In the course of working through the Sermon on the Mount, we inevitably must come to a subject that has been greatly debated among Christians. Unfortunately, the debate is not caused because the Scripture is all that ambiguous theologically on the point under discussion. It is caused because the teaching of Scripture is difficult for …
Theft
Just as Moses assumes the permanence of marriage in His prohibition of adultery, so does he assume the legitimacy of private property in his prohibition of stealing. And as we have discovered with the other commandments, obedience is not as simple as it may appear — not all thieves break into houses at night. “You …
The Thirteenth Clown
I am enjoying my discussion with Brian Mattson on incrementalism and problems presented to Trinitarian orthodoxy by the syncretism of President Bush. I think Brian’s responses are thoughtful, biblically-based, and worthy of interaction. His site is worth checking out. In his latest post on this, he raises a point worth noting. I said that any …
Bad At Dodgeball
A goodish bit of indignation has been expressed by the Intoleristas over the apropos application of the word Intolerista. Remember when we were kids and used to play dodgeball with those red, rubber school balls? And there was always that kid who thought that getting hit by a ball constituted a foul and an outrage, …
God of Battles
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Great God of heaven, You are the Lord of battles. You rise up and Your enemies scatter. You speak the word, and Your foes are confounded. You are the ultimate Warrior, and You have given us the privilege of following You into …
Throwing Paper From the Walls
As you all know, this last week saw a renewed attack on us, this time from zoning scribes and Pharisees, professing Christians whose hypocrisy is so evident that even they appear to be dimly aware of it. But this exhortation is not directed at them—rather it is given to encourage you. And here is the …
God’s Low Standards
A moment’s reflection should show us that God’s standards are much too low. He has graciously invited to this Table all sorts of disreputable people. When He tells us in His Word that we should show hospitality to those who cannot repay us, we need to remember that this is something which He has done. …
Bright Red Orthodoxy
I appreciate what my friend John Armstrong has to say about postmodernism here. The postmodernists have climbed into the car of modernity’s premises, and have driven it into a tree. What the postmodernists do not appear to grasp, however, is that mumbling incoherently to oneself in the wreckage of that old car does not constitute …
Intolerista Slogans
As some of you know, a week or so ago, the Intoleristas launched a new attack on us here in Moscow. But because their behavior is now getting out to the skinny branches, Jim Fisher of the Lewiston Morning Tribune wrote an editorial that attempted to talk them down out of their tree. “Come to …
Incrementalism
Anyone who really believes that yeast works through the loaf slowly is an incrementalist. Anyone who holds that the biblical pattern is reformation, and not impatient revolution, is an incrementalist. Many “clear-headed” individuals on the hard right are functional revolutionaries and not conservatives at all because of their inability to grasp this. Brian Mattson is …
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