We should never expect a fair shake, nor whine when it is not given. We are not to play the victim. That is disloyalty to Christ. “Followers of Christ flinch at times from the pain of wounds and the smart of slights,” Os Guinness wrote, “but that cost is in the contract of the way... Continue Reading

The political problem, of course, is that this expressive individualism that allows, even requires, that we create our own identities and destinies is still limited by notions of harm, as the executive order makes clear. Any form of social organization that denies or challenges the identity of transgender people is by definition discriminating against them. And... Continue Reading

What will fall next? Will it be the taboo on incest? Will it be the taboo on pedophilia? I hope the taboo on neither falls, but I think we have to accept that the conceptual framework for holding those things in place has long since vanished. So be shocked, but do not be surprised. If... Continue Reading

Romans had blamed Christianity for their Capitol’s fall to Visigoths in A.D. 410. Augustine’s response was to show Rome that what ailed her was not the onslaught of barbarians, but their own torrential downward rush into immorality. Romans needed not only to return to the cardinal virtues that once made them great, but to overcome... Continue Reading

“There’s some speech that definitely provides no value and some speech that could even be harmful for society, but who gets to make those determinations? Who gets to draw that line? And when you’re somebody that’s perched in Silicon Valley, and you’re woke, and you believe George Washington and Abraham Lincoln should be removed from... Continue Reading

“When I remember God, I moan, when I meditate, my spirit faints. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak” (vv. 3–4). He moans, yes. But he moans in faith . . . to God. His complaint does not flow from unbelief, but is evidence of an active faith—faith that... Continue Reading

God doesn’t want us prognosticating, but God does have something He wants us to do, no matter what time we’re living in. We don’t know how soon the end will be. But the beauty of this parable from Jesus is that it tells us what to do whether the end is minutes or centuries from... Continue Reading

Classic Western literature, from Homer to Shakespeare, Mark Twain and even Harper Lee, is now being canceled, much in the same way that the Islamic State group and early Christians destroyed ancient statues that offended them.   When I was a boy about 11, I committed a crime that changed my life. I stole a book.... Continue Reading

In 2020, 39% of Americans agreed that their religious leaders had high or very high “honesty and ethical standards.” While that figure lies slightly above the record low of 37% reached in 2018, trust in clergy has decreased considerably from the record high it achieved more than 30 years earlier.   Public trust in American... Continue Reading

Though we may not have all the answers for every question of situational ethics, of this much we can be sure: The Westminster Standards address many of the significant theological and practical matters for Christian discipleship better than we could on our own. If we are to equip congregants to be sound in the faith,... Continue Reading