“Ideas have consequences. The blurring and sometimes complete loss of the doctrine of creation in our time affects the way we understand our nature and function as human beings. Creation is a reminder that the relationship we have with God is not that of equals. We owe our existence to Him, and we are essentially... Continue Reading

“Clement could hardly have been clearer. Were we to read 32:4 out of context, we might be excused for wondering which of the Protestant Reformers wrote it. That language, however, did not come to us from the Protestants.”   Perhaps the first post-Apostolic use of the New Testament verb “to justify” (δικαιόω) occurs in 1... Continue Reading

“Questions abound about these unconventional couplings. What effects will they have on older adults’ health and well-being? Will children from previous marriages accept them? What will happen if one partner becomes seriously ill and needs caregiving?”   Three years ago, William Mamel climbed a ladder in Margaret Sheroff’s apartment and fixed a malfunctioning ceiling fan.... Continue Reading

Just as Paul might say about the resurrection “if Christ has not been raised…you are still in our sins” (1 Cor. 15:17), so too, we might say about the ascension “if Christ has not ascended into heaven itself, we are still in our sins.” Even after the work on the cross, there remains the phase... Continue Reading

“The review of the department’s rules relating to faith-based institutions comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last June in the Trinity Lutheran case. In that case, the court ruled that a Missouri law that prohibited a church from receiving funds as part of a secular aid program simply because it was a church was unconstitutional.”  ... Continue Reading

For some of us, the idea of finding time to rest feels impossible, even if it’s for God. How can God command you to take a day off when you’re already trying so hard to do all the other things He’s given to you? It’s like Pharoah forcing the Israelites to make the same amount... Continue Reading

What about my pain-pleasure culture? What voice, for example, do millennials have speaking inside their heads? Not an inner lawyer, not an inner grandmother. I think the inner voice of the millennial is an inner therapist. And what does the inner therapist say? “Go for it, you’re worth it, it feels good.”   At St... Continue Reading

“It would be easy to think of saving as a purely selfish activity. That can indeed be the case —we need only read about the rich fool in Luke 12— but it doesn’t have to be. Saving honors God because it rightly values money as a gift that he has given to us (James 1:16–17).”... Continue Reading

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul speaks about joy and about the Christian’s duty to rejoice over and over again. For example, he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4a). This is one of those biblical imperatives, and it leaves no room for not rejoicing, for Paul says Christians are to rejoice... Continue Reading

“This leaves all the applicants in a costly limbo. Their transit visas having expired, some have received $600 fines from the Austrian government, and a few have faced threats of deportation. They receive no government assistance and cannot obtain Austrian work permits. Their U.S.-based families are trapped too, providing thousands of dollars in support.”  ... Continue Reading