Quantum indeterminacy has left us with a universe in which the drive to know is constrained by our search for knowledge. Existence seems to be built to challenge our hubris, forcing us to think about our flaws, limiting us to dimensions and points in time, and asking us to accept what we cannot know.  ... Continue Reading

What do these people want in terms of positive philosophical and political construction? I eventually concluded that the answer was really quite simple: The purpose of critical theory is not to establish anything at all. Rather, it is to destabilize as potentially oppressive any claim to transcendent truth or value. Its target is the destruction... Continue Reading

The students in my college classroom generally arrive with the assumption that, if they ever finally decided to open the book, their Bible contains stories about religious superheroes whose level of certitude, model of righteousness, and moral living is a model to which they could never aspire. So why bother reading about them, much less... Continue Reading

It’s very true that were we to build the case for the church’s physical gathering merely upon a text like Hebrews 10:25 that our case would be, at best, incomplete. (And the presence or absence of church buildings is completely beside the point).  But it is bewildering to the point of being speechless to read... Continue Reading

This topic never seems to be far from the surface of conservative evangelical discourse. The recent publication of Aimee Byrd’s latest book, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and the reviews that have followed (see here and here) are only the most recent entries in a decades-long conversation (along with these, see also Kevin DeYoung’s recent post).   A couple... Continue Reading

“While the expressions are varied, by and large the attractional church serves the end of attracting people in two ways: music and creative elements that appeal to the desired audience and teaching that is designed to be both inspirational and practical. This is true regardless of the size or style of an attractional church.”  ... Continue Reading

Paul is not saying, “I want you to stop doing these things only so that you can appear moral and pious.” He’s saying, “I want you to put these sins to death, because as Jesus said, you are to be holy.” The sin in your life needs to be rendered completely helpless with regard to... Continue Reading

This is but another way to draw attention to God’s simplicity. Rather than goodness being a ‘part’ of God, goodness just is God. God is not good in relationship to anyone or anything else. God experiences neither increase nor decrease in goodness. His goodness is absolutely uncreated. As with his other attributes or names, for... Continue Reading

Melanchthon’s relative obscurity in modern Christian thought is unfortunate. As will be explained here, while temperamentally Melanchthon was certainly more subdued than Luther, this does not warrant the minimization of the significant role he played in the Reformation, or his effect on the advance of the gospel since then.    For many Christians, the name... Continue Reading

I recently attended a meeting with other pastors (on Zoom, of course) in which a seasoned and much respected Christian leader spent some time developing his thesis that the pandemic is a clear instance of divine judgment. At the other end of the spectrum, Ruth Valerio and Gideon Heugh for Tearfund assert that Covid-19 is all our... Continue Reading