As the Lord broke open the bread of life, and as He gave the cup of the new testament, He went on to say that the hand of the one who was to betray Him was resting on the same table. He went on to say that the Son of man was going just as …
Deep Kindness
A new commandment is given to you, that you love one another. This love is not to be understood as a mere sentiment, although it makes all true sentiment possible, and more than possible, lovely. Love means that we are to treat one another as the voice of God requires, and that we are to …
More Thanks to God
We are very grateful to God for yet another setback for the intolerista brigade. Last night the Moscow City Council voted (5 to 1) to amend the zoning code in such a way as to permit NSA to remain in its current location. I thank everyone who has prayed for us, and would ask them …
Evil, Be Thou My Good
“These forces are brought to fruition not so much in films of the horror genre itself as in more mainstream and critically acclaimed movies like Cape Fear and Silence of the Lambs (both 1991). These stories exalt the artistic boldness of their evil supermen, who put into question the timid mores of conventional society and …
Refried Beans
“The melodrama of modern evangelicalism has gotten really bad, and it is time to start an enthusiastic throwing of the popcorn” (A Serrated Edge, p. 82).
Scribes Haven’t Changed
I shouldn’t really be surprised anymore. McLaren devotes the chapter entitled “Why I Am Fundamentalist/Calvinist” to a detailed explanation of why he is not a fundamentalist or a Calvinist. Not surprisingly, in order to make this case, an old workhorse in the debate against Reformed folk is brought out of the stables and made to …
Christmas Sunrise
Introduction And the evening and the morning were the eighth day. We should not be surprised at the pattern of darkness and then light, a pattern which we see not only in the creation of the world, but also in the re-creation of all things. The Text: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify …
Sneaking Standards Back In
“The need of most human beings to believe in a moral universe is proof for Nietzsche that lies and self-deception are essential conditions of human life . . . . But there is a tension in Nietzsche between an amoralism that repudiates all objective standards and a distinctively hierarchical kind of thinking that ranks souls …
Sound Effects
“There is a difference between insulting the truth of God and insulting some lunacy that a televangelist is maintaining as the truth of God. There is a difference between kicking puppies and lampooning the self-righteous and pompous, although sometimes the sound effects are very similar” (A Serrated Edge, p. 82).
Deep Confidence or Deep “Confidence”?
Some of McLaren’s chapters are outrageous, some are stupefying, some are intellectually dishonest, while others, like this next one, are just plain sad. This is the chapter where McLaren explains how he is a “charismatic/contemplative.” I am not really going to say anything about the sad parts, and there were only two other comments worth …