Christopher Dawson once said that the Christian church lives in the light of eternity, and can afford to be patient. In a nation filled with men and women pursuing the gods of envy, mammon, malice, bloodshed and theft, this is important for us to remember. They are all caught up in the tyranny of the …
Wee Timorous Beastie
Nietzsche was a master wordsmith, and so he effectively projected a bad boy image of himself up on our culture’s screen, an image calculated to make all his maiden Lutheran aunts shudder, and perhaps weep a little. But inside, that man was Burns’ mouse beneath the harrow — a wee timorous beastie. Now this is …
In Other Words, No More Than a Quarter Inch Deep
[Speaking of 1 Peter 3:3] “Women in the Roman world used to really ‘crank up the volume’ in their personal appearance. The problem addressed by Peter is not hair-arrangements in themselves, or the perfidy of pony-tails. No, Peter is directing his attention to women who were ostentatious, making a display of themselves. The women of …
He Cannot Deny Himself
Influenced by certain Enlightenment assumptions, we like to believe that we all may reserve the right to not believe certain things. But in Scripture to “believe not” is described as a sin. The verb used to describe this unbelief in Scripture is apisteo. The male disciples had been told by Jesus that He was going …
A Topping Suitable
The discussion horses for my Israel and Hamas post are galloping down the road, reins dragging on the road behind them. So let me get a few band aids on my fingers and then say just a few more things here. Might calm everybody right down, or we might get to see another set of …
Merry Christmas 2008
Stories organize our lives, and the stories that won’t or can’t do that are false stories. The stories that orient us, that place us back where we should have been, the stories that bring redemption, are called true stories. They go by other names if you listen to the tellers of false stories — legends, …
A Star Out of Jacob
INTRODUCTION: One of the most familiar elements of the Christmas story is the star of Bethlehem. But at the same time, it remains one of the most unknown features of the story—because unlike the wise men, we don’t really look straight at it. THE TEXT: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold …
Advertising and Flattery
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 158 “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Pr 26:28).< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> One of the great problems of business is the strained relationship between truth …
Weak Sister Christianity
I have written on the distinction between jus ad bellum, conditions that justify going to war in the first place, and jus in bello, the standards required by God in the conduct of war. We have to keep these distinctions straight because, if we don’t, we are going to muddle just war theory hopelessly. But …
Vile Affections/Romans 5
INTRODUCTION: Recall that we have learned that the wrath of God is revealed in the world, and it is revealed as God “lets go”of a culture, allowing them to run headlong into various suicidal and fruitless practices. In this text, we find a deepening expansion of the point Paul has already made. THE TEXT: “For …