Calvinist Convictions in Our Founding Fathers
An understanding of man's fallen nature is the reason for our government's system of checks and balances
The Federalist Papers is a classic work that too few Americans have ever heard of, let alone have read. Written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers were an important series of articles promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. This week marks the anniversary (February 6, 1788) of one... Continue Reading
The Intolerance of Tolerance and A Queer Thing Happened to America
A review of two books on tolerance and homosexuality
What shocked me in both books were the examples, case after case, every one well-documented, wherein “tolerance” demands acceptance, and even promotion, of actual beliefs. Simply making allowance for people to hold those beliefs no longer qualifies as tolerance. Here my naiveté became apparent; I always thought “diversity” had to do with disabilities, different ethnicities,... Continue Reading
The Manhood Problem…
Even the culture around us knows that there is something happening to our men
Then there is the Mars Hill/Mark Driscoll solution. Driscoll seems to be more concerned with men being metro and girly. So to try to get men to stop wearing purple and plucking their eyebrows, his remedy is a manhood boot camp retreat where guys are yelled at into submission (or should I say leadership). Black... Continue Reading
Schools, Sex, And Degradation: Losing the Sacred
Girls in middle and high school are increasingly victimized by boys and young men whose erroneously developed view of females has been substantially shaped by pornography
We have, in large part, allowed society to explain the mechanics of sex, define the meaning of sex and erase the boundaries of sex. Its sacredness questioned, disbelieved and mocked. Unlike stray dogs in the yard where a bucket of water might separate, students grab smartphones and celebrate. If you are the parent of... Continue Reading
Jesus Spent 30 Years Being Boring
Was Jesus wasting his life? Absolutely not
You don’t have to leave home to be crazy on fire for the Lord. Jesus spent his first thirty years simply working and obeying. This tells me that it’s possible to be radical while changing diapers, or creating spreadsheets, or plowing snow, or doing whatever mundane task you are called to. For the Christian, there... Continue Reading
Beware Pragmatic Love: A Warning to Husbands and Fathers
Love others as God loves, not as the world loves
Pragmatic love is the type of love a person practices based on a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. Pragmatic love has an ultimate concern for self, and little concern for the other person. When pragmatic love is practiced, the recipient of this love is reduced to an object. Dear Christian husband and/or... Continue Reading
Marco Rubio Talks Jesus at National Prayer Breakfast
Rubio preached on 4 lessons from Jesus in the context of public service
Rubio concluded by declaring that Jesus offers much more than lessons for life. “Jesus the man is also my Savior and the only way I’ll get to heaven,” he said. The audience filling a large hotel ballroom responded with a standing ovation. Justifiably the President always gets the most media attention at the annual... Continue Reading
Dr. John B. Hulst, Dordt College’s President Emeritus, Passes Away
Dr. John B. Hulst, 83, the second president of Dordt College, died on Friday, February 8, 2013, in Pella, Iowa.
During his tenure as president of Dordt College, Hulst helped put in place a strong faculty development program so that Dordt’s academic program would prepare students well for their future lives and professions. He broadened Dordt’s and its students’ connections to people and institutions around the world, bringing in students and professors from other cultures... Continue Reading
Losing Adam
When the creation and the Fall are undermined, what tumbles with them?
Losing Adam means losing hope, for my solidarity with Adam as a man condemned finds its Scriptural counterpart in my solidarity with Christ, the last Adam, as a man redeemed. Adam is “a type of him who was to come” (Rom 5.14) – all the God-ordained parallels and constructs out of which my salvation finds... Continue Reading
Scouts delay decision on allowing homosexual leaders and scouts
Current policy banning homosexuals in force until May
The decision to postpone a vote on the policy came at the request of a task force made up of representatives of religious groups that charter Scout units. Churches and other religious organizations sponsor nearly 70 percent of all Scout units. The Boy Scouts of America’s Executive Board has delayed action on a proposed... Continue Reading