Yesterday marked the passing of Pope John Paul II. As we gather this morning for worship, we do so as convinced, practicing and confessional Protestants, who do not believe that the Reformation was a tragic mistake. We are mindful of the chasm that still separates us from our neighbors in the Roman Catholic communion. Nevertheless, …
Repetitive Food
We come to this Table every week. For some Christians, this repetition means that we will necessarily drift into religious complacency or sloth. This does happen, and so the Word must always accompany the sacrament, to keep us mindful of our responsibilities here. But one of those responsibilities is to be repetitive. The liturgy of …
Becoming Paedo
After I became a Calvinist (around 1988), a series of events conspired to bring me to paedobaptist convictions as well. It happened on this wise. I had come to an understanding of the doctrines of grace while preaching through the book of Romans; when I started the series through that book I did not hold …
A Category Mistake
While chasing a category mistake, N.T. Wright falls into one of his own. In the course of his discussion on law courts and covenants, he says this: “The result of all this should be obvious, but is enormously important for understanding Paul. If we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense …
Orc-talk Instead
“Hatred of tyranny in the petty prohibitionisms came the same way. Sam Gamgee comes back to the Shire very different from the thick-fingered peasant that he was when he left. He came back to all kinds of progress, including industry, zoning changes, and a higher level of health consciousness. ‘All right, all right,’ said Sam. …
Morning Star Ventures
A friend of mine has a venture out of Alaska (through the magic of the web) that is worth checking out. You can find it here.
Bowing in Gratitude
Our great and glorious God, we bow before You in gratitude. We know that such thankfulness is a gift to us from You, and so we thank You even for that. We know that thankfulness grows, and develops, just as bitterness does, and we plead with You to keep us grateful and never bitter. We …
Big News
Now that the papers are all signed, and my attorney says that there is nothing that can be done about it, I suppose this would be a good time to announce that through the generous help of a third party my wife and I have bought the Moscow Food Coop. For me to have been …
Terri Schiavo, R.I.P.
Now that Terri Schiavo has passed away, she has entered into the presence of our God and Father, whose complete justice and thorough mercy is uncorrupted by any court decisions of our federal and state judiciary system. Let us pray that she met her God in the grace and kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ. …
A Public Gospel
I have offered some criticisms of N.T. Wright’s understanding of the conversion of Saul, and other issues related to the gospel. Given those criticisms, some of my friends on the TR side of things may want to ask me why I think his contributions on questions surrounding the gospel have any value. The following quote …