A coalition of fledgling opposition to Putin just had its offices raided. Kasparov, the chess guy, is one of those trying to mount some sort of accountability to the authoritarian rule of Mr. Putin. But taking their talking points from our very own Southern Poverty Law Center, the Russian government said that the raid was …
What the Angels Said
Introduction: Grace is one of the most difficult things in the world for sinners to grasp. And as soon as we gather that it is difficult, we turn the “grasping of it” into a contest and a work, with the right answer earning the “best in show” award. But of course, grace means that some …
So Who Has More Fun Than People?
Hope you have a white Christmas.
A Plain Man’s Path
“Though its abuse could lead them from Him, its proper religious use was a ‘plain man’s pathway to heaven.’ It offered the plain poet a world rich in intrinsic symbols, correspondences, and significances that were not decorations but necessary parts of the truth he attempted to tell” (Daly, p. 71).
And Power Corrupts
“These new models tend to be adopted without the demands for rigorous evidence required by traditional scholarship. If Euro-centrism is a fault, one would think Afro-centrism would be similarly narrow-minded. If patriarchy is wrong, why would matriarchy be any better? But these quibbles miss the point of postmodern scholarship. Truth is not the issue. The …
A Theology of the Table of Contents
“The problem with contemporary Protestants is that they have no real doctrine of the Table of Contents. With the approach that is popular in conservative evangelical circles, one simply comes to the Bible by means of an epistemological lurch. The Bible ‘just is,’ and any questions about how it got here are dismissed as a …
Barbaric Lyricism
“Those who create the sacred with their own violence are incapable of seeing its truth. This is what makes the friends totally deaf to the appeals Job is constantly making. The more they participate in violence against the unfortunate man, the more they are carried away by their own barbaric lyricism and the less they …
Child Sacrifice
In the latter half of this twelfth chapter, we have some reiteration of earlier themes, as well as additional exhortation and instruction. “Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after . . .” (Deuteronomy 12:15-32). The establishment of Yahweh worship did not mean that all animals had …
Everyone Loves a Parade
We know that formal liturgy is required by God, and that Paul told the Colossians that he rejoiced to hear of their good order. We also know that He has fashioned the creation in such a way that liturgy of some sort is inescapable. Every congregation of Christians in the history of the world has …
A Weekly Deadline
When we gather together, we must remember the wisdom and grace of God. In an assembly like this, there must be countless offenses, grievances, hurts, misunderstandings, and more. These are knots that should not be untied; the more we try to untie them, the worse we make it. God’s way is far simpler. Love dissolves …