Back to Ben Franklin’s “What is the use of a newborn baby?” In his time, the question was understood as satirical. Babies are not “of use”; they just are. They are the future—not a sappy metaphor, but a literal fact. The current generation produces the next generation and so it’s always been. But an odd... Continue Reading

For most married men and women today, marriage looks pretty good. It may not be a “24/7 Sleepover Party,” but it is basically equal, fair, and happy. And that’s the real and often unreported good news about marriage in America today.   There is only one problem with the dour and dismal portrait of heterosexual... Continue Reading

Modesty is an attitude of the heart (1 Timothy 3:2) as well as a manner of dress (1 Timothy 2:9). Modesty considers how we think about ourselves in relation to God, which is reflected in the way we dress. Modesty realizes that being “in Christ” means the believer does not need to gain lustful attention... Continue Reading

There are few theological issues more important and more difficult than the relationship of the Christian to the law. In recent years in particular there have been a lot of conversations and controversies about the proper use of the law in the believer’s progressive sanctification. We all know we are justified by faith apart from... Continue Reading

A Faith Worth Teaching is a volume that I heartily recommend. Payne and Heck have served the church well with this addition. I expect that most of you will find this book, devour it, and enjoy it as much as this reviewer did. Even more importantly, with the contributors to this book, my overriding hope... Continue Reading

This historical reality is a good reminder that the canon is not just a man-made construct. It was not the result of a power play brokered by rich cultural elites in some smoke filled room. It was the result of many years of God’s people reading, using, and responding to these books.   For whatever... Continue Reading

The godless exult in it, of course, like the bad boys brought by Honest John to Pleasure Island, given permission to drink and smoke and wreck the place and do all the things good little boys don’t. They do not see that it’s a trap, and that after they make jackasses of themselves they become... Continue Reading

The question requiring an answer at this moment in history is clear: Which group of leaders really speaks for Islam? The officially approved spokesmen for the “Muslim community”? Or the manic street preachers of political Islam, who indoctrinate, encourage and train the killers—and then bless their bloodshed? In America, too, the question is pressing. Who... Continue Reading

With the legalization of same-sex marriage in Minnesota, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area (PTCA) issued a reminder to churches that civil action by the legislature does not affect the Book of Order, which governs the Presbyterian Church (USA). … Even though states have legalized gay marriage, the PCUSA constitution still prohibits clergy from... Continue Reading

But done right, studying in seminary can be a rich time of personal growth. Perhaps it’s because I’m in the everyday throes of ministry and family, but seminary has only allowed me to know Christ more by knowing His Word more. To make the sacrifice to study theology intensely is an act of worship. Even... Continue Reading