The great and their pride shall sink to the bottom, And settle in silt on the deep sea bed. But now, before dropped, from the palm of God, Behold . . . the golden age of lead.
The Blinkered Prophetess
Like many conservatives, I have been able to enjoy the writing of Marilynne Robinson, even though she appears to be quite at home in the liberal mainline tradition. Despite the differences I have had with her outlook on many issues, her novels have been written with depth, nuance, and sensitivity. This is apparently because she …
When the Tide of Battle Turned
“This whole world, since the sin of Adam, has been nothing but one vast, pole-to-pole boneyard. Whatever would Jesus do in a world like that? What could He possibly do that could transform a world like that? The gospel reply is that He could come back from the dead in it” (Against the Church, p. …
Doctrine With the Graveclothes
“Let us never preach the doctrine of total depravity without also declaring there has been a great earthquake, and that an angel of the Lord has rolled away the stone in front of that imposing doctrine” (Against the Church, p. 110).
Only Blood Can Answer
One of the central things we have to remember about accusation is that condemnation has a point. “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). It will not do for us to say that the devil accuses the brethren day and day (Rev. 12:10), and the …
The Suitor and His Porn
In these times of ubiquitous porn, one of the unfortunate results is that young women and their parents have to sort out what it all means. In raising this question, I do not mean to imply that young women can’t have a porn problem — some do, but it is not as common, and usually …
A Point of Personal Privilege
Now that a select committee has been appointed to look into Benghazi — and about time — I thought I would raise a point of personal privilege. This is something I want conservatives to quit saying, and I will explain why in a moment. I want everybody to stop saying “four Americans died.” Because of …
Resurrection Corner Stone
“Because Jesus was born again from the dead, everything else can be born again from the dead” (Against the Church, p. 104).
Soteriological Rope
“The common assumption is that God drops a rope from heaven, and then the theological debates begin. Pelagians want to shinny up the rope, Arminians want to hang on while God pulls, Calvinists say that God ties the rope to us with one of His knots, and some of our more severe brethren think He …
So Don’t Do That
“And hubristic sectarian pastors have pronounced on the obvious lack of regeneration displayed by someone who failed to dot all five i’s in ‘denominational distinctives.’ That can’t be good” (Against the Church, p. 100).