“At the same time, the fact that I am willing to teach on historical subjects [as a minister] does not mean that I somehow think I am infallible. I have been wrong on numerous points over the years — sometimes the mistake is mine, and sometimes a source leads me astray. The point of all …
Upside Down and Backwards
“Because one of the male strengths is simple-mindedness, men tend to evaluate all things according to the sort of criterion (fixed in their minds sometime in junior high) best illustrated by arm-wrestling contests or a footrace. Life is simple — stronger and faster is better. And because life is also a contest, everyone is measured …
Laid Out On The Altar
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Father of all, we come before You in order to be laid bare before You. We know that Your Word is sharper than any two-edged sword, and will cut us apart, as the priestly knife used to cut apart the sacrifical animals …
Partaking Together
Jesus tells us to do certain things in order to commune with Him. These things are not only to be done, they are to be done in a certain way. The service of the Passover was the time when He instituted the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper, and we are to begin where we are …
Pietism and Piety
As we grow in our knowledge of biblical doctrine, and as we expand the boundaries of what we know under the heading of a “biblical world view,” we have to be careful about one of the oldest traps in Christendom. Knowledge puffs up, St. Paul tells us, but love builds up. Graduate school is not …
The New Synagogue
INTRODUCTION: As we are considering some changes in how we elect and establish the elders of our church, the session has asked me to lay out the scriptural case for the principles we are seeking to honor and observe in this. THE TEXT: And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to …
Idaho Statesman Admits Their Own Neo-Nazi Ties
Dear Ms. ___________, I have decided to submit a column to you, for the Statesman to run at the earliest opportunity you have. I have two concerns in doing this, but am proceeding cautiously nonetheless. The first concern is that I do not want you to conclude from this that I have in any way …
Libel Simpliciter
Following an argument by Nick Gier in search of a non sequitur is like following a lit fuse in search of an explosion. And mysteriously, Nick talked the Idaho Statesman into publishing an article under the headline “Neo-Nazi Christians make presence felt again in Northern Idaho.” In the past, when Nick has published his screeds …
Jesus Is Lord
As we continue our study of historical optimism, a good thing to keep in mind is the need to constantly turn to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. When we think through these issues carefully, we must recognize that the basic issue is really the view we have of …
God Throws Down the Proud
We cannot have an assembly like this without collecting together great sin and sinfulness. But this is not a function of the size of our church. The same thing would happen if any one of us were to assemble, all by ourselves, in a closet. We are all sinners, and God is in the process …