The first, and probably most prevalent myth regarding Calvinism, has to do with free will and choices. The argument goes something like this: If God has predestined people to be saved then people don’t have a free will, and our choices for or against God are not real choices. I get this argument, I really... Continue Reading

Santa Christ may be a mystical Jesus, who, like Santa Claus, is important because of the good experiences we have when we think about him, irrespective of his historical reality. It doesn’t really matter whether the story is true or not; the important thing is the spirit of Santa Christ. For that matter, while it... Continue Reading

Did you think the “gay rights” crowd would stick around and “support you” for meeting their ransom demands? No, silly A&E, that isn’t how this works. The speech-controllers on the left are like a black hole. They can only suck you in and obliterate you. They’re like the devil — they ask for your soul... Continue Reading

And so this section of the Westminster Confession provides important guidance and balance to these discussions.  To the “rest” side, it reminds us that the Christian life involves effort – God empowered effort, but effort nonetheless.  And effort that at times even trembles at the threatenings of God’s Word.  To the “effort” side, it reminds... Continue Reading

He was a profoundly Christian man, who had read widely and meditated earnestly upon the really great things of our holy Faith. His Christian experience was not of the emotional or pietistical type, but was a quiet stream whose waters ran deep. He did not adopt that “Touch not, taste not, handle not” attitude toward... Continue Reading

It is important to notice here that when Paul is saying these things about the law, he is not abrogating the Ten Commandments. After all, Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, quite clearly states their continual application. Paul himself in chapter 5 will go on to list a bunch of sins on the one... Continue Reading

Having undergone redemptive-historical modification, the law very much has a home in the New Covenant. The law continues to provide the moral standard that binds all people, not just Christians. It is this understanding of the law that helps us to grasp what the prophet meant when he looked to the day when God would... Continue Reading

Sometimes I see worship leaders who remind me of the writers of LOST. There’s some good stuff, which should be commended, but then on occasion there are random bits of nonsense.   The ABC drama “LOST” had it all: great acting, lots of suspense, beautiful beaches, and high ratings. Its fans were devoted, many to... Continue Reading

The whole reason Jesus was born into this world was so that God could give us a gift.  Jesus didn’t come to get presents.  He came to give presents.   Pretend it’s your birthday.  What would you think if people gave presents to everyone else but not to you?  That would be a strange birthday.... Continue Reading

Hollingworth takes us back to the pre-Socratic philosophers of ancient Greece and the beginning of classical civilization. We cannot understand how Augustine was trained to think unless we master the origins of Platonism, and that means returning to the world Plato addressed and transformed. To say this isn’t to argue Augustine was a Platonist, but... Continue Reading