Why should Christians learn about Islam? Why teach on it? Why discuss it? Why stir up yet another debate or controversy? One time, during the debates over the formation of the U.S. Constitution, someone proposed that the United States be prohibited from having a standing army of more than 15,000 men. I forget the exact …
The Glory of Ham for Easter
How we bear the name of the Lord your God is closely related to how we eat. Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves . . . (Deuteronomy 14:1-21a). This passage begins the commentary in Deuteronomy on the third commandment, which prohibits bearing the name of the Lord …
Outside Gallio’s House
Someone over at Reformation21 thought of a funny, and twisted it like a washcloth until it was dry enough to serve as pulpit supply in some churches that could be mentioned. But in the course of his excursus into humor, the writer developed a new accusation that merits some response, however brief. Speaking in the …
A Memorial Before God
Poor translations can sometimes create a world of difficulty. The rendering of the word repentance by “do penance” was a famous stumbling block for Luther. In a similar way, we are all familiar with this phrase from the words of institution in the Lord’s Supper—”do this in remembrance of me.” This is taken as though …
Goodness to God; Gladness to Man
We are here because we believe the Word of God. We are here because God has summoned us. We are here because God promises to forgive us our sins as we confess them in Jesus’ name. We are here because God is dealing with us; God is at work in our midst. But there are …
Complete Reversal
“The impotence of the Islamic world confronted with Europe was brought home in dramatic form in 1798, when a French expeditionary force commanded by a young general called Napoleon Bonaparte invaded, occupied, and governed Egypt. The lesson was harsh and clear—even a small European force could invade one of the heartlands of the Islamic empire …
Metaphor as Ultimate Reality
“But the greatest metaphor, for Taylor, is Christ Himself, the living link between grace and nature, God and man, the metaphor who uses metaphor and whose union of earthly and divine is figured through another metaphor, the Lord’s Supper” (Daly, p. 181).
Something to Push Against
“Creative freedom can defeat itself because novelty can be felt only in relation to a perceived norm, just as rhythmic freedom can only be felt against a regular meter. When the norm is obscured by heedless violations, interest gradually disappears” (Jacques Barzun, The Culture We Deserve, p. 155).
Selling Bibles In Every Possible Configuration
“We should all be realists by now and not expect the solution to come from those who are profiteering off the problem. If a serious reform of this particular publishing travesty ever got large enough for anyone to notice it, the caterwauling of Textual Critic and Businessman, in close harmony with one another, would lead …
The Seamless Coat of Christ
“There was a great deal of ado in Luther’s time about the seamless coat of Christ . . . When Luther labored to bring reformation to the rule, they bade him take heed that he did not rend the seamless coat of Christ . . . And what a stir has there been, an outcry, …