In his lectures, George Grant has recently been highlighting the remarkable work of Thomas Chalmers, the great Scottish theologian and preacher of the last century. At the center of that work was the concept of “parish.” We frequently start our discussions at the wrong end. Say for example that we bring up the issue of …
Gold is Heavy, and Hard to Carry
By now all those who have been following the Federal Vision situation in the PCA will have heard that the General Assembly of the PCA approved the report by the study committee. That was not what we were praying for, and so I thought I needed to make just a couple of brief comments here. …
The Great Knox
In the providence of God, John Knox was a nation builder. But he was emphatically not what we would call a political operative. He was no coalition builder, no maker or shaper of consensus. He knew nothing of polls, but if he had, he would have despised them. He probably never took a personality test …
Because They Did Not Eat the Fat, or Drink the Sweet
The covenant sanctions include fearsome curses. This section is significantly longer than the blessings, but given the situation the warnings are to the point. This section is not so much an argument as it is a painted picture—it contains a good deal of repetition. These are warnings, not proofs. The proof comes in the judgment. …
Photo Negative Guilt
“There is a tendency to equate and then invert the behavior of the perpetrators of violence and that of their victims, so that self-defense is misrepresented as aggression while the original violence is viewed sympathetically as understandable and even justified” (Melanie Phillips, Londonistan, p. 72).
Tissue Thin Armor
“The idea that because a man is learned, especially in subjects appertaining to religion, he is therefore secure from the seductions of worldliness is a fallacy” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 60).
Telos and Propriety
“Superior music is inferior in some settings. Inferior music is inferior in some settings. Music that is poorly done within the constraints of each genre is bad music and shouldn’t be tolerated anywhere. Thus, we have good and bad superior music and good and bad inferior music. And surrounding all such distinctions we have the …
PCA at the Crossroads
Please be praying for the PCA. This afternoon they will be considering the Federal Vision issue. Or, more accurately, they will be considering what some people deem to be the Federal Vision issue. Unfortunately, depending on the outcome, there are accurate names connected to inaccurate summaries of doctrine, and so this really is a crossroads …
A Culture’s Prow
We live in a time when most believers have less understanding of the cultural impact of preaching than did some unbelievers of another era. For example, Herman Melville once wrote, “What could be more full of meaning? — for the pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the …
Lies and the Short Term Thinker
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 121 “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel” (Prov. 20:17). Sin likes to think short term. This is because short term thinking is attractive, with instantaneous rewards, no real reason …