Ten Basic Facts about the NT Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize: #9
Christians Did Disagree about the Canonicity of Some NT Books
Put differently, there is an assumption that we can only believe that we have the writings God intended if there are very few (if any) dissenters and if there is virtually immediate and universal agreement on all 27 books. But, where does this assumption come from? And why should we think it is true? When it... Continue Reading
Debate Squashing at General Assembly– a PCUS Déjà Vu?
It looks more and more like our polity has devolved into nothing more than crass politics.
Wasn’t one of the reasons for leaving the PCUS (UPC, PCUSA for some of us) because the other side had secured all the political (committee) power – and then used that to squash the ability of “our” side to even debate matters!? I can’t help but wonder, how was the behavior at this GA from... Continue Reading
The Synod of the RPCNA Report of Day Two
Report of Day 2 of the RPCNA Synod meeting in Marion, Ind.
The Home Missions Board reported and John Edgar spoke of the many encouraging opportunities for church planting in the RPCNA. The Lord is providing church planting opportunities in many parts of the country by way of planting historic confessional reformed churches. The need for more funding is a need, as the vision and planting efforts... Continue Reading
Do You Have a Napoleonic Complex (aka Small Man Syndrome)?
Are you, like Napoleon, driven to establish your worth by your performance?
If you invest your sense of meaning and worth in anything other than Jesus Christ, you will suffer from this kind of “Napoleonic complex:” perpetual insecurity and a need to prove yourself in a never-ending cycle. If the thing you look to for value is being a caring, merciful person (a good thing in itself!),... Continue Reading
Why passive-aggressive Christian leadership must go away
Passive-aggressive behavior runs counter to the ethics of the Kingdom
It is contrary to New Testament fellowship. Paul apparently understood this as he tended to call people by name. He did this both for commendation and correction. See about any of his epistles for examples of this. When I was a young pastor I had a scattergun approach to preaching. Like many I tended... Continue Reading
The Invisible Line
Who determines where the line should be drawn? What constitutes good and evil, sin and charity?
You may think you are the most progressive, nonjudgmental, hip, non-legalistic cool Christian out there, but you have a line somewhere. The question is, where do you draw it and on what basis? If I say that I take my code of right and wrong from the Bible, that may sound a bit archaic or... Continue Reading
The Myth of Persecution
A review of Candida Moss' book: The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
Thus, given the ultimate political purpose of the book, the final problem with Moss’s thesis is not really historical at all. It is the fact that she fails to set the function of martyr narratives within the wider framework of modern politics. The problem is not martyr myths; it is that politics, stripped of any... Continue Reading
PCA Pastor John T. Appleton Suffered Cardiac Arrest While Fighting a Fire
Appleton served as chaplain for the Malden Fire Department was also pastor of Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Appleton will have a full firefighter’s funeral. At 11 a.m. Friday, his body will be placed onto a firetruck with a procession to Riverside High School in Quincy. The procession will go through the communities of Rand and Belle along Old U.S. 60 and off Orchard Avenue. A public memorial service is scheduled at noon... Continue Reading
Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Defense of Marriage Act
Decision on California's Proposition 8 Still to Come; DOMA Violates 'Equal Protection Principles'
Justice Anthony Kennedy announced the court’s 5-4 decision. Justice Kennedy was joined by the four members of the court’s liberal wing—Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—while Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the... Continue Reading
Action on the PCA Insider Movement Report: Mutually Assured Destruction
An assessment of the PCA General Assembly’s consideration of the Insider Movement report
It is hard to see how the minority report can change unless it becomes even more indistinct and misleading. Perhaps it can apply more camouflage to hide the fact that it thinks that Muslims can remain Muslims and not leave the mosque. No amount of assurance that syncretism is avoided or that doctrinal standards required... Continue Reading