Having urged aspiring writers to try their hand at many different forms of the writer’s art, I must now introduce a necessary cautionary note. Competence in one area is not something that transfers automatically to another. Examples of those who have failed to recognize this crowd instantly into our minds. The fact that Michael Jordan …
TransAtlantic Transplant
“As the Puritans came to America, certain changes were inevitable. It was not possible to build a new ‘nation’ without building a new national identity as well . . . The character exhibitied by intrepid explorers and hardy settlers is a type of character that cannot be content with mere duplication of old forms in …
And Continues With Gathering Force
“The glory of Zion is revealed with the gathering in of all the nations of the earth and the homage of even the Gentile kings. For Paul Christian preaching is nothing less than the proclamation that this age has come. The Scriptures have been fulfilled” (Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures, …
Beyond Sad
Last week I commented briefly on this post by Scott Clark. Since that time I have thought about it some more, and wanted to make some follow-up comments. That the whole thing was about as out of line as it gets was revealed in how Scott Clark has handled the comments afterwards. When the original …
Sex Doll Android Upgrades
Let us imagine a particular woman, residing in Beverly Hills, and she is quite attractive in that prefab way that some women have. But her remarkable tan is fake bake, and her hair is a species of blonde not found in nature. Thirty percent of her chest area comes to us courtesy of chemical researchers …
Readings for Advent
A year or two ago, a number of CREC ministers contributed to a collection of Advent readings. The day after Thanksgiving my friend Randy Booth will be posting those readings here. So be sure to bookmark the page, and work through Advent that way.
Walls and Bridges
“But this is a time for building walls, wall that will keep this error out of our churches. Bridges are good when you want to cross. Walls are good when you want to keep the freezing rain out of your living room” (“Sola Scriptura, Creeds, and Ecclesiastical Authority” in When Shall These Things Be? p. …
Straight Up the Middle
“Today the principle that faith comes by hearing counters the idea that church growth is just a matter of sociology or demographics or something programmed by church administrators. Evangelism is not a matter of psychology and especially not mass psychology. Neither is it a matter of communication techniques or how to win friends and influence …
The Wine of Astonishment
INTRODUCTION: This psalm begins in a disastrous period in Israel’s history, and ends with disaster for her enemies and foes. It begins with Israel drinking the wine of astonishment at her peril and impending calamity, and ends with Moab and Edom thrown down. It begins with Israel facing potential disaster, and ends with her enemies …
Not Showered From a Distance
We often read the words of God, we see the words of grace, and we read and repeat them often. But what is happening when we mouth the words of grace, but a gracious spirit is far from us? We read the words, but we fail to understand what kind of paper the words are …