Book I/Chapter 11 Books of the Unlearned (section 5) 1. Who first argued that images are books for the unlearned? 2. What is the problem with this argument? 3. What scriptural passages show this? Contrary Opinions (section 6) 1. Who among the early fathers differed with Gregory’s view? 2. What early church council prohibited images …
The Tyranny of Relativism
I ran across this great observation in the latest edition of The New Criterion. The issue was a symposium on what Pope Benedict called, shortly before his election as pope, the “dictatorship of relativism.” That pregnant phrase almost says it all. At any rate, William Stace said, and I would echo it with bells on, …
What the World Pants After
Book I/Chapter 11 Pictorial Representation (section 1) 1. What does Scripture everywhere contrast God with? 2. What does the world pant after? 3. What corrupts the glory of God? 4. Why were the Greeks “not as bad” as the rest? God’s Being (section 2) 1. What did God make a point of telling the Hebrews …
The World’s Last Conservative Cook
Once there was a man who didn’t believe in flipping hamburgers when he was barbequing. As a result, his wife didn’t ask him to cook very often, but sometimes he would just volunteer, and then, there everybody was. The result of his unique approach was, of course, that either a hamburger was charred on one …
Letting the Wine Affect Us
The first mention of wine in the Bible is on the occasion of Noah’s drunkenness. The last mention of wine in the Bible is in the context of a condemnation of Babylon’s luxuriousness. It is not really surprising that many Christians have come to regard wine with suspicion. Other drinks are safer, less wild, less …
Sins Against Women
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Father, we confess to You now that the Islamic nations of …
On Losing Your Shirt Like a Christian
We are far enough into this meltdown that we are starting to see its effects on individuals, and this of course includes individuals in the church. We are talking about layoffs, losses in retirement accounts, housing investments going south, and all the rest of it. If Christians are called to understand the times they are …
On Not Watching the Punch and Judy Show
As Obama is settling in to doing his thing, a couple of observations. The first is that Obama is a very different kind of slick than Bill Clinton was. Clinton’s was more a function of greasiness than anything else. Obama is disciplined, sharp, shrewd, and fully capable of coopting thin veneer conservatives. And all the …
What Is Enough For Us?
Book I/Chapter 10 The Creator God (section 1) 1. What should it be enough for us to do? The Attributes of God (section 2) 1. What attributes are announced by God’s name? 2. What three things about God are necessary for us to know? Heathen Knowledge (section 3) 1. How can we know that the …
Simple Unbelief
We have already considered the verb that expressed unbelief (apisteo), and the noun apistia is obviously related Jesus did not do many miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief (Matt. 13:58; Mk. 6:6). The disciples were unable to cast out a particularly stubborn demon because of their unbelief (Matt. 17:20). It is striking that …