Ten Simple Things Good Pastors Say
Editor’s Note: The Aquila Report introduces a new blogger to our family. This one is from Texas, educated in Middle Tennessee, and now pastors a thriving non-denominational community church in Vermont. 1. Please forgive me. Better than “I’m sorry,” which can often be followed with an “if” or a “but,” these words indicate a humble... Continue Reading
What Barth and Niebuhr Could Not Paper Over
The era of neo-orthodoxy and the heady tomes of Karl Barth and Reinhold Niebuhr appeared to steer the mainline Protestant churches from the excesses of liberal Protestantism. However, that theological era came to an end during the 1960s when the theologies of liberation and identity politics pushed aside the theological and ethical reflection of dead... Continue Reading
Renewing the Patriot Act: Who Will Protect Us from Our Government?
“It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”–Thomas Paine Those who founded this country knew quite well that every citizen must remain vigilant or freedom would be lost. This is the true nature of a patriot–one who sounds the clarion call when the Constitution is under attack. If, on... Continue Reading
Calvinism and the Case for Urgent Evangelism
Should a Calvinist be urgent about evangelism, missions and prayer, and do our actions in these areas really matter? That’s a question posed to me by several individuals in the last month, and I’d like to reflect on it. This question sometimes comes from Arminians who want to make the point that real human responsibility... Continue Reading
Profiles in Tolerance (Or Why We Should Never Tolerate Mike Adams again)
The logical incoherence of moralistic relativists can be annoying. But we need to show them toleration and acceptance. They didn’t choose to be sanctimonious hypocrites. They were probably born that way. Last month, I was standing at the podium getting ready to give a lecture when I noticed a young woman had her laptop computer... Continue Reading
The End is Near (like, this Saturday)? The False Teaching of Harold Camping
Harold Camping is now warning the world that the Day of Judgment will begin at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The 89-year-old founder of Family Radio has made such pronouncements before, most recently in 1994. He now says that he simply miscalculated then, but he is absolutely certain that he has the... Continue Reading
Osama Bin Laden and the Terror of Narcissism
Osama Bin Laden was wicked. Osama Bin Laden was feared. He was also, it turns out, kind of pathetic. Among the items American forces pulled out of the terrorist leader’s compound last week are videos of Bin Laden, wrapped in a blanket, watching himself on television. As ABCNews reports, the warlord is seen to be... Continue Reading
Biblical Counseling’s “Dirty” Words
Biblical counseling has a history of being picky about words. Sometimes it sounded as if we had our own version of George Carlin’s dirty word list. For example, off limits were terms like: self-esteem, needs, psychological, or any psychiatric diagnosis unless you were going to critique it a bit first. Well—we have our reasons. Our... Continue Reading
Religious Freedom and Bloodless Liver Transplants – The impact of Jehovah’s Witnesses on First Amendment law
A Kansas court rules on whether Medicaid should cover the alternative procedure for a Jehovah’s Witness. last week, a three-judge state appeals court panel ordered the state of Kansas to pay for Mary Stinemetz to have a liver transplant performed in neighboring Nebraska. The reason? Ms. Stinemetz is a Jehovah’s Witness who believes that blood... Continue Reading
This Is Not Good; Rob Bell’s classic old-school liberalism is just confused and unhelpful
I want to think Rob’s theology is better than what comes across in print. But the fact is that I never hear him in an interview (nor elsewhere for that matter) give an explanation of the gospel or a summary of the heart of Christianity that sounds anything like what we read from Peter, Paul,... Continue Reading