“Talleyrand defines a metaphysician as a man who is very clever in drawing black lines upon a black ground. I should like to draw black lines upon a white ground, or else white lines on a black ground, so that they could be seen; but certain preachers are so profound that no one understands them” …
Adversarial Fathers
When a son is out of control, this is because the parents have often made the mistake of slipping into an adversarial role, instead of what they ought to be occupying, which is a watchful and parental role. The first unfortunate step in becoming an adversary to your child is that of taking it personally. …
A Little Reformational Cheer
“Let not this light be only that of knowledge, but seek for the light of joy and cheerfulness. There is power in a happy ministry. A lugubrious face, a mournful voice, a languor of manner, — none of these things commend us to our hearers; especially do they fail to attract the young. Certain strange …
Noodles and Twigs
As parents, teachers, elders, pastors, and as those in authority, we tend to fall into one of two errors as we seek to guide those who have been placed under our authority. One error is to be far too easily pleased. The other is to become impossible to please. For the former, not only is …
Yesterday’s Newspaper Exegesis
“The beast of the Revelation was reported to be Napoleon I, and then the creature suddently reappeared in his nephew, Napoleon III. By-and-by, the deadly wound was healed, and the Prince Imperial wore the dreadful honours of the prophetic book; but the prince is now dead, and it will be needful for the seers to …
A Wing and a Prayer Is All Very Well, but You Need Two Wings
“I have heard of a brother who trusts in the Lord, and does not study; but I have also heard that his people do not trust in him; in fact, I am informed that they wish him to go elsewhere with his inspired discourses, for they say that, when he did study, his talk was …
Pikestaff Texts
The global Anglican communion is blowing apart, as we speak. N.T. Wright is unhappy about it, as he ought to be, but unfortunately he analyzes the situation wrongly, almost from top to bottom. I wrote about this some years ago, as one who appreciates much of Wright’s scholarship. But I noted then that his anti-gnostic …
Downwind from Apostasy
“Faith in the old orthodox creed is not a matter of choice with me now. I am frequently told that I ought to examine at length the various new views which are so continually presented. I decline the invitation; I can smell them, and that satisfies me” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, p. 125).
CREC Summer Stuff
One of the heartening signs of future growth in the CREC has been the development of summer camps for our young people, thereby indicating that we are having to deal with more and more of them. One was Summer Sanctus, a montage of which is below. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have two separate …
No. Just In Your Case
When we gather together like this, we are gathering as the people of liberty. But two other l’s are constantly beckoning—those of legalism and license. Having the history we do, we have little trouble rejecting legalism, but in our emphasis on Christian liberty, we often—especially among our young people—veer into license. When this starts to …