Introduction: I have been urging American Christians for some time now to get reacquainted with Protestant resistance theory. This is not because I think everyone needs an odd hobby, although I do, ...
Narnian Lessons for Idaho
The Unspeakable GIft
“Eternal life is a gift, and it is too big a gift to fit into the present. I can possess eternal life now, which means that my hands have to be able to hold the future—because eternal life encompasses the future as much as it does the present. And I can have it now. ‘And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son’ (1 John 5:11).”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 861
Letters Found Right Where They Should Have Been
Letter to the Editor: Let's say a father with children in the home has a major failing as a parent. He becomes aware of this sin and fully and completely repents. Still some children ...
Church Barnacles
“A historic Protestant view of church, of Word and sacrament, is truly liberating. We can see the church of Jesus Christ sailing down through the entire course of church history, and we can recognize it as His beloved ship. We don’t have to count all the barnacles first. Neither do we have to deny the existence of the barnacles.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 860
Books Worth Reading
Talk at the Grace Agenda 2024 Pre-conference The Principles of War by Jim Wilson My father was a graduate of the Naval Academy, and studied at the Naval War College. After he got out of the Navy, in the 1960’s, he wrote a series of articles applying the classic principles of war, as outlined by …
How Long You Run the Hose
“Evangelicals who do not commune little children can debate whether that is a credible statement of faith, and this is a debate that should happen, but it is an intra-evangelical debate. It is an intra debate because of the shared assumption that regeneration is an absolute necessity. It is not an absolute necessity for membership in the visible church, as all non-baptists would acknowledge, and it is not an absolute necessity for communing in the visible church, as all child communionists would acknowledge, but it is an absolute necessity for anyone who would see the kingdom of Heaven. The covenantal and evangelical approach to child communion is distinguished from the ex opere operato approach in this way. It is a matter of direction. In the ex opere understanding, the grace is going in. In the covenantal and evangelical understanding, the grace is working its way out. A converted person works out what God works in, but an unconverted person is never in a position to do so. If the bucket has no bottom, it does not matter how long you run the hose.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 857
Which Route Would the Spiritual Man Take?
Which Is One of the Conveniences
“‘There were disciples in name, profession, and appearance, and there were those whom Christ called ‘disciples indeed’ (John 8:30-31).’ So far, so good. Among the many professing followers of Christ we have two categories. If you try to limit it to one category only, you will either become a sacramentalist or a member of the airy-fairy invisible church, the one nobody ever has to tithe to.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 852
The Death of God, our Founding Fathers, Nietzsche, the Tombs of the Prophets, and a Few Other Ends and Odds
Introduction: As the title perhaps indicates, this is a blog post that is like that Christmas present you got for your seven-year-old that one time—some assembly required. The first thing, at least ...
Not Actually a Final Blessing
“Now a person with temporary faith may in some sense sense be ‘saved,’ but scare quotes were intended for just such a circumstance as this. Temporary salvation is something to be terrified of. I should rather have my fingernails pulled out than to be any part of God’s salvation ‘for a time.’”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 844