“Transcendent politics can sometimes be a very dangerous politics, but is the only kind of politics for human beings” (Glenn Moots, Politics Reformed, p. xii). One of the reasons I like this quote — besides the fact that it is so gloriously true — is the fact that it collides so spectacularly with the actual …
Proverbs and Promises
God gives parents assurance in two ways. The first can be called proverbial assurance, and the second kind is grounded in the promises. Suppose husband and wife are talking about their daughter, now only eight-years-old, and mom is worried about whether or not she will “turn out.” As her husband tries to reassure her, they …
Caryatides and Their Glory
The process of bringing up daughters should be understood as a process of glorification. Just as manhood is where boyhood should be aimed, so also womanhood is where girlhood should be aimed. Before undertaking any task, it unreasonable to begin without knowledge of what the completion of the task ought to look like. Human life …
Honest As White Paint
I have said kind things about Ron Paul in the past, and I will continue say them in the future. He continues to be one of the people I could vote for when Ringling Bros. finally brings the gaudy parade to my state. But he whiffed it last night in the debate when asked how …
Ten Reasons Why Your Kids Might Think You Are No Fun
1. You believe the heel of the loaf of bread has more nutrients in it because it is browner. 2. You think that kids were made for the living room and not the living room for the kids. 3. You believe that being a disciplinarian consists of using repeated commands in a professional bossy voice. …
The Importance of Child Dedication
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.