So, Solomon, the man known for his wisdom, gave in to a chain of temptations. First, he married several hundred pagan women who worshipped these false gods. Second, he placated them by building them places of idolatrous worship. Third, he couldn't resist and eventually committed acts of pagan worship himself.

What I see here is three factors coming together. First, Solomon was obviously driven by his love for his wives. Whether you want to ascribe it to romance or glands, I'll let you decide. Personally, I cannot place myself in Solomon's slippers in this regard. Second, I'm suspecting a good dose of intellectual arrogance. These gods aren't real, so what's the harm in going through a few meaningless ceremonies? Third, there's simply the pressure, which I can't describe, but which is very real whenever one is in the company of idolatry. One does not wish to appear closed-minded; one does not want to look judgmental.

There seem to be two classes of evangelical scholars engaged in the study of non-Christian religions: those whose approach is totally negative and who don't do much more than recount all the flaws they find in the other religions, and those who have given in somewhere along the line and are subscribing to some form of inclusivism. I find this to be extremely sad. However, I believe that the very small group of those of us who are immersed in studying non-Christian religions and are maintaining a biblical exclusivism is increasing. ISCA has become a good forum for this effort, and I believe that by God's grace the more accessible mutual support is, the easier it will become to do serious scholarship, maintain Christian orthodoxy, and provide a proper grounding for sensitive evangelism.