Believing in an Historical Adam: What Man is to Believe Concerning God
This article is the second in a series of three articles on the necessity of belief in an historical Adam.
The biblical statement [in Genesis 2:7] leaves no room for God’s adopting some already living being, because the Hebrew does not allow for that interpretation. Even though there is a degree of latitude in how we interpret the detail of the early chapters of Genesis in relation to the age of the earth and the... Continue Reading
PCA Stated Clerk: Actions of the 42nd General Assembly
The Stated Clerk's report
Overall, the 42nd General Assembly proved to be an irenic meeting, even though several controversial matters were considered. The goodwill demonstrated may be attributed to the Overtures Committee’s helpful work, the Moderator’s wisdom and grace in moderating, and the Christian spirit evinced by commissioners both in committee and Assembly sessions, as a genuine meeting of... Continue Reading
Is The Christian Life More Like Colorado Or Nebraska?
Does the New Testament promise us that the Christian life is a series of extraordinary emotional experiences?
The mountains are breathtaking and memorable but they are more the exception than the rule. The Christian life is more like a quiet state highway on the plains interrupted by quiet small towns, a few stop lights, followed by more highway. It’s occasionally striking but mostly it’s ordinary and that’s fine. Ordinary is alright. ... Continue Reading
Atheists Lose Court Battle with IRS
A federal court has dismissed three atheist groups’ suit against the IRS, in which they accused the tax agency of discriminating against nonreligious nonprofits
The court found that the atheists had no standing to bring the suit, in part because American Atheists could have applied to the Internal Revenue Service for designation as a religious organization, but never had. It’s just speculation that the IRS would reject the application, the court wrote; in fact, the IRS has granted nontheistic groups... Continue Reading
Married Men: Your Porn Habit Is An Adultery Habit
We don’t even need to refer to Scripture to figure out the simple equation that porn equals adultery
Porn will not make you a better man. It will make you smaller. It will make you a liar. It will kill that instinct inside you that calls you to protect and honor women. It will turn you into something you never wanted to be. It will turn you into a sneaky, shameful pervert. It... Continue Reading
Australian Judge Says Incest May No Longer Be A Taboo
Judge in Australia says incest may no longer be a taboo; the only reason it is criminal is potential birth abnormalities, which can be solved by abortion
Judge Garry Neilson, from the district court in the state of New South Wales, likened incest to homosexuality, which was once regarded as criminal and “unnatural” but is now widely accepted. He said incest was now only a crime because it may lead to abnormalities in offspring but this rationale was increasingly irrelevant because of... Continue Reading
S.C. Episcopal Bishop Charles vonRosenberg Allows Same-Sex Union Blessings
Bishop Charles vonRosenberg issued a letter to clergy Tuesday notifying them he is allowing use of "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant."
“I do want to be clear that this permission does not define an expectation for clergy,” he writes. “In your own life of prayer and within community, you will decide how to respond to this statement of permission.” Each church’s vestry or mission committee also can take up the issue. Before priests can perform the... Continue Reading
The Rise of Protestant Perfectionism
The re-emergence of a Protestant perfectionist vision of the Christian life
Both sides sought to carve out space between what they saw were two species of perfectionism, revivalism and social gospel. For Cornelius Van Til and Gordon Clark, revivalism was fundamentalism and social gospel was liberalism. While Clark and Van Til did not think Reinhold Niebuhr’s German Reformed tradition was the solution, for his part, Niebuhr... Continue Reading
Calvinists, Please Rescue Evangelicalism from Perfectionism!
Calvinists, and all traditional Christians, should know that society is always depraved
So absent mass conversion by Protestants and Evangelicals to Catholicism, traditional Calvinists, with their own venerable traditions of social engagement in the sin-soaked kingdom of man, will have to point the way forward. Troublingly, many Calvinists are instead succumbing to their own funk, partly based on their own unconscious perfectionism, disowning social engagement, especially statecraft,... Continue Reading
San Diego Skyline Pastor Reacts to Daily Beast Critic: We Fear Only God
Skyline pastor Jim Garlow responds to criticisms from retired bishop Gene Robinson
Boldness is walking in truth when the prevailing culture mocks you for it. Fear is when you compromise your values and accommodate to the prevailing winds of belief. No, we do not walk in fear. Candidly, we walk in faith, in great faith. The Kingdom of God will do great. The authentic churches across America... Continue Reading