Faithfully Present
Book Review: Ramsey talks about the two kinds of limitations that all of us face: location and time.
Ramsey’s book is not one that taught me anything new. Instead, it’s a book that reminds me of a Puritan work. It takes a couple of significant thoughts and turns them over slowly in our minds, teasing out the implications in a way that can change our lives. Ramsey deals first with the limitations of... Continue Reading
Southern Presbyterians and the Roots of American Philosemitism
Southern Presbyterians displayed an early and pronounced streak of philosemitism in an era when Jewish life in the United States could still be precarious.
Like other southern Presbyterians—James Henley Thornwell, Daniel Baker, and John B. Adger among others all recorded marked sympathy for Jews in their writings—Palmer displayed noticeable philosemitism in an era when Jews were still routinely persecuted in Roman Catholic and Islamic societies, as well as in Lutheran monarchies in Europe. In the inaugural volume of The... Continue Reading
Providence and Empire
An Augustinian Case: The Fact of Empire
So why does God give Rome its empire? As I mentioned earlier, Augustine thinks part of the answer is that Rome was the best option on offer. But he goes further. He argues that Roman leaders and society had a love for their city and empire that was noble if flawed. As opposed to rulers... Continue Reading
The Devoted Mind
Seeking God's Face in a World of Distraction—Book Review
The purpose of Lundgaard’s book is to draw our attention to the Beloved—to the triune God. It is to draw our attention to Him, not so we can admire Him from a safe and comfortable distance, but so we can truly draw near to Him. We make a lot of all the distractions that... Continue Reading
What to Expect When Battling Sin
Always remember that you are to follow God’s instructions in dealing with it.
While the battle is long and fierce, “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.” Therefore we should expect to see frequent successes shown in significant and measurable victories over our sin. “Frequent success against any lust is another part and evidence of mortification. By success I understand not... Continue Reading
Distinctives of Puritan Preaching: Dignity
The Puritan preacher saw his office as one of dignity and importance, character and content.
Puritan minister did not spare his pulpit efforts. He preached for an hour or two once or twice and sometimes three times a week—that is, always once or twice on Sundays, often at a week-day lecture, and occasionally on days of fasting, of thanksgiving, and election. His sermon content was based directly on the Bible,... Continue Reading
The Marquis de Sade – the Progressive Prophet?
For progressives, when they get their values, it’s like drinking salt water. Their thirst is never satisfied.
For de Sade culture is relative. You can trust only yourself and your feelings – especially your sexual desires. They are your authentic self so you must do what you want and live your own truth. Freud accepted Sade’s proposition that sexual identity is fundamental to your identity and that it is bad to suppress... Continue Reading
Discernment and Judging
Yes we must discern and we must judge.
Jesus prohibits a critical spirit, but does not forbid all use of the critical faculty. To follow Jesus, we must therefore discover why he says, “Judge not,” in Matthew 7, but says, “Judge with right judgment,” in John 7. Notice first that Jesus tells His disciples to make judgments in the very chapter that says “Judge... Continue Reading
Scholasticism for Evangelicals: Thoughts on “All That Is in God” by James Dolezal
Until a better way appears (perhaps in the new Heavens and new Earth) I intend to follow the biblical depictions of the Father, Son, and Spirit as a holy family, both in Heaven and on Earth, analogous to our earthly families, with a unity far beyond what any society of human beings is capable of.
I am grateful to God for giving to James Dolezal substantial gifts of theological knowledge and intelligence. But insofar as he desires to convict most of his colleagues of heresy, I cannot join him on the side of the prosecution. Rather, I am hoping that in time Dolezal will develop a more mature way of... Continue Reading
Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age
Book Review: Samuel James’, Digital Liturgies, is meant to help you think about these technologies and the social internet they enable.
The heart of the book is comprised of five chapters that each address a different digital liturgy. Here James means to help us understand both the content our technologies are preaching to us and the ideologies they are fostering within us. “The question is not, Is this technology shaping me right now? The question is,... Continue Reading
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