“Envy cannot be assuaged any more than cancer can be; they are both pathologies whose very being requires expansion to their neighbor’s territory. There is no fence that will ever be respected, no limitation that will be recognized as legitimate, no sense of proportion or humility sufficient to smother a sense of inferiority. By its …
A Bountiful Eye
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 138 “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Prov. 22:9). The duty of almsgiving is assumed in this text, and it is reinforced with the promise of blessing for …
God’s Garage
I graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971. Just to get you oriented, this was the same high school that Bob Seger graduated from. But I didn’t know him, and he was a few years ahead of me. He had to have been a few years ahead of me because he …
Lickspittles in the Entourage
Terrorism is back in the news, at least in a way that requires us to revisit our definition of it. Jimmy Carter is apparently comfortable with meeting with the head of Hamas, and Obama is now tagged with his friendship with William Ayers, one who has admitted his role in various bombings of public buildings …
A Reformed Mead Hall
In my previous Auburn Avenue post, which had to do with the concept of merit, a good discussion broke out. But in the course of the comments a couple stray points were raised near the end that I really wanted to get Lane’s response on. And because the recently re-published work of Robert Rollock had …
Our Bodies as Sinstruments
Sin is one of the great themes of Romans. The word hamartia occurs 48 times in this book. Jews and Gentiles are both of them under sin, which Paul has proven (3:9). No one shall be justified by the deeds of the law because the law brings knowledge of sin (3:20). This being the case, …
So Put Food on the Table, Man!
“Dogs often fight because the supply of bones is scanty, and congregations frequently quarrel becaue they do not get sufficient spiritual meat to keep them happy and peaceful. The ostensible ground of dissatisfaction may be something else, but nine times out of ten deficiency in their rations is at the bottom of mutinies which occur …
Repentance Is Not Scooting Your Shelf Idol to Face Right for a While
“Those pathologies cannot simply be subsumed under such labels as liberal, conservative, or radical. The ideologies common to American politics all have a share in them; none has clean hands . . . . political rhetoric, the media, and the educational establishment have badly distorted the political and economic landscape, making it appear that the …
And Throwing Elbows
Yesterday the sermon was on competition.
The Problem With Third Ways
A lot of Christians know that the language of Scripture requires us to develop and maintain a distinctive voice. And thus it is that when they are in the process of being swept up by the latest wind of doctrine, they claim that they are doing this as a “third way.” Lured and enticed by …