“If two men were building a house together, but they both held tightly to differing sets of blueprints, it would not be to the point to say that they still had much in common. They both own hammers, saws, nails, carpenter’s belts, and so on, and let us say that both of them were of …
Pentecost Sunday 2006
Introduction: It is characteristic of the Holy Spirit that He draws attention away from Himself. Sometimes, the Spirit of God is neglected because of a deficiency in theology. But other times this happens precisely because He is active and doing His work. The Text: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will …
A Really Creative Judgment
“Indeed, it has led those who are heady with triumph to speak of this moment as being postmodern. It is, to say the least, a galling epithet to those still enamored with Enlightenment beliefs, for, to those who still believe in progress, to be called passé is a thunderclap of judgment more dreadful, it would …
This Should Actually Be “Lokism,” Prejudice Against Norse Trickster Gods
“At Smith College, a brochure is distributed to incoming students rehearsing a long list of politically incorrect attitudes and prejudices that will not be tolerated, including the sin of ‘lookism,’ i.e. the prejudice of believing that some people are more attractive than others” (Tenured Radicals, p. 9).
Education, the Pseudo Savior
“The answer give to this dilemma goes back at least to Socrates. If man is basically good, then he must do evil things because of ignorance. Therefore the savior for ignorant man must be education. The antidote to ignorance is teaching. But the contrast of Socratic thinking to the Christian faith is striking. In Christian …
What Do You Mean By “Fish”?
Adam was created speaking, and this means that every aspect of language needs to be treated as a gift of God, and not as an achievement or accomplishment of man. Man did not invent direct objects, or verbs. They were given to us, grace upon grace. In the same way, and for the same reason, …
Why Do You Now Not Intervene?
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Precise my judgments all have been According to Your law. So do not now abandon me, Do not allow oppression here, I trust Your kindness promised me. Assure Your servant in all good, Rebuke the proud who press . . . My …
No, He Said
Once there was a man who was racked with guilt, but he did not know that this is what it was. All he knew was that he was frightfully unhappy and miserable, and that no one else ever seemed to treat him as he thought he deserved to be treated. He had never really heard …
The Answer to Sacrificial Crisis
The same night that the Lord Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, Matthew tells us that He sang with His disciples before He went to His betrayal. Because He established the Lord’s Supper at a Passover Seder, we know that He sang the Hallel Psalms (113-118). This means that He sang Ps. 116, which contains these …
Personal Antithesis
Many theological problems are created by turning certain issues into theological problems. As Yogi Berra might have said. One of the central sticking issues in the Federal Vision stuff is the question of personal regeneration. But this is only a problem because we are dealing with it on the blackboard, as a theological problem involving …