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8. Evangelical Free Church of America revises its statement of faith.

This relatively small denomination remains unknown to many Americans. But it extends its reach through an influential seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. New professors must sign a revised statement of faith, which introduced language to clarify the denomination's positions on a number of hot debates, including the atonement, open theism, justification, and inerrancy.

9. Roman Catholic bishops revisit inerrancy compromise reached at Vatican II.

Evangelicals tuned in to see what Pope Benedict XVI and the Synod of Bishops would say about "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." The synod's recommendations echoed the pope's concern to rein in biblical criticism that assumes a "secularist, positivist" hermeneutic. But the pope reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's view that the Bible should be interpreted alongside Church tradition.

10. Northwestern College faculty and staff struggle over school's direction.

Some well-respected faculty members and former trustees allege that President Alan Cureton and other leaders are steering the St. Paul school away from its theological heritage. "Our 'key' concerns … are simply not complementarianism and premillennialism, but the centrality of biblical truth and doctrinal integrity," said Paul Helseth, associate professor of Christian thought. Debates at this conservative school echo the recent struggles over postmodernism among faculty at Cedarville University.

Collin Hansen is a CT editor at large and author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists.

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December (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 53