Body Image
God’s word teaches us how to have an accurate view of self.
Do you constantly scrutinize your appearance? Is it as though you walk around with a mirror held out in front of you reminding you what is lacking? In reality, that mirror reflects a distorted perception; much like a carnival mirror that distorts reality. It not only prevents you from seeing yourself accurately, but it creates... Continue Reading
The Christian Creed in One Short Psalm
In Psalm 110, we find the Christian confession of faith
Hopefully after reading a bit about these confessions contained in David’s creed, you will see why Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. If you have ever struggled to articulate your faith, this may be a good place for you to begin. It would be quite beneficial to memorize the 7... Continue Reading
Does Calvinism Teach Puppet Theology?
God is not a puppet master pulling on our strings so that we do what he wants apart from our own willing or doing
Anyone familiar with the Canons of Dort should know that Calvinists do not believe that God works on his people by means of forcible coercion. Instead, we believe that God supernaturally, sovereignly, and irresistibly renews our hearts so that we can feel and choose and do what we ought. Earlier in the week I... Continue Reading
Tocqueville’s Time
Why is Tocqueville significant today?
According to Tocqueville, it is organized religion especially that instills basic conceptions of morality such as respect for marriage and honesty, and it is the transcendent mores implicit in Christianity that place limits on revolutionary or utopian dreams that would overthrow or subvert democratic institutions. Note, however, that while Tocqueville clearly thought that forms of... Continue Reading
“The Bible” History Channel Series: A Review
The good, the bad, and the ugly
I disagree with those who say that this “opens the door for dialog”, or that it give people “an introduction” to the Bible. This presentation of the Bible as a set of heroic individuals actually hinders future gospel presentation as it confuses the categories. If one already “knows the story”, why would they feel a... Continue Reading
Excuses, Excuses
Why are we so good at thinking up excuses for not evangelizing?
But if we dig down deep enough, behind the logic of these excuses, we’ll find a horrible emotion is at the root of all these evangelism-choking weeds: FEAR If “he who wins souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30), why are we so good at thinking up excuses for not evangelizing? The Calvinism Excuse: ”If God’s... Continue Reading
The Seismic Shift of the 1960′s: An Interview with Os Guinness
The Sixties was above all a grand and damaging blow to the easy complacency of the post-War world and to the illusions of Henry Luce’s “American century.”
When people think of the crucial decades that have shaped American history after 1776, they automatically think of the Civil War, the two World Wars, the Depression era, and so on. But in my estimate, the decade of the Sixties and the so-called “counterculture” ranks with the most important of these, and is even more... Continue Reading
Treadmill Swerve
When insanity wins awards
Walker Percy: “The present-day unbeliever is crazy because he finds himself born into a world of endless wonders, having no notion how he got here, a world in which he … grows old, gets sick, and dies, and is quite content to have it so … as if his prostate were not growing cancerous, his arteries turning to chalk,... Continue Reading
How the Evangelical Church Awoke to the Abortion Issue: The Convergent Labors of Harold O. J. Brown, Francis Schaeffer, and C. Everett Koop
Reflection on how evangelicals came to embrace the pro-life position
With the death of C. Everett Koop, the last of these three figures went to be with the Lord. Preceding him were Francis Schaeffer and Harold O. J. Brown. Together, Brown, Schaeffer, and Koop “successfully called Evangelical leaders back from their flirtation with abortion,”….“These three men made opposition to abortion a defining characteristic of late... Continue Reading
7 Biblical Principles for World Changers
The Bible is the ultimate threat to the status quo of prideful, human kingdom building and the definitive collection of divinely inspired revolutionary writings
The greatest problem in America today is not so much the presence of darkness as it is the absence of light. Put another way, it is no surprise that sinful people do sinful things….And so we can’t be shocked when the darkness is dark. Instead, we who claim to be devoted to God must shine... Continue Reading