Caution has not always characterized Presbyterians in the United States. A century ago, songs about America and America’s wars provoked controversy among Presbyterians, in part due to the nation’s intervention in World War I and the desire evident among many pastors and congregations to mobilize themselves for earthly warfare.   The new Trinity Psalter Hymnal includes only... Continue Reading

“Tiamat has endured discrimination, abuse, and sexual violence—a lifetime of injustice committed against her at the hands of men. So, over time, she stopped identifying with our species…. Tiamat doesn’t seem like a human. She seems like a dragon, a mythical entity that has, through a series of ritualistic procedures, managed to escape the confines... Continue Reading

I believe pastors must be careful how they lead their churches in our politically polarized culture. I know there are good brothers and sisters who may disagree with these principles and their practical implications. But at the very least, pastors must disciple their leaders and their congregations in thinking through these matters wisely and theologically.... Continue Reading

we read in 1 Timothy 6:15–16 that God is called the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, [and] who dwells in unapproachable light.” In Psalm 95:3, we are told that nothing is more powerful or more authoritative than God. He is “a great King above all gods.” No one can... Continue Reading

Man and his world remain an unsolved riddle, an impenetrable mystery. Yet, we are not to despair. There is, in fact, a clear way forward as J. H. Bavinck demonstrates in his book The Riddle of Life. In a simple, understandable, and persuasive manner, he presses in to answer the big questions that have riddled life: What... Continue Reading

Other Bible Belt counties join Loving as being among the least churched places in the U.S.—like Mississippi’s Issaquena County, Virginia’s Dickerson County, and several counties in Kentucky. Grant Hasty, pastor of Crossroads Community Baptist Church in Stearns—located in McCreary County, Kentucky—helped plant the church a decade ago. The core congregation is only about 60 people,... Continue Reading

The question “What is man?” must be answered by a sentence that has a reference to God in it. When, in the pursuit of the project of the self, we a priori exclude the person of God we not only cut ourselves off from knowing him, but from knowing ourselves. The project ends in frustration.  Fulfilled life... Continue Reading

The expansion and ubiquity of technology has caused such problems to rapidly shift from niche concerns to epidemics in almost every community in America. Whereas problems such as pornography and prostitution were once on the margin, the internet has pushed them into nearly every home. Similarly, sex robots may seem to be a futuristic concern.... Continue Reading

Cordatus was willing to allow that Cruciger meant well, and waited for a clearer explanation. The next words were more troubling, “Thus, our contrition and our effort are indispensable prerequisites (causa sine quibus non) of justification.” Still, Cordatus didn’t face the preacher immediately. He spent an entire evening discussing the matter with Melanchthon, who had... Continue Reading

Some of these attempts to air condition Hell include universalism (everybody is saved in the end, and all roads lead to Heaven), annihilationism (sometime after death a person’s soul simply ceases to exist), and viewing Hell as merely a place of spiritual torment rather than physical. Some will go so far as to deny Hell... Continue Reading