The first is that Islam is a religio-cultural-political package. There is no ultimate distinction in Islam between the sacred and the secular, and thus none between mosque and state. All of life is understood as a matter of submission to Allah

Children have a natural disposition to see the natural world as having purpose. Research has shown that children have a strong inclination to see design in the world around them, but they are left wondering who did it. They also know design doesn't arise through random chance or mechanistic processes. In fact, children (and adults) automatically look for a person behind purpose or design

But sing-ability also factors into the making of a good hymn. Not everyone likes the same songs, and we don’t have to. It’s unrealistic to assume unanimous approval on music preference. If I like every song my music minister chooses, it probably means someone three rows behind me doesn’t.

"Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as the world!" It's one of the most quoted stats by Christian leaders today. And it's perhaps one of the most inaccurate.

What I discovered is a Luther whose thought offers fertile ground for a desperately needed re-evaluation of evangelical approaches to art and culture, from his understanding of the distinctions between the letter and the spirit; law and gospel; theology of the cross and theology of glory; the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world; the human being as simultaneously sinner and saint; God hidden and revealed; and nature and grace.

I held a three-hour seminar on prayer this past Saturday at my church. It was intended primarily for the people of my local congregation to lay a foundation for becoming the house of prayer our God wants us to be and for which our Lord Jesus is zealous. I opened with what I envisioned the seminar would be like.

The modern church has ignored these issues, but we can no longer afford to be silent. The civil magistrate is responsible for such things as securing our national borders with military force, enforcing legal contracts, protecting the people against fraud (such as inflation), providing a judicial system to both protect the rights of people and to punish convicted criminals (who break the laws of God).

Over time four myths have developed that keep Christians in a state of suspended animation when it comes to political involvement. Worse, some consider their adherence to these myths as virtuous, viewing their passivity as an exalted state. Let's take a look at each of the four myths as well as the biblical reality that breaks the spell under which many Christians have fallen.

Even so, if we were to repent of our spiritual disloyalty and seek and savor the Kingdom of God above all lesser kingdoms, saying with Jesus “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”, I daresay we would grasp for an idea without content.  The spectacle of... Continue Reading

Who knows what the future holds for the world now that the reins of power in what is probably still its most powerful nation are once more being wrestled over? Who knows what rulers and authorities will rise and fall in the coming months or decades or centuries, if God spares us?