[Jefferson] hated Calvin for many reasons, but he held an especially impassioned loathing for the French Reformer’s throaty trinitarianism and the doctrine of election. Calvin, in Jefferson’s reading of history, represented the clearest intellectual successor to the medieval Christian order he despised. He compared what he called the “simple” doctrines of Jesus—his phrase for Unitarianism—with... Continue Reading

Affirming belief in the inerrancy of Scripture is no substitute for living out the authority of Scripture. While we do well to continue refuting the skeptics of Scripture, our ultimate aim must always be obedience. This, after all, is what true scholarship is about—knowledge so well understood that it cannot be help influence life. The... Continue Reading

The Hebrew word is kabod and means heavy.  In other words, the person who is to be honored must be accorded weight. Now, it helps if a parent actually has weighty things to say!  You can see how the role of the parent and the honor a child is to give work in tandem.  The... Continue Reading

Although we cannot benefit from the testimonies and insights of Christians who have not yet lived, we would be foolish to ignore those who have come before us. Bernard of Chartres (d. circa 1124) famously said that we stand on the shoulders of giants—in other words, the body benefits from the exegetical insights, the doctrinal... Continue Reading

For all of the talk of spectrum of gender, and growing lists of supposedly available gender descriptors, all of it, the entire discussion is centered on the two basic sexes given to us in creation: male and female. And, while the growing number of sexual and gender identifiers seeks to present as scientific, the fact... Continue Reading

Justice Anthony Kennedy once famously said that “at the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence.”[1] With these words he codified the thought of today’s average American: there is nothing more important than answering that question, “Who am I?” We are taught (indoctrinated?) to believe that all things are meant... Continue Reading

“God’s presence with me was not Jim’s presence. That was a terrible fact. God’s presence did not change the terrible fact that I was a widow. . . . Jim’s absence thrust me, forced me, hurried me to God, my hope and my only refuge. And I learned in that experience who God is. Who... Continue Reading

This controversy over ESS placed MOS and the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) on a collision course. CBMW had been perhaps the major purveyor of the errant doctrine of ESS among evangelicals. This doctrine maintains that the roles of leadership and submission Scripture prescribes for the family and the church are founded upon... Continue Reading

Not only is the Fourth Commandment by far the longest of the ten in number of verses and words, it is placed right in the center.  Reflecting ancient eastern peace treaties, two copies of the Ten Commandments were made—one for the people and one for their King.  In such peace treaties, the king would stamp... Continue Reading

Paul warned that anyone who takes the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner “drinks judgment on himself.” Therefore, he calls us to “examine” ourselves and “then . . . eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” But how do we do that? If our hearts are deceitful and lead us to evil and... Continue Reading