When Evil Is Unmasked
Andrea Long Chu’s New York essay reveals the true motivation behind trans activism.
From Ryan Anderson to Jesse Singal, all were guilty in Chu’s eyes of “compassion-mongering” and “gatekeeping,” disagreeing only on “how the gate is to be kept.” Maybe trans “affirmation” surgery would make some people happy, and maybe it wouldn’t, but for Chu, that wasn’t the point. The point was that “surgery’s only prerequisite should be... Continue Reading
Cru Employees Fired
The Christian campus ministry dismissed Uriah and Marissa Mundell after they publicly voiced concern over its LGBT policies.
Last year, after completing the ministry’s new mandatory sexuality training, the Mundells, who are both 42, said they raised concerns with their supervisors, the human resources department, and other Cru leaders, including the director of theological development, Keith Johnson. Each time, they said, their concerns were dismissed. The Mundells questioned whether it is Scriptural for Cru... Continue Reading
I Am One of The Eighty-Five Percent Who Did Not Persist in Pastoral Ministry
Pride had rooted and replaced the gospel in my own heart and how I led the ministry.
After 4 years of wrestling with burnout, supported by loved ones and guided by mentors, I stand even more firm in Jesus’s gospel and love, although I am not ready to go back to ministry. Nevertheless, I can testify to God’s faithfulness amid these trials. He has brought healing in my first church, to my wife... Continue Reading
Dr. James Naismith: Sports Innovator and Army Chaplain
James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891. He was also a Presbyterian minister, a chaplain in the Army National Guard, and a chaplain in France during World War I.
After completing his studies at Presbyterian College, he came to the United States to teach physical education at the YMCA International Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that he devised the rules for a new game, one that could be played indoors during winter – basketball. WASHINGTON (March 24,... Continue Reading
Phyllis Schlafly’s Tragic Failure
Her failure reveals more about America than her shortcomings.
Schlafly was beautiful, brilliant, unconventional, hated by her enemies. She may be better than most anyone today. Still, for all her greatness, Schlafly was fighting a rear-guard action that ultimately failed as it took too much for granted to work in her own time (and in ours). Hers was the work of the positive world... Continue Reading
What God Is Jordan Peterson Wrestling With?
Jordan Peterson knows something about reaching people in our age that the church can learn from.
There are some things that Christians could learn about how Jordan Peterson engages so successfully with his audience. First, lean into reenchantment. This is a big reason why the Eastern Orthodox church has such an appeal today. Hyper-rationalistic Protestant theology or the emotion laden evangelical style don’t speak to this longing to reconnect with an enchanted world.... Continue Reading
“Society Says” Relativism
Ethics can’t be explained by culture because it’s a moral rule that applies to culture.
Moral reformers typically judge society from the inside. They challenge their culture’s standard of behavior and then campaign for change. If morality is defined as the present society’s standard, though, then challenging that standard would be an act of immorality by definition. Social reformers would not be moral after all, but rather moral outcasts precisely... Continue Reading
The Struggle for Soul in Christian Higher Education: Burtchaell Was Right, and I Was Wrong, Part I
Only the orthodox will survive, and they will have to take care.
After some positive comments about the St. Olaf of the 90s, he mysteriously pronounced that: “Other indicia suggest the Midwest college is entering a divestiture of its Lutheran identity that, though much longer in coming, could be swifter in its eventual accomplishment.” Other schools—Azuza Pacific and Calvin—were assessed quite positively, but Burtchaell had little confidence in... Continue Reading
Patrick, Missionary to Ireland
When one reads Patrick’s Confession it is obvious that he knew Scripture and used it to teach the Irish about the Triune God and the gracious atonement accomplished by the Son.
It is good to remember Patrick of Ireland and his contribution to church history, but he should not be remembered through the “carousing and drunkenness” often associated with March 17. Instead, “the Lord Jesus Christ” should be put on in faith with “no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” These words from... Continue Reading
Bernard of Clairvaux and Mysticism
As the pages of On Loving God unfold, Bernard fully endorses reflecting on and contemplating the love of God.
Bernard represents a refreshing spring in the arid environs of medieval theology. It would be a few centuries yet until the Reformers would come along and be used by God to help the church find its way. But we can, like those Reformers, be appreciative of this medieval monk and his writings. One has... Continue Reading