“The shameful cult of human personalities which tarnished the life of the first century Corinthian church still persists in Christendom, and a most improper and unbecoming regard is paid to some church leaders today” (John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, p. 101).
Picking Up the Tab
“The aim of untold millions is to be free to do exactly as they choose and for someone else to pay when things go wrong” (Theodore Dalrymple, Life at the Bottom, p. 5).
What a Marvelous Thought
The Moscow City Council election is now over, and the results are in. Congratulations to Tom Lamar, the top vote getter, as well as to the other victors — Steed, Krauss, and Carscallen. Lamar is a genuine liberal, but he showed a lot of class in this election. In the aftermath of the bigotry kerfluffle, …
Wilkins the Newt
Let’s make this simple to understand, shall we? Just want to look at the structure of the thing. 1. An accusation was circulated in the PCA, claiming that Steve Wilkins is a newt; 2. The Louisiana Presbytery, understandably concerned, met with him a couple times and determined that in their judgment he was in fact …
Stop It
Wonder how many counselors have felt this way at the end of the day. HT: Justin Taylor
All Things Well
Recall that Jesus has just finished a controversy with the theologians of Jerusalem over the meaning of ritual purification. He differed with them utterly over the meaning of the word unclean. This sets the stage for His great kindness shown here to the Syrophonecian woman. “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders …
Preaching, Not Preening
“If we love them, our objective will not be to impress them with our learning but to help them with theirs . . .J.C. Ryle, formerly Bishop of Liverpool, has asserted that one of the secrets of the evangelistic revival in eighteenth century England was that its leaders preached simply. ‘To attain this’ he wrote,’they …
Easily Led in One Direction Only
“When a man tells me, in explanation of his anti-social behavior, that he is easily led, I ask him whether he was ever easily led to study mathematics or the subjunctives of French verbs” (Theodore Dalrymple, Life at the Bottom, p. ix).
Just Like Alice’s Restaurant
“We build temples to the gods of commerce, and this is why the modern church looks like a shopping mall, sprawling and flat, plenty of parking, Visa and MasterCard accepted. In one city, a church mailed out hundreds of thousands of brochures hawking their wares. Come to our church, they said, and we’ll give you …
Machen and Wilkins
Darryl’s next chapter, on the rise of a democratized Protestant faith in America is quite good, and very helpful. Toward the end of the chapter, his doubts about democracy start come to the fore. “Rather than learning about democracy from Christianity, more often than not American Protestants have felt compelled to defend democracy under a …