Theology That Bites Back
Worship and praise are not the same thing. Worship is actually the foundation of praise. “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.” (Deut. 6:13). “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him …
A common question concerns why Paul allowed the circumcision of Timothy. Not only did he allow it, he is the one who oversaw it. He is the one who did it. “Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for …
Those who have been around here for a while know that I am a C.S. Lewis junkie. I have read and reread him, and have been edified by him in ways beyond reckoning. If I were to calculate the impact that various writers have had on me—and there have been many who have—he would always …
I recently saw a snippet of an interaction between Joel McDurmon and Mark Jones that made me think of something. And why not?, say I. It’s still kind of a free country. Why can’t I think of oblique stuff? So I offer this, not as my own engagement with their debate, but rather as a …
You can take a drop from a bottle of vinegar, put it on the tip of your tongue, and tell what is in the rest of the bottle. You don’t need to drink the whole thing to make sure. And this relates to a basic question in pastoral counseling. “What’s your mouth like?” And Jesus …
Introduction: Some time ago, at our weekly Sabbath dinner, my father said something like, “No sense dying with a good reputation.” I forget what brought that on, but my daughter Rachel asked, “So you have a good reputation?” And he said, “Better than it ought to be.” Two Cautions: In emphasizing what I am about …
To be a Christian acid-washed by the bleach and pumice of modernity is to be a Christian conscripted by the regimented cool, and to be issued a washed-out denim uniform—one which might be considered appropriate camo-gear for that upscale coffee shop, the better to allow a demythologized and deracinated faith to blend right in—and so …
I have written before on the spectacle of Christians suing Christians, but the phenomenon is common enough that we really need to continue to discuss it in an ongoing way. To recap, the apostle doesn’t prohibit Christians adjudicating disputes in civil court, but rather prohibits it before unbelieving civil courts. The issue is testimony before …
Hell is certainly a terrible thing to envision, and for many Christians it is a difficult doctrine even to defend. Many believers resolve it at the end of the day by deciding we need someplace to put the Hitlers and the Stalins, and then deciding to not look too closely at it thereafter. But God …
Scripture throughout makes a sharp distinction between personal loyalty to God and simple prioritization of the institutional church. When things are ordered rightly, this distinction is not a separation, but it remains a distinction. Here is a striking example. Jesus sharply rebukes those who prioritize the needs of the temple over the responsibilities to family. …
