Judge Rules New York May Not Enforce Double-Standard Restrictions On Religious Gatherings
De Blasio’s shows of support for mass protests “clearly undermine the legitimacy” of his reasons for restricting religious congregations.
On June 6, he permitted religious gatherings under Phase Two, but restricted them to 25 percent capacity, half that of stores and barbershops. At the same time, Cuomo and de Blasio have encouraged the mass protests sweeping New York in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Answering a question about whether protests should be discouraged, Cuomo... Continue Reading
Beware the Idol of “Normal”
That there is no true security except that which is in Christ. And that true hope is found in God alone.
For in the wake of the disease and the shut down that accompanied it, we have been forced to confront all the sources of security and safety that we have held for ourselves. These idols – idols of our financial system, our jobs, our government institutions, our entertainment and comfort, our personal control and power... Continue Reading
The Surprising Transformation of the Disciples of Jesus
An encounter with the resurrected Jesus will transform disciples and prepare them for a joyful mission.
When Jesus visited the disciples, he didn’t only give them instruction and fellowship, he gave them a purpose for the future. When explaining the Scriptures, Jesus said “it is written” that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). And the disciples were not... Continue Reading
Samuel Miller – Conscientious Pastor and Teacher
Miller helped to train a generation of preachers who labored “to diffuse, in every direction, the holy and benign influence of truth.”
Miller trained the students through his regular lectures, his copious writings (including a manual on preaching), and his sermons[9]. To him, preaching was a spiritual calling that an ordained pastor could never put aside in this life. His commitment to remain faithful to this calling and never merge his office “as a minister of the... Continue Reading
Christianity in a World of “Newspeak”
Those raised on Newspeak lose the very ability to think outside of the categories of the party because the words required to do so no longer exist.
It is instructive to consider Newspeak because it can shed light on some of the difficulties Christians face when attempting to speak or write on important issues in today’s often Orwellian world. Those in power and those seeking power in various cultural realms often hijack language and redefine words and concepts in an attempt to... Continue Reading
Pervasive Injustice
In the aftermath of moral outrage, the question which always follows is: “How do we fix this? What problems should we address?”
The answer usually breaks down into two camps: Those who believe the problem is the system, and those who believe the problem is the individual. If we throw politics into the mix, the Democratic response is usually to reform the system, and the Republican response is usually to reform the individual. But if we think Biblically, the answer... Continue Reading
Marxism, Postmodernism, and Critical Race Theory
A Christian critique of postmodernism (and theories like CRT) is not purely negative, as it begins with the recognition that truth-claims cannot be divorced from a story about all of reality.
These sorts of qualifications on how thoughtful Christians can (and cannot) acknowledge and respond to systemic injustice will leave many convinced that we don’t really take the problem seriously. In this and so many other matters, we must accept the fact that we will often be misunderstood (John 15:18-20). However, every Christian ought to be... Continue Reading
Why Study the Book of Ecclesiastes?
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
The book of Ecclesiastes is unique and provocative as it states powerfully and repeatedly that everything is meaningless (“vanity”) without a proper focus on God. The book reveals the necessity of fearing God in a fallen and frequently confusing and frustrating world. Examining Life Socrates is known for his famous quip that the unexamined... Continue Reading
A Very Grave Person
God teaches those He saves the truth and prepares them to walk the narrow path before actually sending them to do so.
The first time I read The Pilgrim’s Progress, I was amazed how well Bunyan addressed this issue and how succinctly it explains many of the issues we are witnessing in our own time. Why is there such corruption and apostasy in the visible church in our time? There are multitudes of those “that pretend to lead... Continue Reading
5 Principles of Biblical Restitution
As conversations over racial reconciliation escalate within the church, the notion of reparations has come to the fore, and many are inquiring as to what extent it may overlap with the biblical concept of restitution.
What is often missed in discussions of biblical law is that although the judicial code played a vital role in the civil polity of the Israelite nation, the law was given for reasons deeper and more relevant to redemptive history than the mere establishment of a theocratic state. The law in its moral, judicial, and... Continue Reading
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