“Finally, they besieged Vienna again, only to be turned back by Poland’s King Jan III Sobieski and thirty thousand Polish hussars on a day that marks the high point of Muslim expansion in Europe: September 11, 1683” (Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), p. 157).
Horror as Cultural Guilt
“The fact that the creator of the horror genre is celebrated as a proponent of sexual liberation indicates that our culture still does not understand horror. If our culture could make up its mind about sexual liberation, it would not need horror. It would either embrace sexual license wholeheartedly, as Mary’s husband did, or repudiate …
Candidates and Incumbents
“Put another way, the widespread neglect of elder qualifications certainly trivializes an office which the Bible says should be held in honor. But willingness to remove elders too quickly can have the same result. A young woman considering a suitor may legitimately decline his attentions for (comparatively) minor reasons. Those same reasons are not sufficient …
FV As the Death Star
Just a quick point for the record. In partisan politics, spin doctors will seize on any event and work it to fit with the agenda, the talking points, and the memo that they got just before going on the air. In a presidential debate, a candidate could perform at about the level of Miss South …
Monsters or Sinners?
Chapter Five is where David Gelernter and I part company most drastically, for reasons easily anticipated. In this chapter, Gelernter tackles the subject of Abraham Lincoln, “America’s last and greatest founding father.” As usual, Gelernter is uncannily accurate in his description, and flies wide of the mark in his evaluation. Lincoln was the great founder …
The Preacher and His Notes
“Our Lord God wishes himself to be the preacher, for preachers often go astray in their notes so that they can’t go on with what they have begun. It has often happened to me that my best outline came undone. On the other hand, when I was least prepared my words flowed during the sermon” …
The Rule of What You Can’t See
“It is remarkable that God has committed to us preachers the ministry of the Word for the ruling of men’s hearts, which we can’t look into. But this is the office of God, who says to us, ‘Preach! I shall give the increase. I know the hearts of men.’ This should be our comfort, even …
Living with Actual People
Learning to live in genuine community is one of the central goals that we have set for ourselves. And, to be honest, we did not set the goal—it is set before us in Scripture as one of the basic elements of the Christian faith. We are one in Jesus Christ, and this is not to …
The Table at the Center of the World
God has fashioned the human race in such a way that sitting down for a meal is the center of all family life. Guests are certainly welcome, but in the day-in and day-out pattern of living, the meal is the center. This is one of the reasons we can tell that the modern family is …
Catholic Evangelicalism
With the FV controversy in mind, I was asked this last week whether I considered myself more “basically”evangelical or more “basically” Reformed. With the one qualifier that if you believe both, then to answer the question is not to say which you believe to be “more true,” let me address it this way. As I …