I grant that “train” may not be the best translation for the crucial verb in Prov. 22:6. May I suggest (dynamic equivalence) “baptize”? The verb is hanak. It is the verb from which we get the derivative Hanukkah, which means dedication or consecration. It refers to inauguration or dedication, usually in a cultic setting. The …
Outruning Your Own Headlights
As it happens, Justin Taylor just posted on a similar topic. You can read his careful treatment here. Yesterday, I compared the promises of God concerning our children to His promises to answer our prayers. I did not want to say that they are exactly parallel in every respect, but simply to illustrate how we …
Faith or Presumption in Child Rearing?
Because of the condition of our sinful world, words from God’s law are frequently “hard words.” But, for the same reason, but in a different sense, words of gospel and promise are even harder. In my books on family, I have often emphasized that the rearing of godly children is not accomplished “by works,” but …
Quite an Aesthetic Treat
It is a tad exasperating, but then one recalls one’s Calvinism again, and everything’s okay. I refer, of course, to the questions of high theology that have now beset the contenders for the Republican nomination for president. I shall respond briefly (and with my customary moderation) by means of three basic points. First, the fracas …
911 Ten Years After
This coming Lord’s Day is the tenth anniversary of the horrific attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Here is a link to a sermon I preached in the immediate aftermath.
My Old Friend, Controversy
Inside Higher Ed has published a fair-minded piece on the resurgence of classical Christian education at the college level, which you can read more about here. Since New St. Andrews is featured prominently in that piece, and since NSA has among its founders a controversial figure (three guesses), and a portion of the article was …
Pick-Up Trucks With American Flags on Them
Most people only know half of Stephen Decatur’s famous toast — “my country, right or wrong.” But the whole thing was much more admirable. “My country, may she always be right. But my country, right or wrong.” The abbreviated version makes it sound like national interest is the only standard that a full-tilt patriot would …
Redemptive/Historical Embarrassment
When we look at what is happening to the culture around us, and we recognize that so much of the destruction is avoidable, and we consider also the fact that the people implementing these suicidal policies are not idiots — and indeed exhibit an intelligence of the highest order in other areas, the conclusion appears …
Love Tanks
Over the years my wife and I have referred to the problem of a child having a “low tank,” meaning that it was time for us to pour on the affection. But this, like everything else in this sorry world, can be misconstrued and misapplied. When a kid has a low tank, he is low …
Just Good Stuff
I am currently reading a book called Truck: A Love Story, which is really worthwhile, but I had to stop and share this description with you. “Greg Brown’s voice sounds as it was aged in a whiskey cask, cured in an Ozarks smokehouse, dropped down a stone well, pulled out damp, and kept moist in …