One of the great problems that is created by abdication by political leaders is that it unleashes forces it cannot control. When this starts to happen, the leaders (who have been grossly irresponsible) start lecturing the forces they have created on their duty to “be responsible.” That is, as they say, the icing on the …
On More on Piper/Warren
In yet another video clip related to Piper/Warren, I expand a bit on what I meant by a “prophetic willingness” on the part of pastors to address the sins of the age. On an unrelated note, many thanks to David R. in Japan. And on a third unrelated note, we all need to stop slandering …
A Crisis That Never Fades
“The message of the apostles was the God himself precipitated the historic crisis for the whole world, and for each and every person, by bringing Jesus back from the dead” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 113).
Elected Class President in a Terminal Cancer Ward
“When we refuse to be swept along with every new political excitement, when we learn that this has all happened many times before, we will have grown a measure in wisdom. As Augustine put it, in our great affairs, the dead are always replaced by the dying” (Joy at the End of the Tether, pp. …
Tax Cheats
When considering the subject of our duty to pay taxes, the Bible seems plain enough. But let’s consider the difference a few italics can make. “For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is …
A Needed Discussion
I have been having a web/audio sort of discussion about Christ and culture with Nelson Kloosterman, Bill Dennison, and Darryl Hart here. Some podcasts are already up. I just taped my last contribution, and new posts (from the different contributors) should go up once a week for the next month.
As In, Calm Down Everybody
I am not entirely certain, but it appears that Rick Warren tweeted about the first video clip that CanonWIRED put up about the Piper/Warren thing. Here is a second clip to add to the discussion. It is an attempt to be a calming voice in a debate where the voices tend to rise sharply — …
When Civilizations Are Baptized in Infancy
When theological folks dichotomize, they often do it without regard to the reality of time. And this causes no end of trouble. Given their assumptions about the political dualities of life, the anabaptist impulse to reject infant baptism is a shrewd one, because all these things are connected together. And infant baptism is a statement, …
The Prodigal Returns to a Ruin
In chapter 7, Peter describes his rediscovery of faith. But when he comes back to the Anglican church of his youth, he discovers the place greatly altered, and not for the better, because churchmen whose backbone had been carved out of a banana had been listening to the outside critics — critics who had shared …
Legalized Plunder
Here it is, in a nutshell. The state is either under authority or it is not. If the state is not under authority, it has no authority — only power. That means that prudence might dictate doing what they say, but conscience never could. So the only way conscience can direct the citizenry to obey …