Introduction: The apostle John was overwhelmed by the vastness of Jesus Christ. This fourth gospel is a cosmic gospel, but with profound ramifications for us here on earth. It is cosmic, but it is in no way removed from us. No, the ultimate and divine Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The …
Book of the Month/November 2014
I really appreciate this book. In it, Rodney Stark applies some of the tools of analytic sociology to a particular historical phenomenon which in this instance matches the title of his book exactly — the rise of Christianity. Full disclosure: I won’t be done with this book for a couple more days, but it is …
Surveying the Text: Luke
Introduction: If Mark is the shortest and punchiest of the gospels, Luke is the most detailed and meticulous. Luke claims to have done very careful research (Luke 1:1-4), and everything about this book bears that claim out. The Text: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and …
Something to Use, Something to Risk
I have written critically in the past about James Davison Hunter’s approach to not really changing the world. In the last analysis, his tag phrase “faithful presence” ought to be a means to victory, not a goal in itself. If we make it a goal, it is as though the coach settles for getting his …
Steeples of Pride
All of this is submitted to God, but, Lord willing, our church sanctuary is going to have a steeple. And a steeple illustrates the perennial problem that believers have in this fallen world. A steeple can be illustrative of the humility of man before God, but it can also be a glaring example of the …
To Join the Orgy Porgy
A couple of stories came to my attention today. One was the decision of California to require a verbal yes at every stage of sexual activity on their college campuses. And if that doesn’t work, they will toughen the law, requiring a “yes, oh yes!” at every stage of the proceedings. Certain tropes are like …
Smash the Complementarity
Before smashing the patriarchy becomes mandatory, may we take a few moments to ask what it is? The current push is to get reasonable Christians to back away from it because they reject what is done in the name of it by the outliers. But however carefully reasonable Christians distance or distinguish themselves from the …
Marjorie Becker, R.I.P.
The hymn O Worship the King uses a striking phrase to describe the condition of man in this fallen world of ours. It describes us as “frail children of dust, and feeble as frail.” That line contains two elements of biblical truth that I want to emphasize here today. The first is that we are …
Masculinity at College
The following represents the gist of the remarks I made at NSA’s weekly Disputatio last Friday, September 19, 2014. What does it mean when NSA makes a point of emphasizing guy things? What is the point of that? I am referring to the presence of rugby and dirt on the NSA web page, the martial …
Three Chains I : Fear
Introduction: Over the course of the next few weeks, we are going to be considering three chains that the enemy of our souls wants to use in order to keep us in bondage. But in Christ, we have been set free, and set free means set free from each of these chains, and from all …