It Is A Curious Thing! More on the Republication Controversy
Faith is the sole instrument appropriating the perfect righteousness of Christ, the Second Adam, imputed to the elect of God.
What exactly is at issue in these several mutations of “evangelical” theology? Central to the debate is the biblical (Reformed) doctrine of the Covenant of Works established by God with Adam as federal head of humanity and reestablished in modified form under Moses (i.e., adjusted to the post-Fall context, consistent with the progressive unfolding of... Continue Reading
Taking Back Christianese #10: “Jesus is Neither Democrat nor Republican”
Each of the possible meanings suffers from the same fatal flaw: all of them are trying to find a way to make politics a neutral affair for Christians.
So, if the “Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican” approach is flawed, where do we go from here? I would suggest a different course of action. Rather than spending our energies trying to keep the Bible out of politics, we should work to let it back in. What I mean by this is... Continue Reading
Policing the Blogosphere? We’ve Been Here Before
Who's in charge of the Christian blogosphere? Ultimately, we all are.
Warren raised some legitimate concerns regarding the prevalence of false teaching and the lack of appropriate authority and accountability in the blogosphere. However, the answer isn’t authoritarianism, ordination/commissioning, or more control over bloggers. Rather, the answer is a return to the authority of Scripture and the accountability of the local church through existing means. We... Continue Reading
Anne Bradstreet’s Doubts
One of the most interesting things about the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet is that she actually admitted to having doubts about her religious beliefs.
In questioning God’s existence, Bradstreet is no different than many great philosophers over the years, yet the rationale she chooses to reassure herself is perhaps not as sophisticated as the arguments of Anselm or Aquinas. Rather, she sees God in what she knows: His wondrous creation, His provision for her family, His sovereignty over all... Continue Reading
4 Ways We Go Wrong in Thinking about the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the easiest person of the Godhead to depersonalize—and not only because of cultural forces.
We know what a Father-Son relation is in human terms, but where does the Spirit fit? Mary has sometimes been given something close to the status of the third person in popular Roman Catholic piety. Some recent theologians have even referred to the Spirit as Mother to make the triad more resonant with our familial... Continue Reading
TULIP and Reformed Theology: Perseverance of the Saints
True Christians can have radical and serious falls but never total and final falls from grace.
The whole purpose of God’s election is to bring His people safely to heaven; therefore, what He starts He promises to finish. He not only initiates the Christian life, but the Holy Spirit is with us as the sanctifier, the convictor, and the helper to ensure our preservation. Writing to the Philippians, Paul says, “He... Continue Reading
LifeWay Research: Americans Are Fond of the Bible, Don’t Actually Read It
Overall, Americans seem to like the Bible but don’t have much urgency about reading it.
LifeWay Research surveyed 1,000 Americans about their views of the Bible and found significant splits in how familiar they are with the Christian scripture. One in five Americans, LifeWay Research found, has read through the Bible at least once. That includes 11 percent who’ve read the entire Bible once, and 9 percent who’ve read it... Continue Reading
A Match Made in Heaven
Why conservative evangelicals have lined up behind Trump
Evangelicals in the early republic nurtured a deep suspicion of an encroaching federal government, and many were happy to collaborate with heterodox politicians who felt the same way. Thomas Jefferson may have taken a razor to his personal copy of the Gospels, excising the tales of miracles, but he had friends among the Baptists, who... Continue Reading
How Do I Handle Life’s Upsets?
Spend Less Time on “Why” and More Time on “Who”
Someone we love gets sick. Why? Was it something they did? Something they didn’t do? In most cases, the answer is, “who knows?” Sickness is a part of the world as a result of the fall. It’s an upset that merely results from life in a broken world. Reframing an upset in this fashion helps... Continue Reading
Refusing to be Encouraged
There are times when we refuse to be encouraged or comforted or complimented.
But there is a sense in which we want to retain personal responsibility. Sure, Christ is the one who strengthens me. He is the one in whom I can all things. But I am the one doing those things. I chose to undertake them and to put out the effort to do them well. Like... Continue Reading