“Forrest Gump (1994) and its predecessor Being There (1979) are both popular movies that communicate the idea of a chance world in which events occur without purpose. The use of mentally challenged men in both films is a metaphor for chance itself. They have no ‘intelligent design’ to their lives and yet both of them …
Can’t Help Returning
“Derived from skadzein, which means to limp, skandalon designates the obstacle that both attracts and repels at the same time. The initial encounter with the stumbling block is so fascinating that one must always return to it, and each return becomes more fascinating” (Girard, The Scapegoat, p. 132).
The Great Migraine of Modernity
Andrew Sandlin has prematurely welcomed me to the ranks of the Christian postmodernists. I am afraid he took my deal-busting adjective “theonomic” as something that would actually be welcomed in the ranks of those who are currently calling themselves Christian postmodernists, including one of the gentleman he cites. Of course it would never be accepted …
In Which I Continue Going Postal Modern
If every tribe is an interpretive community, and no tribe ever comes into contact with another one, then the problem does not arise. If there is only one tribe (as interpretive community), then the problem does not arise. But in the contemporary world (I had almost said modern world), all these tribes, interpretive communities, denominations, …
Becoming Human
The Holy Spirit is active in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. This word sacrament that we use comes from the Latin word sacramentum, which in its turn is the translation of the Greek word mysterion, or mystery. In what way is this a mystery, and how does the power of the Holy Spirit come …
Say It Again
You know that God is the only Lord. You know that He is to be worshiped in accordance with His holy Word. You know that the gospel is the only life to be had in this wretched world. But remember also that this gospel proclaims a new creation, a new heaven and new earth. This …
Westminster One: Of the Holy Scripture
1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; (Rom. 2:14–15; 1:19–20; Ps. 19:1–3; Rom. 1:32; 2:1) yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary …
Introduction to Confessional and Systematic Theology:
Remember that a systematic understanding of any given text is really synonymous with a formal understanding of the text. Understanding of a work is impossible unless there is an ability to summarize it, and summary is nothing but a systematic distillation. The real enemy is systematic misunderstanding of the text (not to mention systematic misapplications). …
Try, Try Again
A couple years ago, I started posting a series of notes on the Westminster Confession. But I never finished posting them, I didn’t like the format I was using, and there I was, like the guy with the half-finished tower in the gospels. Not to mention the prospect of having to exposit that stuff about …
History is Organic
“We must also recover a doctrine of generations. Our children grow. They do not grow up in a detached way, as though the twig were unrelated to the branch, which in turn is unrelated to the tree. Our children are not interchangeable ball bearings, able to be placed in different machines across the world; they …