In these songs of Christmas, Jesus is described as a kind of “death camp liberator.” How does he accomplish this? By his extraordinary coming (incarnation), his righteous life and sacrifice on the cross (atonement for our sins), his victory over death (resurrection), and promised return (second advent). This has not been a typical December for... Continue Reading

But we also praise you for the quietness of your birth. Any other king would’ve come with great fanfare, a royal entourage and muscle-flexing pride. But you came into our world in utter weakness and with profound humility. “No room in the inn” wasn’t an insult to you. It was your choice, your plan, the... Continue Reading

I maintain their liberty to do that (apart from tree worship or the introduction of a mythical figure who is the giver of all good gifts, who is the example of the spirit that we should all have, and who somehow observes us all to judge our morality–anyone that cannot see that santa is an... Continue Reading

“They have no natural curiosity for the historical past and high art, and if no respected elder introduces them to Romanticism and the French Revolution, they’ll rarely find such things on their own. With the read-write-film-view-browse-message-buy-sell Web, adolescent users govern their own expose, and the didactic and artistic content of smarter sites flies by unseen... Continue Reading

In the context of taking up the issue of why the Jews had largely rejected the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, Paul the Apostle says that the righteousness based on faith is what saves (Rom. 10:5-8). From there Paul defines what he means by faith that saves (Rom. 10:9-10). He says saving... Continue Reading

It is improper English to say something is more better than something else. We’re not allowed to speak like that.. But the Greeks did not have a problem with that particular grammatical expression. In fact what is written in the text, Paul says, “For me to depart is much more better.” Not just better, not... Continue Reading

The story is simple: Saturday Night Live did a parody of Tim Tebow’s faith and his six-game winning streak by having Jesus actually show up and tell Tebow that He couldn’t keep helping the team win in the fourth quarter the way that He did for the last six games. You can see the video... Continue Reading

…just because we cannot and should not point fingers at each other regarding the problem of celebrity does not mean that we shouldn’t carefully consider the ramifications of pastoral influence being mediated through technology instead of the local church. There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere this year about the rise of “celebrity... Continue Reading

Before I met my wife, Becky, I talked to her on the phone for three weeks. Had I said to her, “I’m carrying around in my pocket a photograph of another woman, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of you,” she would not have been flattered (the word “nutcase” comes to... Continue Reading

The church of Jesus Christ has assembled on the first day of the week for over 2,000 years. Brothers and sisters in parts of the world meet secretly on the first day of the week and sometimes in threat of their lives while some — in some need to be edgy — jump on the... Continue Reading