“However strange it may seem to Westerners, the much-publicized virgins promised to Islamic martyrs in Paradise is no myth or distortion of Islamic theology. Muhammad painted a picture of a frankly material and lushly sensual Paradise for his followers—containing everything a seventh-century Arabian desert-dweller could possibly dream of: gold and fine material things, fruits, wine, …
Self-Authenticating Ultimacy
“Hence the late-romantic tendency to insist on a total separation between the aesthetic and the moral; and finally the modernist tendency to grant art the ultimate legitimacy and authority that were previously reserved for morality” (Martha Bayles, Hole in our Soul, pp. 389).
It Shouldn’t Be Either
“Jesus tells us that the hireling does not care for the sheep the way a good shepherd does. In saying this, the Lord was teaching in effect that the ministry cannot be allowed to become a profession. Despite this severe warning, the modern Church has steadily drifted into a compromise with what we might call …
Near Italy, Kinda
The other day my attention was drawn to a post made by a former NSA student, Matt Yonke. That post is here. The reaction to it among some of our TR critics was swift and beside the point — an example can be seen here, if Scott Clark doesn’t do something to break the link …
Sowing and Reaping
Paul has already told us that the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit are inconsistent with one another. But a problem is caused because people who live in accordance with the two “lists” have to associate with one another, both in the world and in the Church. Now what? There is …
Never Disoriented
“In other words the preachers should be well versed in biblical theology which in turn leads on to a systematic theology. To me there is nothing more important in a preachers than that he should have a systematic theology, that he should know it and be well grounded in it. This systematic theology, this body …
Taking Temp Work to Extremes
“Shi’ite Islam, the dominant form of Islam in Iran, also allows for ‘temporary wives.’ This is a provision for men to gain female companionship on a short-term basis. In a temporary marriage, or mut’a, the couple signs a marriage agreement that is ordinary in every respect except that it carries a time limit. One tradition …
Let’s Do the Lurch
“. . . it is hard not to see a dance floor as a paddock for musical philistines” (Martha Bayles, Hole in our Soul, pp. 383).
Show Them How
“Those who preach the Lordship of Christ must always see that the message is preached by men who are bondslaves to the hearers for the Lord’s sake. Those who want the members of the church to submit to them must have shown them through their own behavior what submission looks like” (Mother Kirk, p. 183).
Preaching Because We Were Told To
“In other words, the content of the sermon is what is called in the New Testament ‘The Word’. ‘Preach the word’, or ‘preach the Gospel’, or ‘the whole counsel of God.’ That being interpreted means the messiage of the Bible, the message of the Scriptures” (Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, p. 61).