“How bad was the living nightmare? I could not fall asleep for two weeks straight. Even sleeping pills could not calm the adrenaline and knock me out, which only made things worse. At night I was terrified of the quiet, knowing I was in for another all-night battle with insomnia that I was likely to... Continue Reading

“Humankind’s stewardship began in the Garden of Eden, where God gave Adam and Eve full dominion over the entire creation. Adam and Eve were not given ownership of the world; rather, they were given the responsibility of managing it. They were to insure that the garden was tilled and cultivated, and not abused or exploited,... Continue Reading

“The unofficial motto of the PCA is “we’re a grassroots denomination.” That may at one time have been true. But we need to stop lying to ourselves. The PCA is run by the denomination’s program committees and the large and influential churches and presbyteries. The only hope for a real grassroots PCA is the move... Continue Reading

“The misappropriation of the biblical term “anointed” by church leaders over the past generation has produced results that do not merely border on lunacy, but are actually the embodiment of it. In most of evangelicalism the lunacy has been more subtle, its chief manifestation being authoritarian and abusive leaders who held themselves above accountability. You know:... Continue Reading

“There are three interpretations of the Marrow controversy. Some argue that it was an internecine dispute of two sides that both held to the Westminster Standards. Those who condemned the Marrow quoted the Westminster standards against the Marrow men, which creates a certain plausibility for this view. This view is wrong in Duncan’s mind, though.”... Continue Reading

“Calvin uses the phrases free justification, the mercy of God, and gratuitous acceptance to point to the same thing: that the primary cause of everything pertaining to salvation flows from God’s sovereign grace and mercy as freely offered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That which secures a man’s salvation is ultimately not dependent upon... Continue Reading

“British prime minister David Cameron said recently that “our religion is now the most persecuted religion around the world” and “We should stand up against persecution of Christians and other religious groups wherever and whenever we can, and should be unashamed in doing so.” German chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly stressed that Christians are the... Continue Reading

“When our child asks, “Daddy, does God want to save me?” the last thing you do is go to God’s Private Book, and say, “Well, I don’t know honey, because I don’t know if you are one of the elect.” Put that book down. That’s God’s Private Book. You have no right to it and there’s no... Continue Reading

“Our church service begins at 10:30 a.m. At 10:20, we turn the lights down and begin the prelude. This is the signal for our people to begin preparing for worship. By contrast, God gave Israel two days to prepare. He required them to be consecrated and to wash their clothes. These preparations were appropriate for... Continue Reading

“We do look around and see a lot of people being tentative in saying anything about this issue. A lot of people are trying to stay out of it, from megachurches to Christian organizations to relatives at holidays and Christmas. We don’t want to bring it up. But also it’s extremely difficult to answer this... Continue Reading