“We must never forget that the Bible alone determines the boundaries of sin. Not once in Scripture is there a hint that athletic competition should be considered as immoral or sinful. The Bible, and not the traditions of men, determines the definition of sin. We have no more ground for saying that athletics [are] sinful …
Relativism and the Mistreatment of Women
Dear visionaries, Susannah’s questions presuppose a foundational solidarity and allegiance between all men, based on gender alone, and a solidarity of all women, based on gender alone. But there are other factors affecting what she lists, things like suspect statistics, Hinduism, famine, wars, etc. But when it comes to those things that really are done …
Comparisons
Dear visionaries, This all-male school board thingy is turning into the Energizer Bunny of topics. Oh, well. William asked why, given my theology, I would seek a woman’s input or opinion on this or any other matter. Given the rhetorical distance between our camps, this kind of assumption is certainly a natural one, but I …
Selfishness and Self-Interest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16 11) Growing Dominion, Part 41 No one needs to teach us the arts of selfishness, and the related arts of rationalization. No one has to have special classes for the toddlers in the nursery in order to teach them how to grab for toys, …
Faith As A Badge
N.T. Wright has some trouble seeing that old scoundrel Pelagius in places where I think we should be able to see him quite plainly. For example, Wright says, “Once we release Paul’s justification-language from the burden of having to describe ‘how someone becomes a Christian’, however, this is simply no longer a problem. There is …
Judge Not
Who do not live in a discriminating age. In fact, we have so little ability left in discrimination that we even think that it is an evil thing to do. But this is a very real problem — and some have sought support from this passage in defense of their error. “Judge not, that you …
Marriage From the Ground Up
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! God of glory, we come before You now in the majesty of Jesus Christ, and are glad to present ourselves to You in His name. You have spoken the universe into existence. You fashioned the earth and the sun and the moon. …
John Paul II
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 …