Setting to work with his typical zeal, Luther soon had matches or suitable circumstances arranged for all but one of the runaway nuns, spunky twenty-six-year-old Katharina von Bora. After several failed attempts—picky Katharina turned down several offers of marriage—she laughed off an aged candidate with the quip that she would rather marry Luther than Dr.... Continue Reading

But, apparently book banning is back in vogue.  Dr. John Kutsko, executive director of the Society of Biblical Literature, has just proposed that InterVarsity Press–one of the largest evangelical presses in the country– be suspended from having a book stall at the annual SBL meeting (starting in 2017). The reason for this ban is the... Continue Reading

“Whether we’re praising or we’re praying, there are certainly numerous biblical examples of repeating the same words to God. Worship leaders use repetition as a tool to let important proclamations and/or petitions not just fly by without the intentionality they might warrant.”   One universal criticism of contemporary worship songs and the flannel-shirted people who... Continue Reading

The morally deficient fool. “Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel” (20:3). This brand of fool is even worse than the obstinate one. This one outs himself the moment he opens his mouth because his words show him to be utterly deficient in goodness and grace. He... Continue Reading

“Journalism’s emphasis on what is provably factual — vote totals, stock prices, batting averages — left most reporters and editors leery of the ineffable, inchoate qualities of religion. To the degree that mainstream American journalism gradually rose to the task in later decades, it did so by erroneously trying to comprehend religion through the prism... Continue Reading

“‘I have sought,’ she says, ‘him whom my soul loves’ (Sg 3:1). This is what the kindness of Him who goes before you urges you to do, He who both sought you first and loved you first (1 Jn 4:10). You would not be seeking Him or loving Him unless you had first been sought... Continue Reading

“The debate surrounding so-called ‘exclusive psalmody’ is both interesting and important. It revolves in large part around the idea of there being a ‘Regulative Principle’ in public worship and how it ought to be understood and implemented.”   Too many churches never sing the psalms in public worship. Despite the fact the two direct injunctions... Continue Reading

One very helpful addition to Logos 7 is the fact that when you do a passage/verse study using the “Passage Guide,” the search includes systematic theologies, biblical theologies, confessional documents, and more.  What is this?  Well, today I was looking up Jeremiah 29:13.  Using the Passage Guide I could find where this verse was mentioned... Continue Reading

Having read the book I am now not sure whether this is a book review or an online self-understanding counselling session. You see, to me at least, this is not just a book. It’s not even a poem of bereavement. It is so much more than that. It is a dark lament. A lament of... Continue Reading

The Present at the Expense of the Eternal In the chapter on taking Jesus’s message seriously, the researchers say “there was very little focus on going to heaven and hardly any talk of hell. Salvation was a major theme, but a kind of salvation that is more focused on life in the present than something... Continue Reading