So I have been using the phrase mere Christendom. What does the mere mean? First we need to address what it does not mean. It does not mean Christendom Lite. It does not mean “faith-based” civilization, the same way you might have faith-based soup kitchens, with the content of the faith being diluted enough to …
The Rough Edges of Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Constantine
In his last chapter, “Toward a New City Commons,” Hunter takes Jer. 29:4-7 as his key text, wherein the Jews in exile were told to seek the peace of the city they would inhabit for a time. “Clearly it would have been justifiable for the Jews to be hostile to their captors. It also would …
Plays Well With Others Leadership
Hunter says many things that sound quite good, and it is not surprising that he has gotten good reviews from around the Reformed and evangelical world. After all, what Kuyperian could take issue with this? “In short, faithful presence in practice is the exercise of leadership in all spheres and all levels of life and …
The Straight Skinny
As your gird up your loins for the November congressional elections, and as you are looking for the straight skinny on what has happened to us, I would suggest that you take the time to read the whole thing. This reminds us, as we need to be reminded constantly, that Republicans are not the answer. …
Getting a Little Constantinian Shalom Going
In his next chapter, Hunter sketches his theology of “faithful presence.” He begins by making a strong connection between presence and place. “Rather, in every instance, God’s word was enacted and enacted in a particular place and time in history. In all, presence and place mattered decisively. Nowhere is this more evident than in the …
The Ministry of Fundraising
INTRODUCTION:We have noted before that the book of Romans is a fundraising letter. The fact that it is so strikingly different from modern Christian fundraising letters tells us all we need to know about the attitude of the modern church to money . . . and to the gospel. THE TEXT:“For which cause also I …
Simplicity and the Feast
In a number of places, the New Testament describes this meal as a feast, as a festival. In Jude, the saints are told to avoid the immoral men who defile their love feasts (Jude 12; 2 Pet. 2:13). Paul tells the Corinthians to get rid of the yeast of malice and wickedness as they observe …
Humanity Divided
As the people of God, we are called to be the people of God. This reality is the reality of the antithesis. It is the constant and unrelenting desire of the secularists to blur and muddy the antithesis, and it is one of our fundamental duties to maintain it. God spoke at the beginning of …
Weak Knees and Drooping Hands
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 are glad that You are the God who forgives, …
Born for the Clerihew
My fourth bit of advice for aspiring writers was this: “Stretch before your routines. If you want to write short stories, try to write Italian sonnets. If you want to write a novel, write a few essays. If you want to write opinion pieces for The Washington Post, then limber up with haiku.” As with …