Mormons Sever Ties with Boy Scouts
The Mormon defection deals a serious blow to the organization roiled by major changes in recent years.
Earlier this year the Boy Scouts announced it would open its ranks to girls and change its name to Scouts BSA. Mormon leaders initially stuck with Scouting but began mulling over a new program for its young members. Mormon leaders announced late Tuesday their religion will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts, pulling 425,000... Continue Reading
The One Who Endures: The Confession
We are often tempted to look for the source of our endurance in one place (our free will or our desire to persevere) when, truly, it is found in another (the unchanging decree of God)!
One should clarify, in this age of spiritual and religious transience, that perseverance really does exist. There are those who will not fall away and will finally enter into eternal rest. However, the Westminster Confession of Faith goes a bit further on that point, saying not just that folk WILL not fall away but that... Continue Reading
Is It Arrogant For Christians To Say They Know the Truth?
We as Christians have to clearly understand the truth. Our Western culture has found a way to skirt around Christian truth claims by calling Christians “arrogant.”
We have a good and gracious God—an external reality—who revealed himself as truth because we would not know what truth is unless the Truth himself told us and showed us. Is it of utmost importance to understand that the most significant and practical revelation of truth is found in God’s Word—written and incarnate. Relativism Everybody makes... Continue Reading
A Time to Mourn
We weep in the graveyard now just as sure as we will dance at the resurrection when Jesus returns.
Grieving reader, I want to begin by saying, “I’m sorry. Could we gather together around the Bible, in your time of sorrow, and let the Lord place His arm around our shoulders, hearing Him invite us to do what His people have done and will always do until the day of no more tears—to mourn,... Continue Reading
Failure and Disappointment in Scripture
We live in a “success culture” that idolizes victory and fulfillment. But it’s all so unreal.
When we turn to the Bible, we’re given a deep dose of reality. Failure and disappointment are on just about every page. Whether we like it or not, that’s much truer to life than the success narratives that we aspire to and are trying to write for ourselves. By all means, aim high, but recognize... Continue Reading
Giovanni Diodati – An Italian at Dordt
Diodati had demonstrated a remarkable faithfulness to the doctrines of the Reformation, an impressive spirit of initiative, and a sincere concern for the church of Italian refugees he pastored in Geneva.
His hopes of seeing a biblical reformation in Italy soared when, in 1604, the Republic of Venice launched an open challenge to papal authority and its blatant corruption. He visited Venice twice, under the pseudonym of Giovanni Coreglia, and worked with others to the realization of this dream. In 1618, the situation in Europe... Continue Reading
‘Scientists say …’
Don’t assume you’ve got to believe it.
No one in the history of research has ever done a survey that includes all scientists. But we live in a culture so beholden on the one hand to the scientific community and on the other hand to so-called statistical evidence that we are sitting ducks when either deity is used to prove a point.... Continue Reading
A Crash Course on Karl Marx
Communism has not produced contentment and equality anywhere it has gained power.
Marxism is not the most important, the most imposing, or the most impressive philosophy in history. But until recently, it has clearly been the most influential. In just two generations, Marxism inundated one-third of the world—a feat accomplished only twice in human history (by early Christianity and by early Islam). The following notes are based... Continue Reading
They Call it Narcissism
There are different versions of the self-absorbed lifestyle commonly called narcissism. They are all maddening.
As a catalyst for thought, I read Disarming the Narcissist by Wendy Behary¹. Though not a Christian book, I was helped by her kindness and insight, and she actually rekindled my interest in engaging those who fit the narcissist description. Rather than review the book, I will identify a few of the points that helped me rethink... Continue Reading
United Methodist Bishops Recommend a Way Forward
The majority of the Council recommends the One Church Plan as the best way forward for The United Methodist Church.
The One Church Plan allows for contextualization of language about human sexuality in support of the mission; and allows for central conferences, especially those in Africa, to retain their disciplinary authority to adapt the Book of Discipline and continue to include traditional language and values while fulfilling the vision of a global and multicultural church.... Continue Reading
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