John Brown the Calvinist
Calvinism rightly understood is a threat to the autonomy of modern man in modern America
In modern America, Calvinism is associated with fanaticism and hate. Calvinists are a deluded sort! Modern America is not threatened by evangelicalism. Modern America is not threatened by fundamentalism. However, Calvinism is a different story. In my mind, Calvinism rightly applied, is the only real threat to the fulcrum of a godless America. Calvinism which... Continue Reading
Is Iraqi Kurdistan a Safe Haven for Christians?
A ray of hope found for Iraq’s Assyrian, Chaldean, Armenian, and other Christians in the Kurdistan region
Traumatized Iraqi Christians have also relocated within the country. The predominant flow of refugees has been away from the violence of central and southern Iraq and toward Kurdistan in the north, which had been the historic heartland of the ancient Mesopotamian Christian communities. There the refugees have encountered a somewhat better situation, although not without... Continue Reading
Call for British Prime Minister to Protect ‘the Cross’ in Light of European Court Verdict
Three British Christians lose their cases before the European Court of Human Rights on expressing their Christian identity in the work place, one prevails
“I’m just an ordinary person. A nurse. I loved my job and can’t believe that the UK government said to the European Court that the cross is not a Christian symbol. I am pleased that the court recognizes the wearing of my cross is a manifestation of my Christian faith, and that the Prime Minister... Continue Reading
The Hidden History of Insider Movements
Can someone say "yes" to Jesus and "no" to the existing local expressions of the church?
Insider movements raise important questions about the nature of faith in Christ. Can a Hindu or a Muslim accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but not join some expression of the visible local church, yet still be a “true” Christian? Is it important for followers of Christ to use or accept the label Christian... Continue Reading
I Felt Led To
How do we determine God's will?
Common phrases in evangelicalism today include “I felt led to…”, “God told me to….”, and “The Lord laid it on my heart to….” I cringe every time someone uses these phrases because I’ve heard so many unbiblical endings to them. In fact, I’ve seen people’s lives take a million tough twists and turns because they... Continue Reading
Against the Objectification of Females
It is not possible to see people as humans created in God’s image and as objects at the same time
The differences between the woman in the revealing swimwear, drunken coeds on Girls Gone Wild, a prostitute, a stripper or a sexually exploited child are only in the extremes and opportunities. The mindset is the same. Objects have no opinion, no right of refusal, no humanity, no femininity. Like a tire or a piece of... Continue Reading
Let Freedom Ring
Let us be free from the false hope that heroic deeds and quiet agreeableness can atone for the sin of orthodox conviction
There are likely far bigger disappointments to come than the one that dropped last Thursday. We did not choose this culture war and it is not about to leave us alone. The media, the academy, the government, the libertine elite–they may sully our reputation and shame our convictions, but they cannot steal our joy. We... Continue Reading
What Chris Rock Can Teach Us About Marriage
The difference between a wife and a girlfriend
Even on its own terms, cohabitation doesn’t “prepare” couples for marriage. Without the security of permanence and fidelity a “relationship” is wholly different from a marriage. As a matter of fact, “dating” isn’t a preparation for marriage either, beyond the level of discovering whether this couple have a reason not to marry. Most Christians don’t look to Chris... Continue Reading
2013: A Year of Christian Conflicts
This year may be a watershed in the relationship of Christianity to American culture
The question of the Obamacare contraception mandate has a simple answer for Christians: we must obey God instead of man. At the same time, we should realize the question of communicating our position to non-Christians is not so simple, and requires us to maintain a calm, gracious, and thoughtful demeanor in making our case before... Continue Reading
Rejoice! God Is Not Perpetually Irritated With You
God's grace overcomes all of our sins and failures
At the same time, if a sense of shortcoming is all that we come away with, then the image we’ll form of God is of a God who is perpetually irritated with us. We’ll consider Him to be a scowling God, a God who is constantly tossing His arms up in the air as if... Continue Reading