A Catechesis for the Tolerant
By arguing that religion is intolerant and should not be tolerated, a new book inadvertently demonstrates that liberalism grounded in personal autonomy is the least tolerant religion of all.
Read literally, this book is a series of obviously self-refuting assertions (one of which Nehushtan himself characterizes as “childish”). Yet Nehushtan’s writing is subtle. Clearly, this book is not to be read for what it says but for how it says it. While ostensibly arguing that religion is intolerant and should not be tolerated, he... Continue Reading
Minds, Books, and the Fruit of Traditionalism
How much has this traditionalism discouraged women from using their brains and thinking wisely for themselves?
I believe this is reflected in the books that are marketed to Christian women. These numerous volumes are long on subjective experience and stories and short on objective doctrine. Thus dubious content can find cover under emotional appeal and perceived personal rapport with the author. They are also driven by application, usually related to the... Continue Reading
The Essence of Faith: Neither Obedience Nor Love
In Reformed theology when we talk about the essence of justifying faith, we exclude love and obedience.
In other words, love and works are not the same as justifying faith; love and works are not the essence of faith. The sinner is not justified by faithful obedience, or by faith working through love, but by faith alone, only, period. True faith always results in love and good works, but love and good... Continue Reading
PCA and Race: Reflective Review of “The Last Segregated Hour”
Confession and repentance should be located at the level in the body in which the offense occurred.
Historian Stephen R. Haynes wrote an account of the effects of the civil rights movement on churches in the Memphis area. One particular chapter has special relevance for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and that is chapter 12: “A Season of Prayer and Corporate Repentance”: Wrestling with the Past at Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC).... Continue Reading
A Year of Biblical Womanhood?
Women reading Evans’ book may come away with a distrust of the Bible and with animosity towards God for “requiring” things He never required.
Ultimately, I think that Evans’ book is the result of the experientialism so common in the Church today. Despite her claims that she would follow the Bible’s instructions for women without picking and choosing, she does exactly that. She picks and chooses how to apply those instructions by deciding which extra-Biblical sources she will follow.... Continue Reading
What the Bible Means to Me
This is my short chapter in What the Bible Means to Me published by Christian Focus.
Of course there are great difficulties in the Bible – what else would you expect? There is variety of genre, apparent (though not real) contradictions, and even the apostle Peter found some things hard to understand! But as the living and enduring Word of God, it is still as fresh, and dynamic as the day... Continue Reading
‘Risen’: Hollywood Gets Jesus Right
Overall, this film provides a stunning portrayal of the events behind the Christian teaching that this one man, after being fully dead, was Risen.
Risen isn’t just thematically and historically accurate, it also succeeds as a film. Impressive cinematography captures each powerful scene…. Events unfold in front of a frantic, soaring score, adding even more depth of emotion to such stunning scenes. The pacing is spot on, between Roman questionings, the pursuit of fleeing Jews, and the contrasting peace... Continue Reading
Can Social Justice Be Rescued?
This book promises to rescue the term from “its ideological captors” by clarifying “the true meaning of social justice.”
To end with one down-to-earth example: How is it that the most Catholic continent of all, South America, with an open field for continuously implementing Catholic social thought ever since 1891, should come into the twenty-first century with the second-largest population of truly poor persons on the planet? With so many structural deficiencies? For all... Continue Reading
The Whole Christ
Ferguson is going far beyond church history and bringing clarity to the way we are to live the Christian life.
In other words, Ferguson looks at this controversy, dissects it, and then applies it to our day. And, as it happens, we, too, are struggling with issues related to legalism and antinomianism. That makes his book perfectly timed and a valuable contribution to the discussion about the role of the law, the role of obedience,... Continue Reading
One of the Most Original Books on Homosexuality in Years
A review of Unchanging Witness: The Consistent Christian Teaching on Homosexuality in Scripture and Tradition by Don Fortson and Rollin Grams
And I can tell you, the result is absolutely devastating for the claim that Christianity and homosexuality go together. A person might be able to convince themselves that the Bible allows it (by reinterpreting even the plainest of passages), but it is a bit hard to explain away 2000 years of absolutely consistent church history.... Continue Reading
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