“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #128 “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels” (1 Cor. 11: 10). The last part of this verse is obscure to us, and has generated a good bit of discussion. …
Making It Flow to the End
In the Syria saga, we are getting a good glimpse of how political decisions are made in a gargantuan democracy, and we are also getting quite a cash payout — worth a great deal to me at any rate — of Ron Paul’s apparently quixotic presidential runs. Let me state the conclusion first. I am …
At the Top of the Siege Ladders
“As men and women grow old together, many people’s natural response is pity. Because the elderly can’t ‘keep up’ anymore, they are thought of as society’s stragglers. Sometimes this comes out in exasperation (on the freeway, when we’re behind somebody in geezer drive), and other times in pity, but the root assumption is the same. …
Why Cigarette Smoking is Not a Sin for Others. Just a Sin for You.
Here is the general outline of a talk I gave on August 24, 2010 at Collegiate Reformed Fellowship. Reposting it again three years later for obvious reasons. My point this evening is not that smoking cigarettes is a sin everywhere and for everyone, under any conceivable circumstance. My thesis is a great deal simpler than …
Uriah Drunk and David Sober
Introduction God has established David as a great king in a newly created Israel. This is the account of a new fall, marring that new creation. In this chapter, David commits adultery, followed up with murder. His subsequent attempts at a bungled cover-up resulted in one of the best known stories of human history. So …
For a Glory and a Covering
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #126 “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man” (1 Cor. 11:7). There are several issues here that …
Audio Reading of Post
Challenging a Young Man’s Ten Assumptions
This is a rough outline of remarks I gave to the young men of New St. Andrews. Those of you who have been here for a while know that we strive to live in community in a way that cultivates a garden of grace. We know that law doesn’t have the power to enable you …
No Other Custom
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #124 “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For …
Not Counting Rocks
I have said in other contexts that the Pauline requirements for ministry are character qualifications, and as such they are not analogous to the operation of counting rocks. Though we are discussing the requirement of godly family management, let me illustrate the point with one of the other qualifications, also having to do with family. …
God is the Absolute
“In other words, debates over the lawfulness of divorce are likely to produce a good deal of logic- and text-chopping — and this can happen in both directions. Men and women who want to absolutize marriage run into trouble, and men and women who want to relativize it run into trouble as well. Marriage is …