I thought it might be helpful to also revisit the more optimistic voices within in the practice of textual criticism.  One key question is whether the original text has been lost entirely (and thus appears in none of our manuscripts), or whether our manuscripts (at least somewhere) contain the original text.  Here are just a... Continue Reading

Christmas should not only remind us of what did happen, incredible as it is. It should also remind us that because of what did happen, we can look forward to what will happen. The second coming will finish the work that the first coming established. A good Christmas carol will remind us that looking back... Continue Reading

Stubbornness is seen in slowness to repent. Any and all delay in repentance is the stubbornness God graciously warns us against. How many times do you need to hear that particular sermon before you run to God for forgiveness and help? How many times do you need to be confronted with particular sins or sinful... Continue Reading

That brings me back to the differences in the sexes. These traits follow us into adulthood, marriage, and parenting. There are things my wife does that I just can’t. She happily jumps up in the middle of the night at the slightest cry. I lay there groaning. On the flip side, she has no yearning... Continue Reading

Thorpe’s view of spirituality is problematic because it is epistemically unsustainable. If we are responsible for developing our own spirituality, how can one be sure he is worshipping the creator? What is the creator? Does the creator tell me to love all people, or does he tell me to kill all of the infidels? How... Continue Reading

How can we love our Savior?  Let’s begin with prayer and ask the Lord to show us how, especially as we read his Word.  The Bible isn’t just about other people, no matter how strange they are.  God had it written for us, that we might know him.  From beginning to end it’s about people... Continue Reading

Just how does God’s Word nourish our souls? Have you ever sat down and read a portion of the Bible, risen from your seat, and not been able to remember anything you read, except perhaps the book you read from? How does that happen? It’s because we read without engaging our minds. Just by exposing... Continue Reading

“The Old Testament offers us several examples of leaders who “understood the times” in which they lived and knew “what time it was” biblically. The New Testament adds the element of living in the “time between the times,” in the already / not yet of God’s kingdom. Knowing where we are in the grand sweep of history, according... Continue Reading

“The underbelly of revival?” We must not think in deterministic categories, but reflect on the biblical narratives of times of great blessing, even though great evils attend them, and learn, too, from the history of the church. On each of the topics on which I have briefly reflected, there is a sort of “yes, but”... Continue Reading

This is not a new problem. In the pages of the New Testament both Paul and Peter labor to describe the man who is qualified to the office of elder. It is noteworthy that almost all of these qualifications are related to character. Where we are drawn to outward skill, God cares far more for... Continue Reading