INTRODUCTION: Throughout the Old Testament, we are frequently given glorious visions of God’s glorious plan for our fallen world. It is tempting to say that we are given glimpses of this, but when we finally understand what God has promised us, we start to see His promises everywhere. This psalm is one of many examples. …
The Single File Column to Nowhere
Every politician hungry for his slice of glory likes to talk about “leadership.” Leadership is always one of the talking points, and there will always be a reference to it in the printed material. You could write one of those brochures in your sleep, right? “Experience. Integrity. Leadership.” At which point we all get out …
Babe-raham Lincoln
As one wit put it, if the Democrats wanted to burn down the Capitol building, the Republicans would counter with a proposal to do it over the course of three years. Or, to use my own illustration, the Democrats are driving us toward the cliff at 80 miles an hour. The Republicans want to go …
Fifth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 44
INTRODUCTION: The next psalm is a desperate plea for help from God. He is the God of their salvation, and yet He appears not to care. The citation of this psalm in the New Testament shows it to be the plea of righteous martyrs. THE TEXT: “We have heard with our ears, O God, our …
Imitation of Christ as a Nose of Wax
In the last chapter of the book, Boyd’s pacifism comes out in full force, and he argues for it by answering the most common questions he receives whenever he addresses the themes of this book. Although many things could be said about all this, I want to limit myself to two. First, the way Boyd …
Fifth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 42
INTRODUCTION: This next psalm is not attributed directly to David, although it is almost certainly his. The psalm is given to the chief musician, for the sons of Korah to sing. These were probably the descendants of the same Korah who rebelled against Moses in the wilderness (Num. 16). THE TEXT: “As the hart panteth …
Judgmental Non-Judgmentalism
In the next chapter, Boyd’s tendency to hydroplane on various evangelical cliches catches up with him. His central argument is that evangelical Christians have the beam in their eye, and hence are in no position to be “moral guardians” for the rest of the country. There’s a lot to that argument, actually, but the problem …
Fifth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 41
INTRODUCTION: The great theme of this particular psalm is the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, but as we recognize the nature of types and antitypes, we see many THE TEXT: “Blessed is he that considereth the poora : the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble . . . ” (Ps. 41:1-13). OUTLINE AND …
The Bronzed Nerve
Chapter Five is “Taking America Back for God,” and Boyd begins by describing a worship service that he attended around the time of the First Gulf War, one that sounds every bit as appalling as Boyd describes. “The video closed with a scene of a silhouette of three crosses on a hill with an American …
Smiting the Saracen
My engagement with Boyd’s next chapter — “From Resident Aliens to Conquering Warlords” — rests on the criticisms offered thus far, and consists of two basic points. In this chapter, Boyd’s commitment to “Christianity” in Leithart’s sense becomes highly visible. His criticism of the compromise the Church has fallen into consists of his rejection of …