“If a man is redeemed by Christ, then he is a member of this one Church — a Church founded in God’s decree before time existed, and by the grace of God manifested in history as long as sinful heirs of Adam have lived. Enter the modern rootless evangelical, who, with a bemused detachment, is …
The Victim is Always Ignored
“Job constantly reverts to the community’s role in what has happened to him, but — and this is what is mysterious — he does not succeed in making his commentators, outside the text, understand him any better than those who question him within the text . . . No one takes any notice of what …
Church of England in Exile
I want to begin by praising N.T. Wright, but I want to do so in order to critique the Church of England, along with Dr. Wright’s apparent approach to her. In Jesus and the Victory of God, Wright has a wonderful section where he shows that forgiveness of sins needs to be understood in a …
Critics of Puritan Poetry
“Subsequent critics have done just that and have constructed a variety of theories to account for the Puritans’ failure to write poetry. Usually in works centered on other subjects, these critics have offered major statements on Puritan poetry. Since so many such statements exist and since even modern critics of Puritan poetry have taken little …
And the Problem is not With the Non-Readers
“And modern poetry is read by very few who are not themselves poets, professional critics, or teachers of literature” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 96).
Non-Elect Branches
[Speaking of Romans 11 and John 15] “This does not mean that the elect can lose their salvation. But it does mean that branches can lose their position on the tree. The elect always bear fruit, and their fruit remains. And yet some false professors, with genuine historical connection to the tree, never bear fruit, …
Job the Scandalous
“The scapegoat is the innocent party who polarizes a universal hatred, which is precisely the complaint of Job” (Girard, Job: The Victim of His People, pp. 4-5).
Evolution as the Devolution of Gratitude
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Make a joyful noise to God, all nations; Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him overflowing with music. Know that He is God; He is the one who fashioned us; We did not evolve by ourselves, We did not climb to …
Be Careful
One time there was a man who did not like the legalistic and fussy way many Christians approached their lives. They always had scruples about everything. There was always a problem with something. And although he had a point, I am afraid he over-reacted, and he began to do things just to get a reaction …
The Context of the Institution
We know that the Lord Jesus is the one who established this meal, but when did He do so. He did this in the general context of the Passover meal, but there is also a distinction made. Luke tells us that He presented the cup of the new testament “after supper” (Luke 22:20). But He …