Origen and Augustine offered Christ-centered controlling parameters, too. Nevertheless, when they stepped away from the objectivity of the human author’s intent, it was a slow, slippery slope into subjectivism. The end-game of subjectivism nearly always leads us to the same terrible place: An inherent or outright denial of the sufficiency of Scripture. Their proposal is... Continue Reading

This is all about preventing people getting the help they are desperately seeking. This is also all about the criminalisation of Christianity. And it is easy to do: simply label all real deal Christians as haters, call the Bible a book of hate speech, and refer to prayer as a hate-filled practice, right up there... Continue Reading

When we say we are “saved,” we must be clear on what we need to be saved from. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9). Are we content, as Richard Niebuhr so memorably put it, with the theology... Continue Reading

Trauma has a tendency to run away from healing, especially if we have not cultivated a discipline of lament. We aren’t a very emotionally healthy people so collective trauma is going to have far-reaching consequences for us as a people. And the church, sadly, rather than helping is usually part of the puppet show. But... Continue Reading

I mention this because too many Christians behave and speak obnoxiously at times, and then when the world responds with hatred, we automatically attribute that hatred to our faithfulness to Christ. I know I’ve been guilty of speaking in an obnoxious way at times. If I do that, I shouldn’t be surprised at a negative... Continue Reading

Though sex is a wonderful and sacred aspect of marriage, there is much more than a linkage of two bodies. A whole marriage also joins the souls of two people so there is a harmonization of their minds, emotions, and wills. Even more important is the union of spirit in which they share a strong... Continue Reading

Randall said he became alarmed when staff were instructed during the training session to chant “smash heteronormativity,” and told that gender identity is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.  He says that when he raised concerns, he was told by the head teacher that he would be involved in any decision on whether the... Continue Reading

The cultural fruit of Christendom in the West, though sometimes overripe and worm-eaten, still stands to remind us that the gospel cannot help but transform. This process will continue amid trial, triumph, and setback until the return of Christ as he puts his spiritual enemies under his feet (1 Cor. 15:25). These enemies include such... Continue Reading

Opposition without opportunity can be disheartening, even crippling, for pastors and churches. Opportunity without opposition can be unhealthy, even dangerous, for pastors and churches. But, in God’s wisdom, opportunity and opposition often come together. The opportunity fires the heart before God in the teeth of the opposition. The opposition bows the heart before God in... Continue Reading

 Jesus is not merely God’s son by virtue of creation or adoption. As it belongs to the nature of a fig tree to bear figs, so it belongs to the nature of God to beget a divine Son. In claiming to be the Father’s natural-born Son, Jesus claims to share the Father’s power to heal on the Sabbath and, by... Continue Reading