, but I don't care. I love them and am always led by them to meditate on Christ's death and resurrection.
The first is Shai Linne's The Atonement. (It's only $8.99, so buy it!) The very first time I heard that album I was driving home from Indianapolis and I nearly had to pull off to the side of the road because I was crying. It made me reflect on my own sin and on the depth of Christ's suffering on behalf of all sinners.
It's since become a Good Friday staple in our home and one of my top recommendations to our students. I can't tell you how strengthened, encouraged, and instructed I've been by not only this album, but his work in general.
The second is an obvious classic: Handel's Messiah. I was turned onto this version (conducted by Masaaki Suzuki; performed by the Bach Collegium Japan Orchestra) by Jody Killingsworth, our pastor for worship and music and a former doctoral student at Jacobs. It's awesome.
Here are a couple songs from The Atonement to whet your appetite. Enjoy!
“Doug has a way with language—and what he says is unusually compelling.”
– John Piper
Yesterday we asked why you should care what Doug Wilson thinks. We started answering the question by pointing out the respect Wilson has had among leading secular intellectuals--namely, Christopher Hitchens. Today we're going to approach the question from a different angle.
Wilson is not only recognized as a worthy Christian apologist and thinker by non-Christians, but by mainstream Christians as well. For instance, he is a frequent contributor at popular evangelical magazines and blogs such as The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, Desiring God, and The Resurgence.
In the world of orthodox Christians there may be no one more widely respected than John Piper. He's most famous for his book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Piper is the pastor of a large congregation in Minneapolis, the author of numerous books, a seminary professor, and a regular speaker at major conferences around the country and world.
In the last two years Piper has invited Doug Wilson to speak at two of his conferences--first at the annual Desiring God conference, and then at his pastors conference. In a promotional blurb for the first conference, he answers the question, "Why Doug Wilson?" His answer? "Doug Wilson is a man who understands the Gospel."
Piper has also written the forward to Wilson's forthcoming book, Father Hunger, published by Thomas Nelson. And video featuring Doug Wilson was on the front page of Piper's website (DesiringGod.org) just a few days ago.
In other words, Wilson has established respect in two of the most diametrically opposed worlds--orthodox Christians and secular intellectuals. Which, at the very least, makes him interesting.
Come hear Doug on Friday, April 13th at 7pm in Ballantine 013.
"I have discovered that the so-called Christian right is much less monolithic, and very much more polite and hospitable, than I would once have thought, or than most liberals believe."
-Christopher Hitchens, Slate, reflecting on his time with Doug Wilson
In case you can't read the banner ad above, we've invited Doug Wilson to speak on the campus of IU on the nature of sexuality. If God created us male and female, which He did, what did He intend? What's the big picture? Why male and female? Why does it even matter? And what are the consequences?
And for that matter, why should you care what Doug Wilson has to say about it?
Well, for one, Wilson is a man who has commanded the respect of public, mainstream, non-Christian intellectuals. He is well-known in both Christian and non-Christian circles as an historic, orthodox Christian apologist. He's even written for The Washington Post.
We've mentioned before that Pastor Wilson and the late Christopher Hitchens were friends. Hitchens, along with Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, was among the most publicized and vocal proponents of the New Atheism. After Hitchens' untimely death, Wilson reflected on their relationship in a Christianity Today obit that you can read here.
Prior to his passing, Hitchens co-authored a book with Wilson titled Is Christianity Good for the World? That book was born out of a debate held in the pages of Christianity Today. The two subsequently went on a debate tour to several college campuses (and one pub) and filmed the documentary Collision--a fun, engaging, and balanced film that Hitchens describes as "a buddy-and-road movie." The two have since appeared together on NPR, CNN, FoxNews, and more.
According to the Slate article the quote at the top of the page was taken from, Wilson gained Hitchens' respect because he isn't "one of those evasive Christians who mumble apologetically." By Hitchens' standards, Wilson's sincerity is to be preferred because it stands in contrast to the "vague and Python-esque witterings of the interfaith and ecumenical groups that barely respect their own traditions..."
In other words, Hitchens considered Wilson to be a true, historic, orthodox Christian. And a worthy opponent. Come find out why.
A new video from our church's worship band at our annual Christmas Sing-A-Long. This song features a number of Jacobs School musicians both present and past, many of whom attend Clearnote. Enjoy!
On Friday, April 13th we're having Christian apologist Doug Wilson on campus to speak to us about God's design for sexuality. In light of that, we took to campus to find out whether or not IU students agree with Alfred Kinsey, the university's lauded sex researcher and founder of the Kinsey Institute. Enjoy!
ClearNote Campus Fellowship is a ministry of ClearNote Church on the campus of Indiana University.
