Divorce, Remarriage, and Abuse
Part 3 of the review of Pastor Jeff Crippen's book, A Cry for Justice
In the case of abuse in marriage, the abuse victim is not the one destroying the marriage when he or she decides the marriage contract has been rendered null and void. That has already been accomplished by the abuser who has refused to love, honor, and cherish as he vowed before God to do. The... Continue Reading
‘Pure Grace,’ A Review
Antinomianism is cheap grace, the idea that one can be saved and then do nothing at all
Biblical Christianity teaches that believers live a day to day struggle against temptation and sin and that the journey of discipleship involves recognizing our sin, confessing it and letting God transform it. At the heart of the antinomian is a false assurity that he can do whatever he wants now he is saved. By contrast,... Continue Reading
Abusers in the Church
How to recognize and respond to those who use abusive tactics to gain power and control in the church
If you are a faithful pastor or church member, the probability that you have met one or both characters in this evil duo is quite high. In Scripture, Diotrephes and Jezebel were both abusers. Today, they still exist within many if not most churches. Masquerading as pious saints, they set themselves up in power and... Continue Reading
“An Army of the Living God”: Stonewall Jackson’s Death and Southern Memory
150th anniversary of the death on May 10, 1863, of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson from wounds sustained at the Battle of Chancellorsville
The most fascinating aspect of Stonewall’s character was his intense Presbyterian faith. Having been baptized an Episcopalian, Jackson joined the Presbyterian Church after thorough study of the Westminster Confession of Faith, becoming “the bluest [most traditional] kind of Presbyterian,” according to one newspaper account. Jackson was rigorously principled and devout, assiduously avoiding activities on the... Continue Reading
The 17:18 Series
The book gives the reader/writer a place to write out, book by book, a copy of the Scriptures for himself
For those not familiar with this series, it is a series of essentially blank journals published by Reformation Heritage Books for the purpose of encouraging Christians to write out their own copy of the Scriptures. It is based on two considerations: first, that the king of Israel was required to write out for himself a... Continue Reading
Evolution and the Image of God
From the standpoint of evolution humanity as the image of God cannot be maintained
For many good reasons, solid Christian theologians have sharply criticized and rejected Darwinian macro-evolution as an unchristian and unbiblical teaching. Darwinism doesn’t square with the biblical record nor does it mesh with biblical doctrine. I bring up this topic because a friend pointed me to a recent article on evolution by a retired Christian Reformed... Continue Reading
A Cry for Justice: How the Evil of Domestic Abuse Hides in your Church: A Review
Victims of abuse are often discounted by their churches
The local church is one of the favorite hiding places of the abusive person. Conservative, Bible-believing religion is his frequent choice of facade. Within the evangelical church, women (and sometimes men) are being terribly abused in their homes and marriages. The children of such abusers are suffering as well. And when those victims come to... Continue Reading
The Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World
A review of Melissa Kruger's book on being content
In my mind, the most useful chapter of her book is the one that deals with the ways we are tempted to covet the seasons and circumstances of others—which, in my experience, is widespread among even Christian women. She concludes this chapter with a beautiful picture of how women of various circumstances who value one... Continue Reading
What We Talk About When We Talk About God
What is Rob Bell talking about when he is talking about God? Not the God of Christianity.
In the end, my overall concern about this volume is a simple one: it is not Christian. Bell’s makeover of Christianity has changed it into something entirely different. It is not Christianity at all, it is modern liberalism. It is the same liberalism that Machen fought in the 1920′s and the same liberalism prevalent in... Continue Reading
The Hole in our Holiness
Putting wholeness back in holiness
An entire chapter is devoted to “Saints and Sexual Immorality.” DeYoung argues that in our culture, this is one area where professing believers have been pressed into the world’s mold without even realizing it: holiness is obviously lacking in this area, and De Young takes the opportunity to outline what holiness would look like in... Continue Reading
