2016 Chafer Conference

Most world almanacs list 193 independent countries in the world. Linguist John Oller Jr. claims that there are 6912 distinct languages with 94 different language families in the world today. Where did all these nations and these many languages come from? The answer to this question is unknown to the secular world. Their best explanation is that all these must have come as a result of many years of evolutionary development. But the best answer is given to us by revelation, the account of Babel in Genesis 11.

The secular world does not view the account of the Tower of Babel as historical. Even most believers do not consider Babel as important as other major events, particularly in the book of Genesis. However, like the Flood and the Fall of mankind, the impact of Babel continues to influence our world even today. In fact, Babel has far-reaching implications. Babel explains the origin of national entities as well as our struggles to communicate with those from other cultures. I am reminded of this each year that I go to Ukraine to teach. Without a translator, I am close to useless there.

Reference materials related to Dr. Austin's presentation are available here.

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The warning found in Hebrews 6:4-6 has provoked difficulty and disagreement among Bible interpreters and exegetes. Gromacki observes that this passage is “Probably the most controversial passage within Hebrews…” As a result of this difficulty, various interpretations have arisen. Most Calvinist and Reformed interpreters insist that the warning passage is too strong to apply to believers and thus unbelievers are in view in these verses. Arminians contend that the passage is speaking of genuine believers who are at risk of losing their salvation. Others argue that these verses are speaking of genuine believers and the severe warning constitutes a mere hypothetical scenario. Still others contend that theses verses speak of believers who are in jeopardy of losing blessings. Who is right? How are interpreters to make sense of this difficult passage?