Let me begin by saying that I respect Tim and David Bayly highly. They are on the other side of this FV thing, but I have greatly appreciated the integrity they have shown in this controversy, and nothing said here should be taken as indicating a desire to do any harm to our friendship. Over …
Pastor Clarence Langhans, R.I.P.
Anyone who knows the history of Protestant theology at all knows that the Lutherans have certain key emphases, and that one of them is the distinction they make between the law and the gospel. Pastor Langhans was a faithful Lutheran pastor for many years, and this distinction of law and gospel was one that was …
Buttress of the Truth (1 Tim. 3:14-16)
INTRODUCTION: The apostle has been writing a very practical nuts and bolts approach to pastoral ministry, but we must remember that application and doctrine (in Scripture) are not locked away in different cupboards. They always go together, and in this passage we see how practical doctrine is, and how doctrinal our practice necessarily is. THE …
Intelligent Despair, the Foundation of Hope
When Jesus said that He came for the sick, not the healthy, one of the great implications of His gospel is that it is a gospel of hope. The healthy tend to take it all for granted. As it was yesterday, so it will be tomorrow, and so, as far as their condition is concerned, …
Orthodox Joe
Greenbaggins is continuing our discussion, and this exchange revolves around two basic questions. The first has to do with my examination by the CREC presbytery (in 2004, before we divided into two presbyteries). Lane asks if the CREC has any TRs in it, and if they were invited to participate in the exam. And pressing …
Momentary Men
We have a short attention span. We like to think of ourselves as current with everything; we are, after all, modern men. But, to use Andrew Lytle’s striking phrase, we are not modern men at all, but actually momentary men. We careen from one thing to the next, thumb on the remote. Our presidential debates …
Their Tandem Polygamy Instead of our Serial Polygamy
“The Association of Muslim Lawyers went even further, saying that it wanted formal recognition of a Muslim man’s right under Sharia law to have up to four wives. Ahmad Thomson, a member of the AML, said: ‘Under the Human Rights Acts they actually have a right to live and practice as Muslims and part of …
Is the Moon Really Necessary?
“Therefore to talk of not seeing the need for the Church is like talking of not seeing the need for the moon. The Church, like the moon, is not a human project, but a divine creation” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, p. 119).
The Extent of the Damage
“But to many Americans this sounds like a drag. We are a breezy lot; we like to go casual. Whether we are flipping burgers in the back yard or approaching the throne of the Almighty, we want to wear shorts and flipflops. The problem is nearly universal; the only thing that varies from church to …
No, Really. What is It?
“Envy is a squint-eyed fool” (Jeremiah Burroughs, Irenicum, p. 178).