“If the narrative is to be trusted (and for evangelicals, it must be), then the star of Bethlehem identified a particular house in Bethlehem, singling it out from the others, in order that the magi would know what door to knock on. Now Bethlehem was only about six miles away from Jerusalem. Imagine trying to …
Deeper Grace
“God’s grace is a tsunami that will carry us all away, and deposit us in places we would not have anticipated — and all of them good. We analyze all this carefully, and say that we want our grace to be genuine water, just like the tsunami, but we want it to be a placid …
Grace Got Loose
“Grace is not something we do. Grace is not something we can control. Grace is not something we can manage. And this means that we in the Church, particularly in the sola gratia wing of the Reformed church, need to recognize that curators of grace are frequently the most dangerous enemies of grace. Grace is …
A Lot More Than Silver Bells
“A sentimental Christmas is a Christmas without conflict . . . a moralistic Christmas is a Christmas without sin . . . a spiritualistic Christmas is a Christmas without matter” (God Rest Ye Merry, pp. 32-33).
One or the Other
“From the moment Simeon spoke those fateful words, the winnowing has been in effect. Come to Jesus or go away. In Him is light, and away from Him is only darkness” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 31).
Earthiness Saved
“But in the face of this false doctrine, God was made flesh. This means that we may build, sew, pick up a knife and fork, make love, spank our kids, shovel the walk, and do all to the glory of God. Earthiness is not the gospel, but the gospel did come to earth. Earthiness is …
In the Cold Midwinter
“In one sense, of course, Jesus is the reason for the season. But in another fundamental sense, sin is the reason for the season. We have not entered into a season of feel-goodism, where we think about soft snow and candlelight, with silver bells in the distance. Remember Ramah weeping for her children, remember our …
Beyond Mortal Reckoning
“The doctrine of the Incarnation proclaims frankly and without embarrassment the most stupendous miracle that can be imagined” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 22).
Authoritative Stooping
“The one who spoke the galaxies into existence at the beginning of all things took on human flesh and consented to have his diapers changed. But He did not do this in order to demonstrate how low He could stoop, as though that stooping were arbitrary or aimless. Rather, He ordained that stooping this low …
Worshiping Irony
“The first Christmas was the time in history when God began announcing His mastery of irony . . . The great day of resurrection, the eschatological climax, will be what Tolkien called eucatastrophe, and will be literary catharsis writ large, although large is far too small a word for it . . . In worshiping …