So I want to begin with an odd remembrance, an isolated lesson that got into my head for inexplicable reasons. I think our family first got a television when I was in the eighth grade or thereabouts. I believe this episode happened sometime before that because it was something I saw on somebody else’s set. …
When the Bricks Start to Fall
It is worthy noting that the Lord Jesus describes one of the features of hypocrisy as being manifested in an inability to read the culture. “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:56). A hypocrite does …
Mystery and Contradiction
The other day I said this about logic: “if it is a wooly-mindedness that is embraced on purpose, it is heresy. This is because denying the law of non-contradiction is the royal gateway to every heresy imaginable.” Given the incoherent nature of the days we live in, I thought it was neccessary to unpack this …
Love and Truth Link Arms
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #157 Charity “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6). This verse comes right to the point. There is one verb, used twice. Charity does not rejoice in one thing, and does rejoice in another. …
Needing a Good Set of Brakes
“Metaphors present to the orator an inexhaustible source of energetic expression. It is imagination that must produce them, and good taste that must regulate their use” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 374).
Outside the Pearlies
Back at the second infamous Auburn Avenue conference, when representatives of “both sides” were trying to work something out, one particular clash came over the definition of heresy. The representatives of the TRs were taking any doctrine that was out of accord with the Westminster Confession as heresy. There are enormous problems with this, as …
When the Word Grows
I am filling the pulpit tomorrow at All Souls in Lewiston. Introduction: The congregation here at All Souls is a church plant, and so one of the things we should consider is a theology of church planting. If we don’t have a biblical basis for what we are doing, then the mere raw fact of …
Seven Theses on Penal Substitution
Glancing around the Internet, I have recently noticed higher levels of interest than usual in the doctrine of penal substitution, and thought it might be worthwhile to set down a few basic principles concerning the doctrine. So here they are: 1. Penal substitution defined is the doctrine that the salvation of God’s people is secured …
Gilt Guilt
The Lord Jesus famously said that if we don’t forgive others, we ourselves are unforgiven. “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15). This seems like a bad bit of business, but only because we tend to think of forgiveness as a peculiar sort of double-entry …
Statist Solutioneering
Wright’s last three chapters were really very good. They were “How to Engage Tomorrow’s World,” “Apocalypse and the Beauty of God,” and “Becoming People of Hope.” What I want to do is make a few brief comments about each, and then make two observations about the book as a whole, and Wright’s influence generally. In …