In Chapter 9, Peter Hitchens begins to take on some of the standard arguments advanced by the new atheists. The first, their Goliath taunting the armies of Israel, is the charge that religion is the source of endless conflict. If we want deliverance from strife and sectarian violence, we must have a secular state. And …
Time for the World to Get Up
INTRODUCTION: The Incarnation of the Word, and the resurrection of that Word from the dead, has entirely remade the world. We fail to recognize this because we don’t understand history—and the way the world actually was before Christ came into it. But humanity lived through a long night indeed, and when Christ came, the sun …
Over You and Your Irritating Neighbor
The first thing that we learn about the Spirit of God in the Bible is that He hovered over matter. God the Father had spoken that matter into existence, and the Word which was powerfully spoken that way was God the Son, God the Word. And then the Spirit came, and He hovered over the …
Way Too Clever
Sometimes we are puzzled by the requirements of Scripture. For example, why would the apostle Paul have to caution the Corinthians in this way? “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed . . .” (1 Cor. 12:3a). Why would a group of Christians need …
Piperian Hedonism 3.0
The first thing to note is that John Piper has done the Church a valuable service in establishing the inescapability of hedonism in the well-tempered service of God. The point is hard for many Christians to swallow, but it is equally hard to avoid. On this subject, I would refer anyone with questions about it …
A Can Opener for the Peaches
“We are all familiar with the man who has everything. God frequently gives men many external blessings — without giving them the spiritual taste buds to enjoy what they have. This is a sore affliction from the Lord. If we understand the point here, we metaphorically see a man without any taste buds who can …
Hearing Is a Duty
“While God holds his ministers accountable for their preaching, he also expects his people to admit and deal with their own deficiencies in listening and responding to God’s Word” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p 209).
Scratching Their Watches
I was recently asked by a friendly fellow in the URC to read and comment on the URC report on the Federal Vision, which I have now done. Having read through it, I can only say that it appears to be the work of extraordinary animus, or extraordinary ignorance, and perhaps sometimes both. Update: Since …
Cultural Complexities
Chapter 4 of Hunter’s book is superb. In it, he describes what actual cultural change looks like, and he gives us this description in 11 propositions. It is superb, not because these 11 propositions cover everything, but rather because they reveal how much needs to be covered. I have a few yeah, buts, but I …
Science Fiction
{audio}ScienceFiction.mp3{/audio} Out of the primeval mudpits happened one-celled life (amoebic life!)And suddenly, for no reason at all, this life began to multiply (multiply!)And the evening and the morning were the first 3 zillion years.