“But among evangelicals, morality and spirituality are usually the primary determinants of the quality and acceptability of art, at the expense of aesthetic and cultural considerations. Pious themes, jejune lyrics, sweet-sounding music, didactic dialogue and Pollyannaish endings characterize much evangelical music, movies, fiction and television programming” (William Romanowski, Pop Culture Wars, p. 327. Amen. But …
If the Bible Described a Red Wagon, This Means the Idea of Red Is Meaningful
“When the Bible says that Abigail was a beautiful and intelligent woman (1 Sam. 25:3), this means that there is such a thing as feminine loveliness. When the Bible calls us to sing a new song to God and to play skillfully with a shout of joy (Ps. 33:1), this means that there is such …
You Would Think It An Obvious Point
“Trying to avoid intolerance by presenting all possible points of view will be a boon to those suffering intolerance only if the various points of view presented express an equally robust empathy for the victims of intolerance” (Gil Bailie, Violence Unveiled, p. 9).
So Pipe Down Then
God feeds us. He is not a negligent Father, one who fails to provide for His children. His table is always set well, and always furnished with all that we need. Of course, like naughty children, we sometimes do not eat what is set before us. Some children do not come to the Table at …
An Odd Call to Worship
This may strike you as an odd call to worship, but you are being summoned to worship the God of heaven with understanding. This includes understanding how our worship affects the unbelieving world outside, and this particularly includes unbelieving women in our community taking off their tops. First, know that when God is worshiped rightly …
Oh Great
“According to a recent report, overseas film earnings are growing at twice the annual rate of the domestic market; Hollywood accounts for about half the movie market in Japan and two-thirds of all movie tickets sold in Germany, France and Italy. Generally about 70 percent of films shown around the world are U.S. productions” (William …
Every Collar Obedient
“The Enlightenment tradition insists on the primacy of ‘timeless truths’ and says that as long as a student gets the answer right, nailing down that timeless truth, it does not matter if the answer came out of a disheveled, greasy head. It does not matter if the student mumbling the timeless truth is slouching around …
And One Visitor Said, “I Can See the Broken Eggs. Where’s the Omelet?”
“Caiaphas was invoking a mechanism for preserving culture that is as old as culture itself. Whether it is the Assyro-Babylonian myth declaring that Marduk created the world by killing the monster Tiamat; or the Teutonic myth telling how Odin formed the world by raising the corpse of Ymir from the sea of Ymir’s own blood; …
Before I Leave
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! I said to myself, take note of your ways, Don’t sin with your mouth. Bit and bridle go on the tongue, Whenever the wicked are standing here. So I said nothing, Dumbstruck in silence. I held my peace til grief flared up. …
Marriage Slipping Away
Our nation recently passed two significant milestones. This last week, our population passed the 300 million mark. And also, just recently, the make-up of that population has been significantly changing. Five years ago, 52 percent of all households in America were married households. That number has now dropped below 50 percent. This means that those …