The Contemporary Sanctification Debate: The New Marrow Controversy?
Systematic theology alone won’t answer all of our questions about practical theology
The so-called Marrow Men advocated the ‘free offer of the gospel’ while the opposition did not see gospel ministers as having the right to offer the gospel to those who did not show signs of election.
Ten Men On An Island: The Real Evangelical Dilemma
Are two men on an island capable of persuading the other eight to adopt a Christian worldview?
If we want to see widespread change in our society, that change must be yoked to the proclamation of the Gospel. The Gospel alone is the power of God unto salvation, and it alone has the power to convert man’s hearts, and enable them to embrace Christ and His law. To prioritize something other than the Gospel, or to subjugate the Gospel to man-centered methods, is to fail.
Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?
In the first place, there’s no direct biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25
Incidentally, Easter can be traced to Ishtar in the ancient world. But the Christian church coming together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is hardly something I think would provoke the wrath of God. I wish we had more annual festivals.
My Mouth Won’t Sing What My Soul Doesn’t
It is hard for an uninspired individual to express true, legitimate, and potentially universal experiences of God’s people.
Do you find as a Christian that “heaven above is deeper blue, earth below is sweeter green”, perceptions that “Christless eyes have never seen”? How would you measure the depth of the blue and the sweetness of the green? How would you know that your experience of the blue (deeper) and green (sweeter) is qualitatively different from that of an unbeliever?
A Puritan Connection to the Upcoming Star Trek Film?
I propose that he (a character) become oracular, in the sense of Moses or even Cotton Mather.
We are given a glimpse of the villain, though we are not given his name. There is speculation in may be Khan, the best known foil to Captain Kirk. There is also some buzz that it may be Gary Mitchell, a villain from the original series
State Church or State Sect? Crisis in the Church of England
Advocates of total church-state separation are currently muttering a collective "I told you so!"
One senior Anglican official had an interesting comment on the present debacle. Tony Baldry said that "As a consequence of the decision by the General Synod, the Church of England no longer looks like a national church, it simply looks like a sect like any other sect. If the Church of England wishes to be a national church, reflecting the nation, then it has to reflect the nation."
Out of tune with the Kirk, a defiant departure hymn at St. George’s Tron, Glasgow
"They want to make an example of us, to scare other congregations out of doing as we have"
"It appears that the Kirk is saying the Bible's wrong, sin doesn't matter. The more the church tries to align itself with secular society the more it will weaken itself. Who does the Kirk think will fill this church now we're gone? The congregation they imagine will replace us is fictional."
The Impending Reality of the Nationwide Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
Churches, universities, private schools, and individual families will also come under an increasingly merciless attack
The culturally relevant progressive gurus within evangelicalism who desperately want to be popular are going to try to move towards the culture rather than be marginalized, and the church administrations, pastors, and theological professors who follow them around like besotted puppies are going to want to do the same.
“Sermons: Déjà Vu All Over Again”
Maybe some ministers are so busy..that they don’t have time to soak themselves in the languages and wrestle with the meaning of the text
It wasn’t déjà vu. The reason the sermon sounded entirely familiar was because it was. The minister lifted the majority of his sermon from a commentary. He spoke the words as if they were his own. He didn’t introduce the source from which he attained the information nor did he remotely hint that these weren’t his ideas. All of the illustrations and the majority of his points were word-for-word from someone else. Is this dishonest?
How a Korean Prodigal Son Landed on Toronto’s Stage
Toronto theater buffs know playwright Ins Choi. What they don't know is how his church makes his work possible.
The play may owe one of its biggest debt to Choi's church, Grace Toronto (a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. Calling itself "a church for the city in the city," in highly secular Toronto, the church pledged the rehearsal space and financial support for a weeklong workshop in 2009. With Grace Toronto dollars, Choi hired professional actors to rehearse the script and stage a public reading of the play, a process that proved critical to revising the script and no doubt contributed to its success.