In sum, this volume has a number of positive features as it covers a variety of complex historical topics for the layman, but it also runs into some difficulties as it evaluates some of the historical evidence. The repeated theme of the book, to which McDonald regularly returns, is that of canonical diversity. He seems... Continue Reading

  I hope my children never have to sacrifice for their father when I’m elderly. But, if they do, I pray I’ll be Christlike enough to crucify my pride and receive their love. And I pray that I’ll be learning to love, and to be loved, all along the way. I want to live long... Continue Reading

Confess the offense of your boredom. Plead for eyes opened to the 360-degree, 24/7 display of glory to which you have been blind. Determine to spend a certain portion of every day in meditating on his glory. Cry out for the help of others. And remind yourself to be thankful for Jesus, who offers you... Continue Reading

People who grow tomatoes in a garden patch may regard the endeavor as a mere seasonal pastime; however, panelists at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conference discerned deeper theological and political significance. The Rev. Ashley Goff, Minister of Spiritual Formation at Church of the Pilgrims in Washington, DC, exalted “growing as an act of resistance,” “compost... Continue Reading

The truth for us to remember is the doctrinal byword that Jesus is God and the Spirit is God, but Jesus is not the Spirit and the Spirit is not Jesus. And that means, at least for the past 2,000 years, Jesus doesn’t make footprints in the sand. “But I believe in Jesus too,” my... Continue Reading

Confessions structure our identities. If not, they are useless. Within a theological seminary, the confession must function as a living commitment, not as a dead letter. As Reno notes, confessions are characterized by pointed distinctions. They are exercises in drawing boundaries, addressing new heresies and new forms of old heresies. False teachings are always around... Continue Reading

So am I an intolerant bigot? I guess that depends on what you mean by “bigot”. Do I think certain things are objectively right and wrong? Yes. Jesus defines what is right and wrong, and my opinion must line up with his. Does that mean I hate those who do wrong things? No, absolutely not.... Continue Reading

Alec Motyer has written: “An expository ministry is the proper response to a God-breathed Scripture… Central to it all is that concern which the word ‘exposition’ itself enshrines: a display of what is there.” There are a variety of sermon types that fail to “display what is there.” These include: 1. The “I want to... Continue Reading

After a depressing afternoon hearing about the upfront speaker-fee schedules of men with well-paying day jobs, along with the need to pay for their personal assistants/wives/whatever to travel with them when away from home for a couple of nights, it was good to go back home, feel appropriately dirtied by it all and then think... Continue Reading

No matter how much support exists for women, there will always be situations where illness, death, or immaturity make it difficult or impossible for a woman to be a mother to her child. Yet, Joyce admits of no instances where adoption would be a valid—or indeed beneficial—option for a woman and implies that a woman... Continue Reading