Defending the Idol
The Enneagram IS the idol.
It is unfortunate that Pastor Zach Tyler and so many other Enneagram proponents have embraced and defended this idol as a spiritual tool through which the word of God is interpreted. Can a Christian honestly accept concepts like “shaman, shamanism, magic songs, altered states of consciousness, animal or nature spirits, channeling, hallucinogens, shamanic soul restoration,... Continue Reading
All Proposed Reparations Plans Are Based on Simplistic History
Reparations aren’t based on truth nor do they serve justice.
Omitting verifiable facts from American history silently, but powerfully abets, contributes to, and supports calls for reparations. For that reason, and given the breadth of reparation proposals, they become nothing more than entitlements based on skin color alone. Reparations to descendants of slaves is a complex issue and one burdened with pros and cons.... Continue Reading
Transgression Is Passé
Modern culture is bankrupt and unable to offer anything even approximating a positive vision for humanity.
Nietzsche noted it takes a long time for societies to grasp the significance of the death of God. But we are surely at that point now. Our artistic class makes that very clear, and so it is time to put these artists in the dock: We get it. You hate Christianity and the Western cultures... Continue Reading
How Shall We Then Live?: A Response to David Cassidy’s “Prayer and Work in the Face of Violence”
The Church is to engage in spiritual warfare; the tools that God has given it: sacraments, prayer, and the preaching of the Word, are sufficient for it to prevail.
I humbly suggest that the problem is not “gun violence.” Gun violence is a symptom, not the problem. The problem is sin. This is not to minimize the results of violence; it is to diagnose the problem from a Biblical point of view. I have heard from several quarters a similar refrain, “We need... Continue Reading
The Two-Kingdoms Theology and Christians Today
2K theology is both less than biblical and less than faithful to the decided weight of the Reformed tradition
First, the kingdom of God and the institutional church are wrongly equated by 2K advocates. There is a rough consensus among New Testament scholars that the kingdom of God is a much more comprehensive reality than the institutional church, and this misidentification of the church and the kingdom has all sorts of unfortunate results, such... Continue Reading
The Simplicity of Biblical Polity: Also known as Presbyterianism
We often talk about simple, ordinary means of grace worship; it is time to talk about simple, ordinary means of grace structure—aka Presbyterianism
Ministry models that expand widely (or veer wildly) beyond the ordinary means of grace and diaconal care require specialists, coordinators, directors, apparatchiks…and structures. Titles and quasi-offices multiply at least sevenfold. Different conceptions of the church’s mission actually produce different types of churches. This creates difficulties in a connectional denomination where common order is the basis... Continue Reading
The Viral Kids Are Not OK
How the Creation of Social Media is Affecting Children on the Other Side of the iPhone
On one hand, this kind of content, showing happy families living happy lives, appeals to a lot of people and is an improvement in a culture that often treats marriage, kids, and family life like obstacles to “real” happiness. On the other hand, “momfluencer” culture can be exploitative of kids and the audience who are led to believe... Continue Reading
A “Religion of No Efficacy”
Not only does a politicized religion fail to carry with it the virtues of the genuine article, it actively encourages the opposite vices.
Do politicians in pulpits, megachurch campaign rallies, Bible photo-ops, and governors “claiming” their states for Jesus make it more likely that the American public will express “humility and gratitude before God,” as the National Conservatives hope? Or do such public displays merely signal all the more clearly that the religion being practiced is a creation of... Continue Reading
A Resilient Church on the Fringe
The world of the twentieth century is passing away and the institutional arrangements that have undergirded the church will need to alter in the face of this.
The idea is to take an existing church and alter it so that it can be lean, effective, and build owned space. The goals are to make the institutional church cheaper, more agile, and more effective, whilst making the Christian community more resilient in the face of hostility and change. Strategic Thinking for the... Continue Reading
Polygamy (or Something Like It) Rises
Plural marriage is inferior for raising children and for maintaining marital harmony, but most of all it promotes adult sexual self-expression rather than the good of children.
Reconceiving of marriage in terms of “self-expression” has been a terrible, value-laden mistake, betraying the pretensions to liberal neutrality. Plural marriage is inferior for raising children and for maintaining marital harmony; but most of all, in today’s climate, it creates a culture dedicated to adult sexual self-expression rather than the good of children and deep... Continue Reading
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