Here are the top ten reasons why I am beyond delighted that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize: 10. Because this means that the Vatican must have verified that reports of the president floating around the top of the Washington monument were reports of a genuine miracle, and were not a deceitful trick by the …
Affected By the Time Stamp
My response to Jason’s next chapter will be a little bit different. In this chapter, he presents the “big picture,” which in his understanding is set forth in the book of Revelation 12. “My thesis for this chapter, therefore, is that in Revelation 12:1-6 the church is given a glimpse of Christ’s victory in His …
Our Culture Warrior Hinder Parts
Chapter 7 of Jason’s book is really quite good. His topic is “Reformed Piety,” and he does a good job in distinguishing the corporate nature of Reformed piety from the radical individualism of much of contemporary evangelicalism. He appeals, quite properly, to the contrast set by John Williamson Nevin and Charles Finney, a contrast that …
Putting the Trash Out
My response to chapter 6 won’t be that long because I agreed with a great deal of it. Jason does a good job nailing those who have jumbled up their Christian faith with their heartland, red state patriotism. When that particular jumble gets knocked, we should just let matters unfold. The United States does not …
Just Plain Greasy
There is something different about these latest examples of sexual hypocrisy. We are used to sexual shenanigans, and we are used to people lying to cover them up. We are also used to the double standard — if a Republican congressman were to do to a fetching staffer what a Democratic congressman does to a …
The Relevance of Irrelevance
Chapter 2 of Stellman’s book was also quite good. It is entitled “The Irrelevance of Relevance.” The problems I would have with it are, I suspect, still in the background. But here he says a number of things I agree with wholeheartedly and enthusiastically. He doesn’t quote C.S. Lewis’ great line — “whatever is not …
Church of the Guttering Flame
The first formal chapter of Dual Citizens is really quite good. He begins where all thoughtful discussions of the church’s role in the world should begin, and that is with the question of corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. He has a true Reformed focus on the importance of Word and sacrament (p. 8). He …
From the Church Drinking Fountain
In the Introduction, Stellman argues for a couple of his foundational premises, wanting us to see a clear distinction between worship and life. The basic question he is seeking to answer is this: “What is the relationship between cult and culture, the church and the world?” (p. xviii). Stellman argues that theocracy requires two components …
The Cape and Beanie Make It Worse Somehow
I want to undertake a detailed review of a new book by Jason Stellman, one entitled Dual Citizens. There are a number of reasons for doing this, but those reasons should become increasingly manifest as we go along. The central reason is that I have become settled in my conviction that a particular form of …
Thy Kingdom Go
The walls of the church are permeable, and this is by God’s design. This means that when the church is being the church, there is no way to keep the influence of this from seeping into the world. On the flip side, when the church has lost her vision, or her focus, or they have …