Christianity had a distinctive set of ethics.  Contrary to their Roman surroundings, Christians were committed certain practices that made them unique: they were against infant exposure/abandonment, they insisted that husbands should be sexually faithful to their wives (Romans typically allowed for a double standard where men were free to indulge sexually outside the marriage), and... Continue Reading

In volume five of his Works, John Owen wrote extensively about justification by faith alone.  After giving some Bible-based definitions of faith and justification, Owen brought up the Roman Catholic doctrine of double justification.  Rome teaches that a person’s first justification is based on infused grace, faith, and Christ’s work.  Second justification, for Rome, is... Continue Reading

“See here the evil of murmuring and complaining at our lot in the world. How quick are you to quarrel with God, as if he were in the wrong when his dealings with you are not according to your own desires and wishes? You demand a reason, and call God to an account, ‘Why am... Continue Reading

Women are less visual, and so less attracted to the internet pornography that is irresistible to men. For women, visual pornography should be considered a light beer while the emotionally charged “pornmance” novel is 70-proof liquor, hard-core pornography.   Every year, pornography tangles up millions of people in its sticky spider webs. It rolls them... Continue Reading

“Certainly we shall never be finally and wholly forsaken, because Christ was forsaken for us. Now we may think of God without discomfort, and of sin without despair. Now we may think of the law of death, the curse and all, and never be terrified – why? Christ our surety hath given full content of... Continue Reading

Yes, Haykin provides biographical details, but his purpose is less to recount the character’s life than to point to her faith and to the way she grew and served during her lifetime. He means to show the vital importance of women for the life and health of the Christian church. He does not merely describe... Continue Reading

Faith to Foster isn’t a how-to guide—although the practical tips are there. It’s not a self-righteous “look at what we’ve done,” memoir—although, what they’ve done is remarkable. It’s an invitation to peek inside the Menn’s home to see what it looks like for a young couple to take a step of faith and care for... Continue Reading

Interestingly, both in my conversations with poor blacks and whites, there’s a recognition of the role of better choices in addressing these problems.  The refusal to talk about individual agency is in some ways a consequence of a very detached elite, one too afraid to judge and consequently too handicapped to really understand.  At the... Continue Reading

It may seem interesting and even spiritual to reenact ancient Jewish feasts and meals, but doing so is actually going back to the copies and shadows of the old covenant which is obsolete (Heb 8: 5, 13).  As Hebrews makes very clear, you can’t have the old and the new together – the old is... Continue Reading

“Nobody had written a full-length study of it, but most recent histories agreed that early evangelicals challenged the South’s honor culture, especially the violence, drinking, and rigid hierarchies or gender, race, and class that were integral to it.”   I recently had a chance to interview Robert Elder, assistant professor of history at Valparaiso University,... Continue Reading