One-way Dialogue?
Will the NAE try to sell evangelicals on evolution?
Templeton did not specify the simplistic and polarizing views: Seeing chapter 2 of Genesis as real history rather than fable? Seeing man as fallen and in need of redemption? But the clear goal of AAAS and Templeton is to bolster the “motivation, imagination, and capacity” of pastors who want to influence their congregations to accept... Continue Reading
The Clown in the Pulpit
No minister should seek to be dull, sour and morose in the pulpit, but he should not be a buffoon, a jester, or a trifler.
Earnest men rarely spend all their time making others laugh. If God has put the weapon of sanctified humor into your armory, use it well, but do not make it the banner under which you march. We weak and vaporing mortals must get down to business with eternity pressing on our hearts. The... Continue Reading
Christianity and the Four-Year Cyclical, Political Dilemma: Pietism vs Activism
Engaging in the political arena without succumbing to the temptation of temporal power.
If in the political struggle I am more committed to gaining political power and advantage than I am to my Lord, I will betray both my neighbor and my Lord. I must always be wary of political power. Being faithful to God and loving my neighbor does not mean that I do not advocate for certain political philosophies, policies,... Continue Reading
“ParaNorman” and the Fear of a Christian America
If there’s any group easier to be demonized by Hollywood, one would think it would be undead Religious Right activists.
A movie like this one is easy to lampoon. It’s filled with some cliches of the righteous outsider, the marginalized hero, the crusading moralists. But perhaps underneath all of that is a muffled cry for some conversation, from one guilty conscience to another, seeking for some way to break an old, old curse.
The Ultimate Hybrid
Co-ops are quietly changing the homeschooling landscape
Homeschool co-ops provide an attractive option for homeschooling parents: By partnering to create classes and activities that supplement their children's at-home curriculum, they combine the flexibility and privacy of traditional home education with the structure and socialization found in typical school settings
The Church’s Antipathy to Popular Music
Part 2 of the Christian church's history in relation to popular entertainment
Augustine criticizes the theater and public spectacles out of a personal confessional frame of mind since he participated in such debaucheries as a young man in Carthage. In his Confessions he asks why is it that in the theater a man desires to behold sorrows and tragedy which, if he actually experiences them, would make his miserable? Do we love the grief of others in order to be able to show mercy to them?
When parents ‘fail’
What do I do, what do I say when firstborns kill themselves and babies go astray?
To say, OK, God, I don't get this and this hurts like a burning fire and I hate it, but I'll trust you on this one. She called it her "shortcut through grief." Jan Karon, in her Mitford books, speaks of this very thing, calling it "The prayer that never fails: Not my will, but thine"
Fourteen Accusations Against Christianity Answered
4. Christianity is the only religion where another person (oops sorry. GOD) takes the blame for everyone else’s sins.
No other religion can satisfy God’s wrath. This is why the gospel is the love of God before mankind. He shows us that we are helpless, and then His Son voluntarily comes to earth to do what we cannot do. No other religion can come close to dealing with our sins, or reflecting God’s rich love toward His people
Who Is An “Evangelical Theologian?”
The problem, of course, is that “evangelical” has so many meanings
After all, there is no evangelical membership committee who decides who is and who is not truly evangelical. And who wants there to be? The only people I know who want there to be such want it to be they!
Parenting for Recovering Pharisees
I know how the self-righteous heart can look down on those who don't follow the rules.
I don't want my children to grow up with the heart of a Pharisee. I do want them to know the holiness of God. I want them to know all that he expects, what he commands, and what glorifies him. I also want them to realize that they can't perfectly obey him, and they need a Savior.